In this episode of Consulting Spotlight, Michael Bernzweig of Software Oasis interviews Gretchen Villegas, CEO and founder of Nexus Strategy and Growth Partners. They discuss Gretchen's journey in global development, the importance of aligning business with social impact, and the evolving landscape of funding and stakeholder engagement. The conversation highlights the need for new models that merge profit with purpose, the role of technology in social impact, and the collaboration between nonprofits and corporations. Gretchen emphasizes actionable steps for businesses to create sustainable social impact and the interconnectedness of global supply chains.
In this episode of Consulting Spotlight, Michael Bernzweig of Software Oasis interviews Gretchen Villegas, CEO and founder of Nexus Strategy and Growth Partners. They discuss Gretchen's journey in global development, the importance of aligning business with social impact, and the evolving landscape of funding and stakeholder engagement. The conversation highlights the need for new models that merge profit with purpose, the role of technology in social impact, and the collaboration between nonprofits and corporations. Gretchen emphasizes actionable steps for businesses to create sustainable social impact and the interconnectedness of global supply chains.
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Michael Bernzweig (00:02.09)
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I'd like to welcome everyone to this week's edition of the Consulting Spotlight. My name is Michael Bernzweig. I'm the founder of Software Oasis and the host of the Consulting Spotlight. This week, we're joined by Gretchen Villegas. She is actually the CEO and founder of Nexus Strategy and Growth Partners. And with that, Gretchen, welcome to the podcast.
Gretchen Villegas (00:02.648)
like to ask that too.
Gretchen Villegas (00:28.928)
Thank you so much, Michael.
Michael Bernzweig (00:31.348)
Yeah, no, it's great to have you aboard. for any of our listeners that may not be familiar with either yourself or Nexus Strategy and Growth Partners, can you tell us a little bit about your journey kind of getting to where you are and a little bit of what you're helping clients with over there?
Gretchen Villegas (00:53.826)
Absolutely. So I actually started out in the Peace Corps. So right out of college, I went into the Peace Corps, into Latin America, spent two years in a village with no running water and no electricity, but I have to say they were great foundational years of my life for sure. From then, I moved into...
working with US government programs, of course, partnering with corporations at the same time in Latin America. And then I moved into Southern and Eastern Africa. And so for about those 15 plus years, I was working with vulnerable communities, local private sector, as well as local associations and governments.
to really seek a way to support the communities in their basic needs around healthcare, food, farming, education, which cut across really the most vulnerable communities. I came back in 2014 and I worked at the global level for international nonprofits, again, aligning and working with many
Michael Bernzweig (01:58.627)
Sure.
Gretchen Villegas (02:21.198)
corporations as well, continuing to grow the footprint of various organizations as development was evolving. And that now brings me to today. So after about 25 years of working in global development and social impact, I decided to come together with a partner who I had been working with for quite some time, and we launched Nexus Strategy and Growth Partners.
It's a for-profit management consulting company. And the idea behind it is that we now need new models to really align global social impact. And we need to bring partnerships together, which include corporations, nonprofits, as well as governments, to really map out
the ecosystem of where vulnerable communities exist, whether that be the 700 million vulnerable who live globally, or the 37 that are right here at home, and figure out what are, what is needed to be able to bring forward mainstream business opportunities. How can we
Michael Bernzweig (03:33.164)
Sure.
Gretchen Villegas (03:48.332)
reduce poverty, reduce hunger globally, but do so through business principles and business opportunities so that it truly is a win for everyone. You know, there isn't enough aid funding any longer to continue kind of a charity model. And so at this point, the question is, how do we reach the vulnerable at a scale through business
Michael Bernzweig (04:08.812)
Sure.
Gretchen Villegas (04:17.708)
that can really make a difference. so that's what, yep.
