Pivot! A Vegan Business Interview Series

 Brett Christoffel is the Founder and CEO of All Y’alls Foods. All Y’alls Foods was born from Brett's love of cows. After spending over 40 years consuming them, it hit Brett that he loved all animals as much as he loved a dog or cat, so he stopped eating meat and became a vegan.

As a native Texan, Brett takes pride in his state. When he learned that one of Texas' most substantial contributions to the world is beef, he decided to support changing that by launching All Y'alls' first product: It’s Jerky Y’all, in May of 2018.

In this episode of Pivot, Brett describes his journey from avid carnivore to becoming vegan and founding his plant-based snack company in Texas, USA.

Brett shares his story of vegan entrepreneurship and what it was like launching a plant-based food brand in Texas, a state whose second-largest export is beef. 

Get to know Brett and All Y'alls Foods better here: http://www.allyallsfoods.com 
 

Quote 

Things have changed and people are seeing it. 90% of all plant-based foods are eaten by people who still eat meat - so it's happening, people are trying it, people are sampling things. Whether it's from a health perspective, Planet perspective, or compassion for the animal perspective, more and more people just keep coming to it. And what's great is no matter why they come to it, at least it impacts all three areas every time.

—Brett Christoffe

Shownotes timestamps

⭐ [01:45] All Y'alls Foods is a mission-driven plant-based proteins company that is based in Texas. 

⏪ [04:24] Two books that changed Brett’s life: meatless Monday was fun for him until he realized that diet and diseases are related.

☎️ [09:05] It all started at Grapevine Main Street Festival: calling vegan grocery stores to move forward and scale.

💲 [11:01] Selling ⅔ retail and ⅓ online: the ways consumer packaged goods are usually distributed. 

🐮 [14:12] Getting out of animal agriculture to different field with great success.

📈 [17:35] Vegan business perspective and margins: why Brett uses only organic soybeans.

🫘 [21:36] All certificates All Y’alls Food is working on: no GMO.

🤓 [24:14] Vegan business challenges: world is changing and 90% of all plant-based foods are eaten by people who still eat meat.

🎶 [26:24] What he is most proud of: “Damn, it feels good to be a vegan.”

🎯 [28:15] Getting things right: working hard and being happier than ever.

Links:

Song ‘Damn, It Feels Good to be a Vegan”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F55n7DGRCXE 

Supporting Rowdy Girl Sanctuary: https://rowdygirlsanctuary.org/ 

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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live-streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It. 

Full Description / Episode Show Notes

Not long after becoming vegan for health reasons, Keith Lesser became just as passionate about the ethics of veganism–preventing animal cruelty, promoting sustainability and acting against climate change. 

Keith decided to combine his career in accountancy and veganism to serve the vegan business community with quality accounting services. He acquired the Vegan Accountants brand, built a vegan team and re-vamped, re-launched and later re-branded the business with significant growth of 500% in the first 24 months.

In this episode of Pivot, the Managing Director of Vegan Accountants, Keith Lesser, joins us to share how his business helps vegan and ethical businesses with their accounts and tax compliance.  

Keith's story is a fantastic account of how you don't necessarily need to change professions to become a vegan entrepreneur. 

Get to know Keith and Vegan Accountants better here: https://veganaccountants.co.uk/

Quote:

If you have anxiety about taxes, it is a good thing to delegate and just focus on what you're good at. It all comes back to having an abundance and growth mindset, don’t try and do everything yourself and think, “Oh, I save, save a little bit on this.”

—Keith Lesser

Show notes timestamps:
🙋🏾‍♀️ [00:50] Vegan businesses are not only food-based: a vegan accountant is a must. 
🤩 [05:52] Keith merged his vegan lifestyle and the family accounting business. 
➡️ [08:52]  The good balance: put quality at the forefront of everything and add ethics to it. 
🤯 [12:15] Team of vegan accountants and connection with clients: you can't hide from the accountant.
⚡ [15:39] It’s easier to go to the mass market, but then you leave your mission a little bit at the door: yes, there are plenty of vegan businesses out there.
🎯 [17:25] Having an accountant on your side is important: shifting businesses with a good understanding of finances.
⏰ [21:01] When is the best time to get an accountant?
🆚 [21:45] Having accounting software vs. having an accountant.
✅ [23:00] Thinking about prices, value and scalability from day one. 
🔢 [24:10] Emotional barrier and the value of the offering: understanding numbers.
💸 [27:00] Taxes in the USA and UK: people don’t count taxes in and break down the invoices incorrectly.
🧭 [32:02] Tax planning phase: business and personal tax planning throughout the year.
🗝️ [34:11] Relationship, connection and expertise are the key points for every business.
⚖️ [37:10] Reducing client base, tweaking process and improving balance in the business.

