The Joy of Creating Possibilities with Brent Macon of Daymaker

When we think about giving back, it is hard to imagine a better focus than supporting kids in our communities. The resources and opportunities kids are exposed to at a young age can have long-term life changing benefits. 

So when Brent Macon became CEO of Daymaker, the self described "Big Little Kid" knew where he and his team could make the biggest impact. The Daymaker platform makes giving easy and rewarding, allowing organizations and individuals to participate in seasonal giving campaigns to children in underserved communities.

What makes Daymaker unique is the one-to-one connection each giver has with an individual child and their specific needs. With non-profit partners such as the Boys & Girls Club and Big Brothers Big Sisters, Daymaker helps organizations build habits of generosity that can transform company culture. 

In this episode, we speak with Brent about his vision for the company, innovation in corporate giving, and the lessons he's learned along the way. 

Guest-at-a-Glance

 💡 Name: Brent Macon

 💡 What he does: He's the CEO and Big Little Kid at Daymaker.

 💡 Company: Daymaker

 💡 Noteworthy: Before joining Daymaker, Brent worked as an operations and logistics manager at Uber and an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company.

 💡  Where to find Brent: LinkedIn

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Transcript

E661389B_20 - TT - Digital Footprint - Brent Macon

[00:00:00] Brent Macon: Don't end a call until you are sure that you understand exactly the technical implications of the problem that you're trying to solve, and if you have to ask the third question that seems like a dumb question, that might annoy the person, like, ask the question before you get off the call. 

[00:00:52] Richard Simms: Hello, welcome to the Digital Footprint. I'm Richard Simms. This podcast is brought to you by Tyrannosaurus Tech, an award-winning technology partner dedicated to designing and developing high-impact software products. Today we're joined by Brent Macon, CEO and Big Little Kid at Daymaker. Thrilled to have you on the show, Brent.

[00:01:13] Brent Macon: Yeah. Thank you, Richard. Appreciate you all having us and making the space.

[00:01:17] Richard Simms: Yeah, for sure. And we'll dig into your Big Little Kid title 'cause I love that, so we'll, that will make more sense as we dive into what you're working on. So, I know when we set this up, I kind of joked with you, I think over the email, that I think when we first met, I was a guest on a podcast that you were hosting

[00:01:37] at that time. So, things have really come full circle, and, uh, you never know how it's gonna play out. So, I'm glad that we're reconnected here in this format again. So, yeah, I'm surprised I didn't think to invite you on the show earlier. I think what you're doing with Daymakers, is really positive, and I'm excited to dig in and, and get into a little bit more detail.

[00:01:57] So, let's get started, let's kind of get the lay of the land. I know on LinkedIn, you described Daymaker as a compassion platform. So, what does that mean? Tell us a little bit more about the company and, and what you all do.

[00:02:10] Brent Macon: Yeah, absolutely. So, our, our mission is to share the joy of creating possibilities for children, and practically how we do that is we allow companies and other givers to run seasonal giving campaigns. So, back to school holiday, giving campaigns that support specific children from local nonprofit partners.

[00:02:29] And so, it's not Tyrannosaurus Tech making a donation to Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta, but it's Richard learning about a specific child in Metro Atlanta Boys & Girls Club program, learn about that child's interest, maybe they're ten years old, they like stem and sports, and then you can purchase a soccer ball off of their wishlist, or Brown toy box STEAM kit and donate those directly.

[00:02:49] And then, our platform, you know, makes those giving opportunities available. We package everything in our warehouse in East Point and then send that out to nonprofits around the country.

[00:02:58] Richard Simms: Very cool, very cool. Yeah, one of my questions was naturally going to be, you know, there's obviously a lot of ways, traditionally, that folks give to nonprofits, or that companies, you know, kind of manage their philanthropic efforts. So, I'm sure there's other differentiators but is what is most unique about Daymaker?

[00:03:18] This, this fact that you kind of get to connect directly with one child, get to know their interests, and really, like, cater to them in a more direct way.

[00:03:28] Brent Macon: Yeah. I think that person-to-person model is the direct thing, and you know who you're purchasing for, you can learn a little bit about them, their unique interests and circumstances, and then make, you know, a direct tax-deductible donation to that given child, and you can write a message along with your donation.

[00:03:45] And so, that kind of personal level of service that we provide is I think what donors certainly appreciate knowing exactly where their money's going. It doesn't feel empty, you're not just kind of dropping up the toy in a box in a lobby and then hoping that it got there, but you're getting a tracking number,

[00:04:01] notification when your act, item actually arrived and was delivered. Oftentimes our nonprofits will share pictures or videos back of the children interacting with some of the stuff that they got. And so, it just tends to kind of increase the connectivity at each touchpoint there. And then, I think on the nonprofit side, we're really trying to curate high-quality, high-impact items that the kids are gonna love.

