The Bonfires of Social Enterprise with Romy of Gingras Global | Social Enterprise | Entrepreneurship in Detroit

Romy Kochan | Gingras Global | Social Enterprise | Detroit Entrepreneurs
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The Bonfires of Social Enterprise with Romy of Gingras Global | Social Enterprise | Entrepreneurship in Detroit

Storytelling by Romy Kochan about the Social Enterprise activity in Detroit and broader Michigan. Romy Kochan, Managing Partner, of Gingras Global Inc. and Gingras Global Groups, L3C has been in the financial industry since 1988 and has a passion for efficient, profitable, social enterprises and the impact investors who support them. Listen in on the interesting interviews with some of the burgeoning social entrepreneurs. During many of the interviews Romy takes the time to highlight a concept or note from the field specific to social enterprise. Learn about all of the different elements of a social enterprise and connect to the front lines in this great show.

  1. S3: Sheri Lozano of Link2Lift #99_

    08/21/2018

    S3: Sheri Lozano of Link2Lift #99_

    Sheri Lozano of Link2LiftWe had some fun jumping over to the west coast to talk with Sheri Lozano of Link2Lift. Sheri discusses her innovative and collaborative idea to use unused spaces for lifting others.         For the full transcript click below Read Full Transcript Welcome to episode 99 of the Bonfires of Social Enterprise! Wow-wee, almost at 100. Thanks for your loyal support over all of these past episodes! Oh, by the way, this is Romy, and we had some fun jumping over to the west coast to talk with Sheri Lozano of Link2Lift. Sheri discusses her innovative and collaborative idea to use unused spaces in lifting ways. Be sure to stay until the end for a great song from a Detroit artist! Now, first, we have to hear what Natalie has come up with for the fun fuel on this episode. I’m Natalie Hazen and I am bringing you this episode’s Fun Fuel. Coworking is everywhere. What is coworking you ask? It is a work trend bringing together professionals from across all industries to form inter-connected communities. According to the website, Mindspace, the concept of a coworking space started in 1995 Berlin with 17 computer enthusiasts got together in a facility to create a space where people with an interest in computers could gather to collaborate and work in an open environment. Fast track to 1999 New York City and 42 West 24 opened to offer a work environment with flexible membership options for teams and individuals seeking a workspace. The difference here was that there seldom were any organized community events. In 2005, Brad Neuberg from San Francisco launched the first official co-working space originally referred to as a “9 to 5 group.” It was a was not a huge hit at first as no one showed up for the first month, but soon interest sparked and coworking took off. Coworking leads to great collaboration. When I hear the word collaboration, my mind goes to the lyrics of Vanilla Ice’s 1990 release of Ice Ice Baby. I hear collaboration and I then start singing: stop, collaborate and listen and then goes on to say, “if there was a problem, yo, I’ll solve it.” Makes me smile every time. Let’s jump on over to see who Romy is collaborating with on in this episode and what problem they are solving. Okay, I absolutely love Natalie’s fun fuels! That was so interesting about co-working spaces! And, now I have the Vanilla Ice song in my head! Ha Ha. I have to look that up next! What a perfect lead into a collaboration that Sheri Lozano has tackled with Link2Lift. Let’s drop in on my conversation with Sheri… Romy: Sheri, why don't you give us the background about what Link2Lift is? Sheri: Link2Lift is a company that we developed in response to underutilized space. It seems like we've had a ton of buildings that are left unused, and we've developed a process where we can create co-working communities but with a purpose. Voice: Let's talk about how you got inspired first just to get everyone caught up to what originally lit your fire if you will. Sheri: You know, it's interesting because I never intended to develop a business. It was more a response to an experience that I had as a volunteer going back and forth to international ... as a volunteer doing international work with communities and then coming

