Beyond the Feed

Three winners of Linktree’s Passion Fund are doing their part to make real impact in the world: a student-led society at the University of Glasgow produces 3D printed prosthetic limbs for individuals with upper limb deficiencies, a US-based team seeks to enhance the Arctic’s natural ability to reflect solar radiation out of the atmosphere, resulting in slowing the rate of global warming, and a UK student envisions making a dent in sustainability within trendy fashion. They share ideas on making the most of social media, the importance of linking personal experience with marketing messaging, and why understanding an industry makes so much sense before jumping into entrepreneurship. https://linktr.ee/arcticiceproject https://linktr.ee/handprints.enable https://linktr.ee/rosenambasa

Whether motivated by identity or opportunity, building bridges across culture can be a powerful thing, and it isn’t easy. Two black-owned businesses share a mission to build their own kind of bridges within their own culture: Blu Room Productions (an artist-driven production company founded by actress/writer/producer Crystal Joy, dedicated to building bridges between African Americans and Africans across the continent and global diasporas through a variety of storytelling) and self described Black-Owned Beauty Mecca IFUKNO, YOU KNOW (offering an immersive online retailer that celebrates Black Owned Beauty brands), founded by "Bossbae" Ayanna Combs. Both share how their missions share a common theme of motivating an understanding of one another, working with allies, and presenting the possibility of a bigger picture. https://linktr.ee/_inthebluroom  https://linktr.ee/ifuknowuknow

Storytelling is foundational to building brand, sales, and community, and is at the core of the DNA of several winners of Linktree’s Passion Fund. Three of these business owners, on three continents, include Polite Company Press (a bilingual and environmentally friendly printing press serving artists and community), Storied (a web application to improve our senior citizens' wellbeing in aged care, starting with learning their stories), and El Refugio Mezcal (a small-batch mezcal brand sharing the stories of indigenous communities and using mezcal  a medium for cultivating respect for native Mexican peoples). They offer insights on the important value that workshops, early input, and sharing stories can bring to any business. https://linktr.ee/beyondthefeed https://linkt.ree/bybelter https://linktr.ee/grilly https://elrefugiomezcal

When a business has purpose and can make an impact, the potential for success can be higher. Canadian fashion designer Lisa Veregin, with her ecommerce site My Higher Frequency, is launching a line of colorful underwear made by women, for women. These carefully curated colorful designs are digitally printed onto a special certified bamboo to ensure environmental responsibility. Lisa is embracing a philosophy of “confidence through comfort” to inspire empowerment, and shares insights on the importance of understanding a market before launching, working with mentors to learn a business, and aligning a business with a message that matters to the target customer. https://linktr.ee/beyondthefeed https://linktr.ee/myhigherfrequency

What does it take to start scaling a new company? After finding that Reiki, a form of energy healing, dramatically improved her severe epilepsy, South African Nkhensani Rikhotso learned that green spaces also had a centering and healing effect. Nkhesani built HerMerakai, focused on the power of self-healing plants provide, with a mission to impact mental health for others by creating greener indoor spaces. She created a community to share plant care tips which she has scaled to more than 10,000 people, has grown a reputation as a masterful interior plant stylist, and created her own organic plant spray. This winner of Linktree’s Passion Fund shares strategies for growth and scaling a business, building a team to let you focus on your strengths, and how a focus on storytelling can help build an engaged community. https://linktr.ee/beyondthefeed https://linktr.ee/hermerakai