[00:04:23] They're gonna be culturally relevant for those children, and then also is gonna be easy on the nonprofits to actually distribute. And so, in our warehouse, not to jump ahead to the technology piece, but, you know, we are packing the individual items in a bag that's labeled for each child, and then a child's bag goes in along with five other kids that might be getting shipped to the same Boys & Girls Club chapter to keep using that example.

[00:04:47] And then our nonprofits have an app. They can scan the box, they know which kids are in there. If their parents are coming to pick 'em up, they can give those child's items out directly. And so, just a way easier process than taking a whole gymnasium floor, filling it up with toys, trying to figure out who needs what, and kind of do distribution that way.

[00:05:03] And so, hopefully, we're saving nonprofits a lot of time, even as we're providing items that they're gonna, you know, think are, are joyous and expanding the horizons for the kids they're serving.

[00:05:14] Richard Simms: Yeah, that, that makes a lot of sense, and I know there's a number of moving pieces and different organizations and individuals involved. So, that’s one thing I wanted to get at was like the different pain points that you all are seeking to address there, and I think, I think you articulated that well there, we can unpack it later too, but

[00:05:32] yeah, that's super interesting. So, one question I had for you, and we will get into more of the origin story, but you're pretty strictly focused on kids, which I think is, is wonderful, right, but when did you decide, you know, to pretty strictly focus on kids? You know, there's obviously opportunity to kind of open this up more broadly, I imagine, but I'm just curious, you know, when that decision was made to really double down on, on helping kids out, specifically?

[00:05:59] Brent Macon: Yeah, it's a really good question, and one that you can imagine we get a lot. So, companies who are using Daymaker to facilitate their company giving, maybe they'll have a military appreciation that they're excited about, or there's a wildfire in California that can Daymaker help with that, and I think the honest truth is,

[00:06:15] compared to some of the larger company ESG platforms, we always say like, we're not gonna out Benevity, Benevity, and do what some of those platforms do kind of better than them, but we can really provide something that is holistic and helpful in serving non-profits and serving children. And one of the reasons why Daymaker gets to exist is because you and me and everybody listening here, like, feels in their hearts

[00:06:42] that every kid is so deserving of possibilities and resources, and we don't wanna live in a world where you drive four miles in Atlanta, and the life expectancy differs by 20 years, like, 

[00:06:53] that's not the world we wanna live in, and we're in a habit, culturally as a society, that holiday giving is the time when we address that.

[00:07:00] You know? And so, that's when we put the box in the lobby, we stand outside of the stores and ring the bells. And like, that's when we, you know, decide to respond to this need. But also, you know, I think that there's a, a nagging feeling that so many of us have that, wow, this need is ever present,

[00:07:16] these kids are deserving of resources, and opportunities, and possibilities, that they may be denied because of structural barriers or otherwise, but they're deserving of those year-round and for multiple years. And so, there is demand to use very marketing terms. There's demand for helping those kids.

[00:07:34] Brent Macon: And we think we can do a good job and we can help them long term. And we can provide items that those nonprofits are gonna love. And we can help not only with books and toys and board games, but field trips and musical instrument lessons, and yoga classes, and things that kids are really gonna feel and open up in their hearts.

[00:07:49] And so, I think that kind of mile deep rather than inch wide. You know, I think 

[00:07:54] Richard Simms: Yeah, yeah.

[00:07:55] Brent Macon: If we are, are really trying to ask, what do nonprofits need? What's gonna make, you know, the future brighter for children, and how do we package that in a way that companies and their people and everyone is gonna wanna participate in? I think that's the play and the bet we're making and what we're excited to focus on.

[00:08:10] Richard Simms: That makes a lot of sense. And I, I do really like, just from reviewing you all's website and some of what you're sharing, just the personal approach for a given child, and then kind of a more holistic view. It's like, you know, these kids might need help with general school supplies, or access to quality food, or whatever that is,

[00:08:32] but also, it seems like you all are really tapping into, like, what are they excited about, passions, hobbies, just things that are gonna support them more broadly, hopefully, to be happy, and then pursue things that they're truly excited about. So, can you expand a bit on like the range of types of support kids are receiving through the platform, and then how you go about identifying those different buckets where, where folks might help them?

[00:08:58] Brent Macon: Yeah, I think we always say we're moving on a continuum. So, I think I'm gonna draw this in the direct, the right direction on Zoom, but if you, if you start down here and this is one-time box in the lobby holiday giving, you're gonna get an item, that's it. And then, if you go this way, and all the way up here, you're 18 years of unrestricted cash flow transfers and supporting a kid with college donations, or otherwise, like, we're probably, like, here relatively early, but we want to be moving in this direction.

