Episode 486: Ninna Larsen of Reground
What if your small business could be a force for positive change?
In today’s episode, Fiona Killackey chats with Ninna Larsen, the founder of Reground, a social enterprise revolutionizing waste management through innovative, circular economy solutions.
Ninna’s journey from barista to business owner is nothing short of inspiring. In this conversation, she dives into the real-world challenges of creating a sustainable business and shares how small businesses like yours can take meaningful steps towards a greener future.
Here's what you can look forward to:
Nina's path to entrepreneurship: From serving coffee to leading a business tackling waste issues across industries.
Collaboration is key: How working together with others can fast-track sustainability goals.
Myths about sustainability: Ninna clears up common misconceptions and helps you understand what sustainability really means for your business.
Actionable tips: Simple steps for integrating sustainability into your operations, no matter your size.
The importance of community and mentorship: How building a strong network can make or break your business.
Circular economy insights: Ninna explains what a circular economy is and why it matters for your business.
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Ninna Larsen: But I think it's very easy. Like this is why I say we're in the transition. So many businesses and like they don't know where to start. It's very hard. Like I think we can all kind of collectively agree this is hard. Like it's super overwhelming. But it's not to say that we shouldn't do anything. So I think the first step is really just become aware and then understand who are your helpers. Because guarantee you there are someone that is looking into a solution and perhaps piggybacking with them or collaborating with them is the way out.
Fiona Killackey: Do you love your life as a small business owner? Let's be real… sometimes we just don't.
It's my hope that this for my daily business podcast, helps you regain a little of that lost love through practical, actionable tips, tools and tactics, interviews with creative and curious small business owners, and in depth coaching episodes with me, your host, Fiona Killackey. With more than 20 years experience in marketing, brand content and systems and having now helped thousands of small business owners, I know what it takes to build a business that you can be proud of and that actually aligns with your values, your beliefs and your hopes for the future. So much of our daily life is spent working on and in the businesses and the brands that we are creating and so it makes sense to actually.
Love what you do.
So let's get into this podcast and help you figure out how to love your business and your life on the Daily.
Fiona Killackey: Hello and welcome to episode 486 of the My Daily Business Podcast. Today it's an interview episode. And if you've ever thought of creating a social enterprise or heading down a path of, you know, increased sustainability or really looking at what you can do as a business to help society at large, then today's interview is going to be so inspiring and insightful for you.
Before we get stuck into that, I wanna let you know that group coaching is open and my guest today is actually part of a group coaching programme that I've run and has also done one-on-one coaching. And it's just amazing, to be able to see people come together to mentor each other, to work together, to be there as peer support as well as obviously myself as the coach.
So if you are interested in being part of this, we also have a scholarship position in this as well. So feel free to apply for that. You can head on over to mydailybusiness.com/group-coaching and apply.
We are kicking off this round in March and it will run for about 12 to 14 months. So if you're interested in that, please head on over and apply as soon as you can at mydailybusiness.com/group-coaching.
Before we get stuck in, I also want to just of course acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians on the land on which I meet with group coaching programme people and all sorts of other things in my business. And for me in North Warrnambool, that is the Woburong and Runundjri people of the Kulin nation and I pay my respects to their elders past and present and acknowledge that sovereignty has never been ceded.
Alright, let's get into today's interview episode. I have just such a wonderful job in that somehow, some way, I seem to attract the most incredible people to coaching and group coaching and so many programmes. And I’m so, so honoured to work with incredible people that are super inspiring and today's guest is one of those people.
So I met Ninna Larsen when she came to me for coaching around her incredible business Reground, which many people will know. Nina is originally from Denmark and she's an expert in behavioural design and loves marrying the sort of sustainability and practicality as we talk about today.
This is something she has been passionate about forever, but also something that was just part of her culture growing up. And it was something, one thing that when she came to Australia 10 years ago or longer and started her business, she just found like, why isn't this happening? Why do we do things this way?
And she talks about the naivety of how that actually worked for her, not being from Australia because she was like, I don't know how things work but I can see that there's a better path, so I'm going to try and help that happen.
And she started literally, when people say grassroots, she really, really started and her story of how she actually got from an idea into implementation is interesting for sure and it's definitely inspiring. I think so many of us can look at social enterprise and people doing incredible things that have huge impact on the community and feel like they must have had this incredible complex plan or they must have really understood all these different elements.
And Nina talks you through how simple it was the way that she started the business.
So to put it simply, Reground, Nina's business, is a social enterprise helping organisations and individuals create a circular economy through innovative waste collection and waste minimisation projects. It was founded in 2014 and really it was as a result of seeing unnecessary waste in the coffee cafe kind of industry.
It has since grown so that Reground now works across multiple industries and with multiple companies, from big corporates and government groups right down to small single cafes and so many other people in between. Nina has grown her team. She has a big team now. She is just about to launch Reground in Sydney. So that's super exciting. And she is just paving the way for other people to see what she's doing and be like, “I can do it too.”
So today is just such an interesting, inspiring, and intriguing conversation. And so here it is, my interview with the wonderful Ninna Larsen, founder and director of Reground.