Michael Bernzweig (04:19.798)
Yeah, and I think that's so important because obviously it's a global economy, it's an ecosystem in which every individual is part of it and looking at a higher calling and a higher meaning, I think it's so important that everybody support one another and kind of push things forward and that includes both
government, individuals, and businesses. It's at every single level. So what are some of the projects or organizations or clients that you're helping with your organization? And what are some of the kinds of things that you're involved in? Can you give us some examples?
Gretchen Villegas (05:09.614)
Great. Yeah, absolutely. So we've been working with one nonprofit. They're focused primarily in Africa. And they're about probably 30, $35 million currently. And they have about three main donors. And so one of the things that they
Michael Bernzweig (05:31.458)
Sure.
Gretchen Villegas (05:37.398)
really want to do is figure out, how do they grow their footprint within Africa and their revenue base, of course, at the same time? And so a big part of that has been around data and analytics. Now, with data and analytics, what we all know is that you have to have a platform or a system that you can actually collect
Michael Bernzweig (05:54.188)
Sure.
Gretchen Villegas (06:07.074)
the information so that you can bring it together and make sense of it in terms of being able to make decisions or to show your impact to potential funders or donors and different partners. so many of the places where this organization works is very rural. They don't have electric all day long. know, some of them are not connected to the grid at all.
And, you know, there aren't, you know, some, they have cell phones, but not all have the ability to be sending information in regularly. And so one of the things that we've been kind of mapping out with them is, okay, who needs to collect the data? How is the data collected? Is it in a, in a, laptop, a cell phone? you know, how is it, how is it collected?
where is the central spot in terms of where it's uploaded to? How is the data cleaned? And then at the end of the day, who is able to see the data in an organized way so that they can make business sense out of it? And much of that, you know, has to do with looking at technology and processes that can be used because we're, Africa's a big country.
Michael Bernzweig (07:34.622)
Sure, sure.
Gretchen Villegas (07:35.79)
You know, Africa is a continent, right, with many different countries. And so when you have people in all different countries within the continent and they're spread out, you have to have a way to bring all of that information together. so number one is just mapping out the process. So there has to be an operational process that everyone can understand. And then the second part of that is, okay, we need
a technology vendor, someone to come in who can actually think through what is the most user friendly and available products or what can we customize or develop to make this work. so Michael, on our part in Nexus, we help the nonprofit figure out that they need a system and what they need it for. And then we help map it out. But at that point,
That's when a partnership needs to come in, right? That's when we need a technology partner to come in and say, well, what are the options? And so that's one example of something we've been working on recently.
Michael Bernzweig (08:45.322)
And yeah, it is a big part of it, you know, and obviously things are changing. It's dynamic things are always changing. Although, you know, I think, you know, the US has been very engaged with Africa. In fact, I think they just had a dialogue at the White House. we absolutely.
Gretchen Villegas (08:53.698)
huh.
Gretchen Villegas (09:07.532)
Yes, actually with the South African president, you're right.
Michael Bernzweig (09:10.602)
Yeah, so we see, you know, obviously conversations at every level, but how are you seeing the interaction, you know, in the year 2025 with all of the different stakeholders? What are you seeing in terms of participation? What things are changing? What things are the same? Who are the stakeholders?
Gretchen Villegas (09:34.99)
Yeah, that's a great question. And we are at a turning point, I would say. So your question is spot on in terms of where are we in 2025. The funding that was coming through different governments and foundations has reduced. And so it's not just the United States, it's the entire world. If you look at Germany,
Michael Bernzweig (09:54.601)
Sure.
Gretchen Villegas (10:01.766)
and the Netherlands and whatnot, the same thing is happening. And so the big question is, you know, we've got 700 million people who are still in poverty and vulnerable at this point. We've got, know, no, in fact, it's going to grow because if we actually have less support in the field, then over time, that need is actually going to grow. And so one of
Michael Bernzweig (10:15.83)
That part doesn't change.
Michael Bernzweig (10:21.154)
Right.
Gretchen Villegas (10:30.956)
the really big areas of, you know, a question right now is in terms of new models and terms of being able to reach people and help them with training and information and knowledge. It's really around what are the technologies that currently exist in these countries that are working well? And then where are the kind of the small medium entrepreneurs?
