The Beautiful Business Podcast - Powered by The Wow Company Beautiful Business - Powered by The Wow Company

In this episode of the Beautiful Business Podcast, host Yiuwin Tsang and guest, Gavin Willis, Founder of Search Seven, discuss the intricacies and benefits of balancing profit with purpose in business, particularly through charity partnerships and fundraising. Gavin shares insights and experiences from his journey, offering valuable perspectives on integrating social impact into a business model.

Gavin discusses the evolution of the company's charity initiatives, moving from a profit-based approach to dedicating a minimum percentage of profits to charitable causes. He touches upon the practical aspects of managing events and communities within a marketing agency, including the significance of passion, commitment, and structure in driving social impact initiatives. He shares success stories from past charity events, illustrating how such activities not only contribute to valuable causes but also foster a sense of purpose and unity among team members.

Listen to the episode now to learn more about:

-How to integrate charity partnerships and fundraising efforts strategically into your business model
-How to achieve a balance between profitability and social impact
-How to gain a genuine commitment to social impact from within your organisation
-How to foster team engagement in a remote-first environment through charity initiatives
-How prioritising CSR and charitable work can help attract clients aligned with your values, and foster long-term client retention.

About Gavin Willis

Gavin set up Search Seven in 2011 with a real passion for disrupting traditional search and client services. Gavin sees the company as a vehicle to make a difference, with a vision of giving back at least 7% of profits to charities and community projects every year.

Search Seven specialise in Paid Media and data driven SEO and work with clients and agencies throughout the UK, Europe and Globally to understand their business objectives and put together great search strategies that successfully engage with their target audience on the right channels, and with the right messaging, that leads to great results.

In this podcast episode, Ritam Gandhi, the founder of Studio Graphene, a digital product agency with a unique hybrid model of in-house and outsourced teams, shares his decade-long journey of growing an international agency. The discussion covers various aspects of entrepreneurship, leadership, and team building. 

Hosted by Yiuwin Tsang, the episode provides valuable insights into the process of building and scaling an international agency and how you might go about navigating challenges and fostering a culture of innovation and excellence.

Listen to the episode now to learn more about: 


 - The importance of alignment, passion, and face-to-face interactions in a global work environment
 - The significance of human connection in fostering creativity and building effective working relationships
 - Why making leaders available for impromptu conversations is crucial for maintaining a sense of togetherness and empathy among team members
 - How to build a leadership team and trust others to handle tasks
 - The importance of hiring for attitude and alignment with company values over skill set
 - The importance of creating a sense of belonging among team members across different locations

About Ritam Gandhi

For a decade, Ritam worked as a consultant for the likes of Accenture and Bank of America and Merrill Lynch before, in 2014, going on to found Studio Graphene – an agency that specialises in developing blank canvas tech products. 

Working with many startups alongside some more established companies, the London-based agency plans, designs and builds amazing tech products for its clients. What’s more, Ritam and the team also use their experience and expertise to help leaders grow their businesses.

In our second podcast episode with Stephen Moffitt from We Are Atmosphere,  we look at how to create visionary leadership amidst global uncertainty. Our host, Yiuwin Tsang, and Stephen talk about the critical skills of leaders which include being able to adapt to uncertainty and guide senior teams through the process of envisioning the future and embracing any necessary personal changes. 

Stephen emphasises the delicate balance between visionary and relational leadership during times of change, stressing the significance of shared vision and collaboration among senior leadership teams. Furthermore, he explores the importance of incorporating generational perspectives into business leadership, advocating for the involvement of younger generations in shaping the future of work. 

Listen to this podcast to learn more about:

- The leadership mindset and adapting to uncertainty with a clear vision
- How to create open and adaptive business models
- How to balance visionary and relational leadership
- Why future scenarios and generational perspectives in business leadership are so important
- Why leaders should develop humility and curiosity to effectively navigate change
- Why leaders should prioritise building rapport and gaining insights by talking to people around them



About Stephen Moffitt

Stephen describes himself as an "intrapreneur" and strategic advisor working with companies pivoting toward delivering digital or data products and services. He has experience in starting new digital ventures for both private and public sector organisations across a range of industries, including healthcare, financial services, media and publishing. He also consults on digital transformation strategies to create adaptive businesses that can thrive in uncertainty.

