Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Justine Reichman . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Justine thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Any thoughts around creating more inclusive workplaces?
I truly value providing a comfortable setting for my team. Opening up the floor to everyone so each person can create and share their ideas in a safe space is really important to me. I’ve carefully and intentionally curated my small but mighty team with people who have varied and specific skill sets to check all the boxes of what’s needed to execute the vision of NextGen Purpose. We may be a small startup but we are people driven from passion who want to see this vision come to fruition. During our weekly team meetings we brainstorm new ideas and make sure to hear each other out, allowing everyone to share their ideas, feedback and insight. My Business Operations leader, Bonnie Rock-Kling, said of NextGen’s work environment, “Justine’s ability to cultivate a culture of open communication within NextGen Purpose has been invaluable to pushing the company forward. The encouragement to share insights, make proposals, and take ownership of your work is a clear driver of our team’s ambitions. Justine leads by example, graciously giving and receiving feedback and ensuring every team member feels heard and valued.” Everyone has a different set of life experiences but by enabling this free reign of conversation where each person is included, we can see the world through each other’s eyes and build new momentum to take the community, organization and company to new levels. As the founder and CEO of NextGen, there are times where I have to make a final decision and there are times I have to turn down an idea but it doesn’t change the our safe place to come together and brainstorm. There is a mutual respect among my team and myself and I strive to let them know that everyone is included. If I have to veto something, it’s done with respect and I want everyone to know I valued their idea even if I say no in the moment.
Justine, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I founded NextGen Purpose to help people make healthier, more informed food choices and raise global awareness about food. I strive to create a space for founders, innovators, impact investors and foodies to connect and learn from each other on my podcast, Essential Ingredients. Ei is a safe space for people to share ideas, triumphs, moments of defeat, talk about their families and generate inspiration to fellow entrepreneurs. I am further extending my reach with a book I’m writing with Lisa Johnson, an expert in food loss and waste. Through this book, we will share stories and insight on entrepreneurial inspiration in the food sector.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
When I was young, I thought I could do it all but as I get older, I understand that there is wisdom in bringing on others with expertise in areas where I lack certain skills. By doing so, I can make more informed choices for my business, not only for me but for everyone that is there participating with me in the NextGen journey. I don’t have a full staff but by bringing on freelancers who help me with things that I might not be as comfortable doing, I can focus my strengths in areas where I shine. In my younger years, I just didn’t know when to go out and ask for help. With experience, I’ve realized there’s a time when you can only go as far as you can independently. I appreciate being scrappy and the ability to at least try to do everything myself but I’ve slowly learned at what point I need to bring in experts to make the next leap.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Like so many, the greatest pivot I had to make a founder was a direct result of the Covid shutdown. NextGen Purpose started out to build a face-to-face community to bring together all kinds of people in the food industry. We were going to host networking events, facilitate opportunities and connections for new CPG companies and conduct panel discussions but when the world stopped in the beginning of 2020, we quickly had to make a quick shift to a digital platform to stay afloat. We first landed on Zoom, hosting forums and talks but we weren’t really reaching a very big audience, maybe 20-30 people at a time. So the Zoom meetings evolved into what is now my podcast, Essential Ingredients. Now we have a product that has almost 400,000 downloads. Precovid we were functioning as an in person community but I’ll say that the online community is pretty amazing and extremely supportive. Cultivating the Essential Ingredients community was not an easy feat but now we have a global reach which allows us to be really efficient with our time and cast a broader net to connect our guests and partners.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nextgenpurpose.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nextgenpurpose_/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NextGenPurpose1/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinereichman/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nextgenpurpose3733