Michael Bernzweig (10:52.523)
Right?
Gretchen Villegas (10:59.502)
who are willing to go to the very rural areas to continue connecting, you know, with people at this level. So I think there are tons of opportunities right now for technology companies, especially interested in setting up, you know, platforms and different apps that are interested in, you know, doing social good, right? So business for good. So, you know.
Michael Bernzweig (11:02.53)
Right.
Gretchen Villegas (11:26.968)
technology companies working along with nonprofits or community-based organizations or even those youth, you know, entrepreneurs on the ground to say, okay, what are the needs and how can we support reaching that scale? You know.
Michael Bernzweig (11:46.411)
So for Oregon, obviously a lot of these needs have to be fulfilled in different ways. I think that's part of the challenge as well as the opportunity going forward. And I think that it's so important when you look at the need. The need hasn't changed.
And I think that that's the interesting part of it. So, you know, as we're approaching, you know, turning a page, I guess, when you look at it that way, and in this segment of the world, how do you see that need being fulfilled differently? who were the...
Gretchen Villegas (12:14.926)
Mm-hmm
Gretchen Villegas (12:24.022)
Mm-hmm, yep.
Michael Bernzweig (12:31.49)
who and what are the types of organizations that are stepping up and are others stepping back? Like what are you saying?
Gretchen Villegas (12:32.376)
Yep.
Gretchen Villegas (12:39.704)
Business for good. It's definitely looking at purpose meets profitability.
The truth is we have been doing social impact and development work for decades. And we are able to reduce the needs and the poverty for a certain time period. But unless we were using a model that was embedded into business functions to actually change the system that the vulnerable are within and create wealth,
then we're actually not changing anything at the end of the day. And so corporations and companies that are interested in doing good, there's going to be huge potential going forward in that only, okay, increasing profit margins, but increasing profit margins by doing good at the very same time. And, you know, those models are, those models are there.
And, you know, you can talk about, let's talk about the big companies like coffee and cocoa. They need traceability, right? Well, how does traceability get done? It gets done through technology. And so without bringing in a technology partner and really working together on that traceability and actually reaching the most vulnerable communities that are producing
Michael Bernzweig (13:53.452)
Yeah.
Gretchen Villegas (14:11.458)
the coffee and the cocoa and the spices, all those raw materials that our companies are buying, you know, they're not going to be able to have the volumes or the quality that they've had in the past. And so it definitely, in my opinion, is going to be a push for corporations to step up and, and really crunch those numbers, right? And say, okay, if I bring in a partner to work,
on a technology function that helps me reach my supply chain, how much am I going to get in my return on investment at the end of the day? And I can guarantee you that their return on investment will be much, much higher over time than if they were not going to invest in that support to the community. I mean, we've been doing some of those
Michael Bernzweig (15:05.25)
Yeah, and I think a lot of this
Gretchen Villegas (15:07.746)
We've been doing some of those numbers kind of just back of the envelope and yeah.
Michael Bernzweig (15:11.338)
Yeah, a lot of it is communication. know, like I think a lot of it is just helping to facilitate that the dialogue and the understanding of the reality of exactly what the impact is and what the benefits are. Cause you know, businesses are, you know, rightfully so focused on the bottom line. I mean, think that's, that is for sure true. But I mean, I think if you look at,
Gretchen Villegas (15:17.634)
Yes.
Gretchen Villegas (15:34.328)
Right?
Michael Bernzweig (15:40.931)
trying to even think of the name of the company. I mean, I think if you look at the company over in Europe that is put out this this new candy bar that is taking taking Hershey to the task in terms of equitable sourcing of cocoa and all of that, I think. Yeah, I mean, I'm trying to think of the name of the company, but, know, they have just formed a massive, massive
Gretchen Villegas (16:00.354)
I'm gonna have to look that up.
