If working remotely this past year has taught me anything, it’s the importance of diversifying your workspace. 

More recently, I’ve been thinking about sound – do I like listening to music or is it just to drown out the dreaded upstairs neighbours? Is a quiet, focused environment better for ‘Deep Work’? Can you ever achieve true silence in London’s Zone 2?

All valid points,  however my key learning is about the beauty of podcasts and how a little background noise, providing knowledgeable commentary on relevant topics, can be really really helpful. 

We’ve put together 5 of our favourite podcasts from the last 12 months or so that provide a fantastic context for all things social investment…. 

A Changing World: Faith Johnson, Founder of Caramel Rock

Cast your mind back to the summer of 2020, as charities and social enterprises were forced to flex and adapt their operations in the context of the pandemic. We met with founders to discuss how they were coping: enter the #AChangingWorld podcast series.

 In one episode, we met with Faith Johnson, Founder of Caramel Rock, a social enterprise which aims to provide education and training to disadvantaged young people and adults to equip them with the skills they need to find employment within the fashion industry. 

We explored the importance of lived experience alongside how Faith valued inexperience when she turned her idea into a reality;

‘It played to my advantage a lot of the not knowing, because I just thrived on ambition and drive to create change.’  

25 minutes – listen now or read the case study to find out more.  

The Social Investment Experience: Rebecca White, CEO of Your Own Place 

Your Own Place facilitates a diverse range of face to face and digital services to prevent homelessness for the communities they serve. 

In this podcast, we caught up with CEO, Rebecca White, to explore her experiences of taking on social investment from Sumerian Partners, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

 Learn all about the patient equity investment deal they secured and how this enabled them to scale up activity and employ a new member of the team. 

An insightful, accurate account of what the social investment process is really like. 

19 minutes – listen now or read the case study to find out more. 

Hear from a Peer: Louise Hale, CEO at Outside the Box

We host a series of events called Let’s Talk Good Finance, where we invite those who have taken social investment onto a panel – known as ‘Hear from a Peer’ – so that they can share their warts’n’all journey of accessing repayable finance. 

In this podcast, we hear from Louise Hale, CEO of Ilkley Community Enterprise, to explore how they overcame a competitive marketplace harnessing the power of social investment to support the charity, the people they work with and the community they serve. 

A brilliant example of how an organisation can use social investment to purchase a building, Louise talks honestly and openly about her journey – it’s a must-listen!

 24 minutes – Listen now or read the case study to find out more. 

Amplifying Voices: Ali Alzein, Founder of Bees and Refugees

Bees and Refugees is a London-based social enterprise founded by Ali Alzein in 2020. They aim to provide technical and logistical support for refugees by supplying a starter beekeeping kit including a hive – as well as space for their hives – which in turn helps the UK’s native black bee to flourish after near extinction.

After experiencing the mental health benefits of beekeeping first-hand, Ali decided to use this as a means of supporting others who have faced similar lived experiences. 

Good Finance’s Project Manager, Ishita Ranjan, caught up with Ali – and his business mentor Amir Rizwan – to discuss his experiences as a social entrepreneur thus far and what’s next for Bees and Refugees. 

36 minutes – Listen now. 

Hear From a Peer: Housing – Lisa Hilder, Trustee at Preston Women’s Centre and Theo Brown, Operations Manager at Rene House CIC

This podcast is for charities, social enterprises and community businesses working across the housing sector who would like to learn more about how social investment could be a useful financial tool.

We were delighted to host Lisa and Theo as part of our Hear from a Peer panel, both of whom have navigated the world of social investment to purchase properties and create safe homes and spaces for people across their local communities. 

Listen to their stories to gain a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges that were presented when securing social investment in this space.

 25 minutes - Listen now, read the Rene House CIC case study or find out more about the work of Preston Women’s Centre, here. 

Listen to more Good Finance Podcasts via our Soundcloud Channel and browse our latest case studies to see more social investment stories.