As many of you know The Fledge is the epicenter for innovation & ideas. If you ever thought about starting a business the thought of getting started can be daunting. While there’s other free resources in the community to help entrepreneurs get started. I wanted to take a moment and share my story and why I think The Fledge is different.
If you have been reading the Fledge Fractals, you probably heard of me. My name is Kendra Schneider and I’m the founder of Takeout Takeout. For those of you who don’t know, Takeout Takeout is a reverse logistics company that helps local restaurants and businesses take the trash out of takeout. This is done by providing reusable food containers to businesses and we help facilitate collection and sanitation for reuse.
The first business advisor I had was through a different organization. They listened to my idea(s), told me Lansing probably isn’t the place for a sustainable business to be successful and that I should consider Ann Arbor. Eventually, they emailed me a template to write out my business plan. Even though this is necessary step for all businesses to complete at some point during their startup phase I still felt alone, lost, and confused. This business advisor eventually ghosted me and so did the next one. Even though it was their job to try to help me I never felt that they never actually believed in me or my idea.
It was around this time I was advised by a friend to apply for the LEAP One and All Program, another community program to help local entrepreneurs get started and expand their business. I filled out the application alone with no guidance and ended up getting rejected the first time I applied. However, with my rejection letter I was advised to get entrepreneurial support from The Fledge.
I could tell that after my first meeting with Jerry that his approach was different. Obviously, there’s not any businesses like Takeout Takeout in the Lansing area so my first task was to find out why. For the first time I wasn’t alone in front of my computer trying to research what doesn’t exist. I made a list of local businesses and had help filling out the contact information for business owners. During my research I found out that it’s not that local businesses didn’t want to be more sustainable, but they faced the same challenges that a lot of households face. They don’t have the time, money, space, resources, etc. Most of the small business owners are just trying to make ends meet and to pay their employees a living wage and hoping to be able to offer their workers benefits one day. Operating in a more sustainable way didn’t feel like an option.
Just to be clear I don’t think the other organizations that help entrepreneurs get started are bad or not successful in what they do, but it wasn’t for me. Those other organizations are good for companies that have a more traditional business model. The Fledge can also help with traditional business ideas, but it is also known for being radically inclusive and the people there are constantly challenging the status quo. Starting a business that would disrupt the current system would require a certain mindset and that’s what I found here.
“In most cases the cost difference between a sustainable packaging item, as an example, is very high. Sometimes double or triple or more the cost of the alternative. That’s fine. But the customer ultimately is going to have to pay for it. I will spend $61,000 on paper supplies including packaging for to-go items. So, one meal with a bag, utensils, packaging – it can be close to $5 in packaging for a family order.” – Lansing Small Business Owner
Sustainable solutions to the climate crisis are often geared towards the affluent population who can afford “better” alternatives leaving most of the population out of the conversation. The connections I made through The Fledge allowed me to open the discussion to the Lansing community and I eventually found a partner who was willing to take a chance on me and my idea. In the summer of 2022, I launched my pilot program with Abundance Café with two dozen containers to test the market.
Today when customers place an order with Abundance Café they can select to receive their food in one of our reusable containers free of charge and Abundance Café doesn’t pay more than they normally would for single-use containers. Loyal customers who order weekly can swap the containers out during their next delivery or they can drop off the containers at Apple Blossom Kombucha during their taproom hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
It’s because of The Fledge that I was able to gain traction with my business. Within the year and a half that I have been working with The Fledge I was accepted into the next cohort of the LEAP One and All Program, received grant funding, pitched at The Hatching, found local business partners, and saved over 2,300 single use items from Michigan waste streams.
