Nourishing Hope’s Post

I am Hispanic. We represent 19% of the US population and over 60 million people. Less than 2% of venture and PE deals in 2021 had a Latino founder. See the math here? This is why don't see more diversity in the restaurant brands... ... and instead, see a lot of the same stuff. We have to do a better job of elevating the faces and flavors that truly represent this country. It's time to invest in us because we are a very important part of the future. #estiempo I decided something needed to be done about it, so I started Full Course. At Full Course, we are agents of change: our purpose is to make the restaurant industry equitable and inclusive, where all faces and flavors have a seat at the table. We do this through education, mentorship, operational and development support, AND early-stage, equitable investment in the people and brands who represent the cultural fabric of this country. Powered by our purpose, we believe people are the heart of our industry. Join us. Learn more today about how you can join us in our mission: be an investor, educator, referral partner, or one of our invested partner brands. Visit our website at FullCourse.com or DM me directly. #investing #diversity #representationmatters #startups #restaurants #restaurantindustry

✨ Life Update ✨ After 5.5 years, I’m stepping away from day-to-day operations at Renewal Mill and starting a new chapter in my career journey. From hand-grinding #okara flour in Ninja blenders, to developing private label products for the country’s largest retailers, to speaking about our work on international stages, building Renewal Mill has been the absolute honor of my lifetime! Words cannot express my gratitude to all of the people who’ve helped me along the way, especially my incredible team Claire Schlemme, Alice Medrich, Aaron E Brown, Lydia Oxley Johnson, and Nate Hamilton and all of our stellar investors, partners, vendors, suppliers, and retailers. There are too many of you to name individually, but a HUGE thank you from the bottom of my heart! Together we’ve grown #upcycled food into a global movement and achieved some truly amazing things: 🛒 National distribution at Whole Foods Market  🍦 Co-branded partnerships with Salt & Straw, Miyoko's Creamery, Perfect Day, Sur La Table, Williams-Sonoma, Inc., and more  🍰  Helped Envision Group US (Compass) use upcycled food to achieve net zero goals So, what’s next?... I will continue to serve on Renewal Mill’s Board of Directors as a strategic advisor & #1 cheerleader for the company! After 4 years, I’m also moving onto the Emeritus Board of the Upcycled Food Association, passing my Board President torch to the talented Donya Litowitz. Now, I’m looking for my next adventure, and I’d love to connect! I’m eager to take what I’ve learned and help others drive meaningful impact. I’m a strategically-minded generalist interested in exploring topics & positions like: ✅ Revolutionizing the food system (climate, food waste, food is medicine, agtech, etc.) ✅ Venture capital (esp Chief of Staff & platform roles)  ✅ Entrepreneurship x academia (universities, accelerators, etc) ✅ Mission-driven brands & nonprofits (product innovation, biz dev, partnerships) ✅ DEI (especially women’s health and gender equity)  ✅ Volunteer opportunities to mentor the next generation of entrepreneurs I’m open to full-time, part-time, and fractional opportunities. And, I'm always happy to meet smart people and new friends doing interesting work - so let’s chat! Comment or DM, and I’ll be in touch. 🙌 (P.S. If you'll be in town for Future Food Tech in SF at the end of March, I'll be around and would love to grab a coffee / drink / walk) #newopportunities #sustainability #collaboration #networking

