Life Ensemble

Manish Gupta is the co-founder and CEO of Matr Boomie, a fair trade company that empowers artisans in rural India to create and sell handcrafted products to international retailers.

With a background in engineering, Manish relied on the design expertise of his wife and business partner, Ruchi, to develop their mission of creating sustainable employment for marginalized communities. And Matr Boomie has done just that. Matr Boomie bridges the gap between the purchasing desires of western consumers and the handmade products of over 20,000 talented artisans in rural India. Their company continues to grow and serve as a leader in the world of fair trade and ethical production.

In this episode, Manish provides invaluable insight into the positive impact responsible trading can have on struggling communities and the benefits of working closely with the community Matr Boomie supports. He also shares some simple tips for how consumers can join the movement by making more conscious purchases, and how consumers can influence businesses to engage in the fair trade market themselves.

A few takeaways from our conversation:

• The ability of responsible, fair trade to empower struggling communities who have not found opportunity to use their art to sustain their families and their community
• Ethically sourced and produced products, like Matr Boomie’s, can be high quality while as well competitively priced
• How Matr Boomie is able to identify the challenges of their artisan partners and develop the relationships necessary to provide meaningful support
• What actions consumers can take to make sure the products they buy are truly fair trade products  

Full show notes: https://growensemble.com/matr-boomie-manish-gupta/

Thomas Querton is the co-founder and CEO of atlasGO, a company that allows sweaty change makers to use fitness to raise funds and awareness for causes they care about. With over 1 million kilometers and $600,000 raised since its launch in 2017, it’s fair to say atlasGO is off to a running start, amiright?

Thomas himself is social entrepreneur from Belgium who relocated to San Francisco three and a half years ago to embark on the atlasGO adventure. AltasGO’s rapid progress has given Thomas valuable insight into finding a healthy balance in his personality and within the company.

In our episode, Thomas talks about the balance between pushing further for continued growth, while also taking a moment to enjoy achievements. He shares his experience developing his own measurement for success despite external pressures and we discussed the benefits of mentorships.

A few takeaways from our conversation:

• The importance of defining your own measurements for success and how that plays into the continued development of atlasGO
• How altasGO cultivates a healthy and fun work environment and the strengths of working on a team
• How to seek out mentors, what steps to take in creating those relationships, and how mentorships have helped Thomas in his growth with atlasGO

Full show notes: https://growensemble.com/atlasgo-thomas-querton/

Tim Frick is the CEO of Mightybytes, a certified B Corp digital agency based in Chicago. Mightybytes connects conscious companies and nonprofits to the digital solutions they need to create greater impact through online success. In addition to running his 22 year-old agency, he is an avid writer and a leader in the B Corporation community with a passion for sustainability.

Through blog posts, his own books, and conversations like ours, Tim shares his successes and challenges in building an enduring company in the ever-changing digital industry all while maintaining focus on their mission of sustainability and making an impact in the community.

In this episode, he provides insight into how he has been able to balance his roles as a writer and a CEO, the process of developing Mightybytes’ mission-driven identity, and the potential to achieve sustainability goals within the existing framework of your company.

A few takeaways from our conversation:

• How to manage a schedule with writing, being the CEO of a substantial business, while supporting the growth of the sustainable business community.
• How Tim’s desire for greater impact led him from working as a freelancer to growing Mightybytes to where it is today.
• How impact-motivated companies can use the B Corp certification process and B Impact Assessment as a roadmap for their company’s development and vision.
• The benefits of approaching sustainability and company problem-solving by engaging in whole-systems thinking.

Full show notes: https://growensemble.com/mighty-bytes-tim-frick/

Emily Lonigro is the President & Founder of LimeRed, a purpose-driven design firm and Certified B Corporation based in Chicago. Bridging the gap between design and impact, LimeRed helps meaningful brands and businesses showcase their unique message through expertly crafted digital strategies.

Since 2004, Emily and her team have been advocating for social good through their design work with like-minded clients, and the past 15 years have proved to be an interesting (and hugely inspiring) journey.

In this episode of the Grow Ensemble Podcast, she dives deep into this journey — discussing how armed with only a computer, one client, and no formal business training — she was able to build a thriving business succeeding in its authentic mission to do good.

A few favorite takeaways from our conversation:

• Emily’s relationship with risk and the part it played in LimeRed’s success
• Navigating the mental and emotional stress of being committed to positive change
• What it means to design for impact and the key practices LimeRed employs to help their clients
• The “comparison trap” and the effects it has when building a business

Paul Bain is both the CEO and “Chief Tea Captain” at JusTea, where a group Canadians have partnered directly with Kenyan tea farmers to provide ethical, sustainable (and delicious!) fair trade tea.

On this Grow Ensemble Podcast, Paul shares the origin story of JusTea, telling how a 2012 trip to Africa with his dad inspired this business idea to both provide this high-quality, antioxidant-rich tea to an audience in North America, while at the same time creating sustainable employment for Kenyan tea farmers.

Since starting Justea in 2012, these folks have racked up the accolades and impact:

• They created Kenya’s first-ever, small-scale farmer-owned artisanal tea factory
• They’ve created over 200 jobs for youth and women in rural Kenya
• AND their Purple Tea recently won 2018 “Product of the Year” BCFPA Awards.

Paul and the JusTea team have truly found a balance between providing an excellent product while making a considerable impact.

