Building a Climate Action Platform Without Code with Fran Cresswell

Sean: [00:00:00]   All right. Hey there. And welcome to episode five ofWe Can Do This.  I'm really excited for this week's episode with Fran Creswell. Fran is the founder of Get Offset, which is a platform that makes it easy for people or businesses to offset their carbon emissions on autopilot.

​

[00:00:21]So in this episode, she talks about what inspired her to start this platform, how she was able to use no code tools to build a minimum viable product and how she built a functional platform within three days of when she came up with this idea. So really cool, exciting stuff here. so with no further ado, let's get into this episode with Fran Creswell.

​

[00:00:44] 

​

[00:00:58]Hey there and welcome to the podcast. I'm here with Fran Cresswell. Fran is the founder of Get Offset and The Eco Desk.  And I think Fran is coming to us from Thailand.  Is that right?

​

[00:01:10]Fran Cresswell: 

[00:01:10] Yeah. that's right. I'm coming to you from a small Island in the South of Thailand .

​

[00:01:13] Sean: 

[00:01:13] Awesome. Well, thanks for being here with us today. How did you end up in Thailand?

​

[00:01:18]Fran Cresswell: 

[00:01:18] I've been traveling alot for the past, I guess  five years now. Thailand has been somewhere that I was originally drawn to it just because it's an international hub, you know, there's lots of flights coming in. And I wound up here on a couple of my travels because of that. And it's just somewhere that I ended up really, really loving. I met my husband here as well. So this is the nearest thing that we have to a base at the moment.

​

[00:01:39] Sean: 

[00:01:39] Wow, that's amazing. Where else have you been in these past four or five years.

​

[00:01:42]Fran Cresswell: 

[00:01:42] So we spend a lot of time in Thailand. We spend some time in Bali, my husband's from California. So it's been some time there and some time in the UK and then other kind of random trips to places like  Morocco or Sri Lanka or Columbia.

​

[00:01:59]Sean: 

[00:01:59] That's so cool.  Well, thanks for being on the podcast today. And for everyone listening, I discovered some of the projects that Fran has worked on this year and was really intrigued and wanted to invite her on the podcast. So if you want to tell us a little bit about your background and how did you end up to the spot where you're able to kind of live a lifestyle where you're traveling, but you also run these projects that are really close to some passion areas for you.

​

[00:02:22]Fran Cresswell: 

[00:02:22] Since I was a very young kid, I was not one of those normal kids who wanted to be like a firefighter or a superhero. I actually wanted to be a human rights lawyer since I was, I dunno, probably five or six years old. So fast forward till just after graduating, you know, I'd studied criminology and human rights at University. And I wound up in London for about five years working for various human rights and social justice charities. And I just found that when I was working there, I felt like a very small cog in a big machine. And it was quite hard to really tell like where my personal impact was in this whole thing. And I'm a very kind of impact driven person.

​

[00:03:01] You know, the sense of contribution is something that really gets me out of bed in the morning. So that was something that was really important. And so after about five years at that, I wound up traveling in Asia. I actually just went on a trip, but I was working as a professional photographer at the time. And I realized that I had a camera and I had a laptop with me and I didn't really need, I didn't in fact, need to go home and I could work from anywhere. That's what I did for a while. I was working as a photographer and building websites for clients for a few years which evolved into working with my husband, which gave me much more of  a marketing and business kind of understanding and brought me to a place where I really wanted to kind of start something that was more my thing. That was more my impact in the world. So that's kind of, that's kind of the point I got to where The Eco Desk got started.

​

[00:03:44]Sean: 

[00:03:44] Yeah, so first you had the sense of what you wanted to do from a really young age, but it kind of took a different form. Right. And it's interesting that, I mean, that's been a, of a big common theme through some of these past interviews that we've done is we don't really discover what we want to ultimately do until we kind of trial and error and course correct a bit.

​

[00:04:05]So it's really interesting to hear about that story and to hear about you had these creative skill sets and ways that you were able to work with your creative skills, but that wasn't quite it, you kind of had to pivot a little bit closer to where your heart was with the impact driven stuff.

​

[00:04:19]So tell us about The Eco Desk for people that don't know what The Eco Desk is and kind of how that got started.

​

[00:04:25]Fran Cresswell: 

[00:04:25] So Desk is essentially an online hub for all things, sustainable life and lifestyle. And it has a pretty big focus on sustainable fashion. So you'll find an online magazine and also a resource library featuring a lot of the best tools, films, podcasts and all sorts of things like that from across the sustainability space.

​

[00:04:45]Sean: 

[00:04:45] Yeah I've been able to jump on and read some of these articles and it seems you have a lot of guest contributions. Right?

