The Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Podcast

Mar 19 2024 254 ep. 40 mins 126
The Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Podcast artwork

The #1 Podcast for Social Entrepreneurs & Social Innovators. With host Cory Ames, Founder of Grow Ensemble, dive deeper into social entrepreneurship, social enterprises and the tools, resources, and strategies that support their growth and expand their impact. Hear from these top social innovators from both the non-profit and for-profit sector - CEOs, Executive Directors, Thought-Leaders and more.

  Business  Society & Culture
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#254 - What Makes a Great Company? - Dean's Beans Journey to Worker Ownership

Mar 19 2024 82 mins  
Welcome to the Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Podcast. In this thought-provoking episode titled "What Makes a Great Company?" we're diving into the inspiring journey of Dean's Beans Organic Coffee Company. Joining us are two remarkable guests, Dean Cycon, the founder of Dean's Beans, and the new CEO, Beth Spong, who are here to shed light on their unique approach to business�

#253 - Seth Godin: How to Escape Industrial Capitalism's Race to the Bottom & Do Work Worth Doing

Feb 27 2024 55 mins  
Yes, we need to make a living. But how do we make a life? It might not simply be about the money. When the world is in turmoil, when our health is at risk and the future seems murky, perhaps paychecks and productivity aren’t enough. Perhaps we can’t manage our way into the future. What if we created the best job someone ever had? What if we built an organization people wou

#252 - Is Globalization Good or Bad? The Effects of NAFTA & Global Supply Chains ⛓️

Feb 15 2024 31 mins  
On December 8th, 1993, Bill Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) into law. In his remarks at the signing, Clinton proclaimed, “NAFTA means jobs. American jobs and good-paying American jobs. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't support this agreement.” Two decades after NAFTA had been in effect (1993 - 2013) the Economic Policy Institute reported that

#251 - 7 Examples of Greenwashing

Feb 08 2024 23 mins  
In this episode of Grow Ensemble, host Cory Ames delves into the deceptive tactics of greenwashing, where companies mislead the public about their environmental and social responsibility. Through 7 compelling examples, Cory sheds light on how businesses use certifications, misleading marketing claims, and acquisitions to present themselves as sustainable and ethical, while engaging

#250 - What Makes Great Coffee? ☕️

Jan 25 2024 64 mins  
5 roasts, over 5 regions, and the story of the coffee supply chain from farm to cup. Our task here is to explore and reconsider this question: what makes great coffee? To do so I’ve enlisted the help of my many friends at Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee. Dean’s Beans is a 100% employee-owned, Certified B Corporation based out of Orange, Massachusetts. The company was founded by

#249 - The 10 Characteristics of Success in Social Entrepreneurship

Nov 07 2023 94 mins  
What does success mean to you? Defining success in a field can define the field. Defining success for ourselves will define our lives. And so here, friend and coach of mine, Paul Zelizer and I go through the essential exercise of defining what to each of us makes for a successful social entrepreneur. Paul is a business coach for social entrepreneurs and host of the Awarepreneurs Po

#248 - Are we even close? | ensemble #1

Oct 17 2023 15 mins  
In a little over a decade, Houston has housed over 28,000 people who were experiencing homelessness. The U.S.’s 4th largest city has cut its total homelessness figures by more than 60% since committing to tackle this issue head-on in 2012. Representatives from cities nationwide visit Houston to learn about how they’ve achieved such progress. Houston adopted what’s called a Ho

#247 - The Preamble: What's in a Name? | ensemble #0

Oct 10 2023 7 mins  
We're thrilled to introduce a new format of the show — what we’ll be calling Ensembles. These ensembles are designed to be something of a meditation, helping us to explore the art of living and working sustainably and building a better world, from a different perspective. The goal here through sharing various stories from the wide world of sustainability, social entrepreneurs

#246 - Quit Stressing Me Out: How to Restore the World's Dying Coral Reefs

Sep 26 2023 52 mins  
The right amount of stress at the right time. That’s all it requires to trigger coral to grow anywhere from 25—50x it’s natural rate as it would in the “wild.” In the practice of coral farming, this is called microfragmenting. Our guest today, Sam Teicher, is the co-founder of Coral Vita. In Freeport, Grand Bahama, Coral Vita is farming coral (using techniques like microf

#245 - What Is a Sustainable Product? (And How Can You Identify One?)

May 18 2023 38 mins  
Assessing the sustainability of any individual product or company is a core facet of the work we do here at Grow Ensemble. But if there’s no agreed-upon definition of “sustainability,” it’s unclear what anyone means when they say their product is sustainable. So, for the sake of setting important definitions, here we are asking: What is a sustainable product? ⭐️ SPONS