Fast Company March/April 2022

In 2006 when Taylor Francis was 14 years old, he saw Al Gore’s climate change documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Inspired, he wrote to Gore’s organization and soon joined its Climate Reality campaign, spending his high school years traveling the world and giving his own version of Gore’s slideshow presentation. Today, he’s still leveraging data to try to mitigate climate change, as the cofounder of Watershed, a startup whose software helps companies such as Airbnb, DoorDash, and Sweetgreen assess their impact on the environment and develop aggressive net-zero carbon plans. “I’m not having a lot of bleeding-heart conversations,” Francis says. “Carbon disclosure and reduction is part of corporate governance now.” The first seven firms on our 2022 list of the world’s 50 Most Innovative Companies (page 28), including Watershed at No. 6,…

BIG IDEA The question, from journalist Kara Swisher to Sweetgreen cofounder and CEO Jonathan Neman, following a discussion on kale and robotics, was simple. “Are you profitable?” she asked, as a 2018 episode of her Recode Decode podcast drew to a close. “We are,” Neman replied. But when the Los Angeles-based salad chain filed to go public last October, it revealed financials that directly contradicted Neman’s response to Swisher. Sweetgreen had lost $31 million in 2018. In fact, it has lost money every year since 2014. (The company declined to comment.) Investors don’t expect young, growing companies to be profitable, but Sweetgreen is already 14 years old. Thanks to its cheerful, health-conscious branding and slick digital-ordering system, Sweetgreen has been viewed as an innovator since its earliest days, raising $478.6 million in venture…

Be the Band Wooden Music Table ($199, CRATEANDBARREL.CA) The perfect toy to usher in the next generation of music stars with drums, cymbals, maracas, and a xylophone. Its all-wood construction makes it easy on the eyes—if not on the ears. Newsletter PRIYA’S KITTY PARTY Priya Arora’s newsletter covers Bollywood, but doesn’t forget to also highlight all the new South Asian American content coming out. Podcast STUFF YOU MISSED IN HISTORY CLASS I didn’t have to take history after eighth grade since I was on a mathscience track, so I like Stuff You Missed in History Class. Website YESSTYLE.COM It’s a fun, trendy Asian fashion shop that sells everything from Korean skincare to comfy jumpsuits. Playlist JHANAK JHANAK–UTTAM & SUCHITRA When I’m home, I watch Bengali movies featuring couple Uttam and Suchitra. This Spotify playlist features songs from some of them. POLYPHONIC PRODUCT Sonos “There is something strangely…

01 Abusadora WISIN Y YANDEL Produced by my [business] partner Tainy–this sound took Latin music to another level. 02 4 Minutes MADONNA FT. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE AND TIMBALAND I love the feeling this song gives you. This dream collab of legends delivered. 03 My Time FABOLOUS FT. JEREMIH An anthem for car rides and flights to meetings early in my career when I felt like it was my time, and nobody could tell me otherwise. 04 F*ckwithmeyou-knowIgotit JAY-Z FT. RICK ROSS A song for the daily hustle and grind that is the music industry; work hard, play hard. 05 Blessings BIG SEAN FT. DRAKE Hard work pays off; at times you have to take a second to realize how blessed you are to live the life you’re living. Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO Turntable ($599, ABT.COM) An elegant, high-quality vinyl player that can be passed down through generations, this…

HEAD OF CULTURAL PARTNERSHIPS, SPOTIFY STUDIOS What’s your best habit, and what’s your worst one? I love long showers and I have a meticulous oral care routine, but I take forever in the bathroom and it drives my family and friends crazy! Is there a businessperson you admire? [Former American Express CEO] Ken Chenault. I admire the way he navigated through a complex organization to the very top as a Black man. What’s the buzzword you never want to hear again? “You’re muted.” All right already What’s the best mistake you ever made? I was P. Diddy’s personal assistant, and I didn’t like the direction the job was moving in. The hours and environment were unhealthy. I needed to make an immediate change, so I quit without a backup plan. Is there a book you recommend to everyone? All About…

01 Rocket Fuel GINO WICKMAN AND MARK C. WINTERS [It taught me that] the delineation of roles and responsibilities is important from day one in a partnership. 02 Mrs. Dalloway VIRGINIA WOOLF A classic. The novel takes place over the course of a single day and explores the topic of mental health and PTSD in a way that feels ahead of its time. 03 Lyrics: 1962-2001 BOB DYLAN I’d turn to a random page and use Dylan’s lyrics as a song starter, a jumping-off point for my own song idea that day. 04 Urs Fischer URS FISCHER, JESSICA MORGAN, AND ULRICH LEHMANN I rediscovered Urs in an exhibition in Paris. His sculptures in here–that explore visual decay–are out of this world. MH40 Wireless Over-Ear Headphones ($299, MASTERDYNAMIC.COM) These cover all the bases–and basses. Made with buttery-soft lambskin leather and incorporating elegant metal touches, the…