Disruptors for GOOD | Social Entrepreneurs and Social Enterprises

Causeartist
  • 5.0 (52)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Disruptors for GOOD is a podcast that showcases global social entrepreneurship and social enterprises committed to ethical fashion, impact investing, climate mitigation, sustainable travel, and businesses generating positive global impact. Through in-depth interviews, Grant Trahant, the founder of Causeartist, engages with innovative and impactful startups and brands worldwide.

  1. How Nest Is Building the Business Infrastructure the Global Artisan Economy Never Had

    1d ago

    How Nest Is Building the Business Infrastructure the Global Artisan Economy Never Had

    Rebecca Van Bergen, founder of Nest, joins Causeartist to discuss 20 years of building business and financial infrastructure for artisan and maker economies across 123 countries. The conversation covers how Nest supports micro and small creative businesses, the structure of their accelerator programs, the Makers Future Fund in partnership with Etsy and Pinterest, and why the handmade economy may be more durable than most people assume. Guest Rebecca Van Bergen is the founder of Nest, a nonprofit organization that provides business development support, financing, and market access to artisan and maker businesses globally. Nest operates in 123 countries and supports over 4,000 micro and small businesses through its Artisan Guild, e-learning platform, and cohort-based accelerator programs. Topics Covered The founding of Nest in 2005 and its connection to the early microfinance movementWhy loans alone are insufficient without business education and market accessThe scale and data challenges of the global handcraft economyHow the Artisan Guild works and who it servesThe structure of Nest's business accelerators, including the sustainability-focused cohort and the UNHCR refugee artisan programWhy grants paired with education outperform education aloneThe Makers Future Fund: capital and financial literacy for US maker businessesHow Etsy and Pinterest contribute as funders and recruitment networksThe ripple effects of artisan income on women, families, and communitiesLessons from 20 years of running a nonprofit social enterpriseThe intrapreneurship opportunity inside large companiesWhy AI and automation may accelerate demand for handmade goodsKey Insights Financing is consistently the top need reported by guild members across every geography. The Makers Future Fund was built specifically to address that gap for US-based maker businesses who have no viable path to formal credit. Nest pairs every accelerator with a small business grant. Business advice without capital to act on it has limited value. The grant closes that gap. The artisan economy is extremely difficult to quantify because most transactions occur in the informal economy. That data gap has historically caused the sector to be dismissed as niche and non-scalable. Nest's network of 4,000 businesses is part of how the organization builds a more accurate macro picture. Rebecca's framework for social entrepreneurs: stop looking at the 20-year horizon. Look at your feet, do three concrete things today, and repeat. Twenty years of that compounds into real distance. As AI proliferates, Rebecca sees a counter-movement building. People increasingly want objects made by human hands. She expects the market to develop two coexisting extremes: robotically produced goods and deeply human handcraft. Both will persist. Organizations and Programs Mentioned Nest Artisan GuildNest Connect (e-learning platform)Makers Future FundMakers UnitedUNHCR refugee artisan accelerator programEtsyPinterestTargetNovica10,000 VillagesMuhammad Yunus / microfinance ---------------------------------------- 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.

    24 min

  2. 2d ago ·  Bonus

    A Causeartist Announcement

    Hey everyone, welcome back to the podcast. Today’s episode is a little different. After years of building Causeartist as a media platform spotlighting impact startups, founders, investors, and innovators, we’re entering a completely new chapter. Causeartist is now officially a nonprofit organization. And honestly, this decision came from something simple. The mission became bigger than a media company. Over the years, I’ve had the chance to interview incredible founders, nonprofit leaders, impact investors, climate innovators, technologists, artists, and builders from all over the world. And one thing became very clear to me. There are millions of people working every single day to solve massive problems in the world, but many of their stories never get told. A lot of these founders and organizations are building in areas like climate, education, healthcare, financial inclusion, food systems, AI for good, community development, and so much more. But many of them are doing this work without enough visibility, without enough media support, and without enough long-term storytelling infrastructure behind them. We want to help change that. The vision for Causeartist moving forward is to build a lasting home for the impact economy. A place focused on impact startup storytelling, founder and innovator interviews, educational media and research, ecosystem databases and directories, podcasts and live conversations, community collaboration, and resources for people building positive change in the world. At its core, Causeartist is built around one belief: There are millions of people using their talents, creativity, skills, and businesses to improve the world, and their stories deserve to be seen. That belief has guided this platform from day one. And now becoming a nonprofit allows us to think longer term. It allows us to focus on building something durable. Something mission-first. Something that can continue spotlighting innovators and builders for years and decades to come. I also just want to say thank you. Thank you to every founder who trusted us with their story. Every investor who shared insights. Every nonprofit leader, partner, listener, reader, and supporter who has been part of this journey. You helped shape what Causeartist has become. And honestly, we’re just getting started. I’m incredibly excited for what we’re building next. More stories. More founders. More conversations. More tools and resources for the people trying to create a better future. So thank you for being here. Thank you for believing in this mission. And let’s continue building together. See you in the next episode. ---------------------------------------- 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.