Welcome to the podcast, Nina. I am so excited to have you on. I've wanted to have you on this podcast for ages. I always like to ask people, how are you feeling about life right now?
Ninna Larsen: Hi, Fiona. Honestly, I feel good. Life is excellent. Coming back from break over New Year and Christmas and having rested, yeah, I just feel like this is a feeling I can have. Last year was so intense. So I just love starting 2025 with this calmness. So I feel good. I feel really good.
Fiona Killackey: I love that. I am so someone who, like, takes in the novelty of a new year and thinks, yes, fresh start, fresh everything. Are you a bit like that, or is it just that this year you had a break and you feel good?
Ninna Larsen: Nope. Every single year, we have two weeks off together at Reground. And I have a very big process of doing a reset and reviewing our values and just looking at the year that has passed, and then setting intentions for the year. And I'm like, it’s actually such a lovely process.
And because we haven’t gone away over this period, we stayed in Melbourne, it’s actually really calm as well. We’re not moving around. So I just feel like it’s a very big introspective period, which I find super grounding.
Fiona Killackey: Oh, I love this so much. I feel the same. Sometimes it’s lovely to go away, but it’s also lovely to just stay and be in your normal environment, but not have the pressure of work, work, work, work, work. Speaking of, so we’re here to talk about your incredible business Reground. So how did that happen? When did you come up with the idea? And then how long did it take from "I’ve got this idea" to an actual company?
Ninna Larsen: Yep. Okay. Well, it's been 10 years now.
Fiona Killackey: Massive Kgrats.
Ninna Larsen: Yeah, it is a huge milestone. So we turned 10 last year, meaning it's been a decade since I came to Australia and started working in a cafe in Brunswick East here in Melbourne. And that's how the whole idea came about—that I was working in a cafe, I was a barista, I was producing a bunch of coffee waste.
My reference point was sort of the Danish model, because I'm from Denmark. So I was asking questions about what happens when I put this nabin. And I was chatting to my colleagues and my boss at the time. And that's really how Reground came about. It was a real community solution that was created in the cafe I was working at.
I decided to buy a bin and then roll this bin down from the cafe I was working at to Series, an environmental park around the corner. And that's the model we still use to today. So, yeah, it's been a huge 10 years, but it's still the very same idea and same model we use.
Fiona Killackey: I love that it started so simply because you look at your business now and you've got trucks and you've got all these people working for you, and you've got all these consultancy and different angles of the business, and someone could think, "Oh, I want to start that." But, oh, gosh, she probably had this huge career in project management and risk assessment, and she did all this stuff.
And it's like, I got a bin, I started with a bin and I just rolled it down. Oh, my goodness, I love that so much. Were you always... And you mentioned you're from Denmark. Were you always interested in sustainability? Was young you, as a child, into fixing problems? Or, like, how do you think you just had the confidence? Because I've worked in cafes. I used to work in cafes way back in, like, the 1990s and early 2000s. I didn’t have that same thought process.
Ninna Larsen: No. I definitely think that I have been very ultra-aware of the environmental sort of context that we are all in every day. In Denmark, we had this education just built into the schooling system. So these were like conversations we would be having regularly while I was growing up.
And just as part of school, and when I was studying at uni, I also had a job in Denmark working with climate change and sustainability. So I definitely had a bit of exposure to it. But I will say I think it was more of an emotional attachment, like, kind of already back then, I was asking myself, "What can I do to help out?" And I guess this definitely brought me the motivation to go from seeing a problem where I was working, to thinking, "I’m gonna try and fix that." So that was the initial motivation for actually stepping in and thinking that I could potentially play a role in this massive problem.
Because if I were to do something like this today, I would have had to do a lot of soul searching because of imposter syndrome and stuff like that. So, yeah, I think it was a bit wild. Maybe also a little bit of naivety, like I was 24, and thinking, "Whatever, I’ve got nothing to lose." I was just kind of trialling things.
But my family, and my dad in particular, is a bit of an entrepreneur as well. So, I think it was definitely this kind of out-of-box thinking that was also part of my childhood. While we are not business people at all in my family, it definitely feels like it was encouraged to just see where you go with it.
So that attitude helped me a lot in the beginning.
Fiona Killackey: Yeah, amazing. And so then how did it go? And firstly, was your cafe, was the owner of the cafe quite responsive to this idea because you were working there?
Ninna Larsen: Yeah, absolutely. James was one of my earliest influences when it came to going from idea to execution. I actually don’t know if I would have necessarily done this if I hadn’t gotten his blessings. We had worked together for, I think, about a year at that point, and he was recognising that I was starting to get quite bored in my job.
I was looking for ways to improve systems, and I think he just kind of noticed that he needed to channel that energy. So he was the one who encouraged me to go and buy a bin. He was so supportive. He worked out the pricing model with me originally—he was so helpful in this process.
And yeah, I just think those early mentors are so critical, and those supporters are incredibly important for actually just getting stuff off the ground.
