We recently connected with Meghan Calhoun and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Meghan, you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?
I would have to say generosity is in my DNA because my mother is the most self-less person I know. She would never hesitate to do acts of service for those around her.
In fourth grade, Sr. Anne Kelly would often tell us in her Irish accent, “Anyone can be Jesus…even the janitor.” This lesson stuck with me and treating every single person with kindness became a core value.
When I took the Clifton’s StrengthsFinder test, I was surprised to learn that my number one value or strength is Connectedness, the belief that all of us as humans are connected, past and present and future, all cultures and colors.
I think the most generous act is active listening. Giving your attention and empathy to another is the most precious gift.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
After a decade long career in advertising sales, I was recruited by a cemetery to sell final resting places to families who had just experienced a loss. It was equal parts rewarding and stressful. To help a family on the hardest day of their life gave me so much joy. I appreciated the constant reminder that we have one short precious life and we don’t know when it will end. But the delicate balance of having a sales goal when the buyers are grieving was tricky. I had a one year old and a three year old and I was trying to do everything perfectly and by myself. Working mom burnout was eminent. I felt like every day could be the day I break down and am carted off to the looney bin. Luckily I was laid off at the beginning of the pandemic. I used the next two years to reconnect with my children and myself. I read so many books and listened to so many podcasts in an attempt to learn how to never burn out again. I learned about self-trust, boundaries, regulating my nervous system, purpose, and navigating my inner critic. I became a self-proclaimed Joyologist and started Don’t Just Manifest, Megafest, a podcast to guide other mom’s away from burnout and into the joys of motherhood. I became enthralled by the life-changing results of the Positive Intelligence program and resolved to be certified in 2024.
While I was going through my renaissance, my husband created Give River, a social media app to address the teen mental health crisis. In 2024, Give River evolved into a gamified team engagement platform to increase employee engagement, improve well-being and develop positive company culture. It seemed like a great fit for me to use my B2B sales experience and Joyologist background to take our SaaS to market.
Give River is a software that allows daily peer-to-peer recognition in the workplace. But Give River’s secret sauce is the seasonal game of good deeds. Employees complete suggested acts of kindness for 10-30 days and earn “drops.” Each drop is a donation to a charity of their choice, simplifying and democratizing the company’s charitable giving.
The ripple effect just keeps going. Employees experience all the happy hormones doing acts of kindness for others and donating money to charities. Coworkers receive the generosity and are inspired to give back too. Non-profits benefit from donations and increasing awareness of their missions. Companies look like a hero for providing the space for their employees to play the game of good deeds and find out what matters to their employees.
I am most excited to see all of the ripple effects that will come from people using Give River. The more you do good deeds or show gratitude for your fellow human, the more you see others doing good, and the more you want to do it too.
We are always looking for collaborations with likeminded people and of course, companies who care about their employees, their customers and their community. Essentially we want to connect with people and companies that want to be the change they wish to see in the world.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I’d love to focus on skills, qualities and knowledge that the reader can easily learn, without a special job training or personal characteristic.
If you turn your car (or chores) into a classroom, you can uplevel so much so quickly. I picked this up early on from one of the great motivational speakers…maybe it was Tony Robbins or Brian Tracy or Zig Ziglar. Audible and podcasts make it really easy to drink from a firehose of experts sharing their experience with you.
- Learn self-trust, boundaries, and how to regulate your nervous system. I could write 100 TED talks on this. These are the top skills that will make your life more calm and joyful.
- Learn to deal with your inner critic. I’ve read all the self-help books, but the seven week Positive Intelligence program changed EVERYTHING for me. I would not be able to work with my husband and ride the entrepreneur roller coaster if it weren’t for PQ.
- Join Toastmasters. The ability to communicate and lead without fear will change your life. There are Toastmasters clubs meeting online at all hours of the day. It’s the best way to practice not only prepared speeches but more importantly, speaking off the cuff. You could be the smartest person but if you can’t communicate, you’ve got nothin.
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
The ideal client for Give River is a CEO or HR manager who wants to bring a wholesome team building experience to their team. They want to build a culture of generosity and kindness. They realize that when people feel good, they do their best work. They want to be a first-choice place to work.
Contact Info:
- Website: giveriver.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megs.malloy/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghan-garvey-calhoun/
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/3S-5MSrAYcs?si=HzhWPfP-aoZRPzFV