    3 min
  3. How Givebutter Grew From a College Dorm to $9B in Donations - Max Friedman, CEO of Givebutter

    Mar 17

    How Givebutter Grew From a College Dorm to $9B in Donations - Max Friedman, CEO of Givebutter

    Max Friedman didn't set out to build one of the most widely used fundraising platforms in the nonprofit sector. He and his two co-founders, Ari Krasner and Leon Cohen, started with a simpler observation: the tools available for people who wanted to raise money for a cause were either expensive, hard to use, or both. And the fees were rarely transparent. That was 10 years ago. Today, Givebutter has processed nearly $10 billion in donations, acquired nonprofit media brand We Are For Good, launched financial products for nonprofits, and is pushing past 150 employees with plans to hit 200 by end of year. Friedman joined the Disruptors for Good podcast to talk about the journey, the hard stretches, and what the next decade looks like for Givebutter and the broader nonprofit tech 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.

    33 min
  4. Inside Impossible Metals and the Push for Responsible Deep-Sea Mining

    Mar 10

    Inside Impossible Metals and the Push for Responsible Deep-Sea Mining

    The technology for harvesting critical minerals from the ocean floor has barely changed since the 1960s. Big tracked vehicles. Vacuum dredges. Sediment plumes.  The same architecture, decade after decade. Oliver Gunasekara looked at that and saw an opportunity. He's the CEO of Impossible Metals, a deep tech startup building a fleet of autonomous underwater robots designed to collect polymetallic nodules from the seafloor with a fraction of the environmental disruption of conventional methods. On this episode of Disruptors for Good, Oliver walks through the technology, the regulatory landscape, the environmental tradeoffs, and why he thinks the first commercial deep sea mining operations are closer than most people realize. ---------------------------------------- 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.

    34 min

  5. Mar 7 ·  Bonus

    Grove Collaborative: Impact Business Case Study

    Grove Collaborative is one of the most ambitious experiments in mission-driven consumer commerce of the past decade. Founded in 2012, it started as a subscription delivery service for eco-friendly cleaning products and grew into a publicly traded company with a $1.5 billion peak valuation. Along the way, it became the world's first plastic-neutral retailer, earned B Corp certification, and pioneered transparency tools no other retailer in the category had attempted. Then it nearly fell apart. From 2022 onward, Grove faced declining revenue, a delisting threat, an executive overhaul, and the painful acknowledgment that its flagship environmental commitment, 100% plastic free by 2025 — would not be met. The company has spent the past two years rebuilding: operationally, financially, and strategically. This case study covers the full arc. The founding thesis, the growth decisions that worked, the ones that didn't, the financial turbulence after going public, and how Grove is attempting to rebuild as a leaner, more durable business without walking away from its core mission. Full Case Study ---------------------------------------- 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.

    23 min

  6. Mar 4 ·  Bonus

    B Corp Certification: What It Is, What It Costs, and Whether It's Worth It

    B Corp certification is a third-party credential issued by B Lab, a nonprofit, that verifies a company meets defined standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. It is not a legal structure. It is not a tax designation. It is a certification, similar in nature to LEED for buildings or Fair Trade for supply chains. To earn it, a company completes the B Impact Assessment (BIA), a scored evaluation across five areas: governance, workers, community, environment, and customers. A minimum score of 80 out of 200 is required to qualify. The median score for companies that complete the BIA without certification intent sits around 50. Certification also requires signing the B Lab Declaration of Interdependence, submitting to a verification review, and in most U.S. states, amending your governing documents to protect the consideration of stakeholders beyond shareholders. As of early 2025, there are roughly 9,000 certified B Corps across 90+ countries. ---------------------------------------- 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.

    12 min

  7. Mar 3 ·  Bonus

    Tony's Chocolonely: Business Case Study

    Tony's Chocolonely transformed from a Dutch journalist's investigative project into a $200+ million chocolate company by making supply chain transparency its core competitive advantage. Founded in 2005 after journalist Teun van de Keuken exposed slavery in West African cocoa production, the company built a vertically integrated model that pays farmers 40% above Fairtrade premiums while maintaining competitive retail pricing. The business operates on three strategic pillars: direct relationships with 8,942 cocoa farmers across Ghana and Ivory Coastaggressive transparency including publishing full supply chain data and acknowledging when slavery is discovered in their chainand a consumer brand built on storytelling rather than traditional food marketing.Tony's reached profitability in 2013 and has grown revenue at approximately 25-30% annually since 2016. The company holds 18% market share in Netherlands chocolate and expanded to the United States in 2015, where it now generates roughly 20% of total revenue. Unlike most mission-driven food brands that exit to CPG conglomerates, Tony's remains independent with a governance structure designed to prevent acquisition by companies that do not meet their sourcing standards. ---------------------------------------- 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.

    54 min
  8. How AidKit Is Modernizing Aid Distribution With Technical Infrastructure

    Feb 18

    How AidKit Is Modernizing Aid Distribution With Technical Infrastructure

    In episode 238 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, Brittany Christenson, the CEO of AidKit, shares her journey from studying applied math to leading a tech company focused on social impact. AidKit aims to deliver aid with dignity, providing access to emergency relief and public benefits through innovative technology. Brittany discusses the challenges and opportunities in the nonprofit and government sectors, emphasizing the importance of customization in technology solutions. She also highlights the role of AI in enhancing their services while maintaining data privacy. Looking ahead, AidKit aims to expand its reach and impact, striving to serve millions and improve the efficiency of aid distribution. ---------------------------------------- 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.

    29 min
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Disruptors for GOOD is a podcast that showcases global social entrepreneurship and social enterprises committed to ethical fashion, impact investing, climate mitigation, sustainable travel, and businesses generating positive global impact. Through in-depth interviews, Grant Trahant, the founder of Causeartist, engages with innovative and impactful startups and brands worldwide.

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