Fiona Killackey: And so how did you go? I know you’ve said you got the bin and you went down to Series, and we actually had one of the guys from Series on the podcast a few years ago, and it was such an amazing episode. We’ll link to that episode in the podcast show notes. But then, how did you go from, "I’m working in a cafe and I’m going to roll this bin and give them the coffee grounds," to, "Now I’m going to get other cafes on board and now I need an office and now I need staff and now I have vans"?
Like, how long did that process take of the 10 years that you’ve been in business?
Ninna Larsen: Yeah, a long time. Yeah, super long. For the first one and a half years, it was me borrowing my ex-partner’s superu Forestter. And I always had to do the bin run with another person that I had to rope into doing it.
We had to literally lift—like you would not be doing this now—major OH&S red flags there, but lifting the bin into the back of the car.
Then I met... this was an intro from my old boss as well, James, and he linked me up with a person that he'd met, Caitlyn, who then, since, became a business partner. Caitlyn was also kind of wanting to apply herself to this space.
This was back in 2016. We set up the business, transitioned from a sole operator to a sole trader, and then to a Pty Ltd. We just started growing the business together.
Then it took us at least two years to get to a point where we had an operations manager, had our own... then that were crowdfunded. From there, it’s been really fast. At the end, we scaled from like, in 2018, when we started also doing our consultancy services.
It’s kind of grown from there, and the size of the organisation has grown. Yeah, it’s just been a slow process. But I think my philosophy when it comes to business is that you really need to know your audience and your market.
You need to deeply invest in meeting them. And then, the services and how you expand on your services should also kind of be determined from that.
So, I think it's been a natural growth, but it's definitely not a quick fix. I think that might be one of the reasons I don’t know if I would do any business if I had time pressure.
Fiona Killackey: Yeah. And I think that's really important for people to know—that it had stages and it took years. So, in that time, were you working full time in the business or were you still working at the cafe to fund yourself?
Ninna Larsen: No, I was working at a cafe and I was doing some other work, like one day a week, up until 2018.
Then I had my first child. When I came back from mat leave, I started working for the business full time. And this is Reground full time, which is four days. So, four days only. I’ve never actually worked five days a week for the business ever.
So, yeah, that was in 2018 when I came back from mat leave. That’s when I kind of dedicated everything to it, and it started to pay me a decent salary. It takes a long time to get to that point, especially when you're not following a set-and-forget model that’s been tested and tried in the market many times over.
Fiona Killackey: Totally. And so on that, I guess one of the myths around sustainability is that things happen overnight as well. Like, if we just all stop using single-use plastic, we'll just fix the problem. What else do we need to do? So what are some of the other big misconceptions around sustainability? Like, I hear from people sometimes, even around getting a supply chain and really interrogating the supply chain, it's like, "It's too hard. It's too hard." And also, almost "not what's the point?" but things are put out to a third party anyway, so we don’t really have that clarity. Like, what would you say to that? Or what are some misconceptions you hear a lot around sustainability, because you're so in that space?
Ninna Larsen: Yeah, I definitely think that the biggest misconception is that it's a destination, that it's somehow something you arrive at and then you're done. I think the shift, and the more helpful way to think about it, is that it's a part of your journey. And I think many organisations and brands will have to embed it into the culture or even into the DNA, just because I don’t know if you can exist in the market that we’re in without really taking this into account. Also considering all the regulations and the other frameworks that are coming into play. But I think it’s not meant to just be like a quick fix and then one person created this major change. Like, I think that’s missing the point. In fact, it’s more like how do we build it into the way we all talk about the products, the services that we are here to deliver, and how can we apply a lens of sustainability through that? So it is an upskilling in a way. I think it can be really fun. So I think that overwhelm that one might feel if you're tasked with kind of turning a brand or a product or service from unsustainable to sustainable—that’s massive. You can't do that. So yeah, this mentality that it's like a one solution and it's fixed, or it’s a destination... yeah, it’s a journey.
Fiona Killackey: I love that idea that you don’t just arrive there and that it’s ongoing. I mean, even I’m a big champion of AI. I think it has lots of ethical implications as well. But now we’re seeing how much AI is using up and emitting more greenhouse emissions and carbon emissions, and that’s scary too. So it’s this constant like, "Okay, well what are we going to do and how do we tackle that?" And yeah, there’s just so much out there in this space. Like, prior to the cafe and when you’d done your university in Denmark, did you study in Denmark? Is that what you said before?
Ninna Larsen: Yes.
Fiona Killackey: And so were you always on this career path of something in sustainability? You'd mentioned you were working in a climate change thing. Was that always what you were going to do or did you study something completely different?
Ninna Larsen: Yes, I did study something completely different. But I think again, this is like culture in Denmark. It's just everything is through a sustainability lens. Like any university degree considers sustainability.
But for me, no, I did not think that I was going to be in waste or like a waste collector. I started to design culture economics, sort of a hybrid degree, and it was actually a degree that I just studied because I was incredibly curious about the content.
I think what happened was I actually learned that I use my degree every single day in my job. That it is about problem solving, project management and just taking a theory and turning it into a practice.
