Small Business, Big Impact: Creating a Greener Future with Gwenn Nolan

Feminist Founders: Building People-First (and Profitable!) Businesses

In this episode of Feminist Founders, Becky Mollenkamp chats with Gwenn Nolan, the founder of Mother Compost, about her journey from working in finance to starting a composting business focused on reducing food waste and creating sustainable change. Gwenn shares how her passion for environmentalism and feminism intersect, leading her to create a business that tackles the environmental impact of food waste while also challenging the norms of traditional business models. They discuss the challenges and rewards of running a small business that prioritizes both social impact and profitability, as well as the importance of educating communities about the benefits of composting. If you’ve ever wondered about the composting vs landfill debate, how composting helps the environment, or how feminist perspectives can influence business practices, this episode is for you.

Gwenn Nolan (she/her) is the founder of Mother Compost, an organics recycling organization that helps people and businesses transform their food scraps into fertilizer. Mother Compost began operation on the Main Line of Philadelphia in 2018 and now serves over 1,400 residents and over 20 local businesses in the area. Their mission is to make composting easy to encourage more people to join the composting movement. When not driving the truck or operating the business, Gwenn spends time speaking at schools & local organizations to spread the word about the benefits of composting as well as teaching practical composting basics to help home composters.

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Discussed in this Episode:

• Gwenn’s transition from finance to starting her own composting business
• The composting business model and how it differs from traditional waste management
• Benefits of composting for both businesses and individuals
• The environmental impact of food waste and why reducing landfill waste through composting is crucial
• How composting vs landfill options stack up in terms of sustainability
• The intersection of feminism and environmentalism in Gwenn's work
• Commercial composting services and their role in reducing food waste in the US
• Sustainable business practices in the composting industry
• How small businesses can tackle the food waste problem at home and in their communities
• Feminist business models and how they shape Gwenn's approach to growth

Resources Mentioned:

• Compost Crew
• Mary Oliver: Selected Poems
• Philabundance
• Sharing Excess

Tune in to learn more about how to reduce food waste at home, the business opportunities in composting, and how feminism and sustainable business practices can go hand-in-hand to create lasting change!