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Dylan wanted to let you know that local asparagus is right around the corner, perhaps this week! Show Notes Dylan Baird is the co-founder and CEO of Philly FoodWorks He moved to Philly in 2009 to attend Temple University Dylan created an urban farm in 2010, while at Urban Tree Connection, (UTC) a nonprofit working to revitalize Philadelphia's marginalized neighborhoods A lot was happening surrounding urban farming in Philadelphia in 2010 Their goal was to create a financially sustainable urban farming business UTC also created a farmer's market and the Neighborhood Foods Co-op, both of which still exist today However, they pivoted away from urban farming upon realizing they'd be dependent on grants This pivot is what launched Philly FoodWorks Dylan and his co-founder realized distribution was a problem for local farmers In farming, the product doesn't always come in exactly when you need it and it doesn't wait until you have a sale They created a local distribution hub for local farmers You receive a produce box Essentially, you can pick what you'd like to receive, or you let them choose it for you Pick it up at a designated pick-up point Or have it delivered to your home They also work with farmers on the supply-side to ensure they are growing things that Philly FoodWorks customers will want to purchase One of their larger farmers also acts as a hub for other farmers with less yield Without the hub near the farms of Philadelphia, it wouldn't be economically viable for the low-yield-farmers to drive into Philadelphia and sell their product Because larger companies like Amazon have entered the produce delivery space, many CSA's (Community Supported Agriculture) and urban farms have closed For example, the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal is closing after pioneering the local food movement in Philly Philly FoodWorks' competitive edge is their bright team constantly tightening the process and improving efficiency Another edge is their personal relationships with their producers Dylan half-jokes that it's important to support local agriculture to prevent the destruction of the world He admits that large distribution companies are more efficient with fossil fuel use However, it's about creating a food system over which people have some control He points out that food is the core of every major holiday Their next step is to partner with other organizations with similar missions in other areas to create an equitable East-coast food distribution hub Links Website info@phillyfoodworks.com Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn

Show Notes Jeremy Rettig is the founder of Adjusting to 6 Figures, an online platform for all things freelance insurance adjusting Greg Donworth is the COO Jeremy discovered insurance adjusting through bartending in a hotel During Hurricane Irene, some guests told him freelance catastrophe insurance adjusters can make over $100,000 in a few months He searched online to disprove it, didn't find anything Jeremy took the plunge and soon, was making more money than his friends He found himself picking up tabs and friends not being able to go on vacation with him He decided to train some friends, however, the idea didn't scale This was the impetus for Adjusting to 6 Figures It is an online platform for adjusters or people curious about it They offer: Online courses A networking platform (with curated and vetted individuals providing more accurate information than you'd find on a Facebook group or a LinkedIn group) Live mentor calls An adjuster finder (for insurers and adjusters to link up) The industry is facing a sharp talent decline because there is a lot of confusion surrounding entering the industry The average age of independent adjusters is around 58 For example, during Hurricane Harvey and Irma, the market was hugely underserved There are many kinds of insurance adjusters, but we'll use homeowners adjusters as an example: The adjuster is the person who comes to your home and assesses the damage They might work for an insurer such as State Farm, Geico, etc and be a salaried employee or they may be a freelancer who was contracted by the company The freelancers are contacted by an adjusting company, essentially a middleman between freelancers and insurance companies Good and efficient adjusters can process more claims in less time, giving them the ability to make more money Adjusting to 6 Figures has almost NO competition There is only one other website offering similar training, but it isn't as sleek and user-friendly Their big competitive edge is curated content delivered on demand in an engaging way The goal is to engage their audience in a genuine way to make learning about adjusting more interesting and fun Links Websites Adjusting to 6 Figures Adjuster Uniersity Adjustment Factory Adjuster Finder Facebook LinkedIn Instagram

Show Notes Ryan Kuck is the Executive Director of Greensgrow, a Philadelphia CSA, and agricultural-community-hub CSA stands for community supported agriculture Greensgrow is a nonprofit, but they operate under social entrepreneurship principles, so the majority of their funding is self-generating and doesn't come from grants Some of their offerings: Self-guided tours Farm share programs (creating a solid, local supply chain and connecting customers with farms) Demonstrations Workshops and other events and much more Greensgrow operated as a for-profit hydroponic lettuce farm for its first two years They differentiate themselves from other CSAs in several ways: Greensgrow offers a wide variety of services, which most CSAs don't They also "put people in gardens" as Ryan puts it - many community gardens are very guarded and if you're not a member, you have no access, but Greensgrow feels they have a responsibility to use their land to give back to the community They also act as a connector of customers and local farms, emboldening the local economy and improving the strength of the supply chain Ryan mentioned Greensgrow abides by social entrepreneurship principles It boils down to using business for social benefit For example, the often mentioned triple-bottom-line mentality Greensgrow's next step is continuing to explore new avenues for redefining urban farming and setting the standards They just opened a satellite location in West Philly To get involved: Join their farm-share program to get awesome produce, proteins, milk, bread and more from local farms Volunteer Walk around their space to get inspired Links Website Facebook Instagram Twitter Soil Generation B-Lab

Show Notes Bruce Marable is the co-founder and CEO of Employee Cycle, an HR technology company Bruce received his B.A. in Communication Studies from West Chester University of Pennsylvania Bruce always knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur In college, he would buy wholesale t-shirts, bring them back to campus, and sell them at a markup While in college, Bruce wanted to be in entertainment and managed Patti Labelle's Philadelphia recording studio But, while still in college, he fell in love with tech and created University Bay Bruce says that it failed gloriously because it taught he and his cofounders that they have the ability to build something from the ground up After graduation, he got a job as a media planner at Tierney Communications, an advertising, and PR firm He went on to work at Razor Fish (now Sapient Razor Fish) as a search engine marketer Bruce has founded a number of other startups: Defined Clarity (Web-design and Dev), gatherDocs (an applicant tracking system) which merged with Efficient Hire), finally landing on Employee Cycle Employee Cycle plugs into the disparate HR systems (payroll, scheduling, and others) and aggregates the data into one centralized location, organizing it intelligently, allowing the HR Manager to make smart, data-driven decisions Employee Cycle flips the old HR model of spending 90% of the time on manually generating reports and only 10% analyzing on its head Bruce uses the analogy of a car dashboard The dashboard in your car displays only relevant information - your check engine light only comes on if there is a problem with your engine However, when it does come on, it doesn't display the full error code, you need to go to a mechanic to get it diagnosed Employee Cycle's competitive edge is their sleek and optimized User Interface (UI)/User Experience (UE) Bruce thinks the biggest shake-up to HR is going to come from the future of work The gig economy, the side hustle, the grind, whatever you call it - more people are picking up odd jobs and irregular work and that is going to have interesting implications for Human Resources and building culture Another shake-up is going to come from what some are calling the 4th Industrial Revolution (AI, robotics, virtual reality, etc) -- how do HR departments keep up when 25% of the jobs current high school students will be applying for, don't exist yet Bruce's biggest HR tip is onboarding: Not just the paperwork and the software modules new-hires need to go through, but the actual experience of being brought on-board the company and making them feel like they're a part of the team For example, a Google study found that turnover is much lower when the manager is there with the employee on Day 1 Even things like letting the new employee know where the coffee machine is and how to use it can be huge Employee Cycle has several next steps: They are looking to build-out their service and create more APIs and plugins They're also working to build a sharing ability, to share the data in Slack and other platforms Links Website Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Morgan Lewis Philly Startup Leaders Talent @2030

