Robin Ferris is the CEO and Founder of Bankuet.
With the cost of living crisis and inflation, food poverty in the UK is at it’s worst. This year 9.3 million people in the UK will experience food insecurity and in the last year 1 million people have used food banks for the first time.
Volunteering in his local food bank, Robin saw firsthand the challenges that food banks face and how they would struggle to meet the continued increasing demand.
Robin wanted to build a tech platform that would make it was easy and simple for people to donate, whilst making their money go further. And also making sure food banks got the food and items they needed, when they needed them.
In 2019, Bankuet was born with the vision for no one in the UK to go hungry. Since then, they have partnered with over 300 food banks across the UK and delivered over 2.8 million food and household items to help tackle food poverty.
Highlights:
Our Host:
Craig Turner. Founder of Confido Talent, a business that helps Tech For Good startups to scale their product, design and engineering teams.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigturner7/ / www.confidotalent.com / craig@confidotalent.com
Our Guest:
Robin Ferris, Founder and CEO of Bankuet.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinjferris/ / https://www.bankuet.co.uk/
Donate here >> https://www.bankuet.co.uk/givenow
Our Sponsor:
Jobs For Good. The only job platform to find the best jobs in sustainability, impact and much more.
www.jobsforgood.io / https://bit.ly/3wjwJa0
Our Producer:
Jabriel Al-Suhaimi. Jabriel is a podcast aficionado, editing and producing podcasts for many, including himself.
https://www.jabrielalsuhaimi.com/ / https://twitter.com/jabealsuhaimi
Philipp von Lamezan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Squake.
Travel and transport are responsible for 20% of emissions worldwide, with the global population growing, this footprint is only going to increase in the next decade unless we do something about it now.
Squake are advocating for short and long term change, by building a platform that makes sustainable travel and transport accessible to everyone. They do this by focusing on three main steps:
1. Working with businesses to accurately calculate emissions, so consumers can understand the impact of their travel decisions.
2. Reducing or avoiding emissions through alternative means or better modes of travel.
3. Compensating for any remaining emissions by investing in carbon projects.
In this episode Philipp explains more about sustainability in travel and what needs to change, his journey building Squake, the hardest part about being a Founder and his advice for hiring as a startup.
Highlights:
Our Host:
Craig Turner. Founder of Confido Talent, a business that helps Tech For Good startups to scale their product, design and engineering teams.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigturner7/ / www.confidotalent.com / craig@confidotalent.com
Our Guest:
Philipp von Lamezan, CEO and Co-Founder of Squake.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vonlamezan/ / https://www.squake.earth/
Our Sponsor:
Jobs For Good. The only job platform to find the best jobs in sustainability, impact and much more.
www.jobsforgood.io / https://bit.ly/3wjwJa0
Our Producer:
Jabriel Al-Suhaimi. Jabriel is a podcast aficionado, editing and producing podcasts for many, including himself.
https://www.jabrielalsuhaimi.com/ / https://twitter.com/jabealsuhaimi
Elena Rueda is the CEO and Co-Founder of Dama Health.
900 million people around the world use contraception, yet 80% of women report experiencing side effects that decrease their quality of life, and on average women try 4 different contraceptive methods before finding the right fit!
Pretty shocking right! Elena explains why the lack of data and research in this field combined with pressures on the NHS, results in a very poor patient experience and can lead to serious side effects in women including depression, blood clots and heavy bleeding.
Dama Health are fixing this broken system by applying personalised and precision medicine to contraceptive health. Their screening test identifies patient biomarkers and personal preferences, to enable better decision making between patient and clinician. They are also conduct genetic research studies to better understand how different genes react to different contraceptive methods.
Highlights:
Our Host:
Craig Turner. Founder of Confido Talent, a business that helps Tech For Good startups to scale their product, design and engineering teams.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigturner7/ / www.confidotalent.com / craig@confidotalent.com
Our Guest:
Elena Rueda, CEO and Co-Founder of Dama Health.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/elena-r-14335187/ / https://damahealth.com/
Channel 4 documentary: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/davina-mccalls-pill-revolution (Elena/Dama Health snippet 36.58-40.06).
