Why our toilet paper gives me hope.
I badly need some right now.
At the start of this year I had the privilege of joining the Inspire9 team as one of their community managers. Over the past four years, this place and group of folks have played an invaluable part of my personal journey from jaded masters student to excited community catalyst for new startup ventures.
It is at the heart of a culture I stumbled into like Alice down the rabbit hole. Much like her, I’ve found guides, mentors and peers in the most fascinating (and sometimes irreverent) of characters.
Not everyone here has their own startup or even wants to. The cohesive factor is that we are all people who want to work on things we care about, surrounded by people who lift us up each day. With all the talk of the ‘future of work’ and what jobs of the future will look like, I don’t see nearly enough conversation around the intangible elements of culture.
That being said, I think one of the most important tangible elements to represent our culture is our toilet paper! Yup, you read that right: TP, loo roll, bum paper! Hear me out.
Warning… this part is a bit personal. Last week my depression and anxiety spiraled out of control surrounding my personal immigration status. It’s looking very bleak and boils down to the fact that I’ve focused my time and energy on building community capacity outside myself rather than taking a corporate job. On some level I know I wouldn’t do anything differently even if I was able to do it all over again. It still hurts to know that despite living and working here for 5 years, paying taxes and even helping raise significant sums of money for Australian tech startups; I’m the bad kind of immigrant — on paper.
Speaking of paper… I swear this will all come around. I’ve abstained from a tidy corporate job because I was put on this earth to make a positive impact before I depart. There is too much destruction in the name of profits. One of the most important things I’ve learned from my two degrees and decade of wandering this world is the old school mentality of CSR as corporate indulgences won’t cut it anymore. You can’t dump poison into the river to turn a buck quicker then give a tiny portion of your profits to waterways charities. We have to figure out how to create and grow businesses that create value for some without irreparably damaging others in the process. Crazy, I know.
One of the company’s we proudly get to call community members is Who Gives a Crap. They are the living embodiment of a great net-positive company. If you don’t already know of them, they are an Australian-based social enterprise which sells ethically made (beautifully package designed) toilet paper with the aim to change consumption patterns and raise funds for sanitation projects in developing countries globally. Their products are all forest friendly, meaning they’re either made from post consumer recycled paper or bamboo, they strive to have as beneficial a supply chain as possible for the communities they impact and their products are beautiful and high-quality. And oh yeah, half of their profits go to improve sanitation infrastructure in developing nation communities. What’s not to love!
One of the lovely people I get to see a few times a week is Phil from the Who Gives a Crap team. Phil is the business development manager for Who Gives a Crap or Paper Pusher* as he refers to himself on Linkedin! I’ve loved the company, mission and execution style since I first learned about it. It’s even better a company than I perceived from the outside as I’ve grown to know more about them as community members. Their products don’t just decorate our dunnies and keep our tender bits in order, their team are a joy to have in the space as they can help other budding companies plan for a net-positive business model, supply chain and impact path.**
They are just one example of the types of businesses we are proud to call residents. Not everyone is trying to save the world one toilet at a time, but they are all trying to do better than what’s out there. They are also doing business for good and for positive social impact.
Why go to the trouble of starting a company that’s just like everything else on the market? The funny thing about innovation is, much like raising a child, it takes a village. We are that village. Bring us your idealist, your dreamers, your change makers.
I’d rather spend my next few years in this country supporting social impact companies like Who Gives a Crap. Connecting smart folks who can create heaps more beneficial companies is more important to me than sitting in a cubicle somewhere adding fractions of a cent per day to shareholder value.
Maybe the problem with defining value in the political and professional realms is we think it all comes down to Gross Domestic Product when we should be thinking about Net Domestic Impact. Sure, measured against GDP metrics I’m not worth enough as an individual in the government’s eyes to keep. But measured as a factor of the thriving community I happily devote myself to daily, we have and will keep raising the bar on what NDI can and should look like. Even if the government doesn’t recognise that as valuable, the power of a healthy community is that it’s not about a single place or language or currency. Parts of the Inspire9 community vibes are all over the world, I’ll just have to find those pieces to pick up and run with.
If you want to meet this crazy, awesome community that builds businesses and support each other along the way, come in for a free week with us! I’m on a personal mission to help as many brilliant businesses as possible before the end of 2020.
Social Change Central are one other way to get involved in this impact business space. Social Change Central connects changemakers to the best collection of social enterprise opportunities across the world. It’s Australia’s premier portal for social impact opportunities. From funding to programs, awards, competitions and more, Social Change Central is a comprehensive one-stop-hub providing members with the most up-to-date social enterprise opportunities both within Australia and internationally. As a special offer for the Inspire9 extended community, our friends at Social Change Central have kindly given us 20% off the annual Premium Membership to Social Change Central.
Simply use the code: INSPIRE9 to receive 20% off annual Premium Membership to Social Change Central
Thanks for making it to the end of this oddy titled piece. I’d love you to chime in with your experience on purpose, belonging, community and business in the comments section.
**If you’re keen to give Who Gives a Crap a try you can use discount code I9GIVESACRAP for 10% off your first order.
