Mission Driven Podcast

In this episode of the Mission Driven Podcast, I interview Jimmy Pham, the founder of KOTO, and explore his impactful work in improving the lives of disadvantaged youth in Vietnam.Jimmy's journey began over 15 years ago when he decided to return to Vietnam and discovered his mission. It all started with his support for a small group of street kids.During our conversation, we discuss Jimmy's quest to find his purpose, reflect on the early days of KOTO, how he defines success, and the lessons he has learned through the last 15 years as he has built this incredible organization.About Jimmy:Jimmy Pham AM is the unstoppable force and visionary founder behind Vietnam’s leading social enterprise KOTO (Know One, Teach One). Over the last 21 years, KOTO has impacted the lives of over 1000 street kids and disadvantaged youth in Vietnam. KOTO was named finalist for the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award and was also awarded the inaugural UNICEF Vietnam Zero Award for Social Innovation for its work championing the rights of children and youth. Jimmy was recognised as a World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leader in 2011, and appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his service to the community through KOTO in 2013. Jimmy received South Korea’s POSCO TJ Park Prize in 2017 and has now been featured on CNN, BBC, LA Times and The New York Times.Follow Jimmy: Website: https://www.koto.com.au/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-pham-am-402258151/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jimmyphamkoto/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/KOTOFoundationAbout RichDriven by the belief that change begins with a single step, Richard Brubaker has spent the last 15 years in Asia working to engage, inspire, and equip those around him to take their first step.Acting as a catalyst to driving sustainability, Brubaker works with government, corporate, academic and non-profit stakeholders to bring together knowledge, teams, and tools that develop and execute their business case for sustainability.Follow RichWebsite: http://www.richbrubaker.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/rich.brubakerLinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richbrubakerTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/richbrubakerContact [email protected]

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Steven Moore is a former leadership chief of staff in the House of Representatives who founded the Ukraine Freedom Project. Initially, UFP helped evacuate Ukrainians from hot spots like Kyiv and Kharkiv. Now, the organization provides food, medical supplies, generators, Starlinks and other needed supplies to the front where international organizations and larger NGOs don’t go.Moore has extensive relationships in Washington D.C., both on the Hill and off. He utilizes these relationships to provide help to Ukraine in ways other aid workers cannot. He also uses the Ukraine Freedom Project’s 501(c)(3) status to educate policymakers on the situation in Ukraine.Follow Steven:Website: ukrainefreedomproject.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/steven.e.mooreLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-moore-7884a04/Email: [email protected] RichDriven by the belief that change begins with a single step, Richard Brubaker has spent the last 15 years in Asia working to engage, inspire, and equip those around him to take their first step.Acting as a catalyst to driving sustainability, Brubaker works with government, corporate, academic and non-profit stakeholders to bring together knowledge, teams, and tools that develop and execute their business case for sustainability.Follow RichWebsite: http://www.richbrubaker.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/rich.brubakerLinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richbrubakerTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/richbrubakerContact [email protected]

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In this episode, I speak with mission-driven entrepreneur Sabrina Mustopo about her journey as founder of Krakakao.A “farmer-to-bar” social enterprise founded with a mission to improve the livelihood of Indonesian cocoa farmers and the sustainability of cocoa farming.Timestamps:About Sabrina: In 2013, Sabrina founded Krakakoa Chocolate, a "farmer-to-bar" social enterprise working directly with smallholder cocoa farmers to produce organically grown award-winning Indonesian chocolate. In partnership with SwissContact, Krakakoa has provided training to about 1,000 farmers living in the sensitive border areas around national parks in Lampung, Sumatra and in West Sulawesi, to help improve their livelihoods and the sustainability of cocoa farming.Krakakoa Chocolate has won a total of six medals at the 2017 Academy of Chocolate (AOC) Awards in the United Kingdom, making them the first Indonesian chocolate maker to win any AOC award.Follow Sabrina:Website: https://krakakoa.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabrinamustopo/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabrinamustopoFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/sabrinamustopoAbout RichDriven by the belief that change begins with a single step, Richard Brubaker has spent the last 15 years in Asia working to engage, inspire, and equip those around him to take their first step.Acting as a catalyst to driving sustainability, Brubaker works with government, corporate, academic and non-profit stakeholders to bring together knowledge, teams, and tools that develop and execute their business case for sustainability.Follow RichWebsite: http://www.richbrubaker.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/rich.brubakerLinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richbrubakerTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/richbrubakerContact [email protected]

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In this episode of the Mission Driven Podcast, I speak with Tom Dawkins, co-founder of StartSomeGood and LendForGood, about the current landscape for social innovation and entrepreneurship. Through our discussion, we spoke about the general trends that are creating opportunities, but also around the core challenges that entrepreneurs often find themselves grappling with.In particular, the challenges around finding the investment required as they are in the "middle ground" of having to come to scale, but closely tied to that, the challenge of articulating their grand vision for social impact while simultaneously outlining practical steps to engage stakeholders effectively.