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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live-streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.

Stephanie Downs has more than 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and spent over a decade advising fashion and automotive brands on animal alternatives. She also founded the largest plant-based meat company in India. 

In this episode of Pivot, Stephanie Co-Founder and CEO of Uncaged joins us to share her story of founding a sustainability brand during the pandemic. Uncaged is a biomaterials company combining the power of nature and technology to reimagine leather.

Stephanie Stephanie and co-founder and CTO Dr. Xiaokun Wang spent two years in the lab working to find a way to replicate the characteristics of leather. After testing thousands of combinations, they developed Uncaged's proprietary bio-leather materials and launched a business in the midst of a pandemic.

Tune in to hear Stephanie and Dr. Wang's journey into vegan entrepreneurship and what it takes to get a sustainable brand off the ground.

Get to know Stephanie and Uncaged better here: https://www.uncagedinnovations.com/

Quote 

There's never any harm in planning out the big picture and then breaking it down into chunks. I personally do it to make the big goal less overwhelming. So we take a big, one-year goal, and then break it down into quarters, and then break it up down into months.

— Stephanie Downs

Shownotes timestamps

🦊 [00:20]Taking animals out of products and still having cool things. 
🤯 [03:36] Stephanie’s business history: from working with PETA, starting her plant meat business and going into leather-alternative space.
🍍 [06:23] Most vegan leathers are made of plastic: innovation in next-gen vegan leathers.
👗 [09:00] The demand for leather alternatives is vast and mostly comes from fashion brands.
🚘 [11:10] Collaborative relationship with smaller and huge brands: electric vehicle industry and creative processes.
👀 [13:28] Market penetration is different within automotive and fashion industries: startup needs to strategize where to focus the energy. 
🎩 [16:08] Staying sharp in strategic mindset: breaking KPIs into monthly plans and additional tricks.
🎯 [18:40] Helping companies hear your voice and choice, plus voting with your dollars, are great approaches to getting more vegan products made. 
✨ [20:22] Vegans are loyal customers: vegans love luxury too.
🐮 [22:58] The importance of educating consumers: leather is embalmed skin - how the products are made.
🥗 [25:54] Switching to vegan food is the hardest because food is an emotional thing, but people will start using other vegan products very easily.

-----

Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live-streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.

Stephanie Downs has more than 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and spent over a decade advising fashion and automotive brands on animal alternatives. She also founded the largest plant-based meat company in India. 

In this episode of Pivot, Stephanie Co-Founder and CEO of Uncaged joins us to share her story of founding a sustainability brand during the pandemic. Uncaged is a biomaterials company combining the power of nature and technology to reimagine leather.

Stephanie Stephanie and co-founder and CTO Dr. Xiaokun Wang spent two years in the lab working to find a way to replicate the characteristics of leather. After testing thousands of combinations, they developed Uncaged's proprietary bio-leather materials and launched a business in the midst of a pandemic.

Tune in to hear Stephanie and Dr. Wang's journey into vegan entrepreneurship and what it takes to get a sustainable brand off the ground.

Get to know Stephanie and Uncaged better here: https://www.uncagedinnovations.com/

Quote 

There's never any harm in planning out the big picture and then breaking it down into chunks. I personally do it to make the big goal less overwhelming. So we take a big, one-year goal, and then break it down into quarters, and then break it up down into months.

— Stephanie Downs

Shownotes timestamps

🦊 [00:20]Taking animals out of products and still having cool things. 
🤯 [03:36] Stephanie’s business history: from working with PETA, starting her plant meat business and going into leather-alternative space.
🍍 [06:23] Most vegan leathers are made of plastic: innovation in next-gen vegan leathers.
👗 [09:00] The demand for leather alternatives is vast and mostly comes from fashion brands.
🚘 [11:10] Collaborative relationship with smaller and huge brands: electric vehicle industry and creative processes.
👀 [13:28] Market penetration is different within automotive and fashion industries: startup needs to strategize where to focus the energy. 
🎩 [16:08] Staying sharp in strategic mindset: breaking KPIs into monthly plans and additional tricks.
🎯 [18:40] Helping companies hear your voice and choice, plus voting with your dollars, are great approaches to getting more vegan products made. 
✨ [20:22] Vegans are loyal customers: vegans love luxury too.
🐮 [22:58] The importance of educating consumers: leather is embalmed skin - how the products are made.
🥗 [25:54] Switching to vegan food is the hardest because food is an emotional thing, but people will start using other vegan products very easily.

