Lauren Bush is the CEO, Creative Director, and Co-Founder of FEED Projects, as well as the Chairman of the Board and Co-Founder of the FEED Foundation. Lauren started her work as an Honorary Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP) in 2004, when she helped to launch their Universities Fighting Hunger initiative. In 2008, she was given the Marie Claire Prix De La Moda Humanitarian Award for her work with FEED. In 2009, she was honoured as a Fortune Most Powerful Woman Entrepreneur, and in 2010 she was included on Inc.’s “30 Under 30” List and given the Accessory Council’s Humanitarian Award.
My Definition Of Success | Since I started FEED, I’ve thought of success as one day closing the doors of FEED because we have solved world hunger. But over the years, I have come to define success by my favourite quote from Minor Myers Jr, which says “Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.”
My Highlights | I think the highlights of my life and career (which are mostly one in the same) will always be tied to the meals we provide and the children we feed. That FEED has been able to provide over 84 million meals to date is something I am so proud of. We have been able to do that through the sale of bags and accessories with tangible expressions of meals given on each product. For example, the FEED 1 bag feeds one child in school for one year. And our artisan products not only feed children, but also employ artisans in the countries those meals are being given. Everyone on team FEED is proud of that!
A Key Talent | Being an entrepreneur is a difficult but exciting path to choose. I think to be successful, you have to be clear about your vision and your mission while also being open to evolving how you do things. It is this crucial balancing act that is something I am very conscious of the more years I work on FEED and something I constantly working on to improve and get better at.
Principles I Live By | If I had to choose one value to live by it would be kindness. There is a magnet on the refrigerator at FEED that says, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” Along those lines, it is very important to me to treat everyone I meet with equal respect and dignity as a human being.
Lessons I Have Learnt | The most important lesson I have learned thus far in my life and strive to continue to learn is to be confident in myself and the vision and purpose of what I strive to create and in who I want to become.
Resources I Use To Stay Inspired | I am so lucky to be surrounded by people who continually inspire me. My husband David is a huge source of encouragement, and I often go to him for business advice as well. I know that I am only as powerful as my team, so I’ve made a point to hire people at FEED who are smarter than me in various areas, and continue to bring creativity and innovation to the company. I learn a lot from them every day.
I also have learned the importance of taking time for myself to recharge. I am an avid reader and may or may not have a small addiction to Netflix.
My Future Dreams And Ambitions | My dream as the leader of FEED is that we would close our doors because we will have solved the problem of hunger.
On Inspiring Others | As described in the book Good to Great, which I highly recommend for any entrepreneur, I am a big believer in getting the right people on the bus. Team FEED is a very tight unit. We are only 11 people, but I’m continually amazed at how much we have been able to accomplish. I think we’ve been so successful because of our size, because each person really feels ownership over a specific area of the company, and has freedom to challenge the system and offer creative solutions to problems.
I Am Inspired By | I have been fortunate to have several wonderful mentors along the way, both in the non-profit world and the retail space. Muhammad Yunus defined and put a framework around the idea of “social business,” which is what FEED is. Approaching business with the ultimate intention and outcome of giving back to those in need is a powerful one. Professor Yunus is the father of this model and a personal hero of mine.
The Legacy I Would Like To Leave | I hope my legacy is one that encourages others to tackle big world problems through bite-size and innovative solutions. I also hope to have helped in the fight to end world hunger.
Rose Caiola could have easily been defined by her success in the highly competitive world of New York City real estate, but she has ventured far beyond the boundaries of the business world. Her yearning for a better understanding of human wellness has taken her down diverse paths and led her to meet many fascinating […]
Douglas Rogers is a Zimbabwe-born journalist and travel writer based in New York City. His book, The Last Resort: A Memoir of Zimbabwe, was published in 2009. The Last Resort is a remarkable true story about one family in a country under siege, and a testament to the love, perseverance, and resilience of the human […]
Mr. Sam Pitroda is an internationally respected telecom inventor, entrepreneur, development thinker, and policy maker who has spent 49 years in information and communications technology (ICT) and related global and national developments. Credited with having laid the foundation for India’s telecommunications and technology revolution of the 1980s, Mr. Pitroda has been a leading campaigner to […]
Conrad Koch is one of South Africa’s most in demand comedy talents. He combines hilarious comedy with world-class puppetry, and has done so for over fifteen years to local and international acclaim. Conrad was the winner of the 2010 Entertainer of the Year award, and of a 2012 Standard Bank Ovation Award from the National […]
Alex graduated from Hampshire College in 2006 with a BA in Development Economics, shortly after founding Working Villages International in 2005. Having traveled throughout sub-Saharan Africa, he decided to help farmers in the Ruzizi Valley region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and has been working on development in that region ever since. He has […]
Andrew is the co-founder and Managing Director of Yuppiechef, and heads up their strategy and technology. After developing websites and intranets for clients since 1999, he founded Yuppiechef in 2006 with Shane Dryden as a part-time venture while they continued to run a small web agency. Yuppiechef has since grown in to one of South […]
Dr Sherylle Calder is a visual skills coach and guru. She is a sport scientist and performance coach, who is also known as “The Eye Lady”. Dr Calder has helped teams win 2 back-to-back Rugby World Cups amongst many other sporting trophies and her expertise in this field has long been recognised by the top […]
Over the last 25 years Wade Bales has built a hugely successful wine brand and business for himself and his colleagues on the back of an obsession to have both unsurpassed local industry knowledge and the most intimate of personal relationships with SA’s leading winemakers. His unique wine merchant business model, which closely resembles that […]
These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.
Our Mission
© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME
