Hi, I'm Paul Zelizer and I'm passionate about making the world better through social entrepreneurship. Each week, I interview top social entrepreneurs with the goal to help increase your positive impact, profitability and quality of life. You can find out more at www.awarepreneurs.com.
Carlos Parea is the CEO & Co-founder of Terra Vera, a company dedicated to making it easier for farmers to grow valuable crops without the use of synthetic pesticides that are often linked to major environmental damage and health issues in your food. Their solutions are people, plant, pollinator and planet friendly and can unlock significant profitability. Carlos is particularly excited about the work they are doing to help save honeybees. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Terra Vera site Carlos Parea on LinkedIn MIOX Water Technologies The Ground Beneath Us book Paul's Strategy Sessions Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode
9/17/24 • 52:23
Levar Jackson is the Founder and CEO of the Yogh Group, a sustainable and impactful hotel development and management group. Yogh Group is making great strides to be the vanguard of hospitality and sustainability as society transitions to an interconnected, intelligent, and low carbon world. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: The Yogh Group site Levar Jackson on LinkedIn Paul's Strategy Sessions Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode
9/10/24 • 48:13
David Gaines is the CEO and Chief Visionary for La Terza Coffee and the author of the newly released book Radical Business, The Root of Your Work and How It Can Change the World. I'm also honored to say David interviewed me in October of last year for the Social Enterprise Alliance podcast where he has just recently stepped down from being Board Chair after a long term there, and we also got to connect in person when David was recently here in Albuquerque for an event called Creating a Community of Business for Good, which David was the key speaker and organizer and helped us connect with each other in just a beautiful way. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: La Terza Coffee site Radical Business book Social Enterprise Alliance Social Enterprise Alliance Podcast New Mexico for Good site Paul’s Social Enterprise Alliance Podcast episode Paul's Strategy Sessions Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode
9/3/24 • 53:57
This week on the pod is our monthly solo episode with Paul Zelizer. Paul is one of the first business coaches to specialize in working with social entrepreneurs and the host of the popular Awarepreneurs podcast. This episode explores 4 topics to consider about sustainably pacing the the growth of your social enterprise as well as factors to pay attention to if you find yourself needing to make a pivot to attain more social enterprise growth. The 4 key strategies for this episode: Understanding Your Customer and Market Knowing When to Scale—and When Not To The Role of Funding on Pace of Growth When to Reevaluate or Pivot
8/27/24 • 29:47
Ward Hendon is an investor, teacher and entrepreneur. His career has included a legal practice, starting and exiting a legal tech company, teaching MBA, legal, and incarcerated individuals, and impact investing. He is currently a General Partner in Dangerous Ventures, a VC firm that backs companies building a more sustainable and resilient feature. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Dangerous Ventures site Enchanted Mushrooms site New Mexico State Investment Council For Batteries and Beer Meetup, reach out Gridflow New Mexico Leep Program (Sandia and Los Alamos Labs) Raven Indigenous Capital Awarepreneurs Episode Paul's Strategy Sessions Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode
8/20/24 • 51:04
Megan Young Gamble Bio Megan Young Gamble is a Is a packaging and product management consultant with over 10 years of experience turning ideas into standout consumer products for top beauty, wellness, and personal care brands,. Known as The Project ExecutionHER, Megan transform your company's pain points into custom solutions, manages your project from start to finish and brings a 360-degree perspective on packaging and product development.
8/13/24 • 54:46
Daniel Smith is the founder of Keepingly, a platform that helps homeowners maintain manage and grow their property value with over 20 years of experience in digital marketing and consulting. Daniel has transformed how organizations in the Caribbean and the US position their products online. At Keepingly, Daniel uses his personal experience as a homeowner to create innovative solutions for the housing industry. His work earned him recognition as a RIS Media real estate newsmaker in 2023. As a futurist, Daniel is dedicated to leveraging technology to address the key issues in the housing market focusing on homeowner sustainability, equity and fairness. His recent Fast Company article outlines policy changes needed to make home ownership more equitable - from addressing appraisal biases to enhancing credit programs. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Keepingly site Black Chamber of New Mexico episode Daniel’s Fast Company article Daniel on LinkedIn Paul's Strategy Sessions Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode
8/6/24 • 52:04
After 6.5 years and 337 episodes, we're taking a break for June & July. We will return to our regular weekly schedule on August 6th.