[00:09:25] So, we, when we go to new nonprofits that we're partnering with, and we'll, we will be over a hundred nonprofits during 2022, we're telling them, "Hey, we wanna make a multi-year commitment to you, and the families, and the communities that you serve. 

[00:09:37] And we want you to tell us what you need over time, and we're gonna figure out if we can do it, and how we can make it happen."

[00:09:42] And so, you know, when Daymaker started, it was three gifts per child at, at the holiday time only, and then we added, you know, more interests, or now to 31 different interests that children can pick from, we have Back to School and holiday giving campaigns. Each of those has an opportunity if a nonprofit opts in to have items that are recurring between the campaigns.

[00:10:02] So, things like a STEAM kit subscription, or like virtual yoga classes we did, we've got 14 of our nonprofits who are taking kids on unique trips or field trips or experiences right now. And that's everything from the Georgia Aquarium, here, to a tour to the Boston Science Museum, to college tours that's happening in Irvine, California, indoor skydiving.

[00:10:20] So, we're starting to make those things available as well, and want to continue doing that. So, back to school and holiday, that's only the second half of the year. What about summer enrichment? What about summer camp? Like, there are other things like that that we want to make available. And so, I think it is ideally a holistic set of experiences.

[00:10:37] Brent Macon: I'm hoping that some child when they're 18 will have learned to play the piano, or some other musical instrument, because of Daymaker and that our donors have made that available. And at the same time, still, books and toys and board games, and other items along the way that are related to those interests that children have selected, 

[00:10:53] that we've all, you know, screened to be items that we would want when we were younger, we wanted our kids to be playing with, or that our nonprofits have said, you know, they loved this, and, and that's kind of the bar and the threshold.

[00:11:03] Brent Macon: And then, I think the last point is, you know, our team, and our, our Vice President of Ops, Chris, is very fond of saying like we're in the blessings business, and we want to see at every single touch point, and with every stakeholder, how can we be a blessing to them? 

[00:11:17] And so, wherever possible, we're trying to curate items from small, independent-owned businesses, minority, and women-owned businesses, and, you know, be a real meaningful channel for those vendors who are putting their heart and soul into bringing products to market, too.

[00:11:29] And so, wherever we can buy those types of items, whether it's Aaron Groom and Small Bites of Venture Club in Atlanta or Terri Bradley and Brown toy box. Like, we wanna put those types of products on our wishlist, too.

[00:11:42] Richard Simms: That's awesome. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, and I do really appreciate that a big part of the vision is clearly like, ongoing engagement and support because, you know, I, I do just know from various nonprofit folks it's like giving is, of course, always great and appreciated, but they need recurring, predictable engagement, and donations, and stuff.

[00:12:06] So, I think just kind of having that attitude that it's a, a longer journey, there is a journey there is great. So, let's talk a little bit about the origin story. So, I saw a little bit on your website, I think, maybe some of this began ruminating in, in college, but I'd love to know, you know, how you all got started and how the team has come together

[00:12:28] in the relatively early stages here?

[00:12:31] Brent Macon: Yeah. So, I actually wasn't the original founder of, of Daymaker, as you know, and actually was trying to recruit the, then co-founders to McKinsey, to join a consulting firm when they were in undergrad. And I remember they were having conversations around should we start this startup thing that didn't started as a class project,

[00:12:48] or should we get a real job? And then at the time, I was saying, you know, do the startup, and the McKinseys of the world will be around if you need a consulting 

[00:12:55] Richard Simms: Great.

[00:12:55] Brent Macon: firm job eventually. And at the time, it was a class project that was related to kids' birthday invites. And so, instead of your child getting a birthday gift, they could be matched with a birthday buddy in need as a way to teach kids about generosity.

[00:13:10] And so, that was the origin story, and it has always been around nurturing a spirit of generosity and seeing all kids as so deserving of possibilities and wanting to invest in them. And then, over time, we stayed in touch, so Thomas Duchen, the original co-founder, and I are still great friends, and he's still helping us out in a part-time capacity from time to time now,

[00:13:28] and we stayed in touch. I was doing everything from Uber to, I was at the think tank side of McKinsey, and thinking about automation and some pretty 30,000-foot level things, and as part of some of those questions that we were really touching on, I said, "You know, I wanna put my fingerprints on something, and do something meaningful that I feel really connected to the mission that I know that I'm moving the needle directly, 

[00:13:50] Brent Macon: comparing to being a couple levels of abstraction away from maybe the direct impact," and when Daymaker pivoted to a company-giving product, it was the time where I really felt,

[00:14:02] "Okay, my background, my skillset, my training in client service is really a nice fit here,

[00:14:08] and how might I come in and put some rigor around how we're serving company partners, how we're serving nonprofit partners, and see if we might be able to, to scale this marketplace." And so, my, um, my first day, I guess I'm combining your two questions,

[00:14:21] how did I get here if I didn't start it from the origin story?

