The Business of Meaning

#13: Andy Ayim - Investing in Diversity

Andy Ayim is an author, investor and product lead. He's formerly the managing director of Backstage Capital London which invests $100,000 to support women, people of colour, and/or LGBT people. Prior to Backstage, Andy has worked in a range of product roles in companies such as World First which was acquired by Ant Financial for $700 million. He's really passionate about creating pathways into tech and upscaling people from low-income backgrounds. He serves currently on the board of YSYS, Flipside and Mixtape Madness, a startup that he co-founded with his brothers and friends. And in 2018, Andy received the accolade of being named as one of the FT’s Top 10 Most Influential BAME Tech Leaders in the UK. Listen to his chat with Sanjay Parekh: 01m:08s – How Andy got to Backstage Capital from his early beginnings. 04m:23s – Why is Andy so passionate about bridging the gap between underrepresented peoples and the tech world? 06m:22s – What the differences are between the US and the UK in terms of diversity and inclusion. 12m:05s – What Andy’s personal work philosophy is. 16m:05s – How does Andy get the confidence to be his ‘whole self’ at work. 18m:40s – What some of Backstage Capital’s goals are and why has it been brought to London? 21m:16s – Why Andy wants Backstage Capital to eventually go out of business. 25m:24s – What’s the best way to interact with Andy and what Andy’s looking for as an investor? 29m:25s – How Andy guides people who are considering a career as an intrapreneur or entrepreneur. 33m:20s – How Andy uses his journal as google analytics for his thoughts. 35m:47s – Andy highlights some of the great companies that have gone through the Backstage process. 46m:56s – How would Andy advise others to make sure that they have meaning within their business? 48m:59s – What's next for Andy and Backstage Capital? Andy has left Backstage Capital since this podcast was recorded. Find out more about Backstage Capital by visiting www.backstagecapital.com [http://www.backstagecapital.com] or by emailing London@Backstagecapital.com. You can find all the companies mentioned at: https://backstagecapital.com/accelerator/cities/london/ [https://backstagecapital.com/accelerator/cities/london/]. You can find Andy at AndyAyim.com [http://www.andyayim.com/]. The Business of Meaning Podcast would love to hear from you either via Twitter @BoFMeaning or via email at Sanjay@TheBusinessOfMeaning.com.

#12: Tom Old - Making it Simple for Anyone to Reduce their Impact on the Planet

My guest today is Tom Old. Tom is a social entrepreneur and sustainability leader. In 2014, he established two businesses Just Move In and Big Clean Switch, which are both B-Corporations. In 2016, Tom spent three days training with Al Gore in Manila as part of the Climate Reality Program. He has since been an active member of Climate Reality and some talks and events across the country. He’s been to the COP 21 in Paris in 2015, which is the famous International Climate Agreement, and is well connected in the world of business and sustainability. He's a believer in pragmatic positive change and believes that establishing the right strategy is not just a necessity for the planet but necessary for the businesses that want to evolve and stay relevant in the 21st century. The areas we covered include: What Big Clean Switch is trying to achieve. The types of organisations Tom works with at Big Clean Switch. The impact that the Paris climate talks had on Tom. How behavioural economics is behind Just Move In. Why service is so important to Tom and how that enables him to deliver on bringing sustainability into every day tasks. The business case for purpose driven businesses. Why both businesses are B-corporations [https://bcorporation.uk/] the impact on how he runs the companies. How working with IKEA is helping to change the narrative on sustainability The impact that Al Gore and the organisation Climate Reality [https://www.climaterealityproject.org/] has had on Tom and his work. The business case for purpose: HBR/EY Report [https://hbr.org/resources/pdfs/comm/ey/19392HBRReportEY.pdf] - mentioned in the podcast. You can find out more about Big Clean Switch at https://bigcleanswitch.org/ [https://bigcleanswitch.org/] and Just Move In at https://www.justmovein.co/ [https://www.justmovein.co/]. Tom can be found at LinkedIn here. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-old-a08b6010?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_contact_details%3BS3qc%2Fe9jRb6peiniMa%2Bn3g%3D%3D] I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. If you like the podcast, please leave a review on iTunes. If you've got a direct feedback, we'd love to hear from you either via Twitter @BofMeaning [https://twitter.com/bofmeaning?lang=en] or via email at Sanjay@TheBusinessOfMeaning.com [Sanjay@TheBusinessOfMeaning.com]. Thank you.

