Disruptors for GOOD | Social Entrepreneurs and Social Enterprises

In this episode of the Disruptors for Good podcast I speak with Sophia Wang, Co-Founder of MycoWorks, on disrupting the fashion industry by creating a biomaterials company that has developed natural alternatives to leather and plastics using mushroom mycelium technology.In 2013, with artist and inventor Phil Ross, Sophia co-founded MycoWorks, a biomaterials company that has developed natural alternatives to engineered wood, leather and plastics using mushroom mycelium technology.Her creative practice includes choreography, performance, writing, curation and producing original dance and multimedia works. Sophia has danced for Xavier Le Roy, Tino Sehgal, Jerome Bel, Amara Tabor-Smith and Xandra Ibarra, and co-founder of the Brontez Purnell Dance Company. Since 2015, she has co-produced Heavy Breathing, a discussion and movement workshop series that has featured over 45 presenting artists working at the intersection of performance, visual arts and pedagogy.Sophia also holds a PhD in English specializing in 20th and 21st century experimental American poetry, and a BA in English and Visual Arts.MycoWorks create materials at the intersection of art, nature and biotechnology using mycelium, one of the earth’s most regenerative resources. The company's mission is to create a platform for the highest quality materials using Fine Mycelium™. Their first product, Reishi™ offers partners in the fashion industry an option for leather that is neither animal nor plastic, yet uncompromising in quality and aesthetic expression.The company announced last year the closing of a $45 million Series B financing to scale up and meet demand for Reishi™, the leading natural, non-animal leather material. WTT Investment Ltd. (Taipei, Taiwan) and DCVC Bio co-led the round, with major participation from new investors Valor Equity Partners, Humboldt Fund, Gruss & Co., and others, and existing investors Novo Holdings, 8VC, SOSV, AgFunder, Wireframe Ventures, Tony Fadell, and others.About Mushroom MyceliumA breakthrough in materials science and biotechnology, Fine Mycelium is an advanced manufacturing platform for high performance materials in fashion and footwear. The company's proprietary technology has enabled a new class of premium, non-animal materials that are the next evolution in mycelium.Mycelium is one of the earth’s most powerful agents of regeneration and carbon sequestration. These fine, root-like threads are grown on the byproducts of agriculture and lumber, transforming plant matter into their own biomass.Unlike “mushroom leather,” which is compressed mycelium, MycloWorks patented Fine Mycelium technology engineers mycelium during growth to create the proprietary, interlocking cellular structures that give our material its superior strength and durability.Exclusive to MycoWorks, the Fine Mycelium process offers the unique advantage of total control over quality and customization.Fine Mycelium materials are custom-grown to our brand partners’ specifications for performance, aesthetic features and more. This gives brands creative control to design from the material on up, while minimizing waste and ensuring consistent quality. Actionable traceability of the Fine Mycelium process allows our experts to capture and apply data at defining moments during production, fully optimizing our products from initial growth to harvest.Today, the team is growing in order to scale and deliver Reishi to an even broader range of partners in fashion, footwear and beyond. Together, they’re working towards a world where mycelium enables resilient, creative solutions for any industry dependent on animal and petroleum-derived products. ----------------------------------------Disruptors for GOOD is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.

In this episode of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, I speak with Lecrae, the multiple grammy award winning artist and New York Times best-selling author on using music, writing, activism, and venture capital to inspire local communities.The multiple Grammy award winner a New York Times best-selling author Lecrae has evolved from primarily being an artist into an entrepreneur, speaker, activist, thought leader, and philanthropist. Lecrae now influences millions with his socially conscious message and transcendent sound positioning himself as a catalyst for restoration in faith, music, and pop culture.In 2013, he became the first hip hop artist to win the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Album, which was awarded to his sixth album, Gravity,and in 2015 became the first rapper to win the BET Award for Best Gospel Artist.In his new book, I Am Restored, Lecrae shares the never before told story of his loss of faith after the experiences of his past threatened to ruin his career and life. It also chronicles the personal practices he uses in his daily life for mental, emotional, and spiritual health. With powerful prose, he gives an unflinching look at the personal and public spaces that sadly hurt us so often--culture, politics, family, church, personal failure--and reminds us that learning to let go and forgive is the birthplace for the life of creativity and freedom God has for us.His new music video "Drown" features the eleven time Grammy Award winning artist John Legend. See it here.Lecrae is also a venture partner at Collab Capital, a $50mm fund that helps Black founders build sustainable businesses. ----------------------------------------Disruptors for GOOD is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.

