“At the heart of empowerment is really just knowing that your voice matters and believing that you can actually impact the future.” – Tom Dawkins, Co-Founder and CEO of StartSomeGood
“At the heart of empowerment is really just knowing that your voice matters and believing that you can actually impact the future.” – Tom Dawkins, Co-Founder and CEO of StartSomeGoodClick To TweetOur first-ever podcast guest is with one of those excitable, go-getter types who talks so fast he doesn’t give you much room to interrupt, has high-energy that is infectious and leaves you feeling confident that you can transform the world.
He is a changemaker, a serial entrepreneur and an optimist.
His name is Tom Dawkins and he is the co-Founder and CEO of StartSomeGood, a Sydney-based innovation agency who run StartSomeGood.com, a global crowdfunding platform for social enterprises, non-profits and community projects with the highest project success rate in the industry.
Previously, he was the founder of Australian youth non-profit Vibewire, the first Social Media Director at Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, an international non-profit organisation that promotes social entrepreneurship and shapes a “global, entrepreneurial, competitive citizen sector” and the founding Director of the Australian Changemakers Festival.
Tom can’t seem to sit still. He has organised dance parties and film festivals, youth journalism projects and new media conferences, co-working spaces and Burning Man theme camps. Tom has also supported numerous nonprofits, governments and arts organisations to build community using technology and culture. He and his team at StartSomeGood have been recognised with awards and fellowships from the UN World Summit Youth Awards, The International Youth Foundation, Nexus Australia, the Social Enterprise Awards and the Australia & New Zealand Internet Awards, and have worked with organisations like the Foundation for Young Australians, Ian Potter Foundation, Jimmy Little Foundation, National Geographic Films amongst many others.
StartSomeGood.com have helped social entrepreneurs around the world successfully raise more than US $8.7 million to fund 870 projects. During our hour-long conversation, Tom offers up some important lessons for social entrepreneurs and how to launch a successful crowdfunding campaign.
If you’re itching to start some good and have an idea that you think will help to change the world, you can’t miss this episode. Tom squeezes in lots of wisdom and advice, gained from years in social entrepreneurship and leading big teams, and his lessons will help to fast-track your entrepreneurial journey.
Make sure to grab a pen and paper, and be ready to hit the pause button every now and then as Tom shares his lessons quickly!
Enjoy!
If you loved this episode, make sure to tune in to our introductory episode where founding editor Jennifer Nini shares why she launched the podcast, provides a background and context to why she started EWP and what she hopes to achieve with the podcast. You can access that podcast show here.
Show Notes
Connect with Tom Dawkins
Discussion points and what you will learn in this episode
- The definition of a social enterprise – what it is and what it isn’t
- Why social media is instrumental in communicating your social cause
- Why most crowdfunding campaigns fail
- How to successfully launch a crowdfunding campaign
- Why StartSomeGood has the highest success rate in the crowdfunding industry
- Why not all positive social impacts can be measured
- Why the goal isn’t to teach a man to fish, it’s restructuring the entire fishing industry
- Why Australia has the highest number of B-Corp organisations per capita
- How entrepreneurs can maintain optimism and avoid burnout
- The social entrepreneurs who inspre him
- Why interested individuals and social entrepreneurs should register for the Social Enterprise Virtual Summit
…and so much more!
People and organisations mentioned
- Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank and the pioneer of the microcredit concept
- B-Corp a certification for sustainably-minded businesses that are doing good
- CERES Community Environment Park, a non-profit sustainability centre in Brunswick, Melbourne
- Who Gives A Crap eco-friendly toilet paper
- Charles Best, founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.Org
- Scott Harrison, founder and CEO of charity: water
- Aimee Marks, founder of TOM Organics
- Bec Scott, co-founder of STREAT
- Jan Owen, CEO of Foundation for Young Australians
Enjoyed this episode?
Feel free to share what resonated with you, your favourite quotes and key takeaways by leaving a comment below.
Love our work? Want us to keep delivering you more content that matters?
Please consider donating to our Patreon account here.
Thanks to Ben McGuire for sound engineering and technical help. Theme music by Otis McDonald.