​

[00:04:50]Fran Cresswell: 

[00:04:50] Yes. Yeah, I've been shifting more that way. I've been trying to see it more as a, it started off as a kind of a personal project, but it kind of evolved more into an online magazine and a kind of sharing of different voices there. 

​

[00:05:03]Sean: 

[00:05:03] So The Eco Desk, I mean, what was it in you that wanted to get that started?  Was there a time where you had an idea for this and wanted to make it happen?

​

[00:05:11]Fran Cresswell: 

[00:05:11] Well, I certainly wouldn't say that I had the idea for The Eco Desk as it is now. It actually started off at something quite different from how it looks  now. What happened was I think about two and a half years ago, I went on a little trip. I was in Thailand, but I took myself on a holiday away from work for once. I found myself on a little Thai Island, which is actually the same Island I'm on right now. And I noticed how much of a plastic problem there was, you know, there was  huge, huge amounts of plastic waste washing up. And it was just, I mean, I can share some of the photos with you. It's just, it's like, Paradise, you know, it's quintessentially what you imagined as being this like tropical paradise and just littered with waste.

​

[00:05:50]So the original kind of inception of the eco desk actually started out as waste free world, which was initially focused on how we can down our consumption and how much we can reduce our kind of use of plastic and really kind of lessen our footprint in that way. And it evolved the more that I, I wouldn't say that I was, you know, anything like a fashionista or whatever, and I certainly don't see myself that way, but the more that I learned about the fashion world and, you know, particularly fast fashion and how problematic as an industry fashion is you know, both for people and planet and also just our psychology and our wellbeing. I just realized that there was a lot of a lot of really simple things that people can do to to avoid that and really kind of lessen their impact in that area. So that's something that really really started to interest me and Waste Free World morphed into The Eco Desk and now  there's a fairly heavy fashion focus there as well.

​

[00:06:44]Sean: 

[00:06:44] It seemed like based on what you said, you probably were taking a much needed day off.

​

[00:06:48]Fran Cresswell: 

[00:06:48] I was trying to, yeah, I'm one of these people who struggles to actually take time off.

​

[00:06:52] Sean: 

[00:06:52] Yeah. Oh, same. so it kind of opened your eyes to a new problem and it's something you might not have seen before, unless you were specifically taking some time to get away from the grind of work and everyday life.

​

[00:07:03]Fran Cresswell: 

[00:07:03] Yeah, for sure. You know, partly with the travel and just kind of having that head space and being able to see the problem in a very kind of real, tangible way. Like we know that plastic is a problem. But until you actually  see that site for yourself,  it's harder to put two and two together there in a way that makes you really want to take action on things.

​

[00:07:23] Sean: 

[00:07:23] Amazing. Yeah. And I imagine there's people here that are listening today that are thinking maybe I should take a vacation. Maybe I should take a break. Because maybe they care about some of these things, but you know, It takes often an experience that kind of drives people to action. 

​

[00:07:38]Okay, so you got Waste Free World off the ground and it took it a little bit of a pivot into a new direction with The Eco Desk. So you have The Eco Desk and how long have you had that running for?

​

[00:07:49]I've had The Eco Desk as sort of the online magazine or the blog running about two years now. And in November I built out, using no code tools, I built a resource library which allows people to find different types of resources in different kinds of areas of sustainability to kind of help them on that journey.

​

[00:08:09] Very cool. So do you want to talk really briefly about The Eco Desk and how you built this with no code tools. I imagine you having a background in photography. I imagine you were using photography for this platform originally . Is that right?

​

[00:08:22]Fran Cresswell: 

[00:08:22] Not so much really. This whole journey of traveling the world has really made me double down on minimalism, which was already slightly a thing in my life. But now I travel with just one bag of things and I find it very, very freeing and that kind of spreads out into everything.

​

[00:08:38] This kind of minimalist aesthetic is what you'll see if you go to The Eco Desk or if you go to the resource library. Trying to get rid of all of the extra clutter, you know, cause it's just more stuff vying for people's attention, which is exactly what I'm trying to persuade people is not necessary, you know?

​

[00:08:53]Sean: 

[00:08:53] Very cool. It's cool to see how you were able to launch that platform too. In my mind, I'm like, Oh, I have this experience and I could bring like a whole rig of camera gear and things, and we could film video and if anyone's like me, you're like, actually don't need to do all those things to get it off the ground. You don't need to do all of the things and all the ideas and bring all the gear. 

​

[00:09:13] Fran Cresswell: 

[00:09:13] Yeah, it's really simplifying down to you know, the essence of the idea and just kind of trying to scrap everything else, you know? 