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In this episode, I speak with Neha Upadhyaya about her work in rural India as the founder of Guna Organics.Neha's journey began with a powerful sense of purpose sparked by surviving an earthquake, which led her to witness firsthand the struggles of affected villages. Instead of opting for the conventional path of joining an NGO or government agency, Neha chose to take matters into her own hands by founding a new organization.Through our conversation, we speak about her journey, and the lessons she has learned along the way as a young founder who has done incredible work to empower so many women.About NehaNeha Upadhyaya is a social entrepreneur based in New Delhi, India. She graduated from King’s College London and worked in the education sector in the U.K. Her focus was with children suffering from Juvenile diabetes , Autism , ADHD etc. She observed their lifestyle , was reluctant in treating them with western medication and received trainings in organics and Macrobiotics from Daylesford organic school , Wholefood Harmony and Navdanya Bina Vidyapeeth which have proven to be alternative healing practises.Upon her return to India , she founded Guna whose vision is to empower women farmers through vertical integration of organic farming and solar technology for post harvest management and rural electrification in the hilly terrains of Ladakh , J&K India. She was the recipient of Future Leaders Connect (2018) & Social Impact India award (2017) by the British Council. Recently , Guna and her work won prototype grants and awards named Entrepreneur Excellence award by I.I.T. Delhi (2017) and Smart fifty solutions that will transform India by I.I.M C.I.P. (2018).She has won full scholarship to study sustainability and responsible leadership from Govt.of Sweden with the course titled Swedish Institute Management Programme 2017. She recently won a fellowship from Earthwatch Institute to facilitate SDG’s in mountain communities.She is well recognised by the media and featured in Economic Times , Time out New York , India Today , CNBC Young Turks.Her NGO won the prestigious small grants programme from GEF UNDP and Ministry of environment, forests and climate change in 2017. With a strong commitment to environmental sustainability , she envisions an inclusive , equitable and healthy society where men and women support each other in every aspect of life and enjoy their right to realise their full potential.Follow Nehawebsite: http://gunaorganics.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neha-upadhyay-249279a8/About RichDriven by the belief that change begins with a single step, Richard Brubaker has spent the last 15 years in Asia working to engage, inspire, and equip those around him to take their first step.Acting as a catalyst to driving sustainability, Brubaker works with government, corporate, academic and non-profit stakeholders to bring together knowledge, teams, and tools that develop and execute their business case for sustainability.Follow RichWebsite: http://www.richbrubaker.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/rich.brubakerLinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richbrubakerTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/richbrubakerContact [email protected]

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In this episode of the Mission Driven Podcast, I speak with Mayuree Aroonwaranon, a mission-driven entrepreneur dedicated to building a platform to close the loop on Thailand's waste.Through our conversation, we speak about what sparked the initial idea, the process for understanding the pain point to be solved, and the lessons she has learned about building teams, raising capital, and maintaining passion.ABOUT MAYUREEMayuree is the Co-founder & CEO of GEPP Sa-Ard and the creator of GEPP Platform – Thailand’s first waste management system. Highly specialized in implementing organizational transformation, she founded GEPP in order to change how waste journey should be traceable and transparent and how all of us need to change our mindset from “disposal” to “management” when it comes to our own waste.FOLLOW MAYUREELinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayuree-gepp/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mayuree.aroonwaranon.5/Website: https://gepp.meABOUT RICHDriven by the belief that change begins with a single step, Richard Brubaker has spent the last 15 years in Asia working to engage, inspire, and equip those around him to take their first step.Acting as a catalyst to driving sustainability, Brubaker works with government, corporate, academic and non-profit stakeholders to bring together knowledge, teams, and tools that develop and execute their business case for sustainability.FOLLOW RICHWebsite: http://www.richbrubaker.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/rich.brubakerLinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richbrubakerTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/richbrubakerCONTACT [email protected]#richbrubaker #missiondriven

