#57 Social enterprise turning gifts into positive impact, Christine Langdon co-founder The Good Registry

Christine Langdon joined Purposely Podcast to share her founder story with The Good Registry

Christine is a social entrepreneur and communicator with a passion for having a positive impact for people and the planet. Co-founder and Chief of Good at The Good Registry, a community and website that is helping to make giving more simple, sustainable and kind.

Christine has also taught yoga in prison and was once seconded to the New York Post to work as a journalist for an eventful time which included covering riots and celebrity gossip. Today she combines work on the registry with consultancy and she also writes a blog tracking her adventure from corporate life to social entrepreneurship at mykinderlife.org

What's the vision and mission of the Good Registry?

‘The Good Registry, based in New Zealand, is a gift platform where people give charity donation gifts. In the past it's always been stuff we buy from shops and it hasn't always been stuff that people necessarily want, need or ever use. The Good Registry is about recognising people without having to buy them stuff. Instead the money is helping good causes, stopping waste and saving the environment.’

Was it your idea? How did it come about?

‘It was my inspiration and four years ago (2017) I left my role as Community Manager at Z Energy and while I did not have an exact plan I knew that I wanted to create something that would have a positive social impact. The idea for The Good Registry came super quick and it was because I was doing a bit of decluttering in my house and come across things stashed in a drawer and under the stairs and I was thinking that I couldn't throw these things away because they were gifts and I just wished that I hadn't been given them at all so I didn't have to store them. I then had another birthday and received a few more things that I didn't want or need and at the same time I had been looking for ways that I could give to good causes and enable others to go to good causes as well. So the idea was conceived’

Great ideas don't always become a reality, what gave you the impetus to launch?

‘A walk with one friend, Sue McCabe and lunch with another, Tracey Bridges presented me with my two co-founders as well as the momentum to get the site off the ground. They both loved the idea and were willing to get behind it. We also received a lot of encouragement and support from others and we just kept driving it forward. It was funny because I bumped into someone recently who had the same idea 14 years ago but they didn’t do anything to make it happen. I think we all have great ideas and it just takes someone to do something with the idea. We were also inspired to launch in time for Christmas and we managed to get the whole thing set up and going by November 2017’

It's been a real success, however, have there been any pain points along the way?

‘I don’t regret a day I have given to The Good Registry and it has turned out really well, however, the 70 hour weeks I worked to get it launched were tough at the beginning. The website wasn’t great at the beginning and evolved over time to respond to people’s needs… we didn’t quite nail with the first version and if we'd had time to do more research and maybe some more money to get it perfect. That said… it may have stopped us getting it off the ground and just going for it is a good way to approach life.’