Best iyas alqasem Podcasts (2024)

1
"I'm a missionary, not a mercenary" Freddie Fforde CEO of Patch 50:46

10M ago50:46

50:46

The rise in demand for local working spaces is very visible. It's unfortunate that the category was tarnished by WeWork founder Adam Neumann, whose fortune is dwarfed only by the lack of ethics displayed in building it. But it doesn't need to be so. An alternative would be to start to consciously build workspaces not only based on a pound per squar…

1
Not funding the Porsches and Divorces of the Senior Partners - Lindsay Healy founder of Aria Grace 1:00:10

11M ago1:00:10

1:00:10

A company that makes lawyers wealthier? On the Karmic Capitalist podcast? Have I sold out? Stay with me. This law company, Aria Grace, intentionally does the following: It offers a legal service on a par with the large law partnerships for less cost to its clients It pays the lawyers nearly treble the portion of the fees than in traditional firms I…

1
"Move Fast and Break Things" is a terrible way to be anti-racist - Jamey Harvey and Javaughn Spencer of Agilian 1:07:34

12M ago1:07:34

1:07:34

"Move Fast and Break Things" is a terrible way to be anti-racist. This Karmic Capitalist podcast episode is FULL of gold. I talk to Javaughn and Jamey, VP of culture and CEO respectively of Agilian.com, a technology consulting firm that has absolutely nailed anti-racism and diversity to its mast. When, to his enormous shame, Jamey was shown data th…

1
The agency that helps big companies be good, and good companies get bigger. Leo Rayman of EdenLabs 45:08

12M ago45:08

45:08

Helping big companies be good, and good companies get bigger. Not quite EdenLab's motto, but not far off it. In this episode of the Karmic Capitalist podcast, I talk to Leo Rayman, founder and CEO, about his journey from agencyland to EdenLab - accelerating positive and sustainable ideas and the people who come up with them. Leo's premise, and the …

1
"Products and businesses in harmony with the world shouldn't be niche" Tom Greenwood, MD Wholegrain Digital 39:15

1y ago39:15

39:15

A founder who doesn’t see himself as a salesman, targeting purpose-led companies that don't identify that way, to tackle a problem that people don't think exist. Recipe for success... And exactly what Tom Greenwood did with Wholegrain Digital, the company he founded and which, in sustainability stakes, was a way ahead of the curve. Tom's concern fo…

1
Helping people overcome the stigma of loneliness - Faisal Shaikh CEO MyBabble 43:49

1y ago43:49

43:49

Very few businesses have the level or resonance and commitment from founders more than those whose origins came from personal tragedy. MyBabble was born after founder Faisal Shaikh's father sadly left home and didn't return. It transpired later that unknown to anyone, his dad had been dealing with loneliness. Faisal is a trained and practising psyc…

1
"We correlate our income and impact at a structural level" Vinay Nair, CEO of Lightful 42:13

1y ago42:13

42:13

"How can we collectively increase the quantity and quality of giving to nonprofits, to charities, so that they can raise more awareness, raise more funds, deliver more impact in their communities?" If there's a question that defines Lightful's work, I think Vinay shares it in this. My guest on the Karmic Capitalist podcast this week is Vinay Nair, …

1
"We're helping people on a fundamental level to be more sustainable" Hussein Allawi, Founder the Sustainability Show 36:17

1y ago36:17

36:17

From the high-stakes financial environment of the now defunct Lehman Brothers ("buy-and-sell in its most aggressive manner") to putting on an exhibition of some of the most ethical and long-term thinking brands. That’s the varied journey which my guest, Hussein Allawi, has been on. He took plenty of lessons from those early days, days which he foun…

1
Georgie Delanie MBE: From chance meetings to 2000 gyms. The story of The Great Outdoor Gym Company 52:17

1+ y ago52:17

52:17

"If going to a TGO gym can help unlock your potential not only for your life, but for your community, for your planet, that's the end game." Georgie Delaney MBE isn't short on a big vision. But critically - she's also not short on taking action. It was wonderful to talk to her about setting up and growing The Great Outdoor Gym Company (TGO). From a…

