You can’t do everything for everyone, but you can do something for someone.
Nick Pearce is the Co-Founder & former CEO of one of Australia’s leading social enterprises, HoMie- a highly innovative streetwear clothing brand that uses 100% of its profits to provide employment pathways to young people affected by homelessness.
In 2015, at the age of 21, Nick led HoMie from an initial pop-up concept (that was meant to only last a month), to a now-nationally recognised, multi-award-winning social enterprise that has endured for over a decade, delivering real, lasting impact on the lives of young people in Australia.
Underpinned by key values: impact, respect, authenticity & innovation, HoMie has blended streetwear with social impact to redefine what it means to do business with purpose.
HoMie has several impact initiatives:
1. VIP Program- HoMie shuts its retail store to the public and invites young people affected by homelessness or hardship in to shop for free. Young people get to choose up to five items of brand-new HoMie clothing while enjoying haircuts, beauty services, and lunch with the HoMie team.
2. Pathway Alliance- An eight-month-long paid employment and education program for young people (aged 18-25) affected by homelessness or hardship. Up to 14 young people are paid to study a Cert III in Business, while being employed for a minimum of three shifts per week at a HoMie retail store or with one of its Pathway Alliance employer partners.
3. REBORN- a sub-brand of HoMie Apparel that takes unsellable garments from brands like Country Road and transforms them into unique, upcycled pieces. This initiative not only keeps clothes out of landfill but also showcases how circular design can create stunning, limited-edition streetwear.
To date, HoMie has:
- Supported over 3,700 young people
- Hosted over 100 VIP Events
- Gifted over 14,000 items of brand-new clothing
- Provided over 9,000 hours of paid education
- Provided over 23,000 items of paid employment
- Diverted over 3,400 kg of clothing from landfill
- Upcycled over 5,000 items of clothing
Throughout their journey, HoMie has also partnered with a number of globally recognised brands on various projects/programs, including Nike, the AFL, Sportsgirl, Champion, Stussy, Bonds & Cotton On.
Nick is also an extremely passionate advocate for mental health/illness after his own experience of being diagnosed with OCD at the age of 18, where he became the face & voice of headspace’s nationally-televised “The Big Stigma" campaign in 2016, a National Awareness Campaign aimed at informing Australians that the more we talk openly about mental health issues, the easier it becomes for young people to seek help for them.
Nick was awarded the Victorian Young Achievers Award for Leadership (2017), the National Retail Association's Young Retailer of the Year (2018), and GQ Magazine’s Social Force Award (2019).
Talking Points
The HoMie Founder story
This presentation explores the inspiring story behind HoMie, a Melbourne-based streetwear social enterprise, and how it evolved from a grassroots idea into a powerful movement driving social impact. Attendees will learn what sets social enterprises apart from commercial businesses, and how the founders made the decision to pursue purpose over profit.The HoMie Founder story
Nick will delve into the challenges of starting and scaling a social enterprise, including the essential tools, mindset, and "why" behind it all. The talk will cover how HoMie mobilised a community around a shared purpose, challenged the norm with innovative approaches to addressing youth homelessness, and became a changemaker in the space.
Key takeaways:
- Collaboration
- Creativity with limited resources
- Breaking new ground in the business-for-good landscape
- How corporates can integrate social purpose into their operations
Inspire students to explore social entrepreneurship in their own lives
Who is this for?
Budding changemakers, educators, business leaders, or those simply curious about how to turn purpose into action. This session will provide practical insights, heartfelt motivation, and real-world examples of how to make caring cool.
Doing Something for Someone- Business with Purpose
In a world where people crave more meaning in their work and impact in their actions, this presentation explores how individuals and businesses can become powerful agents of change. It’s not just about what we do…it’s the way we do it.Doing Something for Someone- Business with Purpose
Through the lens of purpose-driven business, Nick will unpack our individual capacity to drive meaningful change and how purpose can be a catalyst for both innovation and influence.
Key takeaways:
- How to upskill for impact, build your voice, and use storytelling to rally people around a mission
- The dynamics of corporate responsibility, showing how companies (large or small) can shift from transactional to transformational
- How to balance passion with logic, find and follow your purpose, and identify practical, value-adding opportunities that create real momentum
Who is this for?
Whether you're starting out, leading a team, or trying to influence culture from within, this session will give you tools and insights to turn your intentions into action and make doing something for someone a powerful business strategy.
Empathetic Employment
This presentation explores how empathy, when intentionally embedded into workplace culture and operations, can become a powerful force for both human and business success. Nick will also explore how small, intentional decisions can lead to large-scale cultural change from within.Empathetic Employment
Key takeaways:
- Applying a strengths-based approach
- Operating with unconditional positive regard
- Viewing underperformance through a lens of curiosity
- Best practices in hiring, how to create a positive feedback loop, and strategies to maximise staff engagement and growth
Who is this for?
People & culture leaders, HR professionals, team leaders & managers, social enterprise founders, corporate change makers.
Embracing Imperfection
This personal presentation explores Nick’s journey through his own mental health challenges and how adversity can become a catalyst for deep personal growth and purpose. Through the power of storytelling, Nick details how facing his mental health struggles actually helped him to develop empathy, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence- essential tools for connection, leadership, and living authentically.Embracing Imperfection
Key takeaways:
- How transforming personal adversity into positive action can drive social impact
- How authenticity attracts community and support
- How looking after oneself is an investment in others
Who is this for?
Mental health advocates and support workers, youth/young adults, workplace leaders & HR professionals, community & peer support groups.
Video
Nick Pearce | Social Justice Enterprise 'Homie' Helping the Homeless
HoMie started out of curiosity in 2015, between 3 friends eager to break down the stigma associated with homelessness and those experiencing it rough on the streets. Starting as just a Facebook page - Homelessness of Melbourne aimed to draw awareness to the faces and stories of everyday people affected by homelessness and allow people to share their own narrative in a dignified way, ultimately destigmatising and humanising the issue. The following year, this idea grew into HoMie - Homelessness Of Melbourne Incorporated Enterprise and a retail pop-up at Melbourne Central was born, with a singular monogram tee and a few other brands hanging on racks. After a short while at the pop-up, HoMie moved into the now flagship store at 296 Brunswick St, Fitzroy. The flagship store now acts as a base for our two social impact programs - our VIP Shopping Days and a training location for our HoMie Pathway Alliance Program, as well as where we showcase our latest collections across all seasons. From one monogram tee to multiple collections and two solid social impact programs - it's fair to say the HoMie team is stoked to see how the brand has evolved over the years in making and creating impact in our community. Our programs and overall brand has developed over 4 years to reflect our learnings along the way, of which there have been many, to help us grow and become the social enterprise we are today. We are an organisation that supports young people affected by homelessness or hardship to equip them with skills, confidence and experiences to be more work-ready and better prepared for their future. We are gender neutral, we are socially conscious and we are a community. We value inclusivity, connection, respect, and transparency - just to name a few. We wear these values on our sleeves.Audio
Nick present lights up audiences around the need to tackle youth homelessness and the possibilities of a career focused on making a difference in the world. Nick's everyday work and the re ... keep reading Think Impact