[00:14:24] Richard Simms: No, this is great.

[00:14:25] Brent Macon: Um, but my first official day was my 30th birthday, on February 18th of 2020. And I say the specific day because I joined with these grand plans of how we're gonna do a three-campaign partnership and engage companies year-round. And we had a spring campaign called, Getting to Know Nature, with an outdoor volunteering day.

[00:14:46] And then, it was less than a month in when everything paused with a pandemic. And so, that has been kind of just the start of the, the winding Daymaker journey that I've had since then, which, you know, ended up taking over CEO, and we tried to expand the team, and we're doing what we're doing now, but it's been, uh, certainly an interesting journey.

[00:15:03] Richard Simms: Very cool. Yeah, that was some of what I was wondering about too because just being familiar with your background, you've obviously done the consulting, like you said you worked at Uber, so, you know, very like strategy, business-oriented things. So, I was, of course, interested in kind of the shift. And I, I think I understand, in, in a sense, working in consulting and services there is a lot of joy and excitement and exposure to neat things.

[00:15:30] But I think a lot of folks that work in that space ultimately, you know, want to kind of take ownership of something longer term. So, it sounds like that was a big driver for you and wanting to have a positive impact. But yeah, you touched on something interesting there, of course, with COVID, and I, I remember us connecting around that time, and, you know, it sounds like for Daymaker, as well as, of course, lots of businesses out there, everything was kind of upended.

[00:15:54] So, talk a little bit more just about how you had to pivot at that time, how did that change your paradigm on what you were trying to do, and then, you know, post-COVID, or in whatever, you know, cliche new normal we're coming into, does the vision shift back closer to what you'd originally imagined, or is it kind of doubling down on, you know, what's, what's come to shape, come to fruition during COVID?

[00:16:20] Brent Macon: Yeah, really good question. I mean, I think our, our 2020 journey was one of headwinds turning to tailwinds. And for the first half of the year, you know, companies couldn't think about anything ancillary, like charitable giving, you know, they're thinking about how do we get our people home, how to keep the lights on.

[00:16:37] Wait, I literally had an executive say to me, "Hey, I gotta get blood to the main arteries." I was like, "Okay, that's the dramatic way to say that, but I know what you mean."

[00:16:46] Richard Simms: Hard to push back on that.

[00:16:48] Brent Macon: Yeah, and then you fast forward and all of a sudden, you know, by September, October, people had kind of adjusted to the working normal a little bit, but then you think about all of

[00:16:59] virtual or volunteering events were canceled, holiday parties were canceled. And we kind of had the perfect platform of being able to run a digital holiday giving campaign. And so, really had a lot of demand in late 2020. And then, I think some of those trends that are underlying will only continue on the company giving side.

[00:17:18] So, Raza remote work, distributed teams, like, folks want something where they can run one central campaign, and then their people in Chicago can donate to paving the way, or, you know, one of our other nonprofit parts in Chicago, Boston, folks can donate in Boston, and Daymaker can make one campaign where everyone can do that.

[00:17:33] And so, that trend, I think, works really well for, in our favor. And then, I think on sermon, the nonprofit side, COVID really, I think shined a light on a lot of the challenges and exacerbated a lot of the challenges that our nonprofit service providers had. And that's one where we try to be wind in the sales of every single person that we're working with.

[00:17:54] And a lot of times they're already short-staffed, and then when you have folks who are impacted by the pandemic, calling outta work, perhaps, they're serving families where there's already income insecurity, maybe housing insecurity, and then if job losses happen in our hourly workers, just a tough situation.

[00:18:09] And so, it's only kind of doubled the resolve to try to help and be a positive service provider and just take some of the weight off of what our 

[00:18:18] nonprofits are trying to do. And so, we're just trying to lean into that as much as we can.

[00:18:22] Richard Simms: Yeah, that's great. And that's a great attitude. And I think that that, of course, has been one of many things that has been so difficult and awful about COVID, but just like you said, that for people who were already struggling, or in a little bit of a precarious situation, it really exacerbated a lot of that.

[00:18:40] So, I think that's great that, you know, you seem to have embraced doubling down on the mission during that time. You know, you talked about the platform, obviously, I think my perception is that, you know, technology is a big focus for you, right? And I see that a pretty high percentage of your team is focused on software engineering,

[00:19:01] right? So, tell us a little bit more about your vision for this technology side of Daymaker, and then, you know, I'm kind of curious how you balance the technology enablement side with just the very human side of nonprofit world, and the folks that you're trying to support.