Apply (as an entrepreneur OR an aunt / uncle) Show Notes Inja Coates is the Client Relationship Manager for The Enterprise Center's Capital Corporation, which assists local businesses seeking capital She is also the Loan Fund Manager for The Circle of Aunt's and Uncle's, a funding source for Philadelphia entrepreneurs in need of a small loan Inja recieved her B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology from Haverford College, with a concentration in fine arts and photography Because of her majors and concentrations in college, Inja was very interested in the arts and social change She worked for several organizations including Philadelphia Horticultural Society's Green program and The Village of Arts and Humanities From there, Inja entered the world of media She worked with the coalition for Public Access TV in Philadelphia - a battle which they eventually won She co-founded The Independent Media Center of Philadelphia This was in the wake of the 2000 Republican National Convention and in response to the alternative news coverage she saw provided in Seattle after protests around world trade policy From there, Media Tank was born, which was focused more long term on media education and policy in a civic engagement way Inja is the Loan Fund Manager for the Circle of Aunts and Uncles She helps recruit applicants, review the applications, and support coordination for their current borrowers The Circle was founded by Judy Wicks, founder of White Dog Cafe It was founded because Judy realized that she wouldn't have been able to start her business if not for support (financial and otherwise) from her friends She realized many potential entrepreneurs don't have access to the social and financial captial they need and wanted to help There are about 30 Aunts and Uncles at the moment They hold quarterly informal gatherings to meet the entrepreneurs and review the applications The Circle provides: Financial Captial Social Capital Quarterly Gatherings The Circle differentiates themselves from other lending institutions by providing a social network and a level of informality It is called "The Circle of Aunts and Uncles" because there is supposed to be a familial relationship there They also fund businesses which meet basic needs - food, clothing, etc. The businesses have a triple bottom-line mentality The loans are up to $12,000 and have fairly generous interest rates Their next step is to provide more support to their entrepreneurs If you are interested in becoming a member of their family (as a lender or an entrepreneur) visit their website, linked below Local Resources WORC Entrepreneur Works The Enterprise Center Small Business Administration Links thecircleofauntsanduncles@gmail.com Website

Free Trial! Show Notes Tim Bennett is the founder and CEO of Bennett Compost Tim attended Temple University for his bachelor's degree After graduation, he worked in the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) He went to The Fox School of Business while working at the SBDC He knew he wanted to start a business, but didn't have an idea He knew he wanted to have a positive impact beyond the bottom line Tim didn't know much about composting before starting Bennett Compost He was living in a two-story apartment and didn't have a way to compost He spoke to some other people who felt similarly The idea for Bennett Compost began here He started in the summer of 2009 by handing out flyers and other small marketing efforts He had one client in the first week It was a slow build over the summer In the fall, he participated in Green Fest, putting most of the money he'd made from the business into securing a table there He had hundreds of people sign up for his list and converted many into clients He continued working at Temple while ramping up the business for 11 months before taking the full-time plunge Tim says that he prefers the "bootstrappy" way of doing things if its possible for a business For the uninitiated (myself included), composting is a way of recycling organic matter back into nutrient-rich soil Among other things, the soil can fertilize plants Bennett Compost provides the consumer with a bucket to put their food scraps and other compostable materials in and picks it up once per week at the low cost of $18 per month They also have commercial clients - the price varies based on the amount of waste and required pickups per week They are now scaling their retail business They sell soil directly to customers and in select locations across Philadelphia See the "links" section at the bottom for a list of locations The "getting paid on both ends" model is the only way the business can work because essentially, residential consumers are only paying about $4 per pickup Their biggest competition is actually The City of Philadelphia Even though the city isn't composting waste, they are collecting it for free Although the cost of trash removal is built into property tax, the consumer doesn't see the direct cost The composting movement in Philadelphia has been driven by local farms and smaller companies like Bennett Compost This is counter to the movement in most other places, which is dominated by larger players Their growth has been steady each year since 2009 However, they saw huge residential growth in 2012, because they sold almost all their commercial accounts to focus on the residential business They didn't have the proper pricing model in place for commercial clients, so they niched down They are now back up to about 75 commercial clients In addition to scaling their commercial and residential service, Bennett Compost is now looking into expanding their soil production Local Resources The Dirt Factory Saul High School (Roxborough) Share Food Program Philabundance Links Bennett Compost info@bennettcompost.com Facebook Instagram Urban Jungle Vault and Vine

Sign up for FREE today! (You only pay commission on sales, so if you're not making money, you're not paying) Show Notes Tyler Wiest is the co-founder and CEO of Ontray Ontray is a food technology company which puts the power of delivery back in the hands of restaurant owners Within minutes, restaurants can have a boilerplate ordering website Ontray is much cheaper than most competitors - only 5% of sales with the option of pushing the cost to the customer in the form of a service fee Tyler's co-founder is Jarvus Innovations, a local consulting firm/startup incubator Tyler received his Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Entrepreneurship from Boston University in 2013 He has always been entrepreneurial He started his first business while still in high school, a website about fitness biking He transitioned into PuppyHideout.com, an e-commerce platform for dog crates He was a systems architect at Jarvus Innovations but wasn't satisfied with the client work aspect Tyler didn't get to grow with the company and see how things developed He mentioned this to the folks at Jarvus and they passed the Ontray project onto him He and another developer had to build the whole system from scratch - a very tedious process Ontray's growth has been very good the past few months Tyler attributes it finding the right niche for the product A new service they provide is giving delivery providers access to the network, setting up a white-label "GrubHub," in a sense Ontray is also looking to provide data insights to their customers - instead of simply giving them raw data, they want to architect a system that can give them insights and deliverables from the data Local Resources Jarvus Innovations Indy Hall Links Ontray Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn

