EPISODE 23: 24 Good Deeds

10/25/22 • 14 min

1 Listener

Recorded September 2022

Starting in October each year, individuals and corporations begin thinking about surprising those close to them with holiday gifts. Recently, one of the more popular gifts has been advent calendars. By now, most of us have seen an advent calendar. Hiding behind numbered doors are treats or surprises that are only revealed when the door is opened. Traditionally, you are only allowed to open one door per day in December.

I’ve seen advent calendars promoting tea, chocolate and even whiskey. But none of these come close to accomplishing what the advent calendar from 24 Good Deeds does.

Based on an idea originating in Germany, for as little as $24, purchasing a calendar directly supports 24 charitable projects—six from each of four four key areas (health care, education, nutrition, and the environment). The charities and their projects are reviewed and approved by an independent advisory board, and must adhere to extremely high standards to be selected.

Behind every door, every day, individuals can see good deeds take place in the world.

Now that’s a holiday gift worth sharing.

24 Good Deeds Website

Recorded September 2022

I’ve seen advent calendars promoting tea, chocolate and even whiskey. But none of these come close to accomplishing what the advent calendar from 24 Good Deeds does.

Behind every door, every day, individuals can see good deeds take place in the world.

Now that’s a holiday gift worth sharing.

24 Good Deeds Website

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EPISODE 22: Wicked Smart Hot Sauce

1 Recommendations

Recorded August 2022

One of the things that makes Before the Business a special project is being able to get to know entrepreneurs whose products I use and admire. I’m a self-proclaimed spice lover, and I always have a few different kinds of hot sauce in my fridge, including Wicked Smart’s “Calypso”.

Born in Trinidad, founder Ifoma Smart immigrated to Canada at the age of four. In his home as a child, pepper sauce was everywhere, and it was served in generous amounts with every dish. He spent countless hours watching his grandmother, mother, aunts and uncles compete amongst other family members for who had the hottest sauce. They visited West Indian markets and handpicked the freshest ingredients to replicate the flavours of the sauces from back home.

So it was only natural for Ifoma to take what he learned from his family and adapt them to fit his own recipes. When his own mother asked him for his recipe, he knew he was on to something good. He again applying his knowledge to create products that will spice up any dish.

The appeal of the sauces is that they are not ignorantly hot without flavour... at least that’s what they would say in Trinidad. While he claims that these are not Trinidadian-style hot sauces, they certain respect his origins and his roots.

Wicked Smart Hot Sauce Website

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EPISODE 24: GoMaterials

1 Recommendations

Recorded October 2022

After owning his landscape construction business for over 10 years, GoMaterials’ CEO and co-founder Marc Elliott had experienced first-hand the headaches related to poor quality materials, last minute order changes, product availability shortages, and late deliveries. He shared his experience with long-time friends, who jointly realised that if Marc had experienced those challenges, other landscape designers would as well.

They had identified a gap in the landscape construction business. GoMaterials was born out of the need to resolve these challenges for the landscaping industry.

Today, GoMaterials represents a modern way for landscape construction businesses to source wholesale plant materials for the their projects. Their unique platform and service takes on all aspects of plant procurement, from material estimation to logistics management. With GoMaterials, landscape professionals can finally experience hassle-free sourcing and plant wholesalers can sell more efficiently.

GoMaterials is at the forefront of an evolving and changing industry. Their clients are the businesses that build the green spaces that we love to enjoy — from parks and public spaces to corporate or residential sites. Behind the scenes, GoMaterials is at the forefront of making it happen.

GoMaterials Website