Everyday People Doing Extraordinary Things

Madeleine Shaw Shares Her Path To Writing “The Greater Good”

In This Episode

What is your definition of a “successful” business? Did the words “Scale”, “Revenue”, or “Growth” enter into that? Ask yourself, is someone who creates impact and achieves their goals less successful because they are a small business or resist “scaling” to be a size they don’t want? Dave Veale and Emily Rodger talk with our guest Madeleine Shaw to understand how an entrepreneur can focus on The Greater Good.

Madeleine is a serial social entrepreneur whose projects focus on creating good versus just profit. From being an early leader in the reusable menstrual products space to now as an author of the book “The Greater Good”, her work helps others see that their goals, perspective or needs are not something that should be overlooked.

In This Episode

First 10 Minutes
Dave is hitting technical walls today, but guest co-host Emily Rodger is happy to work with him. We meet our guest Madeleine Shaw who introduces herself as a serial social entrepreneur. We hear about Madeline’s background and her new venture into being an author. Emily asks Madeline to describe how long the book has been on her heart to write.

10 Minutes – 20 Minutes
Madeline shares how she came of age and started to build her view of social impact in business. She highlights how the most common entrepreneurship shown is being tech in silicon valley and raising tons of funding. Madeline’s book highlights how you can be an entrepreneur to create change and do good in your community.

Madeline speaks to the example of a woman (name) who grew up with her brother having autism and developing an app that helps people with cognitive issues move through the world. Madeline ties this into her own story of developing reusable menstrual products. Dave asks about is there a disadvantage for women working as entrepreneurs. The group talks about the idea of scale or hustle required and how it’s not necessary for everything. The group talks about the difference between collaboration vs competition in the business world and world. Madeline connects this to the work of Suzanne Simard.

20 Minutes – 30 Minutes
The group discusses the importance of your vision in what you do. Emily shares the memories she had as a child that she feels represents who she is and where she currently sees her life meeting those needs. Dave shares his memories of where he saw his life going as a child.

Madeleine Shaw

Madeleine Shaw

Author at The Greater Good: Social Entrepreneurship for Everyday People Who Want to Change the World

I am a multiple award-winning serial social entrepreneur based on unceded traditional Coast Salish territory (Vancouver BC). I have founded and co-founded multiple for- and non-profit organizations, most notably Aisle (formerly Lunapads), a groundbreaking B Corporation that was one of the first companies worldwide to champion natural menstrual health. In addition to currently serving Aisle as its Director of Partnerships and Impact, I am also continuing to build Nestworks, a family-friendly non-profit workspace and community. I am currently working on my first book, The Greater Good: Social Entrepreneurship for Everyday People Who Want to Change the World, publication date October 2021. All of my projects are linked here: https://linktr.ee/ohmadeleine