This interview was conducted in the parlor during business hours, so there is ambient noise Show Notes Spencer Philips is the owner of Scoop Deville He's had an unusual journey Spencer graduated with his B.S in Political Science from Penn in 2008 He frequented Scoop Deville, which was on campus at the time and fell in love (pun intended, this is also where he took his now-wife on their first or second date) After graduating, he moved to D.C for work and visited Scoop Deville every time he came home When he moved back to Philadelphia, he always brought friends from out of town to the shop One day, while raving about it to some friends, they asked why he wasn't in the ice cream business He put together a pitch for then owner Matthew Shore The two hit it off and formed a partnership, although Spencer is now full owner Scoop Deville is unique for its flavor combinations They buy their flavors from Bassetts Ice Cream They have a curated menu of recommended combinations and toppings and also let you create your own There is an almost drill-like machine that combines flavors For example, Scoop Deville makes strawberry ice cream by taking vanilla ice cream and putting strawberries through the press - the ice cream would be pink and taste like strawberry, but wouldn't have any strawberry chunks in it I had the PB Cookie Crunch It starts as cookies and cream, gets mixed with Captain Crunch, peanut butter cookie-dough and real peanut butter, and it is amazing! Almost all of Spencer's business education came on the job He took a few courses at Penn Spencer has real grit Besides accounting, he did everything himself for the first 3.5 years For the first 2.5 years, he was also working a full-time job His first-year full time, the company saw 35% growth He now has two other managers who assist with operations, sales, and marketing Scoop Deville is opening a second location at the newly redesigned Bourse Food Hall across from Independence Mall It will be a kiosk-style set up with communal seating The new location will be opening in late June or early July 2018 Spencer says staffing has been his biggest issue He also thinks he blew through too much capital for the first three years Scoop Deville does great events They partnered with a sorority at Penn to fundraise with chocolate covered strawberries on Valentine's Day They also have a partnership with ChocAmo Cookie Cups - their founder was Episode 7! Scoop Deville sells cookie cups in their parlor They also have a cookie cup flight with 1) Ice Cream 2) Edible Cookie Dough 3) Hot Chocolate They have also catered events for the Philadelphia Eagles video department Local Resources Midtown Village Merchant's Association Links Website spencer@scoopdeville.com Facebook Instagram Twitter

Get your meals here! Not in their delivery zone? Sign up to be notified when you are! Show Notes Jared is the founder and CEO of simply good jars simply good jars is a hyper-local, zero-waste, chef-curated meal delivery service They create chef-curated meals which are delivered to offices in Center City They source all ingredients from 25 local farms The meals are stored in recyclable plastic jars and are guaranteed to be fresh for 5 days if properly stored Jared has had a winding path: He is originally from Delaware Went to Culinary Institute of America, NYC Went down to Florida International University, Miami to continue his hospitality management career He finished his education at Fox School of Business with his Masters in Entrepreneurship and Innovation He has worked in kitchens such as: Iron Hill Brewery Ritz Carlton Hotels Honeygrow Tria And more His connection to food started when he was a child, helping his grandmother cook He's always had an entrepreneurial spirit When he was 13, he wrote a full business plan for a video delivery service similar to Netflix and was approved for a loan at a local bank His parents decided not to put up the collateral for the loan But four years later, Netflix was created As mentioned above, simply good jars is zero-waste The jars are fully recyclable They also use the milk-man model and come to pick up empty jars when dropping off new meals For each jar picked up, they donate a meal to Philadbundance The meals are very reasonably priced Only $8.66 per meal This translated to $26 per week His time in restaurants and witnessing massive food waste influenced Jared simply good jars has been in operation since November 2017 They are rapidly growing Jared's team grew from himself a few weeks ago, to six people now Before he hired his team, he did everything Concept Marketing Website design Pricing And much, much more For sustainability, Jared recommends being conscientious about the products you purchase For example, some stores sell pre-cut oranges which are all in plastic containers, generating tons of waste In May, they are piloting a vending machine style distribution system Their pilot locations will be at the Benjamin's Desk coworking space near Washington Square, Ronald McDonald House, and an office in Berwyn They will be in office buildings, airports, hospitals, etc There will be a return slot as well to keep the zero-waste initiative Local Resources Philabundance The Enterpise Center Dorris Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises Links simply good jars Instagram Facebook Twitter Benjamin's Desk 1776

