Care Beyond Profits

About Care Beyond Profits

Join us in this interview series of inspiring purpose-driven founders, CEOs, and social enterprise leaders who build care into how they work and live. We unpack their values, choices, and habits so you can apply the same ideas in your world. I believe that care turns purpose into impact in positive ways. Hosted by Azoora Ali, a Virtual (Fractional) CFO using the CARES lens: clarity, actionable insights, returns, efficiency, stability. New episodes every 2 weeks. I appreciate your support. Follow, share and leave a review to support the show.

Publisher

Azoora Ali

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

8 Sept 2025

Latest episode

17 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

25 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   17 Sept 2026

   Can AI Make Giving More Equitable? | Lani Evans

   Lani Evans, founder of Fundsorter and former CEO of Thank You Payroll, shares how AI is transforming grant writing and charity funding for New Zealand's not-for-profits, plus the story of a social enterprise she helped gift to a charity. "Community isn't convenient. If we want to build community, we have to be willing to be inconvenienced by it." In this episode, Lani takes us from a Brisbane childhood and a rock-climbing film to leading some of Aotearoa's best-known social enterprises. We talk about gifting Thankyou Payroll into charitable ownership, starting Fundsorter on parental leave, how AI is taking the grind out of grant writing, and who keeps getting left out of funding. It is a warm, honest conversation about money, motherhood and building community that lasts. About Lani Lani Evans has spent over a decade working across charities, philanthropy and purpose-driven business, focused on moving resources more equitably. She co-founded Share Collective and Generous Ventures, was the inaugural CEO of Thankyou Payroll and has held leadership roles in corporate and family philanthropy. She is an Honorary Member of Philanthropy New Zealand and a recipient of a New Year’s Honour for services to social enterprise. Lani is the co-founder and CEO of Fundsorter, a tech platform reshaping how community organisations access funding. Fundsorter uses data and AI to match charities with grants and streamline applications, reducing the funding burden so organisations can focus on delivering impact. Chapters (00:00) Intro: Building Fundsorter to make giving more equitable (02:45) From Brisbane to Aotearoa: A rock-climbing documentary (05:16) Teenage activism: 4,000 students walk out over nuclear testing (09:41) How motherhood reshaped her leadership (14:02) The truth about balance: "Community isn't convenient" (16:54) Staying grounded: Support, running & non-negotiables (20:41) The Female Founders group: 12 years of support (23:48) Thankyou Payroll & steward ownership explained (29:17) Choosing values over the job: The day she quit (30:48) Founding Fundsorter: Desperation meets AI (37:09) "Nobody's good at AI yet": Advice if you feel behind (42:57) The funding puzzle: Why the average $6k grant isn't enough (48:11) Who gets left out of funding (50:44) Core values & advice for every new mum Learn more about Lani and her work 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lanievans/ 🌐 Website: https://www.fundsorter.com/ Learn more about Azoora and her work 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/azooraali/ 🌐 Website: https://fernlightcfo.co.nz/ Listen to Care Beyond Profits on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. Care Beyond Profits on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/53LKFfDC5hvyxKWBxpTsGg Care Beyond Profits on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/care-beyond-profits/id6798932297 ❤️ If Lani's story resonated with you… Please like, share, and subscribe for more conversations with leaders who prove that care and profits can grow together. #CareBeyondProfits #CharityFunding #GrantWriting #SocialEnterprise #Philanthropy #AIForGood #PurposeDriven #leadershipinspiration

2. 

