Explore every episode of the podcast Disruptors for GOOD | Social Entrepreneurs and Social Enterprises
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lime's Journey to Sustainable Urban Mobility - Andrew Savage, a founding member and VP of Sustainability at Lime | 03 Dec 2024 | 00:34:06 | |
In episode 223 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Andrew Savage, a founding member and VP of Sustainability at Lime, on growing the companies sustainability efforts alongside its revenue growth. In 2017, Lime emerged as a fresh face in urban transportation, reimagining how we navigate our cities with electric scooters and bikes. Since then, the company has rapidly expanded its reach, currently operating in over 250 markets worldwide. At the heart of Lime’s journey is a dedication to sustainability, balancing rapid growth with environmentally conscious practices and innovations in battery technology.
About Andrew Andrew is a founding member and VP of Sustainability at Lime, the world’s largest electric micromobility company. Andrew has been at the forefront of sustainability and innovation, playing a pivotal role in scaling Lime to over 250 global markets and securing more than $750 million in investment. At Lime, he initially led the company’s market development, government relations, and policy strategy before building and leading its sustainability function, driving the company’s mission to reduce emissions and support clean, efficient urban transport. Before Lime, Andrew held a leadership role at an Inc. 500 solar manufacturer and renewable project developer, where he championed impactful policies, expanded new business, and drove national growth. He also served on the board of the U.S. solar industry’s national trade association, representing over 1,000 member businesses. With a career spanning business, sustainability, and the public sector, Andrew has overseen key initiatives, including co-authoring a $6 billion home energy retrofit program in Congress—backed by President Obama and embedded in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Disrupting Healthcare Education: Osso VR's Impact on Surgical Training | 20 Nov 2024 | 00:32:32 | |
In episode 222 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, I had the privilege of speaking with Justin Barad, MD, CEO of Osso VR. We explored how his groundbreaking virtual reality platform is transforming surgical training, improving healthcare outcomes, and setting new standards in medical education worldwide. Traditional surgical training methods, while foundational, often face limitations in scalability, accessibility, and adaptability to new technologies. Enter Osso VR, a groundbreaking platform that leverages virtual reality (VR) to revolutionize surgical training and assessment. By providing immersive, hands-on experiences, Osso VR is setting new standards in medical education, ensuring that healthcare professionals are well-equipped to deliver optimal patient care. The Genesis of Osso VR Osso VR was founded in 2016 by Dr. Justin Barad, a UCLA and Harvard-trained pediatric orthopedic surgeon. With a background in bioengineering and a passion for video game development, Dr. Barad identified a critical gap in surgical training methodologies. Traditional approaches often lacked the flexibility and realism needed to keep pace with rapidly advancing medical technologies. This realization led to the creation of Osso VR, aiming to democratize access to high-quality surgical training through immersive VR experiences. Transforming Surgical Training Through Virtual Reality Osso VR offers a comprehensive platform that combines cinematic-quality VR with clinically accurate simulations. This fusion allows healthcare professionals to practice and master surgical procedures in a risk-free, virtual environment. The platform's key features include:
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| Hedvig Alexander // Co-Founder of Powered by People - Wholesale + Dropship made Sustainable + Backend Technology for Millions Global Artisans | 24 Jul 2024 | 00:38:25 | |
In episode 214 of the Disruptors for Good podcast, I speak with Hedvig Alexander, Co-Founder of Powered by People, on bridging the gap between artisans and global buyers through modern technology and tools.
Powered by People is a marketplace that connects buyers in Europe and North America with artisans and makers in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. The platform not only facilitates the matchmaking process but also offers financing and resources to help makers become export-ready. Hedvig emphasizes the importance of cultivating a long tail of makers to ensure a unique and attractive supply. She also highlights the role of philanthropy in supporting the training and development of makers, as venture capital is not suited for that purpose. Powered by People is focused on creating a sustainable and unique supply chain by connecting makers from around the world with buyers. They aim to bridge the gap between the philanthropic and venture capital worlds by creating a hybrid financing model. This model allows for both venture backers and philanthropists to support the business and achieve their respective goals. The key to making this model work is providing information and understanding to both sides, making them comfortable with each other and leveraging each other's strengths. The maker community is creating handmade, high-quality products with contemporary designs that are being bought by retailers like West Elm and the Smithsonian Institute. Powered by People aims to scale the business, attract more buyers and makers, and become the default sourcing option for sustainable and unique supply. They also want to build out their technology to make it easier for makers to get online and grow their businesses. Takeaways
Sound Bites "Powered by People is this amazing sort of network you and your co-founders have built, sprinkling sort of technology on artisans around the world to sort of build this wholesale supply marketplace for retailers, for entrepreneurs building sort of marketplaces."
Our mission is to empower and inspire social entrepreneurs, impact investors, impact professionals, and conscious consumers, who are dedicated to creating a more sustainable and regenerative world. ⏺ Weekly Podcasts
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| Classic Episode: Facing Addiction, Becoming Sober, and Building a Million Dollar Impact Company - Wes Hurt // Founder of Clean Cause | 18 Jun 2022 | 00:43:54 | |
In this episode of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, I speak with Wes Hurt, founder of Clean Cause, on facing addiction, becoming sober, and building a company that gives 50% of profits every month to support individuals in recovery. Wes started by selling CLEAN Cause bottled water out of his truck to local convenience & grocery stores in Austin, Texas. He soon realized how much addiction truly was impacting the lives of Americans when he heard the many stories of addiction from his customers across the country. Finding himself fatigued by the grind of growing his new venture, he needed a source of caffeine - but one that was organic, refreshing & sat well on his stomach, unlike coffee. Wes saw that the sober living facility experience was a crucial moment for many of his friends who were also pursuing recovery. It empowered them to establish recovery routines, find employment & prepare to re-enter the world. Creating a sustainable source of funds to expand access to sober living would be the solution Wes would pursue. To Date the company has generated over 2170 scholarships, representing more than $1,085,000. The Clean Cause Mission SOBER LIVING "CLEAN Kickstarts" help bridge the critical gap between rehab & reintegration into everyday life. They give people the opportunity to live in high-accountability homes, find jobs, and establish recovery support systems. If you know someone in your community who is in need, have them apply here for a sober living scholarship today. Listen to more Causeartist podcasts here. Check out: ImpactInvestor.io - Discover impact investors from around the world. Podcast Made with Transistor ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Classic Episode - Natural Alternatives to Leather and Plastics - Sophia Wang // Co-Founder of MycoWorks | 13 Jun 2022 | 00:32:00 | |
In this episode of the Disruptors for Good podcast I speak with Sophia Wang, Co-Founder of MycoWorks, on disrupting the fashion industry by creating a biomaterials company that has developed natural alternatives to leather and plastics using mushroom mycelium technology.
Her creative practice includes choreography, performance, writing, curation and producing original dance and multimedia works. Sophia has danced for Xavier Le Roy, Tino Sehgal, Jerome Bel, Amara Tabor-Smith and Xandra Ibarra, and co-founder of the Brontez Purnell Dance Company. Since 2015, she has co-produced Heavy Breathing, a discussion and movement workshop series that has featured over 45 presenting artists working at the intersection of performance, visual arts and pedagogy. Sophia also holds a PhD in English specializing in 20th and 21st century experimental American poetry, and a BA in English and Visual Arts. MycoWorks create materials at the intersection of art, nature and biotechnology using mycelium, one of the earth’s most regenerative resources. The company's mission is to create a platform for the highest quality materials using Fine Mycelium™. Their first product, Reishi™ offers partners in the fashion industry an option for leather that is neither animal nor plastic, yet uncompromising in quality and aesthetic expression. The company announced last year the closing of a $45 million Series B financing to scale up and meet demand for Reishi™, the leading natural, non-animal leather material. WTT Investment Ltd. (Taipei, Taiwan) and DCVC Bio co-led the round, with major participation from new investors Valor Equity Partners, Humboldt Fund, Gruss & Co., and others, and existing investors Novo Holdings, 8VC, SOSV, AgFunder, Wireframe Ventures, Tony Fadell, and others. About Mushroom Mycelium Mycelium is one of the earth’s most powerful agents of regeneration and carbon sequestration. These fine, root-like threads are grown on the byproducts of agriculture and lumber, transforming plant matter into their own biomass. Unlike “mushroom leather,” which is compressed mycelium, MycloWorks patented Fine Mycelium technology engineers mycelium during growth to create the proprietary, interlocking cellular structures that give our material its superior strength and durability. Exclusive to MycoWorks, the Fine Mycelium process offers the unique advantage of total control over quality and customization. Fine Mycelium materials are custom-grown to our brand partners’ specifications for performance, aesthetic features and more. This gives brands creative control to design from the material on up, while minimizing waste and ensuring consistent quality. Actionable traceability of the Fine Mycelium process allows our experts to capture and apply data at defining moments during production, fully optimizing our products from initial growth to harvest. Today, the team is growing in order to scale and deliver Reishi to an even broader range of partners in fashion, footwear and beyond. Together, they’re working towards a world where mycelium enables resilient, creative solutions for any industry dependent on animal and petroleum-derived products. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Classic Episode - Lecrae // Multiple Grammy Award Winning Artist and NYT Best-Selling Author | 03 Jun 2022 | 00:25:05 | |
In this episode of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, I speak with Lecrae, the multiple grammy award winning artist and New York Times best-selling author on using music, writing, activism, and venture capital to inspire local communities. The multiple Grammy award winner a New York Times best-selling author Lecrae has evolved from primarily being an artist into an entrepreneur, speaker, activist, thought leader, and philanthropist. Lecrae now influences millions with his socially conscious message and transcendent sound positioning himself as a catalyst for restoration in faith, music, and pop culture. In 2013, he became the first hip hop artist to win the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Album, which was awarded to his sixth album, Gravity,and in 2015 became the first rapper to win the BET Award for Best Gospel Artist. In his new book, I Am Restored, Lecrae shares the never before told story of his loss of faith after the experiences of his past threatened to ruin his career and life. It also chronicles the personal practices he uses in his daily life for mental, emotional, and spiritual health. With powerful prose, he gives an unflinching look at the personal and public spaces that sadly hurt us so often--culture, politics, family, church, personal failure--and reminds us that learning to let go and forgive is the birthplace for the life of creativity and freedom God has for us. His new music video "Drown" features the eleven time Grammy Award winning artist John Legend. See it here. Lecrae is also a venture partner at Collab Capital, a $50mm fund that helps Black founders build sustainable businesses. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Regenerative Leadership and Deep Nature Immersion - Giles Hutchins // Author, Adviser, and Speaker | 31 May 2022 | 00:36:59 | |
In episode 145 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, Causeartist contributor Rafael Aldon, speaks with Giles Hutchins, on regenerative leadership and using nature to enhance executive consciousness. Giles is a pioneering practitioner, keynote speaker and executive coach at the fore-front of this necessary revolution. He applies advanced consciousness raising techniques, deep-dive nature immersions, embodiment work, ancient wisdom tradition insights, and cutting edge research on leadership consciousness.