-----

Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live-streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.

Clarissa Gannon owns the online coaching company, Vegan Fit For Life (formerly Elite Fit For Life). She is also a multiple-times certified fitness and nutrition coach.

Clarissa founded Vegan Fit For Life as a result of her expansive experience in the fitness industry and after observing just how broken it is. After making the decision to incorporate a vegan lifestyle to help some health and digestive issues, Clarissa realized how desperate the vegan community was with needing real information and real nutritional strategies. 

As a result, Vegan Fit For Life has become a main source of nutritional information for the general population and the vegan competitive athlete. Clarissa holds several specialist certifications and implements full integration of health in all nutritional protocols.

Clarissa launched her company 8 years ago and has since grown it to 6 figures. She joins us for this episode to share her entrepreneurship journey. Clarissa opens up about what it's like being a mom to 4 children while running a busy business and competing as a vegan bodybuilder. She also shares what it took to get to where she is today–running a successful six-figure business and offering the only truly complete vegan coaching service.

Get to know Clarissa and Vegan Fit For Life better here: https://www.veganfitforlife.com/

Quote 

If you own a business, there's always tons of doubt. If your intent is pure, that you're helping people, then I think that, as long as you don't give up on yourself that at some point, you will reach that goal. The instant overnight success stories can get in the way and give you a lot of that impostor syndrome, but I really believe if you narrow down on that on the niche where you want to work, really identify who your ICA is, and then listen to them, they'll give you the feedback on what they want, and what they need.

—Clarissa Gannon

Shownotes timestamps:
💼 [00:43] Identifying our business niche and figuring out where you can really help can be challenging.
🏋️‍♀️ [02:10] Clarissa started in the bodybuilding world: moving away from animal proteins in her life and business was aligned with her views.
🎯 [04:27] Why aligning your business to your views is a road to success. 
🍏 [05:29] What is Complete Coaching: fixing underlying issues and helping women lose weight based on data and specialists’ input. 
✨ [08:20] Coaching business means reassuring your clients and being there for them.
💡 [11:46] Self-doubt is a normal process when having a business: know your niche and ask your customers for feedback.
⏰ [15:20] Coaching process is not just a prescription: people need time to apply coaching advice. 
🦸‍♀️ [16:20] Helping clients deal with stressful expectations. 
🤩 [19:31] How to find clients: making connections through social media content.
⚡ [24:16] Marketing is an extended process: Stephanie’s thoughts on the power of following up with people.
🆕 [26:51] Clarissa’s new program is about gut health.
🥅 [29:39] Hiring a coach helped Clarissa’s business so much and offloaded a lot of the confusion.

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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live-streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.

VEG3 is an AI-powered marketing assistant that helps vegan businesses and animal rights charities create impactful marketing campaigns that increase revenue while saving animals.

After spending more than a decade laser-focused on making data-driven decisions to maximize the impact of work done by vegan businesses, VEG3 founder, Sam Tucker, realized there was a technological revolution happening that could scale the vegan movement and its economic impact to a previously unprecedented level. 

https://veg3.ai/

Quote 

Scalability of your impact, especially as a vegan business, is driven by more than just the desire for profit - we have this deeper purpose of trying to change the world. And to change the world, it requires a lot more work than any one human can do on their own. So you have to be able to let go and to delegate in order to grow.

—Sam Tucker

⚙️ [00:40] How AI can be a tool in your toolkit and help you grow business. 

▶️ [02:23] Animal activist since his teenage years: the idea of working in digital space was born out of limited scalability issues for nonprofits. 

🤖 [05:45] Generic AI doesn't understand brand messaging for vegan businesses: VEG3 tool and the need to train AI on your own data.

👨‍🏫 [07:44] AI tool that analyses marketing data and knows how marketing content will perform before you publish it. 

📈 [09:45] Two biggest benefits of AI for businesses.

🦾 [11:58] Implementing AI in your business: find AI substitute for all the repetitive work and how to get answers you need.

