Ben Vasiliou: The CEO who defied poverty and made helping disadvantaged youth good business | Ep. 34

Welcome to the Doing Epic Stuff podcast with your host Mike Drohan. Together we’ll explore the stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.“What I was attempting to do was tell society what they wanted to hear. Or what I thought they wanted to hear, which was to have this Alpha Bravo male who doesn’t talk about pain. Who doesn’t talk about vulnerability and I was like ‘it’s actually killing me.’ – and it nearly did get to that point.”There’s something very refreshing about someone in a position of power having the courage to be vulnerable.Indeed, Ben Vasiliou, CEO of Youth Projects and a driving force behind their revolutionary Social Enterprise; The Little Social Cafe, credits that same vulnerability with being the catalyst for major positive change both in his professional and personal life. Having navigated a life below the poverty line, identity crisis, being a young father and the trials of the top position at an organisation committed to breaking the cycle of disadvantage – Ben has an extraordinary story to share with us.A special shoutout to Banyule City Council whom Ben credits with having the vision and resources to make the Little Social Café in Rosanna, Melbourne a reality. If you’re listening to this podcast and based in Melbourne, Australia, do make sure to swing past, grab a delicious coffee for yourself and sprinkle some kindness into someone’s day through their ‘pay-it-forward service’: purchase a drink or snack for someone experiencing homelessness or accessing Youth Projects' homelessness services.EPIC stuff within this episode:Even an award winning CEO can balls things up from time to time!Un-packing Youth Projects: providing support (since the 80s!) to young people and individuals experiencing disadvantage, unemployment, homelessness, alcohol and other drug issuesExploring the power of vulnerability and how sharing your story can be a vehicle for goodHow to be part of the solution to 116K Australians living homeless and 1 in 8 being below the poverty line All about the Little Social Café and how it’s reaffirming a vision of young people being good-to-go in a very competitive job market whilst also providing a sustainable, financially viable business modelShow notes:Youth Projects (Ben is CEO):  https://www.youthprojects.org.au/who-we-areThe Little Social Cafe (Social Enterprise) - get down there and 'pay it forward'!: https://www.youthprojects.org.au/social-enterpriseSkills Plus: a not-for-profit which Ben was formerly the GM: https://skillsplus.com.au/ Banyule City Council “the reason why that (The Little Social) has been successful” according to Ben: https://www.banyule.vic.gov.au/About-us Digging Doing Epic Stuff? Hit your boy up:Twitter @BehindTheEpicStuff Email: [email protected] Insta: https://www.instagram.com/doingepicstuff/?hl=enDES Podcast back catalogue hereFortnightly newsletter: https://mailchimp.doingepicstuff.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit doingepicstuff.substack.com