From Problems to Possibilities: Entrepreneurial Leadership in Action Presented by Babson College

Changing the Game

If you watched the Paris Olympics in 2024, it was hard to miss the coverage on sports and mental health. Specifically, the amazing comeback story of Simone Biles, who became the most decorated Olympic gymnast of all time after withdrawing from the Tokyo Games due to mental health issues in 2020.
The narrative around sports and mental health requires nuance, and the specific situations smatter greatly. For example, in the world of elite athletes, a study conducted by the International Olympic Committee in 2019 found that up to 35 percent have mental health concerns. The intense pressure to perform and achieve perfection can often be a contributing factor to depression or anxiety. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, a widely cited 2019 study by the NIH noted that sports often has a net positive outcome on mental health in adults.
And for kids, sports are generally accepted as something with positive outcomes on metal health, grades, physical health, and social emotional growth. However, as kids’ sports become more specialized and intense, sometimes mental health issues emerge even in these arenas.
In this episode, we’ll speak with three entrepreneurial leaders each at the intersection of sports and mental health, who are creating access to mental health resources and provoking conversations surrounding it.
First, an entrepreneurial leader in philanthropy who is helping organizations secure grants to do lifesaving work. A Babson alum and CEO of a nonprofit that has reached over 1 million kids with group mental health services through sports and a Babson alum and former basketball player whose nonprofit supports mental health services for college and elite athletes.
Beth Brown, Managing Director of Mental Health and Well-Being at the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation
David S. Cohen ‘95, CEO of Doc Wayne
Teddy Sourlis ‘22, CEO and Founder of Men’s x Mental, Inc.
Sources:
Intro and Outro Segments:
1. Reardon CL, Hainline B, Aron CM, Baron D, Baum AL, Bindra A,
Budgett R, Campriani N, Castaldelli-Maia JM, Currie A,
Derevensky JL, Glick ID, Gorczynski P, Gouttebarge V, Grandner
MA, Han DH, McDuff D, Mountjoy M, Polat A, Purcell R, Putukian
M, Rice S, Sills A, Stull T, Swartz L, Zhu LJ, Engebretsen L.
Mental health in elite athletes: International Olympic Committee
consensus statement (2019). Br J Sports Med. 2019
Jun;53(11):667-699. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2019-100715. PMID:
31097450.
2. Eather N, Wade L, Pankowiak A, Eime R. The impact of
sports participation on mental health and social outcomes
in adults: a systematic review and the 'Mental Health through
Sport' conceptual model. Syst Rev. 2023 Jun 21;12(1):102. doi:
10.1186/s13643-023-02264-8. PMID: 37344901; PMCID:
PMC10286465.
3. (2024, August 13). Athlete Mental Health: What You Need
to Know. Mcleanhospital.org. Retrieved February 12, 2025,
from https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/athlete-mh
4. Brenner JS, LaBotz M, Sugimoto D, Stracciolini A.
The Psychosocial Implications of Sport Specialization in
Pediatric Athletes. J Athl Train. 2019 Oct;54(10):1021-1029.
doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-394-18. Epub 2019 Sep 18. PMID:
31532693; PMCID: PMC6805069.
5. https://988lifeline.org/
 
Beth’s Segment:
1. https://blankfoundation.org/
2. https://www.adcouncil.org/
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhfUBNsnpMw
4. https://loveyourmindtoday.org/
 
David’s Segment:
https://docwayne.org/
 
Teddy’s Segment:
https://mensxmental.org/
 
Credits:
Paul DeWolf, Executive Producer
Madeline Poirier, Writer, Producer, and Host
Billy Wirasnik, Audio Recording, Design, and Mix
Epidemic Sound, Music and SFX

Do Well by Doing Good

If you live in the U.S., chances are you have a lot of stuff. Or at least you want to have a lot of stuff. As the MIT Press Reader notes in their brief history of consumer culture 'consumption is now frequently seen as our principal role in the world.'
We've been trained in a way to want more stuff, and that stuff takes a lot of resources to make, to ship, and then at the end of its life, to dispose of. And as sustainability becomes an increasingly important conversation for our collective future, how are brands looking at these problems? How do we account for all this waste and energy that we're consuming?
Can a company make consumer goods like clothes and electronics more sustainable without sacrificing their bottom line? 
Today, we're tackling just about the biggest entrepreneurial problem there is in consumer goods - Sustainability. 
We'll hear from two Babson College alumni and entrepreneurial leaders who are at the forefront of reimagining processes and their businesses and pointing us to a more sustainable future. And perhaps also a more thoughtful approach to consumerism.
And we'll speak with a renowned Babson accounting scholar who will help us understand how integrating sustainability practices into your balance sheet can not only create tangible value, but intangible value for your brand as well.
Uddhav Bagrodia ‘21, Co-Founder and President of Wastewear
Brigitte Wudernitz Muehlmann, PhD., MST, Professor in the Division of Accounting and Law at Babson College
Samuel D. Herec MBA ‘25, VP of Product and Sustainability at TIvoli Audio
 