He holds an MSc in Business Systems, a BSc in Finance, Valuation and Property, a Post Graduate Diploma in Advanced Leadership, Global Leadership Development GOLD certification, Advanced Coaching certification, Analytic Coaching Network practitioner, Human Emergence Framework trained, Solonomic and 5 Deep Holistic Leadership trained, Way of Council trained, and Reiki Master certification. Giles has also been a member of various professional associations, for example: The Institute of Directors, The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, The Royal Society of Arts. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Classic Episode - Olowo-n’djo Tchala // Founder and CEO of Alaffia | 27 May 2022 | 01:01:35 | |
In this episode of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Olowo-n’djo Tchala, Founder and CEO of Alaffia on cultivating beauty, equality, and empowerment in West Africa and around the globe through personal care products. Olowo-n’djo Tchala, founder and CEO of Alaffia, was born and raised in the village of Kaboli, Togo. Growing up and working to support his family, he witnessed firsthand the injustices and inequalities many of the women in his village faced daily. After moving to the United States and going to University, he felt the responsibility to fight the injustices that existed in West Africa. In 1996, Tchala met his partner Prairie Rose Hyde, who was invited to his village as an environmental volunteer in the Peace Corp. Inspired by a shared calling to do right by the world, Alaffia, a social enterprise, was born. With an understanding of the value of indigenous West African resources and sustainable business ideologies, the two launched Alaffia’s first shea butter collective in 2003 and in 2004 established the Alaffia headquarters in Olympia, Washington. For the last nearly 20 years, Tchala’s green and fair trade organization has created sustainable programs in West Africa that have improved the lives of over 250,000 individuals. Proceeds from the sale of Alaffia’s beauty and personal care products are returned to communities in Africa, such as those in Togo and Ghana, to fund their multiple empowerment programs including Maternal Care, Reforestation, Regenerative Agriculture, Eyeglass, Bicycle and in 2021 Female Genital Mutilation Eradication. Since inception, they have built 16 schools, planted over 99,000 trees, provided more than 10,000 bicycles and 30,000 eyeglasses, donated school supplies to more than 37,000 students, and funded over 6,500 births. How does it work? Women’s cooperatives in West Africa handcraft indigenous ingredients, such as unrefined shea butter and African black soap, using traditional African methods. Products are then finished at Alaffia’s U.S. headquarters in Olympia, Washington. Proceeds from the sale of their personal care products are returned to communities in Africa, such as those in Togo and Ghana, to fund their community programs. Today, Alaffia is available in Whole Foods nationwide and continues to redefine the natural products industry through its values of Beauty, Equality and Empowerment, fair trade, and safe, efficacious hair, face and body care. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| The Future of Responsibly Made Denim and Ethical Manufacturing - Adam Taubenfligel // Co-founder of Triarchy | 24 May 2022 | 00:42:40 | |
In episode 144 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, I speak with Adam Taubenfligel, Co-founder of Triarchy on the future of responsibly made denim and ethical manufacturing. Adam is an author and co-founder, Creative Director and Sustainability Steward for the fully sustainable fashion brand, Triarchy. In his day job, Adam is innovating fabric technology, traceability and reusability that minimize waste and maintain authenticity, relentlessly reducing waste at every possible juncture. However, the bigger picture shows us a disruptive founder on his journey to discover how his identity as an author, sustainability steward, designer, LGBTQIA+ human in this space is all intersecting at this moment and leading to what's next.
Triarchy was initially a direct to consumer denim brand with not much but great jeans. However, as the brand continued to grow, the siblings noticed the incredible amount of water waste and chemical harm the denim manufacturing industry was having on the planet. Instead of turning a blind eye, they checked their egos and stopped production, taking their brand offline in 2016 in order to find a better way to make jeans. Three years later, after what seemed like an endless amount of research, Triarchy was reborn as the denim brand we know and love today. Responsibly made, with ethical manufacturing in mind. Triarchy is not just a denim brand, it is a vehicle to educate consumers on mindful consumption and the now more than even importance of less is more. With its combination of style, sustainability, and social responsibility, Triarchy is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the world of fashion. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Creating Zero Waste Products for Students on College Campuses - Greg "G.L." Genco, Founder and CEO // Generation Conscious | 20 May 2022 | 00:22:32 | |
In episode 143 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, I speak with Greg "G.L." Genco, Founder and CEO at Generation Conscious, on creating zero waste products for students on college campuses. G.L. grew up near a waste transfer station in Jamaica, Queens, NYC before moving to Long Island with his Trinidadian-Italian family. Seeing the health impacts of the waste station on his community motivated him to found Generation Conscious in order to tackle climate injustice, eliminate plastic waste, and address eco-classism. He was further moved to take action when he found out Trinidad & Tobago was 80% at or below sea level, meaning most of his family was on track to be displaced by rising sea levels. As a first generation college graduate (Amherst College), G.L. understands the importance of accessibility when it comes to sustainable goods. That's why Generation Conscious collaborates with university administrations to ensure the school subsidizes or finances the full cost of the hygiene refills for all low-income students. The Generation Conscious system is built on making sustainability simple, accessible, and affordable. Because helping the environment shouldn’t be a luxury. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| XPRIZE Carbon Removal Milestone Award Winner on the Future of Renewable Energy - Hans De Neve // Founder and CEO of Carbyon | 16 May 2022 | 00:27:55 | |
In episode 142 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, I speak with Hans De Neve, Founder and CEO of Carbyon, on winning the XPRIZE Carbon Removal Milestone Award and the future of renewable energy through direct air capture. After finishing his PhD at IMEC, Hans became a researcher within the Alcatel Research & Innovation division – currently part of the Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs organization. Subsequently he's worked for several product units of Alcatel-Lucent where he continued to look for product differentiators and product innovation – facing the challenge to turn innovative ideas into commercial successes. Hans has Master degree's from KU Leuven and Ghent University in Physics of Microelectronics, Materials Science, Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics. He also has PhD from Ghent University in Micro-electronics, solid state lighting, and III-V semiconductors. After Alcatel-Lucent, Hans started to specialize in the field of renewable energy, first at VITO in Belgium, later at ECN and TNO in The Netherlands. Following the great experience, he founded Carbyon, a start-up to develop machines that can capture CO2 from air. Carbyon is developing equipment to filter CO2 from the air and store it underground. Recently, the Dutch start-up was named a Milestone Award winner of the XPRIZE for Carbon Removal. This $1 million incentive prize, funded by Elon Musk and the Musk Foundation, is part of the four-year global XPRIZE competition. The organization invited innovators and teams worldwide to create a solution that can extract CO2 directly from the atmosphere or oceans and store it in an environmentally friendly way for good. "For us, winning this award means being recognized. XPRIZE is like the world championship within our field. The fact that the jury ranks our concept among the fifteen best in the world means a lot to us. It is fantastic that three years after the start of our company we are already playing at this level." Hans de Neve, CEO at Carbyon. Carbyon is a team of scientists and engineers working closely together on one common goal: scale up this technology cost-effectively and provide the world with a powerful tool in the fight against climate change. Their technology is aimed at saving our planet from climate change. The company strives to maximize impact towards this purpose. Profit serves as a means to achieve this and is not an end in itself. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| The First Streaming Service Dedicated to Climate Action, Biodiversity, and Sustainability - Ellen Windemuth // CEO of WaterBear Network | 09 May 2022 | 00:38:31 | |
In episode 141 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, Causeartist contributor Rafael Aldon, speaks with Ellen Windemuth, CEO of the WaterBear Network, on starting the first streaming service dedicated to climate action, biodiversity, and sustainability. Ellen Windemuth is CEO of WaterBear Network, overseeing the strategy and direction of the new free streaming platform dedicated to the future of our planet. Prior to WaterBear, she was owner and CEO. of Off the Fence, having founded the company in 1994. Under her leadership, Off the Fence acquired, produced and co-produced over 6,000 hours of content. She is a seasoned executive producer and distributor and has produced over 500 hours of content to date She executive produced “My Octopus Teacher,” which won this year’s BAFTA and Oscar for best documentary feature. Waterbear is a global network for conservation and sustainability. They believe that the world's future depends on our ability to protect and preserve our planet's natural resources. Waterbear brings people together from all corners of the globe to share knowledge, collaborate, and take action on behalf of our environment.