6/11/24 • 01:47
Megan Bott is the Community & Business Impact Manager at Positive Energy Solar, a Certified B Corp in New Mexico. Today, Positive Energy employs over 120 people including 75 employee owners and has completed over 5000 solar installations throughout New Mexico with very high customer satisfaction (at the time of this interview, they had 73 Google reviews with an average of 4.9/5 rating). This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Positive Energy Solar site B Corp site Awarepreneurs episode on Intrapreneurship Awarepreneurs core values What is community solar? Amicus Solar Cooperative site CNM College Paul's Strategy Sessions Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode
6/4/24 • 49:59
Miyoko is an epicurean activist out to create justice for animals, people and planet by connecting our palate to our future. VegNews of her “The enormously talented chef/TV host/singer/athlete/she-can-do-anything Miyoko Schinner is nothing short of a genius.” She is the Founder of Miyoko’s Creamery, one of the best known vegan butter and cheese companies in the world. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Miyoko’s Creamery site 2023 VegNews article on Miyoko Vegan cooking classes in Italy Vegan Japan Tour Miyoko’s YouTube Channel Research on Vegan Diet’s Climate Impact Bootstrapping article Paul's Strategy Sessions Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode
5/28/24 • 48:08
Catherine loves to help people, teams and organizations thrive. She is the CEO, Author and Founder of The Awakened Company. Catherine helps organizations create healthy corporate cultures through executive coaching, team strategy sessions, speaking and online webinars. She holds an MBA from Queen’s University and is an award winning Profit 500 Founder. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: The Awakened Company site Awakended Company certification Awakened Company book Awakened Company card deck Dr. Julian Barling site Paul's Strategy Sessions Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode
5/21/24 • 49:29
This week on the pod is our monthly solo episode with Paul Zelizer. Paul is one of the first business coaches to specialize in working with social entrepreneurs and the host of the popular Awarepreneurs podcast. This episode explore offer 7 questions to help you decide if joining a particular board or saying yes to specific volunteer opportunities is a good use of your time and resources. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of our host, Zelizer Consulting Services. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Karla Causey episode The UN's Sustainable Development Goals Paul's Strategy Sessions Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode
5/14/24 • 31:28
Our guest this week on the pod is Rodney Williams. Rodney is the Co-Founder and President of SoLo, a financial services company enabling community banking and lending solutions for everyday Americans. 82% of their members live in underserved communities. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: SoLo site Rodney on Instagram Rodney on LinkedIn Paul's Strategy Sessions Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode
5/7/24 • 51:02
Our guest this week on the pod is Sherry Lassiter. Sherry is the President and CEO of the Fab Foundation, a network of over 2700 digital fabrication facilities in 150 countries. The goal of a Fab Lab is to provide access to the tools, the knowledge and the financial means to allow anyone to make almost anything thereby creating opportunities to improve lives and livelihoods around the world. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business.