Sources:
Intro Segment:
Higgs, K. (2021, January 11). A Brief History of Consumer Culture. The MIT
Press Reader. Retrieved April 2, 2025, from
https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
 
Uddhav’s Segment:
https://www.wastewear.com/
Ruiz, A. (2024, March 18). 47 Official Sustainable Fashion Statistics.
TheRoundup.org. Retrieved April 2, 2025, from
https://theroundup.org/sustainable-fashion-statistics/
     2. Yorke, S. (2024, November 12). What is Sustainable Fashion? Oxfam.org.
Retrieved April 2, 2025, from
https://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam-in-action/oxfam-blog/7-facts-about-sustai
nable-fashion/
(2025, March 30). Environmental Sustainability in the Fashion Industry.
GenevaEnvironmentNetwork.org. Retrieved April 9, 2025, from
https://www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/resources/updates/sustainabl
e-fashion/
Circle Economy (n.d.). The Circularity Gap Report - Textiles.
Circularity-Gap.World. https://www.circularity-gap.world/textiles
    5. California State Legislature (2024, September 30). SB-707 Responsible
Textile Recovery Act of 2024. California Legislative Information. Retrieved
April 24, 2025, from
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=2023202
40SB707#:~:text=This%20bill%20would%20enact%20a,producer%20resp
onsibility%20organization%20or%20PRO.
 
Professor Muelhmann’s Segment:
The five entrepreneurial practices are from the book “Teaching Entrepreneurship: A
Practice-Based Approach” by Heidi Neck, Candy Brush and Patty Greene.
https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Entrepreneurship-Practice-Based-Heidi-Neck/dp/178
2540695
 
Sam’s Segment:
https://tivoliaudio.com/
 
Evers, J. (2025, April 23). The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
NationalGeographic.org. Retrieved April 25, 2025, from
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/great-pacific-garbage-patch/
 
Credits:
Paul DeWolf, Executive Producer
Madeline Poirier, Writer, Producer, and Host
Billy Wirasnik, Audio Recording, Design, and Mix
Epidemic Sound, Music and SFX

Brand Love: Representation in Media

Even though the advertising and entertainment industries have made strides in trying to be more inclusive and speak more directly to different consumer groups, work remains to be done.
Research done by the Geena Davis Institute shows that representation for women, LGBTQIA+ race, disability, age and body size was actually shrinking for some audiences in recent years.
So why does representation in media matter? 
How does it affect the business landscape in terms of sales and brand equity?
And beyond even that, how does representation in the content we view every day affect consumers and how they view themselves?
And how can entrepreneurial leaders lay the groundwork in the content creation ecosystem for creating authentic stories?
In this episode, three entrepreneurial leaders talk about how authentic storytelling and representation in media can make an impact not only on a company's bottom line, but on the customers they serve.
We'll speak with a Babson alum who's an advertising Hall of Fame inductee and visionary creative agency leader. Babson's own resident marketing expert, who will help us break down the connections between representation brands and consumers. And an entrepreneur who's bringing inclusive casting practices for photo and video to a whole new level.
Aaron Walton ’83, CEO and Founder Walton / Isaacson, Advertisers Hall of Fame Inductee
Anjali S. Bal, PhD., Associate Professor of Marketing and Presidential Scholar at Babson College
Kristie Raymond, Founder & Chief Casting Strategist, HumanKind Casting
Sources:
Intro Segment
1. (2024, September 1). See Jane 2024. The Geena Davis Institute. Retrieved
February 21, 2025, from (Geena Davis Institute (2024, September 1). See Jane
2024: How Has On-Screen Representation in Children’s Television Changed
from 2018 to 2023? Https://Geenadavisinstitute.org/. Retrieved February 24,
12025, from
https://geenadavisinstitute.org/research/see-jane-2024-how-has-on-screen-repre
sentation-in-childrens-television-changed-from-2018-to-2023/).
 
