My Debut Book: Working to Restore

Working to Restore, released this month, featuring the stories of 30+ companies around the world that are using their business model to drive social and environmental change — a restorative and regenerative approach is the path forward. Surface-level sustainability is not enough. I spent several years meeting with companies, seeing their supply chains to showcase the stories of companies going beyond the greenwashing, and willing to take on risks.

The book looks at fashion, food, health, plastic waste, travel, energy, and more to paint a holistic picture, and argue that these efforts are working across industries. 

If you’re tired of doom and gloom stories related to the climate, this book offers some solutions. Available to purchase globally.

Here’s some early praise and love for the book:

“With wit and energy, Chhabra introduces us to an exciting new business landscape.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“The regenerative mindset enables you to sidestep getting mired in past or present challenges and catapults you and your work into the realm of the possible, the hopeful, the optimal. That’s what we love about Esha Chhabra’s Working to Restore.”
—Jay Coen Gilbert, cofounder of B Lab

“Uplifting, in every sense!”
—John Elkington, founder and chief pollinator, Volans, and author of Green Swans: The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalism

“Provides inspiring yet tangible examples from a wide range of sectors of how to bring business back into balance and how to value what matters most: ‘simplify and spend time immersed in life, not stuff.’”
—Melissa Ho, vice president, World Wildlife Fund

“Working to Restore is essential reading as we work to solve the social, economic, and environmental problems of our times.”
—Ryan Gellert, CEO, Patagonia

“Considering the trouble our planet is in, effective engagement by the private sector is one of the few promising strategies left, and Chhabra gives us plenty of excellent examples for inspiration.”
—Gero Leson, vice president of special operations at Dr. Bronner’s and author of Honor Thy Label

“This book should be required reading for everyone, as we will all need to think like entrepreneurs in order to solve the complex problems we face in the world.”
—Shilpa Shah, cofounder of Cuyana

“Just the antidote to the doom and gloom we need for our time. The book can and should inspire a generation.”
—Maxine Bedat, author of Unraveled: The Life and Death of a Garment

“Both beautiful and necessary.”
—Stephan Chambers, director, Marshall Institute, London School of Economics

“As usual, entrepreneurs are leading the way to transformative approaches to what ails the world. Now, global leaders and corporate executives need to get on board—and they can start by reading Working to Restore.”
—Tom Post, former managing editor, Forbes Media

“In a world so focused on short-term profit that our very survival often gets short shrift, it’s easy to despair: what choice do we have? My advice: choose to read this book, to start. Esha Chhabra has traveled the world to share the stories of businesspeople with heart and vision, and after reading Working to Restore, it’s clear that a regenerative, healing approach to business can preserve jobs, economies, and the world. Be excited about the future for once! Covering novel business solutions in health, energy, finance, the environment, and more—from brilliant, creative people, rich and poor, on six continents—Chhabra offers the one solution we need most and can apply anywhere: a better way of thinking. This book offers practical hope, backed by effective actions. Make reading Chhabra’s work one of yours.”
—Bob Harris, author of The International Bank of Bob: Connecting Our Worlds One $25 Kiva Loan at a Time

“If capitalism is to be transformed into the engine of inclusive, just, and sustainable prosperity we need, a new generation of purpose-driven companies must lead the way. Chhabra’s compelling book tells the stories of some of the best of these game-changing businesses and is guaranteed to inspire.”
—Matthew Bishop, author and former business editor of The Economist

“Saving our planet always comes down to the same thing: talk less, do more. Business leaders have a responsibility to regenerate Earth and her communities by revolutionizing our economy—and Working to Restore tells the stories of exactly that. Thoughtful, probing, solution-oriented, and hopeful, this beautiful book portrays everything we need in this time of planetary crisis to reverse our current downward spiral back up into a more virtuous circle.”
—Elizabeth Whitlow, executive director, Regenerative Organic Alliance

“We are entering the Regenerative Era. Chhabra provides portraits of innovation, resilience, and commitment to the planet and humankind that can help lead business into this new era.”
—Dr. Robert Strand, executive director, Center for Responsible Business, University of California–Berkeley

This Massive E-Commerce Brand Is Going Zero Waste — And It’s Working

Thrive Market, an LA-based e-commerce company, focused on getting healthy foods to customers across America at cost-effective prices, is going zero-waste. But can a company of its size and its nature, really get rid of all its waste?

Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Gunnar Lovelace, chatted with me about the realities of building a zero-waste business, particularly one that requires shipping, packing materials, and large warehouses to stored hundreds, if not thousands, of SKUs.  He’s keen to point out that the current capitalistic system is not working for the planet or even for the customers — who live on the planet and thereby are affected by the dirty water, polluted air, and destroyed ecosystems. 

