As Martin Luther King Jr. once reflected, we depend on an invisible network that connects us across continents, cultures, and economies in our everyday consumption.

Coffee is part of that invisible bridge, one we rarely question. It is almost impossible to imagine a world without it. Each morning, it anchors our routine, accompanies us on our commute, fuels conversations, and fills our favorite coffeehouses with life. Yet behind this simple ritual lies a complex global story that connects us to millions of people across the world.

Every minute, more than 1.5 million cups of coffee are consumed worldwide, and each day that number reaches approximately 2.4 billion cups. ¹ Coffee is not just a beverage. It is one of the most deeply embedded and highly profitable goods in the global economy.

An Unbalanced Bridge Between the Global South and Global North

The global coffee market continues to expand steadily, reaching a value of 176.55 billion US dollars in 2025 and projected to grow to 238.99 billion US dollars by 2031, with a compound annual growth rate of 5.18 percent². This sustained growth underscores coffee’s strength as a global commodity and its deeply embedded role in everyday life. Yet, behind this expansion lies a structural imbalance that shapes how value is distributed across the coffee value chain.

This imbalance can be understood as an invisible bridge that connects producers in the Global South to consumers in the Global North every day. Approximately 60 to 80 percent of the world’s coffee is produced by smallholder farmers ^{4 5}, who represent the majority of global producers, yet this dominance in production does not translate into economic benefit. Much of the value is captured far from where coffee is grown, leaving many small farmers trapped in poverty, while decision making power and value capture remain concentrated downstream among a small number of multinational corporations, revealing a fundamental asymmetry within the coffee commodity value chain.

Why This Matters

We live in a globalized economy that has optimized efficiency and scale, where products and services are traded based on supply and demand. Over time, this has lowered the cost of goods like coffee, but it has also distanced us from the true cost of production.

Despite producing most of the world’s coffee, small coffee farmers capture only a small share of its value and often live in conditions of economic precarity. Many earn between $500 and $3,000 per year from coffee production, and some earn less than $100 annually, which highlights the severity of income inequality within the coffee global trade.¹⁹ It is estimated that they capture only 7 to 10 percent of the final retail value, while most profits are concentrated among traders, roasters, and multinational corporations in consumer developed nations.²⁰ As a result, many do not achieve a descent living income, reinforcing a structural imbalance within the coffee value chain.²¹

This imbalance is not accidental. Small coffee farmers operate within value chain systems they did not design, shaped by pricing mechanisms, quality standards, and trading structures established far from their realities. When prices fluctuate, they bear the financial losses as prices decline, while traders and speculators continue to capture gains. Many of them are forced to sell their coffee harvest below the cost of production, take on debt, or reduce essential household expenses to remain in the market.

Their labor sustains a global industry worth billions of dollars, yet their bargaining power remains limited. They often face restricted access to capital, limited market information, and weak negotiating positions within fragmented supply chains. Many depend on intermediaries to access markets, which further reduces their ability to influence pricing or terms of trade. As a result, even though they are essential to the system, they remain constrained in their ability to capture a fair share of the value they help create.

The invisible bridge that connects producers and consumers is not neutral. It enables the continuous extraction of value. As a result, coffee producers remain the least rewarded, excluded from the benefits of growth and constrained by a system designed elsewhere for someone else.

Reimagining the Coffee Value Chain Through Small and Medium Enterprises

Most of us do not question this problem because the system is structured in a way that makes these realities largely invisible in the products we consume every day. When we begin to look more closely, we see that this invisibility is not accidental but embedded in a global commodity that is cheap, accessible, and widely enjoyed without much thought about its origin. This lack of visibility allows the system to operate without scrutiny, even as it shapes the livelihoods of those at the beginning of the value chain.

At the center of this structure are powerful transnational corporations whose business models are designed to maximize revenue growth and sustain net income. They operate at a scale within an economic system that prioritizes efficiency, cost reduction, and shareholder returns, often placing downward pressure on prices at the production level.

Recognizing this opens the door to reimagining the coffee value chain. Small and medium enterprises can play a critical role by challenging these dominant structures and creating alternative models that prioritize transparency, equitable value distribution, and closer relationships between producers and consumers.

What if this system can be redesigned?

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have the potential to act as critical agents of change. Unlike large transnational corporations, these businesses are not bound by the same scale driven imperatives. They operate with greater flexibility, closer proximity to producers, and a stronger capacity to experiment with alternative models that prioritize shared value over extraction.

Through vertical integration and direct relationships with farmers, small and medium coffee enterprises can redesign how value is created and distributed. They can establish transparent pricing models, pay premiums that reflect the true cost of production, invest in long term partnerships with producers, and build traceability systems that connect consumers directly to origin. In doing so, they allow value to flow more equitably across the chain rather than concentrating downstream.

A growing number of mission driven small and medium coffee businesses are already demonstrating what this can look like in practice. For example, Pachamama Coffee operates under a farmer owned cooperative model, where producers are not simply suppliers but owners of the brand itself. In this structure, farmers participate directly in value capture beyond the farm gate, fundamentally shifting the traditional dynamics of the coffee trade.

Another compelling example is the work of José Cafaso Jacinto, President of the Cooperative Union San Pedro para la Agricultura Sostenible 100 Sombras, founded in 2011. He leads coffee production in the community of Malvarisco, located in San Pedro el Alto, in Oaxaca Mexico, a region known for producing high quality organic coffee. Under his leadership, 183 coffee producers from seven communities have developed a thriving model. Their model focuses on direct trade relationships, where coffee is sold at fixed prices negotiated outside of volatile commodity markets. This approach allows producers to retain greater value and achieve more stable and equitable incomes. The cooperative invites buyers and supply chain partners to participate in open negotiations and to observe farming practices directly. This includes ensuring that workers are paid fair wages and operate under safe working conditions.

And from my own experience, working through RebelBase modules played a key role in shaping my path towards launching a small business in coffee consulting. It provided me the structure and clarity needed to turn intention into a focused entrepreneurial journey. Now my goal is to make a meaningful and positive impact in the coffee industry.

These models illustrate a broader possibility within the current coffee commodity value chain. They show that small and medium enterprises can reshape the system from within.

This transformation does not require replacing large corporations entirely. Instead, it depends on building alternative models that operate alongside the existing system while challenging its underlying structure. In doing so, small and medium enterprises can influence how value is created, shared, and sustained across the chain.

An Invitation to All of Us

The question is no longer whether change is possible. It is whether we are willing to support and scale the models that are already showing us a different way forward.

As these models gain traction, they invite others to adopt similar practices and align their business values with equity, transparency, and long-term sustainability. Over time, the system itself begins to evolve.

As younger generations such as Millennials and Generation Z begin to exercise their purchasing power to favor small medium enterprises that align with their values, which is also creating a shift in what consumers value. Transparency, traceability, and fairness are no longer optional. Studies show that 65 percent of Millennials are willing to pay more for sustainably sourced coffee, while more than half of Generation Z consumers are willing to pay a premium for products aligned with their values. Coffee stands at the center of this transformation.

Why not choose to support small and medium enterprises that are intentionally designed to distribute value more equitably, build direct relationships with farmers, and commit to transparency across the entire value chain?

Change can begin with the purchasing power of consumers. It grows through direct relationships that strengthen bargaining power between coffee producers and buyers. It expands through small and medium businesses that integrate vertically, collaborate across the chain, and intentionally distribute value more fairly.

These efforts will not be isolated. They will be interconnected. Together, they begin to transform something bigger and as we begin to see it more clearly, we can start to imagine a different kind of bridge built on collaboration and transparency, every time we sip a cup of coffee.

About the Author

Antonio Castillo is the founder of Ceiba Coffee Solutions; an organization that connects consumers with small-scale, eco-friendly coffee farmers in Latin America, focusing on transparency, environmental stewardship, and social equity.

If you would like to learn more about Antonio’s work with Ceiba Coffee solutions, please follow him on:

Antonio’s LinkedIn Account

Ceiba Coffee Solutions Site

Ceiba Coffee Solutions YouTube Channel

References

1. International Coffee Organization. “Coffee Consumption.” Accessed April 5, 2026.

   https://www.ico.org

2. Mordor Intelligence, “Coffee Market Size and Share Analysis Growth Trends and Forecasts 2026–2031,” accessed April 5, 2026, https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/coffee-market.