1
The final judgement is "Does it Feel good?" - Alex Holliman, CEO of Climbing Trees 40:34

1+ y ago40:34

40:34

So you're running an ethical agency. A criminal organisation posing as a listed company - let's call them Belgian Australian Tobacco - approaches you. "We fund an 'anti-smoking education programme' along with some of our other friends. But the challenge is that it's not as easy to find us on the web as it is lung cancer charities. We need your help…

1
How to pivot and stay true to your company's purpose - Dr Thomas Fudge, CEO of Wase 35:16

1+ y ago35:16

35:16

This episode of the Karmic Capitalist tells the story of a company that stayed true to its mission while undergoing a substantial pivot, and a founder who left his own comfortable path in pursuit of his passion. For sanitation! Thomas Fudge was so incensed by our misuse and abuse of water that left his job in product design and marketing and went b…

1
From Chris Froome to wellness in your office - Phill Bell CEO of ART Health Solutions 46:07

1+ y ago46:07

46:07

From Chris Froome to wellness in your office. That's the journey that Phill Bell and Paul Smith undertook to co-founding ART Health, a company that helps employees and employers to improve workplace wellbeing using evidence-based techniques. It was fascinating to have Phill join me on this edition of the Karmic Capitalist podcast to share the story…

1
Building the pipeline for girls to flourish in business - Charly Young MBE, Founder of The Girls' Network 34:37

1+ y ago34:37

34:37

There’s a moral case for your company to give equal opportunities for your team regardless of gender (or background, or sexual orientation, or ethnicity, etc). And there’s a business-performance one in terms of the improved decision-making that results from cognitive diversity. But although we are without a doubt making progress, it can feel slow. …

1
The company that helps charities make a bigger impact - Rachael Murray, CEO of Making Impact Matter 46:31

1+ y ago46:31

46:31

Giving to charity is one of the easiest ways to do good. But have you ever wondered what impact your donation actually has? Enter my guest on the Karmic Capitalist podcast, Rachael Murray, founder of a company appropriately called Making Impact Matter (MiM). Making Impact Matter helps charities figure out how to measure impact. But doing the work h…

1
"We need to make it easier to do the right thing". Diversity in companies with Martin Mason, CEO of Unleashed 38:38

1+ y ago38:38

38:38

I remember in the early 90s being told to staple my photograph to any CVs I sent out applying for work. I'm no George Clooney, so I wondered why. I later found out it was so that people who only had my name to go on would see that I wasn't Pakistani! So offensive at so many levels. If I were Pakistani, why would that be a problem? What if I were a …

1
Fashion can be done ethically - Antonia Johnstone, CEO Sign of the Times 35:37

1+ y ago35:37

35:37

When it comes to sustainability and human rights, Fashion has earned a terrible reputation. And mostly for very good reason. But there are some shining examples who are showing what good can look like in the industry. One of these is pre-owned luxury fashion retailer Sign of the times. The original Chelsea shop was founded to media buzz in the 1970…

1
Doing good and having meaning is a far bigger focus than growing - Stephanie Fisher, Founder Hello Earth 32:32

1+ y ago32:32

32:32

You’ve just moved from one end of the planet to the other. You’re pregnant. And you want to be working. What do you do? It’s a sad indictment on how the workplace still treats pregnancy that for my guest on this #KarmicCapitalist podcast episode, starting a company seemed a more plausible route than finding employment. But start a company while pre…

1
Create wealth on Capitalist principles and distribute it on Marxist ones - Simon Biltcliffe, Webmart CEO 48:38

1+ y ago48:38

48:38

"Create wealth like a Capitalist, distribute it like a Marxist." Here's what that looks like... Simon Biltcliffe believes that Capitalism is a great way to create wealth, but is terrible at distributing it. And Marxism can't create wealth for toffee, but has great principles for distributing it. Adjust for externalities, and there you have the prin…

1
The organisation fixing a fundamental employment paradox in the UK - Matt Powell of Breaking Barriers 42:31

1+ y ago42:31

42:31

We have a bit of an employment paradox in the UK. As Matt Powell, the founder and CEO of Breaking Barriers, puts it "We have a government that is anti-immigration, and an economy that needs immigration to function at its capacity." That's the gap, the gap between refugees that have made it to the UK and the unfilled jobs in the UK, that Breaking Ba…

