Turning Every Event Ticket Into Impact | Joshua Ross | Humanitix
“The number of lives you can save for a dollar is very different across different charities for the same cause areas, and so, it’s really that philosophy of trying to think rationally about how you give as opposed to emotionally giving (to what) makes you feel warm and fuzzy. People are diligent in the way they invest their money to make a return. We need the world of philanthropy to think that way as well.”
In 2009, best friends Adam McCurdie and Joshua Ross went hiking in Sri Lanka. Sitting under a starry night, they made a pact to keep each other accountable for pursuing a purposeful life. In this episode of Responsible Innovation 100, Josh takes us through how Humanitix began, the challenges faced and their vision for 2050. At the heart of this conversation is also a moving story about friendship, duty and perseverance.
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Topics covered:
Which trends are most interesting or worrying at the moment?
A trend or innovation that may have the most impact on human progress?
Josh's career journey. What pushed him to make the startup leap?
On the responsibility to serve and make an impact
What is Humanitix? Why education? Why ticket sales?
On Altruism Philosophy's approach to maximising impact
Charity vs For-profit social enterprise
The art of telling startup vision and storytelling
How did Humanitix's vision come about?
How is Josh and Adam translating their vision into everyday actions over time?
How does Humanitix measure organisational success?
How does Humanitix design for accessibility
How to build and design for a new segment?
Why does Humanitix build for accessibility?
The role of partners in building a successful venture
What impact does Humanitix hope to make in 5 to 10 years?
What capabilities does Humanitix need to build to achieve its goals?
What's a question that should get asked more, but doesn't?
"Tell us a story only you can tell"
"Teach us a lesson only you can teach"
"Envision 2050: what would you hope it to look like, sound like and feel like?"
About Josh:
Josh Ross is the Co-CEO and Founder of Humanitix.
Prior to co-founding Humanitix, Josh spent 7 years in the investment team at one of Sydney’s leading hedge funds where he was offered a partnership at the age of 26. Whilst in funds management Josh became a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and managed a range of public investments across multiple industries. Josh left funds management at the age of 27 to start Humanitix with his best friend Adam.
Separate to Humanitix, Josh is an activist retail shareholder and played a role in disrupting and blocking AGL’s demerger in 2022 (AGL is Australia’s largest climate polluter and a publicly listed utility, the demerger would have been a disastrous outcome for the environment)."
Learn more about Josh:
Josh Ross’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-ross-humanitix/
Humanitix website: https://humanitix.com/au
Humanitix LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/humanitix/
