One of the biggest opportunities for folks who want to make an impact through entrepreneurship is to tackle things that Corporate America has gotten wrong and so we’ve asked some of the best and brightest in the community to share examples of what Corporate America is getting wrong in their industries.

Sarah Grace De La Torre

Corporate America often falls short, especially when it comes to supporting families. Children are often thought of as baggage or a burden. If I could make a change, it would be to shift the focus toward fostering a healthier work-life balance. The emphasis is too often placed on hours worked, rather than on actual productivity. After all, happy employees are more effective. Personally, I needed more time with my child. It felt like my job and the status of my team’s success were overtaking my life when, in reality, my family should have been my top priority. We need to invest more in building meaningful relationships and genuine human connections. We need to prioritize the well-being of pregnant women. Currently, maternity leave is barely adequate, and most companies don’t provide paid leave, which is a critical issue that needs to be addressed. Read more>>

Larissa Anthony

As a B2B wellness provider, I find that many corporations don’t view wellness as a priority in the workplace. A common misconception is that employees can compartmentalize their coping mechanisms when under stress. In reality, how they manage stress outside of work directly affects their performance, engagement, and retention. Read more>>

Natalie Wilson

I would say that corporate America misunderstand health as a whole system. Corporate America focuses on treating symptoms rather than the disease itself. Many people get put on lifelong drugs to diminish the symptoms, when instead they could be focusing on actually treating and healing the root of the issue. Read more>>

Tiffany Zhao

As a recent graduate from film school, I entered the industry hoping to turn my creative ideas into unique and provocative film and television. To me, entertainment should be intellectually enriching for the public, allowing audiences to think more critically about the world around them. However, once I actually started working in the industry, I quickly realized the corporate entities that hold decision power over what content gets made often prioritize short-term profit and risk-aversion over artistic integrity and long-term investment. This leads to constant remakes/sequels of major existing IPs, instead of new ideas and stories that have never been told on screen before. Read more>>

Janelle Barlow

Corporate America, by and large, treats customer complaints as transactional experiences, rather than as relationship building experiences. Transactions can work, no doubt about that — if your goal as a company is to handle what went wrong and then move on to the next customer. But if your goal is to use the complaint experience as an opportunity to build a relationship with your customer (or family member, or friend, or whoever), it maytake a little bit longer. But you can retain the relationship. In business this means saving a great deal of money. It is estimated that in the U.S. alone poor complaint handling costs industry about a trillion dollars a year. That’s money left on the table and is a genuine waste. Read more>>

Madison Ortega

The food industry is completely backward. Why is it easier for the average person to buy produce flown in from halfway across the country than it is to support local farms? The blame is usually on the individual to be more conscious when buying which is a great concept except it’s not. In reality, there are lots of barriers when it comes to buying locally. Things like time, accessibility, convenience, and money. On a general scale, restaurants and food establishments are contributing to this issue, lack of nutrition and support for their community. Here’s an example, there is a high-end restaurant in my area, making loads of cash every night. They buy their eggs from Shamrock, maybe paying 50 or 80 cents per egg. Read more>>