Life On The Pledge: Alex Voakes

Please share a bit about yourself with us:

I'm Alex Voakes, CEO of Peak PEO, an Employer of Record company that helps businesses hire internationally without setting up local entities. I spent nearly a decade as a stand-up comedian before founding Peak PEO.

The idealistic world view I gained on the stand-up circuit shaped how I'm building Peak. The kind of company where values aren't on a poster, they're in the everyday decisions. I'm in business to make as positive an impact as I can, rather than just profit at any cost. Deep purpose, progressive working practices. We live it.

We're now B Corp certified, Planet Mark certified, four-day week, fully remote, and genuinely proud of how we operate.

What first drew you to Founders Pledge and what motivated you to pledge?

With the current state of the world, in 2024 I decided to take action rather than despair. I read Moral Ambition by Rutger Bregman, heard about Giving What We Can and the 10% pledge, and couldn't get it out of my mind. So I committed.

Having done that, structured, accountable giving wasn't new to me. Which led me to Founders Pledge. It's easy to give when things are going well month to month. It's a different kind of commitment to say: if this company becomes worth something significant, I'll give 20% of that away before I even think of what to do with it. That's the kind of commitment that removes the temptation to renegotiate with yourself later.

How has your Founders Pledge experience changed the way you think about impact?

It's pushed me to think about impact more holistically. Giving money is one part of it, but how you run your business, how your team are treated, the decisions you make about travel, procurement, and partnerships, that's all impact too. Founders Pledge has helped me see the pledge not as the whole story, but as one part of a broader commitment to operating differently. That liquidity event may come, but in the meantime I'll use the inspiration from this community to make every impact I can.

In November I travelled overland to Slush and back from the UK, 600km cycling in the rain, 65 hours on boats, and 8 hours on trains. To raise awareness of the impact of business travel. We can't talk a good game and not follow through with our actions. We can be a generation that does business differently, and brings people along with us.

What have you most valued about being a Founders Pledge member?

The member community, honestly. At my first event I was a little apprehensive. My unconventional background and commitment to running Peak by a different set of metrics, I worried would put me on the back foot in such an innovative community. The complete opposite has been true. I've met some of the most inspirational and supportive people I've ever encountered in business. People who really show me I'm not alone in trying to do this.

Being around other founders who've made the same commitment changes that initial level of trust. In a lot of business circles, aggressive growth at any cost is the unspoken assumption. Founders Pledge changes that. It's a space where doing well and doing good aren't in opposition, they're the entire reason for being. That's rare in 2026. I find it genuinely energising to be around people operating from that same starting assumption.

What charitable organisations do you support and what motivated you to do so?

Friends of the Earth has been a natural fit. I care deeply about environmental accountability, and love their grassroots approach, connecting communities to the climate crisis and action. So when I did the overland journey to Helsinki, that was the obvious charity to fundraise for.

With my Giving What We Can 10% of income pledge, I like to work with Founders Pledge to help in areas that others might not, and this year that led to supporting Raising the Village, who build sustainable pathways out of ultra-poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. A great example of the expert advice and support Founders Pledge give.