3. What Is the Coffee Belt?” Three Lines Coffee, accessed April 5, 2026

4. Ruben, R., “Why Do Coffee Farmers Stay Poor?” Journal of Fair Trade, 2023

5. Fairtrade International, “Realistic and Fair Prices for Coffee Farmers,” accessed April 5, 2026.

6. Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization (New York: Doubleday, 1990), 59

7. Thomson Reuters, “Gen Z Purchasing Power,” 2025.

8. Intelligence Coffee, “Gen Z Transparency and Purchasing Behavior,” 2024.

9. Food Institute, “Gen Z Coffee Premium Trends,” 2024.

10. IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, “Unión San Pedro para la Agricultura Sostenible 100 Sombras,” accessed April 5, 2026, https://www.ikeasocialentrepreneurship.org/en/social-enterprises/union-san-pedro

11. Perfect Daily Grind, “Does Producing Coffee Mean Living in Poverty?” 2018.

12. Specialty Coffee Association, “Economics of Coffee: Farm Profitability,” 20

13. Fairtrade International. “Six Facts You Did Not Know About Fairtrade Coffee.” Accessed April 5, 2026. https://www.fairtrade.net

14. Méndez, V. Ernesto, et al. “The Information Landscape of Smallholder Coffee Farmers.” Specialty Coffee Association, 2025.

15. Poncet, V., et al. “Which Diversification Trajectories Make Coffee Farming More Sustainable?” Sustainable Food Systems, 2024.

16. World Coffee Research. “Coffee Farming and Production.” Accessed April 5, 2026. https://worldcoffeeresearch.org

17. U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. Coffee: World Markets and Trade. December 2, 2025. Accessed April 5, 2026.

18. Martin Luther King Jr., “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution,” sermon delivered at the National Cathedral, Washington, DC, March 31, 1968, accessed April 5, 2026, https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkremainingawake.htm.

19. The Borgen Project. “10 Facts About Smallholder Coffee Farmers.” Accessed April 2026. https://borgenproject.org/smallholder-coffee-farmers/.

20. Food Empowerment Project. “Coffee.” Accessed April 2026. https://foodispower.org/our-food-choices/coffee/.

21. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. “Living Income and the Coffee Sector.” Accessed April 2026.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2022.808207/full.

“These systems were built by people who don’t care about us. That’s why bottom-up innovation works better.” – Mim Plavin-Masterman

Plavin-Masterman's powerful statement, shared during a thought-provoking episode of the What If Instead? podcast, is deeply relevant to Ghana's entrepreneurial landscape.

As a lecturer and SME industry mentor at the University of Professional Studies in Accra, I have committed my career to instilling the entrepreneurial spirit in students and formal/informal-sector business owners. My job focuses on assisting people in developing, launching, and growing their businesses in an environment that frequently appears oblivious to their requirements. Plavin-Masterman's statements encapsulate why grassroots, community-driven innovation is not only an option, but a requirement for improving lives and economies in Ghana.

Ghana's entrepreneurship ecosystem is thriving yet riddled with obstacles. Entrepreneurs, particularly those in the informal sector, confront systemic impediments that can hinder their dreams, including intermittent power supply, known locally as dumsor, and limited access to capital and markets. These mechanisms, as Plavin-Masterman correctly points out, were not developed with the local entrepreneur in mind. They frequently reflect priorities established by distant authorities or global institutions that do not consider our communities' particular realities. However, it is precisely within this gap that bottom-up innovation thrives, providing practical, locally relevant solutions that empower citizens and create long-term economic success. This gap and the criticality of local solutions are explored further in Plavin-Masterman’s upcoming book One Size Fits None: Time for an Entrepreneurial Revolution, co-written with Alejandro Juárez Crawford. The book challenges us to make it normal, when facing broken systems, to launch experiments to address them – no matter who we are or where we live.

Help get the book in readers' hands

The Power of Bottom-Up Innovation

Bottom-up innovation focuses on solutions developed by individuals who live with the problems daily. It is about using local knowledge, resources, and ingenuity to solve problems in ways that top-down systems cannot. In my work at the University of Professional Studies, I see this principle manifested in the stories of students and entrepreneurs who refuse to be defined by their surroundings. They are creating firms that not only solve current problems, but also encourage people to rethink what is possible.

Esther Kyerewaa (SkinVive Ghana), a dynamic Ghanaian businesswoman whom I have had the honor of mentoring, has transformed a worldwide crisis into a thriving opportunity! During the COVID-19 epidemic, with businesses closed, Esther lit a spark of ingenuity by creating organic soaps brimming with local flavors such as cinnamon, bay leaf, zesty lemon, and chocolate mint. What began as a little initiative to provide her neighborhood with necessary hand sanitizers and soaps has grown into a thriving business. Esther's enterprise has significantly impacted communities across the Eastern, Central, and Greater Accra Regions, empowering over 1,500 women through comprehensive training programs. Her business now produces thousands of high-quality soap bars and related accessories weekly. Esther’s journey exemplifies the strength of grassroots innovation, demonstrating how identifying a local need, utilizing regional resources, and developing effective solutions can create sustainable, community-driven impact.

Fostering an Entrepreneurial Mindset

As Coordinator of the MBA Impact Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program at the University of Professional Studies, I am responsible for instilling an entrepreneurial mindset in students. This mindset is about more than just starting a business; it's about recognizing obstacles as opportunities, challenging the status quo, and acting to effect change. Plavin-Masterman's observation demonstrates why this perspective is so important: when systems fail to serve us, we must create our own answers.

Our curriculum focuses on practical, hands-on learning. Students are encouraged to identify community challenges, such as waste management, healthcare access, or digital inclusion, and come up with inventive solutions.

Overcoming Systemic Challenges

Plavin-Masterman’s observation aptly reflects how structural challenges impact Ghana's entrepreneurship ecosystem. For example, a software development company I mentored had to invest in a generator to keep operations running during outages, which reduced its profitability. These issues illustrate what happens when existing mechanisms were not developed with the local entrepreneur in mind. However, bottom-up innovation provides a path ahead. By focusing on local solutions, entrepreneurs might avoid some of these obstacles. As a response to dumsor, Ghanaian startups are increasingly embracing solar-powered technologies. This type of invention, driven by necessity and rooted in local conditions, exemplifies why grassroots approaches are more effective than imported solutions.

Building a Ghanaian Entrepreneurial Culture

Plavin-Masterman's call for bottom-up innovation inspires a larger vision: creating a distinct Ghanaian entrepreneurial culture. In many parts of the world, family enterprises are the foundation of economic development. However, in Ghana, the informal sector dominates, and many entrepreneurs are hesitant to expand for fear of rising costs or regulatory hassles. Our MBA program aims to overcome this hesitancy by demonstrating that progress is not only feasible, but also necessary for long-term success.

The Way Forward

Mim Plavin-Masterman's words remind us that when systems fail to prioritize people's needs, it’s up to individuals to innovate. In Ghana, this entails supporting entrepreneurs to build solutions that reflect their circumstances, such as converting coconut husks into packaging, manufacturing organic soaps, or inventing solar-powered devices. As a lecturer and coach, my goal is to provide students and informal entrepreneurs with the necessary skills, mindset, and resources to drive this shift. The future of Ghana's economy lies in the hands of its entrepreneurs. By encouraging bottom-up innovation, we can establish a system that actually cares about us, one that celebrates local ingenuity, provides jobs, and improves neighborhoods.

During a thought-provoking new episode of the Plucky Bamboo podcast, Alejandro Juárez Crawford gets right to the heart of what it takes to create flourishing business ecosystems in places like Ghana.

In the interview, Crawford quotes from his soon-to-be-released book One Size Fits None: Time for an Entrepreneurial Revolution, co-written with Miriam Plavin-Masterman. As a lecturer at the University of Professional Studies in Accra and a business coach dedicated to empowering students and informal sector entrepreneurs, I observe firsthand how traditional conceptions of "scale" frequently fail our communities. Crawford's idea of scaling locally responsive solutions is more than just a theory; it is a rallying cry for the kind of practical, grassroots creativity that is changing people's lives in Ghana.

My work as senior lecturer and SME industry coach at Ghana’s University of Professional Studies, focuses on making this vision a reality by assisting young entrepreneurs in developing ideas, cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset, and establishing firms that address real-world problems in their communities.

Redefining Scale in Ghana’s Entrepreneurial Landscape

In Ghana, the term "scale" frequently conjures up thoughts of multinational firms or tech startups pursuing worldwide markets with one-size-fits-all solutions. However, as Crawford points out, this strategy is rarely effective in communities with distinct issues and diversified demands. Ghana's entrepreneurial ecosystem is a bustling mix of market merchants, tech innovators, and small-scale manufacturers, all of whom face local challenges such as unpredictable power (dumsor), restricted access to cash, and fragmented markets. A blanket solution devised in a remote boardroom cannot address the intricacies of these situations. True scale, on the other hand, is achieved by empowering entrepreneurs to create solutions tailored to their specific contexts, solutions that ripple outward to transform communities.

At the University of Professional Studies, I deal with students who want to convert their ideas into businesses. Our MBA Impact Entrepreneurship and Innovation program encourages them to think locally first.

