The Foundpreneur Podcast

Hurricane Maria changed Terri Henry-Lovell’s life.

When she returned to Dominica after the storm, much of the tourism and nature-based work she had built her life around was no longer viable.

So she started again.

The first product was a handmade lip balm made with beeswax.

That experiment eventually became Bee Natural, a Caribbean wellness brand producing deodorants, body butters, balms and other hive-based products from Dominica.

Today, Bee Natural sells across several Caribbean islands, works with hotels and other businesses, and is preparing for its next stage of production growth.

Terri shares what building a physical-product business from a small Caribbean island actually looks like, from grants and bookkeeping to manufacturing, shipping and having cash tied up in inventory.

We also talk about the personal cost of entrepreneurship, why Caribbean exports remain harder than they should be, and why she says she might never have started if she knew everything the journey would require.

In this episode:

How Hurricane Maria led to Bee Natural

Why she started with a single lip balm

Building handmade products from Dominica

Turning grants into real production growth

Why Caribbean shipping is still a major problem

The “Space in Your Case” solution

Running almost every role in a small business

Building systems that let a founder finally let go

Working with her daughter and husband

Why Caribbean-made products deserve more regional support

Lindsay Baxter spent 15-16 years climbing to the executive team of a £140 million division of Informa PLC in London — working on the business side of the Paris Climate Agreement, leading government bids for Singapore and Hong Kong, and launching a sustainable investment forum with the UN.

Then a redundancy offer landed on her desk. She took it. And instead of chasing another corporate role, she chose Jamaica.

In this episode, Stephen sits down with Lindsay to talk about:

• Why Jamaica beat out Greece for her first fitness retreat event
• The real learning curve of doing business here after years of closing deals over the phone in London
• Why she still has zero local consulting clients, and the honest reason behind it
• How one Threads post asking if anyone wanted to work from a cafe together turned into The Boardroom JA — an application-only women's business network with over 100 members in two months
• What she believes the Caribbean gets right that the rest of the world overlooks
• What building a life and business in Jamaica has actually cost her, personally

Founder's Final Five: Which Caribbean government she thinks is doing the most to support its private sector, the most common reason she turns someone down for The Boardroom JA, the biggest commercial mistake Caribbean businesses make entering international markets, her advice to a young female entrepreneur, and whether — knowing everything she knows now — she'd still choose Jamaica.

Follow Lindsay Baxter and Baxter Advisory: Website — baxteradvisory.co.uk LinkedIn — Lindsay Baxter Instagram (The Boardroom JA) — @theboardroomja

New episode of The Foundpreneur Podcast every week, covering the founders reshaping the Caribbean and its diaspora.

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Keithlin Caroo-Afrifa grew up in Faux, a rural farming community in St. Lucia, surrounded by women who fed families and sustained the land, with almost none of them ever formally recognized for it.

She left for university, earned her dream job at the United Nations, and then hit a wall. Sitting inside global policy at the UN, she realized she wasn't actually helping the woman who raised her, or St. Lucia, or the Caribbean at all.

So she started Helen's Daughters off the side of her desk, using her own time and her own money, while still working full-time at the UN.

Today, Helen's Daughters operates across five Caribbean countries, has trained over 6,000 women through its Academy, and has been featured by Forbes, the BBC, and National Geographic. Keithlin holds an MBE and is the youngest and first Afro-Caribbean Goodwill Ambassador, and she's now working to convert one of the Caribbean's most recognized nonprofits into a social enterprise.

In this episode, Keithlin talks about:

◼ Why the UN's "meritocracy" wasn't actually equal for people from small island states

◼ Why she uses the word "farmHERs" instead of farmers, and the real story behind it

◼ The moment she almost gave up when the grants and fellowships weren't coming

◼ How Helen's Daughters expanded into five Caribbean countries using country coordinators instead of trying to be everywhere herself

◼ What building this organization has actually cost her, personally

◼ Founder's Final Five: the one policy change that would help women farmers most, the biggest untapped business opportunity in Caribbean agriculture, and the uncomfortable truth nobody wants to admit about the sector

This is Episode 004 of The Foundpreneur Podcast — where we cover the founders reshaping the Caribbean and its diaspora.

Follow Helen's Daughters: Website — helensdaughters.org Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook, X — @HelensDaughters

The Foundpreneur Podcast covers Caribbean founders, Caribbean entrepreneurship, and the builders reshaping the region and its diaspora. New episode every week.

