Levy Inspiration Grant Program

Process and organization has always been one of Cammie Merten's strengths, so it's no surprise that her training in data analysis and and experience interning at DoorDash sparked her interest in the world of supply chain and logistics. To dive deeper into this subject, Cammie traveled to several cities in Asia with vastly different types of infrastructure to study how they manage last-mile delivery. While there, she got to experience each city's unique culture with her own eyes and witnessed the strategy that each city employs to move things from one place to another. 

Learn more about the Levy Inspiration Grant Program on the program's webpage here. 

Learn more about the Entrepreneurship at Kellogg program at kell.gg/entrepreneurship.

Produced, written and edited by Tyler Seybold

Hosted by Tyler Seybold

Special thanks to our guest, Cammie Merten

Background music by Blue Dot Sessions

Starting September 20, we're excited to bring you a new batch of Levy Inspiration Grant Program episodes. The Levy Inspiration Grant Program is a one-of-a-kind funding program for asipring student entreprneurs at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Through the program, students can travel to any country of their choosing to study a probelm they're passionate about and investigate a possible solution through entrepreneurship. In its first year, the program sent students to over 30 countries on six continents, and we're excited to bring you another year of stories and lessons learned from our student travelers.

Subscribe to the Levy Inspiration Grant Program wherever you get your podcasts, and learn more about the Entrepreneurship at Kellogg program at kell.gg/entrepreneurship.

To learn more about the Levy Inspiration Grant Program, visit the program's webpage here. 

Priscilla Hu didn't always acknowledge her passion for food. Although it was rooted in her childhood, for a while she thought she'd have to take a more practical career path. As she began to acknowledge her love for food, with experience in a foodtech startup along the way, things became more and more clear. Eventually, she traveled on an Inspiration Grant trip to France and Kenya to see two different cultures' approach to food access and sustainability. During her trip, she learned plenty about the attitudes and approaches to food in these places, but more importantly, she made a discovery about her own entrepreneurial path. 

Learn more about the Levy Inspiration Grant Program on the program's webpage here. 

Learn more about the Entrepreneurship at Kellogg program at kell.gg/entrepreneurship.

Learn more about Priscilla's trip and MBA journey ➡️  https://kell.gg/xeg

Produced, written, edited, and mixed by Tyler Seybold

Hosted by Tyler Seybold

Special thanks to our guest, Priscilla Hu

Background music by Blue Dot Sessions

Food has been a common thread throughout Adrian Wyland's life. While his appreciation of food has a long history, it wasn't until more recently that he began looking deeply into how fruits and veggies are produced. While he was studying abroad in London, he decided to explore this interest further to learn more about regenerative agricultural practices and how they differ from conventional ways of producing food. He'd read as much information as he could find, but talking directly to the farmers using these practices was a different experience. Join us as we hear Adrian's story and what he learned through his Inspiration Grant trip throughout Europe on this week's episode.

Learn more about the Entrepreneurship at Kellogg program at kell.gg/entrepreneurship.

Produced, written, edited, and mixed by Tyler Seybold

Hosted by Tyler Seybold

Special thanks to our guest, Adrian Wyland

Background music by Blue Dot Sessions

Entrepreneurship runs in Kimberley Charles’ family, so when she told her law school classmate Kiyan Savar about her desire to start her own rum brand, it just made sense. Since then, they’ve partnered to start building Cane Cutter’s Rum, a Guyanese-made rum that honors the history and legacy of the rum industry and the people that made it. For their Inspiration Grant, they traveled to Guyana, Barbados, and Martinique to learn as much as they could about rum, from the distilling process to the opinions and habits of rum-drinking locals. Here, they share some of their learnings and what’s next for their entrepreneurial journey.

Learn more about their trip and MBA journey ➡️  https://kell.gg/b172

Learn more about the Levy Inspiration Grant Program on the program's webpage here. 

Learn more about the Entrepreneurship at Kellogg program at kell.gg/entrepreneurship.

Produced, written, edited, and mixed by Tyler Seybold

Hosted by Tyler Seybold

Special thanks to our guests, Kimberley Charles and Kiyan Savar

Background music by Blue Dot Sessions

After spending a quarter studying in Argentina, Aniket Saoji wanted to use his experience in data analytics and software to help local businesses level-up their processes. With the power of technology, he hoped that these small and medium businesses could grow and compete with the big players of the world. Starting with an open mind and a list of questions, his path took an unexpected turn along the way, landing on a subject that he didn’t originally expect: taxes. In this episode, we learn a little about his story of exploration and adaptability during his travels in Argentina. 

Learn more about the Entrepreneurship at Kellogg program at kell.gg/entrepreneurship.

Produced, written, edited, and mixed by Tyler Seybold

Hosted by Tyler Seybold

Special thanks to our guest, Aniket Saoji

Background music by Blue Dot Sessions

For Audrey and Emily, knowing where their food comes from is a core value. Even aside from their shared interest in nutrition, they each put a priority in understanding the sources of their food products and the systems in which that food is produced. This mutual passion led to a particular interest in the red meat industry, and based on their research, they thought there was plenty of room for disruption (and improvement). To kick off their entrepreneurial exploration, they traveled to New Zealand, a shining example of the best of livestock industry, to learn about how producers there are bringing ethical and sustainable red meat products to dinner tables across the world. 

Learn more about their trip and MBA journey ➡️  https://kell.gg/x6xj

Learn more about the Levy Inspiration Grant Program on the program's webpage here. 

Learn more about the Entrepreneurship at Kellogg program at kell.gg/entrepreneurship.

Produced, written, edited, and mixed by Tyler Seybold

Hosted by Tyler Seybold

Special thanks to our guests, Emily Williams and Audrey Melville

Background music by Blue Dot Sessions

Growing up on a livestock farm in Australia, Jonny got an up close and personal view into the food supply chain. This upbringing stayed with him, and when he came to business school he continued to be inspired by this space, but this time with a sustainability twist: using insect-based proteins for livestock feed, or even for human consumption. This interest led him to travel to a few countries in East and Southeast Asia to learn about current innovations in the insect-based protein industry and how current startups are working to get more people eating bugs.

Learn more about the Entrepreneurship at Kellogg program at kell.gg/entrepreneurship.

Produced, written, edited, and mixed by Tyler Seybold

Hosted by Tyler Seybold

Special thanks to our guest, Jonny Vaux

Background music by Blue Dot Sessions

During the pandemic, Utkarsh saw several of his friends and loved ones face varying mental health challenges in his home country of India. Like many places, accessing mental healthcare was an opaque process, but the cultural mores and taboos associated with seeking help made the problems even worse. Looking for solutions, he trekked to India to speak with regular patients, doctors, and other healthcare providers to see how the system could be improved.

Learn more about the Entrepreneurship at Kellogg program at kell.gg/entrepreneurship.

Produced, written, edited, and mixed by Tyler Seybold

Hosted by Tyler Seybold

Special thanks to our guest, Utkarsh Makkar

Background music by Blue Dot Sessions

Tasha is a self-proclaimed foodie. Her relationship with food has always been centered around connection and culture, using food as a way to get to know other people. With some experience at the restaurant tech company Toast under her belt, she visited a few countries in Latin America to see how different restaurants are (or aren’t) incorporating new digital restaurant tech innovations.

Learn more about the Entrepreneurship at Kellogg program at kell.gg/entrepreneurship.

Produced, written, edited, and mixed by Tyler Seybold

Hosted by Tyler Seybold

Special thanks to our guest, Tasha Kewalramani

Background music by Blue Dot Sessions