MBA alum Loretta Ata Tetteh, a fashion designer, saw that fabric leftovers from her sewing work accumulated and contributed to waste. Instead of using traditional disposal methods, she devised an innovative strategy for gathering and recycling waste materials into high-fashion gowns and smart workwear, transforming discarded textiles into sustainable, elegant designs.

Her company, LATAYYO Design and Fashion, now serves over 20 local retailers and individual customers, transforming textile waste into one-of-a-kind, environmentally-friendly fashion pieces. Loretta's tale indicates that scaling does not imply global growth; rather, it entails developing solutions that are so effective and relevant that they spontaneously gain hold in a community.

Practical Steps for Scaling Local Solutions

Crawford's vision inspires practical, actionable initiatives that we are executing in Ghana. Here's how we're getting it done:

1. Identifying Local Needs: Understanding the problem is crucial for every successful business. We train students and businesses to do "problem walks" in their communities, which involve physically traveling around markets, neighborhoods, or villages to discover pain points. For example, a group of students discovered that bad roads made it difficult for rural farmers to carry their produce to metropolitan markets. Their solution: a peer-to-peer logistics platform that connects farmers and local motorbike riders. This low-cost, community-driven solution is currently assisting farmers in the Volta Region to bring their products to market faster.

2. Utilizing Local Resources: Ghana has a wealth of human, environmental, and cultural resources that businesses can leverage. Mary Magdalene Anwabiri (MBA Alum) for example, is an entrepreneur who started a fashion line out of leftover smock cloth scraps. She collaborated with local tailors to produce a range of accessories currently offered in Accra's tourist markets, as pictured in the image below. Her company, North Gold Organics, not only eliminates waste but also highlights Ghanaian workmanship, demonstrating that local resources can produce scalable innovation.

3. Creating Digital Bridges: Technology is an effective enabler, but only when it is available. The MBA Impact Entrepreneurship and Innovation program teaches entrepreneurs how to reach customers using basic digital tools such as WhatsApp Business and Instagram.

4. Developing Collaborative Ecosystems: Collaboration is required when scaling local solutions. We collaborate with government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and private sector partners to assist entrepreneurs with finance, mentorship, and market opportunities. Our incubator program, for example, connects companies with local investors that understand Ghana's specific difficulties.

A Vision for Ghana’s Future

Crawford's says his notion of scale was influenced both by his experience equipping others to build ecosystems around the world, and by the thinking of his colleague Michael Shuman, who teaches economics at the Bard MBA in Sustainability and publishes The Main Street Journal.

This way of looking at scale is transformative for Ghana. It's about developing a thousand tiny, effective answers rather than chasing one big, universal solution. At the University of Professional Studies, we're cultivating a generation of entrepreneurs that think like this. They're not waiting for the system to change; they're developing solutions that work now, for their people, and in their context.

Every day, as I coach my students and informal entrepreneurs, Crawford's remarks come back to mind. Scale isn't about imposing a single notion on everyone; it's about empowering everyone to generate ideas that benefit their communities. In Ghana, we're demonstrating that scaling local solutions builds more than just enterprises; it also builds optimism, resilience, and a brighter future.

Bring this to an ecosystem near you

Our coming book One Size Fits None: Time for an Entrepreneurial Revolution challenges us to make it normal, when facing entrenched problems and broken systems, to launch experiments to address them – no matter who we are or where we live.

To learn more about the book and how you can get involved in its project, click the button below.

Get the book in more readers' hands

Supporters can choose signed copies, participate in book launch events, or bring dynamic “what if instead?” discussions to their schools, companies, or communities.

And now for potent insights from the brilliant Susan Hunt Stevens, investor and entrepreneur, about where we’re heading and what we need to do to get there.

What If Instead … We Transformed Now, with Empathy for What Gets Replaced

We’re not in a moment of polite evolution—we’re in a full-on messy transition. The climate crisis is here. Yet innovation still trips over short-term incentives and outdated models built for a world that no longer exists. So what do we do?

For Susan Hunt Stevens, serial entrepreneur, climate investor and founder of Spark Global, the answer is to build better—smarter, yes, but also with care.

Old Systems, New Problems

• Climate tech doesn’t scale like software. It takes time, regulation, and patience investors rarely have.

• Agricultural subsidies misfire. "$700 billion a year is going towards the wrong things," Susan warns.

• Our disaster response system? Designed for “a storm every 50 years,” not 100 per year.
  

Still Susan bets on bold solutions—regenerative agriculture, biochar, disaster recovery tech – and the messy, system-level work it takes to scale them responsibly.

Scaling, but Thoughtfully

"How do we prove it works? How do we manage the side effects of transformation, and thereby reduce resistance to it?

Susan is an advisor, investor, and founder. She backs companies that help farmers transition sustainably, like CIBO Technologies and others that vaccinate trees instead of torching orchards. These innovations matter, but Susan says success depends on “matching incentives, expertise, and measurement. Then scale.”

Care for the People Left Behind

"We have been very bad at hospice care when old systems die."

Whether the stakeholder is coal miners, gas station clerks, or displaced manufacturing workers, Susan says entrepreneurs must take responsibility for second-order effects. The human toll of innovation, if ignored, breeds resentment, backlash and broken communities.

The Opportunity Ahead

This isn’t just about emissions or economics. These couldn’t be more important—and precisely for that reason must be accompanied by leadership and responsibility. Susan makes the case clearly in this 1-minute clip:

"This is going to happen. There’s too much money to be made for it not to. But whoever figures out and leans in most—that’s the country that leads in the future. Right now, that’s not us. And that’s what makes me mad about it." – Susan Hunt Stevens

Listen to the full episode here

Suggested Resources

• CIBO Technologies – Scaling regenerative incentives

• XPRIZE (for Carbon Removal) – Innovation through competition

• Spark Global – Climate innovation with a systems lens

Day in and day out, organizations around the world struggle to get their employees to collaborate effectively with each other and with key partners. What does effective collaboration look like? Similar people climbing mountains or stairs, or perhaps rowing in formation? Not so, says Dr. Evelina Van Mensel. “The real magic happens when we stop seeing each other as just teammates.” Especially where the goal is innovation and change, the action lies in collaborating with people different from you.

Evelina and her colleagues from around the world put this into practice with innovators from 20+ countries. She says: “We discovered an incredibly powerful and counterintuitive method for enabling diverse teams to solve problems together.” The upcoming book One Size Fits None: Time for an Entrepreneurial Revolution tells this story. Evelina continues, “I want to share this with the rest of the world, thus making it possible for others to apply it to their organizations and communities. This book is a crucial part in the process.”

To learn more about the book and how you can get involved in its project, click here:

Help us get the book in readers' hands

One of the case studies it presents features Martin Nedev and the award-winning green fertilizer venture he co-founded, Enthela. To succeed, says Nedev in the podcast, requires enabling business people to learn to work with scientists – with people who learned to think and communicate differently from them.

He says he learned crucial skills for doing this through the innovation program Evelina helps lead. Participants included executive MBAs, college humanities students, and entrepreneurs in marginalized communities.

The case study on Martin’s company in One Size Fits None draws from an episode of What if Instead? in which we got to “sit down” with Martin and his former professor. The two focus not just on soil biology, but on this pivotal role, for innovators, of learning to collaborate across disciplines and backgrounds – professional, national, and otherwise. Here’s a thought-provoking clip from the episode:

For Martin, they key is to move away from traditional authority and the incentives that go with it, and instead create an environment where people thrive. The key? Not just working together, but playing together. When this happens, in his experience, people don’t just contribute – they innovate.

Innovation and collaboration require support, in the form of talented people, needed resources, and methods that work. Martin stresses that the world needs innovation to solve its biggest problems, but many promising ideas struggle to secure funding –especially in places where traditional investors favor quick returns over long-term impact. Evelina emphasizes that without support, even the best ideas struggle to see the light of day. "We can never underestimate the power of networks and how disadvantaged are those who don’t have one."

Click the image below to listen to the full episode.

In the book, we tell the stories about innovators like Martin and present new research showing that innovators are neither born nor taught. You cultivate a mindset like Martin’s in one way: by taking part in experiments. This is all the more important if, like him, you’re doing this beyond conventional innovation hotspots.

Click on the cover below to learn about our Kickstarter campaign to reach beyond academic audiences and reach more people so they can entrepreneurs and changemakers, the way Evelina and colleagues like Nico de Klerk, who founded the program Evelina refers to in her opening quotation, and whom we described in the previous installment, have done.

Back our Kickstarter campaign

Backers of the book can choose signed copies, participate in book launch events, or bring the kind of work Dr. Evelina describes to a community, school or organization near you.

Our coming book One Size Fits None: Time for an Entrepreneurial Revolution challenges us to make it normal, when facing entrenched problems and broken systems, to launch experiments to address them – no matter who we are or where we live.

To learn more about the book and how you can get involved in its project, click here. Supporters can receive signed copies, participate in book launch events, and bring dynamic “what if instead” discussions to your school, company, or community.

