Rise Regardless

There are obstacles intrinsic to being an entrepreneur scaling your business amidst a global recession, and there are obstacles inherent to running a sustainable fashion business — in particular, you want your customers to buy less, to consume less, but that also means less revenues for you. Now, let’s combine the obstacles from both of those circumstances and instead of one global recession, let’s make it two. There we have it: Stephanie Ostler’s entrepreneurial journey thus far. In this episode, you’ll learn more about how Stephanie, the founder of Devil May Wear, has not only resiliently survived but also thrived as a business owner during the 2008 recession AND current COVID-19 pandemic. 3:57 About Stephanie & Devil May Wear 5:34 Difficulties associated with running a sustainable business 8:10 How Stephanie’s vision for Devil May Wear has changed over 17 years 11:43 Concept: the circular economy 13:00 How to start a business with ethics & sustainability as a priority 14:29 How to shop more sustainably 17:21 Parallels between the 2008 recession & today 24:03 Key lessons learned 27:00 How to deal with pandemic stress & financial strain 30:14 Easy ways to support small business right now 31:14 Staying in touch with Stephanie & Devil May Wear More about Stephanie: Stephanie launched Devil May Wear, straight out of high school immediately attracting international attention and sales. By the time she was 30, she had 3 successful retail locations in Vancouver and Victoria, Canada. In 2013, she delivered a TEDx talk called “The Luxury to Buy Better” where she spoke about the value of buying fewer things you love more. Stephanie currently teaches a course at Simon Fraser University in business and design based on textile sustainability called "Make Change Studio". Get in touch with Stephanie via email: [email protected] Check out Devil May Wear: https://www.devilmaywear.ca/ Follow Devil May Wear on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/devilmaywear/ Like Devil May Wear on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/devilmaywearstore Keep up to date with Stephanie’s work: https://stephanieostler.wordpress.com/ More about Katy: Katy is passionate human rights, animal welfare, and environmental activist, and the founder of Attire Media, an online platform that educates consumers about making ethical and sustainable fashion choices while promoting values of diversity and inclusion.  After working in the fashion industry as a marketing specialist, business consultant, and model, she recognized that there were still major gaps in the fashion industry relating to diversity, ethics, and sustainability. Taking initiative on the problems plaguing one of the world’s largest industries, Katy started Attire to alleviate the gaps and help consumers adopt conscious fashion practices. Katy is also currently studying Commerce at the UBC Sauder School of Business, and is passionate about using business tools to alleviate social and environmental issues. Follow Attire Media on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/attiremedia/ Subscribe to Attire Media’s Newsletter: https://www.attiremedia.com/

Would you buy a t-shirt for $10? Would you still buy it if you knew that over 1,000 people were killed in the process? In 2013, Bangladesh's Rana Plaza collapse accentuated the dire working conditions of labourers (read: victims) of the fast fashion industry to the global community. Knowing this human cost is enough to stop all of us from buying such goods, but the fast fashion industry’s persistent detrimental effects don’t stop here. It is also notorious for its overwhelming disservice to the environment. One example: Because of excess clothing production and the brevity of its use, the equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. Having seen these staggering statistics (and more), Selina Ho has made it her mission to right the wrongs of the harmful fast fashion industry. Even today, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Selina continues to resiliently scale sustainable brands and educate consumers about slow fashion through the Recloseted podcast, e-book, and social media channels. More about Selina: Selina is the Founder & CEO of Recloseted, a consulting agency dedicated to collectively marching towards slow fashion with both businesses and consumers. Outside of sustainability, Selina also applies her business acumen in consumer health as a marketing manager at TELUS. When she's not working, you can find her on the mountains skiing and snowboarding, unwinding at a yoga class, or trying out new restaurants. Connect with Selina on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/selinaho/ Follow Recloseted on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/recloseted/ Download the Recloseted Handbook: https://www.recloseted.com/handbook Listen to the Recloseted Radio Podcast: https://www.recloseted.com/podcast