1
Bad news may sell. But it doesn't make things better. Seán Wood CEO of Positive News 44:21

2y ago44:21

44:21

What do you do if the prevailing business model is very clearly saying one thing, yet your values and what the world needs are in diametric opposition to this? That's the dilemma that faced my Karmic Capitalist guest on this week's podcast, Seán Wood CEO of Positive News. "Bad news sells". We hear this mantra because it's commercially true. But as …

1
Coffee and TV - growing a creative, human-focussed B Corp business 43:50

2y ago43:50

43:50

Like probably most people who start a business, Derek Moore founded Coffee and TV because he believed that there might be a better way to do things than how it was being done in the industry. Key for him was that there had to be a better model than pushing people to work harder for longer and for less. So Coffee and TV took an approach of doing bus…

1
Building a renewable energy company with fossil fuel skills - Karl Farrow CEO CeraPhi Energy 48:10

2y ago48:10

48:10

Karl Farrow was awarded a medal by the Mexican authorities for his role as a volunteer overseeing the safe destruction of buildings in the immediate aftermath of the Mexico City earthquake of 2017. What's that got to do with the company he founded and runs? Plenty, I think. I dive into this episode in his life, one that gave him more fulfilment tha…

1
Artistry and commercial reality collide to eliminate 93% carbon in this part of the film industry - Tom Henderson of Vectar Project 42:54

2y ago42:54

42:54

This episode of the Karmic Capitalist podcast is a real testament to the role of innovation in cutting our environmental footprint while creating a more profitable and attractive solution. The film production industry has a shocking track record in terms of its environmental impact. In order to create a top end 30 second advert, vast sets are produ…

1
Preparing the next generation of execs for business and impact - Tom Rippin CEO of On Purpose 46:08

2y ago46:08

46:08

For business to be better, we (i.e. humans) need to be better. The way most companies have been doing business in the last few decades has been having a glaringly detrimental impact on society and the environment. If we're to pull it back, we need to do it quickly. Tom Rippin is a systems thinker. In his view, the most effective place to start is w…

1
"Purpose-driven people are problem solvers and doers" - Ruth Hartnoll, CEO of Matchstick Creative 45:20

2y ago45:20

45:20

A fundamental principle if you want to do purpose well in your company is to look after your profit. Note that "look after" is not the same as "maximise". Ruth Hartnoll, co-founder and CEO of Matchstick Creative, has seen what that looks like up close! In this episode of the Karmic Capitalist podcast, she tells the (nearly) 5 year story of Matchsti…

1
How co-ordinating bananas leads to global climate change - Harriet Lamb CBE, CEO of Ashden 43:31

2y ago43:31

43:31

I have two firsts in this Karmic Capitalist episode. First, Harriet is the first CBE to deign to accept my humble invitation to be a guest on our podcast! Second, she is also the first guest who leads a charity to guest on this show. Why a charity on he Karmic Capitalist? What has that got to do with businesses? Simple. The challenges we're facing …

1
"Who knew that coffee grinds sticking to Teflon would be a thing?" George May, MD of bio-bean 38:55

2y ago38:55

38:55

How challenging has it been to get your company going? I think getting a new product to market has to be one of the more challenging businesses to get going. But what if... Your product is a new formulation and needs independent scientific validation for your customers to buy it? Or you need to experiment to find out how to manufacture it at all as…

1
Marketing has fuelled ill in the world. It can do better. Johnny Pawlik CEO of Mantra Media 41:50

2y ago41:50

41:50

Marketing has been responsible for sooo many of the ills we're suffering in today's world. Overconsumption is the biggie. Encapsulated in the perceptive statement that "we buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like". Personally, I think in many ways, marketing just amplifies what already exists in the human co…

1
As CEO, would you trust your team to set your pay? Henry Stewart, CEO of Happy Ltd 40:21

2y ago40:21

40:21

Trust - much aspired to within companies - starts at the top. The more you trust your team, the more of a trusting culture you will build. Henry Stewart, CEO of Happy Ltd, took that to a place very few would be willing to go. At pay review time for the company, he asked his team to decide what he should get. It's a logical conclusion if the whole e…

1
Would you sack your biggest client to keep your team happy? - Richard Clarke of Secret Source 43:17

2y ago43:17

43:17

Would you sack your biggest client if they were making your team unhappy? Create a BIG hole in your revenue and profit? Actually put some of your team at risk due to the financial hit? "We want our team to be happy". Pretty much every company says this at some level. And in the inimitable words of Greta Thurnberg, "blah blah blah". It usually is as…

