“Find a woman to drive your business” advises Sydney entrepreneur Peter Lord.

Even if Peter Lord hadn’t been a rather remarkable young entrepreneur, he would still have caught our eye here at CUFA. Peter, founder of acclaimed personal finance tool MoneyBrilliant just happens to hold a significant record at CUFA:

He sponsors 15 Village Entrepreneurs.

Peter, MoneyBrilliant’s Business and Customer Development Director, sponsored his first Village Entrepreneur in 2013.

“What I love about being a sponsor is that it’s personal,” he said. “You see progress on a very individual level. It’s great to be able to give and then watch people grow.”

He describes himself as “stupidly optimistic”, and firmly believes he can help change the world by empowering people through better money management. MoneyBrilliant is a “virtual financial assistant” that brings people’s personal finances together under one digital umbrella. Peter designed the tool with women in mind, directly inspired by watching the female members of his family struggle with their finances.

Peter doesn’t see himself as a philanthropist. “It’s more of a by-product of where my career has taken me. I don’t believe in doing a business just to make money. “Now for me there’s meaning and passion. Anything that is worthwhile doesn’t come easily, and I have lived with financial insecurity. I wanted to create something focused on giving financial confidence, particularly for women, earlier in life. When you have the basics down, you are more inclined to focus on your goals.”

Which aligns perfectly with CUFA Village Entrepreneur program. Peter always looks to sponsor female Village Entrepreneurs, in tune with the philosophy behind his business.

“I feel like there’s a real opportunity to help women,” he said. “I believe the solution to the world’s problems with money has to start with helping women first.”

“Studies show that men do very well in a matriarchal society, whereas women don’t thrivein a patriarchy. Women are extremely hardworking. They are passionate, and have compassion and empathy. I always say – find a woman to drive your business. Women are better leaders.”

Peter not only shares his philosophy by speaking and writing about it as often as he can – he also lives it, and combines his love of adventure travel with fundraising. He has recently returned from running a half-marathon in Uganda where he raised funds for a schools’ project.

“Charity is power – the more you give, the more you receive”

“Uganda was an amazing experience. I got to spend two days in a school where we raised enough money to give 300 kids lunch every day for a year. I learned that these amazing and inspiring kids have nothing. If they were lucky they had a few sets of clothes and an old deflated football to kick around. The thing is they didn’t ask for anything or really need anything. They just wanted an opportunity to grow.

“If you have the opportunity of helping, then you have the moral obligation to do it. In Australia we can afford to do this. My evolution is that I would love to start my own charity. It’s one of my goals, maybe in the next five years.”

Watch this space

In finishing this profile, we couldn’t resist sharing a snippet from one of Peter’s recent blogs which demonstrates why we think he’s one man to watch in the future:

We can’t do it alone by Peter Lord

I’ve been busy.  I work crazy hours.  Starting a business is hard, stressful and time consuming.  No surprises there, but when a virus stopped me in my tracks it reinforced a powerful lesson that I sometimes forget.

It takes a village.

You see we are not solitary animals. We need each other to succeed and thrive. But I think we often forget this.  We can’t do it alone.

I couldn’t have started MoneyBrilliant without the support and love of my family, especially my Mum, and the financial support of my Dad. Then there are my friends who would listen to me ramble on about my idea. They challenged and prodded me.  They made me and my ideas stronger.

It’s the same with everything we do.  Being truly successful in life is not about what you do or how much money you have, it’s about the people and support group you foster and grow around you.

You can read more of Peter’s blog here.

CUFA’s Myanmar Village Entrepreneur program is open for business – join us in this exciting project now!