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In this episode of Mission Driven, I speak with my good friend ( from Thunderbird) Kian Seah about his work to end plastic waste by driving circularity throughout the value chain.It’s an incredible conversation that speaks to the megatrenda driving circularity, the structural challenges of closing the loop, and learning to take the “lessons” from failures along the way.ABOUT KIANSeah Kian Hoe (“Kian”) is the founder and managing director of Heng Hiap Industries (HHI). Established since 2002, HHI is a fully integrated plastic recycling company, being the FIRST company in the world to receive Ocean Bound Plastic Certification co-developed by NGO Zero Plastic Oceans and Control Union. Having developed Smart Plastics to address plastic manufacturers’ need for high quality, customized recycled plastic resin, Kian also designed the Smart Factory in Johor Bahru from the ground up. The factory is GBI-certified (“Green Building Index”) Gold and is now producing PLASHAUS Ocean Plastic while implementing a full track-and-trace program that directly addresses plastic consumers’ concerns about marine pollution.HHI Smart Plastics has reached the shores of 38 countries globally including China, Japan, Australia, India, and multiple countries in Europe, meeting customers’ high performance standards and stringent requirements in quality. In the last 18 years, Kian and HHI have won multiple accolades for business leadership and product innovation – the more notable ones being: the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) in the World in the category of environmental leadership (2013), The Edge newspaper of Malaysia named him “The Michaelangelo of Recycling” (2018) and most recently, Frost and Sullivan awarded HHI “2020 Malaysia Smart Waste Solutions Technology Innovation Award”.FOLLOW KIANWebsite: http://www.henghiap.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kian-seah-95428914ABOUT RICHDriven by the belief that change begins with a single step, Richard Brubaker has spent the last 15 years in Asia working to engage, inspire, and equip those around him to take their first step.Acting as a catalyst to driving sustainability, Brubaker works with government, corporate, academic and non-profit stakeholders to bring together knowledge, teams, and tools that develop and execute their business case for sustainability.FOLLOW RICHWebsite: http://www.richbrubaker.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/rich.brubakerLinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richbrubakerTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/richbrubakerCONTACT [email protected]#richbrubaker #missiondriven

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n this episode of the Mission Driven podcast, I speak with Charlie Cooksey, the founder and CEO of WEPOWER, A social enterprise dedicated to empowering the black and Latino communities to reimagine and shape a future that honors their humanity and dignity.ABOUT CHARLI: Charli Cooksey is a St. Louis native and the Founder & CEO of WEPOWER, a non-profit organization building power to create education and economic systems that nurture our lives. Before this, Cooksey worked as an English teacher through Teach for America; she co-founded an educational access venture called inspireSTL (during her tenure, each senior class of inspireSTL Scholars celebrated 100% high school graduation and four-year college acceptance rates. Additionally, inspireSTL has inducted seven classes of scholars, and it is on track to serve approximately 400 scholars annually); Cooksey then went on to serve as an Executive-in-Residence at United Way - with a focus on education innovation; and prior to WEPOWER, she served as the Interim Executive Director/Lead Catalyst of Forward Through Ferguson.

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In this episode, I speak with Romain Diaz about his work to invest into early stage mission driven entrepreneurs, and how Satgana brings together an ecosystem to support the scale of their portfolio companies.ABOUT ROMAINRomain Diaz is an entrepeneur and venture builder who has travelled the world creating companies. Now he leads Satgana, a venture-builder in the climate space. Satgana's mission is to be a launchpad for climate and planet-positive ventures.Through an extensive network of advisors and collaborators Satgana invests human and physical capital into young start-ups, assisting them through some of the most challenging periods. FOLLOW ROMAINWebsite: https://www.satgana.com/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/romaindiaz/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/romain.diazABOUT RICHDriven by the belief that change begins with a single step, Richard Brubaker has spent the last 15 years in Asia working to engage, inspire, and equip those around him to take their first step.Acting as a catalyst to driving sustainability, Brubaker works with government, corporate, academic and non-profit stakeholders to bring together knowledge, teams, and tools that develop and execute their business case for sustainability.FOLLOW RICHWebsite: http://www.richbrubaker.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/rich.brubakerLinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richbrubakerTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/richbrubakerCONTACT [email protected]#richbrubaker #missiondriven

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