    40 min
  2. S3: Kate Hayes EchoingGreen- Board Health #98

    07/24/2018

    S3: Kate Hayes EchoingGreen- Board Health #98

    Kate Hayes EchoingGreen- Board Health Back for another conversation this time with a very inspiring woman, Kate Hayes of Echoing Green. Kate discusses her incredibly interesting journey and love for health human interactions and support. She is a  current leader in the impact investing and social enterprise development space.     For the full transcript click below Read Full Transcript Welcome, welcome, welcome, to the Bonfires of Social Enterprise. Romy here back for another conversation with a very inspiring woman, Kate Hayes of Echoing Green. Kate discusses her incredibly interesting journey and love for health human interactions and support. First, let’s see what Natalie has prepared for our Fun Fuel for this episode. I’m Natalie Hazen and I am bringing you this episode’s Fun Fuel Leadership takes all kinds of forms and has many different styles. After all, we are all uniquely made and don’t respond the same way to things. Let’s take a listen to some top leader’s motivational quotes of all time according to Inc. Magazine because according to them, “Sometimes the most powerful and meaningful things come from words that touch our heart and lead us forward to our potential.” So Author Ernest Hemingway kicks us off with his quote: "When people talk, listen completely." --Ernest Hemingway I need to work on that one myself! Retired four-star general in the United States Army, Colin Powell said, "Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand." --Colin Powell But I will wrap up with a motivational leadership quote from Harold R. McAlindon. He said, "Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." --Harold R. McAlindon Let’s tune in with Romy as she interviews this episode’s latest trailblazer. Thanks, Natalie! So many great leaders have gone before us in history. Let’s turn our attention to a current leader in the impact investing and social enterprise development space, Kate Hayes of Echoing Green and her program, Direct Impact. Romy: Let's talk about Echoing Green. Let's talk about Echoing Green. It had a unique start. Kate Hayes: Yes. So, Echoing Green was founded 30 years ago by a group of individuals working in the private sector who wanted to see what would happen if you took the principles of the private sector and applied them to the social sector, and so they started investing deeply in early stage social entrepreneurs, and that has really...

    40 min
  3. S3: Genusee #97

    07/11/2018

    S3: Genusee #97

    Genusee Wow, what a really great episode on a social enterprise called Genusee. Creatively designing eyewear out of recycled single-use plastic water bottles out of Flint, Michigan. Many of you may have heard some tough stories coming out of Flint. Specific to the water crisis over these past few years. You will meet the founders and designers, Ali Rose Van Overbeke and Jack Burns. They will discuss their journey in Flint and the whole launch process to date.     For the full transcript click below Read Full Transcript Welcome to episode 97 of the Bonfires of Social Enterprise. This is Romy, and I am your host for this episode on a really great social enterprise called Genusee. They are out of Flint, Michigan. Many of you may have heard some tough stories coming out of Flint, Michigan specific to the water crisis over these past few years. You will meet the founders and designers, Ali Rose Van Overbeke and Jack Burns. They discuss their journey in Flint and the whole launch process to date. Oh, it feels good to be back after a mini-hiatus. Thanks for hanging in there while we made some new shows! By the way, we have some great episodes coming up next from the east and west coasts culminating with a finale for Season 3 and our episode 100 which will be some interviews from the recent GUS awards held in Detroit. So subscribe and stay tuned. Now, let’s see what Natalie has in store for us on the Fun Fuel. What do you have for us, Natalie? I’m Natalie Hazen and I am bringing you this episode’s Fun Fuel. In today’s world, you see so many people wearing eyeglasses and on a super bright sunny day they most certainly break out their sunglasses. Glasses have become ultra-fashionable and why shouldn’t they? They most certainly are the very first thing people see when they look at your face unless they aren’t wearing theirs and they just can’t see you. According to the website lenspick.com, the first vision correction device was invented in 1000 AD and called a reading stone. As you can imagine, it was for farsighted folk who couldn’t read properly and was basically a glass sphere used as a magnifying glass. Now fast forward to 12th century China and you have the creation of Sunglasses. People back then used flat crystals of smoky quartz that were mounted for personal use to reduce the glare from the sun. It is also said that these ‘sunglasses’ were used by judges while presiding cases, so as not to give away their emotions. Very interesting. So, throughout history, mankind has made some very unique and purposeful inventions, including eyeglasses, that truly make our lives easier. Thanks for listening and now on to the episode. Fascinating that the first pair of eyeglasses was documented to be in 1000 AD. Thank you, Natalie, your fun fuels are always so interesting! Let’s jump on in for a listen now to my conversation with Ali Rose Van Overbeke and Jack Burns and their really great company, Genusee. Romy: So let's tell the listeners about Genusee. Ali Rose: So Genusee is making eyewear in Flint, Michigan from recycled single-use plastic water bottles that were a result of the Flint water crisis. Romy: So is it just the eyeglass frames, or are you putting the lenses in and all that? Ali Rose: Yeah, we're doing everything. The frames are specifically what's made from the recycled water bottles, but we are working with an optical lab, so we do prescription eyeglasses as well as sunglasses. Romy: So how did you make