Subscribe to The Foundpreneur Weekly newsletter — foundpreneur.co

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Phelisa Ricketts shares her inspiring journey from a troubled childhood in Jamaica to founding Western STEM Academy, highlighting the importance of belief, resilience, and innovative education in transforming lives.

Key Topics

• Phelisa Ricketts' childhood and early challenges
• The role of Miss Winsom Lawson in Felicia's life
• Founding and scaling Western STEM Academy
• Integration of AI and technology in education
• Challenges of online school accreditation in Jamaica
• The future of Caribbean education and STEM focus
• Balancing entrepreneurship and motherhood
• The importance of belief and resilience in success

Connect with Phelisa Ricketts:

Instagram: @phelisa_ricketts

LinkedIn

Website: https://www.westernstemacademy.com/

In this episode, David Mullings shares his journey from a disciplined childhood in Jamaica to becoming a pioneering investor in Caribbean markets. He discusses the importance of failure, strategic investment in emerging markets, and the vision behind Blue Mahoe Capital to transform Caribbean investment opportunities. In this episode, David Mullings shares insights on Caribbean entrepreneurship, investment strategies, and the vision for Jamaica's future, emphasizing the importance of unity, innovation, and strategic thinking.

David Mullings' 15-year life plan in Jamaica

Lessons learned from entrepreneurial failures

The creation and impact of Blue Mahoe Capital

SEC qualification to raise capital for Caribbean investments

The importance of storytelling and transparency in business

Building a regulated, transparent investment vehicle for the Caribbean

The role of culture and diaspora in Caribbean investment

Overcoming regulatory challenges in financial markets

The vision of making the Caribbean the Singapore of the Western Hemisphere

Lessons for Caribbean founders building first-of-its-kind ventures Caribbean infrastructure gap and investment opportunities

Raising capital as a Caribbean founder

Cultural industries as economic drivers

The Singapore-Jamaica comparison and lessons learned

Unity and collaboration in the Caribbean

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review where ever you listen your podcast it helps more Caribbean stories reach more people.

Or send us a message at [email protected]

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Connect with David:

www.davidmullings.com

www.bluemahoeholdings.com

www.bluemahoecapital.com

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmullings

Twitter - https://twitter.com/davidmullings

Stephen Stanberry sits down with Melesia Adderley — the founder of Women's Haven and the first female Caribbean-owned organic feminine care brand in the region.

Melesia built across 15 countries. With zero investors. From the Cayman Islands.

This episode covers the origin, the near-collapse, and the decisions that made Women's Haven what it is today.

Plus questions submitted directly by the Foundpreneur community.

3 quick take aways.

One — the gap is the opportunity. Melesia didn't invent the concept of organic feminine care. She identified that the Caribbean had been excluded from it entirely and decided to close that gap herself. Every Caribbean founder has a version of that gap sitting right in front of them.

Two — zero investors is not a limitation. It is a decision. Melesia has built a 15-country brand on her own terms because she chose to control the build. Funding shapes everything — including who you answer to.

Three — distribution is the real product. Getting the product right was step one. Getting it into 100-plus stores across 15 different Caribbean markets — different regulations, different buyers, different retail cultures — that was the actual build.

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review where ever you listen your podcast it helps more Caribbean stories reach more people.

Or send us a message at [email protected]

Subscribe to The Foundpreneur Weekly — foundpreneur.co

Follow Stephen across social: LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

Follow Foundpreneur across social: LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

Connect with Melesia Adderley:

Instagram — @MrsAdderley

Shop Women's Haven — womenshaven.com

The Caribbean has produced some of the most remarkable founders on the planet. But you'd never know it from the coverage.

The Foundpreneur Podcast is a weekly show hosted by Caribbean journalist and media founder Stephen Stanberry. Every Monday we sit down with Caribbean and diaspora founders building businesses that matter breaking down the revenue models, the market entry strategies, the decisions that almost killed the business, and the ones that saved it.

Plus the strategies and lessons you can steal. And use in your own build right now.

New episodes every Monday.

Subscribe to The Foundpreneur Weekly — our free Thursday newsletter covering the Caribbean founder economy: foundpreneur.co

Connect with Foundpreneur:

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• @Foundpreneur on all platforms

Thanks for listening. New episodes every Monday.