Vegan Business Talk

In this episode, I interview Jecks Stone, interior designer and founder of Persona Abode in the UK.

Her background in recycling management and historic building conservation were the foundation of marrying interiors with environmental impact.

After wrestling with balancing her morals with the perceived frivolity of the interior design industry, Jecks became one of the first UK designers to be vegandesign.org certified.

Through Pers...

In this episode I interview Lena Ludwig, founder and principal of Vital Gains mergers and acquisitions consultancy in Washington D.C.

A vegan of 26 years, Lena started working in mergers and acquisitions and finance over 20 years ago, and she’s helped hundreds of businesses with successful acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic growth planning.

For the past 10 years, she’s been a financial and administrative executive in the p...

In this episode I interview Natasha and Ed Tatton, co-founders of BReD, a vegan, organic, sourdough bakery in the ski resort town of Whistler in Canada.

Both originally from the UK, Natasha is a former English teacher, and Ed is a professional fine-dining chef.

The couple moved to Canada, became vegan and passionate environmentalists and opened BReD three years ago.

Earlier this year, the husband and wife team recently won the Best...

In this episode I interview James McInnes, co-founder of Odd Burger vegan fast food chain in Ontario, Canada

James, who was a software executive, was diagnosed with high blood pressure in 2014 and changed his lifestyle for the better by going vegan.

He and his wife Lia began developing their own plant-based meats and soon were selling vegan meal kits featuring local ingredients.

But they couldn’t shake the idea that what the world ...

In this episode I interview Tyler Mayoras, CEO and co-founder of Cool Beans, a plant-based food company in Chicago whose first products are globally-inspired, healthy frozen wraps.

After nearly two decades investing in agriculture and food brands, Tyler had seen the dark underside of the American food industry first hand.

After learning about the negative impact of animal agriculture on the environment, he began a journey into plan...

In this episode I interview Bailey Ruskus (aka Chef Bai).

Classically trained at Le Cordon Bleu in San Francisco, Bailey has been in business for herself for 10 years, but three years ago made the switch to become a completely vegan business.

Host of the Plant Remedy podcast, she’s been a long-time warrior of endometriosis and has discovered her own tools to heal her body through food and health.

Now based in San Diego, she cooks f...

In this episode I interview Mitchell Scott, co-founder and CEO of The Very Good Butchers, a Canadian plant-based meat company.

After selling out the farmers’ markets on Denman Island, British Columbia, Mitchell and his co-founder and fellow ‘bean butcher’ James Davison knew they were onto something.

They brought their beans to Victoria and opened the Canadian West Coast’s first plant-based butchery.

The pair are currently opening a...

In this episode I interview Professor Johanna Sophia, founder of Johanna’s Raw Foods in upstate New York.

After a music, film, and writing career that saw her travel the globe, Johanna – who was raised in Germany – settled down in the US and raised her children.

When her kids were barely in their teens and she was almost 50, Johanna found herself lying on the floor, paralyzed for what seemed an eternity experiencing a stroke.

She m...

In this episode, I interview Vikas Garg, the founder and CEO of abillion, a sustainability platform for plant-based dishes and cruelty-free products.

Four years ago, Vikas left his high-flying career at one of the world’s largest hedge funds after he found a new mission — to help and inspire a billion people to go vegan in the next 10 years.

Based in Singapore, Vikas is dedicated to grassroots education and conservation initiatives...

In this episode I interview Jenny Goldfarb, founder of vegan meat company Mrs Goldfarb’s Unreal Deli in Los Angeles. After becoming vegan, Jenny craved the familiar flavors of her family's New York Jewish delis from her youth. The former tech entrepreneur began experimenting in her tiny kitchen, trying out the recipes on vegan and meat-eating family and friends. Encouragement from them quickly led to Jenny shopping around he...

This episode is a recording of a live virtual event I hosted recently: Power Chat with Anne McKevitt. From property developer and interior designer (with a homewares product line of 1600 sku’s) to prime time TV star (dubbed ‘Britain’s Martha Stewart’ by the media) and bestselling author of millions of books, Anne McKevitt’s skills and expertise in brand-building are sought after by the world’s leading entrepreneurial companies and...

In this episode I interview Rebecca Ettridge, the owner of Wombat Café & Store, the Mornington Peninsula’s first 100% vegan café in Victoria, Australia, founded in 2016. Wombat regularly raises and donates substantial amounts of money to Australian animal sanctuaries along with ongoing monthly payments to #paytherent, a grassroots Indigenous organization. The café, which has expanded to a team of 16 employees, also funds the ...

In this episode I interview Izzy Shu, one of four co-founders of JOI (Just One Ingredient), a plant-based milk company with a difference. When Izzy and her fellow co-founders met in grad school, they quickly realized their shared passion for healthier lifestyles and a quest to make the world more sustainable, and created a thesis project: An innovative solution to make plant-based milks cleaner, more accessible and more eco-friend...

In this episode I interview Jena Bautmans, the founder of Jenah St., a vegan handbag and accessories brand in Germany. Before founding Jenah St. in 2019, Jena was the co-founder of Buckle & Seam, a men’s accessories company that uses animal leather. While working in Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Pakistan, she experienced an awakening of how the land and people are impacted by heavy industries like fashion, which changed the way sh...

In this episode, I interview beauty industry veteran Tev Finger. He started in the industry in 1990. Since 2006, Tev has helped to create, launch and grow beauty brands across the globe through his company Luxury Brand Partners (LBP). He does this by partnering with key talent while focusing on unique distribution models and collaborating on product innovation, while staying on top of the latest consumer trends. Based in Miami...

In this episode, I interview Bonnie Brown and Paul Turcotte, co-founders of Passion Placement, a new employment platform focused on connecting people with mission-driven organizations doing work that matters to them. Bonnie is a CPA, senior level executive and entrepreneur with over 25 years hands-on experience in finance, management, information systems and business leadership. Paul is an entrepreneur and business executive wh...

In this episode I interview Kati Ohens, co-founder of vegan deli meats company Plantcraft in New Zealand. After a 20-year marketing, advertising, and software executive career, Kati exited her agency to start working in the mission-based space. While working as a vegan transition coach, she noticed the gap in the alternative meat market, and the need for deli slices. Kati met commercial banking executive Csaba Hetenyi, a fello...

In this episode, I interview Stephanie Miklosvary, founder of Lucky Chick, a vegan cosmetics brand in New York. Stephanie founded and created the company in 2000 as she was putting her art degree to work as a shoe designer in New York City. Nicknamed “Lucky Chick” by a friend for living in her LC (Lobby C) apartment, she decided to create a persona around her new name. Inspired by art and self-expression, Lucky Chick Cosmetics...

In this episode I reveal a couple of situations I experienced recently when publicists pitched me their guests to be on this show, that I want you to avoid. Making journalists’ jobs easy is super important when you’re doing your own PR (or pitching a guest on their behalf). I include podcasters and bloggers in the journalist category too. I receive heaps of pitches from both PR agencies and vegan business owners and to be honest,...