Help us get the book in readers' hands

What if Instead … We Didn’t Wait for a Breakdown Before Taking Stock?

In this episode of What If Instead?, hosts Mim Plavin-Masterman and Alejandro Juárez Crawford talk with Sage Brody, who once held a front-row seat to Wall Street's collapse and walked away. After years in high finance, including a high-pressure role related to the bankruptcy that kicked off the Great Recession, Sage reached a breaking point that no promotion or paycheck could fix.

Sage now works with others to heal emotional trauma that’s held in their body and helps them feel more alive—physically and emotionally—as a Somatic Movement Therapist and Educator. In addition to working with individuals, Sage also trains others to become Somatic Movement Therapists.

From High Stakes to Hollow Success

Sage was in the epicenter of a $7 billion lawsuit, briefing the CEO at 7 a.m. then working until 1 in the morning each day. When, for the first time in six months, she took a day off, the CEO called her.

“I was completely burnt out… physically dying… I had to take anxiety medication to go to work every day.”

A mentor asked the question that cracked the facade: Where do you want to be in two years?
The answer came fast: Not here.

Traditional “Life Coaching” Couldn't Touch This

Sage sought help. The advice was: just change your perspective. But trauma doesn’t work like that:

“Our body holds our implicit memories…. If we don’t resolve those wounds, we keep reacting to the past.”

The panic, the shutdown, the spiral – it wasn’t about stress alone. It was about unhealed pain, stuck in the nervous system. The breakthrough came, not from powering through, but in a different way entirely.

What If Instead of Avoiding Pain, We Befriended It?

We’re trained to escape pain, but – Sage argues in the episode – feelings carry wisdom. If we stop judging or fleeing them.

• Sadness, fear, and failure aren’t flaws – they’re signals.

• Defensiveness is often an old wound in disguise.

• True change starts by sitting with what hurts, not fixing it right away.
  
  

“Our feelings can’t give us their wisdom if we don’t let them exist.”

So, What if Instead?

What if the bravest thing wasn’t pushing through, but pulling over and listening in? While we’re busy being “professional,” Sage challenges us to change the way we think of ourselves, whatever our roles.

As she says to one of the episode hosts:

Listen to the full conversation

Suggested Resources

• Polyvagal Theory – Rhythm of Regulation

• Leven Institute – Somatic Movement Education

— Nico de Klerk

The upcoming book One Size Fits None: Time for an Entrepreneurial Revolution challenges us to make it normal, when facing entrenched problems and broken systems, to launch experiments to address them—no matter who we are or where we live. This is the second in a series of newsletters about people on the front lines of this work, people whose ideas power the book. To learn more about One Size Fits None and how you can get involved in its project, click here:

Help us get the book in readers' hands

In the book we feature the work of Nico de Klerk and his colleagues in the “Be a Nelson” movement. De Klerk founded and serves as CEO of South Africa’s StreetBiz Foundation. In an interview, he delves into his work building a growth network that supports and inspires individuals to reach their highest potential. In South Africa, de Klerk ventured into the Thabo Mbeki informal settlement, an area often stereotyped as chaotic and dangerous. Instead, he discovered a tightly-knit community that welcomed strangers:

where you literally have a structure built with anything that you can think of … three by three meters or 10 feet by 10 feet or something like that, small…. Then you learn about the structure, the organization within communities that will usually be seen as chaotic and just scenes of crime. It's actually the opposite.

He advises getting into the mindset of a leader you admire and thinking about how they would handle situations. For him, Nelson Mandela’s principles of inclusivity and unity are guiding lights:

Whenever I get confronted with a situation I don't understand…. I will just go into the mindset of Nelson Mandela.... It's like hearing his voice.

Building on this, de Klerk describes the "Be a Nelson" movement as a catalyst for human resilience, enabling marginalized youth and unemployed people to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals.

It's human resilience at its best ... why will you only stay focused on the negative or the obstacles? The only reason to focus on that is how to remove it."

Click the image above for the full episode—and the book cover below for de Klerk’s book No Fit, about his 1700-mile journey on foot to deliver workshops on the entrepreneurial mindset to nearly 50,000 marginalized youth and unemployed in township communities across South Africa.

There couldn’t be a better title to read alongside One Size Fits None, which tells the stories about people like those in the Be a Nelson movement, who are creating solutions from the ground up. In the book, we present evidence that experimenting to solve pressing problems can become an everyday activity for far more than just a few of us. Our times, we argue, demand no less.

Click on the cover below to learn about our Kickstarter campaign to reach beyond academic audiences and enable more people to enable entrepreneurs and changemakers, the way de Klerk has done.

Back our Kickstarter campaign

Backers of the campaign can choose to receive signed copies, participate in our book launch events, or bring workshops in the kind of work de Klerk does to your own community, school or organization.

“I let the community, the stakeholders, the opinion leaders own this. So it's easier for them to call for a meeting. It's easier to assemble them.” – Dr. Andrews Ayiku

Our new book One Size Fits None: Time for an Entrepreneurial Revolution arrives this fall.

Help us get the book in readers' hands

In it, we quote Tuck School of Business Professor Scott Anthony about what it means to create “the surface area for serendipity to strike.”

According to Scott Anthony, professor at the Tuck School of Business, we don’t simply aim for opportunities. Instead, they have to hit near us. The key is to clear an area large enough that when opportunities fall from the sky, as eventually they will, they land on it. Anthony cites the example of Julia Childs, the chef, TV personality, and writer: “Fortune smiled on Julia many times, but Fortune smiled because Julia followed the behaviors common to great innovators. She was intensely curious. She collaborated. She was a disciplined experimenter. She created the surface area for serendipity to strike." (Anthony, 2024)

In the book, we connect this idea to an interview with Dr. Andrews Ayiku in the very first episode of What if Instead?:

People are often willing to step up and innovate, even when no one opens doors. Dr. Andrews Ayiku, Lecturer and Small and Medium Enterprises Industry Coach at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, Ghana (UPSA), reflects: “You don't need much money to do this. You need a mindset, you need … devotion, you need your effort. You need to be committed to solve this social issue.”

It’s not that money doesn’t matter. It’s that we need to spread that money out, to seed the widespread experimentation required. To be responsive, Dr. Ayiku emphasizes, requires engaging a broad base. “I let the community, the stakeholders, the opinion leaders own this. So it's easier for them to call for a meeting. It's easier to assemble them.”

Click on the image above to listen to the full conversation. To enable more people to create solutions, the way Andrews has done, we’ve now launched Kickstarter to bring the book beyond academic audiences.

Back our Kickstarter campaign

Backers can choose signed copies, t-shirts, participation in our book launch events, and workshops to help bring to your own community, school or organization the kind of experimentation Andrews describes.

In this episode of What If Instead?, hosts Mim Plavin-Masterman and Alejandro Juárez Crawford speak with Dan Lee – startup founder, public policy expert, former White House and Massachusetts government staffer, and U.S. congressional candidate. Dan brings the energy of a startup founder to the political arena, asking: What if courage, care, and lived experience were the new standard for leadership?

For many, running for office seems like something "other people do" – especially in a hyperpartisan political climate. But Dan flipped that script.

Listen to the full episode!

Same Suits, Same Outcomes

• Career politicians often treat their seats as permanent, instead of using them as platforms for change.

• Urgent issues like healthcare, childcare, and fair wages get sidelined by political theater.

• Even when the stakes are life-and-death, one vote can still tip everything the wrong way.

Dan puts it plainly: "Every vote in Congress matters. One vote would have caused that ‘big, beautiful bill’ … to fall apart. That vote was critical, and we lost it."

Who Gets to Lead?

Dan didn’t follow a stereotypical path to public service. He’s the son of working-class immigrants from South Korea. He didn’t have “insider” credentials. But he saw what needed to be done.

"No one tells you you're allowed to do it. But at every turn, I kept asking myself: What if we tried this a little differently? What if we built something that actually worked?"

That question fueled a career that took him to the White House, a governor’s office, the international stage at the World Bank, entrepreneurship, grassroots campaigning, and now to campaigning for federal office himself.

Redefining Public Service

For Dan, politics shouldn't be about maintaining power – it should be about taking risks to fix broken systems. He speaks of his own experience as a caregiver to his mother, who lives with Parkinson’s disease. This raised the stakes for tackling the needless obstacles he faced – and the ones others face, too. He speaks of “kitchen table” issues and basic affordability:

• A federal minimum wage that people can live on

• Guaranteed access to healthcare, not medical debt

• Support for caregivers, not silence

These aren't luxuries. They are, as he puts it, "essential to our right to exist."

So, What if Instead?

What if we stopped waiting for permission to lead? What if courage, not connections, was the prerequisite for public service?

