Duncan Grossart | Finding Brilliant People, Rewilding & Leading with Heart
Duncan Grossart is the founder and Chief Purpose Officer of Journeys With Purpose, the highest-scoring B Corp travel company in the world.
He is a veteran entrepreneur, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and a leading expert in global rewilding who transforms high-level conservation initiatives into deep-dive, immersive travel experiences.
As soon as I recorded this episode with Duncan I knew it had to be the final episode of Season 3.
Before we spoke I was expecting a conversation around all the touchy-feely parts of business; purpose, vision, mission and so on.
But what unfolded was a wide-ranging set of practical tips and advice that any entrepreneur can take, built on Duncan’s huge depth of knowledge and experience from running other non-travel businesses and applying the learnings this time around.
You’ll leave this episode with a notepad full of actions, covering topics like:
- Building a team and finding great people who can make your vision reality.
- The link between commercial success and impact success.
- Duncan’s motivation and how his upbringing led to him setting up Journeys with Purpose.
- Storytelling and being less literal with imagery and more focused on feeling, using Duncan’s experience in his previous media business.
- The power of taking action. Don’t just sit around, get up and do something!
- Duncan’s take on being dependent and dependable and why it’s so important.
- What ‘being a strong man’ means to Duncan.
- When to be heart-led and when to be head-led in business.
- Duncan’s rewilding inspiration and what he’s learned from experts in the field.
This is a man who has taken a huge amount of experience and turned that into the business he always wanted to create.
And it’s also clear he’s extremely well read and loves learning as much as he ever had (which is a lesson in itself).
From personal lessons to leadership and business advice, there’s everything in this conversation, and I’m so grateful for Duncan taking the time to share it with us.
Season 3 is done – and this felt like the perfect way to end it!
Podcast Timestamps
00:00 Introduction to Duncan Grossart
01:00 Duncan’s Early Influences and Background
05:09 Transitioning to the Business World
09:45 Key Learnings from Business Experience
18:28 The Importance of Team Communication
26:09 The Birth of Journeys with Purpose
31:35 Understanding Rewilding and Conservation
39:35 Balancing Commercial and Impact Success
46:51 Reflections on the Travel Industry
50:31 The Power of Storytelling in Travel
52:15 From Head to Heart: A Personal Journey
55:16 Defining Success and Impact
01:00:17 The Role of Loss in Motivation
01:03:45 The Importance of Nature and Conservation
01:19:03 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs in Travel
