The Enterprise Nation member helping businesses do well by doing good

Enterprise Nation member business Work for Good helps small companies design charitable giving pledges in smart ways that drive business growth at the same time as doing good. Co-founder Danny Witter tells the business story.

Where did the idea for the business come from?

It was Rupert Pick's idea, when he decided to give away the £2,000 fee Unilever were paying him to run a workshop, to the hospital that had saved his daughter's life many times.

It was much easier than running a marathon to raise funds, it impressed the client and it motivated his team, which made him wonder why more business don't link giving to what they do.

I got involved to make it into an actual business, by building an online platform to make it easy and compelling.

What start-up challenges have you faced?

We're teaching a new behaviour. Businesses don't tend to give cash to causes. A meagre 2% of UK charity income comes from businesses currently!

Also we're focussed on notoriously hard to reach SMEs, the owners of which have dozens of other critical priorities, so even though they've enthusiastically bought in to the concept that doesn't mean it happens quickly.

What has been your biggest business achievement?

If I had to choose just one thing, that would be 580 businesses and charities signed up to Work for Good.

We're aiming for 20,000 so that's just the start!

What is your next big business goal?

We've proved the concept, now it is all about taking it to scale, building a movement and strong brand awareness.

What will be your biggest challenge getting there?

Predictably it's resources, specifically funding.

Beyond core costs we have many tech projects planned that will make it a better and easier tool, and to get to 20,000 users will require significant marketing and sales spend.

Which other entrepreneur inspires you and why?

Richard Reed of Innocent. He built a successful business with doing good part of the core.

Now he's sold it and made his wealth, he's dedicating the next 20 years to giving it all away to causes.

What are your three tips for business success?

Hire very carefully. It's critical to get this right in a small business.

Don't try to do everything yourself to preserve cash; paying for specialist work is often smarter. Your time is a scarce resource too.

Be rigorously commercial, even if you're out to do social good in the world.

We're proud to have people like Danny as members of Enterprise Nation. Join Enterprise Nation today and become part of an amazing community of small business owners.