Show Notes Christopher Jacobs is the CEO of Communally (previously Solutions for Progress Chris described their previous name as "wonderfully meaningless." He came on board as the Chief Operating Officer in 2007. He was excited to work for a company doing good in the world After about 3 years, he became president (2010) The founder and then CEO's interests were shifting in early 2013 and Chris became CEO in mid-2013 Communally was founded 25 years ago They were a research organization, but found themselves sitting on a mountain of data Communally is now a Software as a Service Company (SaaS) They lease out their software platform to accredited individuals and groups The Benefit Bank (TBB), their flagship service, grew out of their collection of data TBB streamlines the tax filing and benefit eligibility screening process A client meets with a counselor to complete and file their state and federal taxes using Communally's data collection system After the taxes, they are asked if they currently have any social benefits (many people think they aren't eligible) The counselor performs a "quick-check" using the information collected on tax forms to determine eligibility for benefit programs Once eligibility is determined, the client will be asked if they'd like to come back with additional documents to file for various programs Until this point, the client hasn't had to fill out a single form Another benefit is that the client can go somewhere homely and fill out the form with a friendly neighbor instead of a government office Shortly after Chris became CEO, they were approached by the Center for Financial Services Innovation and they funded Communally's newer service, My Budget Coach The creator of My Budget Coach's framework lost its funding, so the idea was given to Communally My Budget Coach is a one-on-one, web-based financial coaching system The goal is to help people change their financial behavior Instead of providing temporary assistance, My Budget Coach works to lift people sustainably out of poverty The coach helps the client create a set of goals (both financial and life) Everything from paying down debt to opening a bank account They provide up to twelve sessions Sessions are monthly, so up to one year However, the client has access to the service forever, so they can create their own budget in the future Real behavior change is noticeable between 4 and 5 sessions This is observed in a reduction in debt, increase in savings, etc. They administer The University of Wisonsin-Madinson's Financial Stability Index once per session This is a report card for finance and behavior Their pilot program was evaluated by University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Financial Security (the creators of the index) and found: An average 35% increase on the index 35 - 40% had lower debt It also made no difference whether or not the coach and client were meeting in person, or interacting remotely Chris says that one of Communally's major edges is scaling anti-poverty solutions They are able to reach more people than most other organizations in their field Chris is very passionate about their client-first mentality He says they build system with three people in mind - 1) The client 2) The aid/counselor 3) The body receiving the application This is very different from other services, which don't generally consider what is best for the client Most systems which poor individuals interact with consider what the receiver (usually the State) needs to receive They have consciously worked to put the client needs at the forefront of every decision they make Chris also prides Communally on their mixing of technology and people It is often hard to distill real-world problems into a set of programmable solutions and interface between social services and technologists, but Communally has been successful Their approach has been to cross-train their staff to have enough understanding to frame their questions/solutions from the best perspective This means that their policy researchers understand enough about coding to identify the problem in a correctable way, and their programmers understand enough about policy to code the solution effectively Chris's philosophy is that someone is "sustainably out of poverty" when they begin to have real choices in their lives Choices about where they live, what they eat, etc. One of the biggest challenges is tackling rural poverty, which is a huge issue in Western Pennsylvania Chris believes the remote aspect of My Budget Coach could help make a big impact in some of those rural counties Communally is both a B-Corp and a Public Benefit Corporation In 2017, Communally placed in the top 10% of all B-Corps with a score of 133 The next step for Communally is "Cloud Coach" (working title) They intend to expand the remote use of their service Local Resources Sustainable Business Network Best for PHL B-Corp Impact PHL Links Association for Financial Coaches, Planning, and Education Center for Financial Services Innovation University of Wisonsin-Madison Center for Financial Security Communally Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Show Notes Christopher Jacobs is the CEO of Communally (previously Solutions for Progress Chris described their previous name as "wonderfully meaningless." He came on board as the Chief Operating Officer in 2007. He was excited to work for a company doing good in the world After about 3 years, he became president (2010) The founder and then CEO's interests were shifting in early 2013 and Chris became CEO in mid-2013 Communally was founded 25 years ago They were a research organization, but found themselves sitting on a mountain of data Communally is now a Software as a Service Company (SaaS) They lease out their software platform to accredited individuals and groups The Benefit Bank (TBB), their flagship service, grew out of their collection of data TBB streamlines the tax filing and benefit eligibility screening process A client meets with a counselor to complete and file their state and federal taxes using Communally's data collection system After the taxes, they are asked if they currently have any social benefits (many people think they aren't eligible) The counselor performs a "quick-check" using the information collected on tax forms to determine eligibility for benefit programs Once eligibility is determined, the client will be asked if they'd like to come back with additional documents to file for various programs Until this point, the client hasn't had to fill out a single form Another benefit is that the client can go somewhere homely and fill out the form with a friendly neighbor instead of a government office Shortly after Chris became CEO, they were approached by the Center for Financial Services Innovation and they funded Communally's newer service, My Budget Coach The creator of My Budget Coach's framework lost its funding, so the idea was given to Communally My Budget Coach is a one-on-one, web-based financial coaching system The goal is to help people change their financial behavior Instead of providing temporary assistance, My Budget Coach works to lift people sustainably out of poverty The coach helps the client create a set of goals (both financial and life) Everything from paying down debt to opening a bank account They provide up to twelve sessions Sessions are monthly, so up to one year However, the client has access to the service forever, so they can create their own budget in the future Real behavior change is noticeable between 4 and 5 sessions This is observed in a reduction in debt, increase in savings, etc. They administer The University of Wisonsin-Madinson's Financial Stability Index once per session This is a report card for finance and behavior Their pilot program was evaluated by University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Financial Security (the creators of the index) and found: An average 35% increase on the index 35 - 40% had lower debt It also made no difference whether or not the coach and client were meeting in person, or interacting remotely Chris says that one of Communally's major edges is scaling anti-poverty solutions They are able to reach more people than most other organizations in their field Chris is very passionate about their client-first mentality He says they build system with three people in mind - 1) The client 2) The aid/counselor 3) The body receiving the application This is very different from other services, which don't generally consider what is best for the client Most systems which poor individuals interact with consider what the receiver (usually the State) needs to receive They have consciously worked to put the client needs at the forefront of every decision they make Chris also prides Communally on their mixing of technology and people It is often hard to distill real-world problems into a set of programmable solutions and interface between social services and technologists, but Communally has been successful Their approach has been to cross-train their staff to have enough understanding to frame their questions/solutions from the best perspective This means that their policy researchers understand enough about coding to identify the problem in a correctable way, and their programmers understand enough about policy to code the solution effectively Chris's philosophy is that someone is "sustainably out of poverty" when they begin to have real choices in their lives Choices about where they live, what they eat, etc. One of the biggest challenges is tackling rural poverty, which is a huge issue in Western Pennsylvania Chris believes the remote aspect of My Budget Coach could help make a big impact in some of those rural counties Communally is both a B-Corp and a Public Benefit Corporation In 2017, Communally placed in the top 10% of all B-Corps with a score of 133 The next step for Communally is "Cloud Coach" (working title) They intend to expand the remote use of their service Local Resources Sustainable Business Network Best for PHL B-Corp Impact PHL Links Association for Financial Coaches, Planning, and Education Center for Financial Services Innovation University of Wisonsin-Madison Center for Financial Security Communally Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

I apologize for any issues in audio quality. This was my first time utilizing a new service called Zencastr to record this interview remotely. Shownotes: Peter is the founder of Philly Bread Company, the creator of the Philly Muffin Peter cites two tracks which led to Philly Bread He has always been interested in combining creativity and business As a child, he bought a CD burner and sold CDs to neighbors He also made and sold his own candy bars Peter undertook many more entrepreneurial endeavors He has also always been interested in food His interest stems from foods connectivity to everything else Food is tangible but relates to economics, sociology, politics and much more Those two disparate interests combined when he began his Philly Bread venture. Peter went to the University of Massachusetts Amherst and received his Bachelor's Degree with an Individual Concentration Peter built his own major The quote from this segment that stuck out most is "I learned how to learn" Meaning, because Peter had to create his own major, he was forced to think carefully about what he wanted do and then plot a course He tied in the entrepreneurship aspect to bring in a practical and grounded element Another quote that stuck with me is "if you want to know how food gets to cities, no one [college] department is going to teach you how food gets to cities and how food is moved around in cities. That's going to come from on the ground experience working in restaurants, working in grocery stores, running a business..." While at UMass Amherst, Peter started an urban farm for inner city youth called New Growth Gardens It was geared to teens who were working toward a GED and needed on the job training They created window gardens, community gardens, etc. Peter is originally from Mass. He received a research grant to tour urban farms around the country Part of the reason he settled on Philadelphia was our urban farming scene The city was changing a lot and there was hope for the future Philly Bread is entirely wholesale Peter says that collaboration between breweries and other parts of the food industry is a future trend in the food industry He also notes the scale of production - large, but not at the industrial level in the craft industry America is also coming back into its own in terms of food and beer styles Philly Bread is building a new, larger bakery to scale up their production They also offer "Bread-u-cation" a bread baking class They also plan to collaborate with some other bakers in the Philadelphia area Local Resources: The Circle of Aunts and Uncles Links: Philly Bread Co. Facebook Instagram