Dan reminds us:

"For the richest country on earth, me being a healthcare guy, no one, absolutely no one should have to die for not being able to afford healthcare."

Listen to the full conversation!

Suggested Reading & Listening

• Dan Lee's Congressional Campaign

• YURA Health

• Run for Something

• The Arena PAC

Join us in rethinking who belongs in power – and what real leadership looks like.

In this episode of What if Instead?, hosts Mim Plavin-Masterman and Alejandro Juárez Crawford speak with Michael Shuman, economist, attorney, author, Main Street Journal publisher, and a leading voice on community economics. Together, they challenge one of the deepest assumptions in economic development: that salvation comes from somewhere else.

For decades, governments and institutions have invested resources into chasing outside corporations. But what if the solution to job creation, resilience, and wealth-building was already right here—in the neighborhood coffee shop, the family-run grocery, the local co-op?

Listen to the full episode!

“You can do about 90% of what people actually consume in a competitive way within any given region of the planet.” – Michael Shuman

Our Priorities Are Backward

• Billions go into subsidies for out-of-town companies that often leave within years.

• Local businesses get crumbs, despite being better at creating jobs and keeping wealth in the community.

• Policy and finance overwhelmingly reward scaling up and global expansion, while ignoring hyperlocal potential.

The Capital is There—but Misplaced

This isn’t just a policy problem. It’s a capital problem. Most Americans’ money is tied up on Wall Street, where it’s disconnected from their communities.

Michael urges us to ask: What if you could invest your retirement funds in your neighbor’s bakery, your local bookstore, or a renewable energy co-op?

He’s spent years helping states and towns create frameworks for this—from local stock exchanges to investment clubs and crowdfunding strategies.

Democratizing Investment

Shuman envisions a system where local people back local businesses. Where citizen investors, not just VCs, direct capital toward the places they live.

With tools like community investment funds, public banks, and self-directed IRAs, this future isn’t just a dream. It’s underway.

“We need to stop pretending local investing is risky and Wall Street is safe. The real risk is doing nothing,” he says.

So, What if Instead?

What if economic development wasn’t about recruiting saviors—but instead recognizing the power of what’s already here? What if finance was reimagined not as extraction, but as connection?

Michael says it best:

“Economic developers believe that wealth is generated when big global companies set up factories, usually manufacturing factories in someone's backyard.”

Listen to the full episode!

Suggested Reading & Listening

• Put Your Money Where Your Life Is – Michael H. Shuman

• The Local Economy Solution – Michael H. Shuman

• The Main Street Journal

• Community Economics at the Post Carbon Institute

• Michael Shuman’s Blog

Join us in rethinking what economy we truly want to build—starting on your own block.

What if Instead … Learning Was About Doing?

Education is supposed to prepare students for the future—but too often, it does the opposite. It traps them in rigid structures, teaching them to memorize, follow instructions, and stay within the lines. But what if learning wasn’t about absorbing failed models for meeting our needs?

In this episode of What if Instead?, hosts Mim Plavin-Masterman and Alejandro Juárez Crawford sit down with Tomás Mora Selva and Wei-Jou Huang. Mora, as co-creator of the Democratizing Innovation Institute, RebelBase, and Youth BCN, develops experiential learning methodologies and enables people from around the world to bring them to new populations. Huang works with Mora to expand the impact of the institute, while studying at the Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University. Together, they explore a radical shift—learning through building, step by step, until something real exists.

The Problem: Education Trains Students to Follow, Not Build

• Traditional education rewards memorization and formulaic problem-solving, but it rarely teaches students how to create solutions from scratch.

• Learning is framed as something students receive rather than something they do.

• As a result, most students don’t feel like they’re in a position to build their future.

The Shift: A Method That Makes Building Normal

Tomás has spent years designing a structured, yet flexible, method for learning by doing. His approach isn’t about feeding students information—it’s about guiding them through a system that turns ideas into real-world solutions.

Through his work at Youth BCN and RebelBase, he’s proving that education doesn’t have to be passive. Instead, students can:

• Take small, manageable steps toward creating something new.

• Learn by testing, refining, and iterating in real-world scenarios.

• Develop skills that lead to real innovation and impact.

This isn’t just an idea—it’s a process. And it’s one anyone can learn. As Wei Jou recounts: "He makes it very normal to say, ‘Okay, you can go first step, second step, third step … and in the end, you can build it. It’s far beyond the courses … a thing is possible to be built and to be solved, to be developed.’"

Education Beyond the Classroom

Wei Jou highlights how this approach reshapes what it means to learn. Unlike traditional education, where knowledge is often passive, this model ensures that students leave with something real—projects, skills, and a mindset that lasts a lifetime.

Wei Jou stresses the power of this even in the most difficult circumstances. She describes a teammate from Afghanistan, where girls are prohibited from pursuing their education: "She became very, very hopeless, but at the same time, she was trying to find another way to learn and grow .… I can see her growth after this entire project. It will have a real lasting effect throughout our life."

So, What if Instead?

What if education wasn’t just about grades and exams, but about building something real? What if we stopped focusing on what students should know and started focusing on what they can create?

Wei Jou puts it best:

"A system where every student can learn and grow by doing, by creating, by actually launching something." – Wei Jou Huang

Full conversation here

What if education wasn’t about absorbing knowledge, but about turning knowledge into something real?

What if the goal wasn’t passing a test, but creating a project, a business, or a movement – a solution that matters?

Teamwork is often described in terms of shared vision and goals. But what about when the real action lies in collaborating with people different from you – such as scientists, when you’re an entrepreneur, or people who bring crucial talent from the other side of the world?

Evelina and Martin have lived this and more. What starts as a discussion about how to collaborate with people from other professional backgrounds, quickly opens up into a vital conversation relevant to anyone who wants to tackle the crises around them.

When a Shared Mission Becomes Magic

• Think about your last team project. Did it flow, or was it a struggle?

• Imagine a team of people from distinct professional and cultural backgrounds. What makes them play and dream together?

• What creates bonds so strong that, even when the work is done, no one wants to leave?

The Glue

Evelina and Martin highlight the glue that holds it all together, when they’re working across large differences in training and perspective. For Evelina, it’s about meaning—being around people who believe in something bigger.

“We got it all wrong,” she says. “The real magic happens when we stop seeing each other as just teammates.”

For Martin, this is about, not traditional authority, but creating an environment where people thrive. The key? Not just working together, but playing together. When this happens, in his experience, people don’t just contribute—they innovate.

Strikingly, the two don’t just apply these points to their own endeavors. They focus on what this kind of collaboration can do for education everywhere.

Martin’s company, Enthela, is an award-winning startup working to keep more nitrogen in the soil using bacteria. He can do what he’s doing, he insists, because of a window Evelina helped open. The two explain how this window created possibilities not just for him, but also for innovators around the world taking on the toughest problems human beings face.

Play, Purpose, and Power

Innovation and collaboration require support, in the form of talented people, needed resources, and methods that work. Martin stresses that the world needs innovation to solve its biggest problems, but many promising ideas struggle to secure funding—especially in places where traditional investors favor quick returns over long-term impact. Evelina emphasizes that without support, even the best ideas struggle to see the light of day. "We can never underestimate the power of networks and how disadvantaged are those who don’t have one."

Tune into the episode to hear what can be done about it.

Listen to the full discussion!

Suggested Reading & Listening

Throughout the conversation, several past episodes, books, and resources were mentioned. Here are some key recommendations:

• Previous What if Instead? Episodes Focused on Regenerative Agriculture and Bridging Differences:

  • "Talking To People Who Think Like Us Has Made Us Stagnant" - A conversation with Trevor Vaughn and Hunter Buffington (part I)

  • "A System Where Local Is the Norm – and We Pay What It Really Costs To Drive Something Hundreds of Miles” - A conversation with Trevor Vaughn and Hunter Buffington (part II)

    • All What if Instead? Podcast episodes are available on the major podcast streaming platforms.

• Projects & Initiatives Mentioned in the Episode:

  • Melodies For Palestine

  • "The Two Way Street: Creating Mindset Change is the Way to Fight" - A Conversation with Nico De Klerk

• Books & Research:

  • Effectuation Theory

  • "The Serendipity Mindset: The Art and Science of Creating Good Luck" (Audiobook) By: Christian Busch

Listen to What if Instead? Podcast!

“We will move from fossil carbon to biological carbon—it’s inevitable. The only question is, will we build the infrastructure in time?”

Joined by hosts Mim Plavin-Masterman and Alejandro Juárez Crawford, Edward takes us through a journey in which biological carbon—not fossil fuels—becomes the foundation for the future.

The Shift We Don’t See

Think of the last plastic container you used, the nylon in your clothes, or everyday painkillers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen. Most of these materials come from fossil fuels. What if, instead, they came from biology? Edward and his team at Synonym believe that’s the future, and they’re building the infrastructure to make it happen.

