A strong belief in what you do to realize your dreams
What are some key issues in the chocolate industry that we need to know about? When things get tough, how can we stay motivated and just keep pulling through?
Founder of bean-to-bar chocolate company Madécasse, Tim McCollum, shares his wisdom with us on this episode. Let's dive in.
If you feel inspired by this episode, please consider donating a gift of support of any amount today!
This is a conversation on Green Dreamer Podcast with Kaméa Chayne, a show exploring environmental and intersectional sustainability from ideas to life. Subscribe to Green Dreamer on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or any podcast app and let’s learn what it takes to thrive in every sense of the word!
Highlights
[2:24] What first inspired Tim to get involved in sustainable development.
[6:44] What inspired Tim to start Madécasse.
[7:39] Kaméa: "What was your greatest learning lesson from working in the private sector that you were able to bring to your social enterprise?"
[8:16] One of Tim's greatest challenges building the business.
[9:42] Tim explains the key differences between a traditional chocolate supply chain and Madécasse's supply chain.
[11:19] Tim's thoughts on what targeting the root cause of poverty through chocolate could look like.
[12:49] What we as individuals can do to inspire change from large corporations like Hershey's.
[13:17] Tim: "Every time you spend a dollar or buy a product, you're enabling the company to stay in business, so make sure it's a company you believe in."
[14:02] Keys to Madécasse's success in establishing itself in grocery stores and retailers so far.
[15:29] What Tim would do differently if he could go back in time, knowing what he knows now.
[16:37] Tim: "You better believe in what you're doing. You will go through these amazing swings of euphoria and crashing down, and what keeps you going is the belief in what you're doing."
[18:35] A few key insights on injustices in the global cocoa industry.
[20:11] Tim: "Chocolate is a sensitive product the same way coffee is. It originates from an underdeveloped part of the world where people are quite poor, so you should have some idea of the brand you're buying and what they're trying to do in the world."
[20:43] Tim's thoughts on what we need most to help address poverty and support sustainable development in our world today.
[21:05] Tim: "We need more entrepreneurs and more companies that go into business to solve a social problem."
Keep in Touch
Madécasse
Website: www.madecasse.com
Instagram: @madecasse
Twitter: @madecasse
Facebook: @madecasse
Tips
To follow: National Geographic
Words of inspiration: "You can be aware of what's wrong in the world, but focus on what you're doing to fix it and the incremental gains you make."
Health tip: "Yoga, pull-ups, push-ups."
Green tip: "Walk."
Element of hope: "Faith in humanity. We might mess up, but eventually over time, we fix it and make it better."
Words of Wisdom: "Don't judge. Take action. Fix problems instead of just raising awareness of problems."
