What if Instead? is produced with generous support from:

The Democratizing Innovation Institute

Ever look around you and ask what if instead things worked differently?

The institute takes what we used to think only innovators and entrepreneurs did, and makes it normal. 

 We're on a mission to provide the tools, the space, and the connections to ask the question in practice—by taking part in an experiment in how things could work.

Social Impact Lab BRACU

Learn More About:

TEDx: The Problem with Your Cup of Coffee | Antonio Castillo

Finca La Lechuza Coffee Roasters

7 Jaguars Coffee

Ceiba Coffee Solutions

Lead the Change: The Bard MBA in Sustainability

One Size Fits None: Time for an Entrepreneurial Revolution

Key Themes & Insights:

The Invisible Bridge Between Worlds — Making the unseen connection between consumer and farmer visible as the foundation for structural change.

Efficiency at Whose Cost? — Reframing the industry's optimization logic by asking who actually captures the gains and who bears the hidden costs.

Storytelling as an Economic Tool — Treating narrative not as marketing but as a structural lever that shifts bargaining power back to producers.

Courage as a Collective Practice — Showing that courage is built incrementally through community and iteration, not something you start with.

The Value of Artisan Process — Arguing that craft and provenance aren't lifestyle preferences but the architecture of a different kind of economy.

More From What If Instead?  

Diseconomies of Scale | Michael Shuman

Mentorship & Collaboration: The Alignment That Changes The World | Evelina Van Mensel and Martin Nedev

Talking To People Who Think Like Us Has Made Us Stagnant | Trevor Vaughn and Hunter Buffington

A System for Unexpected Connections | David Garrison

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