    32 min
  4. S3: Plum Health DPC with Dr. Paul Thomas #96

    04/03/2018

    S3: Plum Health DPC with Dr. Paul Thomas #96

    Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC We’re back with another episode here on social enterprise. We have a doctor on this show who has been making a big impact in Detroit. It is Dr. Paul Thomas of Plum Health Care DPC. He has a dream of changing the notion of health care from a plastic card in your wallet to true healing from a healing doctor!  What a concept!     For the full transcript click below Read Full Transcript Hi Everyone, this is Romy, and we’re back with another episode here on social enterprise. We have a doctor on this show who has been making a big impact in Detroit. It is Dr. Paul Thomas of Plum Health Care DPC. He has a dream of changing the notion of health care from a plastic card in your wallet to true healing from a healing doctor! What a concept! Before we get going here, I want to give a big hello and thanks to our listeners in Japan, we appreciate you! Now, let’s see what Natalie has today for us on the Fun Fuel…. I’m Natalie Hazen and I am bringing you this episode’s Fun Fuel. The Medicine Ball isn’t usually the hottest topic of conversation. If you like to exercise and are a gym goer, you may incorporate the medicine ball into your routine. Or perhaps this little dynamo isn’t a part of your repertoire and you pass by, leaving it sitting on the rack wondering what to do with it. While there are many ways to use the medicine ball in strength training, according to the website, azcentral.com, One of the early uses of medicine balls was around 1,000 B.C. where Persian soldiers used round bladders filled with sand as part of their resistance training. Later on, Navy doctors would tell sailors to throw the balls around the decks of the ships to reduce boredom, avoid seasickness and improve the overall health of the enlisted men. But it was the United States President Herbert Hoover who brought the medicine ball to the attention of the rest of society in 1931 with his new sport called Hoover-Ball. When the president’s personal physician noticed the president’s sedentary lifestyle he developed a medicine ball throwing game to get him up and moving around. The president and members of his team would throw the sand-filled ball over a net similar to the one used during volleyball games. Big kudos to this physician’s creativity to get his patient out and about and active. Like other early games, Hoover-Ball may not be played today, but the medicine ball surely has played an important role in many people’s overall health. Thanks for listening and now on to the episode. Well, that was truly a fun fuel fact! I

    27 min
  5. S3: PalmEraMia #95

    02/11/2018

    S3: PalmEraMia #95

    PalmEraMia Thanks for tuning in for this great episode on a social enterprise out of Miami! Our guest is Andres Restrepo, one of the founders of PalmEraMia, which is a fashion design company for athletic wear. Through their product sales, they support clean water efforts in Colombia. We learn why they chose Colombia and how they became so convicted about clean water for those without access. Stay tuned until the end of the show because we have our first Spanish rapper as our closing song on this episode.   For the full transcript click below Read Full Transcript Thanks for tuning in for this great episode on a social enterprise out of Miami! This is Romy, and I am honored to be your host. Our guest is Andres Restrepo, one of the founders of PalmEraMia, which is a fashion design company for athletic wear. Through their product sales, they support clean water efforts in Colombia. We learn why they chose Colombia and how they became so convicted about clean water for those without access. We have our first Spanish rapper as our closing song on this episode. I want to take a moment to thank our listeners. Our team has grown over here at the Bonfires of Social Enterprise, and it is really about you, as our listeners, continuing to tune in. Thank you, thank you, thank you. By the way, don’t be shy! Reach out to us! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram which are all at bonfires podcast or you can jump to the website and email us or put a note in the mailbag. The website is www.bonfiresofsocialenterprise.com We respond quickly, and we love to talk to you! So, back to our topic of business and social good. I think Natalie has something about water for us in our Fun Fuel…… I’m Natalie Hazen and I am bringing you this episodes’ Fun Fuel. Many people have taken to the longstanding sport of surfing, riding amazing ocean waves. But did you know that you can surf the Great Lakes? Now it is different than surfing in the ocean, mainly because nothing will eat you in the great lakes which to me is a huge bonus! According to Third Coast Surf Shops website, Waves on the great lakes are caused by the transfer of energy from the wind blowing over the surface of the water. Whereas ocean waves are primarily created by offshore storms far from the beach, waves on the Lakes are produced by localized winds associated with various weather systems in and near the Great Lakes region. The great lakes have plenty of wind year-round to generate some huge waves. Waves on the great lakes have been documented at over 30 feet in height. Unfortunately, these conditions have been known to be brutal and have sunk many ships over the years. So while the Great Lakes can produce very large waves perfect for surfing, keep in mind you may find those perfect waves in the harsh cold of winter. So bring a good wetsuit, board, and courage to tackle these Great Lakes waves! That’s this episodes fun fuel, now let’s join in with Romy and her guest. Surfing on the Great Lakes – love it. Thanks, Natalie! Okay, let’s drop in on my conversation with Andres and learn more about PalmEraMia. Romy: Okay. Well, welcome to the Bonfires Social Enterprise. Andres: Thank you. I appreciate it. Happy to be here. Romy: I know. We've been trying to connect for a little bit. I'm really glad to have you on the show as our guest today. Let's tell all of our listeners what Palm ... and am I saying it...