Thrive Market compresses the cardboard used in packaging to make it easily recyclable.

“It’s tough to find a business without some form of sustainability messaging emblazoned on their platforms or packaging,” he said in a recent interview in LA. “Unfortunately, the term sustainability has been co-opted by some of the most insidious corporations on the planet, and despite all the marketing-speak around sustainability,  according to the EPA, more than 75% of greenhouse gas emissions from many US industry sectors still originates from our supply chains.”

So Thrive Market set out to rethink its supply chains and has completed the zero-waste challenge in two of its fulfillment centers. Lovelace explains the challenges and roadblocks faced, but also offers advice for other businesses looking to explore a similar path.

Read the full story at Forbes.com

How This LA Coffee Brand Is Ushering In More Organic Farmers, Especially Women

Los Angeles-based Groundwork Coffee specializes in sourcing from certified organic farms. Yet, organic farming is actually on the decline in coffee, says Jeffrey Chean, Chief Coffee Guy and Partner at Groundwork.

“I began noticing this around the time the Rust disease began spreading throughout Central America,” he says. “Aside from the clear interest we have in making sure there is a supply of organic coffee to roast, we believe that becoming a certified farm, coupled with sustainable farming methods, helps improve growers lives by reducing their personal exposure to harmful pesticides, increasing yields, and keeping their land fertile.” 

But organic is not enough, he adds. “The coffee has to taste good, too, or no one is going to want to buy it certified or otherwise.”

Groundwork supports AMUCC to help more farmers produce organic coffee. Every year they highlight certain growers who produce an exceptionally tasting coffee.

To encourage growers to produce great tasting organic coffee, Groundwork introduced the Quality Award for exemplary micro-lots. This year, it was given to two sisters, Argenis and Bertha Rosas, who are able to farm and operate their own micro-lots through AMUCC, a women’s cooperative located near the Cauca River in Colombia. The program, supported by Groundwork, provides a premium to convert conventional farms into organic. But the conversion process can take three years; AMUCC helps cover the costs during the conversion process.

Read the full story on Forbes.com

This 50-Year-Old Company Just Gave Birth To A Startup Run By 12 Young Women

In the summer heat, swimsuits are an obvious choice. However all that outdoor activity has a downside: the fabrics used in swimwear are primarily synthetic materials –nylon, lycra, and polyesters, which fail to break down. It gets worse: manufacturing swimsuits produces waste — excess fabric that goes unused and trimmings to get the right shape.

A new company, led by 12 women, is challenging the swimwear industry to reduce its waste.

Orange County-based RAJ Swim has been manufacturing swimwear for national brands such as Reef, Athena Swimwear, and Next. With 50 years in the swimwear industry, they could be considered a stalwart. This summer, co-CEOs of RAJ Swim, Lisa Vogel and Alex Bhathal, decided to experiment, rethinking how they could tap into millennial sensibilities and build a more eco-conscious line of swimsuits. The duo allowed 12 millennial team members — notably all women– to build a new brand: VYB (pronounced as “vibe”). All the swimsuits for this proprietary brand would come from deadstock.

“I vividly remember Yvonne Macias, our assistant manager, pointing to the rolls of multi-colored deadstock fabric saying, ‘Why don’t we just use the fabric we already have?’ Instantly, we had that ‘aha moment’ and collectively, we decided deadstock would root VYB as a brand,” says Holly Harshman, the 29-year-old Marketing Director of VYB.

Read the full story at Forbes.com

Why This CEO Is Not Taking A Salary For His Latest Company

After his success with Zico coconut water, Mark Rampolla is saying no to a salary for now.

Mark Rampolla started Zico coconut water in 2004.  In 2013, it was acquired by Coca-Cola — a notable success for the health food market. This year, he’s taking on the role of CEO for another food brand, LA-based Beanfields Snacks. However, he does not want a salary.

Rampolla does have interest in the company, though, as an investor.

But Rampolla is out to make a bigger statement, foregoing compensation to help the company scale: “Sometimes we just need to be rational and think about what we can all bring to the table to make a company rock. Once Beanfields is rocking, I’ll step aside and look at our companies in our portfolio, or new investments, and think about implementing similar, non-traditional models.”

Rampolla rose to fame after building Zico, perhaps one of the first coconut water companies to have national brand recognition; he knows the food market, he says, and wants more health-oriented food companies to rise. “The goal here is to get Beanfields to rival Doritos.”

Read the full story at Forbes.com

Two Californians, 180,000 Bags, And An Alternative Factory Model: Could This Be Bangladesh’s Future?

Despite all the talk about the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013, Apolis co-founder Shea Parton says that there is still a dearth of responsible supply chains in apparel.

“Sadly, within the garment and textile industry, it’s not normal to prioritize people and seek to use business for good — so I really think you’ve got to be okay with being rare and unconventional,” he says.