So I think while it wasn’t necessarily about sustainability or even about waste, it was about how we design, how we consume, how we behave in the world and how do you turn that into a business?
Fiona Killackey: That all makes so much sense from the university degree. And in your business, like you talk about waste management, we've talked about coffee grounds and bins and vans. But you also, and you mentioned it before, do consultancy.
So when did you decide to do that? And then do you pitch to companies or do most people end up coming to you because it’s a referral? When did that just start? And then who do you work with, and how do you get that work?
Ninna Larsen: Yeah, I think the consultancy arm of Reground is… It’s funny because it is definitely a product of how I show up at Reground, and it’s through this lens of continuing to see problems and wanting to fix them.
The consultancy just… that definitely came from that too. When we started with this work, it was mainly through waste audits. So we would do waste audits for local councils, digging through bins, collecting a bunch of data, and then you just start to see the problem as it truly is with coffee.
It’s very single-stream, it’s very neat, it’s beautiful, it’s still delicious to a degree. But when you start to do waste audits, you just realise we have waste problems everywhere.
And that’s like the service areas we have in our consultancy. Our consultancy area is sort of varied. We have worked with apartment buildings. We have worked with corporates that we call waste change management, where it's essentially engaging in behaviour change programmes while kind of very specifically speaking to certain waste practices that we see through the waste audits.
And then we work with councils as well. Sometimes I feel like Reground is a beast of an organisation because we have so many different things that we do.
But I will say, like, it comes from a place of all of these things being very important in terms of impact on climate at the end of the day. And all of them have very specific solutions that we have sort of workshopped and narrowed down over time.
So it is this application of problem solving. You see a problem in the field, you actually touch the problem, and then you find a solution.
We do go out and pitch to corporates and pitch to local governments, but now we also have a lot coming to us. So that’s obviously very nice when you can kind of skip that cold calling, that like selling to people who don’t know of you.
We have the benefit of people recognising the work we’ve done in the past. So now we’re like riding that wave of just having a big track record of impact.
Fiona Killackey: Yeah, I mean it’s incredible what you do, and when I first learned about it, I was just so blown away with what you’re doing.
I don’t know if you do this, but like, I currently am literally in that mode of, okay, I need to clear out everything in the pantry. I just cleaned the fridge out the other day.
I’m guessing with corporates, there’s an element—when you cleared out the pantry and like everything’s out, and you’re like, why? Why did I even start this? How am I going to put it all back in?
There are all these things that need to go and we have to use up all this food. And part of that, I guess, is a very small waste management, doing it in your own house.
But in corporates, I imagine that when you drudge up, “Okay guys, here’s all the problems we’re seeing from the audit,” there’s sometimes maybe met with, like, “That’s going to take so long.”
And like we said at the start, sustainability is not a destination. But I can imagine that corporates are like, “Cool, you’ll come in and within six months we’ll kind of fix the problem.”
So how do you deal with them at that stage, when maybe everything’s a bit messy and people are like, “This is messier than it was before we started?”
Ninna Larsen: Yeah, well I love that bit, and I think that’s where we show our true value because it’s about creating processes for people.
So it is like this overwhelming realisation that yes, I’ve got a problem. And we all know to even change, you have to have a level of awareness, so that realisation is really important.
But then it’s important that we come in with services that have been tested and tried, that create that kind of grounding, that it’s going to be okay.
I think for us, for example, it’s about partnerships, and it’s about them trusting that we’ve done this before, that the results will be there over time, and that it takes time.
This is why we don’t just sell like sort of one month worth of services, like in and out type of thing. We frame everything through a partnership because it is literally like we are buddying up, we’re partnering up.
When we talk about circular economy, like that is how we want businesses to behave. It’s more like friends working with people, with brands that you really want to collaborate with long term.
It’s no longer short term, because these things, like, it’s a process of iteration. You’ve got to kind of learn and then do it again.
So you almost have to build it into a process, and that’s what we help with. It’s actually establishing a process for it in the first place.
Fiona Killackey: Yeah, I love this idea. So let’s talk about circular economy. For anyone who’s listening who doesn’t know what it is, tell us how you would express it, especially in relation to business.
Ninna Larsen: Yeah, I mean circular economy is a part of what we say is the new economy, or will be the new economy. We are kind of recognising, a lot of countries around the world are recognising that we are in the middle of climate change, and we don’t really know how that’s going to impact us.
I think it’s widely known now that most businesses know they have to step up to the challenge. And circular economy is a very practical, material-focused issue that kind of presents itself in forms of waste, but really is much about how we consume as businesses.
How we sell our products or services, what we use, and then how we maybe also design our products—for example, using recycled material instead of virgin materials.
It affects every single industry, and it affects every country as well. The supply chain is obviously, when you start to zoom out, it’s global.
When you think of textile and fashion, for example, we don’t have local manufacturing in Australia, so therefore, or not at like massive scale. We have to think about, okay, we’re working with India, or Sri Lanka, or…
And then the waste goes back to those countries. So it’s like this huge thing—circularity. You can kind of track it from country to country. Our circular rate in Australia is around 4.8. That means only 4.8% of our materials will stay in circulation. Everything else is lost to landfill ultimately.