In episode 145 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, Causeartist contributor Rafael Aldon, speaks with Giles Hutchins, on regenerative leadership and using nature to enhance executive consciousness.Giles is a pioneering practitioner, keynote speaker and executive coach at the fore-front of this necessary revolution. He applies advanced consciousness raising techniques, deep-dive nature immersions, embodiment work, ancient wisdom tradition insights, and cutting edge research on leadership consciousness.Giles has over 20 years business experience in helping all shapes and sizes of organizations transform.Formerly, over a decade as management consultant, program manager and business practice lead at KPMG, and more recently Global Head of Sustainability for the global technology provider Atos.He is currently Chairman of the Future Fit Leadership Academy, Lead Partner of The Natural Business Partnership, co-founder of Biomimicry for Creative Innovation, co-founder of Regenerators.co and partner/associate with a number of pioneering organizations, such as The Global Leaders Academy and The Laszlo New Paradigm Research Institute.He holds an MSc in Business Systems, a BSc in Finance, Valuation and Property, a Post Graduate Diploma in Advanced Leadership, Global Leadership Development GOLD certification, Advanced Coaching certification, Analytic Coaching Network practitioner, Human Emergence Framework trained, Solonomic and 5 Deep Holistic Leadership trained, Way of Council trained, and Reiki Master certification. Giles has also been a member of various professional associations, for example: The Institute of Directors, The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, The Royal Society of Arts. ----------------------------------------Disruptors for GOOD is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.

In this episode of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast I speak with Olowo-n’djo Tchala, Founder and CEO of Alaffia on cultivating beauty, equality, and empowerment in West Africa and around the globe through personal care products.Olowo-n’djo Tchala, founder and CEO of Alaffia, was born and raised in the village of Kaboli, Togo. Growing up and working to support his family, he witnessed firsthand the injustices and inequalities many of the women in his village faced daily. After moving to the United States and going to University, he felt the responsibility to fight the injustices that existed in West Africa.In 1996, Tchala met his partner Prairie Rose Hyde, who was invited to his village as an environmental volunteer in the Peace Corp. Inspired by a shared calling to do right by the world, Alaffia, a social enterprise, was born. With an understanding of the value of indigenous West African resources and sustainable business ideologies, the two launched Alaffia’s first shea butter collective in 2003 and in 2004 established the Alaffia headquarters in Olympia, Washington.For the last nearly 20 years, Tchala’s green and fair trade organization has created sustainable programs in West Africa that have improved the lives of over 250,000 individuals. Proceeds from the sale of Alaffia’s beauty and personal care products are returned to communities in Africa, such as those in Togo and Ghana, to fund their multiple empowerment programs including Maternal Care, Reforestation, Regenerative Agriculture, Eyeglass, Bicycle and in 2021 Female Genital Mutilation Eradication.Since inception, they have built 16 schools, planted over 99,000 trees, provided more than 10,000 bicycles and 30,000 eyeglasses, donated school supplies to more than 37,000 students, and funded over 6,500 births. How does it work? Women’s cooperatives in West Africa handcraft indigenous ingredients, such as unrefined shea butter and African black soap, using traditional African methods. Products are then finished at Alaffia’s U.S. headquarters in Olympia, Washington. Proceeds from the sale of their personal care products are returned to communities in Africa, such as those in Togo and Ghana, to fund their community programs.Today, Alaffia is available in Whole Foods nationwide and continues to redefine the natural products industry through its values of Beauty, Equality and Empowerment, fair trade, and safe, efficacious hair, face and body care. ----------------------------------------Disruptors for GOOD is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.

