Success is Surviving

04/06/21 • 27 min

17 Listeners

When Robin Petravic and Cathy Bailey bought Heath Ceramics from the company's founders in 2003, they promised to keep the dinnerware maker and its manufacturing workforce in its home base of Sausalito, California. The pandemic provided an opportunity for Heath to recommit to this pledge and create a Living Wage Initiative, which in turn prompted a radical overhaul of the company's 401(k) program. Robin Petravic comes on Rework to talk about walking the walk on equity, resilience, and equipping Heath for the next 200 years.

Robin and Cathy wrote about the Living Wage Initiative in Heath's January newsletter.

Show Notes

Heath Ceramics website | Instagram - 1:02

"Edith Heath: A Rebellion in Clay" (KCET, 2019) - 1:14
"A New Year, 166 New Owners" - 6:30

"Marin County's intensive effort drove down a COVID surge among Latino residents" (San Jose Mercury News) - 10:46

MIT Living Wage Calculator - 15:46

Eau de Space - 25:16

Robin and Cathy wrote about the Living Wage Initiative in Heath's January newsletter.

Show Notes

Heath Ceramics website | Instagram - 1:02

"Edith Heath: A Rebellion in Clay" (KCET, 2019) - 1:14
"A New Year, 166 New Owners" - 6:30

"Marin County's intensive effort drove down a COVID surge among Latino residents" (San Jose Mercury News) - 10:46

MIT Living Wage Calculator - 15:46

Eau de Space - 25:16

Previous Episode

From Insolvency to Upsolve

Upsolve makes a free tool that automates the process of filing for Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy. The organization is an atypical tech startup that's also an atypical non-profit. Co-founder and CTO Mark Hansen comes on the show to talk about how Upsolve alternately embraces and subverts the norms of the tech and non-profit worlds, and why the "right" corporate structure won't necessarily prevent an organization from causing harm.

Show Notes

Upsolve website | Twitter - 00:40

Mark Hansen on Twitter - 00:48

"HHS failed to heed many warnings that HealthCare.gov was in trouble" (Washington Post, February 2016) - 1:52

Rohan Pavuluri on Twitter - 2:28

Jonathan Petts on Twitter - 2:29

A 2014 study by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that many payday loans trap borrowers in revolving debt - 3:45

Upsolve's explanation of a bankruptcy discharge - 5:37

Upsolve's explanation of the "meeting of creditors" - 8:17

The Legal Services Corporation's Technology Initiative Grant Program - 10:17

Philadelphia Legal Assistance - 10:22

Certified B Corporation - 10:32

Sidewalk Labs - 12:00

"YC-backed Upsolve is automating bankruptcy for everyone" (TechCrunch, January 2019) - 13:28

Yvon Chouinard's 2019 interview in Fast Company - 20:28

Next Episode

HEY, Is This App Accessible?

How Basecamp's Michael Berger approached accessibility during the development of HEY, including collaborating with a blind Basecamp user on accessible features that ultimately improved the experience for everyone.

Show Notes

Michael Berger on Twitter - 00:52

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines - 3:49

Apple's Voiceover - 5:32

JAWS - 5:39

NVDA - 5:41

Scott Ballard-Ridley on Twitter - 12:47

HEY for Work - 18:32

Ruby on Rails Core Team - 23:33

thoughtbot - 23:44

Aspiritech - 24:12

CSUN Assistive Technology Conference - 26:29