Ep. 71 Life as a Scrappy Startup Exec: Doni Curkendall and The Better Meat Co.
Release Date: 08/01/2021
Is Plant-Based Meat about to Get Chunkier? Amos Golan of Chunk Foods Thinks So
Business for Good Podcast
For decades, the alt-meat movement has focused on ground meats like sausages, burgers, nuggets, sticks, and more. That’s because it’s just a lot less difficult to create these ground products than a more structured product like a steak or chicken breast. Still difficult, but less difficult. Several companies now though are trying to reach that holy grail of whole cut products, and one of them is Chunk Foods, hailing from the holy land of Israel. As you’ll hear in this episode, Amos Golan was a guy fascinated by chemistry. He tried a couple business ideas that didn’t take off...
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“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...
info_outlineDoni Curkendall was born and raised in Mexico, came to the US as a seven-year-old, and when she entered the workforce started as a receptionist at Goodwill. As the years went on, Doni was continually promoted, got her MBA, and eventually was a Vice President at Goodwill overseeing more than 200 employees. But two and a half years ago, as fate would have it, Doni and I began exploring whether Doni could help run my own then-one-year-old, The Better Meat Co.
For the past 2+ years, I’ve often said that I may be the face of our company, but Doni is the backbone, serving as our Executive Vice President and overseeing all of our operations and logistics. She’s truly integral to the enterprise, and in this episode, Doni shares her secrets about what she’s looking for in job applicants, what the transition from nonprofit exec to scrappy startup has been like, how she thinks about compensation packages in Startupland, and more.
It’s a compelling insider look at startup life, so listen up, and I’m sure you’ll be as impressed with Doni as I am.
Discussed in this episode
- Past episodes with Goodwill Industries, Your Choice birth control, and Toni Okamoto.
- Doni has been inspired by Maurice Hilleman.
- Doni recommends both How I Built This and Radiolab.
More about Doni Curkendall
Doni's driving passion in life is to use the power of business to help solve social problems. Before serving as the Executive Vice President of The Better Meat Co., as VP of Operations of Goodwill Industries of Sacramento Valley and Northern Nevada, Doni worked to help people with disadvantages achieve self-sufficiency. By the end of her nine years at Goodwill, she was managing operations for $10 million in annual revenue and oversaw a team of 250 employees. She earned her MBA from California State University, during which time she also served as a career mentor for Women's Empowerment, an organization helping homeless women gain meaningful employment. In her spare time, Doni reads Spanish literature, hikes with her dog Penny Lane, and, as her dog's name implies, loves listening to The Beatles.