Show Notes Julie is the co-founder of Green Philly Julie founded Green Philly with a friend/coworker in 2008 after learning her then employer was dumping the office recycling bins into the trash She was outraged and this passion led to Green Philly, which started as a blog with 3 - 5 posts per week Green Philly's root mission is "to help people live a more sustainable lifestyle" * Sustainability tips * Easy ways to save money * And much, much more Their founding coincided with then Mayor Nutter's 2008 declaration that he wanted Philly to become the greenest city in America (we aren't there yet) There is progress though, in the form of Philadelphia's Zero Waste initiative, part of the 2035 plan A few years ago Julie realized that she had to take her efforts offline She had experience as an email marketer and was learning SEO, so she was very focused on their online presence However, she started meeting people through the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) and other organizations and realized there were so many people and organizations doing great work but were failing to connect She wanted to highlight people and other entities who were participating in the sustainability field; from cleaning up their block to reducing emissions, etc For example, Brad Maule, a local author and artist went to Wissahickon every day for a year collecting garbage and turned it into a piece of art to demonstrate what people had left behind Their first live event was Sustain PHL This is now the city's annual sustainability awards 2018 will mark its third year They highlight various changemakers, one of their nominees was Micah Gold-Markel, the guest from episode 4! Nic Esposito is the current leader of Philadelphia's zero waste initiative Julie has lived in Pennsylvania her entire life When in school, she wanted to be a lawyer She studied Political Science at Penn State But, when studying abroad in London her junior year, her interest in law faded Her first job out of college (with the employer that led her to found Green Philly) was email marketing and conference planning, essentially, making webinars and marketing them, etc She has been in Philadelphia since 2007 The sustainability movement and community in Philadelphia is what has kept her here Julie believes sustainability is affordable if done correctly For example, bringing mason jars to Whole Foods to have them weigh your nuts or other dry good instead of purchasing them in a disposable container This saves the consumer money and is good for the planet One of the biggest aspects of sustainability is simply reducing consumption and reusing things A few sustainability tips from Julie: Individuals: * Thinking before you buy * Finding ways to reuse * Bring your own coffee cup (some places offer a discount) * Reusable grocery bags Businesses: * Use LED lights * Printing as little as possible * Turning the lights off There is concept called the Triple Bottom Line This is: People, Planet, Profit In business, the bottom line is what the company is left with after all expenses are accounted for - literally the bottom line on the finance report The Triple Bottom Line concept expands the bottom line from strictly monetary to also considering how your actions will affect people and the planet A related concept is focusing on the stakeholders, not just the shareholders * A shareholder is someone who has a financial stake in the company, they own part of the business * A stakeholder is anyone who has a stake in the business * This includes other community members in which the business operates and anyone who is affected by the business's actions Julie mentioned B-Corp, a familiar name to regular listeners B-Corp is an organization that performs audits to determine if a company hits certain standards for community impact, sustainability, and employee wellness/treatment Many companies are adopting the principles of B-Labs / B-Corp without going through the formal assessment because there is an associated cost I also mentioned Best for PHL, the organization which was the subject of episode 9 with Bill Huggins Julie and Green Philly took the Best for PHL Challenge last year Julie loves the simple things you can do to improve your impact, even simple things like switching banks * Julie was a PNC customer but realized that switching to a local credit union would be better for the local economy * (I might have to switch my bank account now) She also added a line to her mission statement to better reflect Green Philly's goals She added a philanthropic component to Green Philly Julie didn't think it was right to identify one shortcoming or place blame on one entity It's something we all need to work on together Local Resources Best for PHL B-Corp Solarize Philly Philadelphia Office of Sustainability Grid Magazine Triple Bottom Line Sustainable Business Network Links Green Philly Green Phily's Events Calendar Newsletter Facebook Twitter Instagram Sustain PHL Hidden Philly (Brad Maule is a co-editor)

Show Notes Darcy Krause is the Executive Director of the Center for Grieving Children Darcy has been in this position for 5 years She went through UPenn's licensed social worker (LSW) program Darcy has an unusual story She graduated from Duke Law She practiced labor/employment law for 5 years But something was missing She had a very specific plan in mind when she went back to school The Center for Grieving Children is a Philadelphia based grief counseling organization 4 Locations in Philadelphia (3 of them in donated space) * East Falls is their headquarters (their space) * South Philly (donated by CHOP) * West Philly (donated by CHOP) * Lower North East (donated by Calvary Christian Church) The Center provides free grief counseling for children ages 5 - 25 who have lost a close loved one to death * They are somewhat unique because they are very flexible in who they define as a close loved one * Some centers only provide services if its a parent / guardian or a sibling Their services fall into four categories: After school grief groups * Available at all 4 locations * There is also a group for parents or caregivers * The after-school programs run throughout the school year 8 week in school group * Have a group in school during the day in conjunction with the school counselor * It's meant to give the children support in their own environment * It's large - in over 70 schools last year * They have a waitlist each year They are starting a new community group this year in response to the opioid epidemic in Kensington There is another group specifically for homicide deaths held at an evening reporting center for adjudicated youth * "There are a large enough concentration of youths that have maybe made some bad decisions, but we realize often times that is coming out of grief..." * The aim is to address the underlying trauma to prevent recidivism in youths who have lost a loved one to homicide The Center also offers post-crisis interventions * They go into schools or other community organizations where a community member has died * When you read about a tragic event at a school, and it says "counseling provided on site," The Center for Grieving Children is one of those organizations They also provide training to guidance counselors, teachers, and others to help them better understand what exactly grief is and how it manifests in children Darcy has grown the center immensely The Center was started as part of the bereavement program at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in 1995 but was founded as its own entity in 2000 She took over from a co-founder in 2012 The center was very small and localized almost exclusively to North Philadelphia - it was a "mom and pop" organization, but the board wanted her to expand it They were only serving about 50 kids She hired a team to help her They started by evaluating the services they were offering and where they were being offered They spoke with community leaders including Church leaders, business owners, etc * They received user feedback and expanded the services to fit those needs * For example, they went from having a one time in school workshop to the current 8 week model * They went from about 2 schools during her first spring to 25 schools the following year Darcy believes flexibility and responsiveness are what has allowed the center to grow so rapidly They also started the after-school program soon after by partnering with CHOP to use their space in West Philly As an example of how much they've scaled, they went from serving about 50 kids to last year directly serving (in groups - not a full representation of all the services they offer) 800 children They have also supported 200 caregivers and parents Approximately 1 in 7 children loses a parent before the age of 18 Factoring in other close people in their lives, Darcy estimates that about 1 in 2 chilren lose a close loved one by 18 Most of programs run throughout the school year, but they have family fun nights in the summer to preserve the community Families can come in at any point and leave at any point Grief doesn't ever truly go away Different life events can stir up old grief that you may not have felt in a long time Darcy notes that while Philadelphia has been experiencing a boom of prosperity, there are still pockets of the city in poverty Homicides and opioid overdoses are currently on the rise in Philadelphia Darcy lost her mother when she was 15 This is how her journey into this work began The grief would come up throughout different life changing events * Things like high school graduation, college graduation, having children all brought up her old grief The Center has several next steps: They want to find more sustainable monetary resources Form partnerships with other city and state organizations to expand services In the short-term, they plan to tweak some of their programs * For example, schools have asked them to do a longer program, so they're looking into the logistics Eventually, they'd like to offer more services * For example, they get a lot of requests to craft a program for children with incarcerated parents One of Darcy's most striking comments is that nationally, there aren't many centers for grieving children in urban areas - they tend to be a suburban and rural niche This was so interesting because urban areas are where these services are needed the most They are looking for entrepreneurs to donate services to them Specifically, they need a graphic designer and a videographer! They also need volunteers for various programs! You can also try to become a sponsor of their Fall gala or their Spring golf event Donate to the center here Local Resources Children's Alliance Food Moxie Best for PHL B-Labs Impact PHL Links grievingchildren.org Facebook Twitter Events Art Night Golf event

