Founder's Story - The Entrepreneur Proving You Don't Have To Choose Between Profit & Purpose | Ep 289 with Stuart White Founder of We Are Our World

Episode Date: December 9, 2025

Stuart White traces We Are Our World’s origin to a powerful scene on a Hawaiian beach that reframed how he thinks about access, dignity, and everyday generosity. He explains how WAOW’s model works (discounted products + automatic donations), why trust matters (Forbes Top 100 rotation each December), and how transparent cashback and referrals can turn giving into a repeatable habit. Key Discussion Points: The spark: watching a young, wheelchair-bound child light up when he touched the ocean—and realizing many want to help but lack an easy on-ramp. Stuart connects that emotion to a practical system: shoppers buy brand-name goods at a discount; WAOW donates 5–10% of the price to the customer’s chosen charity, with no added cost to the buyer. He highlights why simplicity beats guilt and why using the Forbes Top 100 list builds credibility without forcing shoppers to research nonprofits. On the ops side, he shares brand appetite for new sales channels, the plan to expand product categories, and how WAOW’s cashback (bank transfer allowed) and referral (earn up to ~10%) mechanics keep people returning—because the more you shop, the more is donated. He reframes “greed is good” into “a side hustle with a heart”: creators and everyday buyers can earn while amplifying impact. Stuart closes with a holiday promo and a custom Founder’s Story code to reward your audience and funnel more dollars to charity. Takeaways: Impact scales when it’s frictionless: remove cost from the giver, add trust to the destination, and people will participate. Curation matters—tying donations to an authoritative list lowers decision fatigue. Transparency builds momentum (let shoppers withdraw cashback, don’t lock them in). Growth is a function of story + simplicity: make the act of giving indistinguishable from a normal purchase, and you can turn thousands of casual shoppers into a sustainable funding engine for top charities. Closing Thoughts: WAOW’s pitch is disarmingly simple: shop like normal, and money moves to causes—automatically. If more founders designed profit engines that default to giving, we’d normalize impact as part of everyday commerce, not an afterthought. Special Offer for Founder Story Listeners: Shop on We Are Our World, post about your purchase on social media, write a review, and receive a 5% Founder Story coupon code for your next order—saving you a total of 15% while supporting charity. Use this link: weareourworld.com/ref/@foundersstory1 to enter the site and ensure that you recieve the coupon! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

So, Stuart, I got to say, I'm excited by what you're doing because I feel like with technology and everything we can do, I don't know if we're always creating things that can positively impact the world. There's a lot of talk around, you know, AI, is that going to damage things? Is it going to make it better or worse? I don't know. At least what you're doing is you're leveraging technology and you're doing something great for the world. So what was that moment for you when you realized that we really needed we are. our world and what was the problem you were solving? Great question. Absolutely. So, you know, really, if you were to look back at a distinctive moment in my life and what really made me think of the idea behind We Are Our World, I was living in Hawaii at the time, spending almost every day in the ocean. And one day I saw a young couple. They were pushing their son in a wheelchair down to the water. Several of us, you know, offered to help, but the parents were very, very proud and they politely declined. I watched this

little boy. He was probably no older, Daniel, than five or six years old, who was in a wheelchair. Yet he was so excited to get down to the ocean, and everybody was excited for him, too. His parents lifted him out of the chair. He was paralyzed, you know, unfortunately from the waist down. And when the water touched him, he lit up. His arms were flinging, completely joyful. For that moment, he was just like any other kid. And watching him, I felt inspired, but also honestly relieved never to face what he would. I mean, let's face it, you know, we're all emotional as human beings and that side comes into play as well. And I kept thinking about it and I said, hey, I have to take this situation and you can't, you know, like I was stopped from in that moment

helping and it just really inspired me as well that if he's going through these challenges to live his life and his future life, what can I do today to make a difference? So what was the next steps? And I mean, it sounds like an incredible mission. And then how did you say, okay, I'm going to connect it to e-commerce, shopping? Like, how did you make that connection? Yeah. So let me go over that with you from that standpoint.

You know, think people as a whole, right? We think about charity and volunteering. And, you know, I realize, you know, there's a barrier for a lot of people. And it wasn't the lack of caring. It was a lack of access. You know, affluent and wealthy people they give. But every day people want to go ahead and contribute as well. They just can't always afford to do so.

They don't have the bank roll. So this is where we all world comes in. We make really giving effortless, Daniel. This is how simplistic, wow. I like to call it as well, the acronym for We Are Our World. So I guess you can say wow from that standpoint. And hopefully it's that wow moment that people realize this. And here's how it works.

