Sustainability in Birmingham: Sam Reader, Founder of WONDR

Sam Reader is the founder of WONDR - a platform bringing likeminded people together to collaborate on social and environmental topics, share knowledge and accelerate to progress. Last year they featured in Birmingham Tech Week lead by Chris Blackwell - a scaler programme in the midlands that has played a vital role in supporting businesses progress on their digital transformation journeys, helping individuals adapt and stay connected.

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What is the WONDR mission statement?

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To accelerate the way people collaborate around knowledge, so they can build the skills and confidence to take real world action.

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Tell us a little more about you and how you came to be so passionate about this space?

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Our ability to learn and share knowledge is arguably our greatest strength as a species. Education has shaped the societies we live in today. It’s put people on the moon, cured life threatening diseases, transformed transportation and been at the root of countless innovations. Where education doesn’t exist, we can see problems occur.

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Traditional Education has played an enormous role in our history. For centuries we’ve journeyed through an age of knowledge. The problem now though, is that people have conflated certification and examination with ‘intelligence’.  21st Century learners need more than just knowledge. They need each other.

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Automation is broadening skills gaps. Fast-paced innovation means future workforces will be knowledge workers who need information quicker than ever but traditional education systems can’t scale to cope. It’s projected there would need to be 2 Universities built each day to satisfy demand and 100M teachers required by 2030, which is simply impossible.

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Combine this with our existential crisis surrounding climate change - we must now enter an age of action. We must value creativity, curiosity and collaboration more than memory and grades. If we are to progress through the 21st Century, we must value what we can do about something more than simply what we know about something.

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At WONDR, we fundamentally believe in the power of education and learning. We also believe to our core in the power of collaboration over the individual. Our vision is to celebrate the diversity of human potential and give hope to people’s ambitions of impacting the world. No matter who they are or where they are.  Education is not for the few - we believe in making life opportunities accessible to everyone.

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What are some of the projects that WONDR has fostered?

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We have connected thousands of students, professionals and entrepreneurs from across 100+ countries. Some of the opportunities we’ve helped shape range from creators collaborating on podcasts for social justice, through to sustainable business owners setting up new ventures together.

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One community in particular is The Ecosystem Incubator, which is a group of 100’s of students, professionals and entrepreneurs collaborating around sustainable business practice in the Fashion industry.

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In partnership with this group, members access support networks and build relationships to support each other’s businesses. Each week new opportunities appear, from being able to co-market with one another, through to skills development on how to build sustainable supply chains.

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In another example, we’ve had collaborations with groups, such as, Student Energy - an NGO helping renewable energy students enter the energy industry. We supported their Chapters to connect on a global scale, collaborating in Spaces around job opportunities and academic research for their studies.

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We’ve facilitated over 12,000 conversations and with a new matchmaking experience being released in April ‘22, we’re looking to accelerate more meaningful conversations as we go into the year.

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What is WONDR’s revenue model and what advice would you give to social impact businesses looking to be run more sustainably?

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The revenue model is one of the most fundamental facets of WONDR.  Traditional education has always been educator-driven. Courses and curriculum essentially says “teacher knows best” and, whilst there is some truth in that, the ‘teacher’ doesn’t always know what the learner needs.

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We are developing a learner-first approach where the learner is in control of their own data, giving them the ability to influence the educational experiences that mentors create. We share information with mentors of what learners want to know about (anonymously), so they can create highly relevant workshops and conversations that speak directly to the topics learners want to learn about.

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We have a monthly membership that grants learners access to learning opportunities, premium features and investment in social good projects. Learners gain access to unlimited industry experienced mentors for workshops and masterclasses, as well as connections with people who share similar goals and ambitions. Whether that’s collaborations on community projects, finding a co-founder, developing business partnerships or up-skilling together for career goals.

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My advice for other businesses: when we consider sustainability, we must look at it through the lens of our impact on both people and the planet. As new business models are developed my advice would always be to ask how can the model be intrinsically linked to the betterment of the people they serve and the planet?

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We believe technology should be used by people to accelerate their personal goals; people should not be used by technology. We value the importance of ethical data usage, promising to never sell data and we’ve opted out of advertising models. Our premium layer gives people greater control and access to the network so they can accelerate connections and life opportunities for themselves and the safeguarding of the planet. WONDR will always have a free experience and we will also launch a pay-what-you-can model or free premium access for those in disadvantaged circumstances.

