Mateo Palacio Gómez
“Take risks, but most importantly, take action!”
Mateo Palacio Gómez
Country of origin: Colombia.
Occupation: Economist and Social Entrepreneur. State of Residency: VIC. Favourite place in Australia: Tasmania. Upon arrival: Surprised by not being able to understand the Australian accent.
By Trini Abascal
Mateo Palacio Gómez is the co-founder of charityBay and founder of La Tricolor Events. Although charityBay recently started operations, they have already helped over 60 charities (and counting) by diverting thousands of unwanted items from landfill and converting them on cash donations. Through La Tricolor Events, he has supported the Latin community in Australia with several social events throughout the year and donated to people affected during the bushfires and the pandemic. For his work and innovation, he has received several awards (e.g. Open Innovation Competition 2020 by the City of Melbourne; Global Hex 5.0 by Hacker Exchange; and The Melbourne Accelerator (MAP) Velocity Prize by the University of Melbourne).
TELL US YOUR STORY
Six years ago, I was in Colombia living in my "comfort zone" (financially stable, good job, and great quality of life). One day, I felt my life and my city were too small for my dreams. I wanted to explore, to improve my English, and to travel. I asked myself: "Which is the furthest English-speaking place on earth to travel to?" and Australia came to mind. Curiosity pushed me out of my comfort zone, but as André Gide (Novel Prize winner) once said: "One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight, for a very long time, of the shore".
In March 2015, I arrived in Australia. I might not have told this to many people, but after a few months, I didn't have any savings nor a job. I was eating noodles and tuna and living in a very tiny room shared with a lot of people. Eventually, I found a job as a bathroom cleaner in a nightclub seven nights a week. I was also studying full time, but I needed the money, so I took the job and had no rest for months. I think I slept 4 hours on my best days.
La Tricolor Summer Party (2019)
Later, I found another job as a waiter. To be honest, I was the worst waiter with shaky hands. I did try my best, a positive attitude and a big smile kept me in the job. I eventually improved and even made it to floor manager with the happiest customers. One day I asked the restaurant owner: "What if I organise a Latin party? I will show you what a real Latin party is". That was the beginning of my first company, La Tricolor Events ("La Trico" for short), which with my dear friend David Molina "Molo", we have been running for the last 4.5 years. We believe in showing the best face of our culture: our smiles, dances, hospitality and happiness. Also, we want all of us to feel closer to home and keeping our community together. Thanks to "La Trico" we discovered our passion for creating happy moments. We have managed to donate to those who needed it the most, including those affected by the bushfires and the pandemic, and our always remembered Julián Andrés Sáenz Velasco, rest in peace, who got a very rare disseise some months after arriving in Australia.
During my journey, I was lucky enough to meet Haidar Al-fallouji. He is my precious friend and co-founder of charityBay. He was the mastermind who came up with the idea of charityBay. Some months later, we shook hands, sealed our partnership, and committed to giving our sweat, blood and tears into this movement: "The new era of giving back". Convinced that everyone has the power to help, we worked non-stop and launched our very first prototype in February 2020, pivoting and re-launching again in April. Clearly, the idea of transforming the charity sector is out of our comfort zone. Still, our real question when we started was: "What if it works, what if we could actually bridge the gap between those who wish they could help, and those who do, the charities?" Some weeks ago, we achieved our first 1,000 heroes. One thousand people that are proving that everyone has the power to make an impact in the world. They are doing so by helping charities with their items and purchases. 95% of the proceeds of all their transactions have changed lives on more than 60 charities (and counting). I am just a Colombian with a broken English who gave a step forward towards change. I invite all of you reading my story to take action; YOU have the power to create meaningful changes! "Be the change you wish to see in the world."
CHALLENGES
Local friends - Australians are very friendly and welcoming; however, there are barriers, such as language and culture, which make it harder to have close relationships with locals. My situation has changed, and I am fortunate to being part of networks that welcome and support foreign people; but it was not easy at the beginning. This can be one of the biggest challenges for many people during their stay.
La Tricolor Independence Party
Disrupting the charity sector - The idea of transforming the charity sector, one of the most conservative ones around the world, has been challenging as it is a three-sided marketplace. Buyers don't stay if there is no product, possible sellers/donors don't list their items if there are no buyers, and charities don't see benefits if there are no transactions. Which one goes first, the chicken or egg? Besides, I do not have a native English nor Australian background, so building trust has been a roadblock. We have been overcoming these challenges, by having meaningful conversations and speaking with our heart at all times. Teamwork, critical thinking, persistence and of course, hard work have been important as well.
The lockdown - We did not have much traction in charityBay at the beginning. On top of that, when the lockdown started, it affected our business model where buyers had to go and collect the items from the donors' house, which was not legally permitted anymore. What was going to happen to charityBay if no transaction could be completed? We decided to work harder than ever. We pivoted with contactless-delivery, and thanks to re-strategising, the growth has been exponential.
CONTRASTS
Quality of life - There has been a massive growth on the economic development of Colombian and Latin American countries; however, there is no secret on the fact that Australia's quality of life is on the top ranking worldwide. I love its safety, public transport, and opportunities for personal and professional growth.
Weather - In Colombia we do not have seasons, and Medellin's temperature is 28 degrees average all year long. Melbourne's weather has been certainly not as good as expected, but the warmness in its people make it easier to adapt.
Respect for diversity - Australia is quite multicultural and advanced in terms of respect for the variety of thoughts and behaviours. It is admirable and inspiring. I can see that people accept differences in terms of ideas, cultures, and behaviours.
PIECE OF ADVICE
Take action - My happiest moments have been when I was outside of my comfort zone. One might feel fear of being in unknown territories, but there is a high chance of finding passion and happiness above that fear. Take risks, but most importantly, take action! People regret what they didn't do, not what they did: "done is better than perfect.”
Learn constantly - Always try to find better and more satisfying ways to do things. As a good learner, you'd need to LISTEN, so ask questions and truly listen to the answers. This also means stepping back from a situation so that you can examine it from another perspective. Allow other things to be possible; don't use confirmation bias to find reasons to be right. Be willing to be wrong and learn from it.
"If you can let go of passion and follow your curiosity, your curiosity might lead you to your passion" Elizabeth Gilbert.
Take care - The world has shown us the importance of taking care of yourself before anything: That includes your physical and mental health and your wellbeing. Exercise, meditate and share with friends and family. I'd like to share my personal agreements I try to follow every day. They come from the book "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz: BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD, DON'T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLY, DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS and ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST.
charityBay team presenting on Melbourne Soup (Feb 2020)
IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS…
Mateo is positive that in a future not far from today, people will use tools such as charityBay to change their communities, to act with a true purpose. He believes in a future where every person can discover their power to help. The reality is that in Australia alone, over 8.3 Million people chose not to help because of their financial constraints. He is working to remove that challenge, and money is no longer needed to help.