Show Notes Mike Harris is the Executive Director of the South Street Headhouse District (SSHD), Philadelphia's second oldest (1993) Business Improvement District (BID). They are headquartered in the Headhouse Shambles, located at 2nd and Pine Streets BIDs are a municipal authority and act as a liaison between business and government - but are not a government agency BIDs are economic development organizations that take a geographic specific area and provide additional services and much more to promote that commercial corridor BIDs do things like provide additional street sweeping, liaising with businesses and the city on zoning / licensing issues, and undertaking beautification projects There are 14 BIDs in Philadelphia (full list linked below) Mike's background is in community development He worked in the Public Sector Most of his career was spent in Chicago city government His worked centered around revitalizing commercial corridors and bringing up neighborhoods Mike came to Philadelphia in 2002 Before taking on this position, Mike worked for Rowan, UPenn, and The School District of Philadelphia He was attracted to BIDs because he could work in a grassroots organization on the other side, rather than from City Hall A perfect example of what BIDs do is the recently completed pedestrian lighting project on 4th Street Before the project's completion, Fabric Row was dark and unappealing at night SSHD assessed the cost, found funding, and installed 50 new lights from Lombard to Christian Streets They've found that businesses are staying open later and the corridor has fewer vacancies Hungry Pigeon has opened at 4th and Fitzwater since the project's completion Their biggest upcoming project is the South Street Plaza Project (located just south of the Headhouse Shambles, across from the Wawa, between Lombard and South Streets) They are renovating the plaza to create a new community space for people to gather Renovations include new lighting, new trees, and a map bin and reference points for the district so that tourists can find their way around It has been discussed for years but is coming to fruition in Spring 2018 SSHD is also a Registered Community Organization (RCO) RCOs are a key part of the zoning process When developers or other entities want to open businesses or build a structure which requires a zoning variance (a piece of Philadelphia zoning code), they must meet with the appropriate RCO The RCO can then support them, recommend modifications to the plan, or in some rare cases, oppose the plan However, RCOs are not a governing body and only make recommendations The Zoning Board has the final say in the matter SSHD has public meetings where people can voice their opinions on upcoming projects/proposals Essentially, they work to achieve the greatest good for the most people (but you can't please all of the people all of the time) Another example of what BIDs can do surrounds the sad case of Bridget Foy's and Doggie Style burning down They helped facilitate fundraising to support the employees They also held a 300 person community dinner under the Shambles to raise funds for the American Red Cross, Red Paws, and Bridget Foy's Now SSHD is working as an RCO to help with zoning and permitting for Bridget Foy's rebuild (Doggie Style reopened at another location in the area recently) SSHD and other BIDs generate revenue from: Property owners (main source) They assess all the properties in the district and issue the owner(s) a required yearly fee Grant funding Rent the Headhouse Shambles (weddings corporate events, etc) Corporate sponsorships for live events This funding is used for marketing and PR, street cleaning, graffiti removal, supporting the South Street mini-Police station, live events, and more Events include the South Street Spring Festival, and others In Fall 2018, SSHD is putting on a Mural Arts Festival They were inspired by similar festivals in Montreal and Winwood Walls in Miami They are going to take 15 walls in the SSHD and have a mural festival over the course of about 7 days Visitors will be able to watch a wall go from blank canvas to beautiful masterpiece over the course of a week Head on down to South Street! Links Twitter Facebook Instagram SSHD info@southstreet.com List of Philly RCOs List of Philly BIDs (PDF) Philadelphia Commerce Department