   3 Sept 2026

   She Arrived in NZ With No Network. Now 300 Companies Hire Her Graduates | Diana Sharma

   Diana arrived with years of leadership behind her. Her first job in New Zealand was vacuuming a casino floor. In this episode of Care Beyond Profits, I speak with Diana Sharma, co-founder of Mission Ready and the Mission Impact Foundation. Diana was born in Kuwait, lived through the invasion as a child, grew up between Kuwait and India, and arrived in New Zealand with no contacts and no network. After hundreds of job rejections, she went on to build a tech career accelerator that has now issued more than 2,500 certifications, nearly half to women and more than a fifth to Māori and Pasifika talent, with over 300 industry partners hiring its graduates. This is a conversation about rejection, belonging, and refusing to let capable people get locked out of the room. About Diana SharmaDiana is the co-founder and Mission Director of Mission Ready HQ, New Zealand's tech career accelerator and an NZQA Category 1 provider that helps people from all backgrounds move into tech careers. She co-founded the company in 2019 with Alan Kan to close the tech skills gap while growing diversity in tech. Diana brings a rare blend of social mission and commercial discipline, having arrived in Aotearoa as an international student before rising to General Manager of Partnerships at Unitec. She has built her reputation on social impact and a belief that talent is everywhere but opportunity is not. Mission Ready now operates alongside its sister charity the Mission Impact Foundation.In this episode we discuss: How living through the invasion of Kuwait as a child built Diana's resilience What it takes to start over in a new country with no contacts and no network Why her first job in New Zealand was vacuuming a casino floor How rejection after rejection shaped the mission she built Why she believes talent is everywhere but opportunity is not How she and Alan Kan built Mission Ready to open doors into tech Why she set up the Mission Impact Foundation alongside the business What it was like launching a company while pregnant with her first child Diana's three personal values, and how she found her why Learn more about Diana and her work 🔗 LinkedIn:   / diana-sharma   (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUM4Zm9rUU1KLXFZQlJiMVRmLTVqVkdnR0RRNnxBTl9pYzRlVjk0QXNnYkEtMXVlbmpQR3A0a3ExdG85N3hkV0J2MW5CanZra09YOVYxeUt1UHBkUmJ1cDB1VXVRd01YemlValBfUHVPNU5rVGtZOUk4aWE5SUZRd1I3RWYyZF82&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fdiana-sharma%2F&v=k_zLKxfdRh0) 🌐 Website: https://www.missionreadyhq.com/ (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUM4Zm9rUUVhcU5ScnNwajc3VGswYkpFYTlqcnxBTl9pYzRmOFBKOGZENGEtQU5XVkZZR1lRVjhFZURQSDFZOGZZQkhXU1hjZ2liLUsyMm1RLWFKSndGd2licWFyVHZkQ3U5QWd1SlVjRTJlSGhEMENOeGk0eU9RVVRLQUpMYWpN&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.missionreadyhq.com%2F&v=k_zLKxfdRh0) Learn more about Azoora and her work 🔗 LinkedIn:   / azooraali   (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUM4Zm9rUjVEX0hMXzF4cmg1SEM3WjNwblBGbnxBTl9pYzRmNHRJMWZyMmp5UVNKQWcxZC1YNjE3S3hLSHBZZzZXRllLS01zTUhraHJTb3JMc2llM0lCbnNSUFNudlIyRG1fUUMxcWZBQk9QYzRINWRHY3pKelp3bVVGLWIyengt&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fazooraali%2F&v=k_zLKxfdRh0) 🌐 Website: https://www.accountingandtax.co.nz/ (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUM4Zm9rVHBlOVRrMnhuaXFWdWl3VGFJSndsM3xBTl9pYzRjcnRROTZZa2xTV0ZxOFJudm12WlNudEJ1empHRE4xc01NSUs2Q2tDS293ZjluZWtYSVhCRWIwODVGVEV2eDhBdmdVV05HYjNDRmI5a2FjYTZoMHN1MEVWVW1pLS1X&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.accountingandtax.co.nz%2F&v=k_zLKxfdRh0) Listen to Care Beyond Profits on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. ❤️ If Diana's story resonated with you… Please like, share, and subscribe for more conversations with leaders who prove that care and profits can grow together. #PurposeDrivenLeadership (https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/purposedrivenleadership) #socialenterprise (https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/socialenterprise) #LeadershipPodcast (https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/leadershippodcast) #CEOInsights (https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/ceoinsights) #CareBeyondProfits (https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/carebeyondprofits)

3. 

