TESSA CLARKE
#CEOFOUNDER
Tessa Clarke, London | Photography - Buki Koshoni
Tessa is the Co-Founder & CEO of Olio, an app tackling the climate crisis by solving the problem of waste in the home & local community. Olio does this by connecting people with their local community so they can give away rather than throw away their spare food and other household items, and lend and borrow instead of buying brand new. They also have over 100,000 volunteers who collect unsold food from local businesses and redistribute it to the community via the Olio app. Olio has grown to over 7 million users in 63 countries and its impact has been widely recognised, most notably by the United Nations who highlighted Olio as a "beacon” for the world, and by Vivatech who awarded Olio "Next European Unicorn".
Prior to Olio, Tessa had a 15-year corporate career as a digital Managing Director in the media, retail and financial services sectors, and she met her co-founder Saasha whilst they were studying for their MBAs at Stanford University. Tessa is passionate about the sharing economy as a solution for a sustainable world, and about ‘profit with purpose’ as the next business paradigm.
Tessa’s TED talk about the power of sharing has been watched over 1 million times, and she was awarded the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award for 2023, the longest-running award for female business leaders.
What does the word creativity mean to you?
I spent my younger years thinking I didn’t have a creative bone in my body! That’s because back then I assumed creativity was all about pixels on a page, or singing or dancing on the stage. As I’ve grown older I’ve come to realise that creativity is about so much more than that. It’s hard for me to believe, but I now pride myself on my creativity - in particular my creative problem solving, creative thinking and creative writing.
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
The thing that makes you weird and unusual now, will be your super power later on in life. So hang in there, it will all be worthwhile.
Finish this sentence, “Happiness to me is…
Feeling like I gave it my all - whether it be trying to have a positive impact on the world, or doing my best in a workout. And greatest of all, is having that effort rewarded with cuddles from my husband and kids at the end of the day.
What is one thing you found out the hard way?
That everyone is different.
If you could have dinner with one creative, past or present, who would it be?
I’ve just finished reading ‘Screw it, let’s do it’ by Richard Branson. It was written back in the early 2000s and I was surprised to discover that even back then he was deeply concerned about the climate crisis, so we’d definitely have that to talk about. He’s also a remarkably lateral, creative thinker who has had so many mind boggling adventures and met so many incredible people that I reckon he’d be great fun to talk with. It strikes me that he’s had the best bits of 1 million lives, crammed into 1.
Is the glass half empty or half full?
Always half full! In fact so much so that I sense it can be quite annoying sometimes - often people just want a good moan, rather than having the silver lining pointed out to them.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
A writer or journalist
Which single word, describes you best?
Passionate!
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What turns you on spiritually or emotionally?
Discovering ancient wisdom. Voyaging into the unknown.
What turns you off?
A lack of curiosity, a fixed mindset, negativity, a victim mentality, arrogance, greed, laziness
Which of the seven deadly sins are you most guilty of?
Most definitely gluttony! I have zero self control when it comes to food, especially sweet stuff.
What is your favourite word?
Onomatopoeia. It’s impossible to spell, but lovely to say.
What is your least favourite word?
Craniosynostosis. It’s a condition where one of your skull plates fuses too early, which means your brain doesn’t have enough space to grow. One of my children was born with it which was extremely scary. Luckily it can be operated on, and all went well, but I still find it a very dark word.
What sound or noise do you love?
Early morning birdsong. It makes me feel like all will be right in the world.
What scares you?
Being dead.
What sound or noise do you hate?
Traffic. And the cries of a baby piglet being squashed by its mother as she manoeuvres herself to sit down - it’s an incredibly traumatising sound, and sadly something you occasionally hear when you grow up on a farm.
What brings you joy?
Sunshine, light on my skin, a job well done, cuddles, great food, dancing to cheesy music,
laughing until my sides hurt, being strong - physically and mentally, being outdoors, doing good work, helping others
What is your favourite curse word?
There’s nothing particularly exciting to report from my swearing repertoire. I used to have a terrible potty mouth, but I’ve got a lot better now. Having kids helped.
What profession would you not like to do?
I would hate to be a lorry driver. I don’t enjoy driving, am notoriously bad at navigation, love being physically active and enjoy talking to others.
What is your most treasured possession?
I don’t really have any treasured possessions - other than my engagement and wedding rings. Growing up on a farm, possessions never played an important role; to such an extent that today I tend to feel quite nauseous about how much ‘stuff’ we all have.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Co-founding Olio, the local sharing app, and building it to where it is today so that over 3 million items (food and non-food) are shared between neighbours each month. We’ve also built a community of over 100,000 volunteers who collect unsold food from local businesses (eg. supermarkets, corporate canteens, school canteens, hospitals etc) and redistribute it to their local community via the Olio app.
I’m also incredibly proud of my wonderful relationships with my husband, children and step-children; I feel very blessed indeed.
What book has influenced you the most?
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. At the heart of The Lean Startup is a philosophy of testing, measuring and learning; and starting this testing nice and early and continuing to do it on a tight rotation loop. I’ve found this approach invaluable to building my business and also to life more generally, so I’m constantly experimenting with something.
Which talent would you most like to have?
It’s a tough call - either the wit of a comedian, or the voice of an angel.
Finish this sentence, "I wake each morning, so that I may...
Play my part in solving the climate crisis and creating the future we all want to live in.
One where we’re healthier, wealthier and happier because we’re living sustainably, and in a way that’s connected to our local community and the planet.