Michael Bernzweig (16:10.398)
know, volume of sales in a very, very short amount of time based on the messaging of, you know, the reality of the situation. And I think a lot of organizations, you know, when they see the, you know, the foundational aspects of, you know, if we do good.
Gretchen Villegas (16:19.661)
Yep.
Michael Bernzweig (16:32.054)
how does it impact our bottom line? And I think that's a very powerful message. And I think it's also important and, you know, with this turning page in the history of our world and our country and all of that, to make sure that the true messaging of what's going on gets out there. Because I think there's a lot that, you know, you have social media and you have so many different points of view that are
Gretchen Villegas (16:34.254)
you
Gretchen Villegas (16:38.082)
Yep.
Gretchen Villegas (16:52.428)
Yeah.
Gretchen Villegas (16:58.776)
Yeah.
Michael Bernzweig (17:01.662)
bubbling to the surface and it's a matter of finding that point of truth and figuring out what is reality versus what is not. So I think that's...
Gretchen Villegas (17:06.604)
Right.
Gretchen Villegas (17:11.278)
Well, a lot of the times it's in the numbers, right? Yeah, it's in the numbers. It's exactly what you've said. And it's so important for especially our younger population. You know, there are studies and data right now that says about 86 % of Gen Z will not buy a brand unless it's ethically sourced.
Michael Bernzweig (17:37.651)
Isn't that amazing? Yeah.
Gretchen Villegas (17:39.298)
Yeah, and it goes exactly with what you were just talking about, which is, you know, if you have the data and the information and you can pull together that partnership and consortium, then you can definitely put others out of business just by doing business for good and increase your bottom line.
Michael Bernzweig (18:00.353)
Yeah, and that is the most important thing to many organizations. I think there's also, you're not living in a vacuum, there's a lot of other things that are important over and above profit. But Tony's Chocoloney, that is the, yes.
Gretchen Villegas (18:21.934)
yes, okay, now that you said it, Tony's Chocolone, yes.
Michael Bernzweig (18:24.468)
Yeah, that is the organization. you know, one of the interesting aspects of what they're doing, and obviously you have a lot of other organizations doing similar things. You have Beyond Good and Unreal Snacks and all kinds of other organizations. But I think one thing that Tony's hit the nail on the head with is realizing that it's not just a matter of getting the finished goods to market so that consumers can
can benefit, also working on all of the details of supply chain that need to be reworked to make things better for the entire ecosystem. And I think a big portion of what they're focused on is wholesale cocoa, really sourcing ethically.
and selling those ethically sourced components to a lot of other organizations. I think they, if I remember right, I think they had some pretty crazy PR at the beginning. think that the founder of the company maybe got himself locked up in jail to prove that the chocolate wasn't being sourced ethically. And I think he did that a little bit more as a stunt, but at the end of the day.
Gretchen Villegas (19:15.202)
Mm-hmm.
Gretchen Villegas (19:37.662)
gosh. So he went to all ends, right? my gosh.
Michael Bernzweig (19:43.042)
Yeah, I think he put both feet in the ground, that is crazy, crazy stuff.
Gretchen Villegas (19:50.646)
Yeah, well, and the truth is to be able to prove that you've got to be able to, you know, bring in the data and the analysis to prove it because otherwise, you know, people just won't believe it. That's the truth. Yeah. And so that's the big thing with traceability, especially in, know, how can you do traceability the, in a way that's not cumbersome and not
Michael Bernzweig (20:05.026)
Exactly.
Gretchen Villegas (20:19.918)
costly. And I think that's, you know, what a lot of companies have been working on because you've got fair trade, you've got Rainforest Alliance, you've got 100 % organic. Now the question is, how do you prove that?
Michael Bernzweig (20:33.154)
Exactly. And I bet when you woke up this morning, you didn't think you were going to be talking about chocolate on a technology podcast, did you? But no, we like to keep it fun. And I think a lot of the listeners to the podcast have, you know, have a lot of very real world.
