What if everything you've been told about sustainable fashion is actually impossible? Dr. Christina Dean, who's been fighting this battle for 20 years, doesn't sugarcoat the truth: fashion and sustainability are fundamentally at odds, yet she's built two organizations dedicated to proving change is possible. 

**Ready to love your Mondays? Buy 'Work That's Worth It' now - Amazon, B&N, Bookshop.org. OR, need more convincing? Get the first chapters FREE here.** 

In this raw conversation, Christina shares the brutal financial reality of building a social enterprise (spoiler: she couldn't pay her kids' school fees from this work), why she thinks starting your own nonprofit is usually a mistake. Plus, her strategy for real change: getting into the boardrooms of the 20 fashion giants that control 97% of the industry. 

If you've ever wondered whether sustainable fashion is just marketing hype or want to understand what it really takes to create systemic change in a $2 trillion industry, this episode will give you the unvarnished truth from someone who's been in the trenches for two decades.

Key points:

• The global fashion industry is dominated by just 20 fashion brands and groups that control 97% of total revenue, while hundreds of thousands of SMEs share the remaining 3%.
• Fashion and sustainability are fundamentally at odds - fashion encourages buying more while sustainability requires consuming less.
• Consumer behavior research is misleading - people say they care about sustainability but don't act on it when purchasing, even after major disasters like Rana Plaza.
• Christina's Art Collective specializes in recycling complex luxury materials with distinctive prints, logos, and IP that carry high brand reputational risk.
• Building sustainable change requires significant financial cushioning - Christina couldn't pay her children's school fees from her sustainability work alone after 20 years.
• The best advice is often NOT to start your own organization - some of the greatest change makers work unnamed inside the biggest, "dirtiest" companies.
• Luxury brands are ideal partners because they have the most to lose from reputation damage and can absorb recycling costs relative to their brand value.
• Real systemic change requires reaching the highest levels - getting all CEOs of the top 20 fashion companies "in a room" to solve problems collectively.
• Christina's next goal is influencing policy through industry associations and eventually joining fashion company boards.
• The complexity of the fashion sustainability problem has kept Christina engaged and fascinated for 20 years - her father advised choosing something "so monumentally huge you'll never get there."

Resources:

• The R Collective

What if everything you've been told about following your passion is actually holding you back from finding truly meaningful work? Jeremy Schifeling from Khan Academy completely flips the script on career advice, revealing why he hires people based on what they can DO, not what they're passionate about—and why starting with passion is just like chasing a big salary.

**Ready to love your Mondays? Buy 'Work That's Worth It' now - Amazon, B&N, Bookshop.org. OR, need more convincing? Get the first chapters FREE here.**

In this eye-opening conversation, he shares his journey from being a "thoroughly mediocre" kindergarten teacher in Brooklyn to becoming a marketing leader helping millions access free education, proving that your biggest career pivots often come from unexpected layoffs and trial-and-error discovery.

Jeremy's contrarian take on mentorship, his "portfolio career" philosophy, and his brutal honesty about figuring out your strengths will challenge everything you think you know about building a meaningful career.

If you've ever felt stuck trying to force yourself into the "right" path or wondered how to actually discover what you're good at, this episode will give you permission to experiment your way to work that's worth it.

What happens when a CEO who helped build Old Navy from a startup into an $8 billion company decides to flip venture capital on its head? Dawn Dobras reveals the shocking truth: 93% of venture capital goes to men, and she's built a fund that's 70% female investors to change that.

**Ready to love your Mondays? Buy 'Work That's Worth It' now - Amazon, B&N, Bookshop.org. OR, need more convincing? Get the first chapters FREE here.**

In this episode, Dawn Dobras exposes why most startup founders get ghosted by VCs (hint: it's not your pitch deck), shares the brutal math behind venture funding (1,000 deals reviewed, only 1-3 funded), and reveals exactly what she looks for beyond the typical metrics.

Plus, she drops game-changing advice on how students are breaking into VC right now without connections or trust funds - including the "shadow portfolio" strategy that's getting MBAs hired.

If you're interested in VC, micro-investing as an Angel investor, or working at a women-led start-up -- this is your episode as Dawn will give you the inside scoop.


Key points:

• Dawn spent 30 years as an operator running companies, including transforming Old Navy from a startup with less than $1M in sales to an $8 billion company, before transitioning to venture capital.
• Only 7% of venture capital check writers are male, with less than 3% of funding going to all-female founding teams and only 2% of healthcare funding directed toward women's health.
• Women invest in venture capital at half the rate of men, largely due to structural barriers including high minimum investments ($500K-$2M) and lack of access to information about the asset class.
• Capital F Fund has over 70% female investors, which is virtually unheard of in venture capital and creates a powerful mentorship network for portfolio companies.
• The fund focuses on three areas where technology shapes women's lives: women's health, digital commerce, and AI enablement, specifically targeting companies with valuations under $12 million.
• Dawn emphasizes that venture funding is extremely selective - they review about 1,000 deals annually and invest in only 1-3, meaning rejection doesn't reflect on the business quality.
• Key investment criteria include emotional resilience and ability to take feedback, as startups face constant challenges and founders must remain open to new ideas and counsel.
• Archive Resale, a portfolio company enabling brands to host resale on their websites, exemplifies the "triple threat" of female founder, climate impact, and tech growth potential.
• Women's health investments include Hey Jane (telehealth abortion care), Stardust (period tracking app designed by women), and Zella Health (AI-powered reproductive health diagnostics).
• For those seeking venture capital careers, Dawn recommends building a track record through shadow portfolios or small angel investments and developing deal flow by networking with founders.

Resources:

• Capital F Fund
• The Council
• Archive Resale
• Forerunner Ventures