​

[00:09:20] Sean: 

[00:09:20] Yeah. And if you are someone like, like me in that regard that might keep you from actually doing the thing all together. Right. So I think the simplicity actually makes it possible  to actually happen.

​

[00:09:29]Okay.  So Get Offset is another project you have, and it sounds like The Eco Desk was happening for quite some time before you built this project.

​

[00:09:38] Fran Cresswell: 

[00:09:38] Yeah, it certainly wasn't my intention to add something new, but it kind of just happened. I'll get onto that in the, in just a second, but essentially, yeah. So get offset. The concept is, it just makes it easy for individuals and businesses to plant trees and to offset their carbon footprint on autopilot. So  just a platform that enables you to really kind of tap into, to climate action in a really accessible way. 

​

[00:10:00] Sean: 

[00:10:00] I love that. What was it that inspired you to start it?

​

[00:10:02]Fran Cresswell: 

[00:10:02] So this last Christmas, the one that just passed is actually the first Christmas ever that I've been away from my family. I'm, you know, I do travel a lot, but it's very much  a kind of routine that I will always go back and spend Christmas with family. And this was the first year that I hadn't done that. And we were looking for Christmas presents for family that weren't physical. And we came across the concept of planting trees. And I was like, Oh, this is really, really interesting. And something about that, just kind of stuck in my mind. And when I did a bit more digging, I realized that a few of the companies that were planting trees, I mean, it wasn't actually them.

​

[00:10:36] Like they're the sort of marketing side of things. They have the platform and then they work with charity partners who do the actual climate action for them. And so I just ran through this as I do every so often. I'll run through this as a thought experiment with my husband of what would this look like if I were to  set this up as a sort of subscription you know, what would that actually take in terms of building that out as a platform. How easy would that be? Bearing in mind, I have, you know, some command of no code tools given my experience so far. And as it turned out, it was actually relatively easy for me to do, given my skillset. So yeah, I think it was about three days from having this conversation with my husband, this thing being a kind of MVP in the world, which was really exciting.

​

[00:11:22] Sean: 

[00:11:22] Yeah, that's amazing. I love this idea of this thought experiment that  it sounds like you've had a series of these with your husband and knowing that your husband has, you know, business entrepreneurship type experience. I don't know if he  understands the no-code world quite like you do.

​

[00:11:35]When you mentioned that I think I can create this this week.  How did he respond to that?

​

[00:11:40]Fran Cresswell: 

[00:11:40] It just completely blew his mind. So he has a software company, but he's a non-technical founder. He's very much the kind of marketing and  ideas guy. So I bring a very different kind of skillset to the table. He was just kind of amazed, you know, we had this conversation and he was like, yeah, I mean, technically it's possible. Actually quite a good idea. Then I sort of disappeared as I do. I get what website bubble, where I just like disappear and he barely hears from me, you know, he'll come and try and talk to me and I'll just be like, yeah. Later you know, like the the cat meme typing away on my laptop. And three days later I emerge and I  have this kind of basic platform that allows, you know, all the functionality  that it needs to get off the ground.

​

[00:12:18]Sean: 

[00:12:18] Unreal. Okay. So the two, three days of building where you were kind of locked away somewhere working on this, what was that like?

​

[00:12:25]Tell us a little bit about your approach. Like how you were identifying the appropriate stack of tools to use and what was  going on in your mind through those days?

​

[00:12:32]Fran Cresswell: 

[00:12:32] I guess I have just given various other projects I've done sort of for myself and in my job and my husband's business sort of every so often we'll build something on no code, whether that's like an app to help people navigate the industry conference or, you know, sites using Webflow or, you know, little integrations using Zapier or what have you.

​

[00:12:51]So I was very much aware of the capabilities of no code and how easy it is to kind of get things off the ground pretty quickly. I wouldn't say that I'm the kind of person that really goes in with too much of a plan. Like I had a concept in mind. I don't sit down and design it all and, you know, have everything on paper first. I go in and I build, and I kind of understand what I'm building as I build it. And so I just went into a, in this case, web flow and I just began to pull this whole thing together. So it was like, I think three days of 12 to 15 hours just really kind of going deep on how to integrate everything and to make sure that it's of as much value to the potential customer as possible.

​

[00:13:33]Sean: 

[00:13:33] And then, so these two, three days go by, you show it to your husband. Now, what.

​

[00:13:38]Fran Cresswell: 

[00:13:38] His mind is pretty much blown at that point. He's not, I'm not sure I thought you were serious. This is, you know this is you know, a next level idea actually. And I always know I'm kind of onto something because I'm an ideas person and there's plenty of stuff kind of whirling around in my mind.

