June 16, 2025 • 7 mins
In this Interview Highlight, Kelly Schulz, Founder and Director for Knowable Me, shares the great news with Peter Greco that Knowable Me is now officially certified as a Social Enterprise by Social Traders.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:05):
If you're a regular to the program. Last week, we
caught up with Kelly Schultz from knowable, who talks about
accessible voting and the survey that Kelly had done. Kelly
is back with us. Kelly, great to catch up again.
S2 (00:14):
It was like I never left. Peter.
S1 (00:15):
Oh you haven't. Now, Kelly, you've got some good news
for the last little while, kind of putting a bit
of an exclamation mark to the work that you're doing.
S2 (00:22):
I have, and thank you for for acknowledging it. To Peter,
we have knowable. Me has recently achieved its social enterprise certification,
which is a really, really big milestone for us.
S1 (00:33):
And we're having a quick chat before coming to where.
And this is kind of interesting how it's all come
about or how it all hasn't come about.
S2 (00:40):
Well, social enterprises in Australia, you might hear lots of
different things and people call themselves a social enterprise. So
for people who don't know, a social enterprise needs to
have a purpose that is about social improvement, employment, environment
or cultural. And so that's different from a a charity
because social enterprises need to actually do trade. So they
(01:02):
need to sell something, sell a product or a service.
So they could be not for profit or they could
be for profit. But a social enterprise does have that
mission and impact and purpose. And to be certified, you
actually have to prove to people to the certifying body
that more than you give back, more than you take effectively.
So it's actually quite a big deal. And we're in
(01:25):
market research, and a lot of the times people will hear, oh,
market research, you're the people who phone up and want
to ask me questions or stop straight or, you know,
it can feel a bit exploitative at times. Market research? Sure.
But I don't want it to be a dirty word.
I really want us to show that market research, particularly
what we do with people with disabilities, can have a really,
(01:46):
really big impact on everything.
S1 (01:49):
That's the point that we talked about last week, wasn't
the fact that the information that you've gained is now given,
or going to give everyone a bit more of an
idea of how accessible the information to vote was and
some of the experiences, etc. and hopefully some positive action
can be taken from that.
S2 (02:04):
Yeah, we'd love to see the positive action. It's one
of the things that's really clear in the customers we
work with is that we want to hear back, here,
what's changed? And all that comes from feedback from people.
And sometimes it's little things about the accessibility of, you know,
we've we've had feedback from our our gift card website.
So we reward people with gift cards. And there's been
(02:27):
some screen reader issues on their website. And so we
provided them that feedback and they've fixed it. You know
it's okay. You know that wasn't necessarily a survey that
we did or a piece of work for a customer.
But that kind of feedback and that constant dialogue is
what we do, and that's what we want to do.
And it's it's out there. So sometimes it's a customer
who is getting that information for themselves, but sometimes it's us.
(02:50):
So the election one we talked about last week that's
freely available, anyone can look at that and quote those
stats and make those improvements.
S1 (02:59):
What's involved with getting this tick of approval?
S2 (03:02):
They want to see every single financial document I've ever
had for a start. So it's a quite a forensic
look into your business practices and structure. So they actually
look at your structure and how the company is. You know,
how shareholding works or where the money goes to make
sure that you can't just wind back that social impact.
(03:25):
It's actually enshrined into your business structure, your constitution, your documentation,
and then it also has to be enshrined in your finances.
So it has to be really clear when you're looking
at a balance sheet or a profit and loss or
some sort of financial document where those funds are coming
from and going and where the beneficiaries are. So it's
(03:46):
it's quite a forensic look. Um, as well as, you know,
what our strategy is and what our plans are for
the future, because we're not very old yet. So hopefully
there's a lot more to come.
S1 (03:56):
You talked about, uh, for profits can also kind of
have that shingle if you like. So that's right. Is it?
S2 (04:02):
That is right. Yeah.
S1 (04:03):
But they've still got to go through the hoops of
proving that. What that they are giving back.
S2 (04:07):
That's right. And you have to give more than you take.
So it has to be more than 50% of profits or,
or gains reinvested or, or given back to the purpose
of the organization.
S1 (04:20):
This is a little bit of a tongue in cheek question, Kelly,
but how accessible is that process to kind of fill
out the forms?
S2 (04:27):
That's actually all online, so not a bad job. I
actually think the hardest part is the fact that, uh,
none of the government websites, so try being a blind
business owner in this country is a bit of a
problem for things like basic, and filling out those types
of government things is the harder part. But social traders
who we worked with were were great.
S1 (04:47):
What about as far as, uh, is it an ongoing
kind of accreditation? Or once you've got the stamp of approval,
that's it, or for a certain amount of.