Gretchen Villegas (20:40.398)
You
Michael Bernzweig (20:52.684)
you know, concerns and, and, know, they're human just like the rest of us. And it's not just, just about business, even though we do cover a lot about business and technology on the podcast. So what are some of the things that, that you've found, you know, just, to be amazing and like the opposite of what you expected when you got into this space early on.
Gretchen Villegas (20:57.495)
Yeah.
Gretchen Villegas (21:03.33)
Yeah.
Gretchen Villegas (21:17.806)
Hmm. that's a really good question.
Michael Bernzweig (21:24.268)
I mean, are there a lot of different projects that you're working on that may be different than what you expected as the type of projects you'd see come across your desk?
Gretchen Villegas (21:33.998)
Yeah, you know, I definitely knew as we were looking, you know, looking forward towards visioning, you know, what we wanted to offer in terms of services through Nexus. We knew we definitely wanted to look for, you know, business meets purpose models. Because after being abroad for maybe about 20, 25 years or so and working in this work,
You know, I knew that the only way to really get impact is to do so through business principles. Now, one thing that's been really difficult is non-profits do not tend to function like businesses. And when you enter a non-profit and you start asking about, you know, your systems,
Michael Bernzweig (22:13.474)
Sure.
Gretchen Villegas (22:31.522)
What about your ERP system and accounting? Does your accounting system actually speak to your monitoring and impact system? Do you know how much money you spent on each project? And do you know how much money you've spent and how much impact you've actually accomplished? Because you know in the nonprofit sector, it's not about your bottom line.
profit margin, it's about how much impact you've actually had with a certain amount of money. So what's your return on investment financially and to that social return on investment. Many of the nonprofits still feel that they don't need to do that. Right. And I think that with what just happened globally this year, I think there's more understanding that if a
Non-profit wants to survive. They're going to have to partner with the for-profits and use business principles to actually be able to manage themselves by the numbers. And only in that way are they actually going to be able to help people in need. You know, there are high net worth individuals and there are foundations that are still giving. But guess what? They're only giving if you can tell them
how you're going to have a return on investment and how you're going to increase wealth in that community.
Michael Bernzweig (24:00.595)
Now, I know you've worked with some substantial organizations over the years. And I guess, you know, something that a lot of people probably wonder is, you know, you have two completely different worlds. You have nonprofits, which have very unique operating, you know, operational.
ways and you have, you know, traditional structured businesses that operate in very different ways. Do you ever find that there are certain ways in which both organizations are able to accomplish something at a higher level that neither organization would be able to accomplish on their own?
Gretchen Villegas (24:44.526)
Well, that's a great question. So number one, nonprofits know how to track their impact data. They know what donors and funders are looking for, right? So it's not about the bottom line profit margin, but it's about the impact numbers and trying to define, you know, is it an increase in income? Is it the number of people who have graduated from college?
Michael Bernzweig (25:03.714)
Sure.
Gretchen Villegas (25:12.77)
you know, is it the percentage of profit that a small enterprise was able to achieve because of the support? So those types of impact numbers. Now, corporations that have tried to set up social impact units have really struggled to figure out how do we measure the impact, right? And multiply the impact over time.
So I think from the nonprofit side, they can definitely help the corporations understand how to value and monetize impact. And on the other side, corporations, okay, they are much stronger in terms of operating procedures and tracking data, the evidence around financials especially.
And I think that if nonprofits don't take that in this year going forward, they won't be able to survive going forward. So in all honesty, you your question really is what has to happen this year in order for social good to keep happening in the world. Because if you don't have a corporate
that takes on that impact metric and their ROI. And if you don't have a nonprofit that takes on those operating procedures, then neither one is going to be able to do their job in a way that they can actually scale.
Michael Bernzweig (26:52.246)
Yeah, and I think, you know, interesting aspect to all of this. And it almost feels like you're somewhere stuck in between, you know, these two worlds, you know, trying to help the two sides communicate with each other. And, you you think of Dixie Cups when you were a little kid, you know, somewhat like that.
