What makes a good mentorship relationship and a viable business?
Looking at the Ecoswap founding team (Antony and Paul) and Trewin, their mentor, the answers are clear:
Passion, trust and dedication.
The Ecoswap founders strongly believe in what they’re doing. Their gift card allows people to buy from a range of ethical and sustainable brands that are B-Corp (or equivalent) accredited. People can now enjoy shopping without costing the planet! Paul and Antony have been on this journey together for over a year, and 9 months ago their MVP went live! Check it out.
Their mentor, Trewin, has been working in sustainability for a long time. He founded three different successful businesses around supporting people in their journey in becoming more sustainable:
- Sizzle Innovation: a start-up creating a space where daring and bold organisations can explore fresh solutions that tackle environmental and social challenges.
- Hubbub: a fresh approach to communicating environmental issues, focusing on fashion, food, homes and sport.
- Global Action Plan: an environmental charity running programmes with businesses, schools and communities in areas such as climate change, environment and sustainability.
But how does it all start? The dedication, passion and drive to start a business.
Ecoswap started taking shape after the Australian bushfires in 2019/2020. This catastrophe opened Anthony’s and Paul’s eyes on how much we all need to focus on sustainability.
For Trewin it started all while he was working for Friends of the Earth, a charity focused on climate change. The exposure to the scope of the challenge galvanized him into action so he set up different businesses tackling different sides of the problem.
If you spend just 30 minutes together with Trewin, Paul and Antony it is clear how they trust and respect each other – complimenting each other but being but realistic about what they are doing.
And that’s one of the things that Trewin appreciates as a mentor. Paul and Antony really understand the boundaries of what they can do as a business. They are realistic in their asks, but they are also constantly pushing those boundaries forward thanks to their dedication.
On the other hand, through mentoring Antony and Paul have been able to learn from a leading expert in their fields and gain from his knowledge and connections, which has supported them in creating the product we all get to use today.
Antony, Paul and Trewin have been business owners for a long time and luckily for us they are ready to share some tips on starting your business journey.
From Antony we learn to always look at the climate of the market before setting up a business, as that will influence what type of structure and support you’ll be able to get.
Paul and Trewin both recommend starting something because you are deeply passionate about it.
Building on that. Trewin said ‘people invest in people’. If you’re committed to the cause of your business, people will see that and will buy into that and support you. Your passion is a key driver in why people invest in you.
And, Trewin adds, always remember to look after yourself.
Throughout their business journey Paul, Antony and Trewin have experienced a series of ups and downs.
For the Ecoswap team there are two main downs: the constant financial pressure to create something viable and the time constraints. Paul jokes that he is ‘[…] almost undatable’ because after work he has about 4 hours of free time a week!
On a more positive note, the Ecoswap team has had a lot of ups recently! They launched their product and the interest is only rising! Lately they have been accumulating a lot of wins, from building brand partnerships and selling gift cards to winning the best early-stage start-up at Foundervine's pitch event.
For Trewin the most important ‘ups’ in his businesses have always been knowing that you’re creating an impact in someone’s life.
Before they leave they want us to know that entrepreneurship is rewarding and so much economic and social progress comes out of it.
If you want to start a business, do it.
Until next time.
B.
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