This brings challenges of its own. Manufacturing bio-based materials at scale is expensive, and traditional investment models aren’t built for it. That’s where the idea of a new asset class comes in.

He explains: “Investment in data centers became a type of, like a real estate asset class or subclass where you have a, it provides certain yield. It's predictable.” Now Edward aims to create an asset class for biomaterials.

In the episode, he explains how this can work and what it will take.

• The world needs to move from fossil carbon to biological carbon—materials made through fermentation and bioengineering.

• The bottleneck? The factories needed to produce these materials don’t exist at scale.

• The solution? A new asset class that will allow private investors, infrastructure funds, and even governments to back this transition, just as they did with data centers and renewable energy.

AI + Biology = A New Age of Manufacturing

And here’s where it gets even more interesting: AI isn’t just writing text or making images. For the biomaterials revolution, it could write DNA.

• AI-driven models like EVO are generating genomic sequences, designing new microbes, and creating organisms that can eat plastic, secrete valuable materials, or even replace petroleum-based chemicals.

• Just like coding software, we may soon be coding life itself—giving us unprecedented control over how materials are made.

So, What if Instead?

What if we could manufacture everything—from collagen to chemicals—without relying on fossil fuels? What if your next pair of sneakers was made with engineered microbes instead of oil? What if plastic-eating bacteria could help clean our planet?

Edward Shenderovich isn’t just imagining this—he’s building it.

Listen to the full conversation!

Listen to the full episode

As the conversation deepens, he highlights the stark contrast between the growing mountains of waste and the untapped potential of auction platforms to mitigate this trend.

The opportunity is massive, Christenson explains:

When I say our market opportunity in Europe, I've often said that about 250 billion euros of assets are sold, used business assets are sold every year. That's really a floor, it's not a ceiling. That floor is representative of just the assets that are currently traded versus all the other assets. It's so much easier to just throw it out into the trash.

We can create a new model for how we handle heavy machinery, to give it a second life. “And as we look at taking this model, we've been able to connect local brands and a global economy .… If we create a simple, easy to use flywheel effect, folks will end up being able to put those assets to use.”

Christenson believes that doing this can move away from a one-life paradigm for the equipment we build.

Let’s forge a resilient future now.

Click here to learn how this can happen

Listen to the episode here

Vulnerabilities to Wildfires and Storms:

Due to their ability to spread rapidly, wildfires don’t just destroy homes; they obliterate communities. Mitigation strategies focus first on removing combustible materials within a 5-foot perimeter of a home. When it comes to hurricanes, simple changes, like installing wind-rated garage doors or using hurricane straps, can be game-changers for preventing catastrophe. Alister emphasises: “A $300 investment in the right garage door can prevent your home from becoming a balloon in a storm.”

Community and Codes:

But how do we get individuals and communities to take these measures? In the US, states like Alabama are leading the way by requiring homes to meet rigorous safety standards. This not only improves safety but also increases property values. But codes and their enforcement vary widely. Awareness of their pivotal importance is uneven at best. You read about the wildfire and the latest storm, but when was the last time you thought about building codes?

Alister dreams of a future where strong building codes are enforced nationwide, making his job obsolete: "The day I hand back my prospectus and say ‘job complete’ is the day every community is fortified against disasters."

Building safety isn’t just about individual homes and the community. According to him, when we mitigate our homes against fire, we protect our neighbour’s houses too.

But how do we change our mindset about risk? For a clue, Alister turns to an activity where attitudes about risk have changed dramatically: smoking.

He describes an experiment one of his teachers did. This teacher didn’t try to change the behaviour of grownups. Instead, he started with middle school kids, aged 11 to 13. The teacher went right to the point, “talking about how your parents are going to die because they smoke cigarettes.” “It was horrifying,” Alister says. A few days later, the same teacher surveyed these kids: how many of you talked to your parents about cigarette smoking this week?”

Over 90 percent had done so.

Alister draws a lesson from this. "Wildfire mitigation isn’t hard. You can teach your parents."

Listen to the full episode for more on how you can contribute to creating disaster-resilient communities. Subscribe to our podcast and newsletter for fresh perspectives and actionable ideas from change-makers around the world.

Let’s forge a resilient future now.

‘Going and doing something’ is where Lucas Rockett Gutterman lives. In a thought-provoking episode of What If Instead?, he sheds light on a striking paradox: we don’t build the power to make change when things go according to plan. Quite the opposite, in fact. 

In entertaining and unsparing terms, Gutterman describes how his own setbacks became fuel for a career combating product obsolescence and e-waste. As director of Public Interest Research Group (PIRG)'s Designed to Last campaign, he takes the throwaway economy head on. As lays out the phases of his journey from a high schooler with big dreams to a college student facing unexpected challenges, to an environmental and social justice advocate, Gutterman powerfully illustrates how apparent setbacks often have secret doors behind them, if we’re willing to look.

Listen to the full conversation!

Shaping Identity Through Unanticipated Pathways

Gutterman describes his early aspirations, which centered around entering Silicon Valley as a programmer, and the disappointment he felt when his plans didn’t unfold as envisioned. At UMass Amherst, he stumbled onto a different avenue: the chance to register voters and work alongside peers to create meaningful change. This endeavor changed his perspective on learning, into one where taking action and engaging with others transforms.

Learning by Doing

Rather than rely on assumptions or preconceived notions, he immersed himself in hands-on activism. Through organizing campaigns, speaking with strangers, and even managing meetings, he developed skills that extended beyond academic knowledge alone. This practical exposure, he explains, reshaped his understanding. It showed him that the most important step in making change is to start. The challenges that arise become the best teacher, as one figures out how to surmount them. 

The Dominant Myth: Elite Institutions vs. Open Participation

In discussing educational paradigms, Gutterman critiques the dominant myths surrounding prestigious institutions. While he acknowledges the advantages elite institutions can bring, he also highlights the constraints that can come with them, when students lack autonomy to initiate change. At UMass, Gutterman found this autonomy, in an environment that empowered students to organize, decide, and lead. His most powerful lessons came from open-source, collaborative environments rather than rigid, structured ones.

Campaigns That Build Leaders, Not Followers

Gutterman touches on his current work, including the Design to Last campaign, which challenges firms producing disposable technology – like donated school Chromebooks that become obsolete, because they can’t be updated. He advocates passionately for products built to last, and aims to end the cycle of unnecessary replacements that harm the environment and burden consumers. Gutterman demonstrates the tangible outcomes that can be achieved, even when taking on giant firms and entrenched interests.

The Broader Picture: Inclusivity in Impactful Learning

In the episode, Gutterman reaches beyond his own journey, focusing on his work to enable others to discover their powers. He discusses the need for structures that support all participants, beyond just the highly motivated or most entrepreneurial individuals. He advocates for collaborative, accessible frameworks that allow everyone, from those dedicating an hour, to those most deeply committed, to take a role. His vision reaffirms the idea that impactful learning and progress come from inclusive, sustainable practices.

"I learned by doing something rather than by reading articles online, thinking I knew so much more than other people." – Lucas Rockett Gutterman

If you find this discussion thought-provoking, make sure to subscribe to our podcast and newsletter for more engaging conversations with inspiring guests. Join us in exploring innovative ideas that enable regular people to ask: “what if instead?” and respond with experiments of their own.

Listen to the full episode!

• English Version

• Versión en Español

• Versão portuguesa

English:

On the newest episode of What If Instead?, Lorraine Smith reflects on her decades of experience consulting with companies on efforts to do some good. She addresses the “chronic challenge within what we might call the mainstream sustainability movement” that helps explain “why there are a lot of really miserable, frustrated, tired, burned-out, exhausted, underfunded people, and/or people doing work that doesn't really work.”

The challenge, she says, [arises when] we think our role is to convince people of something or get them to do something. “If that’s the plan,” Smith says, ”we’re screwed.” 

“Right now most of the economy is served by life,” she argues. “We are extracting life to serve the economy … whether it's human labor, well-being, and time - the economy is sucking that up, using it and spitting out products, services and other things from the other side, and aiming to do so at a profit.”

What would it take, she asks, to flip this on its head, and create an economy in service to life? One that makes people “healthier, within a more thriving ecology?” 

Smith acknowledges how unfamiliar this question can be – but challenges us to imagine what it might look like, and what we might do to create it: “Most industrial decision makers I've met have actually never had the thought. And so when they do, what happens when they go, yeah, economy in service of life, what? What might that look like and what might my role in that be?”

She illustrates her point with the example of electric vehicles (EVs):

“If you were to walk out the door and find the closest 12-year-old who can have this conversation with you and say: ‘hey, buddy, we're looking at making the ecological integrity of this country stronger. What do you think we should do?’”