In episode 144 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, I speak with Adam Taubenfligel, Co-founder of Triarchy on the future of responsibly made denim and ethical manufacturing. Adam is an author and co-founder, Creative Director and Sustainability Steward for the fully sustainable fashion brand, Triarchy. In his day job, Adam is innovating fabric technology, traceability and reusability that minimize waste and maintain authenticity, relentlessly reducing waste at every possible juncture. However, the bigger picture shows us a disruptive founder on his journey to discover how his identity as an author, sustainability steward, designer, LGBTQIA+ human in this space is all intersecting at this moment and leading to what's next.Triarchy was founded by Mark, Adam and Ania Taubenfligel in 2011. Since its inception, Triarchy has become known for its sustainable and ethical practices, as well as its trend-setting design. The brand also uses eco-friendly processes to manufacture its jeans, such as using ozone technology to minimize water waste. In addition to its environmental credentials, Triarchy is also committed to social responsibility.Triarchy was initially a direct to consumer denim brand with not much but great jeans. However, as the brand continued to grow, the siblings noticed the incredible amount of water waste and chemical harm the denim manufacturing industry was having on the planet. Instead of turning a blind eye, they checked their egos and stopped production, taking their brand offline in 2016 in order to find a better way to make jeans.Three years later, after what seemed like an endless amount of research, Triarchy was reborn as the denim brand we know and love today. Responsibly made, with ethical manufacturing in mind.Triarchy is not just a denim brand, it is a vehicle to educate consumers on mindful consumption and the now more than even importance of less is more. With its combination of style, sustainability, and social responsibility, Triarchy is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the world of fashion. ----------------------------------------Disruptors for GOOD is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.

In episode 143 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, I speak with Greg "G.L." Genco, Founder and CEO at Generation Conscious, on creating zero waste products for students on college campuses.G.L. grew up near a waste transfer station in Jamaica, Queens, NYC before moving to Long Island with his Trinidadian-Italian family. Seeing the health impacts of the waste station on his community motivated him to found Generation Conscious in order to tackle climate injustice, eliminate plastic waste, and address eco-classism. He was further moved to take action when he found out Trinidad & Tobago was 80% at or below sea level, meaning most of his family was on track to be displaced by rising sea levels.As a first generation college graduate (Amherst College), G.L. understands the importance of accessibility when it comes to sustainable goods. That's why Generation Conscious collaborates with university administrations to ensure the school subsidizes or finances the full cost of the hygiene refills for all low-income students.The Generation Conscious system is built on making sustainability simple, accessible, and affordable. Because helping the environment shouldn’t be a luxury. ----------------------------------------Disruptors for GOOD is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.

In episode 142 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, I speak with Hans De Neve, Founder and CEO of Carbyon, on winning the XPRIZE Carbon Removal Milestone Award and the future of renewable energy through direct air capture.After finishing his PhD at IMEC, Hans became a researcher within the Alcatel Research & Innovation division – currently part of the Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs organization. Subsequently he's worked for several product units of Alcatel-Lucent where he continued to look for product differentiators and product innovation – facing the challenge to turn innovative ideas into commercial successes.Hans has Master degree's from KU Leuven and Ghent University in Physics of Microelectronics, Materials Science, Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics. He also has PhD from Ghent University  in Micro-electronics, solid state lighting, and III-V semiconductors.After Alcatel-Lucent, Hans started to specialize in the field of renewable energy, first at VITO in Belgium, later at ECN and TNO in The Netherlands. Following the great experience, he founded Carbyon, a start-up to develop machines that can capture CO2 from air.Carbyon is developing equipment to filter CO2 from the air and store it underground. Recently, the Dutch start-up was named a Milestone Award winner of the XPRIZE for Carbon Removal. This $1 million incentive prize, funded by Elon Musk and the Musk Foundation, is part of the four-year global XPRIZE competition.The organization invited innovators and teams worldwide to create a solution that can extract CO2 directly from the atmosphere or oceans and store it in an environmentally friendly way for good."For us, winning this award means being recognized. XPRIZE is like the world championship within our field. The fact that the jury ranks our concept among the fifteen best in the world means a lot to us. It is fantastic that three years after the start of our company we are already playing at this level." Hans de Neve, CEO at Carbyon.Carbyon is a start-up company with the purpose of turning direct air capture into an affordable and scalable technology that can be used to turn the corner on climate change. Carbyon is located at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. This is one of the world’s leading technology research and innovation centers.Carbyon is a team of scientists and engineers working closely together on one common goal: scale up this technology cost-effectively and provide the world with a powerful tool in the fight against climate change.Their technology is aimed at saving our planet from climate change. The company strives to maximize impact towards this purpose. Profit serves as a means to achieve this and is not an end in itself. ----------------------------------------Disruptors for GOOD is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.