[00:19:19] Brent Macon: Sure. I think the, the thing that our technology needs to be able to do a really good job of is allowing a high degree of customization, especially on the nonprofit side, but really for nonprofits and for companies, but to do that in a way that is as standardized as possible and appears standardized for everybody using it externally. And, you know, a couple examples of that, some nonprofits are gonna want as many things as we will send them. And if their kids can join Daymaker clubs and have passion-related curriculum that comes monthly throughout the year, like they're gonna want that, and they're gonna want field trips, they're gonna want as many books as they can take.

[00:20:01] And others are gonna say, you know, we have relatively limited staff capacity, limited resources, only are gonna want to do back to school holiday giving campaign, and we don't have a ton of room to get a ton of items. And so, how can we make it easy for them to both upload a hundred different profiles for kids but then also decide what goes on those profiles and give us the input in a way that allows us to understand what we need to go by and what we need to go make available.

[00:20:27] At the same time, some companies, you know, only want to give locally in New York, where they're New York offices, how do we make sure that they're just gonna see kids from Madison Square, the Boys and Girls Club, but not 

[00:20:36] Brent Macon: around the country, whereas others, you know, let's put every single nonprofit on there.

[00:20:40] And so, our technology, it's important to be able to take individual kid’s profiles, match them one-to-one with items that are gonna be curated based on their interests, and then ladder that up to what companies need to see what nonprofits want to be served with, in a way that the whole marketplace gets helped.

[00:20:57] And so, I think that's a, a big focus of, of what we do and what we will continue to do, and as we are adding complexity, and adding partners, and adding options, the technology has to accommodate and make seamless the user experience, even as we're incorporating that complexity. 

[00:21:18] And, honestly, that's been a big learning for me.

[00:21:19] Like, there's a lot of things that I can get excited about, and be like, "Let's go do this, let's go do that." But we gotta make sure that it fits within, you know, the system and the schema of our product, and what's both possible and advisable from a tech standpoint.

[00:21:31] Richard Simms: Yeah, yeah, that makes a lot of sense, I mean, of course, technology, hopefully, should empower you and the various folks that are kind of in the ecosystem as stakeholders to have a bigger impact, and then, like you said, hopefully when it comes to scaling the impact that can grow without, like you’re ever overhead growing dramatically too because those systems are in place.

[00:21:59] So, one question I had there, and you alluded to this, I think is, although I imagine you've had a lot of exposure to tech, of course, in your career, you're not an engineer, right, so non-technical co-founder, and so, as you've built out the platform, how's that been for you? What have been some of the biggest challenges, you know, have you tried to delve into learning this stuff or just surrounding yourself with people that are sharp engineers, just, you know, non-technical founders, I'm always curious how they've navigated that, and, you know, what have been the, the highs and lows there?

[00:22:34] Brent Macon: Yeah, it's a, it's a really good question. I, I, my tech experience, so, a co-founder of mine at a previous failed startup attempt, Primer Sports, which was when we met originally, he went through a coding boot camp to try to close our collective gap a little bit. 

[00:22:50] And so, I tried to learn a little bit through osmosis from him, and then when I was at Uber, I learned sequel, but one of my best friends at Uber, ran a sequel query, the output of which showed how much slower I was at running sequel queries than him, I was like, "Thanks, really, really appreciate you pointing that out."

[00:23:09] Richard Simms: There you go.

[00:23:10] Brent Macon: Uh, so I would never claim to be fast, but that did help me get at least an understanding of how database structures work, and how to think about how data, you know, interacts, and then what's been huge is one, a lot of patients from our CTO LD on bringing me along, and then our main investor and advisor, Lane Rankin, has worked in a number of different tech companies that he started and has helped me think about the questions that I need to be asking to be smart, as we go, and that's been really helpful.

[00:23:42] And I got advice, you know, don't end a call until you are sure that you understand exactly the technical implications of the problem that you're trying to solve, and if you have to ask the third question that seems like a dumb question, that might annoy the person, like, ask the question before you get off the call.

[00:24:02] Brent Macon: And I think I do, I'll probably give myself like a B, or a B plus at that. But we're getting there, and I think, gradually, over time, I've reigned my own enthusiastic self in a little bit and realized that everything is always gonna take longer than we say it's going to, you know, we think about that squadron as well, always calls it of engineering product design and QA. 

[00:24:24] And, you know, you can't forget any of the four of those when you're trying to bring something to bear, and thinking about how all four of those are gonna get done is probably the advice that I would give my earlier self on, you know, don’t skip QA, don't, don't scope enough that it's gonna come right down to the wire 'cause you're just setting yourself up for pain.

