Pots n Pans Turns 1!

2 years ago Small Giants ventured into Vietnam and began a partnership with KOTO, a wonderful organisation providing hospitality training to disadvantaged young people. KOTO has been around for more than 12 years and has now got cafes and training centres in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Our journey with KOTO led to the opening of the Modern Dining restaurant Pots n Pans in Hanoi in March 2012. Pots n Pans employs KOTO graduates and provides a “post-graduate” training experience for these inspiring individuals. Excitingly we’re about to turn one year old, and we’re celebrating with a feast befitting such an important milestone!

See below for full details:

Celebrating One Year of Culinary Excellence

Hanoi’s own Pots ‘n Pans, is excited to announce its first Anniversary on the Friday 29^th March, 2013.

Opened since March 2012 as a partnership between KOTO (who works with street and disadvantaged youth), Small Giants (an Australian Impact Investment Group) and a dedicated group of KOTO alumni, we have truly enjoyed creating wonderful dining moments for the last 12 months. It’s time to celebrate in style!

This year Pots ‘n Pans have the great honour to host the internationally acclaimed, Michelin Star Chef Felix Eppisser accompanied by Chef Marco Mehr. The two inspiring chefs will present a four-course gala dinner paring with wines at Pots ‘n Pans to mark an important milestone to the unique Pots ‘n Pans Culinary Experience.

Chef Felix Eppisser’s biography

The renowned Michelin Star Chef Eppisser, with his wife Lucia operate the most prestigious restaurant in Myanmar, Le Planteur. After a brilliant career in the Fine Dining business, the highly decorated chef has set the bar in modern European and Indochine Fine Dining in Myanmar and globally. Their property in Zürich, the hotel & restaurant Rigiblick belonged to the top addresses of Switzerland and was internationally renowned.

Chef Marco Mehr’s biography

Marco has joined Felix at Le Planteur to further develop his skills he has earned as the private Chef of the German World Cup Ski team. Since working with Felix at Rigiblick in Zürich, Marco has a wealth of experience including the Stamford in Singapore, Burj al arab and Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Marco has already been awarded a number of competition titles including the All-over winner at the Culinary World Cup (world championship) in Luxembourg.

For more information, please contact Amy Ngoc at ngoc@potsnpans.vn or +84 162 6370 882

Announcing The School of Life in Melbourne

We’re so proud to be launching The School of Life in Collingwood, Melbourne on Friday 25 January 2013. This will be the first international School to open its doors.

Dedicated to distilling the best ideas from the ages to enrich everyday life, The School of Life is the brainchild of writer Alain de Botton.  Since its London launch in 2008, more than 50,000 people have taken part in its programs, and its innovative approach to lifelong learning is now globally renowned.

In January 2013 the School of Life Australia is launching Summer Term: a 10-week project offering a selection of the UK’s most popular programs, led by Australia’s innovative thinkers, and held in a purpose-built space in inner-city Collingwood.

“We are thrilled to launch The School of Life in Australia. There couldn’t be a better country in which to open up, Australians being exceptionally intellectually curious and adventurous. We can’t wait to start receiving our first guests,” says Alain de Botton.

Summer Term will include a diverse range of classes, workshops and other special events held every Friday, Saturday and Sunday between 25 January and 31 March.  The Conversation Café onsite will serve up a daily conversation menu, light food and, of course, delicious coffee.

In addition, The School of Life will host a series of ‘secular sermons’ in surprising spaces around the city.

“There has been a growing need amongst Australians to reconnect with the big issues in life, topics like love, work, creativity, money, nature and death.  The School of Life Australia will provide a space for us to explore these subjects, and meet other intellectually and socially curious people in the process,” says Sara Tiefenbrun, Project Director of The School of Life Australia.

Program details for The School of Life Australia’s Summer Term will be announced in December 2012.  For more information sign up to our mailing list at:www.theschooloflife.com/world/australia. Updates will also be shared regularly on Twitter @theschooloflife and Facebookwww.facebook.com/TheSchoolofLifeAustralia

Big Ideas to Change the World One Step at a Time

Small Giants CEO, Danny Almagor was sitting in an aerospace engineering class when he had a life-changing moment.

