May 13, 2024 - Triple Bottom Line & ESOP Jonathan Orpin and RFP SaaS Chris Heard

School for Startups Radio

Jonathan Orpin – Founder of New Energy Works and Pioneer Millworks

We have a multimillion backlog in housing requirements. People need
houses. We are behind so, the building industry is in a really good place.

Jonathan Orpin is a lifelong entrepreneur and sustainability advocate and founder of two eco-friendly companies in the design + build and manufacturing industries, New Energy Works & Pioneer Millworks. With over 30 years of experience operating on the triple bottom line—a simple belief that people, planet, and profit work together to ensure a better future, his philosophy on sustainability, business management, and giving back are reflected in everything he and the companies he founded do. Jonathan talks about sustainability in the construction industry, from using the right materials to leading a business model that is sustainable for both our planet and our people. Jonathan also shares business-building and growing tips and strategies that have given him success. In 2022, Jonathan sold both companies to his 160 employees and took on the title of CEO as they continue as an ESOP, or Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Utilizing an ESOP as a means of succession planning ensures that the sustainable and forward-thinking principles the companies were founded on are continued for years to come not by a single
owner or investment group, but by the craftspeople who make up the company themselves.
“I’ve long said what makes the ESOP a good fit for us is that our folks have always had an ownership mentality,” says Jonathan. “I’m excited to make this transition in a democratized workplace with my coworkers, which has long been a goal of mine, but especially now as employees are increasingly seeking greater equity in the workforce.”
Chris Heard – Co-founder and CEO at Olive Technologies

Brand is so important. I always thought that was for retail, but it is so
important for tech too. If you can build a good brand, people will come to you.

Chris Heard is the Co-founder and CEO at Olive Technologies. He was running a UK portable cocktails business crushed by the 2008 recession and then built Olive from the ground up. Chris’ journey from a young, scrappy entrepreneur to CEO has been one of resilience and hustle. After closing the doors on his cocktails ventures, with his wife by his side — and a mere $5K CAD — he emigrated to Canada. He bartendeded to make ends meet while relentlessly pursuing business development opportunities. He settled into the B2B SaaS market and began climbing the corporate ladder at companies like Mobify, Yottaa, and Fuze. Finally, in 2018, he took the plunge with his co-founder to build their own SaaS product, Olive. They built Olive from a napkin idea in a basement to an international company that is disrupting the IT sourcing space and the premium RFP solution for sourcing technology. As Gartner holds the current key to unbiased solution sourcing, Chris’s vision is to revolutionize the outdated, traditional perspectives associated with software buying.