[00:24:43] Richard Simms: For sure. Yeah, that's all good stuff and good advice. And I, you know, there's no right answer, I personally believe a lot in non-technical founders. I think even if you're doing something very tech -heavy, you know, surrounding yourself with the right people, and then I think having enough foundational understanding, like you're saying to ask those questions, empathize with your engineers, have conversations with them where, you know, enough to kind of

[00:25:12] listen when they say the implications of a particular change or how something is architected. So, it sounds like you've kind of got the right balance there. So, one question I had, I mean, obviously, we're very tech-heavy, and a lot of early-stage companies that kind of default to like viewing them as a tech company,

[00:25:31] right, and I think, based on your background, you kind of have that perspective, I think is fair to say, but for Daymaker, like, do you view it as a tech company? Is it a tech enabled company? What's the balance there? You know, I mean, I think it's, obviously, a multifaceted thing with all these different parties and nonprofits involved.

[00:25:49] So, just curious how you kind of categorize it in your mind?

[00:25:54] I think tech enable is probably the right way to say that, you know, we, there's a lot of different ways that we would lose, and I think if the core of the product and the service that we're providing wasn't good enough, we would lose, but also if the technology was super clunky, we would lose.

[00:26:09] Brent Macon: And so, I think, you know, that example that I gave earlier around the way that we're packaging kids' bags and all of their items into a box for nonprofits to do distribution like, that I think is something that without that a number of our nonprofits would have left. And, you know, we used to have a third-party logistics provider, and they would put all of the items ordered for a given nonprofit in boxes.

[00:26:31] And then, they would kind of sort through, and we would give them a list. They'd figure out who got what, and then we heard the feedback that like, that takes a while, it's hard, and our team built the ability to get the, you know, one child's wishlist goes in that bag, which bag is in which box, it saves nonprofits days on distribution.

[00:26:50] And so, the core thing gets to survive because nonprofit wants what's in the bags, and donors want to give it to kids, but without that technology, it just kind of falls apart. So, I think tech-enabled is probably the right label to put on it.

[00:27:02] Richard Simms: Yeah, you definitely have a lot that you're kind of having a balance and prioritize amongst these different aspects of the business, right, because the digital product, but then, I hadn't really thought that much about kind of the logistics and shipping and packaging, and, you know, all of that stuff that, as we know, can be very, like, turning one little knob makes a huge difference in efficiency, or delivery rates, or whatever that is, so super interesting.

[00:27:29] So, one question I had, I think it's fair to say nonprofit space, corporate giving space, not necessarily known as like the most innovative place. So, what's it been like trying to break into that world with something different? Has it been hard to get people to change, or be open-minded, adopt new tools?

[00:27:52] Richard Simms: What's that experience been like, trying to kind of break in with a, a new thing?

[00:27:57] Brent Macon: A lot of times, I think, folks are pretty set in their habits, for better and for worse. And I think one thing that we often pitch to companies who don't have a solution place is about building habits of generosity and what that could mean for a workplace. And when you just feel emotionally connected to your coworkers and your, you know, having generous acts together out in the community, it can be quite meaningful.

[00:28:19] But once a company starts with something, it can become part of the fabric. And if they have folks who are going out and buying toys in person and bringing 'em in and they love that, and that's what they do then, you know, ooh, what could you switch to something that might be more congruent, and holistic and helpful long term?

[00:28:35] You gotta have a pretty clear need for that. And a lot of times, you know, that old saying, "Are you a vitamin, or are you a pill?" Are you a vitamin that's a total nice to have, are you a pill for somebody that they really need? Like, Daymaker’s the ultimate vitamin a lot of times for companies, or for nonprofits even.

[00:28:53] But what I always, like what we say internally is like, maybe not a vitamin, maybe dessert, you know, maybe something that you wanna have, and you look forward to, and how can we, how can we make sure that a company and our value prop and our messaging understands that they're gonna get something really meaningful, that their people are gonna love participating in together?

[00:29:11] And get 'em to say yes and get 'em to try it. And so, I think a lot of it's in our initial, upfront top of the funnel messaging, where those challenges are, and then once we're working with folks, it’s a little bit easier to get adoption and to get 'em excited.

[00:29:25] Richard Simms: Yeah, I would imagine, you know, that initial getting your foot in the door is especially challenging, but I would think that, it's, you know, it's like, this is not the great word for it 'cause we're not talking, you know, very, in a cold sense about some new product, but like it's sticky. I think once they get in there, it's a part of their processes.

[00:29:47] Like, they feel excited about the impact they're having, probably it's the same aversion to change that makes it hard on the front end, helps you to kind of maintain those long-term partnerships, for sure.

[00:30:00] Brent Macon: Yep.

[00:30:01] Richard Simms: Cool. So, we've talked about this a little bit, how there are a number of different parties involved in what you're doing, right?

[00:30:10] So, there's nonprofits, there's companies, there's individual donors. There's the recipients, of course, I saw some on your website about, like, athletes and influencers, which I wanted to ask you about, too. So, you know, my question is like, how do you balance all of these different groups and their varying needs?

[00:30:30] How do you kind of prioritize it? Is it all just dynamic day by day? Curious, your thoughts on that.