Aaron’s Segment
1. Mckinsey & Company (2020, May 19). Diversity wins: How inclusion matters.
Mckinsey.com. Retrieved April 17, 2025, from
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-wins
-how-inclusion-matters
2. Gartner (2019, September 20). Diversity and Inclusion Build High-Performance
Teams. Gartner.com. Retrieved April 17, 2025, from
https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/diversity-and-inclusion-build-high-per
formance-teams
3. World Economic Forum (2019, April 29). The Business Case for Diversity is now
Overwhelming. Weforum.org. Retrieved April 17, 2025, from
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2019/04/business-case-for-diversity-in-the-work
place/
 
Professor Bal’s Segment
1. 2. NeuroLaunch Editorial Team. (2024, September 15). The psychological power of
using someone's name. NeuroLaunch. Retrieved from
https://neurolaunch.com/psychology-of-calling-someone-by-their-name/
Bond, J. (2021, August 30). The impact of respecting another person's gender.
Psychology Today. Retrieved from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/more-diagnosis/202108/the-impact-res
pecting-another-persons-gender
 
Credits:
Paul DeWolf, Executive Producer
Madeline Poirier, Writer, Producer, and Host
Billy Wirasnik, Audio Recording, Design, and Mix
Epidemic Sound, Music and SFX

Trust the System

The way leaders are problem solving in the world we live in today is changing.  
The World Economic Forum has been touting the practice of systems thinking for years, which you can loosely define as a way of viewing problems and the path to their solutions in a multi-dimensional approach, as opposed to a linear path.  
Similarly, the concept of biomimicry, or analyzing a problem and evaluating solutions based on how nature would approach it, is another concept taking off in the business landscape. Especially as business and governments try to align behind sustainability goals and targets.  
In this episode, three entrepreneurial leaders talk about how systems thinking and biomimicry help drive their businesses from ocean cleanup to becoming simultaneously profitable and water positive.  
Ela Gokcigdem ‘24, Blue Economy Specialist
Vikki L. Rodgers, PhD., Professor of Ecology and the Science Director and Integrated Sustainability Director at Babson
Ramón Mendiola, Sustainable Business Leader, Former CEO of Florida Ice and Farm Company (FIFCO), Current Babson Board Member 
Sources:
 
Intro Segment:
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2021/01/what-systems-thinking-actually-means-and-why-it-matters-today/
https://www.weforum.org/publications/innovative-learning-solutions-to-navigate-complexity-adapting-systems-thinking-to-future-classrooms/
 
Ela’s Segment:
Stanichny, Sergey. (2022). Outbreak of marine mucilage in the Sea of Marmara in 2021. Marine Biological Journal. 7. 107-109. 10.21072/mbj.2022.07.1.09. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359401873_Outbreak_of_marine_mucilage_in_the_Sea_of_Marmara_in_2021
https://www.avsaproject.org/
 
Professor Rodgers’ Segment:
 
Books on Biomimicry:
Benyus, J. 2002. Biomimicry: Innovation inspired by nature. Harper Perennial
Collins, K. 2014. Nature of investing: Resilient investment strategies through biomimicry. Routledge
 
Articles (mentioned or used for research):
Brier, E. Sept 19, 2024 “Forbes Sustainability Leaders” Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/elisabethbrier/article/forbes-sustainability-leaders/
Russo, A. 2020. “Half of world’s GDP moderately or highly dependent on nature, says new report” World Economic Forum https://www.weforum.org/press/2020/01/half-of-world-s-gdp-moderately-or-highly-dependent-on-nature-says-new-report/
Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change. Global warming of 1.5 C https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/
Colombo, L. A., Moser, C., Muehlfeld, K., & Joy, S. (2024). Sowing the seeds of change: Calling for a social–ecological approach to management learning and education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 23(2), 207-213. https://journals.aom.org/doi/full/10.5465/amle.2024.0086
 
Article Professor Rodgers co-authored that references Babson’s interdisciplinary SES work to focus on inclusive and interdisciplinary teaching:
 
Byrne, L. B., Rauschert, E. S., Rodgers, V. L., Bowser, G., Casper, A., Dewsbury, B., ... & Weber, L. (2025). Diversifying Ecology Education for Everyone Through More Inclusive, Interdisciplinary, and Accessible Teaching. The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, e2233. https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bes2.2233
 
Babson publications on SES courses:
Babson College. “Socio-Ecological Systems Core Courses”https://www.babson.edu/undergraduate/academics/curriculum/socio-ecological-systems/
Savignano, M. 2022. “Exploring an integrated mindset” Babson Thought & Action https://entrepreneurship.babson.edu/socio-ecological-deer-island/
Crawford, J. 2023. “What the future demands of today’s classrooms”. Babson Magazine. https://entrepreneurship.babson.edu/faculty-future-classroom/
 
Ramón’s Segment:
https://thecostaricanews.com/fifco-aspires-to-be-the-first-positive-water-company-in-costa-rica/
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57f3c5ddbe65946007f0290f/t/663a6a0a2ab5953f275ef5e3/1715104284095/FIFCO-Integrated-Report-2024-ENVIRONMENTAL.pdf