Our Sponsor:
Jobs For Good. The only job platform to find the best jobs in sustainability, impact and much more.
www.jobsforgood.io / https://bit.ly/3wjwJa0
Our Producer:
Jabriel Al-Suhaimi. Jabriel is a podcast aficionado, editing and producing podcasts for many, including himself.
https://www.jabrielalsuhaimi.com/ / https://twitter.com/jabealsuhaimi
Dan Garrett is the CEO and Co-Founder of Farewill.
For everyone, losing a loved one is one of the hardest things you’ll need to deal with. Trying to process your emotions, whilst having the pressure of deciding on funeral plans and dealing with probate. Most people end up turning to their local high street provider, who costs thousands of pounds, and they often don’t reflect the wishes of the family or deceased.
Dan recognised the opportunity to innovate an industry that hasn’t changed for 100’s of years, even though everyone will need to use it at some point in their life. So Dan founded Farewill to build a tech platform that focuses on making it as easy, simple and affordable as possible for people to deal with death and provide a meaningful goodbye to their loved ones.
Farewill is now the largest will writer in the UK, and one of the largest providers of probate and direct cremation services, and with a 4.9 rating on Trustpilot and multiple awards for their services – they must be doing something right!
Highlights:
Our Host:
Craig Turner. Founder of Confido Talent, a business that helps Tech For Good startups to scale their product, design and engineering teams.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigturner7/ / www.confidotalent.com / craig@confidotalent.com
Our Guest:
Dan Garrett, Co-Founder and CEO of Farewill.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dangarrett-ceo-farewill/ / https://farewill.com/
Our Sponsor:
Jobs For Good. The only job platform to find the best jobs in sustainability, impact and much more.
www.jobsforgood.io / https://bit.ly/3wjwJa0
Our Producer:
Jabriel Al-Suhaimi. Jabriel is a podcast aficionado, editing and producing podcasts for many, including himself.
Vese Aghoghovbia is the Founder of Philly & Friends. Philly & Friends is an iconic children’s lifestyle business with purpose, representation and diversity at its core.
In this episode we cover:
Want to listen to the full interview, click below:
Felix Atkin is the CEO and Founder of Sharesy.
During COVID Felix started to explore why local schools weren’t renting out their unused spaces to generate much needed additional income. Most still took bookings via pen and paper, on average requiring 30 interactions before a booking was completed. This was frustrating for both the venue and the booker.
Felix recognised this was a much wider problem with community spaces– church halls, scout huts, community centres – they all had unused spaces that they struggled to rent out.
Enter Sharesy. In a few simple clicks, people can find and book spaces in their local community. Their unique model operates on a success only basis, so venues can sign up for free and only pay when a booking is made.
Sharesy are on a mission to help local communities to thrive, by encouraging people to book local venues and put money back into their community.
Highlights:
Our Host:
Craig Turner. Founder of Confido Talent, a business that helps Tech For Good startups to scale their product, design and engineering teams.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigturner7/ / www.confidotalent.com / craig@confidotalent.com
Our Guest:
Felix Atkin, Founder and CEO of Sharesy.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/felixatkin/ / https://www.sharesy.com/
Our Sponsor:
Jobs For Good. The only job platform to find the best jobs in sustainability, impact and much more.
www.jobsforgood.io / https://bit.ly/3wjwJa0
Our Producer:
Jabriel Al-Suhaimi. Jabriel is a podcast aficionado, editing and producing podcasts for many, including himself.
https://www.jabrielalsuhaimi.com/ / https://twitter.com/jabealsuhaimi
Bex Hay is the Co-Founder and CTO of Organise. Organise have supported over 3000 worker-led actions by providing a safe trusted space where people can anonymously discuss topics with colleagues and peers, get access to expert advice, and use tools purpose-built for running effective campaigns.
In this episode we cover:
Want to listen to the full interview, click below:
Sir Peter Wanless is the CEO of NSPCC.
One of the largest and longest standing charities in the UK, the NSPCC have spent over 130 years delivering on their mission to prevent cruelty to children.
Peter has recently celebrated 10 years as their CEO, where he has helped modernise the charity to meet the everchanging and complex world of child abuse and neglect.
The NSPCC break down their mission into three impact goals: 1. Everyone plays their part to prevent child abuse. 2. Every child is safe online. 3. Children feel safe, listened to and are supported.
In this episode Peter talks about the different types of child abuse, how this has evolved over the last decade, the NSPCC’s work, the challenges running a charity this size, his highlights from the last decade and much more.
