Life is short. And it is about doing meaningful things, with the people you love.
Elliot Costello has a history of building impactful social enterprises in Australia.
Elliot recently cofounded Phantm - an Australian start-up contributing to circular economy solutions to solve two significant problems in Australia: food waste and single-use plastics. Phantm is developing market-leading technology that converts organic waste streams into a compostable natural material that is fully recyclable, can be composted in soil, and biodegrades in ocean environments. This will be the first commercial enterprise of its kind in Australia.
In 2008, Elliot cofounded ygap - a nonprofit that supports local impact entrepreneurs in some of the world’s toughest communities. ygap has supported over 550 early-stage impact ventures that has significantly and measurably improved the lives of 1.1 million people living in poverty. Under Elliot’s leadership, ygap fundraised over $20m.
Elliot is also the founder of three other viable social enterprise businesses in different industries, and two international fundraising campaigns, including the Polished Man Campaign which has raised millions of dollars while engaging hundreds of thousands of men around to world to take an active stand to end violence against children.
Before returning to Australia to start Phantm, Elliot completed postgraduate studies in Comparative World Religions at Oxford University, focusing his dissertation on the intersection of faith and politics in the United States.
Video
Listening, Through Someone Else's Ears | Elliot Costello | TEDxOxford
Most people listen with the intention of replying, not always with their focus on understanding. Elliot Costello shares a local, national, and global example of why it is important to listen, through someone else's ears. Listening has a profound capacity to create deep and meaningful connections, and, importantly, to facilitate social change. Elliot Costello is a post graduate student at Oxford University, focusing on Christian Ethics and contemporary Islam. Prior to coming to Oxford, Elliot co-founded and was CEO of YGAP, a global nonprofit organisation that finds and backs locally-based impact entrepreneurs in some of the world's toughest communities. Under Elliot's leadership, YGAP has supported 470 impact ventures which has significantly and measurably improved the lives of over 590,000 people living in poverty.