And that's a little bit... that's a problem, obviously, but also just an opportunity in terms of like, what else can we do?
Circularity, like we talk about how we can use products and materials at its highest use for longer, how we can make them regenerative. And those principles are really good to embed into any business model.
So we just know that in the future, every single business will be a circular business. Even if you are not necessarily a circular business or sustainable at heart.
But it's like, you have to consider how your products are flowing through the supply chain. Rental models will become really popular. You're seeing this shift towards no ownership and more like share models.
So it’s actually really fun when you get into it. And I think, yeah, you just see the shift across the board. Even amongst Australian company directors, like 80% of company directors are recognising that climate change is real and that we need to do something.
So I think we’ll also start to see really big businesses step in. But we’re in this interesting transition period where no one knows what to do. The doing part is like, what comes next?
Fiona Killackey: Yeah, I find it so fascinating. I mean, on so many levels. I have a client who I worked with previously who runs the Authentic Design alliance.
She looks at eradicating fast furniture from Australia, and she was saying that there’s 8 million chairs or something put out on the sidewalk just in New South Wales alone each year. 8 million.
And she’s like, and they usually just get smashed and put into landfill, or they’re not repurposed in any way.
And she actually inspired me because I’m talking to you right now from a desk, a 100-year-old desk that I’ve refurbished, that I bought for $30. I love it and actually reached out to a historian to help me figure out where it was made.
But in terms of her business, I can see, say for example, you’re wearing glasses, I’m wearing glasses. The glasses company that I’ve bought my glasses from for years doesn’t have any kind of recycling.
My husband bought these beautiful, beautiful glasses in London like 10 years ago. He found them recently and he was like, “I’m going to get lenses put into these glasses.”
And I tried to get that done with my dad’s glasses and it was so expensive. He went, and our health insurance won’t cover us for that. He would have to spend like $400 just to get the lenses put in an old pair of glasses versus two new pairs.
But it’s ridiculous. I talked to the company and they said, “OPSM are the only ones in Australia who recycle. Just go talk to them.”
And that idea that it’s not my problem, it’s somebody else’s or there’s somebody else already doing it. How do we get out of that?
Especially if you’re listening to this and you’re a small business owner and you’re thinking, “Well yeah, I make products, but like, it’s not my problem where they end up.”
Ninna Larsen: Yeah, well I think it’s like the first step is to understand that either you are part of the solution, or you’re just kind of, maybe not intentionally, but taking a backseat and not really kind of moving with the times.
I think we all, like, all businesses will have to obviously do forecasting and trend forecasting and so forth. This is a major one. It’s not just a trend, this is a long term change that we’re seeing.
But I think it’s very easy, like this is why I say we’re in the transition. So many businesses, like, they don’t know where to start. It’s very hard.
Like, I think we can all kind of collectively agree, this is hard. It’s super overwhelming. But it’s not to say that we shouldn’t do anything.
So I think the first step is really just becoming aware and then understanding who are your helpers. Because I guarantee you there is someone that is looking into a solution.
Perhaps piggybacking with them or collaborating with them is the way out. So this is not to say that every single little business has to kind of work out its own very unique process for solving the problem.
This is actually to say, let’s build a movement of businesses that are collaborating, because that is also the solution. When we think of circular economy, there is, yeah, a sweet spot of scale and collaboration that we have to arrive at.
Fiona Killackey: Oh, I love this so much! If there is somebody listening, because there is lots of greenwashing and we can talk about that too, but what do you think, outside of what you’ve just talked about, thinking and really planning it out?
Even with this conversation, I’m like, “Okay, what products do I have?” Because I have ebooks and I have other things that people potentially print off.
So it’s like, “Okay, so what else could they do with that?” But if you’re a small business and you’re not a product business, as an example, like you’re, I don’t know, interior designers or someone else, what could they start doing? Is there anything really small that they could start doing?
Ninna Larsen: Yep. I think it’s like do an audit, like actually sit down and map out just like you would with your finances.
Actually, it’s really good to tie this to sort of a review of your finances because that’s directly linked to what you procure, what you buy.
Understand where you are buying from. Like, this is a big supply question, in fact. So it’s just understanding, “What am I buying right now? What am I recommending, and could I shift that?”
Maybe it’s just a question right now. Like, perhaps we’re not asking people to do anything yet or maybe there is nothing to do because it’s such a baby industry anyway.
So like, we’re not going to have cheap solutions at scale. It’s just like, kind of get ready to mobilise by having an overview of where you can insert a better product, or better material, or better process.
So I think the mapping, auditing—we love audits. I know you do as well. Like, mapping out sort of where the biggest low-hanging fruit, you know?
Focus on those. Don’t start with everything because it’s more important that we do something than that we just know and then don’t do anything.
Fiona Killackey: Yeah, I do love an audit, as you well know. And that brings me to my question around because you and I met because you came for coaching, but you came for coaching because you were awarded.
