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SPEAKER - ENTREPRENEUR - CHANGEMAKER

 I am a serial social entrepreneur and changemaker. I like building platforms and organisations that empower people to make a difference, including poineering crowdfunding platforms StartSomeGood and LendForGood.

I believe passionately in the importance of and opportunities in the emerging impact economy, and I seek to catalyse its growth as a startup entrepreneur, speaker, consultant, coach and advocate.

I’ve worked with global NGO’s and brands to refine their impact story and strategy, designed and launched startup and accelerator programs and was the first Social Media Director at Ashoka: Innovators for the Public. I have hosted over 3 dozen startup programs and am the lead host of the Good Hustle social enterprise design course. I also coach a carefully curated group of high-impact founders.

Find out more about how we can work together.


 

Tom's commitment to social entrepreneurship in the digital space is something that is hard to duplicate. He is constantly listening, collaborating and broadcasting. And not only does he have a great personality online, he is even more passionate in person.

- Tristan Pollock, VP, 500 Startups and Co-Founder, Storefront

There are those who want to be entrepreneurs and those that just are. Tom just is one. Less talk, more action.

– Jean Russell, author, Thrivability

 

FEATURED IN

 
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Hello!

Thanks for visiting my personal site.


Here you can find details of my projects, speaking and ideas on fundraising, social enterprise and the emerging purpose economy.


My mission is to inspire communities and companies to be more innovative, purposeful and impactful. I build participatory platforms for community-led change and help organisations harness the opportunities of the emerging purpose economy.

I am founded or cofounded pioneering crowdfunding platform StartSomeGood (acquired 2024), crowdlending platform LendForGood, the Australian Changemakers Festival, award-winning youth non-profit Vibewire Youth Inc and the iconic Black Rock City Farmers Market.

I have spoken at Stanford, UNSW and Tetr Universities, for the UN in the Pacific and at many of the world’s leading events including SXSW Austin and Sydney, The Social Enterprise World Forum, the World Indigenous Business Forum, Purpose, SOCAP, The Impact Economy Forum.

I contributed a chapter to a book, Future Leaders in Digital Technology, and you can download it for free here.

Find out more about how we could work together, book me to MC or speak at your upcoming event or for other opportunities, get in touch (no pitches please).

Media and Content:

Click on the image to go to the source

"Solving the Social Puzzle with Tom Dawkins", foundr Magazine Issue 28

"Solving the Social Puzzle with Tom Dawkins", foundr Magazine Issue 28

"Championing the Changemakers: Tom Dawkins" - Generosity Magazine

"Championing the Changemakers: Tom Dawkins" - Generosity Magazine

"Startup war story: StartSomeGood almost died when someone else had their idea" - Australian Financial Review

"Startup war story: StartSomeGood almost died when someone else had their idea" - Australian Financial Review

 

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BOOK REVIEW: Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism By Yanis Varoufakis Varoufakis, the former Greek Finance Minister, argues our system is no longer capitalism. Capitalism has been killed by capital. "Capitalism is dead in the sense that its
BOOK REVIEW: Games Without Rules: The Often-Interrupted History of Afghanistan By Tamim Ansary This is one of my new favourite history books, written by an Afghani histories whose family was involved in some of the events. Very witty and well-writte
The Cancel Culture Panic: How an American Obsession Went Global By Adrian Daub Great book! Breaks down what's going on when people talk about "cancel culture", and how it got picked up globally. Shows how this is new language for an ol
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty By Daron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson An interesting take on why some nations are mired in poverty while others are rich, by two Nobel prize winning economists. Their persuasively argue
Because I Have To: The Path to Survival, the Uyghur Struggle By Jewher Ilham I listened to this because I want to learn more about this important issue, but if that's your motivation, this isn't the place to start. Ilham is a relatively well know
This is an oldie but a goody, which has a big impression on my when I first read it, soon after founding @startsomegood. In it, Hildy Gottlieb reframes the purpose and approach of "citizen sector organisations" as she reframes non profits,