WaterBear members control what content they want to watch, when they want it, with no ads and with one simple sign up - all for free, in all English speaking countries, on mobile app and web. WaterBear is a big fan of documentaries, locally-told stories, NGO campaigns, on-the-ground grassroot outreach, volunteering, eco-travel, sustainable products and much more; and members can find all of this on the WaterBear platform at the touch of a button. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Unlocking Future Potential Worldwide, One Job at A Time - Geoff Hucker // Founder and CEO of Work For Impact | 02 May 2022 | 00:25:26 | |
In episode 140 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, I speak with Geoff Hucker, Founder and CEO of Work for Impact, on how remote work and freelancing has unlocked potential worldwide, one job at a time. Geoff is an expert in the nonprofit, social enterprise sector with 18+ years of experience, Geoff is a passionate advocate for socially responsible, purpose-built businesses. Having established, directed, and scaled a successful charity – Beyond The Orphanage – he understands and has met the challenges faced by NFP/NGO and For Purpose organizations when it comes to talent acquisition, engagement, and retention. Geoff has hired and worked with freelancers from around the world, effectively assessing HR requirements and directing resources to priority areas of the business. Geoff is highly experienced in For Purpose leadership, global and regional governance and compliance, and the creation of high performing remote global workforces – all of which combine to efficiently and cost-effectively meet the key objectives of an organization and its Board. With an entrepreneurial eye for the most pressing global social and economic issues, Geoff founded Work For Impact – the platform designed to help NFP and For Purpose organizations engage top on-demand talent, meet the demands of the changing landscape of ‘work,’ implement agile working practices, and become leaders in the socially responsible freelance space. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Ash Bhardwaj // President and CEO of Onx Homes: Disrupting the Homebuilding Industry in a Sustainable Way | 16 Jul 2024 | 00:39:09 | |
In episode 213 of the Disruptors for Good podcast, I speak with Ash Bhardwaj, President and CEO, of Onx Homes, on disrupting the homebuilding industry in a sustainable way. Key Takeaways from Interview
In the heart of the American dream, there’s a huge shortage of about 3.2 million homes, up from 2.5 million in 2018. This gap leaves families struggling to find affordable housing amidst high prices and interest rates. The solution seems simple: build more homes. However, traditional construction methods have their own problems, scattered supply chains, out-dated materials, long build times, and lack of environmental innovation. A 2023 report from RMI showed that new home construction in America produces over 50 million tons of carbon emissions each year—similar to the annual emissions of Norway. This issue isn't just about economics; it's also about the environment. Traditional construction harms the planet, using up resources, increasing carbon emissions, and creating waste. We need innovative solutions that provide shelter while protecting the environment. That’s where Onx Homes comes in. The company believes it has the answer to these challenges. Causeartist Our mission is to empower and inspire social entrepreneurs, impact investors, impact professionals, and conscious consumers, who are dedicated to creating a more sustainable and regenerative world. ⏺ Weekly Podcasts
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| How Clean Cooking Can Offset More Carbon Emissions Than The Global Airline Industry - Ben Jeffreys // CEO of ATEC* International | 25 Apr 2022 | 00:55:42 | |
In episode 139 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, Causeartist contributor Rafael Aldon, speaks with Ben Jeffreys, CEO of ATEC*, on how clean cooking can offset more carbon emissions than the global airline industry. As ATEC’s CEO and strategic leader Ben has an unwavering commitment to unlocking the potential in others. Ben brings over 14 years experience in managing teams across social enterprise, international development and corporate sectors. Before his role at ATEC* Ben worked as National Development Manager at SSE, Product Development Manager at Oxfam, and Retail Sales Executive at Westfield. Globally cooking with wood kills roughly three times as many people each year as traffic accidents – the majority of fatalities being women due to smoke inhalation. Solving clean cooking will contribute more to the global economy than the national GDP of Italy and offset more carbon emissions than the global airline industry. Women and girls bear the greatest cost of a lack of access to clean, modern cooking solutions in the form of poor health and safety. This is costing women and the wider community $3,000 per household per year. ATEC's unique Impact Flywheel is the strategic core of how we solve clean cooking. Through creating scalable partnerships between BoP households and international capital markets, our flywheel enables ATEC* to offer high quality, low cost IoT cookstoves to BoP markets at scale. Data is central to what the company does. ATEC* tracks all impact in the central Impact Dashboard including unit installations, outputs, GPS and 10 different impact outcomes. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Scaling a Nonprofit Like a Silicon Valley Startup - Matt Hill // One Tree Planted | 20 Apr 2022 | 00:32:03 | |
In episode 138 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, I speak with Matt Hill, founder of the global reforestation organization One Tree Planted on scaling a nonprofit like a Silicon Valley startup. Listen to episode 54 to get Matt's origin story and the mission of One Tree Planted. Since 2014, the organization has planted over 40 million trees. They have more than doubled the number of trees planted each year, and are working with partners across 43+ countries in North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Pacific. In 2021, their team grew substantially to accommodate the growth with remarkable expertise. The organization enhanced it's strategy and operations to ensure that they’re using the best technology, restoration methods, and monitoring practices, and implemented new project criteria for quality and accountability in how your trees are grown, managed, and planted. Last year alone, 23,588,232 trees were planted through 166 projects in 42 countries around the world. But as Matt often says, reforestation is about so much more than just trees. From supporting over 35,000 farming families to employing/involving over 5,000 women and engaging over 39,000 volunteers, Matt is proud of the lasting social and economic impact that they’ve made, together. This year for Earth Month, the organization has launched its forest ever Forest Fest. Forest Fest features a gathering of thought-leaders and sustainability professionals changing the world, one tree at a time.
Forest Fest will be help April 21-24 in San Francisco, CA. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| The Paradigm Shift That is Impact Investing - Alessa Berg // Founder and CEO of Top Tier Impact | 19 Apr 2022 | 00:37:08 | |
In this episode, I speak with Alessa Berg, Founder and CEO of Top Tier Impact, on the future of carbon credits, ESG, web3 and its place in the paradigm shift of impact investing. Alessa is an entrepreneur, investor and advisor to funds and companies. Her thought leadership sits at the intersection of positive impact and emerging technologies. Alessa was born in Switzerland and is fluent in 6 languages. During high school, she started focusing on neuroscience while working as a windsurf and snowboard instructor on the side. Alessa created her first business at 11 years old and has been investing in the blockchain and biotech sectors since graduating from Oxford University. After covering product at early-stage technology startups, Alessa worked in private equity at Blackstone and in venture capital at Mosaic Ventures. She’s the youngest member of her Oxford degree’s advisory board. Alessa founded Top Tier Impact (TTI), the global ecosystem of impact and sustainability leaders. The TTI Group’s mission is to accelerate the mainstream adoption of impact and sustainability as the way of making investments and running companies. It has an active private network of 500+ impact investors, entrepreneurs and corporate leaders across more than 40 countries, an advisory business focused on ESG & climate risk scenario planning, an impact investing unit and a policy unit that bridges the gap between private and public sector within net-zero energy transition topics. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Providing High-Quality, Affordable Internet That Helps Move Communities Forward - Chet Kanojia // Co-founder and CEO of Starry | 13 Apr 2022 | 00:34:55 | |
In episode 137 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with with Chaitanya “Chet” Kanojia, co-founder and CEO of Starry Inc, on providing high-quality, affordable internet that helps move communities forward. Chaitanya “Chet” Kanojia is co-founder and CEO of Starry Inc., a wideband hybrid fiber wireless technology company focused on building competitive, affordable, high-quality broadband across the United States. Prior to Starry, Chet was founder and CEO of Aereo, Inc., the groundbreaking online television platform that enabled consumers to record and watch live HD broadcast television on virtually any type of Internet-connected device via a cloud-based OTA antenna and DVR. Previously, Chet was the founder and CEO of Navic Networks. Like Aereo, Navic Networks addressed the challenges of today’s highly fragmented media landscape. Under Chet’s leadership, Navic Networks grew to be the undisputed industry leader in advanced television advertising and was acquired by Microsoft in 2008. Chet holds more than 31 patents in fields ranging from robotics to data communications systems and is an innovative leader known for pushing beyond the conventional and developing breakthrough solutions. He has been noted as part of Vanity Fair's 2013 "Next Establishment List” and named one of Inc. Magazine’s 2013 “Entrepreneurs of the Year.” Aereo's technology was also named one of TIME magazine's Top 50 Best Websites (2012) and a Top 50 Technology (2013) by MIT Technology Review. In 2019, Chet was honored with Public Knowledge’s IP3 Award for Internet Protocol for his years of work developing technology in the interest of competition and consumer choice. Chet holds a master's degree in Computer Systems Engineering from Northeastern University in Boston and a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology in Bhopal, India. About Starry Starry was recently named to the second annual TIME100 Most Influential Companies list. Starry's goal is to provide competitive, high-quality, low-cost broadband options for residents in every community they serve. They currently serve subscribers in six major U.S. cities today - Boston, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, New York City, Denver and Columbus, OH - and have an expansion roadmap to cover more than 40 million households nationwide. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| New Causeartist Podcast // Introduction to Heather McDougall // Host of Changemaker Rehab | 08 Apr 2022 | 00:15:57 | |
In this short episode I sit down with Heather McDougall to talk about her journey and the new Causeartist Podcast - Changemaker Rehab. You can subscribe and listen to Heather and Changemaker Rehab on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and wherever you listen to your shows. Heather is an honors law school grad and social entrepreneur, a yogini, and a global citizen. She is the Co-founder of Bogobrush and has spoken about sustainability and innovation for groups including TEDx, Yellow Conference, MN Business Ventures, Abu Dhabi's GEM Academy and others. Learn how Heather leads impact at thisisheather.me and connect with her on LinkedIn. Thanks. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| How Digitization and Sustainability are Converging - Simon Schillebeeckx // Co-founder of Handprint and Global Mangrove Trust | 05 Apr 2022 | 00:56:52 | |
