Q&A: Supergenerous CEO Guillaume Dehan
The team from donation rebate enterprise Supergenerous
Supergenerous has made great strides since their preparation for investment with the Ākina Impact Investment Readiness Programme grant back in October of 2020 – moving from investment readiness to real impact.
Originally launched as Fund a Future, the donation rebate social enterprise stood alongside fellow grant recipients like Mentemia and Little Yellow Bird.
At the beginning of this year, co-founders Guillaume Dehan and Franco Sabadini closed their seed round of over $1.4 million of investment. The round was led by former Prime Minister Sir Bill English with participation from Sir Stephen Tindall’s K1W1 and other private investors and philanthropists that care about the company's missions to ‘transform the impact of human generosity’.
Now aptly named Supergenerous, the growing platform has over 2,000 donors signed up with the team facilitating more than $44,000 of donations back to 88 organisations in the non-profit sector across Aotearoa – proving that when it’s quick and easy, New Zealanders are keen to increase the impact of their donations.
We recently caught up with CEO Guillaume Dehan to ask a few questions around impact, carrying out a vision and challenges in the sector:
What is it about your mission that gets investors excited?
It’s our mission that’s exciting – we make a positive difference by making it easier to obtain and disperse donation tax rebates. Investors are excited about the fact we are a globally scalable tech business, but it’s our mission to increase funding to charitable organisations – enabling them to do more amazing mahi in their communities – it’s the best of both worlds. There is also an opportunity to replicate the model overseas and increase the value of charitable donations globally!
What are some of the challenges and benefits of running an impact business?
One of the key challenges of running an impact business is that it’s still a relatively new concept in the public eye. People understand a fully for-profit business and at the other end of the spectrum, they get how a not for profit operates. When you have a combination of the two in the form of a social enterprise, it sparks a lot of conversation - How much is okay to take as profit? How much should you be giving back? The answer to each of those questions is dramatically different depending on who you ask, and it is our job to be transparent around fee structures and our contribution to the communities we serve. However, the benefits far outweigh the difficulties! Getting to wake up every morning and know the work you do is having a positive impact on the world is the best driver you could have.
Supergenerous CEO Guillaume Dehan
What role has impact investment played in the evolution of Supergenerous?
Impact investing has played a major role during the evolution of Supergenerous. In Aotearoa New Zealand, there are a lot of people willing to back promising businesses, but if you don’t have values alignment then it’s going to be a difficult road ahead. Our investors deeply understand our vision and the positive impact we want to have. For example, rebranding the business to ‘Supergenerous’ was a bold move but one they supported as they knew it would help to shout our purpose from the rooftops. As the lucky recipients of the Ākina Impact Investment Readiness Programme, we were also able to prepare ourselves to raise capital from these sorts of investors.
What support or advice have you received along the way?
The best advice we have received is to remember why you started. When trying to influence major change there are many hurdles along the way that will often feel too difficult to overcome at the time. Staying focussed on the positive impact we want to have and taking incremental steps forward to get there are what continues to motivate us as a team. In terms of support, we have had many individuals and organisations, like Ākina, that have believed in us and continue to provide support and guidance. We are very lucky to have a great tribe around us!
If you could offer one piece of advice to an impact business looking to raise investment, what would that be?
Don’t solely rely on bleeding hearts. What I mean by that is if you’re taking on investment, you need to find people that not only feel connected to the impact you want to have but are also able to help you reach your goals. Every investor doesn’t need to fit both sides of the coin, but you should try and aim for a balance of business savvy and impact-driven people. Getting the right mix is what will give your business the greatest chance at having the largest positive impact.
The market for impact investing in NZ has grown significantly over the last few years. Why do you think this is?
It’s amazing and not surprising! People are more clued up about the impact that businesses have on the world, both positive and negative. This new wave of impact investing is a great way for people to put their personal values into practice and back the type of world they want to live in.
To learn about becoming a Supergenerous partner, email partners@supergenerous.co.nz
To sign up as a donor visit www.supergenerous.co.nz