🌟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬: 𝐀 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 🌟 From humble beginnings in a small California barbecue joint to global recognition on every street corner, the journey of McDonald's is nothing short of extraordinary. Let's take a bite into the story that's served as inspiration to entrepreneurs worldwide! 🏠𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲: In 1940, two brothers, Dick and Mac McDonald, fired up their grill and started flipping patties in San Bernardino. Little did they know, that their tasty burgers would spark a revolution in the fast-food industry. 🚀 𝐑𝐚𝐲 𝐊𝐫𝐨𝐜'𝐬 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: Enter Ray Kroc, the man with a vision. Sensing the potential of the McDonald brothers' operation, Kroc took the helm and turned a single restaurant into a worldwide phenomenon. 🍔 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐞: With its winning recipe of speed, convenience, and consistency, McDonald's became the go-to spot for burger lovers everywhere. The golden arches soon became a beacon of deliciousness worldwide. 🌟 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧: But McDonald's wasn't just serving burgers—it was also dishing out innovation. From the iconic Big Mac to the drive-thru revolution, McDonald's stayed ahead of the curve, satisfying appetites and driving growth. 👨👩👧👦 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤: Beyond the burgers, McDonald's has been a champion of community causes. Through initiatives like the Ronald McDonald House Charities, it's been serving up smiles and support to needy families. 🌟 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬: Today, McDonald's stands tall as a symbol of resilience and reinvention. Its journey reminds us that with passion, perseverance, and a pinch of innovation, anything is possible. So here's to McDonald's—the ultimate combo of inspiration and innovation! Let's keep flipping the script and serving up success in our entrepreneurial endeavors. #McDonalds #Inspiration #Innovation #SuccessStory #GoldenArches #Entrepreneurship #RayKroc #McDonaldsHistory #Resilience #Adaptability 🍔🌟

At UPS our purpose is moving our world forward by delivering what matters - and doing that in an equitable and just way.

🚀 Because some of the most successful venture capital investments of the past have involved advanced sciences and technologies to exploit new markets, many often think VC is synonymous with high-tech startups. 🍔 This is not always true! For instance, fast-food chains, such as McDonald's, have seen a tremendous amount of success. It would be hard to imagine, however, McDonald's as a high-tech business. VCs can find value in startups pursuing the franchise model. ❓ While I don't think McDonald's was backed by VC, the Golden Arches does have its venture investing arm, called McDonald's Ventures. Interestingly, the former CEO of McDonald's, Don Thompson, now runs his own VC firm. It just goes to show you that VC doesn't need to be based in cutting-edge, space tech. A good business model and leadership experience alone can be more than enough. 👨💻 However, traditional VC generally succeeds in niche sectors, where startups can exploit untapped advantages through implementing new science or technology. Hence, the connection between venture capital and technology still has a lot of merit. It doesn't hurt that the center of venture capital is based in Silicon Valley, the birthplace of the silicon chip. Next, I'll be evaluating a few sources of funding involving venture capital and private equity. Would love to hear some y'alls thoughts on this! #VentureCapital #New2VC #LearnAboutVC Source: https://lnkd.in/gD4NQ4rs

"Leadership means continually promoting a culture of collaboration. That’s not going to change. Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our work environment. And what we’ve seen is, our diverse workforce allows us to take on opportunities from different perspectives and create a greater impact."   Recently, Starlight Investments COO, Glen Hirsh, CPA, CA, CFA, sat down with Connect CRE to provide his expert insights on leadership and management within the real estate industry. In a candid conversation, Glen shared his perspectives on nurturing a culture of responsibility and innovation at Starlight Investments and illustrated how a focus on creating positive impact resonates throughout our organization.   Read the full article below to find out more about how Starlight is advancing forward.   #RealEstateInvestment #Leadership #AssetManagement #StarlightInvestments Glen Hirsh, CPA, CA, CFA Palwinder Chima Lauren Kenney Marlee Kohn Roya Khaleeli Vince Rago, P.Eng, PMP Elenore Breslow Saloni Sharma

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo has a track record of leading big teams to innovate and move quickly. What’s her secret? It starts with deeply understanding an organization’s unique assets. Learn more about Fidji’s journey and leadership playbook: 👇 https://seq.vc/crt