Morgan Berman IMPORTANT: MilkCrate offers discounted pricing for nonprofits. Read all their pricing options here! Show Notes Morgan is the founder and CEO of MilkCrate MilkCrate is a software platform for nonprofits, corporations and other enterprises to track their impact It uses gamification and behavioral economics to help people make better decisions Morgan wants to make it clear that MilkCrate is not a sustainability app, it's a platform that tracks impact For example, a corporation could utilize MilkCrate to track the effectiveness of an employee wellness program and reward the employees for achieving goals It could also be used by a nonprofit to track how efficiently their aid is being utilized MilkCrate is an extremely flexible platform Morgan's shorthand is "it's a Fitbit for doing good." MilkCrate's first incarnation was as Morgan's capstone for her Sustainable Design Master's at Philadelphia University Morgan went to grad school to tie her beliefs and values together with her lifestyle choices, she originally wanted to design sustainable buildings A professor told her that the environmental impact of a building is NOT most accurately calculated by the building itself, but rather the people inside of the building - this clearly stuck with her MilkCrate has had many pivots Morgan says it took her lots of time and learning to figure out how best to execute her raw idea She received lots of user feedback, which helped the platform fully take shape The first rollout of MilkCrate was a consumer end app It was described as a "green" Yelp It helped users connect with a plethora of local sustainable business Morgan is Philly born and raised She lived both in the city proper and the outskirts of the Philadelphia The startup scene is what has kept her here Five years ago she was unaware of the startup culture in Philadelphia, but stumbled upon it while looking to learn more while creating MilkCrate Her first foray into the scene was through Code For Philly, a local chapter of Code For America Code For America is a collective group of programmers using technology to improve their cities. Morgan moved quickly into the scene and is beginning her term on Philly Startup Leaders board of directors MilkCrate is constantly working on both building out their platform and adding more features, as well as client acquisition Their major focus is building more channel partnerships with entities who work directly with the companies and nonprofits would be interested using in the MilkCrate platform This strategy helps MilkCrate more efficiently acquire clients MilkCrate is also looking to improve the User Experience (UX) They never want to take more of their users' effort or time than they need Soon, they hope to use predictive analytics to anticipate future user behavior Morgan was one of 45 sustainability leaders invited to speak about climate change at the White House in 2015 Morgan is also an ambassador for the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) Anyone looking to plug into Philadelphia's sustainability movement, particularly from a business approach, should start there MilkCrate is a certified B-Corp If you've listened to previous episodes of wealthADELPHIA, this may sound familiar In Episode 4, I spoke with Micah Gold-Markel about his company Solar States' B-Corp certification In Episode 9, I spoke with Bill Huggins, the Project Manager at Best for PHL, which offers a modified version of B-Labs quick impact assessment. In addition to Best for PHL, Bill works at Strategy Arts, a strategic consulting firm, also B-Corp certified B-Lab operates internationally, but is headquartered in Berwyn, PA Morgan also mentioned Impact PHL, you may remember this because Best for PHL (from Episode 9) is an Impact PHL initiative Local Resources Philly Startup Leaders Code for Philly Coded by Kids Girl Develop It Sustainable Business Network Best for PHL Impact PHL B-Labs There is also Meetup.com, where you can find anything you're looking for! For example, the Philly New Tech Meetup Links MilkCrate morgan@mymilkcrate.com Twitter (Morgan's personal) Twitter (MilkCrate) Facebook (MilkCrate) LinkedIn (MilkCrate) Instagram (MilkCrate)

Adam mentions loving cities way before Richard Florida. To clarify, Florida is a Urban Studies theorist focusing on social and economic theory. He is the author of the well known book, the Rise of the Creative Class (2002). Adam Glaser is the Chief Design Officer for Benjamin’s Desk Benjamin’s Desk is merging with 1776 (another coworking space originally based in DC) Adam received his Bachelor’s Degree from Rice University and his Master’s from the Harvard Graduate - School of Design Graduate degree is in Architecture and Urban Design Adam does a lot of work in the “innovation space” in which corporations or universities, who want to attract younger talent, redesign and rethink their use of space He did some research on Cambridge ( a coworking space) which is coming to Philly next year! Adam was the Design Principle for a Washington based company when he first heard about coworking spaces (about 3 years ago) -He was commuting from DC every day and decided to start coworking at Benjamin’s Desk -He got to know the founders, Jen and Anthony Maher very well Adam put together a presentation about the coworking model and was invited on board Adam likes the coworking model because it allows him to continually innovate and interact with spaces — whereas most architects design a space and never interact with it again In those three years, Benjamin’s Desk has gone from ~ 3,000 sqft to over 125,000 sqft He loves being able to adjust the space and flip things around based on community needs He also enjoys watching how people interact with the space and learning what their needs are Benjamin’s Desk consults with some local universities and corporations about how they can innovate their space These are institutions that aren’t going to rent from Benjamin’s Desk, but have their own space to play around with Adam sees lots of entrepreneurs and startups getting ahead of themselves in terms of their business model — thinking they know more than they do What sets Benjamin’s Desk apart from other coworking spaces is that they embrace a partnership model and help hook up their tenants with resources Adam is originally from a small town in Kentucky, not far from Nashville He went to school in Texas, but came up to the northeast in the 80s He has lived in Philadelphia on and off since then Adam is attracted to Philly because it’s a “real city.” It’s not about money or transaction — it’s authentic (a word Adam says is overused) Benjamin’s Desk and 1776 want to form a northeast coworking corridor -They call it the “hub and spoke” model The hubs are the cities — the “showrooms for innovation” Their intention is to build spaces between major hubs It will allow companies to decentralize their workforce This will include more people these businesses — at the heart of it, it will increase connectivity between people One of Adam’s most striking comments is [regarding coworking spaces, Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, etc] is that it allows people to pay for access / use instead of paying for space. Adam believes Philadelphia needs to increase its connectivity outside the core of the city — the Manayunk’s, Roxborough’s, Conshohocken’s, etc A quip Adam makes is that if you care about work-life balance, working from home is oxymoronic One major benefit of the centralized employment model is the ability to economically uplift people and areas without having to completely gentrify and change the fabric Benjamin’s Desk also has access to funding streams and more — not your average coworking space Resources: Union Software — Software platform comparable to Linkedin, where entrepreneurs can find resources, etc [currently being built out] Links: Benjamin’s Desk Instagram Twitter LinkedIn

Jessica is the founder of Rezzio Rezzio is a software platform for college students to define their personal brand and find their passion It creates a roadmap for students to reach their full potential It seeks to be a virtual student adviser Jessica had the idea based on her own experience receiving untailored student advising She wants to stress the importance of being uncomfortable — your comfort zone will kill you Neither of us were very involved in college — just going to school and going home Jessica likes running her own company because she gets to solve problems and map out the solutions She even measures the severity of problems in how many sticky notes she has to use (kidding — kind of) A current problem is figuring out how to help students identify their own skills A lot of the work is in repetition — testing and retesting Drexel’s urbane campus is one of the things that attracted her to the school Jessica was undecided at first — she was unaware of entrepreneurship as a potential avenue At one time she thought she wanted to work in social media / marketing Her original idea was a video resume platform (originally, it was V-Rezzio) It started in a Life Strategies class when she had to make a video resume She realized “it’s not the problem,” meaning that the problem students were facing wasn’t the platform for their resume Rezzio’s next step is to start offering their service to charter schools on a nonprofit basis Her biggest mistake with Rezzio has been “development taking too long,” meaning that Jessica has had trouble pivoting in some places. She STRONGLY recommends against hiring a developer from a service like Upwork or Fiverr She also suggests not cutting costs in the places that matter — in her case, software development Jessica loves all of the sights to see in Philly Some of her favorites are: -The Museum of Art - The Liberty Bell Students of the Close School of Entrepreneurship get a degree in Entrepreneurship — not marketing or business Local Resources: - KickUp - Baiada Center - PACT Mentorship - Her family owns Jon’s Bar and Grille on 3rd and South Street! Her final advice to other young entrepreneurs is: Keep pushing forward and keep being uncomfortable so that you’re ready when the next opportunity arises. Links: Rezzio jessica@rezzio.co Instagram Facebook LinkedIn

Show Notes Bill Huggins is the Project Manager at Best for PHL Best for PHL has  only been running workshops since late 2016 Since then 175 have participated and 108 are community members (meaning they have implemented some of the steps) Best for PHL is an initiative of Impact PHL Impact PHL is a nonprofit trying to get investments in the impact economy in Philly The impact economy is essentially using business as a force for good Best for PHL is a way for businesses to have a positive impact in their community Workers Community (Such as hiring from within the community) Environment The heart of Best for PHL is the Challenge Workshop: It’s a 30-45 minute assessment a company can take to identify areas of success and areas for improvement Then take one of the areas for improvement and make it an actionable goal Best for PHL wants to push businesses toward more impactful things in the next year Bill is also the Research and Project Management Analyst for Strategy Arts, a strategic consulting firm Strategy Arts is a founding B-Corp B-Labs has done work internationally, but is based in Berwyn, PA The quick assessment Best for PHL uses is a slightly altered version of B-Labs assessment Their mission is for businesses to be a force for good B-Corp certification is a set of criteria regarding environmental impact, community impact, and other impacts There are other “Best for” cities in the US, but Bill feels that Philadelphia is unique in its hands on approach Most cities have a very DIY “Best for” assessment But Philadelphia has in person workshops with people from different industries all in one room Bill thinks one of the biggest challenges Best for PHL faces is turning the post-workshop excitement into real transformational change Not only is the Best For Challenge good philosophically, but it will also help your business Bill and I have the same Alma Mater, Rowan University with a degree in Sociology and Journalism He graduated in 2008 He worked as a lobbyist for the Southern New Jersey Development Council He moved to NYC to work for the Center on Government Performance Bill is originally from South Jersey In his current positions he deals with a lot of data and numbers He learned to crunch data during his time spent as a research assistant in the Sociology Department at Rowan One of Bill’s passions is pulling a story out of the numbers Bill just moved to Philadelphia in June and now lives in the Port Richmond neighborhood Bill loves Philly because people are more personable and neighborly here than in NY Best for PHL’s plan for the next year is to reconnect with businesses that have taken the challenge to assess and improve the program They want to be another value add to Philadelphia’s impact economy They also want to push new businesses toward taking more impactful steps such as: Decreasing energy usage Purchasing from local suppliers Best For is meant to be a “one size fits all” program, meaning that any enterprise from a 1 person consulting company to a Fortune 500 can participate Bill met a woman at an event right after he first started who felt that she couldn’t work with “Best For” because she ran her own salon and didn’t think she could participate Bills response was “No, you’re exactly the person we want to think about this that never has before.” Perhaps your business can’t have a huge environmental impact, but you can hire from within the community in which you operate Bill wants business owners to know that they can join Best for PHL for recognition of the impact work they’re already doing Bill thinks Philly is going to continue on its upward trajectory Best for PHL isn’t just involved in Philadelphia proper, but also the surrounding area Best For is free, and won’t flood your inbox with spam, but work with you to help you improve!

Show Notes: Funky Fresh Ferments: Funky Fresh Ferments is a Philly based fermentation company Currently, they are mostly in the Kombucha, but also make sauerkraut and other fermented products Founder, Seth Glassman, and I met during the Philadelphia Film Fest last fall while I was bartending at the Film Festival’s VIP lounge Seth’s degree is in Advertising and Design, but he didn’t want to advertise for products he didn’t believe in He started a website design company with a Belarusian friend, but had to close shop when the friend went back to Belarus Seth had always had an entrepreneurial spirit — as a kid he would sell Looney Toons drawings and sell objects he found, make t-shirts for bands The Funky Fresh Ferments story: Seth’s father passed away and he decided to take a trip to California and couch surf for a few months He took off to Alaska to work in a Salmon cannery to make some extra money Seth went from Alaska to Portland, then took an Uber to Arcadia California He had four months to wander before his brother’s wedding He bought a sleeping bag and a tent and bounced around Cali Seth ended up on an eco-friendly sustainable farm He drank their Kombucha and fell in love Seth got back in 2013 and started brewing that Winter Seth got the idea in June to sell sauerkraut at the Punk Rock Flea Market and had just enough time to make the labels and the product He sold out and thus Funky Fresh was born Some anxiety is good anxiety, as long as it's related to something you need to get done — it’s the fire under your ass Seth loves giving out brew-your-own-kits and getting feedback from his customers Seth is from Montgomery County, but came down frequently for concerts and the holidays Seth lived in University City while going to school between 2005 and 2009 Philadelphia has changed a lot since ‘05 No. Libs, Seth’s current neighborhood was much worse Seth bartended at a place at Frankford and Lehigh and started cooking their — his first exposure to flavor Because Kombucha is a living product, there is some regulatory red tape around it If it is not stored properly, Kombucha can continue fermenting or explode Seth went down to DC to do some lobbying in March and the Senators were very receptive In the US, the alcohol limit is .5%, but most of the rest of the world in 1.25%, so Seth and other Kombucha producers are working to change that Kombucha hah a boom in the 90s, but was stifled the 2000s because of none other than Lindsay Lohan Vegan Commissary was the first place Funky Fresh was sold He had the idea for Funky Fresh in June and has all his licenses by October Biggest Mistake: Seth would go back and carefully consider how to make everything as sustainable as possible, so as to reduce waste and be green Seth works with local artists to create his labels to get their name out there The next step for Funky Fresh is increasing production and distribution Seth wants to expand into the suburbs He also wants to pick back up with sauerkraut and other fermented products He is thinking of signing up with a distributor However, he doesn’t want to lose any autonomy and would also like to hire a local person to deliver for him Funky Fresh is also moving to a new facility very soon He is leasing a space in The Common Market’s facility at 428. East Erie Seth is also purchasing several large 80 gallon vats to increase production and consistency Seth graduated college in 2009 — the height of the recession Do not discount the barter system — Seth frequently barters his kombucha for other services and goods he needs for Funky Fresh Local Resources: NextFab — Makerspace Color Space Labs — Makerspace Philly Homebrew Outlet — Homebrew store and educational facility Links: Funky Fresh Ferments Instagram Stay Funky!