4/30/24 • 42:10
Our guest this week on the pod is Irina Gerry. Irina is the Chief Marketing Officer of Change Foods, a precision fermentation food tech company creating animal-free dairy products. Prior to joining Change Foods, Irina worked in 2 of the largest plant-based food and beverage brands - Silk and So Delicious. Irina holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Change Foods site Irina Gerry TedX Talk Bored Cow milk Brave Robot Ice Cream Better Whey PCDN Career Campus Social Change Career Podcast Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode Book a Strategy Session with Paul
4/23/24 • 50:32
This week on the pod is our monthly solo episode with Paul Zelizer. Paul is one of the first business coaches to specialize in working with social entrepreneurs and the host of the popular Awarepreneurs podcast. This episode explore 5 strategies to engage Gen Z in impact workplaces. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of our host, Zelizer Consulting Services. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Social Enterprise Alliance site Radical Business by David Gaines University of New Mexico's Business for Good program Intrapreneurship episode with Art Bell The UN's Sustainable Development Goals Paul's Strategy Sessions Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode
4/16/24 • 35:09
Our guest this week on the pod is Karla Causey. Karla grew up in Albuquerque and graduated from the University of New Mexico. She had a 25 year career at Sandia National Labs doing HR and contracts work and then went to the Public Service Company of New Mexico where she also worked in HR. She then thought she was retired - until the Board Chair of the Black Chamber of New Mexico asked her to step in as President. In the 18 months that Karla has been at the helm, the organization’s membership has grown 300% and today it’s a highly esteemed organization in the New Mexico ecosystem. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Black Chamber of New Mexico site US Black Chambers site Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode Book a Strategy Session with Paul
4/9/24 • 47:08
Our guest this week on the pod is Angel Lance. Angel is a visionary founder and CEO with an impressive track record of creating and leading successful companies that solve big problems. In over 2 decades of serial entrepreneurship, she has launched and scaled 4 self-funded, profitable enterprises from the ground up, demonstrating an unparcelled business acumen and commitment to living her passion for environmental stewardship. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Motive Power site SB 253 bill info Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Sir Ronald Cohen's site Carbon Collective site Navigating Challenges in the Social Impact Startup Space blog Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode Book a Strategy Session with Paul
4/2/24 • 44:55
Our guest this week on the pod is Sarah Sterling. Sarah is the Executive Director of Entrepreneurship for SOCAP, which brings together social entrepreneurs, investors, foundation leaders, government leaders and more for live and digital experiences. The goal is to accelerate the movement to a more just and sustainable economy. She has worked with and trained international organizations and accelerators such as Mercy Corps, Oxfam International, Village Capital, Swiss EP and Agora Partnerships. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: SOCAP site WarriorSage Executive Black Belt training Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship site Outliers book #opendoorclimate on LinkedIn Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode Book a Strategy Session with Paul
3/19/24 • 57:28
This week on the pod is our monthly solo episode with Paul Zelizer. Paul is one of the first business coaches to specialize in working with social entrepreneurs and the host of the popular Awarepreneurs podcast. The topic is how to navigate 3 common challenges social impact startups face in 2024. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of our host, Zelizer Consulting Services. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Crunchbase article on less startup funding The Economist article on climate backlash CNN article on attacks on DEI The Lean Startup Johnny Crowder on LinkedIn #OpenDoorClimate on LinkedIn Paul's Strategy Sessions Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode
3/12/24 • 28:43
Our guest this week on the pod is Satyen Raja. Satyen is the Founder and CEO of WarriorSage and is a renowned Teacher, Mentor and Guide for his ability to move companies beyond the old business model of struggle into a new paradigm of passion, purpose, freedom and the magic of flow. Satyen has been founding, building and scaling businesses for over 30 years. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: WarriorSage site WarriorSage retreats Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode Book a Strategy Session with Paul
3/5/24 • 52:34
Our guest this week on the pod is Tamika Bickman. Tamika is the Founder and CEO of TB Media Group. She's an award winning journalist and podcast host who helps CSR and ESG leaders build brand trust and loyalty through non-fiction video production. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: TB Media Group site Tamika's podcast Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode Book a Strategy Session with Paul
2/27/24 • 52:46