Gretchen Villegas (27:14.178)
Yep.
Michael Bernzweig (27:16.566)
But at the end of the day, I think it's just such a meaningful and such an important area to be involved in because we're at, and maybe even more meaningful and impactful now than ever, because I think there's just a point of influx, it's an inflection point in the history of this whole space. I mean, at the end of the day.
Gretchen Villegas (27:41.378)
Right. Right. And what we have to remember is that we're all connected. Right. So if the supply chain does not do well in the Ivory Coast with the cocoa beans, okay, guess what? Our chocolate is going to cost more.
Gretchen Villegas (28:03.438)
those that are working at Tony's and at, you know, Unilever and others, they might have to lay off people. So, you know, it's, it's all interconnected at the end of the day. And so if we can all win, right, if we can have a win-win, that we can have a profit margin,
Michael Bernzweig (28:20.651)
Right.
Gretchen Villegas (28:30.296)
for the larger corporations, medium corporations, and at the same time, enhance the livelihoods of the vulnerable who are within that supply chain. We all win at the end of the day, even the consumer, because we're all interconnected at the end of the day. And I think many of us, we live in our bubble, right? And we don't realize that our decisions as consumers, as business owners, as suppliers,
Michael Bernzweig (28:41.376)
Exactly.
Gretchen Villegas (28:59.714)
can really have a huge domino effect globally.
Michael Bernzweig (29:04.712)
Absolutely. You know, I was, and I'm still trying to dig into it. know that, you know, Microsoft has obviously transitioned their entire, you know, organization in terms of their foundation and all of that and what they're involved in and the like. But yeah, I mean, I think there's a lot of different things that are a little hard to wrap your head around, but I think we're going to have to.
Gretchen Villegas (29:05.975)
Get out. Go try it again.
Michael Bernzweig (29:32.022)
Wait for the dust to settle in a lot of areas to see what things look like on the other side.
Gretchen Villegas (29:36.878)
Well, you've been talking about foundations. So most of the corporations have in fact done that. They have separated their business from the foundation. So Walmart has to General Mills has to Cargill has to, you know, all of the big ones, they have a foundation, just Starbucks as well, you know, and then they have their business and they have kept them separate. The truth is,
Michael Bernzweig (29:49.344)
Right.
Michael Bernzweig (30:03.903)
Sure.
Gretchen Villegas (30:05.858)
That's not what I'm talking about. The problem is that they have kept them separate. They have looked at foundation as charity and then the business as we don't do social impact, right? So what we need to do is embed those, we need to embed incentives into the mainstream business structure for all companies so that
they can see a profit margin, but at the same time, they're helping to create wealth where it's needed. And I think one of the biggest issues is that everyone talks about that, but then most of the companies say, it's impossible. There's no way we can do that. But if there were a company, say a technology company that was really interested in proving out that that actually would work,
and has a way to actually show that to shareholders, that would be a huge opportunity, let me tell you.
Michael Bernzweig (31:07.372)
I mean, I think case in point, know, everything comes out the other side. I if you look at something as simple as Sesame Street, right? They had their funding cut. We're on Netflix now. You know, so they found their new home. They found their new sponsor. They found life after. Ernie and Bert live on.
Gretchen Villegas (31:15.086)
Yeah.
Yes.
Gretchen Villegas (31:24.024)
Try it.
I know. Well, and we need Sesame Street. I mean, it's a tradition. Are you kidding? It's part of our culture.
Michael Bernzweig (31:29.266)
Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, so I think a lot of things may change over the next few years, but maybe not as dramatically as we might all come to believe, I think if you're...
you'll listen to everything going on, can drive yourself crazy, but I think at the end of the day, there's a lot of things that change. Some things are painful getting through transitions and things like that, but at the end of the day, sometimes things are for the better and sometimes not. It's a constantly evolving ecosystem and all.
Gretchen Villegas (31:55.084)
Yeah.
Gretchen Villegas (32:10.104)
Yeah.