“Would they say take billions of taxpayer dollars and hand it to the country's wealthiest people, who are preparing to buy new private vehicles, and, net result, have hundreds of thousands of new vehicles on the road? “

“I don't think even the 12-year-old, with zero information about climate change and carbon accounting would say: ‘yeah, you know what we need to do? We need to give rich people billions of our hard-earned taxpayer dollars and put hundreds of thousands of new cars on the road.‘“

“We know what ecological restoration looks and feels like. It does not feel like incentivizing wealthy people to buy more cars, widening lanes of highway, taking all the mineral and metal and resources that [go] into making more private cars.”

Smith recognizes that thinking about this can be painful. For those of us aiming to do something for the planet, choosing to buy more ‘sustainable’ products can give us a sense of agency. But what if, to effect change, we need to change our model more fundamentally? 

“I am not aware of a version of the current model where we make some tweaks and then we're okay. So my short answer is: yeah, you're not naive. You're very well aware of how the current structures function, and … they're functioning well according to how they're designed, frankly.“

For Smith, this is not just an idea. She has developed a methodology for going beyond the claims organizations make, when they say they’re going green. Called “Matereality,” (material + reality), it’s a detective’s guide anyone can use to figure out what companies and industries are really doing. 

Listen to the Full Episode Now!

Español:

En el último episodio de What If Instead?, Lorraine Smith reflexiona con nosotros su experiencia junto a compañías que se esfuerzan por hacer el bien. Smith remarca el “constante desafío del movimiento de sustentabilidad”, y explica “la razón por la cual hay mucha gente miserable, frustrada, cansada, y agotada, que a pesar de sus esfuerzos, no ven frutos.”

El verdadero desafío radica en que, si nosotros pensamos que nuestro rol es persuadir a otros para que tomen ciertas acciones, Smith advierte: “Si ese es el plan, estamos acabados.”

“Ahora mismo, la vida está al servicio de la economía,” Ella declara. “Estamos extrayendo vida para alimentar la economía… ya sea a través de mano de obra, el bienestar personal, el tiempo- la economía lo absorbe, lo procesa y lo expulsa en forma de productos y servicios destinados a generar ganancias.”

Ante esta realidad, Smith se pregunta: ¿qué se necesitaría para revertir este sistema y crear una economía que sirva a la vida. Un sistema “dentro de una ecología próspera y saludable.”

Reconociendo la peculiaridad de esta pregunta, nos desafía a imaginar un nuevo escenario y qué podríamos hacer nosotros para generarlo: “La mayoría de los gestores industriales que he conocido nunca han contemplado esta posibilidad. Y cuando lo hacen, se preguntan: ‘La economía y servir a la vida, ¿cómo? ¿Cómo se vería eso y cuál sería mi rol?’”

Para ilustrar su punto, Smith presenta un ejemplo sobre la incorporación de vehículos automáticos:

“Pregúntale a un niño de 12 años: ‘Queremos reforzar la integridad ecológica del país. ¿Qué creés que deberíamos hacer?’

¿Diría el niño que deberíamos otorgar billones de dólares de los contribuyentes a las personas más ricas del país, quienes sin duda comprarían nuevos vehículos para uso privado, resultando en la incorporación de miles de autos en las rutas?

Dudo que incluso un niño de 12 años- sin ningún conocimiento sobre el cambio climático o la medición del carbono- responda: ‘Sí, ¿sabes qué deberíamos hacer? Tenemos que darle a las personas ricas billones de nuestros impuestos y llenar las rutas de autos nuevos.’

La restauración ecológica, sabemos, no se logra incentivando a los ya privilegiados a adquirir más vehículos, expandiendo las autopistas, o extrayendo minerales y metales y… recursos para construir más autos privados. Eso no es restauración ecológica.”

Smith entiende el dolor que provoca esta forma de pensar. Aquellos que aspiramos a mejorar nuestro planeta, encontramos en la elección de productos “sustentables” una sensación de poder y eficacia. Pero, ¿y si para generar un verdadero cambio necesitamos reformar nuestros modelos fundamentales?

“De una versión del modelo actual, donde sólo se requieren pequeñas reformas para estar bien, no estoy al tanto. No, usted no es ingenuo. Sabe cómo funcionan las estructuras actuales. Y, considerando su diseño inicial, honestamente, funcionan muy bien.”

Según Smith, esto no es simplemente una idea. Lorraine B. Smith ha desarrollado un método que va más allá de las declaraciones eco-friendly de las compañías. Matereality (su nombre juega con las palabras “material” y “realidad”) es una guía para aquellos detectives que desean descubrir qué hay realmente detrás de las compañías e industrias que se autodenominan “sustentables”.

Escucha el Episodio Completo!

Português:

No episódio mais recente de What If Instead?, Lorraine Smith reflete sobre suas décadas de experiência consultando empresas em seus esforços para fazer o bem. Ela aborda o "desafio crônico dentro do movimento mainstream da sustentabilidade" que explica "por que há tantas pessoas realmente infelizes, frustradas, cansadas, esgotadas, sem recursos ou pessoas fazendo trabalhos que não funcionam de verdade."

O desafio, ela diz, é pensar que nossa função é convencer ou fazer as pessoas agirem. "Se esse for o plano," Smith diz, "estamos ferrados."

"Neste momento, a maior parte da economia é servida pela vida," ela argumenta. "Estamos extraindo vida para servir à economia... seja trabalho humano, bem-estar, tempo – o mundo além do humano ao nosso redor, a economia está sugando tudo, transformando em produtos e serviços, sempre visando o lucro."

O que seria necessário, ela pergunta, para virar isso de cabeça para baixo e criar uma economia a serviço da vida? Uma que torne as pessoas "mais saudáveis, dentro de uma ecologia mais próspera?"

Smith reconhece como essa pergunta pode ser incomum – mas nos desafia a imaginar como isso seria – e o que poderíamos fazer para criá-la: "A maioria dos executivos corporativos que conheci nunca teve esse pensamento. E então quando têm, o que acontece quando eles pensam, sim, economia a serviço da vida, o quê? Como isso seria e qual seria meu papel nisso?"

Ela ilustra seu ponto com o exemplo dos veículos elétricos (VEs):

“Se você saísse pela porta e encontrasse o primeiro jovem de 12 anos que pudesse ter essa conversa com você e dissesse: ‘ei, amigo, estamos pensando em tornar a integridade ecológica deste país mais forte. O que você acha que deveríamos fazer?’

Será que eles diriam para pegar bilhões de dólares dos contribuintes e entregar às pessoas... mais ricas do país, prontos para comprar carros novos, e, como resultado final, ter centenas de milhares de novos veículos na estrada?

Eu não acho que mesmo um jovem de 12 anos – sem nenhuma formação sobre mudanças climáticas, contabilidade de carbono... diria: ‘sim, sabe o que precisamos fazer? Precisamos dar aos ricos bilhões dos nossos dólares suados de impostos e colocar centenas de milhares de carros novos na estrada.’

Sabemos como a restauração ecológica se parece e como ela é. Não se parece com incentivar pessoas ricas a comprar mais carros, alargar faixas de rodovia, extrair todos os minerais e metais e... recursos que vão para fazer mais carros particulares.”

Smith reconhece que é difícil encarar essa realidade. Para aqueles de nós que buscamos fazer algo pelo planeta, escolher produtos mais 'sustentáveis' pode nos dar uma sensação de autonomia. Mas e se, para efetuar mudanças, precisarmos mudar nosso modelo de forma mais fundamental?

Não dá pra consertar o modelo atual com retoques superficiais. Então minha resposta curta é, sim, você não é ingênuo. Você está muito bem ciente de como as estruturas atuais funcionam. E elas estão funcionando bem de acordo com como foram projetadas, francamente.

Para Smith, isso não é apenas uma ideia. Ela desenvolveu uma metodologia que vai além das relações públicas das organizações que dizem que estão se tornando verdes. Chamada de "matereality" (como em material + realidade), é um guia investigativo que qualquer pessoa pode usar para descobrir o que as empresas e indústrias estão realmente fazendo.

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In this episode, we dive into a thought-provoking conversation with New England EPA Regional Director David Cash. In his insightful discussion, Cash explores how we often find ourselves constrained by the systems, frameworks, and rules we've inherited. These boundaries can limit innovation, but by asking ‘what if, instead’, especially around clean energy, we create space for new ideas, alternative paths, and unexplored opportunities. This question opens doors to possibilities that traditional methods and thinking might overlook.

Listen to the Full Episode Here!

Shifting Perspectives

In our discussion, Cash underscores the importance of reframing issues. Instead of asking how we can improve an existing situation, he encourages us to think about alternatives that might completely revolutionize how we view a problem. For example, in conversations about sustainability, we may focus on minimizing waste, but what if we designed systems where waste doesn’t exist at all? This shift in perspective could apply to various aspects of our lives—work, technology, society, and beyond. It’s not just about solving problems better, but about reimagining the whole landscape of what is possible.

