rethink sustainability
The millennials making a difference – meet Selin Yigitbasi-Ducker, founder of Goodsted
In light of International Youth Day, we interviewed 26 year old, Selin Yigitbasi-Ducker, founder of Goodsted: an innovative platform where individuals can volunteer their skills, donate products, or loan spaces for socially or environmentally impactful projects.
By way of introduction, tell us a little about your background.
I’m 26 years old, I was born in Turkey, and I moved to UK at the age of 17 to study Business Management at the University of Exeter. During my time at Exeter, I gained interest in Marketing and Advertising, which led me to become a Marketing Manager when I was 22 at a consultancy.
I developed a passion around new services and products created for the good of the society or environment. After reading the article on ‘Design Thinking’ in the Harvard Business Review, my goal became clearer and I decided to quit my job and pursue a masters’ degree in Design & Innovation in order to progress in this new path. Alongside my masters, I also gained experience in digital platform economies which gave me a new appreciation for how technology can be used for creating positive impact in our communities.
What led you to build Goodsted?
I wanted to do something impactful, and take part in helping achieve the UN’s Global Goals for 2030 but I wasn’t able to easily find volunteering opportunities that suited my skill set and availability.
Then, I met someone who had a project idea, and wanted to raise £10,000. I thought, “What if you didn’t need to raise money at this stage? What, if instead, you could find motivated people who believed in your project and would be willing to volunteer some of their time to the cause?”
I believe that together, we can collaborate on projects to create positive change. That was the beginning of Goodsted.
What were the biggest challenges you faced in creating Goodsted?
The biggest challenge was starting as a sole founder instead of as a team of friends. I had the idea and started working on Goodsted only after I graduated from my masters, and all my friends were already in full-time work. I must say this has positives as well as negatives, and the biggest challenge this brought was having to manage all the tasks on my own to start with. Thankfully, we now have a strong team to move forward, and once we receive external funding, we will be able to bring team members in full-time.
What would you say characterises “young management”?
I would say that young leaders tend to be more open to change and innovation, more comfortable with receiving feedback and taking risks. We are more optimistic about the future and are good at setting stretched goals.
What would you say about your generation? Does it inspire you?
Yes, it really does. Generation Y are now the largest number in the workforce and we are digital natives, eager, creative and driven to create a positive change in the world. It’s inspirational to see how our generation focuses on having a happy life and giving back to others. 87 percent of millennials believe that the success of a business should be measured on its impact on the world.
Would you say that the landscape is changing and that governments, investors and society are doing more to support sustainable change?
Yes, I think things are changing. Everyone is conscious that change is needed. We have the UN Global Goals for 2030. However, if we want to achieve this agenda, things need to change faster. We need to give more attention to sharing resources with the countries who need help to progress. By having a global perspective, and starting to collaborate instead of fighting with each other, we can progress faster.
Today is International Youth Day. What would you like this day to focus on?
I think we should focus on the power the young people have, and celebrate the early successes of all generations to inspire other young people towards taking action. We should give the tools and guidance needed to empower everyone, so that we can use this great potential to advance our society and protect our environment.
If you had to pick one SDG (Sustainable Development Goal), which one would it be and why?
I would have to pick two: goal 17 (partnerships for the goals) and goal 13 (climate action). Because without the world, we wouldn’t exist. So climate action is essential. And if we work together, we can achieve all the other goals. At Goodsted, we built our platform to enhance the partnership and collaboration between stakeholders.
What would you say to a passionate young person determined to join the fight against climate change?
Don’t think too big. What can you do where you live to reduce your carbon footprint? Try to make a difference locally, and co-design solutions with the community.
If you are passionate but don’t have time or energy, check out the “Lazy Person’s Guide to Saving the World” published by the United Nations—there are tons of things you can do from your couch!
What do you do to have a positive impact on the planet in your daily life?
To reduce my environmental footprint, I have taken some actions in my daily life such as; reducing meat consumption, recycling, freezing fresh food / leftovers, having short showers, carrying extra bag to not use plastic, growing our own vegetables, shopping less to reduce waste. We also switched our energy provider to Pure Planet which is a service that supplies 100% renewable electricity and 100% carbon offset gas.
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