1
Why we need rubbish data - Al Costa of Tekn Trash 33:20

2y ago33:20

33:20

Rubbish data gets such a bad rap. The reality is that it can be an essential part of how we get better at recycling. That's the thrust behind Tekn Trash, founded by Al Costa who is my guest on this episode of the Karmic Capitalist podcast (find it on most podcast players). Tekn Trash tracks "point of disposal" data - yes, rubbish data - which start…

1
"We take off 3% before we've even started" - Laura Hannan of Pitch121 36:08

2y ago36:08

36:08

Every so often, your company may donate to charity. And that's fantastic. But what if you committed to give 3% of your sales revenue come what may? Including if you were making a loss? Brave? Foolhardy? Or simply committed to do good? It might even make you think about your business differently. In this episode of the Karmic Capitalist, I speak to …

1
"You're not eating chocolate. You're eating sugar" - Nirali and Jag, founders of Superfoodio 35:38

2y ago35:38

35:38

Pleasure, people and planet. Tagline for a new line of eco-friendly 18-30 holidays? Not exactly. Pleasure, people and planet make up the driving mission behind Superfoodio, the wife-and-husband founded ethical plant-based treats company. And in this fun episode of the Karmic Capitalist, I talk to Jag and Nirali about their journey from South Americ…

1
Sustainability As A Service? For real? - Bernard Lebelle of My Green Link 48:49

2y ago48:49

48:49

You know you need to contribute to a more sustainable planet. But your business is no giant, and you don't have Unilever's budget to play with. Is your climate contribution going to stop at eliminating plastic straws from your kitchen? Your answer may be in Sustainability As A Service. What's an SME to do on helping the environment? Well, if Bernar…

1
Capitalism, Consumerism, Shamanism and Sado Masochism - Jarvis Smith of My Green Pod 40:01

2+ y ago40:01

40:01

"We've become addicted to convenience, and it's killing us". So how do you respond? Well if you're Katie Hill and Jarvis Smith, you launch a lifestyle site selling things. EH? EXCEPT - you make sure what you're selling is ethically produced and sustainable, and that your suppliers work with and not against nature. Because the reality is that we *do…

1
Scaling a data consultancy based on values - David Ellis 30:59

3y ago30:59

30:59

In a world where we (rightly) look for companies whose business it is to help us solve the climate and social crises we face, do you have a role if your company purpose isn't about these things? In this latest episode of the Karmic Capitalist podcast, I speak to David Ellis, Managing Director at Station 10, about the role of purpose and values in h…

1
"There may have been guns involved" - Greg Lavery's journey to founding a circular economy business 40:02

3y ago40:02

40:02

"If there was a moment that said something was wrong in this world to me..." With that opening, my ears perked up. Villagers forced off an island ("there may have been guns involved" !?!!?) to make way for a power station designed to last only for 7 years. I guess if you hear that violence and environmental damage are involved in a project you've b…

1
From the Dalai Lama to Experian - Isabel Kelly's road from campaigner to business change 39:21

3y ago39:21

39:21

What human impact does your business have? Isabel Kelly watched first hand how business influence was used to secure the release of political prisoners. That left her with a lasting impression of the power of business to positively impact human rights which she's taken with her in her business engagements with Profit with Purpose since. And what a …

1
Great companies don't prioritise size over mojo - chat with Small Giants author Bo Burlingham 58:47

3y ago58:47

58:47

Bo Burlingham's excellent book, "Small Giants", charts the stories of companies for whom being great is more important than being big. In each case, the founders or CEOs faced very real choices between following tried and tested growth paths or doing something different and keeping their mojo. Sometimes, that meant rejecting mouth-watering exits. B…

1
"Good" doesn't mean the same to all of us. So why are we trying to standardise it? - Charles Radclyffe 50:37

3y ago50:37

50:37

Much of the #ESG drive, especially in reporting, is to standardise what is good, what is ethical. Get to an index as definitive as sales or EBITDA for your environmental, social and governance impact. But does that make sense? Whose standards are the standard? Are anyone's standards entirely objective? This is a nuanced truth which Charles Radclyff…