In episode 136 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, Causeartist contributor Rafael Aldon, speaks with Simon Schillebeeckx, Co-founder of Handprint and Global Mangrove Trust, on the convergence of digitization and sustainability. Simon is the Co-founder of Handprint and Global Mangrove Trust. He is also the Assistant Professor of Strategic Management at SMU - Singapore Management University. He holds a PhD in Management from Imperial College London alongside advanced degrees in Corporate Social Responsibility and Commercial Engineering. About Handprint Handprint is on a mission to integrate positive impact into every business transaction. The team has built a platform that connects companies to fantastic causes they curate with the help of their global impact board. Handprint digitizes these causes and, once they establish a direct impact connection with an interested company, they automate, integrate, report, and visualize the positive impact actions corporate clients facilitate. Rather than making sustainability an afterthought, Simon and the team focus on regeneration of ecosystems and the rebuilding of communities. By aligning positive impact with companies' purpose and values, their commitment is real, is long-term, and unwavering. By integrating and automating the positive impact actions with strategic KPIs, they know that your business growth genuinely becomes good for the world. About Global Mangrove Trust ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| The Future of Regenerative Business - Rafael Aldon // Impact Investor and Co-founder of regenr8 | 01 Apr 2022 | 00:52:37 | |
In this episode I speak with Rafael Aldon, Impact Investor and Co-founder of regenr8, on his journey into impact investing and the future of regenerative business. Rafael will be co-hosting upcoming episodes on the Investing in Impact podcast feed and the Disruptors for GOOD podcast feed. Rafael is a founder-focused Venture Capital professional with extensive experience in investment and startup growth strategies, including investments with advisory and Board positions in FinTech, InsurTech, DeepTech & SaaS companies, predominantly in S.E. Asia and Europe. Rafael is driven by a passion for nature and the transformative power of technology, and is a student of regenerative leadership. About regenr8 - regenr8 is pioneering regenerative venture capital approaches in Asia to invest globally in purpose-driven founders building highly-scalable technology companies that fit under the core themes of Energy & the Environment, Food & Water, Circularity & Zero Waste and Social Inclusion. The future of business is regenerative. Regenerative businesses are inspired by nature, in harmony with people and the planet and go beyond sustainable to actively address urgent global challenges such as biodiversity loss, climate change or inequality. They are on a mission and seek to collaborate across continents and cultures to support a global community of founders, investors, professionals and partners who share the vision to accelerate positive impact business models. regenr8 partners with a global network of Family Offices anchored by SE Asia families in key regional locations, proving the means for generational family wealth to create prosperity whilst supporting regenerative approaches that create abundance for future generations. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Making Sustainable Farming Economically Superior With the Tesla of Tractors - Carlo Mondavi // Co-founder of Monarch Tractor | 28 Mar 2022 | 00:40:24 | |
In episode 135 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Carlo Mondavi, Co-founder of Monarch Tractor, on making sustainable farming economically superior and cleaner with fully electric and autonomous tractors. Carlo Mondavi is a 4th generation farmer & winegrower and grandson of the legendary Robert Mondavi. In addition to making wine, Carlo is co-founder & chief farming officer of Monarch Tractor founded in 2017. He is currently an active sustainable farmer and leads the delivery of the world’s smartest, fully electric, autonomous tractor which is being deployed around the world to farmers. In 2013 he formed RAEN Winery with his brother Dante. He has also put the Monarch Tractor to work at RAEN winery. RAEN stands for “Research in Agriculture and Enology Naturally,” which speaks to the core ethos of Carlo’s farming & winemaking practices: to farm at the highest level and in unison with nature. RAEN implements permaculture, biodynamic and organic. In 2017 he started the The Monarch Challenge. The Monarch Challenge is set to enlighten, encourage and connect our communities to farm and thrive in unison with nature and give back to the delicate circle of life---Basically cleaner farming. The challenge was inspired by the dwindling Monarch butterflies that used to be in the millions and have dramatically been reduced to thousands. The butterflies are very important to the farming ecosystem in Napa and Sonoma but impact other regions too. The name ‘The Monarch Challenge’ comes from the fact that since Roundup’s introduction into the market in 1974, the Monarch butterfly population has declined by 90% and is currently under threat of extinction. The environmental impact goes beyond the Monarch to frogs, bees, other pollinators and even on to our human health. In 2020 he was co-founder of Monarch Tractor leading the electrification of agriculture. Carlo states, “The true definition of sustainable is all over the place, blurring the root meaning of what sustainable is. With that said, truly sustainable farming is leaving the soils and environment farmed as good if not better than before to allow for life and farming to continue on healthily. This means no herbicides, systemics and a basic regenerative practice to help build soil health and biodiversity on the farm. Once this balance is found on a farm there is the opportunity for a healthier farm team meaning healthier community and most importantly a better and healthier product to share and sell.” What is the Monarch Tractor? Monarch Tractor is making sustainable farming economically superior with the MK-V -- the world’s smartest, fully electric autonomous tractor and with a world-class leadership team that have accelerated vision to product delivery in three years. What are the benefits of the Tractor? Monarch’s fully electric tractor helps eliminate the 35 percent of carbon emissions developed by current diesel tractors used in agriculture farming. Monarch projections suggest its tractor can directly reduce 1% of GHG emissions, while regenerative practices enabled by Monarch can reduce 4% of GHG emissions. Farmers today face numerous challenges including labor shortages, effects of climate change, safety concerns, increased customer scrutiny for sustainability demands, government regulations, and more. Monarch Tractor addresses these issues by combining electrification, automation, machine learning, and data analysis to enhance farmer’s existing operations, increase labor productivity and safety, and maximize yields to cut overhead costs and emissions. Monarch Tractor has helped customers cut their carbon footprint, improve field safety, streamline farming operations, and increase their bottom lines. Monarch Tractor will be the template for all future tractors in terms of an all-electric, driver optional and actionable intelligence features. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| The App Helping Global Families Build Strong Bonds with Young Kids - Anieke Lamers // Co-founder of Peekabond | 22 Mar 2022 | 00:30:55 | |
In episode 134 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Anieke Lamers, Co-founder of Peekabond on building a digital playground for global families to stay closer connected through childhood development. Anieke is an ex-VC turned social entrepreneur on a mission to make every child in the world feel special and connected to roots & loved ones. With Peekabond, she helps global families build bonds with young kids. They unlock deep family bonds between kids, family and loved ones at a distance through asynchronous connection with playful content inspiration such as interactive lessons, activities, games, stories, songs. Peekabond aims to become a digital playground for families, where they can enjoy playful activities and spent quality time together. Using technology for good, Peekabond helps strengthen real-life relationships. With simple, engaging, and clever content ideas at the touch of a button, it’s easy for every member of the family to get a little closer, even when you are not close by. By 2026, Peekabond's mission is to help over 4 million families to bond remotely, without space, time or age limitations. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| The Journey to Build the Next Generation Mobile Trading Platform for Socially Conscious Investors - Will Peterffy // ESG Director at Interactive Brokers | 18 Mar 2022 | 00:43:36 | |
In this episode, I speak with Will Peterffy, ESG Director at Interactive Brokers, on his life's journey of ecological discover and building the next generation mobile trading platform for socially conscious investors. Will is on a mission to arm millennials to gen Zs with tools to invest in the future and make “impact” in the world. From giving back to planting trees all based on personal values and cause.
A lifelong environmental advocate, Will has made it his mission to help humanity right its relationship with the earth. As ESG Director of Interactive Brokers, Will has led the development of IMPACT, a mobile trading platform for socially conscious investors. IMPACT solidifies Interactive Brokers’ commitment to sustainable practices.
Additionally, Will has built an organization called “One Small Planet” whose mission statement is to harmonize the wealth of people and planet through the deployment of vital capital. Will views the launch of the IMPACT app and One Small Planet as a manifestation of his life’s purpose.
With IMPACT, users select their personal investment criteria from 13 impact values and principles across a variety of categories including environmental sustainability, racial and gender equality, clean water, LGBTQ inclusion, and ethical and transparent business practices. Users can also exclude investments based on 10 categories including animal testing, corporate political spending and lobbying, and environmental pollution.
Based on their preferences, the IMPACT app identifies companies that correspond with the categories and provides impact scores on existing portfolios and holdings. The user may then choose to customize their portfolios to align with their values. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Sanchali Pal // Founder & CEO at Commons | 01 Jul 2024 | 00:27:44 | |
In episode 212 of the Disruptors for Good podcast, I speak with Sanchali Pal, Founder & CEO at Commons, on helping people make more sustainable choices in their everyday lives. The app focuses on meeting people where they are and helping them make better choices when it comes to shopping. The app provides information on brands that are more sustainable and offers rewards for making sustainable choices. It also allows users to offset their carbon emissions through carbon projects. The goal of Commons is to make sustainable shopping mainstream and to help people make more confident and secure choices in the future. Takeaways
The Commons Podcast: Second Nature "Second Nature" is a podcast produced by Commons that explores the challenge of living sustainably in an unsustainable world. The show delves into how sustainable choices impact both individual lives and the planet at large.
