Leave It Better Than You Found It With Stuart McCarroll

06/13/23 • 50 min

“You know, I’ve always just believed really simply in leaving things better than what you took them. And I don’t have any sort of grand plans for legacy. I would like to leave things better. Everything that I touch, better than what I started it.” — Stuart McCarroll
In this episode of Owning Your Legacy, Laurette is joined by Stuart McCarrroll, a seasoned food and beverage industry leader turned entrepreneur who has harnessed his vast knowledge and experience to found three companies—Menu Collective, an agency that specializes in food service innovation, CoLaboratory Chicago, an F&B co-working space, and most recently, SuperFree Beverages.

Stuart knows the food and bev business from all angles and has helped to scale some of the industry’s best-known companies, including Kerry and DöhlerGroup, before venturing into his own businesses. With Menu Collective, Stuart co-led menu innovation for the Starbucks Reserve alcohol beverage program—a special project that continues to evolve.

In this episode of Owning Your Legacy:

The importance of creating anticipation with consumers; why the best process is built around people; the pros and cons of fast growth; designing the Starbucks Reserve roasteries beverage program; why uncomfortable situations are necessary for growth.

If you enjoyed the episode please share it with others, and rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about me and how I am Owning My Legacy, you can find me on Instagram @LauretteRondenet and online at lauretterondenet.com.

In this episode of Owning Your Legacy:

The importance of creating anticipation with consumers; why the best process is built around people; the pros and cons of fast growth; designing the Starbucks Reserve roasteries beverage program; why uncomfortable situations are necessary for growth.

Previous Episode

Stopping the Teen Suicide Epidemic With Kari Eckert

“The fact that our young people are learning that it's okay to ask for help, that's an amazing win.” — Kari Eckert

In this episode of Owning Your Legacy, Laurette is joined by Kari Eckert, the founder and executive director of Robbie’s Hope, a nonprofit organization dedicated to teen suicide prevention. Kari’s son Robbie took his own life at the age of 15.

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among teens in the U.S. and the number one cause in Colorado, where Robbie’s Hope began. But what’s more staggering than the statistics is that there isn’t more being done to help the individuals affected most—teens.

The mission of Robbie’s Hope is to empower a generation of teens to let each other know it’s okay to not be okay. Laurette and Kari discuss the prevalence of teen anxiety and depression, and what needs to be done to bring this tough conversation to the forefront.

In this episode of Owning Your Legacy:

The shortage of therapists today;
The prevalence of anxiety in young children and teens;
Dealing with loss, grief, and healing;
The importance of opening up the conversation on suicide;
Social media’s role in teen depression and anxiety.

In Case of an Emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline call 988 or text TALK to 8255.

Next Episode

Origin Stories, Knowing Your Worth, and Learning to Leverage With Brooke Foley

“A lot of reasons why I talk about knowing your worth is that if you don't know it, you can't fight for it. And if you don't believe in your worth, don't ask me to. That's really hard. And so I think that's where people who are established or have a good solid sense of worth—it's on us to help others see that worth.” — Brooke Foley

In this episode of Owning Your Legacy, Laurette is joined by her friend Brooke Foley, CEO & founder of The Jayne Agency, an award-winning strategic-creative boutique that specializes in helping businesses adapt and thrive in the new “clarity economy.” A born creative, Brooke followed her heart into graphic design, studying under some of the greats in Europe before landing a big agency gig in Chicago. Eventually, she left to open her own agency, where she experienced the many ups and downs of being an entrepreneur but ultimately found great success through her one-of-a-kind approach to branding—beginning with the origin story.

Laurette and Brooke unpack that journey, including their own origin story and what led them to create “It’s Not Just Dinner,” a relationship and professional development non-for-profit (501c3) that focuses on the power of MEDIC: Mentorship, Education, Diversity, Inclusion, and Certification.

In this episode of Owning Your Legacy: The evolution of ad agency life; Why your origin story matters; The importance of knowing your worth; Get to know WBENC—The Women's Business Enterprise National Council; Learning to leverage your network and sell naturally.