The university student, more interested in the side of engineering that directly affected people, found his course had drifted almost solely towards technology.

”By the third year I was just like, ‘why am I doing this?’,” says the now 35-year-old.

See the full article at:  http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/entrepreneur/big-ideas-to-change-the-world-one-step-at-a-time-20120923-26f0z.html#ixzz281tAvJhO

How Social Mission Drives Business Success

Recently our Small Giants CEO, Danny Almagor was interviewed by Glenn Burr of the international Small Giants community. The Small Giants International Community is made up of small business leaders all over the world who define success by more than just their financial bottom lines, but also by their contributions to their communities, a dedication to great customer service and the creation and preservation of workplaces cultures of excellence.

Check out part 1 of the interview here:

http://www.smallgiants.org/Article/comments/sgc_interview_how_a_social_mission_drives_success

And part 2 of the interview here:

http://www.smallgiants.org/Article/comments/how_the_social_mission_drives_business_success_pt._ii

Interview with SG CEO, Danny Almagor

Danny Almagor, Small Giant’s founder and CEO, was recently interviewed by Kate Kendall of The Fetch. See the interview  here!

The Wonderful Story of STREAT and Founder Bec Scott

Our beloved partner STREAT was recently written up in a wonderful interview with Smart Company:

Rebecca Scott is the co-founder and chief executive of STREAT, a social enterprise that operates cafés, coffee carts and a coffee roastery in Melbourne.

Since its first small food cart was rolled out in 2010, STREAT has sold 140,000 meals and coffees and provided 10,000 hours of paid employment to young people, along with completing what is believed to be the first acquisition of a social enterprise by another social enterprise in Australia.

Scott tells us how STREAT handles its “enormous” extra overheads and her focus on ensuring the $2 million enterprise remains profitable and viable.

See full interview at  http://www.smartcompany.com.au/advertising-and-marketing/050975-pushing-the-coffee-cart-of-success-rebecca-scott.html

Announcing Australia’s First B Corporation: A New Movement, A New Paradigm

MEDIA RELEASE
 
Melbourne-based impact-investment firm Small Giants has become the first company in Australia to be certified as a B Corporation.
 
Certified B Corporations are a new type of corporation which use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. There are over 500 Certified B Corporations internationally across 60 different industries. B Corporations are a diverse community with one unifying goal: to redefine success in business.
 
Small Giants was founded in 2007 to create, support, nurture and empower businesses that are shifting us to a more socially equitable and environmentally sustainable world. From deep partnerships with start-up social enterprises, to investments in large-scale social and environmental projects, to radically sustainable property development, the Small Giants portfolio reflects a deeply passionate and innovative ethos.
 
“We came across this powerful movement about 12 months ago and, after realising that there was no equivalent movement in our region, set about becoming accredited,” said Small Giants CEO Danny Almagor. “As part of the global B Corporation community, we are now more excited than ever about promoting better business for a better world.”
 
“We believe that business has incredible power, but that power must be channelled in the right direction,” he said. “Making profit is just one part of the total value of a business, albeit a very important part. The more exciting parts for us are about the relationship with staff, stewardship of the environment, contribution to our local community and a deep respect for our customers, clients and suppliers.”
 
“We’re humbled to have Small Giants become the first B Corporation in Australia,” said Dermot Hikisch, Head of Community Development at B Corporation. “Businesses that make the cut and become a Certified B Corporation fully embody the type of company our world needs to move towards the new economy.”
 
“Small Giants and all B Corporations have implemented what many companies only talk about doing, they handle their environmental impacts responsibly, engage with their communities positively, care about their employees, and are delivering products and services to consumers which are superior financially, socially, and ecologically,” he said. “We’re excited to have Small Giants as a part of the B Corp movement, their focus in making social enterprises thrive will amplify this positive impact, and far beyond what one company can typically do alone.”
 
