Mission Driven Podcast

In this episode of the Mission Driven Podcast, I speak with Sam Lee, founder of Good Bricks about pivoting his business from CSR consulting to commercializing green technologies.

Through our conversation, Sam shares his transition journey, the importance of letting go, and the lessons learned from building scalable environmental solutions that address one of Asia’s most polluting industries — traditional brick kilns.

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In this episode of the Mission Driven Podcast, we speak with Teresa Chahine, Senior Lecturer at Yale School of Management and Faculty Director of the Social Innovation Initiative, about the power of social entrepreneurs to disrupt the status quo.

Through our conversation, Teresa shares her journey into social entrepreneurship and her perspective on what it takes to drive lasting social change.

Drawing from both academic and practitioner experience, Teresa discusses the evolving meaning of entrepreneurship, the need for measuring agency over metrics, her 10-stage framework for creating change, and the role of academia in transforming systems.

The conversation provides rich insights for aspiring changemakers, researchers, and funders alike.

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In this episode of the Mission Driven Podcast, I speak with Dr. Jason Blackstock, founder and CEO of How To Change The World, a social enterprise dedicated to empower tomorrow's changemaker to address complex sustainability challenges through experiential learning.

Through our conversation, Jason explains how his personal journey—from quantum physicist to climate negotiator to professor—revealed a pressing need for experiential, interdisciplinary learning in higher education, and dives into how he has spent the last 10 years building How to Change the World to address that need.

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In this episode of the Mission Driven Podcast, I speak with Reece Tisdale—founder of Bluefield Research—about global water challenges and he is building a water advisory business to help his clients better understand, and invest in, the challenges they face..

Through our conversation, we speak about the importance of disciplined product development, aligning that to the business model, the importance of mentors to keep you on track and end it with some key advice for aspiring entrepreneurs in the knowledge-based services space.

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In this episode of the Mission Driven Podcast, David Guendelman, a seasoned veteran in social entrepreneurship and co-founder of Do Good CFO, shares his extensive experience as a fractional CFO helping mission-driven entrepreneurs scale.

David delves into the vital role of fractional CFOs, highlighting their strategic importance in scaling organizations, guiding financial decision-making, and securing mission-aligned capital. From understanding cash flow and margins to navigating complex fundraising rounds.

Through this episode, David also discusses how fractional CFOs can provide crucial support at various stages of business growth, helping entrepreneurs achieve financial success without losing sight of their mission.

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In this episode of the Mission Driven Podcast, I speaks with Giva Kuppusamy, founder and CEO of GK Aqua, about his journey to revolutionize aquaculture in Malaysia.

Through our discussion, Giva shares how he built a biotechnology-driven model for monosex freshwater prawn production, the challenges of scaling a capital-intensive business, and his approach to building an ecosystem for sustainable aquaculture.

The conversation dives into technological innovation, including RNAi-based gene silencing, the challenges of funding and scaling, and the business model balancing post-larvae sales, farming, and premium product development.

Giva also reflects on team building, resilience, and lessons learned from pitching to investors. His approach to food security, economic empowerment, and sustainable aquaculture offers valuable insights for entrepreneurs seeking to merge science and business for impact.

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In this episode of the Mission Driven Podcast, I'm joined by Carl Eneroth, a documentary filmmaker and the founder of the Stockholm Social Innovation Lab to speak about his path to becoming a mission driven filmmaker.

Carl's work focuses on sustainability, democracy, and climate solutions, as he strives to capture the stories of changemakers who embody the positive transformation they wish to see in the world.

We explore Carl's journey from business school to filmmaking, the power of storytelling, and how his unique approach to interviews uncovers deeply personal narratives that drive change.

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In this episode of the Mission Driven podcast, I speak with Fernando Casado, co-founder and general partner of Incremental Climate Tech Fund about his journey into climate investing and the unique challenges of balancing financial returns and impact.

With a background in sustainability, Fernando highlights the need for patience, resilience, and clear metrics in the climate tech space and how the fund identifies promising startups focused on decarbonization and systemic change, and what makes a good investment in this high-stakes industry.

Through our conversation, Fernando also reflects on the learning curve of being an investor and offers advice for those new to the space, emphasizing the importance of joining a fund before making direct investments.

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In this episode of the Mission Driven Podcast, I speak with Katy Yung, the co-founder and CEO of the Sustainable Finance Initiative (SFI), about the growing role of family offices in impact investing, the findings from SFI's recent transformational wealth report, and how the next generation of investors is shaping the future of sustainable finance.

Katy has over 15 years of experience in impact investing and is building a community focused on catalyzing private asset owners towards sustainable and impact investing.

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In this episode of the Mission Driven Podcast, I speak with Robert Munson, the Managing Director of Marketing, Communications, and Storytelling at the Sorenson Impact Institute and President of SOCAP, about the critical role of entrepreneurship in solving societal challenges, the evolving landscape of impact investing, and the strategies necessary to scale mission-driven initiatives.

Through our conversation, Robert shares his experiences and insights on fostering collaboration within the impact ecosystem, the importance of actionable research, and the need for generational change to sustain and amplify impact.

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