Problem Solvers
Problem Solvers
Entrepreneur Media
Can You Give Away 25% of Your Profits and Still Build a Business?
26 minutes Posted Oct 26, 2026 at 7:00 am.
Intro
Can a business give back and still make money?
Selling leftover flowers on street corners
The solopreneur trap
Scaling on customer revenue alone
Why customers don’t buy for the mission
The mistake of overgiving
Where the 25% came from
Megyn Kelly’s tough question
Why investors pushed back
Why start a nonprofit too
Are there tax benefits?
Giving back only works if it’s real
Where to find Flowers for Dreams
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26:30
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Show notes
Flowers for Dreams gives away 25% of its profits. In the flower business, where margins are already brutal. Co-founder Steve Dyme sketched that number on a bar napkin 15 years ago, and he’s kept it through investor pushback and on-air skepticism from Megyn Kelly. The result is more than $1.8 million donated, and a spot on Entrepreneur’s America’s Favorite Mom and Pop Shops list. But there’s a twist. When he surveys customers, the giving doesn’t even rank in their top three reasons for buying.
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