    34 min
  6. S3: Kathleen Kelly Janus – Stanford, Book #93

    01/24/2018

    S3: Kathleen Kelly Janus – Stanford, Book #93

    Kathleen Kelly Janus Back for another episode of the Bonfires of Social Enterprise. Kathleen Kelly Janus is our guest discussing her new book, Social Startup Success, How the Best Nonprofits Launch, Scale Up and Make a Difference. Kathleen is an award-winning social entrepreneur, lawyer, and lecturer at Stanford University, where she teaches social entrepreneurship.  And, as usual, we have a great Detroit artist playing a full song at the end of the episode so stay tuned.   For the full transcript click below Read Full Transcript Hello there, this is Romy back for another episode on the Bonfires of Social Enterprise. We have author, Kathleen Kelly Janus, as our guest discussing her new book, Social Startup Success, How the Best Nonprofits Launch, Scale Up and Make a Difference. Kathleen is an award-winning social entrepreneur, lawyer, and lecturer at Stanford University, where she teaches social entrepreneurship. And, as usual, we have a great Detroit artist playing a full song at the end of the episode so stay tuned. Before we get rolling down the lane with good advice from Kathleen, let’s see what Natalie has come up with for our Fun Fuel for this episode. I’m Natalie Hazen and I am bringing you this episode’s Fun Fuel. Since this episode talks about Non-profits not operating on survival mode, I started thinking about what survival mode really means and I my mind drifted to cool animal survival instincts. Survival instincts are inherent to all creatures great and small. I often wonder how animals survive natural disasters such as wildfires and tornados. I think of the birds being whipped around by such high winds and wonder if they get swooped up in the turbulence or soar higher. According to TuftsNow.com, birds can ride out intense storms by taking advantage of microhabitats. Gale force winds can knock even the sturdiest of tv weatherman off their gait, but birds can seek shelter on the lee side of trees or deep inside thick hedges. The decrease in wind speed in these microhabitats can be huge, and as long as they stay put, they are not actually buffeted much by the wind. Now they do need to find food to last out the storms. There are some reports of birds increasing foraging activity as a storm approaches, which indicate some birds can detect subtle changes in air pressure, which can indicate an approaching storm. When this happens, they immediately try to get as much food as possible. The more fat a bird has, the better chance it has of surviving and riding out a long-standing storm. So let’s join up with Romy and today’s guest to learn more about nonprofits not operating on survival mode. Love it, love it, love it. Thanks, Natalie! Alrighty, I had the opportunity to talk with Kathleen while she was in...

    38 min
  7. S3: Our Common Future Conference – Oct. 27, 2017 – PART TWO #92

    01/03/2018

    S3: Our Common Future Conference – Oct. 27, 2017 – PART TWO #92

    Our Common Future Conference – Oct. 27, 2017  Part Two Our Common Future conference was held in Detroit, Michigan at the end of October 2017. We have a Part One and a Part Two to give you the top ten.  We will interview several guest speakers that help shape our community. They give us some insight into the work that they do to empower entrepreneurship and Impact Investing.     For the full transcript click below Read Full Transcript Welcome Back to the Bonfires of Social Enterprise. On this episode, we continue with part two of the Our Common Futures conference. On this episode, Jennifer and Natalie, catch up with conference attendees Melanie Audette with the Mission Investors Exchange, Brenda Hunt with the Battle Creek Community Foundation, Amy Peterson of Rebel Nell, David Contorer with Hebrew Free Loans, and Jason Paulateer with PNC Bank and Foundation. To kick of Part Two, Jennifer sits down with Melanie Audette of the Mission Investors Exchange….. Jennifer: What I'd like to start off today, during our talk is to have you tell me a little bit about yourself and your organization and then we'll go from there. Melanie: Well, I'm the Senior Vice President at Mission Investor's Exchange. I am based in Seattle and Mission Investor's Exchange is a 12 year old organization with offices in New York and San Francisco and then we have some staff in Seattle, but we're a very small but mighty team that has a membership consisting of mainly foundations of all types and sizes across the US who are either building or expanding an impact investing program. And we started out as the PRI Makers Network 12 years ago, when foundations were really focused mainly on doing program-related investments, and about five years ago we merged with The More Formation Campaign, which was a campaign to encourage foundations to devote two percent of their endowments to invest for a mission. Jennifer: I love that. So here at the conference so far, what are your impressions then of how it works and how it applies to your mission through Mission Investor's Exchange? Melanie: Well the independent sector conference as well as the Council of Michigan Foundation's Conference, where we are today, represents two things for me specifically. First, the independent sector has a very much more broad attendance and participation than a lot of the conferences that we attend and that includes the foundations who are at the heart of our network, but also those who play a very important role in the ecosystem around impact investing. And that includes non-profit organizations who oftentimes have social entrepreneurial goals and projects and so, therefore can be investees of impact investment's five foundations as well as those who support them in the field, so investment advisors, philanthropic advisors, attorneys, and accountants. All of those participants really play an incredibly important part helping foundations to identify who investees can be and to be able to do the work efficiently and within the law and correctly and responsibly. The second part is the Council of Michigan Foundations, Mission Investor's Exchange has had a five-year partnership with CMF, and we've worked together over the years to provide education first for those foundations who are interested in learning about impact investing. Through this partnership, Michigan has become the model, really for the whole country informing what's now an infrastructure within that association to help foundations not only to learn about impact investing, but to...