You know, you shop luxury brands at discounted prices. And they're not only luxury brands from that standpoint. But, you know, a lot of them are as well. I made some great connections with suppliers and manufacturers and vendors. And you come to our site at we are a world.com. we donate five to 10% of every purchase to your charity of choice from the Forbes top 100 charities in America. It costs you absolutely nothing. You shop and we give. How simple, right? Sometimes I think we found the greatest businesses and companies come from something that is so simple, yet it solves a

major problem. So when you got into this whole world of charity and donations, was there something that came up that you're like, oh, wow, like this, this isn't what I expected. Yeah, you know, Daniel, when you look upon it, you know, people think, you know, how do they shop? And some companies never dare to, you know, change their business model, if you will. You know, and what's the pushback, you know, that you may face when it comes down to it. And what makes we or world really special and different? Here's the reality of it. You're shopping like it's going back to the simplicity that you were saying.

You're shopping anyway. Why not make it count? You get great merchandise at discounted prices. You pick a charity from Forbes top 100 charities. We chose Forbes for a reason. It's the most trustworthy, incredible list that's out there. It truly is the top 100 charities every year in America that's donated to. So at the end of each year, we have to actually update it end of each year in December,

usually about the second or third week in December. They have it from the year before, calculated on what was donated the most. But at the end of the day, you're donating a portion of your purchase. You're not paying for it whatsoever. I'm just taking, and we're taking as a company, a percentage of that price point. It costs you absolutely nothing. And it's really that simple and easy.

You know, I don't see any sort of pushback, you know, when it comes down to it. So what was the feedback like from the customer? and then also what's the feedback like from the brand? Yeah. So from the customer's perspective, you know, hey, it's something that you're able to do something here that's near and dear to your heart. You're able to get great products for yourself, but you're also able to give back to the cause that you want to choose from.

You know, it feels special from that standpoint. You know, and the hope is that you can buy, you know, tons of brand name products and simultaneously give back. And thus, that's the name, we are our world, as we can all come together for the greater good. Be better, do better, and do something really special for causes and charities and need. So when you think about how large and how big you can scale this organization, obviously there's billions of people on the planet and I'm sure you can have millions of shoppers in the U.S. alone, what do you think this will look like and how big of an

impact could this have? Great question. Yeah, you know, really what it comes down to in life and We always try to plan short-term and long-term goals. And so those for We Are Our World, short-term, I'm focused on getting the word out. No podcasts like this, social media, anywhere I can share the story and build on the brand. The more people who know about We Are Our World, the more money that will go to charity. Long-term, I want to grow this into a real movement. You know, I'll settle for thousands of people for shopping on a We Are All World. And millions would be something, you know, special.

forget about billions for a moment. That would be outrageous, right? But, you know, that would be really special, you know, if we had just, you know, thousands to and grow from that standpoint. But I'm that selfish at the end of the day, you know, I look at this as something that other companies should look upon doing too. You know, it's really known as a social enterprise where it's a company that is, yes, for profit, but at the same time, that's giving back to society. So I'd love to see other companies, you know, adopt this model, prove out that you can be. build a business that's profitable and do good at the same time. And personally, you know, I want to expand beyond fashion. I'd love to add electronics, home goods, everyday products,

people are already buying. So if anyone out there, you know, it's a manufacturer that's listening or distributor or consumer goods or knows people that are, reach out and we can discuss having your products represented on our site and adding them to our catalog of goods. The more products that we have to offer the merrier and combined, we can provide a, and influence that many more people to purchase. And in turn, raise that much more money for charity. Just send an email to info at we are a world.com. So I imagine you get this question a lot.

Were you in e-commerce before or were you in retail before this company? Like I understand if you want to do good and you tied it to this, but I would imagine that you must have had some experience. And if not, how did you get into this industry? Yeah, great, great question as well. It's interesting. I've been in sales my whole life. You know, I've sold different products, different services when it comes down to it.

Interesting enough when before 2000, right, the bubble burst thing, I was actually selling websites. You know, and it's interesting too because they didn't have all these plug-ins and everything else. If you were a company, you were spending a lot of money to build out a website when it came down there. So from a sales perspective, the technology end of it, I didn't per se no, but I love the beauty of it to be able to reach, you know, thousands to, you know, millions of people, as we just said, from that standpoint. And I also looked at it that, hey, I could look at this latter part of my career. That was something that was near and dear to me as well. I wanted to do something more, you know, sales, when it comes down to it, it's earned me a very good livelihood over the years. There's no doubt about that.

