Kim McDonnell: The Social Enterprise Entrepreneur

Have you ever wanted to be part of a Social Enterprise? What about building a business that does good for the community - at scale?Kim McDonnell — founder of Thankful, Thankful4Farmers, and Saveful, and winner of the 2025 Women in Digital Champion of Change Award, has done just that (and more)!Kim shares her remarkable journey from growing up in the remote mining town of Mount Isa, in outback QLD to building and selling a successful digital marketing agency, before making the bold decision to walk away from corporate success, sell literally everything she and her family owned and dedicate her life to solving some of the world’s biggest social and environmental challenges.We unpack:The moment Kim realised commercial success alone wasn’t enough to fulfill herWhy she sold everything to pursue a social enterprise missionThe founding story behind Thankful and the science of gratitudeMoving her family to New York City to pursue global impactSpeaking at the United Nations during General Assembly weekThe creation of Thankful4Farmers with celebrity chef Matt MoranWhy food waste is one of the world’s biggest hidden environmental problemsHow Saveful is using technology and behavioural psychology to help families save money and reduce wasteThe realities of startup life, resilience, capital raising, and purpose-driven leadershipThis is a powerful conversation about courage, values, behavioural change, and building businesses that aim to leave the world better than they found it.🎧 Connect with the ShowFollow What I Learned in Business (That Didn’t Kill Me!) on your favourite podcast platform.Connect with James Stewart on LinkedIn for more insights on leadership, governance, restructuring, entrepreneurship and business transformation.Instagram: @whatilearnedinbusinessYouTube: What I Learned in Business YouTube ChannelWebsite: James H Stewart⚠️ DisclaimerThis podcast is intended for general informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not constitute financial, legal, investment, environmental, or professional advice. Listeners should obtain independent advice relevant to their own circumstances before making any decisions based on the content of this episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.