Before the episode starts, I’d urge anyone who is able to, to click on the link in the show notes or go to www.nspcc.org.uk/donate and give what they can.
Highlights:
03.28: Who is Peter Wanless?
07.16: Child abuse and the different types of abuse
10.03: How child abuse and safety have evolved over the last 20 years
13.43: The importance of prevention versus protection and intervention
18.40: Why England haven’t adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
23.24: NSPCC’s mission and three impact goals
35.45: Peter’s highlights from the last decade at NSPCC
39.28: Raising £120mn each year, operating costs and how money is spent
45.21: The importance of transparency
54.28: The new NSPCC careers website and open roles
Our Guest:
Peter Wanless, CEO of NSPCC
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sir-peter-wanless-b43aa372/ / https://www.nspcc.org.uk/
👉 Donate here: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/support-us/ways-to-give/donate/
Our Host:
Craig Turner. Founder of Confido Talent, a business that helps Tech For Good startups to scale their product, design and engineering teams.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigturner7/ / www.confidotalent.com / craig@confidotalent.com
Our Sponsor:
Jobs For Good. The only job platform to find the best jobs in sustainability, impact and much more.
www.jobsforgood.io / https://bit.ly/3wjwJa0
Our Producer:
Jabriel Al-Suhaimi. Jabriel is a podcast aficionado, editing and producing podcasts for many, including himself.
https://www.jabrielalsuhaimi.com/ / https://twitter.com/jabealsuhaimi
Morgan Fitzsimons is the Co-Founder and CXO of Perci Health. Perci have the largest network of cancer experts in the UK. Perci assign each person with their own specialist cancer nurse to build a personalised care plan and ensure they get the support they need to improve their quality of life.
In this episode we cover:
Want to listen to the full interview, click below:
Peter Briffett is the Co-Founder and CEO of Wagestream.
After coming across an article about predatory finance, Peter started to explore the financial support offered to low income workers and he was shocked by the lack of fair financial services available. The common practice being pay day loan companies targeting people in need with ridiculous repayment terms.
So Peter co-founded Wagestream with a vision of providing fair financial services to frontline workers, starting with flexible pay, where workers could stream their earned wages in real-time. Fast forward to today and Wagestream works with 500+ employers to help over 3 million workers to have full visibility of their pay, stream earned wages, set up automated savings and get access to financial coaching.
Peter chats to me about financial wellbeing and the struggles frontline workers face, how Wagestream are solving that problem, scaling a social impact business and much more.
Highlights:
Our Host:
Craig Turner. Founder of Confido Talent, a business that helps Tech For Good startups to scale their product, design and engineering teams.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigturner7/ / www.confidotalent.com / craig@confidotalent.com
Our Guest:
Peter Briffett, Co-Founder and CEO of Wagestream.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterbriffett / https://wagestream.com/
Our Sponsor:
Jobs For Good. The only job platform to find the best jobs in sustainability, impact and much more.
www.jobsforgood.io / https://bit.ly/3wjwJa0
Our Producer:
Jabriel Al-Suhaimi. Jabriel is a podcast aficionado, editing and producing podcasts for many, including himself.
https://www.jabrielalsuhaimi.com/ / https://twitter.com/jabealsuhaimi
Anya Roy is the Co-Founder and CEO of Syrona Health. Syrona Health is an all-in-one healthcare platform that provides personalised and inclusive support to people for all of their gynaecological needs. Syrona’s aim is to democratise healthcare in the workplace and give everyone access to the help they need.
In this episode we cover:
Want to listen to the full interview, click below:
Charlotte Guzzo is the COO and Co-Founder of Sano Genetics.
Whilst studying for her PhD, Charlotte witnessed first-hand the challenges with finding the right patients for medical research. After further exploration it was apparent the whole system was flawed.
Due to issues with patient recruitment and engagement, 80% of clinical trials fail. This means potentially life saving drugs and treatments will never reach the market. It’s a poor situation for everyone, researchers and scientists are unable to trial new medicines, and patients are reluctant to participate in research.
Sano have solved the problem by using technology to connect all these different parties in a more effective way and remove the headaches that previously existed. They enable organisations to quickly and efficiently recruit and engage the right patients, they take care of the genetic testing and data analysis, and ensure patients keep up to date with the latest research and findings.
