Conscious and Supportive Growth Even Through a Pandemic E2
KO-Pack and Truce are both great examples of companies that are growing and still managing to give back to the community. They are both companies that are striving to align their mission and values through their employees and the companies they work with. They are striving for growth in a way that is methodical, supportive, and conscious. “We do things now so we can do greater things later.” Payton
Listeners should tune into this episode if they are growing a business and want to grow in a way that supports other companies and the community along the way. Even if you do not have your own business, you can still learn from these two and the way they have grown consciously, even thru the pandemic. It is not always about the competition- “It you help them and they grow, then you grow.”
KO-Pack exists because as experienced brand builders, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, salesmen, and investors – the founders saw a massive need. So many companies start because of a great idea, product, and brand but often fail because they don’t always know what they don’t know. After walking the path for so long and riding that roller coaster, the KO-Pack Partners have learned a thing or two… and they want to pass that experience on to their clients.
By eliminating the learning curve and offering affordable and scalable solutions, KO-Pack can walk you down the path to however you define success.
If you need help with launching an idea or are scrambling to keep up with orders or need to reduce your overhead as you seek your next round of funding then let KO-Pack be your guide.
Payton LaCivita is a true entrepreneur at heart. Starting even in High School, Payton has always been working towards starting a new business.
In College, he built and sold his first ecommerce store. During this time he also helped his family run the local restaurant business which now has four Arizona Valley locations.
Soon after that he became the co-founder of MiaBella Foods where he become category leader for his gourmet products in over 100 grocery stores and the #1 Best Seller on Amazon.
He took that knowledge and started an Amazon consulting company and a fulfillment service for his clients which after three years has grown into KO-Pack – a contract manufacturing and packaging company that helps businesses of all sizes through all steps of the supply chain.
Follow KO-Pack on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Truce develops, manufactures and sells 100% nontoxic cleaning products, pet products and personal products. Their mission is to provide people with peace of mind by helping them rid their homes and lives of harmful chemicals. Truce uses traditional ingredients that have been used for generations to clean their homes and environments: olive oil, vinegar, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, salt, baking soda, and essential oils. 
Truce products are available online and in local grocery stores. They recently developed a product that removes chalk buildup from gymnastic mats safely and thoroughly with no harmful chemicals, making gymnastic studios safe for children and adults.
Truce was created in the 900 sq ft backhouse on Diann’s property and grew there for over 6 years. The company now occupies 2200 sq ft of co-manufacturing warehouse space in Tempe.
Truce is committed to maintaining the smallest carbon footprint possible and sources all ingredients in the USA. A Green America Approved Business, Truce is Gold Level. Environmental Working Group (ewg.org) has ranked Truce products ‘A’.
Denis Leclerc was born in France and came to Arizona State University for graduate study. He earned his PhD in cross cultural communication. He has been a professor for 27 years, first at ASU, then at Thunderbird School of Global Management for 17 years.
Denis has been the CEO of Truce since 2013.
Denis and Diann have lived in their home for 30 years, nestled in a permaculture garden with fruit trees, 6 hens, a koi fish pond, and 3 rescue dogs.
Follow Truce on Facebook and Instagram.
About Our People and Profit Co-Hosts
Sarah McCraren is an Arizona native with a strong sense of community. Sarah spent many years in the corporate finance world specializing in the operational analysis, measurement and accountability systems, project management and software implementations. However, Sarah wanted to do work which was meaningful and would positively impact her community.
She found that saving lives and reducing injuries through comprehensive safety programs fit that bill. Sarah currently leads the McCraren Compliance team by keeping everyone focused on their primary purpose, creating workplaces where we all watch out for each other, and balancing the needs of all their stakeholders.
Sarah serves on the Boards for Conscious Capitalism Arizona and the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration Tucson Chapter, and is also active with the Arizona Builders Alliance, Arizona Rock Products Association , Arizona Transportation Builders and Women in Mining Az.
Sarah McCraren
Part of an Awesome Team
www.McCrarenCompliance.com
Creating Workplaces Where We All Watch Out for Each Other
Jeremy Neis is an Investment Advisor with Retirement Evolutions and a small business operator fueled by the desire to enrich the life experience. He grew up in the Chicago area and chased the sun to get a degree at the University of Arizona in human and organizational communications. After doing so, he returned to Illinois where over the next 15 years he would find joy in co-launching and growing a technology solutions company and establishing a family.
In 2014 he returned to the desert to join his current venture, Retirement Evolutions, where his focuses are: (1) Conduct planning with individuals and families so that they can maximize the likelihood of leading secure and comfortable retirements. (2) Through the business services arm, Resourceful, empower business leaders to care for the people that they will rely upon to be thriving, sustainable organizations.
Jeremy is a proud contributor to the Conscious Capitalism movement as he views it as a powerful vehicle to bring about greater prosperity and reduced suffering for our human family. Over his career he has had the privilege to work closely with hundreds of different enterprises across many markets and industries. A common theme emerges among those firms that he’s seen excel and that is to be great not just with what they are bringing to market, but also with the manner in which they are doing so.
About Our Sponsor – Conscious Capitalism Arizona
Business has the potential to be a powerful force for good.
Free enterprise capitalism has served to lift more people out of poverty than any other socio-economic system ever conceived – empowering social cooperation, human progress, and elevating humanity. 
Good business is the answer to many of the global issues that humankind is facing. This is what we will dive into on the show.
We are working to change the capitalism narrative by shining a bright light on good business – telling the stories of conscious Arizona companies and encouraging others to follow in their footsteps.
