Taking calculated risk to drive circularity with Andrew Ellsworth

Andrew Ellsworth seems to have an incessant appetite for risk. But dig a little deeper and you see that that appetite is fueled by a profound desire to drive the positive changes that will support environmental health. And he’s using the built environment as the entry point to create that change.

In addition to launching Doors Unhinged, the first US company to reclaim and resell commercial door systems, Andrew also co-founded the All For Reuse initiative to strengthen the demand for reclaimed materials. He also recently collaborated with Hennepin County in Minnesota to develop Building Circularity MN, and, as part of that program, is leading a training to help entrepreneurs build viable material reuse businesses.

And when he’s not doing all of that, he still finds time to take to the stage, speaking and advocating for circularity and reuse, which is where I found him, between his multiple speaking sessions at the Build Reuse conference. 

 In this episode, Andrew shares how Doors Unhinged came to be, the challenges of launching a business in a sector that wasn’t designed for circularity, and where he sees the biggest opportunity for entrepreneurs in the circular economy.