Ep. 68 | Using Tech to Drive Change: Google.org and Brigitte Hoyer Gosselink
Release Date: 06/15/2021
“Meat” the Meat Industry’s Journalist: Lisa Keefe and Meatingplace
Business for Good Podcast
If you follow the meat or the alt-meat industry closely, chances are high that you’ve read Lisa Keefe’s work. As the editor-in-chief of both and now too, Lisa has been both reporting on and editorializing on all things meat for the past 15 years. She’s also the creator of the and is a frequent commentator on everything from trends to controversies and more in the meat space. While she’s not a meat company executive, as a meat media (meat-ia?) executive, Lisa’s spent much of her career watching what’s happening as far as plant-based and cultivated meat goes, as well as animal...
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This Dude Vasectomized Himself! Meet Dr. Esgar Guarin, the Evangelical Vasectomist
Business for Good Podcast
Our guest in this episode, , is on a crusade to promote vasectomies, and even gave up his previous medical career to focus on simply being a full-time vasectomist as part of his commitment to making the world a better place. That’s right: his entire business is one thing and one thing only: helping men take greater responsibility in their reproductive lives and averting unwanted pregnancies.
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Is Alt-Protein a National Security Issue? Rep. Ro Khanna Thinks So
Business for Good Podcast
Many already believe that fostering an alt-protein industry in the US is important for helping the environment, but is it also going to protect American national security? We’re already importing much of our clean energy tech from Asia, but will we soon be importing our clean protein from other parts of the world, too? , a Democrat from California representing Silicon Valley, doesn’t want that to happen. He’s not only to invest in alt-protein, he’s recently in Congress calling on the Director of National Intelligence to submit an intelligence report on the effects of increased...
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Reproductive Freedom in the Developing World: Anna Christina Thorsheim and Family Empowerment Media
Business for Good Podcast
While it’s a charity, Family Empowerment Media tries to run like a business in that it relies heavily on measurable, evidence-based strategies that produce a significant return on their investment. Though the return they’re seeking isn’t a financial one, but rather is in the form of the social change they’re working to create, mainly by empowering the use of family planning by families that are seeking to have fewer children in developing African nations. Started in 2020, the sole mission of the group is to create radio content featuring Nigerian families talking about their...
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Oat-to-Market Strategy: Mike Messersmith and the Oatly Story
Business for Good Podcast
If you’ve been listening to the show for some time, you know that replacing animals in the food system is a topic very close to my heart. While the meat and egg industries in the grand picture have still been largely unaffected by plant-based competitors, that’s not the case in the milk industry, where the explosion of plant-based milks has very tangibly cut into demand for cow’s milk. Gone are the days when almond milk and soy milk were for vegans—now they’re for everyone. But just a few years ago, a new entrant into the plant-based milk world emerged. In 2015 oat milk was far...
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Ep. 86 | From Tech to Table: Richard Munson and the Food & Ag Tech Revolution
Business for Good Podcast
I try to read any new book that comes out on the topic, and that includes Richard Munson’s new book . I really enjoyed reading this book by someone who’s far more well-known for his deep-dive biographies of visionaries like Nikola Tesla and Jacque Cousteau, but now has written a new book featuring dozens of entrepreneurs seeking to create a more sustainable food system. And they’re doing this not by returning to 19th century agriculture, but by embracing 21st century food and agriculture technology. In this interview we discuss everything from how new tech can displace old jobs, why some...
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Ep. 85 | A Prime Pivot: Why Kimberlie Le and Prime Roots Are Going All in on Deli Meats
Business for Good Podcast
For those of you who’ve been enjoying Business for Good for some time, today’s guest may sound familiar. That’s because Kim Le is not only our guest on Episode 85, but she was also our guest on our 49th episode back in 2020. If you’ve not heard it, I do recommend you go back and check it out, which will be helpful in seeing just how much has changed for this young startup which was cofounded by undergrads and has raised $20 million so far. As you’ll hear in this episode, is undergoing quite a transformation as it settles into its new 20,000 square foot production facility in...