These include actions such as using public transit, composting food waste, incorporating more plant-based meals into their diets, and practicing deconsumption. Causeartist Our mission is to empower and inspire social entrepreneurs, impact investors, impact professionals, and conscious consumers, who are dedicated to creating a more sustainable and regenerative world. ⏺ Weekly Podcasts
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| How to Scale Access and Affordability to Delicious Plant-Based Chicken - Christie Lagally // Founder & CEO of Rebellyous Foods | 14 Mar 2022 | 00:28:06 | |
In episode 133 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Christie Lagally, Founder & CEO of Rebellyous Foods, on using her aerospace and engineering background to scale access and affordability to delicious plant-based chicken. Christie Lagally is the founder and CEO of Rebellyous Foods, a food production technology company working to make plant-based meat price-competitive with traditional chicken products. Ms. Lagally is a mechanical engineer and holder of multiple patents in manufacturing technology. She spent much of her career in the aerospace industry working on commercial airplanes and spacecraft in testing, design, and manufacturing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Previously, Ms. Lagally served as a Senior Scientist for the Good Food Institute uncovering the technical barriers in the development of plant-based meat and cultured meat. Ms. Lagally holds Bachelor’s degrees in Organizational Psychology and Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering. She is also an active member of the National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington, a co-founder of the Humane Voters of Washington (a political action committee) and serves as a Washington State Volunteer Leader for the Humane Society of the United States. Rebellyous Foods is an innovative food production company creating delicious, affordable plant-based meats for the foodservice industry. With current plant-based meat products at two-to-five times the cost per pound of animal-based meat, plant-based meat will only truly become widely available when it can be produced and sold at a low cost. Rebellyous Foods is utilizing leading-edge manufacturing methods at scale through R&D with universities, a planned pilot-scale facility in the Puget Sound, and a production facility in Seattle. Working closely with industry partners, Rebellyous Foods equips our facilities with redesigned and optimized equipment for large scale production of plant-based meat. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Bootstrapping and Scaling a Social Impact Tech Company - Rachel Klausner // Founder of Millie | 08 Mar 2022 | 00:36:38 | |
In episode 132 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Rachel Klausner, founder of Millie, on bootstrapping and scaling a social impact tech company aimed at growing modern giving. Rachel is the Founder and CEO of Millie, a charitable giving platform that makes giving back easy and impactful. Rachel’s passion for fundraising started when she spent a year after high school living and volunteering on a youth village where she took on a fundraising role during the day and ran programming for kids in the evenings. Rachel is a product designer by trade and spent 8 years designing software at startups. Her expertise is in personalization technology + product design and is excited to leverage those to transform the way people give. Millie’s mission is to build a home for giving by connecting companies, their teams, and nonprofits. Millie is a Public Benefit Corporation, with impact at the heart of everything we build. We are so inspired by the people we get to work with on a daily basis: both the nonprofit professionals working to make this world better, and the changemakers at companies inspiring their teams to help them. We build tools to help these groups come together and orchestrate social impact programs. From workplace giving to grantmaking, from volunteering to gifting: our team loves to build products people love. Match employee donations on a budget No matter the amount, match programs are an impactful way to build a community and increase retention across your employees. Millie helps companies create sustainable match programs that actually fit their budget. With the freedom to customize employee and company caps, approved and off-limit nonprofits, and a comprehensive database of nonprofits to choose from, your team is sure to find the perfect match. Build campaigns & build community
Gift charitable dollars to employees & customers
Millie also recently launched Giving Madness. Giving Madness is a bracket-style giving tournament. Structured like the most famous college basketball tournament, your company starts with 16 nonprofits in the giving bracket. Companies contribute to a donation pool and employees vote to advance their favorite nonprofits through four rounds of “games" over the course of one week or month. After the championship game, the pool gets divided up and donated proportionately. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Pioneering Clean Label Foods and Clean Label Manufacturing - Gregory Vetter // CEO of Tessemae's | 04 Mar 2022 | 00:37:36 | |
In episode 131 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Gregory Vetter, CEO of Tessemae's on taking huge risks to start a clean label food company and pioneer clean label manufacturing. Gregory Vetter is the CEO of Tessemae’s, flavor-forward, organic fresh food company, considered to be a lead innovator and disruptor in the clean food movement. Gregory, the oldest of the Vetter brothers, had the idea to launch Tessemae’s based on the belief in his mother’s wildly popular homemade dressing recipe and how it had the potential to create an entirely new clean food category. After winning over a local Whole Foods buyer and selling just under 700 bottles in one week, Gregory, his two brothers, Matt and Brian, and his family grew the business to become the #1 organic salad dressing brand in the refrigerated space. Gregory and his family paved the way for clean manufacturing on a mass scale by inventing the only gum-free dressing bottling process. That manufacturing process led to the invention of the “fresh condiment” category, the first Whole30 approved bottled dressings and condiments, and then continued pioneering of innovation across the grocery store with the creation of the first shelf-stable creamy dressings free of gums and additives with the “Tessemae’s Pantry” line. Gregory, who values the importance of family and the concept of a wholesome family dinner, spoke at a TED Talk entitled “The Dinner Habit – The Recipe For Change” and is a finalist for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2019 Mid-Atlantic Award. Tessemae's is an organic fresh food company that makes products with uncompromised ingredients of the highest quality. Tessemae's commitment to healthy eating and living is the core of its mission. As a pioneer in clean label manufacturing, Tessemae's has been focused on producing simple and delicious food with real ingredients that everyone can enjoy. All Tessemae's products are made and shipped from the U.S., and are available for purchase at Whole Food's Market, Kroger, Sprouts, Safeway, Baker's, Fry's, Mom's Organic Market, Dillon's, Earth Fare, Fresh Thyme, Fred Meyer, QFC, Walmart, City Market, Roundy's, Ralphs, King Soopers, Lucky's, Heinen's, HEB, Harris Teeter, Wegmans, Save Mart, Smith's, Amazon, Tessemaes.com, Target, Thrive Market and more retailers across the country. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Creating a Carbon Credit Marketplace and Carbon Credit-Backed Token - Luis Felipe Adaime // Founder and CEO of MOSS | 03 Mar 2022 | 00:50:14 | |
If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, review, and share this podcast! In this episode I speak with Luis Felipe Adaime, Founder and CEO of MOSS, on creating a carbon credit marketplace and the world’s first green digital asset, a carbon credit-backed token. Moss is the largest environmental platform in the world. With global operations and headquartered in Brazil, it started operating in early 2020, when it launched the first carbon credit-backed token, MCO2, used to offset carbon footprints. MCO2 is audited by international institutions and registered with Verra, a foundation that regulates the global registration of voluntary credits, following a strict global protocol. Luis worked from 2012 to 2019 as the portfolio manager and partner for Latam equities long only funds at Newfoundland Capital Management. While at Newfoundland, Luis created the largest Latam ex-Brazil fund in the region for US and Canada endowments and pension funds, and the largest local equities fund in Argentina. Previously, he was a Managing Director of York Capital Management, working as a Portfolio Manager for the firm’s investments in Latin America. Prior to York, Luis was a Partner at BRZ, a Brazilian hedge fund, working as a commodities Analyst and Portfolio Manager for both their value and long/short funds. Luis began his career working as a Latin American financial institutions Research Associate at Credit Suisse and later moved to the bank’s proprietary desk in São Paulo. Luis holds a B.Sc. in Management Science and Engineering with minor in Economics from Stanford University and graduated cum laude from Phillips Academy, Andover. He is a native of Brazil and is fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Redefining the Beauty Industry by Putting Humanity and the Environment at the Forefront - Robin Tolkan-Doyle // Founder of Beautyologie | 01 Mar 2022 | 00:32:44 | |
In episode 130 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Robin Tolkan-Doyle, founder of Beautyologie, on redefining the beauty industry for consumers by putting humanity and the environment at the forefront. In her mid-twenties, after working for several media outlets including People magazine and Channel One News, Robin Tolkan-Doyle landed a coveted position as a beauty editor for an inspirational teen magazine where she tested and wrote about every beauty product ever created. Years of freelance writing and editing for several publications and websites followed along with the creation of her own beauty accessory brand—Wrap Star—which graced the pages of national magazines and the shelves of well-known shops on Fifth Avenue and Robertson Blvd. Ultimately, the public relations and marketing world of beauty and fashion accessories is where Robin spent 15 years, running the boutique agency Charmed PR. Among many career highlights, Robin takes great pride in creating a cult-following for the foot care product Baby Foot, generating enough brand awareness and media attention for clean beauty brands The Better Skin Co. and C’est Moi Beauty to land large national sales accounts, and assisting the award-winning documentary Toxic Beauty to make waves in the media, so much so that Johnson & Johnson removed their talc-formulated products from U.S. shelves in May 2020. Beauty has always been at the forefront of Robin’s professional life, but more recently, her passion shifted from promoting products for press attention to the intention and origin stories behind them. Right before the pandemic, Robin took a trip to India which completely transformed her outlook on the consumer industry. Witnessing firsthand how western consumer behavior affects a developing country, she decided she didn’t want to perpetuate this cycle any longer. With 25 years of experience in beauty and the media, she is now using her knowledge as a force for good in an industry she loves. With Beautyologie, Robin created a beauty marketplace for consumers who want their money to go to businesses that treat people fairly and ethically. She is proud to present and uplift brands with products that truly make a difference, not just on the surface of your skin, but in the world we live in. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Connecting Brands, Manufacturers, and Suppliers to Help Launch Ethical and Sustainable Products Faster - Kimberly Shenk // Co-founder and CEO of Novi | 21 Feb 2022 | 00:19:23 | |
In episode 129 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Kimberly Shenk, Co-founder and CEO of Novi, on connecting brands, manufacturers, and suppliers to help launch sustainable products faster. Technology is fundamentally changing the way we live, work, connect with each other and with the outside world. Current breakthroughs are challenging every sector in every country, with a speed and depth previously unseen. Now, more than ever, the emergence of new technologies has the potential to transform our lives, make the planet a better place, and transform our path from unsustainable to sustainable. No one knows better how to harness the power of technology for the greater good than Kimberly. Her mission in life is to replace unsustainable products with sustainable ones, a way of life she reflects in both her home and business. When Kimberly became pregnant, her constant questioning of chemical ingredients in beauty and personal care products culminated in a tech company start-up, Novi, a groundbreaking platform for researching, sampling and sourcing raw ingredients and packaging that has enabled a new era of sustainable, transparent consumer products. Today, Novi’s vast dataset and Artificial Intelligence has had a hand in the formulas and packaging of thousands of beauty and personal care products that are clean and sustainable, and better for people and the planet. Kimberly’s earlier days saw her graduating top of her class from the United States Air Force Academy with a double major in Mathematics & Operations Research. When stationed at Pearl Harbor as a Captain in the Air Force with a highly coveted Top Secret security clearance and working directly for the Pacific’s 3-star General running intelligence models, she won the 2013 Richard H. Barchi Prize for her work in “Analytics on Improving Integrated Air & Missile Defense in the Pacific Area of Responsibility.” She then attended graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a full-ride scholarship to study Data Science, and graduated with a Master’s Degree in Operations Research. After the Air Force, she started a second career in the tech industry. She built and led the Data Organization at Eventbrite and led the Product Organization at tech startup Domino Data Lab. With a passion for clean products, she co-founded NakedPoppy in 2017, raising $4 million to use data to bring clean and sustainable products to market. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Empowering the Next Generation of Sustainable Fashion Designers - Bryan Bolling // Founder of Beringei Clothing | 16 Feb 2022 | 00:24:51 | |