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We are also tying our long-term commercial targets to investment in real world projects; donating revenues to conservation and restoration projects as well as social good projects.

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What is the benefit of community-based learning over a traditional course?

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The number one issue we’ve found 21st Century learners face is not having the support networks to help implement and apply knowledge. Courses and information is ubiquitous - in fact it’s overwhelming for many. And as people participate in the course, they are left feeling alone.

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A trusted community offers an ability for peers to share knowledge and learn together. Whilst also allowing the flexibility for near-real time workshops that can be launched within a few days on a topic that’s particularly relevant to people in that week. Additionally, the peer support and personal connections that are made give learners opportunities for emotional support and mental wellbeing.

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Our model provides people with access to unlimited mentors and conversations. When it comes to taking action in the real world, knowledge is easily accessible - it’s typically the confidence to use it that prevents people from action. Trusted networks and communities can help people understand how to apply their knowledge and passions quicker.

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What are some of the causes you're most passionate about today?

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There are many issues that we face ecologically, socially and economically. Part of what I find so exciting about community-based learning is that people, across the planet, are doing amazing things to solve issues through their collaborations.  A few I’d like to see supported more:

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• Scientists to Protect the Amazon (SPA)
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‘The Amazon We Want’ is an initiative affiliated to a group of 200 scientists who have a mission to safeguard the Amazon - Scientists to Protect the Amazon (SPA).

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Research shows that it could become a savannah in the next 5 years if there aren't sufficient protections put in place. SPA’s goal is to create new pathways for the preservation of this incredible ecosystem - it would be devastating to see such an incredible part of our natural world destroyed on our watch. You can read more here

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• Coral Reef preservation
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The world is 1.1C warmer and coral reefs are facing devastating effects. A 2018 report by the IPCC found that at 2ºC (3.6°F) or more, 99% of all reef-building corals could be lost—essentially disappearing from the planet.

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Indigineous societies rely heavily on these reefs for protection from storms and erosion, food systems and jobs.  There isn’t exactly any one cause or project I’m most passionate about - they’re all important. These two probably represent key ecological examples of how much of a problem issues like these are becoming.

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Overall, it comes down to why I’m so passionate about ‘education’ or learning more so. The two SDGs that can power all improvements in the world are SDG 4 - Education - and 17 - Partnerships.

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If we can create systemic changes in our perception of education and enable millions more learners to come “off the bench” and believe they can too create impact, we can shift our trajectory of rapid extinction events towards sustainable ecosystems.

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What are your hopes and goals for the future?

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Simply put there are 2 core outcomes:

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1. On Community - To have reached 50M people, helping them upskill and build confidence to address social and climate issues, by 2030
2. On Society - Industry and society recognises that ‘to be qualified’ isn’t defined by an exam grade but is more encompassing of what people can do with knowledge and a sense of lifelong learning.
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What does sustainability mean to you?

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I define sustainability as the practice of finding balance between the life you live, the people you impact and the natural world. I don’t believe there’s a hard and fast rule and there certainly isn’t a destination; a place of perfection. It’s a practice. It’s a principle of conscious living - being aware of the world around you and the people in it.

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I have a great deal of respect for scientists tackling these global issues and for activists who are challenging social systems for the changes they want to see. For me - sustainability is more about emotional intelligence, empathy and compassion, than it is about being scientifically savvy or engaging politically. Whilst those things are very important; sustainability is accessible to everyone.

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How can more communities be encouraged to share your mission and vision?

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I always say that WONDR’s mission is part of a wider worldview that millions of people, organisations and businesses already have. We exist to help accelerate the connections and knowledge between those people but it is fundamentally about celebrating their efforts.

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The community on WONDR all share a belief that, through collaboration, we can solve real world problems faster. With over 200 topics discussed on WONDR at any one time, each person brings diversity of perspective and thinking to the conversation.

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Essentially our mission is to give power to your mission. Anyone who joins WONDR is part of a growing collective that is celebrated daily - we welcome likeminds with open arms.

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We’ve also built pages for community groups to have live discussions, chats and share knowledge together - community groups here. If anyone would like to set up a group on WONDR, they can do so - completely free.

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