Highlights:
06.49: The issues with “traditional” medical research
13.22: Sano Genetics overview and fixing the problem
21.18: The barriers of operating in new countries
25.43: How Sano doubled their revenue every 6 months
31.53: Fundraising and Sano’s changing approach to raising
39.52: The COO role in startups
43.00: Parental leave and the stigma of a Founder taking time off
48.09: Hiring quickly and growing responsibly
53.08: Building a remote first working culture
Our Host:
Craig Turner. Founder of Confido Talent, a business that helps Tech For Good startups to scale their product, design and engineering teams.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigturner7/ / www.confidotalent.com / craig@confidotalent.com
Our Guest:
Charlotte Guzzo, Co-Founder and COO of Sano Genetics.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotteguzzo/ / https://sanogenetics.com/
Sano’s “The Genetics Podcast”: https://thegeneticspodcast.fireside.fm/
Our Sponsor:
Jobs For Good. The only job platform to find the best jobs in sustainability, impact and much more.
www.jobsforgood.io / https://bit.ly/3wjwJa0
Our Producer:
Jabriel Al-Suhaimi. Jabriel is a podcast aficionada, editing and producing podcasts for many, including himself.
https://www.jabrielalsuhaimi.com/ / https://twitter.com/jabealsuhaimi
Ally Fekaiki is the Founder of Juno. Juno are redesigning the employee benefits and wellbeing space by helping companies to put the power in their employee’s hands. Using Juno workers can choose from a wide range of top tier benefits and design a benefits package that works for them.
In this episode we cover:
Want to listen to the full interview, click below:
Sam Lathey is the Co-Founder and CEO of Bippit.
To use Sam’s own words, he went from being a “complete financial screw up” to becoming a “trusted financial” advisor. On this journey Sam realised that most people have no or very limited knowledge and support when it comes to managing their finances.
Did you know that money is the number one cause of stress for 60% of people?
Sam explains that young people receive no financial education in school, most people start their professional careers in debt and later in life fall into troubling financial situations or are unable to afford key life events like buying a house or having a child.
Sam wanted to change this and give everyone access to the financial guidance they need, so he founded Bippit. Bippit work with employers to provide 1 on 1 financial coaching, helping people to better manage their money and plan for the future they want.
Highlights:
Our Host:
Craig Turner. Founder of Confido Talent, a business that helps Tech For Good startups to scale their product, design and engineering teams.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigturner7/ / www.confidotalent.com / craig@confidotalent.com
Our Guest:
Samuel Lathey, Co-Founder and CEO of Patchwork Health.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-lathey-41335455/ / https://bippit.com/
Our Sponsor:
Jobs For Good. The only job platform to find the best jobs in sustainability, impact and much more.
www.jobsforgood.io / https://bit.ly/3wjwJa0
Our Producer:
Jabriel Al-Suhaimi. Jabriel is a podcast aficionada, editing and producing podcasts for many, including himself.
https://www.jabrielalsuhaimi.com/ / https://twitter.com/jabealsuhaimi
Alex Stephany is the Founder and CEO of Beam. Beam is an award-winning Tech for Good start-up and crowdfunding platform that supports homeless people and refugees into stable jobs and homes.
In this episode we cover:
Want to listen to the full interview, click below:
Asad Hamir is the CEO and Founder of Klyk.
Growing up his family always focused on getting more out of less, alongside his dad who worked in IT, Asad grew up with a passion for tech and sustainability.
The idea of Klyk came to Asad when he was looking for a more sustainable solution for managing his IT for one of his other businesses. When he further explored the market and understood the impact electronic waste (e-waste) was having on the planet, he set out to provide a better solution.
Klyk is building a circular economy for IT where every last bit of value is extracted from devices and software whilst minimising their impact on the planet. Klyk reuses and resells refurbished tech devices, whilst also looking holistically at how businesses are sustainably managing their IT.
Asad chats about the scary impact of e-waste, becoming a serial entrepreneur, appearing on dragon’s den, his biggest failure and being a B Corp advocate.