In episode 128 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Bryan Bolling, Founder of Beringei Clothing, on using technology and platform to empower the next generation of sustainable fashion designers. Beringei started with a simple premise: the fashion industry is outdated, wasteful, and stale. WWD, known as “the fashion bible” states that of the 37 major brands, none have made any real efforts toward sustainability and each brand would take 7-8 years to achieve any real progress. How can this be solved? Changing the business model and using technology for good. Beringei builds relationships between designers and the community to find and build the next “big trend” while reducing global impact by the industry. Each and every apparel item is uniquely and specially designed by independent designers, breathing new life and creativity into the fashion sphere. These designs rotate every month, giving consumers a fresh set of amazing designs to choose from. By combining a fashion-focused social media platform with interaction, voting, pre-buys, and community sentiment analysis, Beringei will only manufacture products the community wants and in the volumes that can be sold. They use only low-waste manufacturing facilities and donate to charities that help reverse the impacts by the fashion industry. If the fashion leaders refuse to change from the top-down, Beringei aims to change the industry from the bottom-up. Bryan Bolling is the founder of Beringei Clothing. Bryan is a 19-year veteran of technology startups with 4 different companies having successful financial exits. He has had a successful 3-year launch of his first personal business venture and he is currently using those company proceeds to bootstrap Beringei Clothing. Beringei is a true passion project for Bryan as he loves helping others progress further in their business goals, especially those who are just starting out. After heavy research, fashion became the perfect industry focus for this business model, due to being a top contributor groundwater pollution, textile landfill waste, CO2 emissions, birth defects, and unfair labor practices involving women and children. Bryan hopes that all his companies will have positive impacts on the world and hopes that the fashion designers that launch under the Beringei umbrella will become the future leaders of fashion and business. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Providing the World an Environmentally Friendly and Sustainable Currency for a Greener Future - George Coxon // Director of the Nano Foundation | 10 Feb 2022 | 00:45:06 | |
In episode 127 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with George Coxon, Director of the Nano Foundation, on Nano providing the world an environmentally friendly and sustainable currency for a greener future. George is Director of the Nano Foundation, Director of Appia and Advisor to the Global Blockchain Initiative. Nano is a digital, borderless currency, designed to bring financial inclusion to all and democratise the global economy. A degree in Evolutionary Anthropology amplified George’s fascination with social behaviours, giving her a wide understanding of the ways by which efficient, decentralised digital money can empower the underbanked by offering a sustainable and fair medium of exchange anywhere on the planet. George is clear that an economy that is open to all and empowers those that are marginalised, not only financially but also socially and politically, will be more robust and resilient. About Nano Nano was created to perform efficiently without the need for mining, an energy-intensive mechanism to process transactions. Instead, nano uses an innovative voting system where no mining is required. This efficient mechanism allows the nano network to use magnitudes less energy than other digital currencies, providing the world with an environmentally-friendly, and sustainable currency for a greener future. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Utilizing NFT's and Digital Assets to Remove Real World Carbon Through Innovative Climate Startups - Leanne Bats and Jussara Bierman // Founders of Cool Points Club | 07 Feb 2022 | 00:23:24 | |
In episode 126 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Leanne Bats and Jussara Bierman, founders of Cool Points Club, on utilizing Instagram, NFTs and digital assets to remove real world carbon that generate funds to help scale emerging carbon removal technologies The Cool Points Club creates scaleable climate initiatives that generate funds to help scale emerging carbon removal technologies. Their focus is on turning everyday activities into opportunities to remove carbon and scale emerging carbon removal technologies, exponentially. CPC works with impact partners across the globe to destroy carbon. These partners cover a range of emerging technologies that, at scale, can help us solve the climate crisis. By funding these, CPC helps to kick-start the carbon removal market and get these projects operating at a critical mass. They seek to fund the most promising carbon removal technologies to fight climate change, with a strong focus on "quality" carbon. At the moment, they are doing this through two main climate action intiavies:
The islands are an entry point to the coolest virtual existence one can imagine, reflecting both IRL ethics and values, and a collective determination to help unfuck our physical planet— all while having an epic time! 100 Carbon-Sucking Pieces of Digital Art. On 20th December, the first ‘Islands of Cool’ collection was released — Island One. Created by kiwi artist T Wei, Island One is a 100 piece limited edition digital art collection, where each piece will remove one tonne of carbon and doubles as your membership to the ‘Very Cool Club’. This is a one-off opportunity to secure a seat at the table, for those who share the vision for how cool this can be. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Democratizing Access to Essential Products and Services for Over 40 Million Low Income Households - Sandeep Farias // Founder & Managing Partner at Elevar Equity | 04 Feb 2022 | 00:45:23 | |
This episode first appeared on the Investing in Impact podcast feed. Check out that podcast on here. In this episode, I speak with Sandeep Farias, Founder & Managing Partner at Elevar Equity, on democratizing access to essential products and services for over 40 million households and catalyzed billions of dollars of capital in 41 companies. Sandeep Farias is Founder & Managing Partner at Elevar Equity. He leads Elevar globally and is responsible for the firm’s strategy and organizational development, while engaging with entrepreneurs in India and Latin America to think through inflection points in their entrepreneurial journeys. Working with Elevar teams in India, United States and Mexico, he plays a key role across markets in determining the firm’s investment priorities, underwriting of new investment opportunities and portfolio management in India and Latin America, and fundraising. Sandeep has close to 25 years of work experience in diverse areas such as emerging markets investing, governance and regulation, organizational design, transactions and structuring, and corporate law. He founded Elevar in 2008, being passionately driven by working with early stage companies that foster economic development for low income communities; particularly in financial services including MSME finance and microfinance (where he played a leadership role in the sector’s transformation over a decade from the non-profit space to formal banking), affordable education, healthcare and agricultural services. Sandeep started his career in 1996 after completing an integrated law and arts degree from the National Law School of India University (NLS). Over the next eight years, he worked mostly on cross border transactions at two leading corporate law firms, Amarchand Mangaldas and Nishith Desai Associates (NDA), worked in house on Wipro’s NYSE listing, and taught at NLS. At NDA he led the corporate law team and founded the firm’s award winning social and development sector practice. Prior to founding Elevar, in 2004 he established Unitus in India and actively partnered with some of India’s leading microfinance institutions / banks, which were then in their formative years. About Elevar Equity Listen to more Causeartist podcasts here. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Samantha Rudolph // Co-Founder at Babyation - Revolutionizing Breastfeeding with Modern Technology | 25 Jun 2024 | 00:26:24 | |
In episode 211 of the Disruptors for Good podcast, I have the pleasure of speaking with Samantha Rudolph, the visionary Co-founder of Babyation. Samantha shares her inspiring journey of building a modern breast pump that is revolutionizing the breastfeeding experience for mothers everywhere. In the revolving world of parenting technology, Babyation stands out with its groundbreaking solutions designed to make the breastfeeding experience more comfortable, efficient, and discreet. Founded by wife and husband Samantha and Jared, Babyation aims to redefine how mothers perceive and interact with breast pumps. Here's a closer look at the company, its flagship product, and the unique features that set it apart. About Babyation Babyation was founded with a mission to provide mothers with a breast pump that truly understands and meets their needs. Samantha and Jared were inspired to create a product that not only functions effectively but also integrates seamlessly into a mother's life. With a strong focus on user experience and design, Babyation has quickly become a notable name in the parenting tech industry. The Product: Babyation Breast Pump The core product offered by Babyation is a sophisticated breast pump that promises to address common issues faced by breastfeeding mothers. Here are the key features that make this pump a game-changer:
Giving Back We know not everyone has access to new breast pump technologies. Our Giving Back program was designed to make our pump available to moms in need. Every mom deserves a chance to pump on their terms. Please fill out the application to be considered to receive a free pump. Applications will be reviewed on a quarterly basis, and decisions will be made based on need. Causeartist Our mission is to empower and inspire social entrepreneurs, impact investors, impact professionals, and conscious consumers, who are dedicated to creating a more sustainable and regenerative world. ⏺ Weekly Podcasts
---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Building a Decentralized City for Global Creators and DAO Operators - Jon Hillis // Founding Member of Creator Cabins and CabinDAO | 28 Jan 2022 | 00:32:39 | |
In episode 125 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Jon Hillis, founding member of Creator Cabins and CabinDAO, on the vision of creating an embassy for DAOs, and building a decentralized city for global creators. Jon is currently building Creator Cabins, a community of cabins for independent online creators in the Texas Hill Country near Austin. Today, Cabin is a place to get together IRL(in real life) with your internet friends. In the future, the hope is that it becomes one node in a network of decentralized properties, owned and operated by small groups of independent online creators and entrepreneurs. Cabin is an experiment in the future of cities: decentralized physical nodes tied together by a shared culture, economy, and governance structure. The density of creative energy of San Francisco or New York, but wherever and whenever you want it to be. If you were designing a 21st century city from scratch, why would you put it all in one place? First step: building bridges and becoming an embassy. What is a decentralized city? Read more here: Tech stack for decentralized cities Jon is also creator of capital.community. If you are building for independent creators and online communities, he would love to help via capital.community. They sponsor the Creator Coop and the Creator Fellowship. Jon was the director of product for shoppers at Instacart, where he helped millions of people earn money independently online. Now he also lead the Carrot Angels syndicate to reinvest in the Instacart community. Listen to more Causeartist podcasts here. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| The Process of Bringing Clean and Safe Drinking Water to Millions Around the World - Christoph Gorder // Chief Global Water Officer of charity: water | 25 Jan 2022 | 00:35:08 | |
