Founders For Good – Details, episodes & analysis

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:

• 03.23: The harsh reality of food poverty in the UK
• 07.15: Things are only going to get worse and less food is being donated
• 10.53: The food bank system, how it all works
• 17.08: The story of Bankuet
• 31.26: The power of technology to solve social issues 
• 39.53: Build brand awareness and attracting donations
• 43.31: Bankuet is for profit, building a scalable impact business model
• 49.06: Internal operations, managing volunteers and part time staff remotely around the UK
• 55.33: The future plans for Bankuet
• 59.22: Meeting King Charles

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:

• 02.00: Travel and transport make up 20% of global emissions
• 05.06: Changing consumer behaviour to minimise the impact 
• 10.39: The pressures on businesses to change
• 14.33: Transitioning to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in the future
• 17.34: Squake overview
• 23.46: Emission calculation, regulations and frameworks 
• 26.42: Helping consumers minimise their impact
• 33.30: Raising their Seed round, the good and the bad 
• 37.11: The hardest part of the Founder’s role
• 42.31: Early stage and engineer hiring advice 

 
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 

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:

• What is gynaecological health
• Challenges with diagnosis and treatment
• Why the current system is failing people
• What needs to change – government, NHS, employers?
• Syrona Health and their approach 

Want to listen to the full interview, click below:

• https://www.foundersforgood.io/episodes/anya-roy-syrona-health-building-the-future-of-women-s-health

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:

• The problem Ally spotted which led him to creating Juno
• The “traditional” approach to benefits packages
• Why are companies focusing more now on employee wellbeing
• How Juno are solving this problem 

Want to listen to the full interview, click below:

• https://www.foundersforgood.io/episodes/ally-fekaiki-juno-fixing-employee-benefits-by-giving-the-flexibility-and-choice-to-employees 

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:

• 00.34: Sam’s mixed relationship with money
• 04.37: The average person’s financial knowledge in the UK today
• 06.42: Common financial problems that people face
• 12.34: What needs to change to improve everyone’s financial wellbeing
• 15.00: The role of the employer and why they should be providing financial coaching
• 17.50: Bippit overview and how it works for a user 
• 24.46: Bippit financial coach selection and matching 
• 29.35: Challenging your assumptions and user testing
• 34.36: Communicating the ROI on a B2B2C product
• 45.26: Sam’s views on employee wellbeing and how to hire great people 

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:

• The story of Beam and how it came to be
• Their unique crowdfunding model, partnering with government and charities 
• The state of homelessness in the UK

Want to listen to the full interview, click below:

• https://www.foundersforgood.io/episodes/alex-stephany-beam-creating-a-long-term-scalable-solution-to-homelessness 

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:

• 02.12: The influences that shaped Asad’s focus on tech and sustainability
• 08.00: The extent of the e-waste (electronic waste) problem
• 15.39: How easy is it to recycle devices?
• 18.13: Klyk overview
• 23.35: Validating the business model in 2 days
• 30.12: The environmental impact of software
• 36.25: Asad’s other business ventures
• 39.13: Asad’s biggest failure, losing £4 million in personal wealth
• 41.50: His Dragon’s Den experience
• 47.01 Advocating for B Corp

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:

• How do most families typically save for their children’s future
• Making your money work smarter for you
• Financial literacy in the UK
• Saving vs investing 
• How Nosso approaching investing for your kid’s future 

Want to listen to the full interview, click below:

• https://www.foundersforgood.io/episodes/youssef-darwich-nosso-helping-families-build-a-better-world-and-better-future-for-their-children 

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:

• 02.04: Somayeh’s shocking discovery of the UK energy market 
• 07.06: Price inflation in the wholesale energy market 
• 13.47: What is true “green energy”?
• 17.06: The changes needed to shift to renewable energy 
• 20.44: UrbanChain overview
• 30.56: The focus on creating local energy markets
• 39.57: Moving into EV’s, batteries and intelligent chips
• 45.23: Somayeh’s proudest moments
• 52.02: Focusing on indirect employment

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