How do people with ideas for businesses to save the world find cofounders? If you’re fashion designer Michalyn Andrews, you read journal articles by scientists doing awesome things in biotech, cold-email them to ask them to meet up, and make the proposal at a Starbucks.

Her dream: to make real leather from cows to lighten the burden we’re placing on animals and the planet.

She and her new cofounder spent the next two years in stealth mode, researching, developing, patenting, and quietly raising a million dollars. They’ve been quiet...until now.

Provenance Bio is now coming out of the shadows and is ready to start talking about its big plans to keep people wearing leather, but instead of it coming off the backs of cows, they’re leaving those cows out to pasture and making real leather, animal-free.

So enjoy the story in this episode of how this early-stage company got founded, raised seven figures of cash, and is now working to scale up and get into the business of doing good.

Discussed in this episode

Books Michalyn recommends: Blue Ocean Strategy and Blue Ocean Shift
The world’s first clean leather-bound book.

Ep. 33: Real Leather without the Cows

Business for Good Podcast