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In today’s episode, we have the pleasure to talk to Tammy Ven Dange, a social entrepreneur based in Australia.
Tammy is the founder and CEO of the Refoundry which mission is to help Mother Nature by making great products from recycled plastics and to create a demand for this material that may otherwise go to landfill or into waterways.
PART 1
In the first part of the conversation, we discussed a lot about creating recycled plastic products for pets and how this development is related to Tammy’s previous job as a CEO of an animal welfare charity.
Tammy will share with us what inspired her to launch the Refoundry, she will also tell us all about her experience from her crowdfunding campaign and what she learned along the way.
Episode notes (part 1)
- 01:30 Why Tammy launched The Refoundry to help Mother Nature by making great products from recycled plastics
- 07:00 Leaving a job as the CEO of an animal welfare charity, paddling across 5 continents to witness plastic pollution everywhere and taking action to tackle the problem
- 09:30 From organizing rubbish collection near Canberra to the idea of manufacturing recycled plastic
- 11:30 A senior position in a small town and the challenge of recreating the public identity
- 14:30 High capital investment to make molds and prototypes
- 16:00 “Stray no more” crowdfunding campaign to raise fund, to market and test the products
- 19:00 Learnings from the crowdfunding campaign
- 22:00 Shifting to make another product
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NUGGETS:
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The plastic pollution problem is visible on the 5 continents
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Creating products using recycled plastic is one way to tackle the plastic pollution problem
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A recycled plastic product needs to be useful if not, it will just end up in the landfill quickly. The key is to design an innovative product that solves a problem
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Injection plastic molding and prototyping requires high capital investment
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Creating the right momentum is key to a successful crowdfunding campaign
PART 2
In this 2nd part of our conversation, Tammy will share with us some very interesting concepts and strategies, ranging from the cashflow requirement of a product-based business model to the design and the life-cycle of a product, among many other useful ideas and concepts.
Stay tuned and enjoy the rest of our conversation with Tammy Ven Dange.
Episode notes (part 2)
- 02:00 Cashflow and investments, differences between a product-based business and a service-based business.
- 07:00 When it comes to promoting the business, no one’s going to promote it as well as the founder.
- 08:30 Why Tammy launched her podcast, Plastics Revolution
- 12:30 Challenges and opportunities for businesses to take part in the sustainability movement. Design with sustainability in mind
- 16:00 Advice to mission-driven entrepreneur: consider the whole life-cycle
- 20:30 Dreams for The Refoundry: create a demand for recycled plastics
- 23:00 Dreams with The Refoundry: I want us to be a good example and a champion for being good stewards of our resources.
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NUGGETS:
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Product-based business requires higher investment upfront compared to service-based business
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The founder of a business is always the best promoter of the product
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Sustainability starts with the design
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Consider the entire life-cycle of the product: material sourcing, logistics, packaging, disposal…etc
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At each step, try to be intentional and strategic in order to reduce the environmental footprint
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CONNECT with Tammy:
To find out more about Tammy Ven Dange: https://tvendange.com/
To find out more about The Refoundry: https://refoundry.com.au/Tammy’s podcast: Plastics Revolution
Connect with Tammy on socials @tvendange
Books mentioned:
“Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman” by Yvon Chouinard
“Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike” by Phil Knight