“There are many remarkable businesses doing inspiring things in Australia that share the values of a BCorporation,” Almagor said. “We are keen to meet them and look forward to working with them to build a powerful and impactful B Corporation movement in Australia.”

Small Giants CEO Danny Almagor is available for interview. Please contact Kaj Löfgren at Small Giants to arrange an interview: (03) 8534 8009 / kaj@smallgiants.com.au

Small Giants: www.smallgiants.com.au

B Corporation: www.bcorporation.net

Our MBA

We are big believers in living a life of continuous learning, a life where intellectual curiosity is rewarded with new ideas and new ways of seeing the world. In fact, at Small Giants we thrive on this belief; it is core to our being.

However, learning takes many forms and for too long the business world has placed too much weight on formal education. In a changing business climate, with the rise of social enterprise, social responsibility, co-working and collaboration, it is time we also shifted our thinking on business education.

So, we have put together an informal curriculum for those who would like to learn about the Small Giants philosophy of business. Some of the materials below are the best examples of tradition business thinking, and some express crazy new ideas that are changing the game. There are fiction and non-fiction books, documentaries, conferences, forums, newsletters and examples of co-working spaces.

These are the ideas that have shaped the Small Giants team and the ideas that drive us to create the world we want to live in. Enjoy the journey and let the discovery of new ideas drive innovation for social change…

 P.S. Use the comments section below to add your own books/resources that inspire you.

Books

• Tribes – Seth Godin
• Predictably Irrational – Dan Ariel
• Good to Great – Jim Collins
• Small Giants – Bo Burlingham
• Cradle to Cradle – William McDonough & Michael Braungart
• Man’s Search for Meaning – Victor Frankl
• Natural Capitalism – Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, & L. Hunter Lovins
• How to Cure a Fanatic – Amos Oz
• Guns, Germs and Steel – Jared Diamond
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – Robert Perzig
• Business Model Generation – Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur (and many others…)

 Magazines

• Dumbo Feather

Newsletters

• The Fetch
• Stanford Social Innovation Review
• The Social Edge

Events

• RMIT SEEDs Conference
• Skoll World Forum
• Emerge Conference
• Small Giants International Conference

Communities, Collaboration and Co-Working

• Hub Melbourne
• Hub Global
• Small Giants International Community
• W1SD0M

Want to bee part of something big?

Melbourne City Rooftop Honey (www.rooftophoney.com.au) is looking for a passionate individual to come and help us out for 1-2 days per week, someone to help us be what we can be. Rooftop Honey has had an amazing year, increasing our hive numbers, and engaging in community education around the importance of bees and beekeeping, now we need to take that next step and grow Rooftop Honey into a sustainable operation so we can continue this work for years to come!

Under the guidance of Mat & Vanessa, this unpaid internship will include the following responsibilities:

• Sales & merchandising to our wholesale and retail customers
• Event organisation – educational events to promote urban beekeeping and bees in our city
• Administration and emailing – to help us stay on top
• Last, but not least: Beekeeping! Come and help us look after our bees!

As an intern you will gain the following experience:

• Exposure to the inner workings of Melbourne’s most sustainable and ethically conscious startup
• The sales and marketing of a truly ethical product
• Learn about urban beekeeping from the ones actually doing it
• As the internship will be located in the Small Giants (www.smallgiants.com.au) building in St Kilda, you will be constantly exposed to all the other social businesses in the family

So if you’re interested in being a part of our next step, send an email to rooftophoney@smallgiants.com.au with a short paragraph letting us know why, and your resume.

Look forward to hearing from you!

Honey Harvest

In January we experienced a first here at the White House, we harvested our first ever honey from our hives on the roof!

The hives, located above our kitchen, were a welcome addition last year and since they arrived Dan, Berry & I have been learning from Mat & Vanessa (Melbourne City Rooftop Honey) how to tend to our new family members. They have been welcomed with open arms and it was a real buzz (pun intended) when Berry picked out our first ever harvest! Since then we have harvested a second time, and are looking forward to more honey from B1 & B2…