   18 Aug 2026

   He Sold His Business, Lost Himself, Then Electrified a Nation | Mike Casey

   Mike Casey, cherry orchardist and CEO of Rewiring Aotearoa, shares how electrification, solar and climate action turned his New Zealand business profitable. "Climate action is no longer a cost. Climate action is profitable." From a suburban Wellington childhood to building a Sydney tech startup that 4 out of 5 Australian university students used to find their first job, to planting 9,300 cherry trees in Central Otago, Mike Casey's story is one of reinvention, purpose, and proving that doing right by the planet can also be the smartest money decision you'll ever make. As CEO of Rewiring Aotearoa and the 2026 Kiwibank Sustainability Leader of the Year, he's on a mission to electrify millions of fossil-fuel machines across the motu. About Mike Casey Mike built and ran a technology startup in Sydney for over a decade before returning home to Aotearoa with his wife Rebecca to establish a cherry orchard in Central Otago. Frustrated by the "doom and gloom" climate narrative, Mike set out to prove a different story by running his orchard entirely on clean, New Zealand-made energy. Today his is a fully electric orchard: 21 electric machines and two solar systems that turned a diesel expense into a revenue stream, with farmers now visiting to see the results for themselves. Through Rewiring Aotearoa he leads the Electric Homes and Electric Farms research, showing electrification is now cheaper than fossil fuels over the lifetime of the asset, and campaigns for the policy settings to make it easy for every New Zealander to benefit. In this episode - Why climate action is now a profitable, cost-of-living decision & not a sacrifice - How Mike turned a ~$50,000/year diesel bill into a ~$25,000/year revenue stream - What selling his business taught him about identity, purpose and willpower - The real numbers behind 21 electric machines and two solar s - Why he founded Rewiring Aotearoa and gave the whole playbook away - How everyday Kiwis can make "six good decisions in the next 10 years" - The "EV salary boost" idea to get nurses and teachers into brand-new EVs - His personal values (family, authenticity, and using privile Timestamps (00:00) Intro (01:30) Welcome and 2026 New Zealander of the Year (02:47) Who Mike was before the mission (03:58) Where the climate frustration started (06:12) Family and the entrepreneurial thread (10:25) Rebecca, kids and the juggle (12:44) Selling up and the identity crisis (14:46) The farm and 9,300 cherry trees (16:25) Purpose risk over reputational risk (18:01) Learning cherries, then electrifying the orchard (24:12) The numbers: going electric and solar payback (28:42) Sharing the playbook and starting Rewiring Aotearoa (31:36) What an ordinary Kiwi can do: the car (33:36) The EV Salary Boost (38:32) Where Mike's personal energy comes from (42:30) Advice if you're struggling: six good decisions (46:02) Climate as an economic slam-dunk (47:24) Plug-in solar for renters (50:05) Mike's core values (51:44) Wrap-up Links Learn more about Mike Casey and his work 🌐 Rewiring Aotearoa: https://www.rewiring.nz 🌐 Electric Cherries: https://electriccherries.nz/ 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikesimoncasey/ Learn more about Azoora Ali 🌐 ASMA Ltd: https://www.accountingandtax.co.nz/ 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/azooraali/ Listen to Care Beyond Profits on Spotify, Apple Podcast and YouTube 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/53LKFfDC5hvyxKWBxpTsGg 🎧 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/care-beyond-profits/id6798932297 ❤️ If Mike's story resonated with you, please like, share, and subscribe for more conversations with leaders who prove that care and profits can grow together. #CareBeyondProfits #PurposeDriven #Leadership #ClimateTech #Sustainability #Electrification #RewiringAotearoa #ClimateAction #SolarPower #Aotearoa

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