The Purpose Effect

Reuse, Reduce, Repurpose is the ethos at the centre of Tea Bird Tea. This is because founder Ashleigh Cotterill believes that sustainability is not a buzzword, it’s a mandate. And it’s key to how she is scaling her product business. Even something as simple as a cup of tea has the power to do good and we speak to Ashleigh about how she is doing this through her partnership strategy....

We've been talking a lot about partnerships this season, so in this episode, host Elena Kersey takes you through 5 ways partnerships can grow your business based on the lessons we've learned so far. Partnerships for Reach - with Sasibai Kimis , founder of Earth Heir Partnerships for Positioning - with Helen Neal , founder of HN Communications Partnerships for Innovation - with Jenny Au, founder of...

If diversity is key to innovation, then a diverse investor pool is key to a healthy startup eco-system. Maaike Doyer left a career in management consulting for entrepreneurship - first by co-founding Business Models Inc, the producer of the Business Model Generator book and most recently through co-founding Epic Angels, an all women angel investment collective investing in Asia-Pacific startups. I...

How we communicate on sustainability has never been more important than right now. But crafting the right message so that you can bring your consumers, your team and your industry along for the ride is crucial to making real change. In this episode, we're talking to Helen Neal, the founder of HN Communications ; an award winning sustainability communications agency. Helen is also the founder of Le...

Abbey Pantano is a community architect and the founder of Impact Collab, a digital community for impact businesses based in Sydney / Gadigal Country. Abbey started her journey into impact business because she wanted to be part of the solution for plastic waste. This led her to start The Raw Straw, a business that sold wheat stem drinking straws. The Raw Straw has been wound up, but Abbey talks can...

It's no surprise that Gen Z is the generation most engaged with climate issues. However, you might be surprised by the extent to which the climate is shaping the way Gen Z works. 59% of Gen Zs between the ages of 18 and 22 will stay longer with employers who are socially and environmentally responsible . And in Australia, young workers are leaving businesses which are not doing enough to respond t...

Becky Fox is the founder of the susMBA , a sustainable business mentor and a born community builder. She first learned about the power of community growing up in a community centre and went on to put what she'd learned into practice by building a surfing business with no money in her early 20s. She's gone on to work with a number of businesses in the sustainability space since then and what has un...

Sasibai Kimis is the founder of Earth Heir , a social enterprise that helps artisans in marginalised communities develop sustainable income streams by using their traditional craftmanship to make beautiful bags and accessories.  In doing so, Earth Heir is also preserving traditional craftsmanship and techniques in Malaysia and beyond. The goal of Earth Heir, is to work themselves out of busin...

Jenny Au is the co-founder of Fund Fluent, a platform that helps small businesses grow by accessing loans, grants and other non-equity based sources of funding. Fund Fluent is a digital platform that connects your business to the funding options it eligible for. It also allows you to connect your data to your profile so that you can easily find and apply for grants through the system.  Fund F...

Sonalie Figueiras is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Green Queen, an award winning climate news media business based in Hong Kong and one of the leading voices in the conversation around the impact of our food systems on the climate. We are far less in control of the food we eat than we think and we will not solve the climate crisis without addressing the way we eat and produce food. Co-hosting...

Radhika Mayani started her career in advertising and hospitality and saw first hand the amount of waste that the hotels produce.  She was determined to try to solve this problem and so Left-Handesign was born.  Left-Handesign produces zero waste and plantable stationary, so once you are done with your pen or your pencil, it can start a new life as a tomato plant, or okra or a herb. In this convers...

Lucy Dunne is the founder of Dunnebells, a business focused on empowering women through fitness and nutrition.  Lucy started her business after sharing her own weight loss journey online and seeing them impact it had on women in her community. We talk about: Sustainable health and fitness tips, including why we shouldn't demonise certain foods. The importance of strength training for women. H...

