You asked for more content around business finances, so we’re delivering. Welcome to Money Matters where we give you an inside look at the pocketbooks of CEOs and entrepreneurs. In this series, you’ll learn what successful women in business spend on office spaces and employee salaries, how they knew it was time to hire someone to manage their finances, and their best advice for talking about money.
Photo: Courtesy of Keep Cup
When Abigail Forsyth launched her reusable coffee cup 10 years ago in a bid to eradicate disposable single-use cups, she had no idea it would become the global brand it is today. Now, KeepCup has sold over 12 million reusable cups, is used in over 65 countries and their customers have diverted an estimated 8 billion disposable cups from landfill each year—not to mention she’s kickstarted the global movement to eradicate disposable coffee cups. Forsyth is a leader in the global movement to inspire reduce and reuse, with a passion to reduce the use of single-use items.
But her career didn’t start off this way. Forsyth actually had a successful career as a lawyer before joining forces with her brother to launch Bluebag cafe. This is where her awareness around single-use coffee cups was heightened and soon after, KeepCup was born. But despite the global growth, Forsyth has managed to stay completely self-funded without taking any outside investment (which she recommends to fellow entrepreneurs, too.
Read on to hear her money advice, mistakes, and financial lessons learned along the way. You’ll want to write these down.
On why she self-funded the business…
We had a small loan, some grants from the City of Melbourne and Design Victoria, cash flow from our café business Bluebag, and presales off of the KeepCup product prototype. Yes, I would recommend other entrepreneurs to self-fund their businesses. We are fortunate enough to sustain our business and grow without taking on outside investment, which means we have been able to remain nimble, iterative and independent. You need to make money to stay in business, so be wary that outside funding can compromise your ability to have a vision beyond shareholder value.
On how much she pays herself…
We are a certified B Corporation which means that, as a business, we have to meet certain standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability and balance profit and purpose. In line with this, my earnings are capped at 10x the lowest-paid employee.
On how much to pay employees…
We have looked at payscale, similar job descriptions, and have occasionally worked with recruiters to determine appropriate living wages for all our employees. Last year, we recruited a people and culture manager, and took the time to benchmark salaries and review our remuneration structure. Things can change as the business grows, and you have a mix of old and new employees, so we had to revisit our structures and processes.
“You need to make money to stay in business, so be wary that outside funding can compromise your ability to have a vision beyond shareholder value.”
On the most important area for business owners to focus their financial energy…
Right now, all businesses must focus on carbon neutrality: decarbonizing and dematerializing their operations, use their business to make a positive contribution. There’s no business on a dead planet.
Focus your financial energy in places that align with your company’s mission. At KeepCup, our mission is to inspire the world to reduce and reuse, and we’re committed to championing the cause for a more sustainable future. In everything we do, we adopt sustainable business practices from manufacturing to our office space, all the way down to the actual product.
We’re really focused on adopting and setting best practices in sustainable product design and business, even if this means it is at an additional cost to our business. For example, we donate 1% of global revenue to environmental causes and are a certified B Corporation, as we are committed to driving the transition to the circular economy and promoting reduced consumption, reuse and repair.
On the first big expense as a business owner…
Our first big expenses were committing to tooling and the endless road of website development.
On how much they spend on office space…
Too much! We have just spent a year refitting our HQ in Melbourne, Australia to make it consistent with our company values and vision for a more sustainable future. It is a very well insulated solar-powered building with plenty of natural light and green space. Most of the furniture is second hand, and is beautiful, but does not use new resources.
“Build your business from the ground up on purpose beyond profit.”
On when she was able to start saving income…
The savings wax and wane depending on where we are at with things like product development, website updates, and premises etc. I like to have something set aside for opportunities or issues that might come up. As well as committing to providing 1% of our revenue to environmental causes, we are committed to being carbon neutral by 2025. We will see where that journey takes us. I’m also really interested in rehabilitating the natural landscape, particularly in Australia. We have just donated $100,000 for bushfire relief and commit 1% of our revenue, as opposed to profit, to environmental causes.
On setting up the business financials…
When we set up our accounting system I made a lot of noise about how it was overcooked for the simplicity of the business 10 years ago, and that decision has held us in good stead. We always had an external accountant, and our internal accountant was one of our first hires. There is a story about me paying the invoices and throwing them into a tomato box as a filing system, which may or may not be true!
On the tools, she uses to stay on top of the business financials…
In my view, the most valuable tool is a great finance team, and a great set of reports to check the ongoing health of the business. In terms of software, we use Microsoft Navision and Power BI.
On what she wishes she’d done anything differently financially…
I wish we had created a better structure at the outset in partnership with my brother. When we started the business, we were young singles—priorities shifted as the business grew. We also progressed in our personal lives, started families and our individual priorities shifted. Separating business ownership from your role in the business at the beginning is really important.
“Make a profit so you have the space to experiment and make mistakes.”
On why she thinks women should talk about money and business more…
Women should absolutely talk about money and business more. I feel a real sense of responsibility to do right by people and the planet, but it’s really important to acknowledge and talk about the fact that this has not been at the cost of financial success. It creates the space for change.
It’s been really important to me as a woman, to be commercially successful and financially independent, this gives me a voice to talk about the values I believe in and press for change.
On having financial mentors…
No. I don’t have a financial mentor, but I think business owners may very well need one depending on their circumstances. There is an endless parade of people who will line up to tell you what to do and how to do it, and whilst relying on expertise is very important, it’s equally important also ask whose interests they serve. No one will care about or think about your business more than you.
On the money mistakes she’s made along the way…
Throughout our 10 years in business, the biggest lessons I’ve learned have been around understanding margin, understanding the cost impact of waste, balance sheets, and profit and loss and having the right insurance. I would not say these are mistakes, I would say it has been a journey in deepening my understanding and balancing the internal needs of the business with the external environment in which we operate.
On her best money advice for new entrepreneurs…
Build your business from the ground up on purpose beyond profit. I truly believe businesses ought to serve a purpose that is of benefit to people and the planet. Businesses must serve the communities in which they operate, respect the natural resources (which in my view belongs to everyone), respect their employees and protect the natural world.
If you aren’t in business to dematerialize and decarbonize the economy, you are in the wrong business. I think the world is hopefully waking up to the futility of balanced books on a dead planet. We are all in this together.
On the hardest money lessons she’s learned…
Make a profit so you have the space to experiment and make mistakes.