You had an award for work, and then you could use a grant like that for lots of things. You very generously used part of it for coaching with me.
But if somebody wants to apply for grants or is thinking, “I don’t even know where I’d begin,” can you talk about that stuff?
I know you’ve had incredible awards, you’ve got some incredible mentorship from that. I mean, not just, sorry, talking about myself—talking about other people that you’ve met through it. But where do you start? Where do you start with a grant or an award?
Ninna Larsen: I think the way I met you is through the WESTPAC Social Change Fellowship. That was definitely a major risk I took personally.
I had to go through this major interviewing process, and it’s just been so incredibly rewarding for me personally and professionally as well. I got to meet you and work with you and really receive the help that I feel like I needed.
Because I’ve just been so head down, focused on the work itself for 10 years. But I think grants are actually, more broadly, super helpful when it comes to doing stuff in an innovative way and maybe, in particular, when it comes to sustainability and environmental change.
So again, it’s also like grants are often collaborative in nature. So that’s one way to kind of step in and establish some really strong relationships with other businesses.
I think we have a pretty good support network here in Victoria and also in other parts of Australia where you can apply for grants, but especially the grants where you get a bit of mentoring, leadership training. I think those things, especially for operators like myself who are in the social change field, where it’s just like, “This is about mission, and anything else kind of doesn’t matter,” like including yourself.
So receiving help actually makes you so much more effective at achieving the change. Yeah.
So I think it’s just, look for it because it’s fun.
Fiona Killackey: Yeah. And you get to meet so many other grant recipients as well, with that Westpac one in particular.
Ninna Larsen: Oh yeah. I have some incredible relationships now, like Jane from the Beautiful Bunch. Love her.
Carla from Bridget and Ifrin from Sisterworks, two other Victorian-based social enterprises. Like honestly, I love everyone that is a part of that fellowship and we just learn so much from each other.
Fiona Killackey: I’m always talking about how people need other people. And I know you're now in group coaching as well, and we've just talked about these other people that you’ve met through the mentor program.
I personally believe that you need that because life and business can be very, very challenging at times, and often it’s hard to fully express that or have them fully understand to friends who don’t run their own business.
What have been some of the challenging parts for you, as you’ve gone through this 10-year period?
Ninna Larsen: Like, I’ve just been so focused on the work, it’s just been head down.
I think the self-care has been really tricky, and I don’t know if I was really intentional about it. Like, I wasn’t thinking, "I’m applying for this grant to get help." That wasn’t necessarily the frame of mind I was in.
I just kind of applied just for fun, and what I realised in hindsight is just that I needed to refresh how I showed up in my business.
The inputs and perspectives that I’ve received have just helped me. It’s healthy for me. I can continue for another 10 years.
I just don’t think I could have done that if I hadn’t done it. So it’s a bit of like, we’re in a marathon. Running a business is not a sprint, really.
So you’ve gotta set yourself up for success, and I think you’re right. Like, collaboration with others, peer support… you can’t speak to everyone about your business and the ins and outs of it.
So having people that understand the issues—it’s like, you deserve it. It’s a burden you can kind of take off and not carry so much, and it just makes you better at running your business as well.
So yeah, I’m very grateful for the fact that I showed up when I needed to apply for that, because I just don’t think I really at the time knew how important it was going to be.
Fiona Killackey: Yeah, it’s amazing. And I think this is important for anyone. But I also think you mentioned you're not from Australia, and you didn’t grow up in the country that you’re now running a business in, and you’ve got networks, and you’ve done it incredibly well.
Have you got any advice for people? Because this is a podcast that thankfully has a global audience, which is amazing, and there’s people constantly travelling.
I moved to London twice, and even though it’s the same language, very similar cultures, it was really hard to get a job, firstly. People kept saying, “Oh, you don’t have UK experience.”
And I imagine starting a business, maybe in some ways, would be easier because you’re not in front of somebody else making all your decisions.
So yeah, have you got any advice for people growing up in a country that they didn’t grow up in, starting a business?
Ninna Larsen: Yeah, I think use it as an opportunity. Honestly, I think it set me free. I don’t know if I could ever start a business in Denmark just because I’m too embedded into the social expectations of the country I’m from.
And I didn’t have that when I came to Australia. I’m like, I don’t know the rules, I don’t know what’s good and bad. Like, I don’t know this sort of social framework that people are expected to abide by.
So I think it was really… it set me free to just kind of show up and ask questions and question everything.
And I think that’s been one of the reasons why we’ve been so successful. It’s because we really aren’t afraid of asking why and questioning the way things are done.
So I think use it as an opportunity to really show up with a very high degree of curiosity.
Fiona Killackey: Oh, I love that. And so on this, we’ve talked about the mentorship you’ve done, coaching not just with me, but with other people as well.
And you’ve got these other friends. But is there anyone else that has helped you along the way or a favourite book or a movie that you watched that you're like, "Yeah, that really helped"?
Ninna Larsen: Yeah. You know, my husband has played a massive part in my journey with Breakground and me being a business operator.