🔐 [16:07] Copywriters are the target market for AI: data privacy policy in VEG3 and personal securities with AI.

🏆 [19:23] Investment in AI for business owners: reducing costs and increasing quality and quantity simultaneously.

[22:02] Testing ads with AI: packages and free options VEG3 provides.

🎯 [25:15] To scale, you need to learn to delegate.

🦋 [27:19] Everything in your business will change with time: you as well.

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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live-streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It. 

Full Description 

Jane Velez-Mitchell started her non-profit network, UnchainedTV, with a single Go Pro camera, videotaping the stories she felt needed to be on network television, but weren't. UnchainedTV quickly evolved into a global social media network with dozens of citizen journalists going LIVE on Facebook and Instagram around the world, garnering millions of views.

On a mission to share the truth about the horrific problems created by industrialized animal agriculture, UnchainedTV offers viewers delicious alternatives that are better for people, the environment and the animals.

In this episode, Jane shares how she went from award-winning TV journalist, New York Times bestselling author and documentary filmmaker to running a free, vegan, CNN/Netflix-style streaming TV network.

Get to know Jane Velez-Mitchell and UnchainedTV better here: https://unchainedtv.com

Quote 

You have to always get through that period where it seems like, “Oh, no, this isn't working. Oh, my God, what did I do?” I've had those moments…there are those moments in every business. I just try to put those thoughts aside and do the next indicated thing and stay out of the results. Just prod forward – prod forward to get through a difficult point where it looks impossible.”

— Jane Velez-Mitchell

Shownotes timestamps

⚠️ [02:46] The mission is to wake the world up to veganism: eating animals is causing most of our problems. 

📺 [04:29] Jane was in mainstream media for 40 years and then decided it was time to break the vegan bubble and founded UnchainedTV.

⚡ [08:34] The importance of having information to drive a change. 

💡 [10:05]  Bringing activism to your business: if you're good at something, do that–it doesn't matter what it is, you can use it to help animals. 

🤩 [15:45] How UnchainedTV can help your vegan business pivot. 

🧐 [18:57] Why the mainstream media isn’t talking about animal agriculture. 

👩‍💼 [20:55] UnchainedTV pivoted so many times and adapted to challenges faced. 

⚖️ [23:42] Coverage of the open rescue trial of former Baywatch actress Alexandra Paul and her co-defendant, Alicia Santurio. 

😤 [26:36] California overturns the proposition forbidding meat from pig gestation. 

🗝️ [29:52] Driving change: do things in front of you and be patient. 

💎 [33:07] How to get through hard times and the power of streaming to get the message out there.

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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live-streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.

PlantX started as a passion project at the beginning of a global pandemic. PlantX is not only an online store for plant-based products, but an all-encompassing online platform that makes living a plant-based lifestyle accessible to all. It's an online vegan community where users can order healthy vegan meals and learn about the vegan lifestyle through discussions and blogs.
PlantX CEO Lorne Rapkin joins us to share how PlantX leveraged the open and inviting nature of the vegan industry to help fuel its incredible growth in a short period of time. We'll also discuss PlantX's visions for taking the company and the industry to the next level.
Get to know Lorne and PlantX better here: https://plantx.com/

Quote 

[Our community runs] definitely set us apart from other e-commerce platforms out there that are just sending your goods to your door. With us, whenever you place your next order, we want that conversation to continue and we want to engage you throughout that period of time, before your next order.

—Lorne Rapkin

Shownotes timestamps
🌸 [02:50] When your community’s collaboration helps your business growth.
🏪 [04:55] Online and retail stores: it started with online but physical stores can be marketing tools to use for product discovery.
🎓 [08:10] Using storefronts to educate customers.
😲 [10:38] Plantx started just three years ago: e-commerce bloomed during pandemic and new pivot came with variety.
📈 [14:11] When to expand vs. when to dilute: Plantx acquisitions and synergy with other companies during pandemic. 
🤓 [18:19] How Plantx engages their customers after purchases and shaped a community around them.
⚠️ [20:28] Customer support and events are glue between purchases.
🥳 [22:16] Combination of art, music, food and all kind of inclusive community events.
😉 [24:18] Allowing customers to request new products.
✨ [27:19] Short recipe for business owners: explore your passion, ask for help, ask questions and treat everyone as best as possible.

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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live-streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.