One third of the food we produce globally is wasted.  We are facing food shortages worldwide, but we actually produce enough calories to feed everyone on the planet.  If that's not reason enough to solve the food waste problem, think about this - 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food waste.  For context, the airline industry produced 2.5% In this episode, I'm talking to An...

the Sexy Ageing Community and the resources there to support women in midlife; the most common menopause symptoms; why strength training is key to ageing well; the business of menopause and the size of the menopause market; "meno-washing" and what to be aware of when brands make dubious menopause claims; how to build online digital communities. Connect with me! And don't forget to rate, review and...

In 2012, Stephanie Chai launched The Luxe Nomad, a flash sales travel booking site that encourages us all to "Dream a little, travel a lot."  At the time, she was one of 5 similar start-ups to launch in Asia.  Now, more than 10 years later, The Luxe Nomad is the only one of those 5 businesses still standing. In this episode we talk about: Using the network and the tools you have to maxim...

Dr Tanushka Melwani is a Conscious Parenting coach and educator who studied under Dr Shefali Tsabary.  We talk about the impact that conscious parenting can have on the relationships closest to us - our relationship with ourselves and our children.  In this episode we talk about: The moment she hit rock bottom as a parent and her discovery of conscious parenting; Dr Shefali's 7 Myths of...

Jen Gearing, B-Corp Consultant and founder of Rejenerate talks to me about all things B-Corp.  In this episode we cover: What the B Corp movement is and how to achieve B-Corp Certification; B-Corp controversies (including Nespresso's B-Corp certification) and how despite this, its important for more publicly listed companies to pursue B-Corp certification;  The fact that the triple bottom lin...

I started this podcast wanting to learn from women whose work was purposeful.  I believed that Purpose was something you found and when this happened, everything would fall into place.   What I found was that Purpose is really more of a direction than a destination.  And this is actually part of the reason that it’s so powerful in our work lives.  It forces us to innovate and collaborate.  It forc...

This year, it’s estimated that 8.3 billion dollars will be spent on unwanted gifts.  Households that celebrate Christmas produce 30% more waste at this time of year.  Millions and millions of portions of food are wasted including enough gravy to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool. How can we gift better?  How can we gift more sustainably? More mindfully?  To find out, I spoke with Christine Langd...

Sakiko Reuterskiold is the founder of Nomosu, a company which is on a mission to make sweetness healthy (for us and the planet).  Sakiko began her journey while searching for honestly sugar free sweet treats that tasted good, and found....nothing.  So, like many of the women on this podcast, she decided to fix the problem.  Nomosu has done rigorous tests to develop a sugar replacement that is natu...

Stephanie Srikandi is a serial sustainable fashion entrepreneur and founder of ethical essentials label This is a Love Song.  With the mission of supporting local garment makers in Bali, where the label was born, Stephanie launched TIALS studio, an ethical and sustainable clothing manufacturing studio where she produces not only her own label, but those of other fashion brands.  But Stephanie is o...

For the last five years Tanya Rolfe has been on a mission to get more money into the hands of women.  This started with the Ladies Investment Club in Singapore and Her Capital; a seed venture fund investing in female founders in Southeast Asia.  Her current projects are Harriet; which supports female founders seeking to access capital and Sophia; a for-women by-women financial education platform....

In a world crowded with "messaging" how do we tell engaging stories?  How do we convince our audience to come with us on a journey? In this episode I bring together some of the lessons in storytelling I've learned from my guests on this podcast, my previous career in television and from leaders in brand storytelling.  This episode is for professionals looking to communicate authenti...

Martine de Leeuw is a co-owner of Filipino social enterprise Not a Daydream and the Founder of Impact PR agency Junglebird Agency.  In this conversation, we talk about what Martine has learned in her years of working with NGOs and social start ups and how to make building a profitable, purposeful business actually achievable. Topics covered in this episode: 1.  What is 'Social Entrepreneurshi...

In this episode I'm talking to communications expert Marjo Hellman about leading and communicating in our ever-changing world.  What is "Next-Gen Leadership"?  How do we get people to trust us? And in a world where we are shifting between in-person, digital and the metaverse, what does 'authenticity' mean anyway? Topics covered in this episode: How is leadership changing? ...