Our guest this week on the pod is Sandra Nomoto. At 25 years old, Sandra founded Conscious Public Relations Inc, an award-winning vitural agency that certified as a B Corp. After a decade in business, she wrote The Only Public Relations Guide You'll Ever Need in 2019. More recently, Sandra pivoted to working with vegan businesses and authors, Her new book is Vegan Marketing Success Stories. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Book a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Vegan Marketing Success Stories book The Only Public Relations Guide You'll Ever Need book Sandra's site Sandra on Instagram Vegan Hospitality site Goddess Garden site Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode Book a Strategy Session with Paul
2/20/24 • 52:17
This week on the pod is our monthly solo episode with Paul Zelizer. Paul is one of the first business coaches to specialize in working with social entrepreneurs and the host of the popular Awarepreneurs podcast. The topic is how to sustain profitability in uncertain times. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of our host, Zelizer Consulting Services. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Wordtracker Ubersuggest Craig Zelizer site Marissa Nordstrom site Paul's Strategy Sessions Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode
2/13/24 • 52:17
Our guest this week on the pod is Satyam Vyas. Satyam is a visionary social entrepreneur who is the Founder and CEO of Arthan and Climate Asia. Arthan is an orgaization with a bold vision to transform the social impact sector in India and Asia. And Climate Asia is provides people with opportunities for impactful climate careers and the latest insights what is happening in the sector. They have 50,000+ professionals in their network and have listed 5,000+ jobs in the past year. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Book a Strategy Session if you could use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Arthan site Climate Asia site Satyam on LinkedIn Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode Book a Strategy Session with Paul
2/6/24 • 56:45
Our guest this week on the pod is Diego Tomasino. Diego is an executive coach who specializes in business diversity, the founder of Coach Map and the regional director of Casin & Asociados. His latest book COME OUT!: The Ultimate Guide for Inclusivity in the Business was released in English in September 2023. This episode is sponsored by the Awarepreneurs Impact Podcast Accelerator - because your message deserves to be heard! Resources mentioned in this episode include: Casin & Asociados site Coach Map site COME OUT! book Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico site Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode Impact Podcast Accelerator
1/30/24 • 52:15
Our guest this week on the pod is Cecilia Pacheco. Cecilia is the Program Manager - Tribal Entrepreneurship at the University of New Mexico's Rainforest Innovations and the host of the Indigenous Entrepreneurs Podcast. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of our host, Zelizer Consulting Services. Resources mentioned in this episode include: UNM's Rainforest Innovations Tribal Entrepreneurship Program UNM Rainforest Innovations Indigenous Entrepreneurs podcast Smart Tribe 275 Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode Paul's Strategy Sessions
1/23/24 • 50:30
This week on the pod is our monthly solo episode with Paul Zelizer. Paul is one of the first business coaches to specialize in working with social entrepreneurs and the host of the popular Awarepreneurs podcast. The topic is how to launch a social impact product or service effectively and without burnout. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of our host, Zelizer Consulting Services. Resources mentioned in this episode include: MIT Blog on Why Launches Fail Genevieve Chavez Mitchell's book Google Glass info Info on Acequias Wisdom 2.0 Market Research Awarepreneurs episode Seth Godin Paul's Albuquerque Business Coach page Paul's Strategy Sessions Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode
1/16/24 • 40:43
Our guest this week on the pod is Erika Allen. She is the Co-Founder and CEO-Strategic Development & Programs for the Urban Grower’s Collective and the President of Green ERA Education and Co-Owner of Green ERA Sustainability Partners. She has been involved in the community food and justice space since 2002. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of our host, Zelizer Consulting Services. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Urban Growers Collective site Green ERA Chicago site Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode Paul's Strategy Sessions Topics: Community food, urban gardening, community agriculture
1/9/24 • 55:05
Our guest this week on the pod is Zoë Dove-Many. Zoë is on a mission to get climate solutions out of the lab and into the mainstream with the power of storytelling. As a brand strategist and designer her well crafted pitch decks helped raise a total of $22.8M in 2022. She writes a weekly newsletter on storytelling, brand strategy and climate solutions at Helloë Creative. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of our host, Zelizer Consulting Services. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Helloë Creative site Free Pitch Deck Guide Enduring Planet site Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode Paul's Strategy Sessions
12/19/23 • 50:23