Founding Story of a Change Maker

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Introducing Justin Perkins

The universe works in amazing ways.  By being observant and using your intuition the path of your life can become an amazing and impactful adventure.  One person that has followed such a path is Justin Perkins.  Justin is a native of Boulder, Colorado and is the senior director of brand engagement and business development with Care2.com, as well as the founder and president of the Olomomo Nut Company.

Care2 was one of the first “social good” websites to emerge back in 1998 with 30 million members and has petitions signed by hundreds of millions of people.  Olomomo was a hobby business Justin started back in 2008 that is now getting national distribution throughout natural grocery stores in the United States and soon Canada.  Both companies are certified B Corps.

Justin’s passion for social impact was sparked by a trip to Guatemala when he was a teenager.  It was a big shock for him to see how different the world was from mountainous paradise of Boulder.  Seeing how the rest of the world lived prompted his curiosity, and brought on questions like, “what does it all mean?”  His curiosity took him to Brazil to study international development and to South Africa for several months where he had a life-changing experience with a man named Billy that led him on a path to creating a non-profit.  This experience was so deeply impactful for Justin that he knew he had to pursue something similar in his career path; only in such a way that he could also make a buck as well.

Tune into this episode of the Boiling Point to see how openness to new experiences and serendipity can open a path to a life full of meaning and passion.

 

In this episode

  • Justin fills us in on the great things happening with Care2.com and Olomomo.
  • Greg and Dave are mesmerized by Justin’s entrepreneurial origin story.
  • Justin tells us about his friend Billy and how a chance meeting at a guitar store in Cape Town, South Africa changed his life forever.
  • We hear how Care2 is taking on issues from Bill Cosby to corporate slavery.
  • Justin explains how Care2 assists socially responsible companies as well as non-profits.
  • Dave believes it is remarkable how Justin uses his intuition and how his life seems like a “choose your own adventure” book.
  • Dave also comments on Justin’s curiosity for the world and how one half hour is not nearly enough to get the whole story.
  • Greg sees how adventurers, artists, and entrepreneurs are all the same type of people.

Links

Billy’s rendition of “We are the World”

– Care2.com

– Olomomo Nut Company

– Olomomo on Twitter

– Care2 on Twitter

– Justin’s email (Care2)

– Justin’s email (Olomomo