Brighde spent her formative years in the UK and Australia before her desire to travel took over. She spent five years leading group tours for an Australian company. She met fellow tour guide Seb in Marrakech, fell madly in love, and a couple of years later they discovered veganism together. She became passionate about promoting the vegan message as an activist.

Combining her passion for travel and veganism values, Brighde founded World Vegan Travel together with her Seb. World Vegan Travel offers luxury experiences that align with the values of vegans to destinations around the world.

In this episode, we talk to Brighde about growing a hospitality business during a pandemic, selling in the luxury space–how to differentiate a business based on highest quality experience, not price and how you can incorporate activism into travel.

https://www.worldvegantravel.com/

Quote 

“We felt that if we were able to focus on a luxury product, we knew there wasn't anybody in that space and also realized that people who are, generally speaking, a little bit older, have a little bit more of disposable income, they're often more sort of in a professional arena, And they're at the point of their lives, where they really just want somebody else to do the work and do the efforts.”

—Brighde Reed

Shownotes timestamps

🧳 [02:49] Travelling the world from a vegan point of view: what is World Vegan Travel.

🍸 [04:22] Luxury vegan group tours for vegans and vegan-curious. 

🧑‍🍳 [07:35] How Brighde decided to work with hotels directly and bring local cuisine experience to vegans.

🏖️ [10:17] When your food on vacation isn’t a half-time job but a joyful experience. 

💎 [12:27] Brighde’s unique business offer: why they decided to go luxury five-star with their business.

😇 [15:43] How to incorporate activism into business: bringing learning and education to chefs and hotels.

✨ [23:24] Stephanie helped Brighde with her business: NY Times mentioned them and they got PETA award for Animal-Friendly Safaris.

🎯 [27:01] Working on marketing and creating content: Stephanie nudged Brighde towards podcasting.

🤓 [34:28] How to launch new offers: collect info, provide updates, discount first offers, and connect with your customers. 

🥇 [37:46] The dream of every entrepreneur is to be able to deliver what people want in high demand.

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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live-streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.

Danny O'Malley knew there was a demand for new plant-based proteins – and that he could be the one to create them. Following a brief stint at Beyond Foods, Danny started Before the Butcher, a plant-based meat brand that has become a category leader in flavor, variety and texture.

In this episode, learn how Danny O'Malley built the successful and profitable plant-based meat brand, Before the Butcher, by creating business relationships overlooked by his competitors. Danny shares how thinking creatively and outside of the box helped his brand compete with industry giants and come out on top.

Tune in for unique ways to break through the noise of a busy industry and find success for your vegan brand. You'll definitely be inspired by Danny's story and feel motivated to take action!

Get to know Danny O'Malley and Before the Butcher better here: https://www.btbfoods.com/ 

Quote 

Be realistic about what you're doing, be conservative about what you're projecting, and how you think you're going to get there. Because it's always great to exceed your projections. But it's hard, very hard, very difficult and sometimes very damaging, to not to get to where you expected to go. So be conservative, be excited, but be passionate and show how important it is to [the people] who may be interested in consuming your product, how important it is to you —and it should be to them— that they try whatever it is that you have.

—Danny O'Malley

Shownotes timestamps

📈 [00:55]  Inner workings of the business: how to stand out and run your business.

💡 [03:15] Ingredient or industrial style of business: working around big businesses and shipping direct. 

🍀 [06:43] What inspired Danny to start his business: from food service industry to working with Beyond Meat and battles of plant-based meat analogues.

✅ [11:41] Education and consumer demand created in retailers’ minds: we need a plant-based protein.

🤩 [13:38] Give yourself a chance to get out there without the danger of exposing yourself too much: retail vs. food service.

🌟 [16:26] Building a product based on feedback: think about the best thing you can do for customers at a price that they can afford.

🤓 [18:11] How to get the products to the ultimate user: focusing on millennials and selling to tech companies.

🤔 [20:01] Danny thinks that the market is oversaturated now.

✨ [22:10] The importance of having the right partner: you need others to help you get out there.

🎯 [25:19] Danny wants to make a big change: targeting meat eaters as huge number of population to make bigger change.

🥘 [28:23] Lots of traditions revolve around the food: having an alternative can make that tradition stay alive.

✌️ [29:28] It's important to be passionate and excited about what you're doing, but also be conservative and realistic.

😋 [33:42] Before the the Butcher’s stick: Danny’s favorite vegan product.

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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live-streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.