In episode 124 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Christoph Gorder, Chief Global Water Officer of charity: water, on the process of bringing clean and safe drinking water to millions around the world. Christoph Gorder joined charity: water in 2012 to lead the organization's global water investments in 28 countries. Since its founding in 2006, charity: water has raised more than $500 million and provided clean water to over 13 million people. In his role as Chief Global Water Officer, Christoph also oversees technology innovations that increase transparency and long-term impact of clean water programs. Prior to joining charity: water, Christoph spent 15 years leading disaster response operations and managing large-scale healthcare delivery programs around the world. He grew up in the Central African Republic and Nigeria, where getting clean water is still a dream for millions. About charity:water 771 million people in the world live without clean water. That’s nearly 1 in 10 people worldwide. Or, twice the population of the United States. The majority live in isolated rural areas and spend hours every day walking to collect water for their family. Not only does walking for water keep children out of school or take up time that parents could be using to earn money, but the water often carries diseases that can make everyone sick. charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries. charity: water works with local partners to implement sustainable, community-owned water projects in remote communities. Since 2006, thanks to their local partners and over a million supporters, they’ve brought clean and safe water to more than 13 million people around the world. Listen to more Causeartist podcasts here. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| The Importance of Website Design for Early Stage Nonprofits and Social Enterprises - Lauren Muth // Founder of Studio Humankind | 18 Jan 2022 | 00:29:19 | |
In episode 123 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Lauren Muth, Founder of Studio Humankind, on the importance of website design for early stage nonprofits and social enterprises. Lauren holds a BFA in Design and MSJ in Digital Content Strategy. She founded Studio Humankind to specialize in ethical storytelling for organizations tackling complex social issues around the globe. Lauren remains steadfast in her dedication to dismantle inequity, promote diversity, and design a better world. She has ultimately built her mission around helping likeminded, passionate business owners attract conscious consumers, donors, and volunteers to their cause, as well as serving to increase their profits for long-term growth and impact. Lauren strives to not only learn more about giving back by bringing awareness to others through a visual platform, but to begin building a stage for this engagement and shed light on issues of the world not currently brought to our attention. She aspires to spend her life traveling the world, meeting new people and learning about different cultures. She lives her life rooted in her Christian faith, copious amounts of chai tea, and an undying devotion to love others. Check out her robust template gallery specifically created for nonprofits and social enterprises. Check out Laurens portfolio here, including her latest update of the social enterprise MADI Apparel ecommerce website. Lauren founded Studio Humankind to specialize in ethical, true storytelling for organizations tackling complex social issues around the globe. Her team develops strong foundations for deeply-rooted causes at the forefront of social justice that drive our world toward action. Her work represents the stories of movers and shakers, risk takers, activists, business owners, and nonprofit leaders who are turning ideas inside out and industry relationships upside down. Not only does her team help you attract your dream clients and conscious consumers, but they also work to increase your profits long-term through mindfully and strategically enhancing your vision, elevating your impact, and expanding your outreach. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Becoming a Food Entrepreneur in the Middle of a Conflict Zone to Address Peacekeeping Through Business - Hasan Siber // Co-founder and CEO of Colive | 13 Jan 2022 | 00:38:20 | |
In episode 122 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Hasan Siber, Co-founder and CEO of Colive, on becoming a food entrepreneur in the middle of a conflict zone to address peacekeeping through business. Colive was born out of a passion for quality and equality. Hasan and Alex met in their first days at a university in the UK and discovered they were both from the same island but on different sides of a border. Their friendship grew with time for more than a decade. When Hasan realized Cyprus could be the birthplace of the world's rarest olive oil, he knew that with Alex's help, they could not only create an amazing product but also help their island thrive. Thus, Colive Oil was born. They bring high-quality, locally grown indigenous Cypriot olives from groves in northern and southern Cyprus to be pressed together into the rarest olive oil in the world. In crossing the demilitarised zone dividing Cyprus, these olives create a truly and wholly Cypriot, globally unique olive oil with the social mission of bringing people together despite conflicts. Alex and Hasan are leading by example. Colive is the first company in Cyprus for over 50 years to operate truly island-wide and directed jointly by Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
After the division of Cyprus into northern and southern parts in 1974 following civil unrest, war and displacement, families and friends have been divided on the island, unable to cross the border. Hasan Siber, co-founder and CEO of Colive, decided to collect the one-of-a-kind Cypriot olives from both sides of the line and combine them into one extra virgin olive oil that offered not only a unique taste, but also a unique social mission. To help foster peace and a united Cyprus, the company has committed to donating 10% of profits from each bottle sold to organizations dedicated to that cause. Colive works with ~15 family farms across the conflict zone to harvest its olives, and educates farmers on how to utilize sustainable and climate-friendly farming practices, including hand-picking the olives, regenerative farming and water conservation. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Creating a Non-Predatory FinTech Startup for Underserved Communities in America - Rodney Williams // Co-Founder of SoLo Funds | 24 Dec 2021 | 00:35:07 | |
In episode 121 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Rodney Williams, Co-founder of SoLo Funds, on building a non-predatory FinTech startup for underserved communities in America. Check out the Partners here. Subscribe to the Causeartist Newsletter here. Rodney has been recognized with numerous awards, including Ad Age’s 40 Under 40 in 2012; the Ernst & Young EDGE Award in 2013; Cannes Gold Lion award in 2015; Tech Entrepreneur of the Year by Black Enterprise, 2016; NAACP Inspiring Innovation list 2017; 25 Inspiring Entrepreneurs Under 40 by Entrepreneur Magazine 2016; Entrepreneur of the Year in Connected World Communications in the Ohio Valley Region by EY in 2017; Ebony’s Power 100 in 2018 and CNBC Disruptor 50 List in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019. Rodney attended West Virginia University, where he earned his BBA in finance, his BA in economics, and his MS in integrated marketing communications. Rodney also holds an MBA in finance & supply chain management from Howard University. He is a member of the 2019 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute. SoLo Funds is a mobile lending exchange that connects lenders and borrowers for the purpose of providing more affordable access to loans under $1,000. SoLo was created to disintermediate the predatory payday lending system. Today, SoLo is one of the fastest growing fintech companies in the country. SoLo’s story starts the way every SoLo request begins: with someone needing a hand. Co-founders Travis Holoway & Rodney Williams were noticing that family members, friends, and roommates were asking for financial help here and there, and they understood why. There weren’t any fair, reputable options for small, short-term loans. They decided to create one by harnessing the power of community. SoLo was formed in 2018 to create a viable, non-predatory option for moments when life happens. SoLo tap's into the power of community and generosity to form an online safety net that is mutually beneficial to all of its members. Travis and Rodney know that SoLo is needed because they needed it. Our loved ones needed it. And they know that SoLo makes a difference because nearly 80% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Today, SoLo is driven to new heights, but grounded in the same hope and mission: to build a community that enables financial autonomy for all. ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Funding The Future of Food - Adrian Rodrigues // Co-Founder of Provenance Capital Group | 13 Dec 2021 | 00:45:52 | |
In this episode, I speak with Adrian Rodrigues, Co-Founder of Provenance Capital Group, on the future of food and allocating capital into regenerative natural resource investments through blended capital structures. Adrian is a Co-Founder and a Managing Director of Provenance Capital Group where he helps develop blended capital structures that catalyze resilient biological systems and businesses. Before Provenance, Adrian co-founded the boutique consulting firm Hyphae Partners where he helped companies finance and build regenerative business models. Additionally, he worked at Patagonia within its Venture Capital arm Tin Shed Ventures, helping author a standard for Regenerative Organic Agriculture and exploring Regenerative Organic Land Funds. He is an experienced asset allocator, fundraiser, and business model innovator.
Also mentioned in the podcast: Soil Wealth Report - Croatan Institute Listen to more Causeartist podcasts here. Check out the Impact Investor platform here - Discover Impact Investors from around the world. Partner with us - Learn more We are powered by: ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Funding the Next Generation of Farmers and the Growth of Regenerative Agriculture - Dan Miller // Founder and CEO of Steward | 10 Dec 2021 | 00:27:53 | |
If you enjoy this podcast, please rate and review the show. It's a huge help. Thanks! In this episode, I speak with Dan Miller, Founder and CEO of Steward on creating an innovative online lending platform that helps fund the growth of regenerative agriculture for the next generation of regenerative farmers. Dan Miller is the Founder and CEO of Steward, a private lender providing regenerative farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and producers the capital they need to expand and sustain their businesses. And through our innovative online platform, qualified lenders have the opportunity to join in our mission and help fund the growth of regenerative agriculture by purchasing loan participations. It’s really that simple. Steward's story begins with its founder and CEO, Dan Miller. Ask Dan what inspired him to create Steward, and he'll tell you about early mornings spent crabbing with his father on the Chesapeake Bay. This was the experience that rooted him to the land, but it was a meeting with a well-known chef in Dan's hometown, Washington D.C., that would plant the idea of Steward in his mind. This chef spoke of the difficulties facing the independent farmers that supplied his restaurant: the more specialized the farms were, the harder it was to get a loan. Dan felt that instead of forcing farmers to fit within a box, it should be the other way around. So he committed himself to creating a system that empowers each unique farmer to steward their land sustainably, with consumers—the people with the most to gain from sustainable farming—having the opportunity to join in their success. After graduating from the Wharton School with a B.S. and M.B.A., Dan co-founded a pioneering investment crowdfunding business called Fundrise. In 2010, it was the first and largest real estate crowdfunding platform in the United States, and has since raised more than $500 million. It's this experience, combined with a passion for agriculture, ecology, and local food that led Dan to launching Steward in 2017. Listen to more Causeartist podcasts here. Check out the Impact Investor platform here - Discover Impact Investors from around the world. We are powered by: ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Cultivating Beauty, Equality and Empowerment in West Africa and Around the Globe Through Personal Care Products - Olowo-n’djo Tchala // Founder and CEO of Alaffia | 06 Dec 2021 | 01:01:11 | |