But it doesn't give me that unique feeling of really being able to influence this. And so that's the beauty of We are a World as a whole. And what I created here, it's an enabler. It's a catalyst for giving back. And it's something where why would you not, if you could go ahead and if you have the same product and you had the opportunity to give back to charity for absolutely free, why would you not choose that opportunity? And that's why my hope is.

I mean, yeah, it makes a lot of sense. I think most people, when they go into entrepreneurship, if you were to tell them, not only can you do something successful, you could make money from it, but you could also help people. I think most people would want to add that in. I don't know if they always look at that as like an addition that they can do in the beginning. But I think if we could, most people would add that portion to their company. So if somebody out there is thinking like, wow, I want to be like Stewart, I want to start a company. I want to do good. I want to make that not just a nonprofit typical thing.

I want to make that, you know, a part of my for-profit organization. What's a piece of advice that you'd give to them? So most people, you know, I understand exactly what you're saying. And most people think, you know, cashback and referral programs is really what you're getting to is sometimes, you know, too good to be true. you know and the bottom line is this when it comes down to it from a cashback perspective we want of course incentivize people to keep coming back for more the more often you come back once the more often that you continue to give back to charity and that's really what it's about at the end so the more you shop the more your charity benefits and when i say you're a charity you could pick

on each purchase you literally can pick different charities that you want to go ahead and donate to You can you also at the end of the day, we want to be able to be transparent as possible. A lot of companies that do give back cash, they actually make sure that you utilize it again on future shopping experiences. We're actually giving you an opportunity that if you want to cash out and put it in your bank account, you can. So the choice is certainly yours. Don't get me wrong, you know, as we grow and as we build will probably incentivize

people where, hey, if you want to use it for cash. back on a future purchase. Well, we may even throw in an additional percentage, if you will, that you'll get on a future cashback opportunity. And then when it comes down to, you know, our affiliate program, a referral program, certainly we want to be able to grow organically. You know, when it comes down to it, you could share wow with your friends. They shop and they give to charity and you earn up to 10% of their purchase. Most people shopping means more, you know, going to good causes when it comes down to more people shopping, I should say, It means more money going to good causes.

That's, you know, right when it comes down to it, you have to do and let people know about we are a world. It's really that simple. It reminds me, you know, of that line that Michael Douglas said in Wall Street, right? We all remember that movie. And it was a very, they had a lot of conviction saying it, greed is good. So in this case, it really is, is you can make money and have a side hustle, but with a heart, you know, and collectively come together and give that much more to charity.

Everyday people and mega influencers, if you will, can post on their socials, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and earn real money for referring others to shop. And you're shopping with a purpose and you're making a difference in your life, in the lives of others by simply shopping. It's really that easy. I like this side hustle with a heart. I've never heard that before. That's a good one.

But Stewart, this has been amazing. We are our world. I'm very inspired by what you what you've been able to accomplish here, your mission. I think if more people thought this way, really the world would be, you know, even a better place. But if you want to get in touch with you, they want to find out more. They want to learn about your affiliate programs and such. How can they do so? Absolutely.

So let me actually tell you something. I thought about this long and hard. And I want to really give you great opportunity, Daniel, for your viewers and your listeners this holiday season with a special promotion. I want to do something special for them. You know, it's holiday season. We are running, of course, in our site, a special promotion where you could click on a coupon link that you'll see on every single product. It will open up and you could get back a code that you'll get a cash back. You'll wind up getting cash back in 5%.

And you'll also get 5% off immediately from that purchase. And that's, you know, for everyone, anybody who makes a purchase on a site. But if your viewers and your audience could go ahead and make a purchase, post a back. post about it on their social media, write a review as well, I'll personally send them, let's call it, you know what, Daniel, let's call it a 5% founder's story coupon for their next order. And therefore, your viewers, you can save a total of 15% off their purchases and support a charity at the same time.

It's my way of saying thanks for having it come on your show, spread the word about what we're doing when it comes down to it. And it will be a great opportunity for your... audience and I would love to you know go ahead and push that forward to him well Stuart I appreciate your time all that you do we are our world I hope everyone checks it out we'll include links and everything so they have it but I can't wait you know a year six months a year from now just to see how much bigger that you've been able to build this and how much has been able to be donated because I'm sure it's going to be amazing and you're a pro now you could go on any interview podcast you're

going to do amazing I know this is you know one of your first podcast interviews you've done. So I can't wait to see how much better you become just in the media game. I know you're going to be incredible. But Stuart, I can tell the passion, love the mission, and thank you for joining us today. Thank you so much, Daniel. I really, really appreciate it.