Highlights:
Our Host:
Craig Turner. Founder of Confido Talent, a business that helps Tech For Good startups to scale their product, design and engineering teams.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigturner7/ / www.confidotalent.com / craig@confidotalent.com
Our Guest:
Asad Hamir, Founder and CEO of Klyk.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/asadhamir/ / https://helloklyk.com/
Our Sponsor:
Jobs For Good. The only job platform to find the best jobs in sustainability, impact and much more.
www.jobsforgood.io / https://bit.ly/3wjwJa0
Our Producer:
Jabriel Al-Suhaimi. Jabriel is a podcast aficionada, editing and producing podcasts for many, including himself.
https://www.jabrielalsuhaimi.com/ / https://twitter.com/jabealsuhaimi
Youssef Darwich is the Co-Founder and CEO of Nosso. Nosso bring your family's financial accounts into one secure app, making it easier than ever to track net worth and grow your savings as a household.
In this episode we cover:
Want to listen to the full interview, click below:
Somayeh Taheri is the Founder and CEO of UrbanChain.
Whilst working as a research scientist on climate change and fuel poverty, Somayeh discovered that the wholesale energy market was dated and broken, with wholesalers inflating prices by up to 5x which was stopping most people moving to renewable energy.
To fix this she founded UrbanChain, building a new peer to peer marketplace which was totally separate to the wholesale market. Here energy generators can sell directly to consumers, cutting out the middle party, so prices are fairer for everyone. Their clever tech helps buying and selling renewable energy to be as efficient and sustainable as possible, by matching parties based on their specific energy needs and location. This is just the beginning as Somayeh plans to expand her business into batteries, EV and smart chips.
If you’re interested renewable energy and how the energy market works, this is a must listen.
Highlights:
Our Host:
Craig Turner. Founder of Confido Talent, a business that helps Tech For Good startups to scale their product, design and engineering teams.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigturner7/ / www.confidotalent.com / craig@confidotalent.com
Our Guest:
Somayeh Taheri, Founder and CEO of UbranChain.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/somayehtaheri/ / https://www.urbanchain.co.uk/
Our Sponsor:
Jobs For Good. The only job platform to find the best jobs in sustainability, impact and much more.
www.jobsforgood.io / https://bit.ly/3wjwJa0
Our Producer:
Jabriel Al-Suhaimi. Jabriel is a podcast aficionada, editing and producing podcasts for many, including himself.
https://www.jabrielalsuhaimi.com/ / https://twitter.com/jabealsuhaimi
Sançar Sahin is the Co-Founder and CMO of Oliva. Oliva is the employee mental wellbeing platform for companies who want to help their people show up feeling their best—and do their best work.
In this episode we cover:
Want to listen to the full interview, click below:
Kameese Davis is the Founder of Nylah’s Naturals. Kam is a very inspiring individual on a personal mission to empower black people to love their hair and feel confident and happy in who they are.
When Kam’s daughter had severe eczema at an early age, Kam was shocked by the lack of products that were safe and suitable for afro hair. So she created Nylah’s Naturals that offers a range of hair products that are science backed, using the highest quality-plant based ingredients and tailored for those with textured hair.
Kam also does incredibly impactful charity work in the foster care system, educating and training carers on how to properly care for afro and textured hair.
Kam chats to me about the needs of those with textured hair, the impact poor hair care can have on black adults and children, building a consumer brand from the ground up, pitching on Dragon’s Den and her work with foster parents.
Highlights:
01.54: Who is Kam Davis?
05.08: The differences with textured vs other hair types
07.15: Why the beauty industry had failed those with afro hair
12.59: What needs to change in the beauty industry?
16.18: Nylah’s Naturals overview an the early days
24.56: Using ingredients as close to the natural source as possible
30.04: Funding and barriers to raising as a black, female Founder
37.12: Kam’s work in the foster care system, training carers on afro hair care
42.33: The Untangled Project and her book “My Hair Shrinks”
46.57: Battling her introversion and public speaking
Our Host:
Craig Turner. Founder of Confido Talent, a business that helps Tech For Good startups to scale their product, design and engineering teams.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigturner7/ / www.confidotalent.com / craig@confidotalent.com
Our Guest:
Kameese Davis, Founder of Nylah’s Naturals.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kameese-davis / https://www.nylahsnaturals.com/
Our Sponsor:
Jobs For Good. The only job platform to find the best jobs in sustainability, impact and much more.
www.jobsforgood.io / https://bit.ly/3wjwJa0
Our Producer:
Jabriel Al-Suhaimi. Jabriel is a podcast aficionada, editing and producing podcasts for many, including himself.
https://www.jabrielalsuhaimi.com/ / https://twitter.com/jabealsuhaimi