Well, Michael, what I've loved that you just said is that there are opportunities. And if we can look at this as an opportunity and look for ways to partner together, you know, and if there are, you know, companies out there, your audience that's interested in figuring out how do we work with nonprofits or how do we actually get a corporation?
Michael Bernzweig (32:16.971)
Yes.
Gretchen Villegas (32:40.792)
you know, to buy into a process to know if they actually are increasing their profit margins by doing, you know, good within their business process itself. I mean, that's where I want to be. I want to be in the middle of that to say, can we be the catalyst to make this change happen? you know, to your points, you know, it's scale.
Michael Bernzweig (32:56.842)
Sure. Absolutely.
Gretchen Villegas (33:09.388)
Right? It's reaching a huge population. And the only real way to do that is you can't do it boots on the ground. You've got to do it through different technological platforms or ways that people can, you know, access information.
Michael Bernzweig (33:27.82)
Yeah, and I think at a higher level, everyone needs to hold hands and kind of march forward together. I think that's really the bottom line to all of it.
Gretchen Villegas (33:38.03)
Well, then we have to show them how they all win because if we don't do that, they are not going to march together. I rather doubt,
Michael Bernzweig (33:45.647)
Exactly, exactly. And I think, you know, that the bridge, you know, and maybe technology is the common thread that ties everything together. think that's a really interesting point that you made earlier.
Gretchen Villegas (34:00.718)
Well, I think first, it's, it's, is this important to us? It's that education piece, like you were talking about. and then second, it's let's see the numbers. And then third, it's how? How are we going to do it?
Michael Bernzweig (34:16.802)
And we always like to leave our audience with something actionable. So, you know, as far as a few bullet points for any of the listeners, maybe executives of this podcast that are saying, how do I, you know, move the envelope forward? How do I take where we're at now and push things forward in a positive direction? Do you have a few bullet points that you find are good actionable first steps?
Gretchen Villegas (34:43.916)
Yeah, I think, well, number one, I think it's to ask yourself within my own life or within my company that I'm working in, what is it that we can do that creates a social impact change for someone, you know, that changes somebody's life? But at the end of the day,
is also sustainable for the business. So it's not a handout. So I'm not asking you to put money aside to hand out, but what I'm asking you is what could you do in your daily life or within your business that you could start tomorrow and it would be embedded into the process or the product and you could continue it going into the future.
I mean, that's the real question. And as we get more and more ideas and models coming up like that, that's when social impact's really going to change.
Michael Bernzweig (35:53.812)
I love it. Well, I really appreciate the deep dive and this is a very unique topic, but I think we covered a lot of ground today and even worked in Sesame Street and chocolate, so that's not bad. Well, anyways, Gretchen Villegas, CEO and founder of Nexus Strategy and Growth Partners. Thank you for...
Gretchen Villegas (36:02.134)
And you know, I'm too bad. I'm not too successful as friends come.
Michael Bernzweig (36:16.138)
joining us on the consulting spotlight today. For anybody that happens to be tuning in for the first time, we have two sister podcasts. We also have software spotlight and we have career spotlight. So you can check those out on your favorite podcast players.
proud to announce that our sister podcast Software Spotlight just hit 31,000 downloads this month. So it's a very, very exciting time here at Software Oasis for anybody that would like to keep up on everything going on. Obviously like and subscribe and whatever else you do there, but also be sure to check out softwareoasis.com.
backslash subscribe, you can get on our email list and find out about all of the upcoming episodes and all of the details going on. have lots of exciting research studies that we publish each week and all kinds of organizations that are in the fold and working towards.
Social change and good in technology. So once again Thank you so much for joining us on the podcast tonight and we'll leave a link in the show notes for anyone that would like to reach out to learn more about Everything going on over there at Nexus strategy
Gretchen Villegas (37:28.846)
Thank you.
Gretchen Villegas (37:40.415)
perfect. Thank you.
Michael Bernzweig (37:42.21)
Perfect.