This week I came across a map from Alessa Berg and the team at Top Tier Impact. It shows more than 160 startups using biology to make the things we use every day: food proteins, plastics, dyes, building materials, textiles and chemicals. Some use fermentation, some use algae and some use enzymes. All of them take their cues from nature. It’s a remarkable list, and I’ll admit it made me a little emotional.
Back in 1997, Richard Carlson wrote Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff… and It’s All Small Stuff. I was building companies back then, and like a lot of folks, I ate it up. It sounded wise. Stay above the noise. Keep your eye on the big picture. So for about thirty years, whenever things got messy,
What’s your impossible in your own life, right now? Not the dream you had in high school or something you keep saving for “someday,” but something meaningful you would like to explore at this point in your life. Now imagine having people around you who will take that question seriously. People willing to listen, share
We had no real money. What we did have were a few credit cards, a belief that food could be produced differently, and probably just enough naïveté to believe we could actually do something about it.
It wasn't just about a business win; it was a reminder that when one door slams shut in business, an absurd, unexpected window can swing wide open—sometimes shaped like a foam clog.
