Sana Javeri Kadri decided early that Diaspora Spice Co. would never compromise on spice quality or what it pays farmers. The rest of the business had to adapt around those two constraints.

In this episode of What to Do Next, I sit down with Sana Javeri Kadri, Founder and CEO of Diaspora Spice Co., to discuss what it takes to build a profitable company within limits like that. Diaspora pays farm partners many times the commodity price and supports processing at the farm, so more value stays with farmers. That model improves livelihoods, but it also ties up cash, complicates forecasting, and slows the company's growth.

Sana shares the tradeoffs she made to protect those priorities, and what she learned from partners and investors about growth, capital, and leadership. We talk about what scaling looks like in a supply chain business, and why impact depends on building a durable company first.

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Brought to you by:

Highbeam—Grow your brand with Highbeam’s cash management platform: ⁠https://www.highbeam.com/⁠

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Where to find Sana Javeri Kadri:

• X: https://x.com/SanaJaveriKadri

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sana-javeri-kadri-b8307058

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanajaverikadri

• Substack: https://sanajaverikadri.substack.com

Where to find David Segal: 

• Website: ⁠https://www.highbeam.com/⁠ 

• YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@wtdn.podcast⁠ 

• LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-segal-80b6079⁠

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(01:04) From idea to industry disruptor

(03:17) Rebuilding a broken spice supply chain

(06:07) The dark history behind your spice rack

(08:54) The brutal math of inventory forecasting

(11:28) The day she dumped thousands in the ocean

(14:27) Turning a costly mistake into a comeback

(15:41) Paying farmers 6x more — and still winning

(20:27) Why they pay farmers to do more than grow

(24:50) The preorder strategy that saved farmers during COVID

(30:13) When mission collides with margins

(36:56) Choosing investors without selling your soul

(41:50) Selling a vision that wasn’t built to explode

(43:48) Bringing a friend into the chaos

(47:54) Hard goodbyes and rebuilding the team

(50:28) Learning to make the HR call no one wants to make

(53:38) Boundaries, burnout, and leading with conviction

(56:03) Owning mistakes and rebuilding trust

(57:41) Lightning round

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Referenced:

• Diaspora Spice Co: https://www.diasporaco.com

• Bi Rite: https://biritemarket.com

• Oaktown Spice Shop: https://oaktownspiceshop.com

• Wynne McAuley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynne-mcauley-b86a6514• How to Find Gifts That Actually Give Back (and a Few That We Like): https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/gifts/gifts-that-do-good/

• Impact report page: https://www.diasporaco.com/pages/impact-report-page

• Tyler Malek on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-malek-0a590828

• Salt and Straw: https://saltandstraw.com

• Shelley Kleyn Armistead on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelley-kleyn-armistead-270945126

• Gjelina: https://www.gjelina.com

• Meridian Cacao Co: https://meridiancacao.com

• Ishtiyaque Ali Sayed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ishtiyaque-ali-sayed-69814361

• Woven HR: https://www.wovenhr.com

• Marisa Robisch on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisarobisch

• Chez Panisse: https://www.chezpanisse.com