persistence Archives - Don't Stop Us Now

Tessa Clarke – The Difference One Person Can Make

November 1, 2021November 2, 2021
by Claire

We’re excited to be bringing you an inspiring and very relevant guest this week given world leaders have been meeting at COP26 in Glasgow for vital climate talks as this episode goes to air.

Tessa Clarke is Co-founder and CEO of the international food sharing and household goods app called OLIO. Her passion for sustainability and for creating simple ways to help all of us to take simple but powerful steps to help the environment is just what we need right now!

Tessa and her Co-founder (whom she met at Stanford doing her MBA) launched OLIO in 2015 and originally focused on food waste in the home, although now you can find new homes for all kinds of other items as well.

OLIO has just successfully closed a Series B fundraising round raising $43 million dollars from top tier VC firms who have described OLIO’s 5-fold growth in the past year as phenomenal. More than 5 million OLIO users in 53 countries are now reducing not only food waste but also preventing more than 3 million household goods going to landfill as well.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How Tessa wished she’d made the time earlier in her career to stop and really reflect about what she was passionate about doing in her career
How Tessa came up with the idea for OLIO;
Her four tips for female founders raising funds;
How food waste globally results in greenhouse gas emissions that would make it the 3rd largest country in emission terms in the world.
And last but not least, Tessa shares how western householders make up for HALF of all that food waste.

So dear fellow citizen of Planet Earth, please make haste and devour this episode with the determined and passionate Tessa Clarke. Enjoy!

Useful Links

OLIO website

OLIO in the App store – Google & Apple

Dana Kanze TED Talk on the real reason female founders get less funding

Interview

Taylor White – The Art of Creating

July 6, 2021August 10, 2021
by Claire

This week we feature the first ever visual artist on the show when we talk with the entrepreneurial and talented American artist, Taylor White.

Taylor has worked around the world creating incredible street murals and fine art. You may have seen her work in Melbourne, Oslo, Berlin, LA, Miami, and her hometown of Raleigh in North Carolina.

Taylor spent a lot of last year driven by the goal to create and produce her own solo exhibition (The Pursuit of Happiness) inspired by her observations of life in the time of Covid. As you’ll hear, producing your own exhibition is no small undertaking.

Being a professional artist is a tough gig – a recent study showed that only 17% of artists make most of their income from their actual art practise. So Taylor’s experiences make this all the more interesting.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How Taylor creates large scale street murals
Her advice for anyone who wants to be more creative
Why focusing on what you can control is so important
And, why she believes almost anything is possible today.

So don’t miss this great conversation with the thoughtful and creative Taylor White.

Useful Links

Taylor’s Instagram – @taylurk

Taylor’s website

Taylor’s Exhibition – The Pursuit of Happiness – go see it or buy her artwork

Shaun Hussack – Melbourne street artist agency – Juddy Roller

Silo Trail in Australia (very cool murals in regional areas)

Future Proof Me Mini Episode

Future Proof Me – What Great Ideas Need

June 30, 2021June 30, 2021
by Claire

This week’s Future Proof mini episode is all about what it takes to get a big idea signed off.

We’re excited to share very wise advice from senior Microsoft exec, Mitra Azizirad, who heads up their AI and Innovation division. Mitra speaks about what you should do when that fantastic idea or innovation you have gets knocked back. (Hands up who knows that feeling!)

Mitra is someone who’s had plenty of practise selling-in new ideas and approaches, and one of her top pieces of advice from our conversation was all about how you should react to being told “no” when you pitch an idea in a big corporate.

It’s important advice and we’re excited to revisit this with you here. Enjoy!

Useful Links

Mitra’s Full Interview with us – Mitra Azizirad – How Resilience and Persistence Can Make All The Difference

Mitra on LinkedIn – see her speeches here too! Well worth a watch!

Microsoft Innovation – Mitra’s team

Microsoft AI – also Mitra’s team

Mcirosoft’s AI Business School – Free Course

Future Proof Me Mini Episode

Future Proof Me – Advice on Starting your Idea

September 29, 2020
by Claire

This week’s Future Proof Me mini episode shares some great advice if you’re contemplating starting your own business or side hustle.

We were so inspired by social enterprise founder Navyn Salem when we had her on the show a year or so ago. She told us how, when she had the idea to set up a social enterprise to tackle malnutrition in children in developing countries, everyone told her it couldn’t be done.

She decided she would prove the naysayers wrong and, today, her organisation Edesia has made an incredible impact and transformed 12 million children’s lives in 54 countries.

In this mini episode, Navyn shares advice about how to get started and how to approach the many problems any founder is sure to encounter.

Navyn really is the ‘real deal’ and if you like this mini episode be sure to listen back to our full conversation with her here.

Useful Links:

Edesia Website

Navyn on Instagram

Link to the full ‘Don’t Stop Us Now!’ episode with Navyn Salem

Interview

Mitra Azizirad – How Resilience and Persistence Can Make…

June 16, 2020June 17, 2020
by Claire

This week’s episode features a trailblazing woman in tech who’s had an extraordinary 28 year career at Microsoft.

Mitra Azizirad is Corporate Vice President of AI and Innovation Marketing at Microsoft based in Seattle.

As you’ll discover, Mitra’s heard it all, including a senior Defence executive telling her he had shoes older than she was! This indomitable woman has also got used to hearing plenty of ‘No’s’ at work but has repeatedly found ways to prove the naysayers wrong.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How it’s almost an accident Mitra got into tech in the first place, given she studied and wanted to work in International Relations
What it was like being Chief of Staff to the CEO of Microsoft and why she turned the job down several times in the first place
Why she’s never taken anyone’s advice
And the secrets of innovation she’s learnt from working on the cutting edge of technology.

We spoke with Mitra in Seattle during the coronavirus shutdown but before the Black Lives Matter protests.

Without further ado enjoy this episode with the forward thinking and very persistent Mitra Azizirad.

Links of interest

Mitra on LinkedIn – see her speeches here too! Well worth a look!

Microsoft Innovation – Mitra’s team

Microsoft AI – also Mitra’s team

Microsoft’s AI Business School – Free Course