S2 (04:55):
Time, because we're a startup, we're quite young in our
in our journey. We have to do it every year. Um,
but at the point at which you reach some sort
of stability, I think they do it for three years
once you're once you're established. But at the moment, for us,
it's a yearly recertification process.
S1 (05:11):
And what does it mean for you sort of both
personally and professionally, as far as you know, having that, uh,
shingle that you can, you know, put up in lights.
S2 (05:19):
I know it's not always, you know, what people like
to hear, but I'm really proud of it. I'm really
proud to be able to prove that we can do
market research for good. And as a business, it means
that other businesses who are buying from us can also
show that they are doing good by supporting a social enterprise.
So there's kind of benefits for everybody. The disability insights
(05:41):
and the accessibility insights that they need. They're also supporting
a social enterprise. So it looks good from everyone's perspective.
And like I said about market research, sometimes it can
feel a bit meh. Not sure that people want to participate.
So hopefully this also helps us build more people and
build that trust with our members so that they do
want to give of themselves to to help us make
(06:03):
make the world better.
S1 (06:04):
Well, I guess in a sense, what you're saying is
that if people do take part in your surveys or
do sort of join in the work that you're doing,
then their work is being valued as well. It's not
just another market research or just another survey I'm filling out,
but this could actually potentially make make a big difference.
S2 (06:21):
That's right. And they also know that we are not
just sitting here profiting off their insights. And because that's
the thing, so often it can feel really exploitative, particularly
for people with disability who so often share things that
are need to be fixed or they provide feedback and
nothing happens. Well, this is proof we we we're giving
back and things will happen.
S1 (06:42):
Fantastic. Well, if people want to find out more and
it's really good that you've got this social enterprise, that
badge of honor. So congratulations on that. It sounds like
you've certainly had to work for it both off and
on the government website. So you kind of had to
do it in your own office and then through the
the right channels as well. So congratulations on that. If
people want to find out more about what you do
(07:04):
and what you've got coming up, where can we find you?
S2 (07:06):
You can find us at noble k n o w
a b l e dot m e. And thanks for
your support, Peter.
S1 (07:14):
All right. I'm sure it won't be too long before
we speak again.
S2 (07:17):
Looking forward.
S1 (07:17):
To it. Kelly Schultz there, the person who stood up
with me and now has that accreditation of being a
social enterprise. They're going through all the channels and doing
the right thing and literally making a real difference.
If you're a regular to the program. Last week, we
caught up with Kelly Schultz from knowable, who talks about
accessible voting and the survey that Kelly had done. Kelly
is back with us. Kelly, great to catch up again.
S2 (00:14):
It was like I never left. Peter.
S1 (00:15):
Oh you haven't. Now, Kelly, you've got some good news
for the last little while, kind of putting a bit
of an exclamation mark to the work that you're doing.
S2 (00:22):
I have, and thank you for for acknowledging it. To Peter,
we have knowable. Me has recently achieved its social enterprise certification,
which is a really, really big milestone for us.
S1 (00:33):
And we're having a quick chat before coming to where.
And this is kind of interesting how it's all come
about or how it all hasn't come about.
S2 (00:40):
Well, social enterprises in Australia, you might hear lots of
different things and people call themselves a social enterprise. So
for people who don't know, a social enterprise needs to
have a purpose that is about social improvement, employment, environment
or cultural. And so that's different from a a charity
because social enterprises need to actually do trade. So they
(01:02):
need to sell something, sell a product or a service.
So they could be not for profit or they could
be for profit. But a social enterprise does have that
mission and impact and purpose. And to be certified, you
actually have to prove to people to the certifying body
that more than you give back, more than you take effectively.
So it's actually quite a big deal. And we're in
(01:25):
market research, and a lot of the times people will hear, oh,
market research, you're the people who phone up and want
to ask me questions or stop straight or, you know,
it can feel a bit exploitative at times. Market research? Sure.
But I don't want it to be a dirty word.
I really want us to show that market research, particularly
what we do with people with disabilities, can have a really,
(01:46):
really big impact on everything.
S1 (01:49):
That's the point that we talked about last week, wasn't
the fact that the information that you've gained is now given,
or going to give everyone a bit more of an
idea of how accessible the information to vote was and
some of the experiences, etc. and hopefully some positive action
can be taken from that.
S2 (02:04):
Yeah, we'd love to see the positive action. It's one
of the things that's really clear in the customers we
work with is that we want to hear back, here,
what's changed? And all that comes from feedback from people.
And sometimes it's little things about the accessibility of, you know,
we've we've had feedback from our our gift card website.
