Mission Driven Business
Brian chats with serial entrepreneur and SendGrid founder Isaac Saldana about his new venture Memo, which helps people build authentic and trustworthy personal brands. On the episode, Isaac opens up about how his introversion initially made it difficult for him to sell his expertise online, and how he's now using his experiences to help other entrepreneurs and creatives effectively showcase their talents. He also gives tips for being a leader with your natural personality and for using your values to navigate difficult business decisions. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses move...
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Brian chats with Elliot Greenberger, a new entrepreneur who recently pivoted from corporate leadership to business coaching. On the episode, Elliot opens up about how he felt stuck and drained before he started his business, even though he had a successful career and a fulfilling family life. He also shares the practical steps he took to launch his coaching firm and tips for creating an effective sales process that aligns with your business's mission. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses are born out of a sense of purpose. Every business has a purpose, whether the leaders of a company...
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Brian chats with Spider Perry, founder of the inclusive clothing company NerdyKeppie. Spider initially created the company as a side business to provide LGBTQ Judaica for their daughter and now runs NerdyKeppie full-time with the help of several part-time employees. On the episode, Spider shares how the business has evolved throughout its growth. They also list their top tips for keeping a business afloat and emphasize the importance of delegation. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses create the world you want to live in. Spider defines a mission-driven business as a company that...
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Brian chats with serial entrepreneur, social innovator, and author Miki Agrawal. As the founder of disruptive ventures Tushy, Thinx, and Wild, Miki is known for challenging the status quo and driving cultural change. She is also the author of best-selling books Do Cool Sh*t and Disrupt-Her. On the episode, Miki dives deep into her experience building multiple 100-million-dollar businesses. She also shares the questions she asks before starting a new business and opens up about how some of her hardest times have led to growth. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses do well and good. Miki...
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Brian Thompson Financial just celebrated its seventh birthday. In this inspirational special episode, Brian reflects on the lessons he’s learned as a mission-driven business owner over the past seven years. He also shares the moments that led him to starting his own company, critical turning points, and factors he attributes to his success. Episode Highlights: 7 Lessons 1. Celebrate your success. Starting a business is scary and involves a lot of risk. To stay grateful and humble, it’s important to celebrate what you’ve built. “I’ve found taking moments to appreciate and celebrate...
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Brian chats with professional basketball player-turned-entrepreneur Jori Davis. Jori started her professional career in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever. Her decade-long global basketball career spanned six countries and sparked her desire to help other elite athletes own their legacy. Jori’s new venture, Wevolv, builds on her passion for empowering global athletes by creating a decentralized platform for global athletes to manage their careers and lifestyles. On the episode, Jori chats about what keeps her motivated as an athlete and business owner. She also opens up about some of the...
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Brian chats with three-time tech founder and CEO Neha Sampat. Her latest venture, Contentstack, is a category-leading Composable Digital Experience Platform used by Mitsubishi Electric, Burberry, Icelandair, Leesa, and more. Neha has raised $169 million in capital for Contentstack over the past three years, including a recent $80 million Series C round. On the episode, Neha provides a wealth of strategies and tactics for building multiple successful businesses, including the importance of aligning a mission with company values. She also shares why she is a relentless advocate for achieving...
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Brian chats with RHEA Services founder and “accidental business owner” Sarah Kendrick. Sarah started her career as a music therapist for children and adults with developmental disabilities but later realized the need for care and support in the bereavement process while helping her family after the death of her grandma. Bringing together the skills she developed during her years as a therapist, she founded RHEA Services to simplify the life transitions pre-planning and estate closure processes. On the episode, Sarah walks listeners through her journey of becoming an entrepreneur, including...
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Brian chats with long-time friend and fellow lawyer-turned-entrepreneur Jesmond Riggins. Jesmond founded Legislative Logistics, a legislative consulting company for small and medium-sized businesses. On the episode, Jesmond tells his inspiring story from graduating high school near the bottom of his class to graduating from law school and now starting his own business. He also provides insight into the motivational mindset that helps him to continue to achieve success. Episode Highlights Who you were does not determine who you will be. By the time Jesmond reached high school, he was entirely...
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Brian chats with Krish Himmatramka, the founder of Do Amore, which sells ethically sourced engagement rings to further its mission of providing clean water to people in developing countries. On the episode, Krish shares his journey from mechanical engineer to mission-driven entrepreneur, including his experience on the hit TV show Shark Tank. He also provides insights into building a for-profit brand that makes an impact and details how he scaled his business from an $18,000 investment to netting $40 million in sales. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses change lives. Krish defines a...
info_outlineBrian Thompson chats with Coss Marte, a former inmate turned business magnate. Coss is the founder of CONBODY, the first fitness method developed in prison. Through CONBODY and his two other ventures, Coss is fulfilling his mission to aid and uplift the formerly incarcerated community.
On the episode, Coss shares how he found his passion for fitness after losing 70 pounds during his incarceration as well as his struggle to start a company as someone in and out of the prison system. He also discusses how his “figure it out and survive” motto has spurred him to create three ventures, including one in the legal cannabis industry.
Episode Highlights
Mission-driven businesses do good from front to back.
Coss defines a mission-driven business as one that doesn’t just say it's doing good upfront -- but also does something good on the back end.
“You want to make money and do good as well,” he said.
For Coss, the tripartite mission of CONBODY is to destigmatize the formerly incarcerated community, ease their transition back to society, and change the criminal justice system -- all barriers he’s faced as a formerly incarcerated person himself.
“I saw the pain I had to go through, and I really didn’t want people who were my friend or my people that were coming out of the system to go through that,” he said.
You don’t need a formal business plan.
Coss created his business plan for CONBODY while in solitary confinement. He didn’t have a formal mission, list of values, or vision statement. But he did write down the extensive workout he used to get fit while incarcerated and how he could turn that into an opportunity.
“I did what I wrote,” Coss said. “I came home and I started doing it in the local park where I grew up, and eventually, one person turned to two, to three, to five, to six, and my mission started evolving.”
If you don’t ask, you don’t eat.
Coss’s mother always told him: If you don’t ask, you don’t eat. It’s a strategy he took to heart when developing CONBODY.
“When I came home, I validated by getting one customer in the street, and just stopping them and talking to them and telling them what I’m doing,” Coss said. “I got a gazillion nos, but fortunately enough, I’ve had a few yeses.”
Coss eagerly shares his mother’s advice with fellow entrepreneurs who have smart but unvalidated business plans. That includes Ivy League MBA students who have incredible, technical business ideas but have yet to ask whether anybody wants their products.
“You gotta ask,” Coss said. “If you go to the market and nobody wants this shit you just lost a lot of time.”
Resources + Links
- CONBODY: Website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube
- Second Chance Studios: Website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
- CONBUD: Instagram, Facebook, Forbes write up
- Conbody the book
- Coss’s Social Media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn
- Brian’s Social Media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook
About Brian and the Mission Driven Business Podcast
Brian Thompson, JD/CFP, is a tax attorney and certified financial planner who specializes in providing comprehensive financial planning to LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs who run mission-driven businesses. The Mission Driven Business podcast was born out of his passion for helping social entrepreneurs create businesses with purpose and profit.
On the podcast, Brian talks with diverse entrepreneurs and the people who support them. Listeners hear stories of experiences, strength, and hope and get practical advice to help them build businesses that might just change the world, too.