S21 Ep6: Pioneering a new approach to charitable giving with Matt Pohlson, founder of Omaze

Conversations of Inspiration

Holly Tucker MBE

Education, Business, Society & Culture, Self-improvement, Entrepreneurship, Personal Journals

5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 21 October 2024

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Imagine turning down a dream job, facing a mountain of debt, and surviving a life-or-death experience—only to emerge with a mission that’s transforming the world of giving. In this episode of Conversations of Inspiration, Matt Pohlson, co-founder of Omaze—a platform that offers life-changing experiences and prizes while raising funds for charitable causes—shares his remarkable journey. It’s packed with insights for anyone looking to make a difference.

What you’ll learn:

Turn fear into fuel – Matt reveals how he overcame $200,000 in debt and turned down a major job offer, staying true to his mission even when the challenges felt insurmountable.
Build trust through vulnerability – Find out how embracing honesty and openness can forge deeper connections, whether in business or in life.
Combine profit with purpose – Discover how Omaze has raised over £60 million for charities by harnessing the power of storytelling.

Matt’s story is a powerful reminder that our toughest moments can become our greatest sources of strength. Tune in to see how these lessons could shape your own journey.

Win an Independent Ad Break on Conversations of Inspiration: Are you a founder with a story to share? Enter for a chance to win your own ad break on this podcast. This opportunity is brought to you in partnership with Dell Technologies, supporting startups with expert advice and scalable solutions.

Exclusive Dell discount for Conversations of Inspiration listeners: Save up to 20% through Dell Exclusive Offers by using your email and the exclusive Holly & Co password: ‘HCO’.

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's there. Like love and optimism are superpowers like and not just like you know manifest and just thinking things will go out but if you like truly like put that frequency out there and you were like and you can get to a point of true presence, it can change the trajectory of things.
0:16.4	You know, I'm only here because people sent me love and like I can feel it when I was trying to fight to come back.
0:22.1	Oh, I'm excited for this one, and I'm sure you've heard of Amaze.
0:27.0	Seen that ads on Instagram or Facebook gazed at those huge homes that they give away and thought surely this is too good to be true.
0:36.7	Well it isn't because I interviewed Amaze's co-founder Matt Polson and he's here to spill the beans. He believes that the old
0:46.8	models are broken that have us making a choice I suppose between a company that's impactful and maybe charitable and only doing good and a company that's just good for business just about the bottom line is a corporate so to speak and he so eloquently tells the story of
1:07.9	merging these two worlds and it's why the tagline, it's a win-win, is exactly right. And Matt's here to tell us why that's the case.
1:20.0	And as you know, I believe in this, I believe that businesses have the power to change the world can be more impactful than government.
1:28.0	Matt's journey has taken him from an early career in American politics, a little bit of acting to a near-death experience
1:36.8	that has changed his perspective and he really opens up his soul in this interview and tells us about these worlds merging and what good can be done and this unbelievable vision.
1:50.3	I end the podcast by not that you'll hear this telling him I'm going to be able to say that one day I interviewed Matt Paulson because I'm reckoning we've got the next Branson or something here. I'm just telling you, heard it here first.
2:04.9	He's a guiding star for those who want to make impact, run businesses
2:10.8	and be a founder for good.
2:13.0	Enjoy.
2:14.0	Bower your head and let your eyelids close on down where we're going.
2:21.0	You won't need to bring your frown.
2:24.0	Hi, I'm Holly Tucker and welcome to my podcast
2:27.4	Conversations of Inspiration.
2:30.0	I've reached out to founders and those who simply inspire me to share their hard-earned wisdom with you.
2:37.6	My hope is that collectively these remarkable realizations will help you on your own journey. I like to think of it as
2:45.1	inspiration for life. So let's begin this week's conversation of inspiration.
2:51.6	Matt's such a place conversation of inspiration.
	...

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