1
How Repc is closing the digital divide while fighting waste - Bevil Williams 40:11

3y ago40:11

40:11

To succeed in addressing today's large challenges, we need collaboration between business, government, the third sector and society. But we also need it translated from big words into a difference in communities and for individuals on the ground. In this latest episode of the Karmic Capitalist, Repc Ltd's managing director, Bevil Williams, shows ho…

1
The Good that comes when your business model aligns perfectly with your purpose - Tumelo's Georgia Stewart 33:05

3y ago33:05

33:05

Stepping up to the global challenges we face today is going to need concerted action from us in all the various roles we play - as consumers, employees & bosses, voters & citizens, parents & role models. And, critically, as investors and business owners. To move big business in a more sustainable and equitable way, we will need to vote with our inv…

1
How business fits into History, Anthropology, Climate, Society and what to do about it! With Mark Maslin 40:57

3y ago40:57

40:57

"We have everything we need to fix things and make it better for everyone in the world. Perhaps not the billionaires." Can business leaders make a serious dent in climate change? Mark Maslin, UCL professor of Sustainability, company founder of Rezatec and author of "How to Save Our Planet - the Facts", believes that we can, that we should, and star…

1
How to make a profit AND donate 16% of your time to charity - Elaine Forth of Hyphen8 33:11

3y ago33:11

33:11

Purpose can be a real facilitator for growth and profitability. And in turn, growth increases your ability to make impact, while profitability allows the business to serve at a higher level. It's a wonderfully virtuous cycle when you get it right. A beautiful case study of this is Hyphen8, a Salesforce consultancy with a focus on thecharity and non…

1
"How do you drive the endless supply of money that is business into doing good?" - Neal Gandhi of The Panoply 37:03

3y ago37:03

37:03

This episode of #TheKarmicCapitalist podcast is so back-to-back full of real life, practical lessons that it was nigh-on impossible to fit it into our standard time limit. But that's no surprise. Neal Gandhi and his team have taken The Panoply from a standing start to a publicly listed, £1/4 of a billion company in less than 5 years. And done it by…

1
Tony's on a mission to bring power to Africa - Renewables in Africa 34:48

3y ago34:48

34:48

"We'd like to fully electrify Africa by 2040, with renewable energy at its core". That's the vision that Tony Tiyou had when he set up Renewables in Africa (RiA), his engineering, consulting and media organisation. The trigger was seeing a satellite image showing the distribution of power across the planet, and seeing that Africa, was mostly veiled…

1
Would you give your shares away? It's about more than karma - Chat with Ben Brabyn, CEO GenieShares 37:30

3y ago37:30

37:30

Ben Brabyn's had a fascinating career across multiple touchpoints with entrepreneurship. He's ... set up and sold his own company; represented entrepreneurs for global investment at the DTI; headed Level39, London's biggest fintech entrepreneurship hub; created a company to connect entrepreneurs to people who wouldn't typically inhabit that world. …

1
Jan Rippingale, CEO Blu Banyan - The woman aiming to remove half a billion tons of carbon per annum from the environment 39:33

3y ago39:33

39:33

Jan Rippingale's ambitions were never small. At an early age, Jan was looking first to be an astronaut, and then president. Ironically, working with John Glenn turned her ambitions away from this, and more towards using technology to create impact. Her chosen area of impact was our escalating carbon footprint. And her solution was to develop softwa…

1
"If you're giggling every time you say your values, probably time for a rethink" - Red Badger CEO, Cain Ullah 33:26

3y ago33:26

33:26

Red Badger is one of the UK's most successful digital transformation agencies. Founded by 3 friends coming out of Conchango, a successful previous generation agency, they decided they wanted to do things better. At the heart of that ambition was to do two simple things. First, deliver significant change and impact to clients, and second to be a nou…

1
Bill Gates wanted to stuff it to IBM (probably!) - Alphalake CEO Olly Cogan 34:26

3y ago34:26

34:26

As far as BHAGs go, Eliminating Global Healthcare Inequalities has got to be out there with the best. Though Alphalake being a British company, it's a little more modest. "To work towards global health equality." This is just the fourth part of a strong mission, which aside from being a key part of founder Olly Cogan's aspiration, has had the unint…

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