So we reward people with gift cards. And there's been
(02:27):
some screen reader issues on their website. And so we
provided them that feedback and they've fixed it. You know
it's okay. You know that wasn't necessarily a survey that
we did or a piece of work for a customer.
But that kind of feedback and that constant dialogue is
what we do, and that's what we want to do.
And it's it's out there. So sometimes it's a customer
who is getting that information for themselves, but sometimes it's us.
(02:50):
So the election one we talked about last week that's
freely available, anyone can look at that and quote those
stats and make those improvements.
S1 (02:59):
What's involved with getting this tick of approval?
S2 (03:02):
They want to see every single financial document I've ever
had for a start. So it's a quite a forensic
look into your business practices and structure. So they actually
look at your structure and how the company is. You know,
how shareholding works or where the money goes to make
sure that you can't just wind back that social impact.
(03:25):
It's actually enshrined into your business structure, your constitution, your documentation,
and then it also has to be enshrined in your finances.
So it has to be really clear when you're looking
at a balance sheet or a profit and loss or
some sort of financial document where those funds are coming
from and going and where the beneficiaries are. So it's
(03:46):
it's quite a forensic look. Um, as well as, you know,
what our strategy is and what our plans are for
the future, because we're not very old yet. So hopefully
there's a lot more to come.
S1 (03:56):
You talked about, uh, for profits can also kind of
have that shingle if you like. So that's right. Is it?
S2 (04:02):
That is right. Yeah.
S1 (04:03):
But they've still got to go through the hoops of
proving that. What that they are giving back.
S2 (04:07):
That's right. And you have to give more than you take.
So it has to be more than 50% of profits or,
or gains reinvested or, or given back to the purpose
of the organization.
S1 (04:20):
This is a little bit of a tongue in cheek question, Kelly,
but how accessible is that process to kind of fill
out the forms?
S2 (04:27):
That's actually all online, so not a bad job. I
actually think the hardest part is the fact that, uh,
none of the government websites, so try being a blind
business owner in this country is a bit of a
problem for things like basic, and filling out those types
of government things is the harder part. But social traders
who we worked with were were great.
S1 (04:47):
What about as far as, uh, is it an ongoing
kind of accreditation? Or once you've got the stamp of approval,
that's it, or for a certain amount of.
S2 (04:55):
Time, because we're a startup, we're quite young in our
in our journey. We have to do it every year. Um,
but at the point at which you reach some sort
of stability, I think they do it for three years
once you're once you're established. But at the moment, for us,
it's a yearly recertification process.
S1 (05:11):
And what does it mean for you sort of both
personally and professionally, as far as you know, having that, uh,
shingle that you can, you know, put up in lights.
S2 (05:19):
I know it's not always, you know, what people like
to hear, but I'm really proud of it. I'm really
proud to be able to prove that we can do
market research for good. And as a business, it means
that other businesses who are buying from us can also
show that they are doing good by supporting a social enterprise.
So there's kind of benefits for everybody. The disability insights
(05:41):
and the accessibility insights that they need. They're also supporting
a social enterprise. So it looks good from everyone's perspective.
And like I said about market research, sometimes it can
feel a bit meh. Not sure that people want to participate.
So hopefully this also helps us build more people and
build that trust with our members so that they do
want to give of themselves to to help us make
(06:03):
make the world better.
S1 (06:04):
Well, I guess in a sense, what you're saying is
that if people do take part in your surveys or
do sort of join in the work that you're doing,
then their work is being valued as well. It's not
just another market research or just another survey I'm filling out,
but this could actually potentially make make a big difference.
S2 (06:21):
That's right. And they also know that we are not
just sitting here profiting off their insights. And because that's
the thing, so often it can feel really exploitative, particularly
for people with disability who so often share things that
are need to be fixed or they provide feedback and
nothing happens. Well, this is proof we we we're giving
back and things will happen.
S1 (06:42):
Fantastic. Well, if people want to find out more and
it's really good that you've got this social enterprise, that
badge of honor. So congratulations on that. It sounds like
you've certainly had to work for it both off and
on the government website. So you kind of had to
do it in your own office and then through the
the right channels as well. So congratulations on that. If
people want to find out more about what you do
(07:04):
and what you've got coming up, where can we find you?
S2 (07:06):
You can find us at noble k n o w
a b l e dot m e. And thanks for
your support, Peter.
S1 (07:14):
All right. I'm sure it won't be too long before
we speak again.
S2 (07:17):
Looking forward.
S1 (07:17):
To it. Kelly Schultz there, the person who stood up
with me and now has that accreditation of being a
social enterprise. They're going through all the channels and doing
the right thing and literally making a real difference.
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