entrepreneurship

Starting a business at age 66 with Paul Tasner

November 20, 2019 — Leave a comment
“Recycling is an answer but not the answer.” – Paul Tasner founder of PulpWorks

Paul Tasner, Co-founder and CEO of PulpWorks and more recently, Co-founder of Sort, has more than 40 years of operations experience. He has held leadership positions in ventures ranging from start-up to Fortune 100. For the past decade, his focus has been on sustainability. Paul’s corporate affiliations include The Clorox Company, Clif Bar, Method Products, and Hepagen Vaccines. He has authored numerous papers and presentations on supply chain sustainability and currently lectures on this subject in the MBA Programs at San Francisco State University and Golden Gate University as well as the Packaging Engineering Department at San Jose State University. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Boston University.

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In this episode you will learn:

  • How PulpWorks manufactures packaging for consumer goods using fiber waste
  • The story of Paul Tasner starting his first business at age 66
  • The perks of being your own boss as an entrepreneur
  • The specific challenges PulpWorks faces in securing new customers
  • How to pursue investors in the competitive city of San Francisco
  • Critical questions to consider for people nearing retirement that want to start a business
  • How recycling is an answer but not the answer
  • Why Paul is envious of the millennial mindset
  • How rejecting plastic can make a difference
  • What Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is and how EPR regulations could impact society
  • Paul’s new tech-based recycling business

Links and mentions:

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Allen Smart – Investing in Rural America

October 23, 2019 — Leave a comment
“Booming immigrant communities in rural America look very different than what you might expect. This sense of rural and what it means needs further discussion elaboration on how it fits into the larger American profile.” – Allen Smart, Founder of PhilanthropywoRx

Allen Smart is a national spokesperson and advocate for improving rural philanthropic practices under his group – PhilanthropywoRx. He is also the Project Director for a national rural philanthropic project based at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina. Allen regularly consults with regional and national foundations on rural and philanthropic strategies.

In this episode of Innovation for All, Allen discusses the complexities of rural America and how a lack of acknowledgement of its diversity is holding back the work being done there. 

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In this episode you will learn:

  • What diversity looks like in rural America
  • How the misunderstanding of rural communities is a barrier to development
  • How philanthropic, government and businesses can improve their work in rural communities 
  • Why there is a sense of frustration within rural America
  • Whether the sudden interest in investing in rural America is being done right
  • How diversity, specifically immigrants and communities of color, is both an old and new issue that must be addressed in rural America 
  • How to invest in the talent and skills of rural entrepreneurs
  • What the future of rural innovation looks like

Links and mentions:

Connect with Allen

Alex Wolf – Millennials, Media, and Social Interactions

October 16, 2019 — Leave a comment
“When we were first introduced to the internet, it was branded as a place to go. And it is no longer a place. It is just with us everywhere. And so it is time to start building technology that can work within that field.”
– Alex Wolf, Founder and former CEO of BossBabe Inc.

A self-made entrepreneurship coach, Alex Wolf is the founder and former CEO of BossBabe INC., an online community that helps millennial women start their own businesses. Members receive a host of advice from the successful social media coach. She is also the author of the book Resonate, a book for entrepreneurs who want authenticity with their audience: for those who want to really connect. 

In this episode of Innovation for All Podcast, Sheana speaks with Alex on how social media is changing human interactions, how companies contribute to the problem, and what needs to change. 

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In this episode you will learn:

  • Alex’s background in technology
  • How technology changes interactions among millennials
  • Why texting has become so prolific and what else is changing our interactions
  • Should social media platforms go away from the advertisement business model and why
  • Do consumers need to change the relationship with social media platforms
  • Why millennials feel misaligned with their age

Links and mentions:

Connect with Alex

alexwolf.co


Giving women more fertility options with Anne Hogarty, CEO of Extend Fertility

September 18, 2019 — Leave a comment

Egg freezing startups like Extend Fertility may be a democratizing force to give women more child-bearing options. CEO Anne Hogarty discusses how Extend Fertility is giving women more choice through affordable egg freezing. As with any business designed to give women more choice, controversy abounds! Critics have a lot of questions: Is it ethical? Manipulative? Safe? Gimmicky?

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You’ll hear:

  • Why are fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization (IVF) so expensive?
  • What are the unique advantages of egg freezing? What are the limitations?
  • Is egg freezing a “bandaid?” Should we, instead, make it easier for women to have children while having a career?
  • Should we be concerned that egg freezing businesses prey on women’s concerns about having children? Or is it unfair to suggest that women can’t assess their situations for themselves?
  • Why has there been pushback from making egg freezing more affordable?
  • Why did Extend Fertility upset so many when they advertised their services on Instagram?
  • What are typical success rates for egg freezing?

About Anne:

Anne Hogarty is Extend Fertility’s chief executive officer. Prior to joining Extend Fertility, Anne was chief business officer of Prelude Fertility, a national network of fertility clinics, and president of MyEggBank, Prelude’s frozen donor egg bank. From 2013 to 2017, she worked at BuzzFeed, the global news and entertainment company, during its period of hyper-growth from a $20 million disruptor to a $250 million digital media leader. There, she served in progressively more senior finance, strategy, and general management roles, including as vice president of international business. In this role, Anne oversaw BuzzFeed’s revenue-generating strategy and operations in 9 countries outside the U.S. and doubled BuzzFeed’s international revenue within two years.

Anne began her career on Wall Street, including several years in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs. She graduated cum laude from Harvard College and received her MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar. She is a born-and-raised New Yorker and resides in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood with her husband and two young children.

Anne feels strongly that women deserve every chance to build a family on a timeline that works for their life. She is honored to be leading a company devoted to that mission.

Links and Mentions:

Placing the Displaced: Running a Refugee Staffing Company with Amplio Recruiting

September 11, 2019 — Leave a comment
“The burden of proof was to say that there are refugee entrepreneurs out there who are doing some incredible things and are legitimately investable businesses.” – Founder of Amplio Recruiting

Amplio Recruiting is a company that helps companies hire people from the refugee community. How do they refute and calm the fears potential employers? How does they ensure that vulnerable people aren’t being taken advantage of? And what has made the business so successful? Find out with Sheana in this episode of Innovation for All Podcast. 

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In this episode you will learn:

  • How their founder started Amplio Recruiting and why?
  • What were some of the challenges in starting the business?
  • How are companies vetted to ensure that the refugees are protected?
  • Which assumptions about the refugee community are misguided?
  • What are the challenges with finding opportunities for women refugees in particular?
  • What is Amplio Ventures?
  • What are some of the success stories?
  • How has this work influenced his personal views?

Links 

  • RefugeeWorkforce.com