​

[00:13:52] But when he, and I agree that something is really a good idea and he's not as focused within this kind of environmental impact space. I already know that  I'm onto something. And so yeah, from then it was just getting the word out and trying to spread the news about it to as many people as possible, just to see how people would respond and if it was worth building out something that was a bit more robust.

​

[00:14:12]Sean: 

[00:14:12] Yeah. So do you want to tell us a little bit about the platform and what is possible? Like if someone wanted to jump on today and participate offset their carbon emission, that kind of thing. How much does that cost? How often do they contribute? What does that look like? 

​

[00:14:26] Fran Cresswell: 

[00:14:26] Yeah. So most of the options that you have a sort of monthly subscription model. There are individual and business plans. The individual plans start from just $5 a month and businesses are employee based pricing. Kind of calculates the average footprint of each employee and equates that to how big your business is and you pay on that kind of a basis. Or you can just  buy trees on a  ad hoc basis. You know, you could plant a hundred or 250 trees just as a one-off purchase.

​

[00:14:55]So I actually decided to learn to code, to take this to the next level. And this is not something that I ever really thought that I would be telling anyone, but here I am, I'm learning to code. So I'm building it out as a web app so that it has a lot more functionality, particularly for businesses to be able to plug into the business and really kind of set up a very kind of set it and forget it  model. 

​

[00:15:18]So it will allow whether you have a SAS and you want to use the API to maybe plant a tree for every customer that comes on board or you know, we're going to have a Shopify plugin that allows you to plant trees or offset carbon for each purchase. So it'll just give you a lot more options. And you know, more and more as time goes on different ways to kind of make an impact.

​

[00:15:42]Sean: 

[00:15:42] Amazing. So I love seeing the  next stages that you're really approaching. And ironically as of the time we're recording this today. Today is Earth Day.

​

[00:15:50] So if anyone listening today wants to jump on to Get Offset the website for both The Eco Desk and Offset will be in the show notes. But you can make a contribution today celebration of Earth Day. 

​

[00:16:01] Well, cool anything else that you want to share related to The Eco Desk or Get Offset?

​

[00:16:06] Fran Cresswell: 

[00:16:06] Yeah. I mean, I think really if someone were listening to this and thinking, what's the main thing that I should be taking away. It's how easily you can build something. You know, if you have an idea, if you want to make an impact, it's so easy now with no code tools, you don't have to know how to code.

​

[00:16:19] You don't have to know a bunch of technical tools with the power of no-code tools. So it's a really, kind of great time to be alive and great time to be making an impact.

​

[00:16:28] Sean: 

[00:16:28] Yeah, I love it. That really is one of the things too that makes me really believe in the no-code movement is there's a lot of people with ideas, maybe some people who are listening today who have the thought of something that should exist, but they actually don't realize how quickly and feasibly, they might be able to create something and get it off the ground. So totally agree with that sentiment. And especially hearing that you're learning to code and looking to actually develop some of these, you know, more sophisticated  integrations with your site and with your platform.

​

[00:16:58]It is sort of like a gateway drug to learning the code. This isn't just setting code aside saying, Hey, we don't need to use that or do that,  but it actually helps you approach learning these skillsets in a different way. So very, very cool. I love it.

​

[00:17:13] Well, if anyone wants to learn more about what you're doing either of these platforms or who knows, maybe we'll be talking about a third one in the future. Where can they find you online?

​

[00:17:22]Fran Cresswell: 

[00:17:22] The best place to connect with me personally, online would be Twitter, which is @FranCreswell. And then you can find the projects. So Get Offset is getoffset.io and theecodesk.com.

​

[00:17:34] 

​

[00:17:48]Sean: 

[00:17:48] All right. Well, thanks for tuning into this episode. I really enjoyed the conversation that I was able to have with Fran. And if you want to check out what she's doing, her links are in the show notes, but you can check out, Get Offset or The Eco Desk and subscribe to both of those websites, if you want to get updates.

​

[00:18:04] And if you're interested in actually planting trees in offsetting your carbon emissions you can go ahead and do that. There's a bunch of options there.  So if you want to connect beyond the show, you can follow, we can do this on Instagram @wecandothisco or if you want to follow me @seanpritzkau, I'd love to connect there  and I'm starting to post additional things related to the show, but things that might not end up on the podcast. So make sure the follow there. And if you'd like to leave a review on iTunes that helps grow the reach of this show.

​

[00:18:32] So you can do that by looking up, We Can Do This on Apple podcasts or iTunes and leaving a review. so thanks again and see you next week.

​

[00:18:39] 

​

[00:19:15]