Believe Them, Include Them, Fund Them

According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s 2023/24 Women’s Entrepreneurship Report, startup activity among women has risen steadily over the past 25 years, even as they face headwinds related to cultural perceptions of women in business and limited access to capital.
One of the effects of this activity is women entrepreneurs who are taking problems affecting women in healthcare and creating business solutions to address them. 
In this episode, four entrepreneurial leaders in the women’s health innovation space, taking problems in women’s healthcare and leading the way to possibilities.
Elissa Kalver Founder and CEO of Wegotthis.org
Dr. Wiljeana Glover, Associate Professor in Operations and Information Management, and the founding faculty director of the Kerry Murphy Healey Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Babson College
Elizabeth Bailey, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Foreground Capital
Mary Tinebra '90, Business Partner and Chief Commercialization Officer at Inflection
 
 
Sources:
 
Intro Segment:
 
(2024, November 19). 2023/24 Women’s Entrepreneurship Report Reshaping Economies and Communities. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. https://gemconsortium.org/report/202324-womens-entrepreneurship-report-reshaping-economies-and-communities-2
 
Dr. Wiljeana Glover Segment:
 
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2024/aug/health-care-women-how-us-compares-internationally
 
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2866602/#:~:text=Results.,of%2043.7%25%20of%20the%20NMEs.
Keyhani S, Wang S, Hebert P, Carpenter D, Anderson G. US pharmaceutical innovation in an international context. Am J Public Health. 2010 Jun;100(6):1075-80. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2009.178491. Epub 2010 Apr 19. PMID: 20403883; PMCID: PMC2866602.
 
https://hologic.womenshealthindex.com/sites/default/files/2024-01/MISC09031_HGWHI_Y3GlobalReport_Final_Digital.pdf
 
Glover, W., Pachamanova, D., and Li, Z. (2024) Framing Inclusive Practice Options for Financial, Operational, and Community Outcomes. Production and Operations Management Journal. Impact Factor: 4.6. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/10591478241276927
 
Glover, W., Crocker, A., and Brush, C., (2024) Healthcare Entrepreneurship: An Integrative Framework for Future Research. Journal of Business Venturing Insights. Impact Factor: 6.6. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352673424000283
 
https://submissions.mirasmart.com/InformsAnnual2024/Itinerary/PresentationDetail.aspx?evdid=69this particular study actually focused on breast cancer survival, not maternal morbidity, but similar findings have been found in maternal morbidity see: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11113-021-09691-2
 
Gai, Y., Crocker, A., Brush, C., & Glover, W. J. (2024). How healthcare entrepreneurship enhances ecosystem outcomes: the relationship between venture capital-funded start-ups and county-level health. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/ijebr-02-2023-0204/full/html#:~:text=Indeed%2C%20our%20results%20show%20that,binge%20drinking%20rates%20at%20the
Elizabeth Bailey Segment:
Medicaid Stat: https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/quality-of-care/quality-improvement-initiatives/maternal-infant-health-care-quality/index.html#:~:text=Nearly%20two%20out%20of%20every,births%20in%20the%20United%20States.
Mary Tinebra Segment:
 

What is Entrepreneurial Leadership?

What is entrepreneurial leadership? And how can entrepreneurial leaders solve the problems that have perplexed so many others?
New research from Babson College faculty proposes that entrepreneurial leadership is a paradigm-shifting model that could have a long-term impacts for businesses and organizations of all kinds.
To outline how entrepreneurial leadership actually works, we’ve got two of Babson’s foremost researchers here today:
Professor Scott Taylor, Professor of organizational behavior and the Arthur M. Blank endowed chair for values-based leadership
Professor Danna Greenberg the Walter H. Carpenter professor of organizational behavior, also serving as the associate dean of the Faculty Division and chair of the management division
They have co-authored with four colleagues a recently published paper that offers the first academic model for how entrepreneurial leaders can move teams from problems to possibilities.
 
Sources:
New research paper:
Taylor, S. N., Corbett, A., Greenberg, D., Murphy, W., Rollag, K., & Shay, J. (2025). A conceptual model of entrepreneurial leadership: how entrepreneurial leaders enable entrepreneurial opportunity. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-025-01074-9
Book:
Greenberg, D., McKone-Sweet, K., & Wilson, H. J. (2011). The new Entrepreneurial Leader: developing leaders who shape social and economic opportunity. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24848726M/The_new_entrepreneurial_leader

From Problems to Possibilities

The world is evolving. The problems we’re facing are too big to be solved by any organization alone. A lot is uncertain, but one thing is for sure: change is coming. And the people driving it are entrepreneurial leaders.
Welcome to From Problems to Possibilities: Entrepreneurial Leadership in Action, presented by Babson College. On this podcast we’ll meet the entrepreneurial leaders in the Babson community and beyond who are working on solving some of the world’s biggest problems with the passion and skills that the world needs today.
How does an entrepreneurial leader look at a problem, and then get to the solution? Listen and find out how.