[00:30:37] Brent Macon: Yeah, it's a tough one because there's so much that I can get excited about, and so much that our team will get excited about. And I think two things are true. One, you know, our company partners are the largest paying customer, and without them, and without that company partnership agreement, like our model does not work,

[00:30:56] like our financial model is not a profitable one without companies paying a platform fee, or a SaaS model to use Daymaker. And so, we have to curate and cater to what is gonna make it an enriching company group giving experience, for sure. And then, the second is that without actual individuals donating things that both, they're gonna find that as an enriching donor experience, and nonprofits and kids are gonna get, and realize like, "Yeah, we love this stuff, more, please." Then companies aren't gonna come back, and the two have to kind of feed each other. And so, we can't sacrifice the ball on either side of that.

[00:31:38] Like, we have to provide a world-class solution for companies, and the actual donation has to be meaningful to the donor, and meaningful to the child and the nonprofit that we're supporting. And so, I think those two things that we are constantly thinking about how to prioritize, and how to make deeper Daymaker, more depthful and congruent for all those, those parties and the transaction.

[00:31:59] Richard Simms: Very cool. Yeah. Yeah. That makes sense. There's obviously a kind of marketplace-esque vibe there where you gotta get the, the two parties at critical mass and, uh, working well together. So, let me ask you, taking a step back, like, what have been some of your biggest challenges so far with Daymaker, and how have you and the team overcome them?

[00:32:23] Brent Macon: I think the combined complexity that you, I mean, it was even dawning on you, as we were talking about around, it's not just how many nonprofits and children do you have to support, individual children's profiles, how do you make sure you help kids with equity so that it's not that some children receive something and others don't, that part of the marketplace.

[00:32:40] Well, how many companies do you actually have and donors that are actually going to support? And if either one side of those marketplace gets way outta balance with the other, the other side's gonna have a bad experience. Oh, and don't forget, you know, you gotta get that stuff out the door and to nonprofits by December 22nd, and you gotta get it in the door,

[00:33:00] you know, in time for you to pack those items in the warehouse and ship 'em. And so, the balancing, the marketplace of those three moving parts with the ticking clock in December, and shipping delays, and supply chain issues, that's the, like, "Whew." And, you know, after each of the last couple holiday seasons, I feel like it's taken a couple days for my, like,

[00:33:22] blood shirt, or, um, my blood pressure to reregulate 'cause it's just a, it's just a lot of moving parts, and it comes down to being very, very full in the holidays. 

[00:33:31] And so, that's probably the toughest element of actually running it. And then, as we eye towards building some scale and building some volume, and having more local giving options for more people, and, and supporting more non-profits and more places. Like, in the back of our mind like, cool, growth means that those challenges that happen in mid-December are more challenging. And so 

[00:33:53] how, you know, do we have the technology in place that's gonna make sure that we can do, you know, actually do that. Do we have the, the shipping logistics and the manpower, honestly, to get the items out the door?

[00:34:04] So, that's, that's probably the biggest challenge is making sure the model works fulfilling on all sides of the marketplace, serving everybody really well. And then, also growing that, knowing and growing it means incremental complexity.

[00:34:16] Richard Simms: Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. So, what about, what do you see as your biggest wins? Do you have any, you know, special moments or accomplishments that stand out in your mind?

[00:34:27] Brent Macon: Yeah, I mean, I think we, during the, the pandemic, we started the year with a third-party logistics provider who got just really negatively impacted by COVID, and Back to School campaign, we had some real service interruptions, and we decided really the odd, the obstacle is the way, the only way to actually fulfill this is to bring our warehouse to Atlanta.

[00:34:50] And we really had to scramble to figure out where are we gonna put all this stuff. How do we, you know, spin up a team? How do we get all the items out the door? And it was a real make-or-break time to figure out is the company gonna be able to continue. And as we did that, we were growing, that's when I mentioned kind of the tailwind of demand, and we ended up

[00:35:11] hiring a bunch of different college kids from Clark Atlanta and otherwise, you know, one of our company partners was Bellhop, the moving company, and they actually gave us a couple Bellhop moving crews, at cost, to help us pack the items and get 'em out the door, and it was just this kind of all hands on deck.

[00:35:28] Let's do this, put the music on in the background, we're getting the stuff packed and out the door, and that energy and momentum really kind of carried us through and set the tone for what we do now and gave us a lot of understanding. So, that was a big win, even of itself, to get to keep going. And then, I think, hundred little moments since then from our nonprofits that we've interacted with, are kind of what keeps the wind in our sales on a day-to-day basis. 