In episode 120 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Olowo-n’djo Tchala, Founder and CEO of Alaffia on cultivating beauty, equality, and empowerment in West Africa and around the globe through personal care products. Olowo-n’djo Tchala, founder and CEO of Alaffia, was born and raised in the village of Kaboli, Togo. Growing up and working to support his family, he witnessed firsthand the injustices and inequalities many of the women in his village faced daily. After moving to the United States and going to University, he felt the responsibility to fight the injustices that existed in West Africa. In 1996, Tchala met his partner Prairie Rose Hyde, who was invited to his village as an environmental volunteer in the Peace Corp. Inspired by a shared calling to do right by the world, Alaffia, a social enterprise, was born. With an understanding of the value of indigenous West African resources and sustainable business ideologies, the two launched Alaffia’s first shea butter collective in 2003 and in 2004 established the Alaffia headquarters in Olympia, Washington. For the last nearly 20 years, Tchala’s green and fair trade organization has created sustainable programs in West Africa that have improved the lives of over 250,000 individuals. Proceeds from the sale of Alaffia’s beauty and personal care products are returned to communities in Africa, such as those in Togo and Ghana, to fund their multiple empowerment programs including Maternal Care, Reforestation, Regenerative Agriculture, Eyeglass, Bicycle and in 2021 Female Genital Mutilation Eradication. Since inception, they have built 16 schools, planted over 99,000 trees, provided more than 10,000 bicycles and 30,000 eyeglasses, donated school supplies to more than 37,000 students, and funded over 6,500 births. How does it work? Women’s cooperatives in West Africa handcraft indigenous ingredients, such as unrefined shea butter and African black soap, using traditional African methods. Products are then finished at Alaffia’s U.S. headquarters in Olympia, Washington. Proceeds from the sale of their personal care products are returned to communities in Africa, such as those in Togo and Ghana, to fund their community programs. Today, Alaffia is available in Whole Foods nationwide and continues to redefine the natural products industry through its values of Beauty, Equality and Empowerment, fair trade, and safe, efficacious hair, face and body care. Listen to more Causeartist podcasts here Huge thanks to our Causeartist Partners - Check them out here Check out: ImpactInvestor.io - Discover impact investors from around the world. Podcast Made with Transistor ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Creating a Direct Market for Sustainable, Regenerative and Family-Owned Farms - Cliff Pollard // Founder of Cream Co. Meats | 16 Nov 2021 | 00:27:47 | |
In episode 119 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Cliff Pollard, Founder of Cream Co. Meats, on creating a direct market for sustainable, regenerative and family-owned farms. If you enjoy this podcast, please rate and review the show. It's a huge help. Thanks! CREAM CO.’S MISSION IS TO REVOLUTIONIZE A HIGHLY COMMODITIZED INDUSTRY BY CREATING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE TO ENJOY ANIMAL PROTEINS RESPONSIBLY. Cream Co. is committed to supporting and working alongside independent producers to deliver the highest quality, best-tasting meats we can find. Sometimes that means bringing best-in-class programs to new markets. At others, it's developing a new program from the grass up. At a minimum, all of the Cream Co. programs are hormone and antibiotic free. Most of their partners undergo annual third-party auditing including CCOF Organic, Land to Market™ Regenerative, Certified Humane, Non-GMO Project Verified, and American Grass-fed and Grass-finished. Through a decade working in the Bay Area food industry, Cliff has been constantly inspired by the local food movement. Over time, he began to envision a transparent marketplace that could support sustainable and regenerative ranches through an aggregate and direct marketing model, while providing customers the ease and efficiencies they depended on from large scale distributors. Cream Co. was founded in 2016 to even the playing field between mainstream and farm-direct distribution. The company sources meat and forges partnerships that value quality over quantity, flavor over convenience, and transparency at every step. Cream Co. is an Oakland based business committed to supporting local California ranches wherever possible; over 75% of their partners are small producers in California, Oregon, and Washington. Today, Cream Co. distributes, direct markets and directly invests in over 20 sustainable, regenerative and family-owned farms. They’ve built a team of industry veterans who care deeply about preserving the Bay's food community, and continually invest in their processing facility to deepen roots in Oakland. Listen to more Causeartist podcasts here. Check out: ImpactInvestor.io - Discover impact investors from around the world. Podcast Made with Transistor ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| The State of the Sustainable Fashion Industry - Garik Himebaugh // Founder of Eco-Stylist | 10 Nov 2021 | 00:30:27 | |
In episode 118 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Garik Himebaugh, Founder of Eco-Stylist, on the state of the sustainable fashion industry and creating a one-of-a-kind personal styling experience for conscious consumers. Listen to our first interview with Garik in episode #65 here. Who wants to wear clothes made with child labor and toxic chemicals? Not you. Not us. From organic cotton oxfords to zero waste hats and sunglasses made from recycled plastic bottles, everything at Eco-Stylist is eco-friendly, socially responsible, and ethically sourced. At Eco-Stylist all ethical and sustainable brands are first researched with Remake’s sustainable brand criteria. This framework looks at the brand’s impact on both people and the environment. Through this framework the company thoroughly researches all of the brands on the platform, measuring the brand’s environmental and social impact. Finding sustainably and ethically made clothes can be hard work, Eco-Stylist makes it easy! We know it can be difficult to figure out if the clothes you’re buying check all the right boxes. Do the materials used to make your shirt have a negative impact on the environment? Are the people who stitched together your jeans being paid fair wages? Does this even look good on me? But before you call it quits and opt to buy the $15 sweatshirt from the fast fashion retailer that you know isn’t likely to be providing an acceptable workspace for their underpaid employees, know that we are doing the hard work of answering these questions for you. Using Remake’s sustainable brand criteria, we take the time to thoroughly research brands before we choose to partner with them. This criterion takes into consideration a number of factors, including transparency, environmental sustainability, maker well-being, use of sustainable raw materials, and the leadership of the brand within the ethical fashion sphere. If a brand passes, we partner with them and promote their products on our website. Eco-Stylist is convenient, ethical, and tailored to you. They host a Sustainable Brands Directory for everyone, curate stylish and sustainable clothing in an easy-to-use marketplace, and offer virtual + sustainable personal styling. Listen to more Causeartist podcasts here. Check out: ImpactInvestor.io - Discover impact investors from around the world. Podcast Made with Transistor ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Navjot Sawhney // Founder of The Washing Machine Project: creating the world's first flat-packable, manual washing machine that empowers women and girls to reclaim lost hours, pursue education, and generate income. | 18 Jun 2024 | 00:28:24 | |
In episode 210 of the Disruptors for Good podcast, I speak with Navjot Sawhney, Founder of The Washing Machine Project, on creating the world's first flat-packable, manual washing machine that empowers women and girls to reclaim lost hours, pursue education, and generate income. Imagine a world where laundry isn't a chore, but a chance. A chance for women and girls to reclaim lost hours, pursue education, and generate income. This is the reality The Washing Machine Project is striving to create. For millions in developing countries, particularly women and girls, laundry is a relentless burden. Handwashing clothes consumes a staggering 20 hours a week, stealing precious time for education, work, and leisure. This backbreaking task not only limits opportunities but also contributes to health problems. The Washing Machine Project is a beacon of hope, offering a revolutionary solution: the Divya, the world's first flat-packable, manual washing machine. Soundbites "I'll come back and I'll give you a washing machine."
The Divya is more than just a machine; it's a lifeline. Designed specifically for the realities of remote and displaced communities, the Divya boasts several key features:
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| The Future of Sustainable Pet Food - Shannon Falconer // Co-founder and CEO of Because, Animals | 02 Nov 2021 | 00:25:21 | |
In episode 117 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Shannon Falconer, Co-founder and CEO of Because, Animals, on the future of sustainable pet food. If you enjoy this podcast, please rate and review the show. It's a huge help. Thanks! Shannon Falconer is a scientist with expertise in cell culture, microbiome, chemical-genetic and molecular mechanism-of-action studies. She is the co-founder of Because Animals - a start-up using science to create sustainable, humane, cultured meat-based food for dogs and cats. Shannon and her co-founder Josh, volunteered for years at the same cat rescue in Toronto. There they helped improve the lives of homeless cats and ease the overpopulation of strays and ferals. But the problem they truly bonded over was what they were feeding those cats: overprocessed, over supplemented meats from animals that cats were not meant to eat. And more than that, factory farms, the source of the vast majority of pet food, is devastating to the climate, our environment and to the lives of farmed animals. And so, while Shannon was working as a microbiologist at Stanford University and Josh was finishing his MBA from Indiana University, they came up with a solution to a problem they both thought a lot about: How do we feed our pets without harming other animals or the environment? The answer: Because, Animals. About Because, Animals By supporting Because Animals you will help bring an end to the raising of farm animals for slaughter. With fewer factory farms, we will lessen the devastating impacts of them – to our rainforests, oceans and climate. And, importantly, you'll also be aiding in the creation of safer and more nutritious food for our pets. Listen to more Causeartist podcasts here. Check out: ImpactInvestor.io - Discover impact investors from around the world. Podcast Made with Transistor ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| The Future of Impact Travel - Lauren Chu // Director of Communications at Operation Groundswell | 28 Oct 2021 | 00:21:32 | |
If you enjoy this podcast, please rate and review the show. It's a huge help. Thanks! In episode 116 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Lauren Chu, Director of Communications at Operation Groundswell, on the future of impact travel and traveling with intention. Despite studying engineering, Lauren much prefers valleys and mountains over valves and mechanics. She has hiked thousands of kilometres around the world, once planted 7000 trees in a day, cycled the length of Vietnam from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, and has been on a 500km hike through the Appalachian Wilderness. In the summer you can find her on canoe trips or hike & bike adventures; in the winter, playing shinny on outdoor rinks or flying down a mountain on a snowboard. Lauren is keen to marry a passion for education with a love of travel with OG! About Operation Groundswell Operation Groundswell offers travel and learning service experiences around the world. We’re all about cultural exchange, grassroots activism and off-the-beaten path adventure! Our aim is to build a community of travellers who are socially, environmentally and politically aware of the place we visit and the places we call home. Listen to more Causeartist podcasts here. Check out: ImpactInvestor.io - Discover impact investors from around the world. Podcast Made with Transistor ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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| Nurturing Capital for Human Flourishing - Joshua Haynes // Managing Partner at Masawa Fund | 26 Oct 2021 | 00:38:54 | |
If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, review, and share this podcast! In this episode , I speak with Joshua Haynes, Managing Partner at Masawa Fund on working in 35 countries, speaking 7 languages, and using natural medicine, technology, and workplace wellness to help billions of people live impactful lives in the global economy. Joshua's story and path is incredibly powerful. He overcame depression, anxiety, and an eating disorder. Tough childhood raised on welfare by a single mother = grit + perseverance. He displays over 20 years leading curation at the nexus of innovation, technology, and social impact. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer, data analyst, software developer, consultant, digital product + service designer. Joshua also served as a Diplomat in the Obama Administration (USAID), managed $190M in impact grant funding for the US & Swedish Govs, pioneered new impact partnership types and ways of working. Degrees from Boston University (Finance); The Fletcher School, Tufts University (MBA). Masawa is the mental wellness impact fund. Through a laser focus on financial viability, social impact maximization, and founder resilience + organizational health, we nurture capital to nurture minds. Masawa invests in organizations with products proven to directly or indirectly result in improved mental wellness:
Listen to more Causeartist podcasts here. We are powered by: ---------------------------------------- Thrive in the Impact Economy. Join tens of thousands. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and curated products that drive the Impact Economy. Our mission is to highlight and celebrate the founders, creators, investors, and conscious brands shaping the future of conscious business and philanthropy.
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