Check out our conversation to find out how they’ve achieved this balance as well as:

• How JusTea came to be, and what significant impact they are making on the ground in local communities in Kenya where the tea is produced.
• How Paul and his JusTea team communicate while being spread amongst Kenya and Canada
• How Paul is evolving himself personally as a business owner and social entrepreneur given his non-business background.

Check out full show notes here: https://growensemble.com/justea-paul-bain

In this episode of the Grow Ensemble Podcast, we speak with Ryan Honeyman from the LIFT Economy, an impact consulting firm based in San Francisco.

Ryan has been a staunch advocate and spokesperson for the B Corporation movement, and on April 23rd, he and his Co-Author, Dr. Tiffany Jana, are releasing the 2nd Edition of The B Corporation Handbook: How to Use Business as a Force for Good.

We dive into the topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion (topics highly relevant to the release of the new edition of the book), and how Ryan and his LIFT Economy team have begun to put the most marginalized as the center focus of their work with the hopes of making the greatest systemic change.

Ryan shares insights to the writing process, his hopes and intentions for releasing the 2nd edition of the handbook, and as well what he considers to be the next evolution of the social business and social impact business culture.

Ryan has either spoken with or worked with hundreds of B Corporations and impact focused businesses through his research for the two editions of the book, his consulting work on behalf of the LIFT Economy, as well as his founding (with his LIFT Economy partners) of the Force for Good Fund.

We talk about what he believes separates some of the most successful social businesses and social business leaders, as well as what the “greatest good” can be as you approach making an impact with your own business.

Often, the differences between big corporations and small businesses can feel as stark as black and white. On today’s episode, we learn that there is, in fact, a grey area. Founder and CEO of Brightly, an online ethical marketplace, Laura Wittig shares how her experience at not just one, but several large corporations, helped lay the foundation for her social good startup and the community that surrounds it.

Another exciting entrepreneur from the ethical fashion space, Laura’s path to founding her own social good company is marked by jobs at well-known corporations like Adobe, Amazon, and Google. Somewhere along the way, she realized that tech can be for good—even in the retail industry.

In this episode, Laura shares her story with us, taking us through her years as a Product Manager for major corporations, and then to her experience in building Brightly and its rich community of conscious consumers. Her story is packed with good advice and inspiring ideas, and we can’t wait to share it with you!

• Learn all about the Brightly mission, strategies, and community.
• Dive into the concepts of ownership and mindfulness—two values Laura found during her time at major corporations.
• Get inspired by easily implementable business practices currently used at Brightly.
• Hear about Brightly’s community building strategies and upcoming projects.

How do you transform a product into a catalyst for lasting, positive change? One entrepreneur in the ethical and fair trade fashion space believes that creating a community around your brand just might be the key. From model to marketing, her business works to create a deep connection between digital customers and artisan groups all around the globe. More importantly? It’s working.  

Value, loyalty, growth–they’re achievements that every business strives for, but how does one actually attain them? In today’s podcast, Liza Moiseeva, Co-founder and CMO of GlobeIn, a fair trade subscription box and ethical online marketplace, shares what she believes might just be the key to them all.  

A talented entrepreneur with a history in the nonprofit and social good sector, Liza attributes much of her success to community building. From running meetups with like-minded people to interactive Facebook Lives, a strong community has always been at the heart of Liza’s achievements.  

Today, we get to hear about Liza’s invigorating perspective on community and growth through the context of GlobeIn, an exciting player in the ethical fashion world. They’ve managed to navigate a competitive industry while still promoting sustainable consumption, build a network of passionate and engaged customers and create powerful, lasting change for artisan groups all around in the world. What’s not to love? Tune in to hear all about it.

Today were sitting down with the CEO and Co-founder of Wize Monkey, Max Rivest, who talks to us about their company that produces coffee leaf tea. The road to success wasn’t always easy, but Max’s tireless passion and persistence have resulted in a successful business that not only crafts an entirely unique product, but one that also contributes to the sustainability of the coffee industry. 

Max shares about his educational background, how his mother’s wisdom has been a guiding light along his path of important decision-making and about the job that gave way to a quarter-life crisis. We get into more detail about the time he spent in France, the valuable lessons he learned there and how a project in his MBA studies started him off on the exploration into coffee leaf tea.   

Having a marketing and branding background, we discuss the various approaches Max has taken in selling their product, including the realization that they needed a stronger emphasis on the quality and taste of their tea rather than focusing predominantly on the social impact. There is so much to be inspired by, not to mention Max’s totally relatable experiences.  

So be sure to join us today for another awesome episode of the Grow Ensemble Podcast! 

Some might call him a daredevil, but most will be inspired by his unimaginable displays of physical power. We are joined today by Logan Christopher, best known for performing insane physical feats, including pulling a firetruck with his ponytail! But this guy is far more than just a strongman.  

Logan is the founder of Lost Empire Herbs, a company that sells all kinds of herbs from around the world to aid health and performance. His company is also part of the 1% For The Planet alliance and a number of other charities. Logan has written multiple books, the latest of which, Powered by Nature, we will be talking more about today. 

In this episode, we get into the eclectic experiences that have shaped his interest in health and wellbeing and the philosophies that he has adopted as a result. Logan shares about the impact that his high school experiences have had on his personal growth and about the biography that inspired him to become a strongman.  

Switching over to his role as a business owner, we talk about the early years starting off the business as a small team of siblings, how they grew into the dynamic business they are today and the importance of maintaining the quality standard of their products.  

Join us today for Logan’s fascinating stories and to find out how much your health and overall wellbeing can benefit from returning to a more natural lifestyle!