For mission-led brands, growth can be a double-edged sword. Scale too fast and you risk diluting your purpose. Grow too slowly and you miss opportunities to create impact. One of my favourite challenges is to help brands find that balance - building momentum while staying anchored to their “why.”
House of Darwin is a Northern Territory brand that blends for-profit business with a social enterprise heart. Their fashion-forward apparel funds community projects across the NT, including the Hoop Dreams program, which revitalises basketball courts in remote areas.
For the past two years, we’ve worked alongside founder Shaun Edwards, providing mentoring and strategic support to help his growing team navigate the complexities of scaling a purpose-driven business.
My role was to connect the dots between growth and authenticity – ensuring every operational and strategic decision fuelled both commercial success and community impact. From refining wholesale processes to streamlining the supply chain, together we created the operational backbone needed for sustainable growth. We connected House of Darwin with key industry players, unlocking wholesale accounts that boosted cash flow and expanded their reach. A pivotal moment was facilitating their entry into Universal Store – a national retail milestone that took the brand to a wider audience without losing the NT storytelling at its heart.
The results speak for themselves: stronger supplier relationships, steady cash flow, exponential growth, and a bigger platform for their mission. Most importantly, House of Darwin has been able to scale without compromise – proving that purpose and profit can grow side by side.
- Zeb