He definitely has talked me out of stopping quite a few times, especially in the early days, and this was before we were married as well.
And I think it’s incredibly important to have someone that can see the potential and, like, kind of won’t let you give up. This could be friends as well. Friends of mine have also played a similar role.
I think for me, it’s also, you know, I think it’s incredibly important to know why you do things. So I have done a lot of reading. I follow Carl Jung.
I love psychology. I love to kind of treat my own psychology and do dream analysis. And I… I love dreamwork.
Fiona Killackey: I literally saw a psychologist for two years just to do dreamwork. She was a huge guide.
Ninna Larsen: Right. And I think it’s... I had a dream group, and it’s something we like… it’s a practice that I have and it gives depth to what I do.
It makes me less fragile to the swings of business because I’m like, “I’m also just a human being. Like, I’m just me.”
So my identity isn’t fully Breakground, although it’s obviously a massive part of who I am, but it’s not 100% who I am.
I think that type of support is important. And I love when I can go deep with people, so when I meet them in real life, I also take that opportunity.
That, to me, is always a bit of the why—like why connection is a core value of mine. I love when I meet people that wanna do the inner work.
Fiona Killackey: Oh, I love this so much. Okay, so we’re going to do a quick-fire round. So these are questions I’m just going to ask—whatever comes, there is no right or wrong.
I mean, there’s no right or wrong with any questions, but whatever comes to your mind first. All right, are you ready?
Ninna Larsen: Yes.
Fiona Killackey: What is your non-negotiable self-care practice?
Ninna Larsen: It’s the PQ programme that I’m doing.
Fiona Killackey: PQ? I’m curious, tell us more.
Ninna Larsen: It's a programme that has been designed by I think at Stanford University to help cut out the inner criticism and sabotaging, and it's a daily practise that's been turned into like, it's an app. It’s just kind of transformed my life and how I show up privately and professionally. So yeah, it's a daily practise I wouldn't go without now.
Fiona Killackey: Okay, I'm totally going to download that as soon as this is over. Are you an early bird or are you a night owl for getting work done?
Ninna Larsen: Early bird.
Fiona Killackey: Mmmm. Same. What does success look like to you?
Ninna Larsen: Beyond revenue, deep connections, fun projects, and just people, you know, having good people around.
Fiona Killackey: Do you have one particular outfit or anything style-wise or even a song that really makes you feel confident?
Ninna Larsen: Yes. I have one song I listen to a lot. Taylor Swift, The Man. It's my power song. I love it.
Fiona Killackey: O I love this. What is your favourite way to celebrate a win?
Ninna Larsen: Spice and margaritas.
Fiona Killackey: O nice. And then finally, best piece of advice.
Ninna Larsen: You’ve been given, prioritising sleep and exercise. It's so basic, but it's bloody so true. It's the foundation.
Fiona Killackey: It is so the foundation. I know I talk about this a bit on this podcast but I have an AA ring, and it's not, I'm not sponsored, but I swear since I got the aura ring my sleep has improved so much. So has my mood and just everything—energy, being around the kids, whatever. Everything's improved so totally, totally. Okay, finally, what are you most proud of from your journey so far?
Ninna Larsen: I think sticking this out for 10 years and creating this organisation. I was a very restless person. I was jumping around, moving countries, I just couldn't kind of centre focus. So it's been a proud achievement for me to have done something for this long, but also at the depth and quality that we've done. I'm very proud of that. I'm just so proud of all the people I've met and, yeah, my life is just rich, I think. Well, you know, I don't know. It's…
Fiona Killackey: Well, yes, yes, it is. It is. Oh, it. I'm like, oh, it. Yes, your life is. And we can say that. And yeah. Amazing. And where can people connect with you? Where can they find out what's happening at Reground and what is next for Reground?
Ninna Larsen: Well, our website to look at all the different services that we have. We have four, and there's something for everyone. Social media is another good place, and our newsletter. They also contain a lot of good information on how to engage with us and just get inspired for action.
What's next for Reground? You know, 2025 is the big year and we have two major things that we're delivering. First, we are going to Sydney. So I'm very excited for that. It's like giving the model and the rebound vision and mission to more communities. I'm very, very excited for that.
Then also embedding more social deliverables and outcomes into our current model. So adding in what we call a work-integrated social enterprise model to our existing model. We already have hired Peter, who is amazing. So delivering also for our disadvantaged community members. I'm very excited.
And that's what obviously social enterprises are good for—that we kind of expand them on the social deliverables at any time because that's our DNA. So two very big things. And yeah, I'm just very excited to see how we can further work in with people to deliver this impact.
Fiona Killackey: Oh my goodness. It's such a pleasure chatting, talking to you. And honestly, I know I said this when I first encountered you and what you're doing and everything, I was just so blown away. You're such a humble, chilled person. You would meet you and never fully understand how much impact you're having. So I think it's incredible what you've built, and I'm so proud to have you on the podcast. Thank you for coming on.
Ninna Larsen: Thanks for having me. Bye bye.