[00:35:54] And, you know, we, we sent cage street hoops to the Carver STEAM Academy in Atlanta as one of the many items. And we heard that some of the teachers were staying after to play cage street hoops with some of the kids who had gotten it because it's little like pop-a-shot basketball game, and everybody loved it because the basket had a chain link net on it,

[00:36:15] so it sounded like the park, and they were just like doing the chain link, swish, swish, swish. And we just get, like, tons of those little anecdotes and feedback about, you know, kids loving certain books, or writing a story about who the character that they learned about, or otherwise. And you're just like, man, that's awesome that that child got that because of the generosity of a company that used our platform.

[00:36:35] Like, that's, that's really, really cool to be able to facilitate. And that gives us the energy to keep going and trying to serve all those stakeholders.

[00:36:43] Richard Simms: For sure. That's awesome, I mean, I think, uh, we all know that doing an early-stage business, or a startup, there's a lot of highs and lows, and you're kind of always on this roller coaster, but I feel like you have kind of the ultimate reminder and incentive to encourage you to keep going when you get that kind of feedback or know you're really making a difference.

[00:37:04] So, I think that's awesome. So, I, I always like to ask, you know, where do you see the company? Let's say crystal ball 5 years from now, 10 years from now, you know, if you all are able to kind of scale up to the vision that you have for, for the business.

[00:37:21] Brent Macon: I mean, I think that most people listening to this will have heard of Toys for Tots or Salvation Army Angel Tree, and I would love for Daymaker to be a household name in giving. And when I think of, when people think of it, I want them to think of, "Oh, wow, they're really doing something meaningful." And I know that kids love what they get, you know, through interacting with Daymaker.

[00:37:42] So, I think that would be the thing. Like, when I look forward, if we figure out the model and the fulfillment, there's no reason why Daymaker can't serve every school district, and, you know, churches and other groups can't use Daymaker in addition to companies, and that, you know, we can't help kids and communities across the country, and maybe, you know, across the world, we're in US and Canada now, but, you know, really scaling that to be wherever there's demand for supporting kids and transferring resources.

[00:38:07] Like, we want Daymaker to be there, and then I think the other thing is really want it to be with a congruent and holistic set of experiences and services and items that we are given. And so, you know, I want children to be able to have new hobbies and talents that they've cultivated by Daymaker through things they received on Daymaker, rather, books that they've read or maybe book clubs they've been in because they've interacted with Daymaker, just,

[00:38:33] real differentiated experiences that they wouldn't have otherwise gotten without this platform. And I think that would be, you know, if there is some scale to it and scaling a good thing, like that would be the vision, for sure. 

[00:38:45] Richard Simms: That's awesome. Well, I'm sure you all will get there, and I'm excited to keep in touch and see how things are shaken out in the coming years. So, if you could give, let's say, one or two pieces of advice, to someone looking to pursue a new startup or a new product, what would it be?

[00:39:03] Brent Macon: Yeah, I'd say pick your people well, for sure, like the p, the people that you are gonna be on the journey with, to share the highs with, to pick you up when, you know, you're having low times, which are inevitable, for you to pick them up when they're having low times, for you to be solving problems together, doing hard things together,

[00:39:19] you know, oftentimes when I talk to Lane our, our advisor, you know, when we're talking about something to solve, I'll say, "Okay, we just need to get this solved." He's like, "Brother, you get that solved, it's gonna be three other things," like, 

[00:39:28] Richard Simms: Yeah, yeah.

[00:39:29] Brent Macon: there's constantly another challenge. And you just have to, I guess, have a tolerance of that.

[00:39:34] But it's the people that you're solving it alongside, who are gonna be your most constant on that journey. And so, being at people that you respect and who push your thinking, who you think are world class and their function, who you love being around, like, that's really gonna carry a lot of the experience for you.

[00:39:52] And a lot of my fondest memories, and continued energy, comments from just serving alongside great people.

[00:40:00] Richard Simms: Yeah, that's great advice. Okay, so I think we're about out of time. This has been great. A lot of good stuff you've shared here. Really appreciate you coming on, so before we sign off, where can listeners go to connect with you, learn more about Daymaker, and what's the best thing they can do to support your work, your mission?

[00:40:19] Brent Macon: Yeah, that's awesome. Thank you. And thank you very much for hosting this. If you're listening to this before Labor Day, you can go to daymaker.com/give, and our Back to School campaign is live if you wanna support a child with one of those items, or a backpack, or a field trip. And then, if you're wanting to support longer term, if you're listening to this thinking about how do I do a Daymaker campaign for my company, you can come to daymaker.com and, and sign up there, and we'll set up a demo and show it to you.

[00:40:43] Or I'm brent@daymaker.com if you wanna reach out with an email, would certainly love to meet and entertain that, and thank you all very much for listening.

[00:40:50] Richard Simms: Awesome. Well, yeah. Thank you again for joining. It's been great having you on the show, and best of luck to you, and all the great work you're doing with Daymaker.

[00:40:59] Brent Macon: Thank you. Likewise. Really appreciate it.