Impact on Society and Innovation

Cash argues that adopting this mindset can significantly impact innovation, especially in industries driven by rigid systems. From technology to design and public policy, the ability to question the status quo  has the potential to disrupt traditional thinking and fuel breakthrough solutions.

“One of the ‘what ifs’ I asked was what if we simultaneously treated climate change as the urgent crisis it is as well as the enormous opportunity it is, in the context of bringing environmental justice to communities that have been overburdened and underserved… What if we more collectively did? I think one of the reasons I skip to work every day is that I work in an administration that is treating it [climate change] with urgency but with the notion of opportunity this has to be about bringing equity where it has not been brought before ”

Practical Takeaways

Challenge Conventional Wisdom: The first step is to question the assumptions you’ve always taken for granted. Why do we do things this way? Could there be a better approach? 

Encourage Open Thinking: Innovation thrives in environments where people feel free to challenge the status quo. Leaders must create spaces for those conversations to happen.

Think Big, Not Incrementally: Real change happens when you completely rethink what’s possible.

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Listen to Part 1 of the episiode

In this two episode conversation as part of the What if Instead? podcast, Hunter Buffington and Trevor Vaughn represent the convergence of farming policy, sustainability, innovation, and technology. Buffington, an industrial hemp policy expert and Director of Agriculture Policy Solutions, operates at the intersection of food systems, climate action, and regulatory frameworks. Vaughn, co-founder of the High Plains Farming Initiative, focuses on transforming waste into valuable products that benefit farmers. Their work centers around creating sustainable, profitable farming communities while tackling broader challenges of climate change and resource management. Together, they explore how to empower farmers, foster collaboration between science and agriculture, and redefine traditional agricultural paradigms.Buffington emphasizes that our current approach to agricultural systems is not sustainable. She remarks,

We recognize that we can’t keep doing the same things the same way… most people are deeply unsatisfied or unhappy with the state of our world right now… How do we embolden and empower the farmers to bring their knowledge to the forefront?… connect them with science in a way that’s meaningful… and maybe save the planet because that’s a reality.

This perspective underscores the urgency of rethinking agricultural practices and integrating scientific advancements to address global challenges. Vaughn echoes this sentiment, using cotton as a metaphor for the complexity and interconnectedness of agricultural systems:

…cotton isn’t what you think it is. It’s all these other things… It’s at the backbone of civilization… Let’s let King Cotton be King Cotton… but as long as cotton is grown with dicamba-resistant GMO seeds and pesticides… we’re forcing farmers to the edge of the cliff.

Vaughn’s commentary on cotton highlights both traditional farming practices and the need for a paradigm shift towards more sustainable, holistic approaches. Buffington further challenges the conventional focus on monoculture, particularly in large-scale agriculture:

…this idea that you’re gonna… focus on a mono-crop at a million acres… most of our farmers are farming 10,000 acres… Every margin counts… everything that comes off that cotton… has to be marginalized so that there’s a profit opportunity for the farmer.

Listen to part 2 of the episode

She critiques the cycle of resource depletion and environmental degradation caused by conventional farming methods, advocating for a re-evaluation of how we manage soil, water, and agricultural inputs. Buffington also stresses the importance of staying local to reduce environmental impact and enhance sustainability:

…the second that you transport anything over 100 miles… the fuel, the rubber, the asphalt… eats any kind of carbon advantage… it’s all transportation… and then it’s the chemicals… But we also have to incentivize them by making it easy, keeping it close, and then commoditizing it.

Localizing the supply chain minimizes carbon emissions and strengthens local economies by creating jobs and fostering closer relationships between farmers and their communities. Vaughn supports this vision, pointing out the potential of combining old and new agricultural techniques to create resilient, profitable small-scale farming operations:

…a new model emerging here, based off of old techniques… good old-fashioned manure composting… and other new breakthrough… technologies… the profitability of these small farmers is on a whole other scale.

Vaughn’s vision for the future includes creating diverse, sustainable communities where agriculture and urban development coexist harmoniously, driven by a commitment to healing the land and fostering inclusive growth.Finally, Vaughn envisions a future where circular systems, creativity, and heart-centered approaches lead to a new way of living and working together:…we can’t create that new world… without… a lot of creatives, a lot of people that really are coming from a heart-centered place and not an extractive consumption place

… getting back onto the land… having our families be our neighbors again… I want that… to be a really diverse set of kids and moms… Mescalero Apache kids… Comanches… black folks from the Houston area… migrants from Ghana, from Mexico, from Venezuela.

Tune into the episodes to hear the conversation:

Talking To People Who Think Like Us Has Made Us Stagnant | A conversation with Trevor Vaughn and Hunter Buffington | What If Instead? Podcast with Alejandro Juárez Crawford and Miriam Plavin-Masterman

A System Where Local Is the Norm – and We Pay What It Really Costs To Drive Something Hundreds of Miles | A conversation with Trevor Vaughn and Hunter Buffington | What If Instead? Podcast with Alejandro Juárez Crawford and Miriam Plavin-Masterman

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In the eighth episode of the “What if Instead?” podcast, cohosts Alejandro Juárez Crawford and Mim Plavin-Masterman interview Ben Soltoff, the ecosystem builder-in-residence at the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. Soltoff focuses on guiding students through the complexities of entrepreneurship, particularly when it comes to launching climate solutions. This involves doing e-ship well – but it also entails a shift in how we think about climate innovation. For example, we don’t always think of words like “affordable” when it comes to green products. Soltoff insists that we must: 

You can’t just build the cool thing. You have to build the useful thing, the affordable thing, the functional thing…you’re not going to know those criteria until you talk to people.

Going even further, Soltoff says that the value of an MBA program lies in harnessing technology to create tangible impact:

The whole point of having an MBA program, a management program at a place like MIT is to think about the business applications of technology…not just how do you make money from it, but how do you turn technology into something that has impact in the world.

To do that, the tech needs to get off the shelf, and into people’s hands:

But a lot of MIT technology just sits on a shelf…sits in the pages of a research journal, sits in these IP logs. And part of our goal is to help folks explore how to bring that out to the world.

To get there, Soltoff highlights the necessity of going beyond building solutions in isolation and emphasizes the critical role of engaging directly with potential customers. This involves a deep dive into understanding what makes a product useful, affordable, and functional from the customer’s viewpoint.

To achieve this, Soltoff highlights the value of open-ended questions for overcoming confirmation bias, encouraging students to focus on understanding problems rather than leading conversations toward preconceived solutions. This approach helps uncover deeper insights into customers’ needs and challenges.

Part of it is being open-ended. It’s not just not asking follow-on questions. It’s making sure that that initial question is as open as possible.

This goes against what for many of us is a deeply ingrained habit of ‘leading the witness’ to push the solution we’ve hit on.

A lot of folks want to lead the conversation in a certain direction…don’t bring that solution in front of the people that you’re talking to. What you want to uncover is the problems…the worst possible questions are, you know, would you use this thing if we were to build it?

To address climate change, Soltoff emphasizes, we’ve got to break down broad public problems into specific customer problems that can be addressed through entrepreneurial ventures. A large-scale issue like climate change requires identifying smaller, manageable problems that entrepreneurs can tackle effectively.

Climate change is a very public problem. It’s something that we experience globally…but it’s not a narrow enough problem. It’s not a bite-sized problem that you can tackle with a single entrepreneurial venture. So to go from a big public problem like climate change to a private problem that’s experienced by a specific customer…there’s a journey to do that for climate.

We’ll never get there by taking the superhighway, as it were. Instead, Soltoff emphasizes, we’ve got to focus on the “dirt road” of entrepreneurship, highlighting the necessity of early exploration before reaching more structured stages of development. This metaphor underscores the importance of navigating the initial, often uncharted, phases of entrepreneurial ventures:

We’ve started to call [this] the dirt road…it doesn’t just apply to climate, it can apply to health and education as well. The idea is that, you know, we teach entrepreneurship, we’ve kind of paved this road. It’s not a superhighway necessarily, but there’s at least a paved road that you can navigate once you know how. But that dirt road before it, we don’t have a lot of resources…students love that exploration and that early exploration is a key first stage of the journey.

By enabling people to do this, Soltoff argues, we can achieve ‘biodiversity’ not just in the natural world, but in the vital ecosystem of climate innovation. Tune into the episode to find out how.

Bringing Biodiversity to the Innovation Ecosystem | A conversation with Ben Soltoff | What If Instead? Podcast with Alejandro Juárez Crawford and Miriam Plavin-Masterman

For those interested in further exploring topics discussed in this episode, Soltoff has shared several valuable links: Soltoff’s forthcoming book on Climate Entrepreneurship:

https://climateandenergystartups.com/

Additional Links:

• Disciplined Entrepreneurship

• The Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship

• Orbit MIT