Selling is draining. Selling is egocentric. Selling is manipulative. Many people have these negative associations with selling, and yet, they feel that it’s nonetheless an integral component to being successful, whether it is advancing themselves in their career or growing their business. But what if you didn’t need to sell to achieve your version of success? In this episode of Rise Regardless, Farnoosh Brock makes us privy to succeeding by eliminating the selling mindset. Instead? Adopt the serving mindset. Having felt compelled to leave her successful engineering career at a top tech company to pursue her greater purpose of helping others raise their impact, influence and income, Farnoosh made the audacious move knowing that she would accept only half the income she and her husband once had. In doing so, Farnoosh pursed purpose over paycheck and embraced the serving mindset along the way. More about Farnoosh: Farnoosh went from electrical engineer and rising leader at a Fortune 100 company to business coach, trainer, and speaker at Google, Fidelity Investments and others. She has helped many individuals and businesses adopt the mindset of serving over selling to build deep trust, meaningful customer relationships as well as sustainable profits. In addition to her latest book, The Serving Mindset: Stop Selling and Grow Your Business, she is the author of the author of three health books as well as the  creator of Crack the Code to Get Promoted - a leadership & career advancement course for corporate professionals. Connect with Farnoosh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fbahram/ Follow Farnoosh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prolificliving/ Learn more about Prolific Living: https://www.prolificliving.com/

We’ve all heard of glass ceilings before, but do you know about bamboo ceilings? The term “bamboo ceiling”, like “glass ceiling”, addresses underrepresentation in leadership roles, but as opposed to highlighting women, it accentuates Asians in the Western workforce. Given stereotypes of being intelligent, hard working, and humble, Asians are often dubbed the “model minority”. Though really, “sticky floor” discriminatory employment practices are applicable to women, LGBTQ2+, and other minority groups alike — Asian people of colour included.  And Jerry Lee is fully cognizant of this stark reality.  As a young Asian professional climbing the American corporate ladder, Jerry shares his journey breaking the bamboo ceiling and beyond. From humble beginnings of independently funding his college degree, Jerry elaborates on how core Asian values, such as respect and hard work, have propelled him in quickly scaling the corporate ladder irrespective of the accompanying inevitable and paradoxical challenges he’s faced. And as accomplished as Jerry is, he attributes his ability to thrive and not only survive to more than just his merit, but to his communities of support as well.  More about Jerry:  Jerry is currently the youngest Strategy & Operations Manager at Google. He is from Torrance, California and graduated summa cum laude from Babson College. Outside of work, Jerry hosts workshops on financial literacy & professional developments and is starting his own Korean tapas food business.  Follow Jerry on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jehakjerrylee 

Students, how do you define your own path? How do you differentiate yourself? How do you create impact and effect change when you’re only just a student?  In this episode with special guests, Blessing Adogame, Michael Amoako, and Sevri Sovian, we answer all these questions and more. The reality is that “being just a student” is a social construct and mindset that constrains your potential. And though being a student may be an integral part of who your identity and associated with your innate curiosity, it does not fully encompass who you are. Cognizant of this, Blessing, Michael, and Sevri share how they break down this barrier, and in fact, leverage their position as students to thrive as young professionals and beyond.  This episode is part 1 to a Rise Regardless series called, “So You Think You’re Just a Student? Think Again.” The full episodes with each of these brilliant individuals will be released separately soon, so make sure to follow and subscribe to get notified when they’re out. In the meantime, you can connect and learn more about Blessing, Michael, and Sevri via LinkedIn: Blessing: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blessingadogame/ Michael: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-amoako-71b449113/ Sevri: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sevri/ More about our featured guests: Blessing Adogame is pursuing a BS in Information Systems, with minors in Security Technology and Business Administration at Drexel University. She is a community leader, woman in tech, co-founder of "Students of LinkedIn”, and global citizen who has lived in Nigeria, Germany, Scotland, and now, the US. Blessing is a vehement believer in the power of storytelling. She believes that stories and experiences pave the path that enhances a person's voice. She aspires to create a space, not only where she can continue to help other students around the world, but also where students can help students, ultimately creating a synergistic movement and mindset.  Michael Amoako is a recent graduate from MIT with a major in Business Management and minors in Computer Science and Mathematics. He is originally from Teaneck, NJ but grew up in a household with two Ghanaian parents. After MIT, Michael will be working as a PM at Microsoft in their two year AI Rotation Program in which he will seek to empower other teams at Microsoft using AI solutions. Michael plans to partake in Harvard Business School's MS/MBA program after his two years at Microsoft. His ultimate goal is to empower entrepreneurs who seek to make a positive impact on society and have strong interests in both social impact and technology-related entrepreneurship. Michael firmly believes in the value of mentorship and feels that a community will reach its full potential when those with desired experience and knowledge serve as mentors to others.  Sevri Sovian is an Emerging Solutions Engineer at Salesforce in Melbourne, Australia and has a Bachelors in Accounting & Finance and Master in Management. Having made his first foray into the tech industry as a product specialist at Apple, Sevri has since been devoted to helping others seize opportunities that are outside of the traditional business student trajectory by venturing out into fields such as tech. In doing so, he encourages students to leverage LinkedIn as he tells stories through video content.