Podcast Episode 21 is out: Wai Foong Ng from Matchable

Podcast

By Lukas on 13 Sep 2023

Matchable volunteering is revolutionising the way companies volunteer. Far from the days of painting fences and picking up litter, Matchable finds you a perfect volunteering opportunity for your interests, skillset, and time available. Boasting clients like Primark, Lululemon and Dentsu, Matchable has created over £2m+ of impact value through volunteer partnerships. Today we’re speaking to Foong, the founder, who shares her journey so far including:

Her traditional asian upbringing and her ‘tiger mum’
Being sent to a French school in London. The only Asian kid, and the only non-French speaking kid
Her mum’s unique approach to pocket money
The discipline her childhood gave her and how that’s been useful in her career
How she ‘lived someone else’s idea of success’ with a career in a Big 4 accountancy firm
The ultimate rebellion against her parents to become a startup founder
The genesis of Matchable and the mission to revolutionise company volunteering
How she’s motivated by helping people find their purpose through volunteering
How she set about becoming a founder and what a founder looks like today
Her fear of public speaking
The challenges involved in being a founder and how you’re expected to do EVERYTHING
Her approach to hiring and empowering people to own their area of the business
The experience of volunteering through Matchable
Reducing the volunteer matching journey from 3 months, to 3 minutes
The focus on UX
The range of organisation available on the platform – from traditional charities to more innovative impact startups
Providing more flexibility to employees around their volunteering – opportunities from 30 minutes of contribution and encompassing a range of skills
When the CEO of Dentsu volunteered to write a blog for one of their impact organisations
The benefits for businesses of running a volunteering programme from ESG KPIs, to employee retention, to learning and development
The hidden load of emotional labour that can land on leaders