    39 min
  8. S3: Our Common Future Conference – Oct. 27, 2017 – PART ONE #91

    01/03/2018

    S3: Our Common Future Conference – Oct. 27, 2017 – PART ONE #91

    Our Common Future Conference – Oct. 27, 2017  Part One Our Common Future conference was held in Detroit, Michigan at the end of October 2017. We have a Part One and a Part Two to give you the top ten.  We will interview several guest speakers that help shape our community. They give us some insight into the work that they do to empower entrepreneurship and Impact Investing.     For the full transcript click below Read Full Transcript Welcome to the Bonfires of Social Enterprise. This is Romy, and we have something very special for you on this episode. Our Bonfires team was invited to podcast from the Our Common Futures conference which was held in Detroit at the end of October 2017. I was not able to attend but two of our very experienced colleagues, Jennifer Davis-Papa and Natalie Hazen, caught up with some very high profile attendees and speakers at the conference. They came back with so many great discussions that we had to do a Part 1 and a Part 2 to give you the top ten. So, on Part 1, you will hear interviews with Dan Cardinali, President, and CEO of Independent Sector, Joyce Cade-Hitchye from the organization, Of Impact, Angela Barbash from the financial firm, Revalue Aaron Seybert of Kresge, and Angela Rogensues of the non-profit, Playworks. Let’s get started with Dan Cardinelli of Independent Sector. He begins by answering Natalie with some organization history. Dan Cardinali: Well, first of all, Independent Sector is a 38-year-old organization that is founded with two very simple principles; that our goal is to bring the sector, the whole sector together. Grant seeking, foundations, corporate foundations, and ... Excuse me. Can I start that again? Natalie: Mm-hmm. Dan Cardinali: Independent Sector was founded 38 years ago with two very simple purposes; to bring the sector together, sector spanning, so we have grant seeking organizations, nonprofits, and grant-making organizations like philanthropy and corporate foundations. The goal of this gathering is for the community to come together in a non-transactional way. Not to cut deals, but to collectively take stock in what's going well and what's not, and how we as a sector can come together, catalyze activity, and be part of accelerating social change. That's what Independent Sector does. And then we learn from that conversation, and we translate that into our public policy work. Primarily in Washington, but increasingly we partner with state organizations to make sure we're aligned with the policies that are really going to strengthen the sector. Every year we gather, historically every year we gather the sector together in this vital meeting ground, this conference. We realize collaboration is the way of the future. Early on as were designing for this, we said, "Look, who are the strongest sector spanning organizations we can partner with." The Council of Michigan Foundations is one of the strongest state level, regional association working in philanthropy. The Michigan Nonprofit Association is a similar; it's one of the strongest nonprofit association. It made perfect sense to say, "Hey! Let's put our heads together, and let's design together." And that's what we did. It's been a phenomenal experience. Natalie: Wow. That's fantastic. I like how you're getting everybody together in the sandbox to play well together, in essence. Dan Cardinali: Right. Well, the goal I think is playing well together. I think also means struggling to do what we hope happens here. Which is to push...

    42 min
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Storytelling by Romy Kochan about the Social Enterprise activity in Detroit and broader Michigan. Romy Kochan, Managing Partner, of Gingras Global Inc. and Gingras Global Groups, L3C has been in the financial industry since 1988 and has a passion for efficient, profitable, social enterprises and the impact investors who support them. Listen in on the interesting interviews with some of the burgeoning social entrepreneurs. During many of the interviews Romy takes the time to highlight a concept or note from the field specific to social enterprise. Learn about all of the different elements of a social enterprise and connect to the front lines in this great show.

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