John Pritchard was the founder of Pala, a brand driven by purpose. The mission was to produce high quality, long-lasting eyewear whilst making a commitment to minimise the impact on the planet and maximise positive social impact on people.

Longevity of product was important to minimise resource usage, but that makes for a very different approach to business.

The Pala strapline was “see the world better”, which enabled him to go into numerous directions around how to help others “see the world better”.

However, after 9 years, the mission took its toll and earlier this year John had to make the decision to close down the business.

He now needs to take a pause, but feels conflicted about that.

His sense of purpose was strong but he also needed to pause to look after himself.

He feels the tension between doing stuff and not doing stuff with conflicting stories about being of service to others but also needing to look after himself.

Now that the business is winding down he’s a lot less busy and t’s something that’s going to take some getting used to. Some internal rewiring is needing to happen.

John is now entering a time of transition where he’s pondering how to change the world while also changing his world.

In this episode, Carlos and Laurence learn about what it took to start, grow and run Pala and the lessons he’s learned about purposeful business and about himself.

You’ll learn about the questions he’s now having to ask himself about how to fit purpose into his future work alongside making a commitment to his own wellbeing.

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