Calix and candy bars might seem entirely unrelated. But I came across an interesting piece in the Economist that resonated with me because the idea that a company’s purpose can guide company leadership links Calix and Mars, Inc. in an interesting way.    In a recent post I talked about a company’s purpose being only as good as the actions it enables. The Economist cites the Mars company as getting the balance between purpose and profit dead right. Which is another way of saying that for Mars, purpose isn’t just a statement of aspiration. It guides the business to make money and do good. (And for the record, they are making a lot of money.)    The article cites Mars’ long-standing belief in “mutuality” — putting the interests of stakeholders like customers, workers, communities, and the environment — right beside classic shareholder interests (profit, growth, etc.).    For Calix, our purpose — transforming society one community at a time — means that, by definition, we have to work with our customers to do good. We can’t transform communities by ourselves, and our world-class technology and broadband platform is a means to an end, not the end itself.    How does your company’s purpose relate to how it leads and acts in the world? Articulating a purpose is no easy feat, and I still find many companies would do well to revisit their words on a page to see how they are showing up in the real world. https://lnkd.in/ezdTAFuJ #purpose #purposedrivenleadership #leadership #stakeholdercapitalism 

There are many industry standards we’ve been trained not to question. But these ‘accepted truths’ are often myths perpetuated by big companies that dominate their categories - who benefit from setting the bar on the floor. For example - the pet food industry has perpetuated the myth that kibble is a balanced diet for pets - even though it’s scorched at 300 degrees and stuffed with preservatives so it can sit on shelves for months. Even more insidiously, Big Kibble is responsible for spreading the myth that 1 human year = 10 dog years; leading us to think that 9 years is a ripe old age for a dog to live. But in truth, the maximum lifespan for dogs can be as long as 30 years - which means many pets are actually dying in their middle age - in large part because of a poor diet. In another industry - large superannuation funds spend millions on advertising to convince us that funds attached to large financial institutions are the most secure - with the lowest fees and the scale to achieve the best performance. But some of the largest and most trusted brands in financial services - such as ANZ and Westpac - are attached to some of the poorest performing funds. For decades they’ve been profiting from the ignorance of customers, who’ve trained not to actively engage with their super. But the complacency of incumbents creates opportunity for challengers. Challenger brands who broadcast their dissatisfaction with the status quo can quickly attract a tribe who feel the same way. Last week I loved diving into the perspectives, playbooks, and particulars of four fantastic challengers: Turo, Lyka, Superhero, and Capital Brief. Not only did we explore the insight that lead to the founding of these companies, we also dived into how to scale a challenger - the inevitable tradeoff that’s faced between over-delivering for customers and building towards commercial viability, and lessons on how to keep the challenger ethos alive when scaling an organisation from a motley crew of rebels to hundreds of employees and hundreds of millions in revenue. What's an 'accepted truth' that's been perpetuated by an industry incumbent, creating an opportunity for a challenger? I would love to discuss in comments. #challenger #consumer #branding #challengerbrand #venturecapital #startups

FROM BURGER CHEERS to JOYFUL TEARS Unwrapping Surprises with Our Warehouse Pioneers! 🍔✨ Recently, one of our warehouse team achieved an outstanding feat, with less than 1% delays or wrong deliveries in a quarter. As promised, I treated these incredible women to a day out, filled with small yet memorable moments. We embarked on a unique adventure at McDonald's, introducing them to the self-order kiosk – a simple joy that brought smiles to their faces. Sharing a burger meal turned into a Cloud 9 experience, making every moment count. I did all crazy stuff which I do with my friends, clicked selfies, laughed, and shared the joy of achievement. It's a testament to the belief that small gestures can create a significant impact. I became their CHAUFFEUR for that day, dropping each one. I got down at every stop and hugged them tight, we both had a tears of joy in eyes. I call this unspoken gratitude for each other 🫂 Today while I was writing down 12 priceless moments of this year- one of them was this so I thought of sharing with you all 🫡❤️ This experience reinforced the lesson that learning extends beyond the boardroom; it's about appreciating and valuing every member of our team. Here's to the profound impact of simple gestures on the journey of entrepreneurship! 🚀 #TeamSpirit #JoyfulMoments #EntrepreneurialJourney #TeamTriumph #BurgerBliss #pinkymaheshwari #surprisesomeone #startupfounders #startupgrowth #teamappreciation