#11: Asesh Sarkar - Making Money Work for Working People

Asesh is the Co-Founder of Salary Finance. Salary Finance is on a mission to change the lives of working people by helping them become debt free and save towards their financial goals. Asesh is a former management consultant. He is a strong advocate of business with social purpose. The areas we covered include: What Salary Finance is trying to achieve. The core business model of Salary Finance. Why people aren't particularly good at managing their money. Salary Finance’s suite of offerings. Why there is a strong link between people's personal financial health and their mental health. The real issues around poor financial education and lack of tools for people to save and pay off debt. What is the culture at Salary Finance and how does Salary Finance live their values and encourage creativity. What's next for Salary Finance. What is Asesh’s advice to other business owners or entrepreneurs that want to have more meaning to their work. You can find out more about Salary Finance and Asesh at www.SalaryFinance.com [http://www.salaryfinance.com/] or on Twitter @salaryfin [https://twitter.com/salaryfin?lang=en]. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. If you like the podcast, please leave a review on iTunes.  If you've got a direct feedback, we'd love to hear from you either via Twitter @BofMeaning [https://twitter.com/bofmeaning?lang=en] or via email at Sanjay@TheBusinessOfMeaning.com [Sanjay@TheBusinessOfMeaning.com]. Thank you.

#10: James Routledge - Making Mental Health Cool in the Workplace

James Routledge [https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jdroutledge1] is the co-founder Sanctus [https://sanctus.io/]. Sanctus is on a mission to change the perception of mental health and James is on a personal mission to make mental health in the workplace cool and to put a mental health gym on every high street. James and Sanctus want to normalise the conversation around mental health in the workplace and make good mental health practices commonplace as good physical health. The areas we covered include: How Sanctus came about. The core business model of Sanctus. Why the perception of mental health of just being mental illness has to change. How Sanctus business is structured in terms of funding and how it’s run. What's the underlying cause behind people's desire to improve themselves from a mental health perspective. What is the Mental Health Pledge. What is the culture at Sanctus and how does Sanctus maintain the culture within the business as it grows. What's next for Sanctus. What is James’ advice to other business owners or entrepreneurs that want to have more meaning to their work. You can find out more about Sanctus and James at https://sanctus.io/ [https://sanctus.io/] or on Twitter @sanctus [https://twitter.com/sanctus]. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. If you like the podcast please leave a review on iTunes or your podcasting app. To find out more about our guests and mission visit www.thebusinessofmeaning.com [http://www.thebusinessofmeaning.com].

#9: Jamie Crummie - How to Combat Food Waste with Bargain Lunches

Jamie Crummie is a Director and co-founder of Too Good To Go [https://toogoodtogo.co.uk]. Too Good To Go is a company on a mission to fight food waste and deliver tasty meals at discounted prices to food warriors around the world. Their simple to use app has saved over 13 million meals from the rubbish bin in over 9 countries. Listen on to find out: Why Jamie hates food waste and why he started the company. The sheer scale of the issue and why it should be seen as a crisis. How food waste contributes hugely to climate change. How the Too Good To Go app makes it easy for you to save money, save food and enjoy mystery food choices. How the psychology of food shopping encourages food waste. Why Jamie wants to put himself out of business. How consumers can change their expectations at the point of purchase  to influence food. How Jamie and the team have maintained the culture under rapid growth to 200 staff. The challenges of international teams, corporate culture and serving customers in 9 countries. How the team tailor their approach to the different sizes and types of food outlets that they work with. The business case for a food company to be a food partner on the app. The importance of investor alignment with mission driven businesses. The future plans of Too Good To Go. You can find out more about Too Good To Go at: https://toogoodtogo.co.uk [https://toogoodtogo.co.uk/en-gb] and you can connect directly with Jamie on LinkedIn [https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jamie-crummie-4157ba84]. If you like the podcast please leave a review on iTunes or your podcasting app. To find out more about our guests and mission visit www.thebusinessofmeaning.com [http://www.thebusinessofmeaning.com] Thank you.