In episode 141 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, Causeartist contributor Rafael Aldon, speaks with Ellen Windemuth, CEO of the WaterBear Network, on starting the first streaming service dedicated to climate action, biodiversity, and sustainability.Ellen Windemuth is CEO of WaterBear Network, overseeing the strategy and direction of the new free streaming platform dedicated to the future of our planet. Prior to WaterBear, she was owner and CEO. of Off the Fence, having founded the company in 1994. Under her leadership, Off the Fence acquired, produced and co-produced over 6,000 hours of content. She is a seasoned executive producer and distributor and has produced over 500 hours of content to date She executive produced “My Octopus Teacher,” which won this year’s BAFTA and Oscar for best documentary feature.Waterbear is a global network for conservation and sustainability. They believe that the world's future depends on our ability to protect and preserve our planet's natural resources. Waterbear brings people together from all corners of the globe to share knowledge, collaborate, and take action on behalf of our environment.WaterBear is the first interactive streaming platform dedicated to the future of our planet. Whatever you feel passionately about in the world of climate action, biodiversity, sustainability, community, diversity and more, WaterBear provides access to award-winning and inspirational content that empowers members to dive deeper, learn more and take action.WaterBear members control what content they want to watch, when they want it, with no ads and with one simple sign up - all for free, in all English speaking countries, on mobile app and web. WaterBear is a big fan of documentaries, locally-told stories, NGO campaigns, on-the-ground grassroot outreach, volunteering, eco-travel, sustainable products and much more; and members can find all of this on the WaterBear platform at the touch of a button. ----------------------------------------Disruptors for GOOD is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.

In episode 140 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, I speak with Geoff Hucker, Founder and CEO of Work for Impact, on how remote work and freelancing has unlocked potential worldwide, one job at a time.Geoff is an expert in the nonprofit, social enterprise sector with 18+ years of experience, Geoff is a passionate advocate for socially responsible, purpose-built businesses. Having established, directed, and scaled a successful charity – Beyond The Orphanage – he understands and has met the challenges faced by NFP/NGO and For Purpose organizations when it comes to talent acquisition, engagement, and retention.Geoff has hired and worked with freelancers from around the world, effectively assessing HR requirements and directing resources to priority areas of the business.Geoff is highly experienced in For Purpose leadership, global and regional governance and compliance, and the creation of high performing remote global workforces – all of which combine to efficiently and cost-effectively meet the key objectives of an organization and its Board.With an entrepreneurial eye for the most pressing global social and economic issues, Geoff founded Work For Impact – the platform designed to help NFP and For Purpose organizations engage top on-demand talent, meet the demands of the changing landscape of ‘work,’ implement agile working practices, and become leaders in the socially responsible freelance space. ----------------------------------------Disruptors for GOOD is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.

In episode 139 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, Causeartist contributor Rafael Aldon, speaks with Ben Jeffreys, CEO of ATEC*, on how clean cooking can offset more carbon emissions than the global airline industry. As ATEC’s CEO and strategic leader Ben has an unwavering commitment to unlocking the potential in others. Ben brings over 14 years experience in managing teams across social enterprise, international development and corporate sectors. Before his role at ATEC* Ben worked as National Development Manager at SSE, Product Development Manager at Oxfam, and Retail Sales Executive at Westfield.Globally cooking with wood kills roughly three times as many people each year as traffic accidents – the majority of fatalities being women due to smoke inhalation.ATEC* is a startup social enterprise that produces, sells and distributes patented biodigester systems for small-scale farmers globally. ATEC* is a joint venture between Engineers Without Borders and Live & Learn, has installed over 1,000 systems since it commenced and is now expanding globally to a market of over 205 million households.Solving clean cooking will contribute more to the global economy than the national GDP of Italy and offset more carbon emissions than the global airline industry. Women and girls bear the greatest cost of a lack of access to clean, modern cooking solutions in the form of poor health and safety.  This is costing women and the wider community $3,000 per household per year.ATEC's unique Impact Flywheel is the strategic core of how we solve clean cooking. Through creating scalable partnerships between BoP households and international capital markets, our flywheel enables ATEC* to offer high quality, low cost IoT cookstoves to BoP markets at scale. Data is central to what the company does. ATEC* tracks all impact in the central Impact Dashboard including unit installations, outputs, GPS and 10 different impact outcomes. ----------------------------------------Disruptors for GOOD is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.