Apolis’ collaboration with Saidpur enterprises is giving employment to more than 100 women in Bangladesh.

Apolis, started over a decade ago by Shea and his brother Raan, remains a small sustainable fashion and lifestyle brand. With 9 full-time employees and two retail locations, it’s certainly not in a position to sway high fashion brands towards sustainability.  But the duo have decided to build their own business, by engaging with suppliers as much as possible.

“It takes a lot more time to go directly to factories, and there tends to be more potential liability involved in doing so,” Shea says. “When you have an agency running the supply chain for you, they take on most of the responsibility of auditing that chain.”

Read the full story at Forbes.com

Surf Your Way To Better Health At Work, Says This Startup

Surfing at your office desk could be the best alternative to sitting or standing at your desk — both of which put strain on your feet, legs, and joints, says Joel Heath of FluidStance.  A new study by Mayo Clinic backs up the entrepreneur’s claims.

FluidStance’s surf-inspired boards take up less space than a treadmill, but allow much more movement than a standard sitting desk or standing all day. Heath who has worked in the outdoor industry for over 20 years found himself parked at a desk ironically. He shifted to a standing desk but even that caused pains in his hips and made him stiff.

So with his savings and a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, he launched FluidStance in 2015 in the seaside city of Santa Barbara –far from startup hubs. However, within a year, the FluidStance boards found themselves in Silicon Valley –Google, in particular.

Though sales have been steadily increasing, Heath says, with 2017’s projected run rate for gross revenue at 20 percent higher than last year’s, he was as keen on learning if the boards were really making an impact.

Read the full story at Forbes.com

How This Nebraskan Entrepreneur Built ‘The Bay,’ A Startup That Helps Youth Across The United States

Mike Smith is a 30-something-year-old from Nebraska. He has four companies, a non-profit that supports youth, over 100,000 followers on Instagram, and spends most of the year on the road, speaking to students around the country about how to be better human beings.

Mike Smith is a Nebraska-born entrepreneur who has built a career by speaking to American youth across the country.

“I don’t believe in jobs, I believe in lifestyle,” he says. Dressed in a t-shirt, and a baseball cap with shoulder length hair, Smith is anything but the traditional startup entrepreneur.

In fact, he doesn’t like to be called an entrepreneur. “I can’t even spell it. I always have to check on my phone,” he jokes.“But seriously, I just don’t really think of myself as the kind of entrepreneur that’s often portrayed in the media these days. I don’t build companies to make money. I do them because I get really excited about some issue.”

Read the full story on Forbes.com

London Startup Uses Technology To Open Up The World Of Book Publishing

Reedsy is the online marketplace democratizing the publishing process

—

Emmanuel Nataf has a simple mission: “I want more people to share their ideas with the world.”

That’s why three years ago, the Frenchman moved to London and co-founded Reedsy, a curated marketplace for authors to find publishing professionals to help bring their book to life.  While Paris may have Station F now, Nataf saw opportunity in the British capital thanks to the concentration of publishers, writers, and investors.

Reedsy is a curated marketplace for publishing books. REEDSY

“I wanted to see if we could take this world of publishing, which was happening primarily behind closed doors, and make it more transparent and accessible to everyone. Plus, as more and more people in the writing and editing profession are adopting freelance careers, it made sense to organize them,” he says, seated at the Monocle Cafe, home to one of London’s iconic magazines.

This year, Reedsy is democratizing the publishing process even further with a new component to the company: Reedsy Learning.  Launched in late 2016, the online courses help individuals figure out how to land publishing deals, what kind of support to hire (in terms of graphic designers, editors, ghostwriters), and how to navigate the complex world of Amazon, Facebook, and paid online advertising.

Read the full story at Forbes.co.uk

Why Silicon Valley’s money can’t solve Africa’s tech problems

“Parachute investing is a problem. If you’re investing in early-stage companies from an airplane, you should consider philanthropy”

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari chats with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg during his visit to the presidential villa in Abuja, on September 2, 2016

When Mark Zuckerberg went to Kenya and Nigeria in 2016, he proclaimed that the future would be built in Africa. That same year, Y-Combinator accepted startups with African roots for its much sought-after accelerator program. But is Africa indeed the next frontier for Silicon Valley?

Not so fast, says Mercy Mutua, an investment manager based in Nairobi. Despite all the fanfare and media coverage, the venture capital scene in Africa, particularly beyond South Africa, remains nascent.

“There are few, if any, funds here that are run by Africans that invest in African-led companies. It’s all largely capital from the US and Europe, much of it going to foreign-led companies on the continent,” she says. “So how do we build the next generation of private equity funds or impact investors that are actually led by locals?”

Read the full story at Wired.co.uk