BCBusiness

25 B C B U S I N E S S . C A A P R I L 2 0 24 he was always curious about an entrepreneurial career, he doubted that his laidback personality could make the most of it. So when he moved from Puslinch, Ontario, to attend UVic in 2016, he was only after a bachelor's degree in geography. Then, a client success specialist opportunity with Shift Agency—which was acquired by Frontier Marketing in 2018—led Hussey to put a pin in university and explore outside roles. He spent another five years at Frontier working up to a senior strategist role. There, he noticed that charities are underserved when it comes to digital marketing. But the doubts poured in: Could he do it? Would it work? The passing of his father, who was not only supportive of entrepreneurship but also involved in fundraising, served as a turning point for Hussey. In April 2023, he launched Generosity X to provide marketing services to charities across North America by focusing on avenues that, according to him, are more common in for-profit spaces, including conversion rate optimiza- tion and digital ad campaigns. The company recently tested a number of marketing tactics for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank ( GVFB), including a new email strategy where it split the GVFB's contacts in half and doubled the usual number of emails to one list. The combined services resulted in a 55-percent increase in gifts and a 75-percent increase in rev- enue, translating to $150,000 in two months for the charity, says Hussey. B O T T O M L I N E : "So many charities across Canada have an appetite to grow but they just need a little bit of direction," Hussey says. His Victoria-based company is on track to hit $500,000 in annual revenue by summer and he hopes to grow the Generosity X team from three to eight by the end of 2024. –R.R. TAYLOR HUI Age: 29 Founder and executive director, BeaYOUtiful Foundation L I F E S T O R Y : Many businesses are founded in response to a challenge, but Taylor Hui's inspiration for the BeaYOUtiful Foundation is more personal than most. In high school, several of Hui's friends were living with eating disorders, and Hui herself experienced cyberbullying. "I saw patterns of girls not being able to love themselves or really embrace all that they were, and it made me start questioning what was stopping that kind of education," she says. She didn't wait for an answer: in her senior year, Hui launched a six-week pilot program meant to foster self- confidence in young girls. That 2013 pilot program grew into the Bea YOUtiful Foundation. In 2018, it became a B.C. society, and in 2019 a registered charity. Mentor- ship is the backbone of Bea YOUtiful—the roster of volunteer mentors is diverse, from university students, teachers and counsellors to lawyers, firefighters and profes- sional athletes. "My rule is that anybody can be a mentor as long as you show up with kind- ness and a willingness to learn," says Hui. Of course, she herself is part of that mentorship team, leading workshops on self-love, confidence building and mental wellness (that are also engaging and fun for pre-teens and young teens). For example, "Heart-to-Heart Week" involves PJs, chocolate and lots of emotional sharing. "Usually someone ends up crying," shares Hui, "and, usually, it's me." B O T T O M L I N E : The BeaYOUtiful Foundation now has a network of more than 400 volunteer mentors and has impacted over 4,000 female and non-binary identifying youth nationally. The foundation offers single-day workshops, a six-week confidence program and a five-week mental health program. Hui has partnered with community leaders like the Surrey Fire Service and the WickFest Female Hockey Festival. Last but not least, she launched Inspired By Her, a free full-day conference for girls aged 9 to 13, in Vancouver—and in 2023, she brought the conference to Toronto and Calgary, too. "It's basically a big self-love party," says Hui. "It's my favourite day of the year." –A.H. Taylor Hui

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