Stephen has a BA in communications from Temple University and a PhD in Law from Birkbeck, where his research was on developing a paradigmatic framework to analyse the disruptions taking place in copyright law. In addition to his academic publications, he has published articles on transformation and data, as well as given talks in North America, Europe and the Caribbean. He is also a published poet and author and his science fiction novel, Sea of Dreams, imagined a future Data Age.

On the podcast this week we bring you the second part of our conversation with Dene Stuart, founder of The Exceptional Leader Academy. Hosted by Yiuwin Tsang, this episode looks at how learning to lead before leading others is essential because it lays the foundation for effective leadership. Leadership involves guiding and inspiring others, which requires a deep understanding of oneself, including strengths, weaknesses, values, and goals.

Leading oneself first enables leaders to set a positive example, make sound decisions, and effectively navigate challenges, ultimately earning the trust and respect necessary to lead others successfully.

Dene’s career and experiences make for fascinating and insightful listening. Tune in now to learn more about:

- Leadership development and effective decision-making
- Managing pressure in leadership roles
- Effective communication and leadership
- Leadership skills and delegation for business growth
- Intentional leadership development


About Dene Stuart

Dene Stuart has over 30 years of commercial, leadership, and management experience, having held director roles within major national and regional media companies.

Managing large teams in multi-site offices gave Dene the broadest possible range of employment, team, motivational, and performance issues to deal with and was the key to his interest in personal development and performance. 

Dene is a licensed behavioural analyst and has a BSc in Management Science from The University of Manchester, Institute of Science and Technology. He is the author of various books including ResourcefulMe and The Thinking Revolution.

In this week's podcast, join Yiuwin Tsang and Ritam Gandhi, founder of Studio Graphene,  in this enlightening conversation that unravels the layers of B Corp certification, sustainability in digital product development, and the pivotal role they play in shaping the culture of a global agency. 

Listen to this episode to learn more about:

- B Corp certification and its impact on a global agency's culture
- B Corp certification and sustainability in digital product development
- The motivation for pursuing B Corp certification as a force for good 
- The certification journey and the added complexity of being an international business with multiple locations
- How the process has refined their mission and values through external validation, leading to clearer definition and alignment
- How the leadership team's education and openness on sustainability issues has driven employee passion and alignment
- How to drive business growth through sustainability and purpose

About Ritam Gandhi

For a decade, Ritam worked as a consultant for the likes of Accenture and Bank of America and Merrill Lynch before, in 2014, going on to found Studio Graphene – an agency that specialises in developing blank canvas tech products. 

Working with many startups alongside some more established companies, the London-based agency plans, designs and builds amazing tech products for its clients. What’s more, Ritam and the team also use their experience and expertise to help leaders grow their businesses.

In this week’s podcast host Yiuwin Tsang talks to Stephen Moffitt from We Are Atmosphere about building adaptable businesses, overcoming fear of change, and the practical steps you need to take for success.

They discuss the great shift happening in society, driven by technological, climate, economic, and geopolitical changes and how Stephen believes this shift will lead to a very different future than the present, with unpredictable outcomes and challenges for businesses and society as a whole.

This is a wide-ranging episode that covers:


The long-term impacts of climate change and migration on businessesThe future of online advertising and privacy concernsAdapting business strategies for an uncertain futureOvercoming fear of change in business - the importance of being creative, communicating better and being explicit about what businesses are doing in response to change
About Stephen Moffitt

Stephen describes himself as an "intrapreneur" and strategic advisor working with companies pivoting toward delivering digital or data products and services. He has experience in starting new digital ventures for both private and public sector organisations across a range of industries, including healthcare, financial services, media and publishing. He also consults on digital transformation strategies to create adaptive businesses that can thrive in uncertainty.

Stephen has a BA in communications from Temple University and a PhD in Law from Birkbeck, where his research was on developing a paradigmatic framework to analyse the disruptions taking place in copyright law. In addition to his academic publications, he has published articles on transformation and data, as well as given talks in North America, Europe and the Caribbean. He is also a published poet and author and his science fiction novel, Sea of Dreams, imagined a future Data Age.