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Ep. 84 | Investing in a Post-Animal Economy: Elysabeth Alfano and VegTech ETF
Business for Good Podcast
One of the most common questions I get from listeners is: how can I invest in companies you feature on the show? Well, most of them are startups backed by VC dollars, and that means the average retail investor isn’t typically going to be able to invest in these early stage private companies. But what if there were a way to invest money in an index fund that only included companies actively working to replace the exploitation of animals in our economy? It turns out that there is now such a fund, and it was co-founded by . Perhaps most well-known as the host of , Elysabeth has now...
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Ep. 83 | Will Fungi Free Fish? Anne Palermo is Betting on Fermentation at Aqua Cultured Foods
Business for Good Podcast
Humanity’s relentless demand for seafood is emptying the oceans with little end in sight. Does the path to freeing fish from us run through fungi fermentation? That’s exactly what Anne Palermo is betting. As you’ll hear in this interview, Anne is a former asset manager at Morgan Stanley who decided mid-career that she wanted to start her own chocolate company. After growing her first startup to millions in revenue, this mom of three got hooked on the need for animal-free protein and pivoted to start a new company focused on saving the oceans. Anne began growing mycelium—the...
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Ep. 82 | Engineering Our Way Out of Single-Use Plastics: Troy Swope and the Footprint Story
Business for Good Podcast
You know when you get a food product like those Beyond Meat sausages and see that instead of plastic, it’s in one of those biodegradable trays or bowls? Have you ever wondered how they do that? I mean, that bowl needs to repel oil and water from its surface without getting soggy, but still be actually biodegradable. Seems impossible. Well, it turns out that this feat isn’t only a great technological innovation that helps replace plastics; it’s also a great business, as Troy Swope has proven. Founded in 2014, Troy's company Footprint grew from humble roots to now having 4,000...
info_outlineHow often do you use Google’s services? If you’re like me, it’s many times per hour. So you may think you know all about Google.com. But how much do you know about Google.org?
In short, Google.org is the company’s foundation that gives away $200M a year in grants both to social enterprise startups and to nonprofit organizations seeking to use technology to advance their missions. For all you startup founders out there, note that these are dilution-free non-equity grants, or essentially free money as opposed to investments, so listen up.
And in this episode, we’ve got Google.org’s director of product impact, Brigitte Hoyer Gosselink. In it, she tells us about what kinds of companies and charities they support and why, and she discusses what kinds of grant applications she wishes they saw more of.
For example, we hear about Google.org’s work to collect emissions data and make it public, to put up eco-acoustic sensors in rainforests to help catch those who are poaching or deforesting, and even just to give money to those in developing countries who need it the most.
So take a listen and just maybe you’ll be working with Brigitte and Google.org yourself in the near future.
Discussed in this episode
- WattTime: Tech solutions to automate emissions reduction.
- Carbon Tracker: Aligning markets to shift investment away from fossil fuels.
- Climate Trace: Publicizing the sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
- Rainforest Connection: Using eco-acoustics to prevent poaching and deforestation.
- Give Directly: Giving money directly to those who need it.
- Brigitte recommends reading both Just Mercy and Chasing the Flame.
- Google.org's climate podcast, which you can find here.
More about Brigitte Hoyer Gosselink
Brigitte Hoyer Gosselink is Head of Product Impact at Google.org, where she leads initiatives that leverage emerging technologies and Google’s expertise to address global challenges. She is currently focused on how AI can be used for social impact through efforts like the $25M Google AI Impact Challenge.
She previously led programs focused on how technology can improve global education, innovation for people with disabilities, and crisis response.
Prior to Google.org, Brigitte was a strategy consultant for nonprofits and foundations at The Bridgespan Group and worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development and International Relief and Development, focusing on innovative approaches in post-conflict transitions. She has an MBA from the Yale School of Management and a BS in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia.