The NTM Growth Marketing Podcast

Today we're going to be speaking with Samir Lakhani who is the Founder and Execute Director of The Eco-Soap Bank. The Eco-Soap Bank is a humanitarian and environmental non-profit organization working to save, sanitize and supply recycled soap to the developing world. Their work has three objectives: Contribute a highly cost-effective hygiene product to improve health in Cambodia. Significantly reduce the waste generated by the tourism industry. Provide livelihoods to Cambodian women with no other reliable source of income. They have a 4 step process to carry out their mission: The Eco-Soap Bank collects gently used soap bars from hotels and guesthouses in Cambodia. Collected soap bars are sanitized and reprocessed into new bars. Soap bars are donated to hospitals, health clinics, schools, orphanages, and village communities in need of hygiene. All soap donations are paired with hand washing training to ensure that communities remain safe from preventable illnesses. So far they've made 186,698 soap donations 25,910 pounds of waste have been recycled, and 666,562 people have been served.

After studying business and knowing she didn't want to work in a traditional corporate setting, Kelsey started her career in the non-profit sector. She loved working with passionate people and for a mission-driven organization, but was bothered by some of the inefficiency in the non-profit sector. When she learned about the idea behind social enterprise, solving social and environmental problems with for-profit business models, she decided to pursue opportunities in the space. After hearing about the idea for Thread, it just made sense. Today, Kelsey measures, manages, and improves the impact Thread has on people, planet, and profit at every step of Thread's supply chains, ensuring that the claims of making the most responsible fabric in the world are true.

Chuck Samuleson has worked in the food industry all his life. During that time, he saw food trends come and go but one thing always remained the same – food waste. In fact, up to 40% of the food produced in America ends up wasted. So Chuck started Kitchens for Good to do something about it. How did he get started? How has his vision and point of view changed throughout the process? Listen to this visionary to find out.

Tom Cronin was working as a stock broker when he discovered the stress-reducing benefits of meditation. He found so much inspiration in it that he made sharing it with others his whole career. The Stillness Project began with their own mantra, to bring meditation to one million people. Now, Tom's company is all about improving lives by making meditation accessible and easy to understand. So why is mediation so important? And is it something anyone can do? Tom will answer all this and more in this fascinating episode.

Today's School for Humanity podcast features Richard Leftley, the founder and CEO of Microensure. By providing insurance to lower and middle income people in emerging markets in Africa and Asia, Richard's company has done what was once considered impossible. Richard was working at a conventional insurance agency when he had an idea to bring insurance to this overlooked market. In fact, only about 2 to 3% of the population in these areas had insurance at the time, yet they were prone to some of the most severe risks out there. From diseases and natural disasters to accidents that could ravage a family's life savings, there was a clear gap in the market that needed to be filled. In this episode, you'll learn about Richard's struggles and triumphs in his quest to build Miroensure, which now services nearly 44 million people across 11 countries. It's a success story about staying true to the dream you've set out to achieve. We hope you'll enjoy hearing his insights as much as we did.

Learn to read, then read to learn. That's what Ann McCormick's mantra has been since starting her first company in 1978. Her educational software provides a platform for all children to learn the skills they need to thrive. She's been working for over 30 years to develop interactive and colorful tools to support the next generation. This episode tells the story of her journey, from her partnership with Apple in the late 70s to her newest venture – a toy to help all kids get familiar with the sounds of English.