Fiona Killackey: Oh my goodness. It's so inspiring, isn't it? And really making you think about what impact you can have, and even if you can start with something really small.
As Ninna talked about, we both love audits. I work with people all the time on their audits. We actually sell a website audit as one of our things that we help people look at — what you could be doing better with your website, what small things you might decide to change.
And if you're ever interested in that, you can always just head on over to buydailybusiness.com/shop. But audits are so important. They're something that I look at in my own business and audit every six months really on a whole bunch of different metrics.
But I love that she talked about, when you just, you know, how do you even get started? Just do an audit. Just start. Even if you're not going to go from, like, 0 to 100, you know that if the opportunity came up, this is the part that you should focus on first.
So I love that so much.
But I'm going to get stuck into two other things that really stood out for me. But I wanted to mention, if you are interested in connecting with Reground, you can go to regground.com.au. You can also find them all over socials at Reground, and we'll link to that in the show notes.
You can also find Ninna K. Larsen on LinkedIn, and we'll link to that in the show notes as well. The show notes for this particular episode will be mydailybusiness.com/podcast486.
Two things that stood out for me. I think really, a big one was when Ninna talked about self-care and really looking after yourself. And that so much of that came as a result of taking the time to look for mentorship, to join business coaching or group coaching, to connect with other people, and to go, “Yeah, I can’t keep running at the pace that I’m doing.”
I just, it will not keep going. And maybe the business can keep going, but you as a person can’t keep going. And I love that she talked about that.
It's something that Chris Manix brought up recently in our interview as well. And I think a lot of people are starting to kind of waken up to this idea. I mean, I’ve very much always said anti-hustle and sidestep the hustle, but this idea that our businesses are there and they’re great, and especially something like Ninna's, where it’s got such social impact. But you also can't lose yourself in the process.
So I love that she said, you know, “I’m making time for that. I’m making time for self-care. I’m realising that I’ve got an identity and I’ve got a life outside of work as well.”
And I think that is a huge thing for small business owners, especially as you’re growing and growing and it’s getting more successful. You can very much easily align who you are as a person with your business and how successful or not successful it is, which is, you know, they’re two separate things.
I work with business owners on this all the time. When we look at group coaching, we have like a psychologist come in. We have different people that come in that aren’t just about, “Let’s make more money.” Because so much of business is about who you are as a person, how you show up in the world outside of your business as well.
So I love, love, love, love, love that she talked about that.
The second thing that I really, you know, obviously am a huge advocate for is this idea of starting simple. Not telling yourself that. Like she said, you know, “Sustainability is not some end destination. It’s an ongoing process.”
And I think with business, people often think, “Oh, if I could just get to this many followers, if I could just get to this much traffic, if I could just get the conversion to this, if I could just xyz…” But the goalposts keep moving. They do. We all do it. And there’s nothing wrong with that. We’re growing and evolving.
And so there isn’t this final destination that you get to. Even if you have particular goals, like, “I want to write a book” or “I want to launch a course” or “I want to go into partnership” or “I want to launch into the US or AAC,” whatever it is.
You will do that. And then what happens?
I did a podcast ages ago about this thing, The End Then, because you can do these things, we can all achieve incredible, amazing things. And it’s great, and it’s fantastic. But it’s like, “Okay, what happens after?”
I actually called the episode "What Happens After The Win." And I think that is something that’s really important to consider. This idea of sustainability, we talked about a lot on today’s podcast. But sustainability as a business, as a business owner, you know, what does that look like?
Because it isn’t some perfect destination that we all get to. Even if you, you know, I’ve had businesses owners that I’ve worked with who’ve sold their business, and we’ve worked on exit strategy or a big investor coming in to take 50% or more.
And so it’s like, that’s awesome. But the business still keeps going, and you as a person still keep going. So like, what happens after?
And I love that she just talked about starting simple but keeping going, and also just knowing that there isn’t some end destination. It just keeps going.
I love that. I just love that idea because it’s exciting in a way. You get to evolve and grow. And like Ninna said, we’re in the infancy of sustainability, and we’re this sort of transition stage, and it’s exciting to think about what is out there.
So that is it for today. Just such an inspiring interview with the incredible Ninna K. Larsen, founder of Reground. And if you want to connect with her, like I said, you can go to regground.com.au or Reground on socials.
She has a wealth of awards and recognition, and just what they’ve done is just out of this world. So please go and check them out and support them, and thank you again, Ninna.
If you’d like to go through any of this in text format, you can find that at mydailybusiness.com/podcast/486. And if you’d like to be part of group coaching, check it out at mydailybusiness.com/group-coaching.
Thanks for listening. See you next time. Bye.
Thanks for listening to the My Daily Business Podcast for a range of tools to help you grow and start your business, including coaching programmes, courses and templates. Cheque out our shop at mydailybusiness.com and if you want to get in touch, you can do that by email at hello@mydailybusiness.com or you can hit us up on Instagram at mydailybusiness_. You can find us on TikTok at mydailybusiness or find me Fiona Killackey on LinkedIn. I look forward to connecting.
