Meet Maddy Gawler | Founder of E-CO Alternatives

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maddy Gawler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maddy, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I am all about filling in the holes, I like to find solutions for holes we have in society. I kept hearing a disconnect between consumers and sustainable businesses (especially small & medium size businesses). Its great that we have resources like google but with pages on pages of results, those smaller businesses get buried. I wanted to find a way to help consumers find sustainable alternatives to their regular shopping and help these sustainable businesses with their hurdles (from being found, raising awareness, expanding their sustainability, finding affordable sources of ingredients/packaging, more man-power, etc). I knew this would be a social enterprise where I would be focused on the impact and if funds came that would be great but I wanted to create an impact. I kept thinking of the quote “if not you, then who. if not now, then when” so I got to action and quit my job to pursue building this company up with the intention of going back to full time once the pieces were in place. I started off with an action plan and a dream list and set off on the journey.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a young entrepreneur. I definitely would classify myself as a jack of all trades and master of none however I see that as a good thing in a lot of ways, I have been able to take things from the various industries I have worked in to create an even larger impact because each industry works in different ways. Throughout undergrad and grad school I worked full time between two internships; I was very passionate about sustainability so wanted to explore the various worlds of sustainability. I started in the non profit world, then jumped into energy consulting, then corporate social responsibility consulting, then impact investment analysis, and when I was getting ready to graduate, COVID struck and all my initial offers/jobs were retracted due to the unknown of what would happen with COVID. It was scary not knowing what was next, knowing that your industry was not a priority because public health was in question. I was not one to normally go the traditional route, for jobs for example, I’d find an area I was interested in, then research businesses that do that said work and cold email them asking them to hire me on as an intern. I got very lucky that it led to most of my roles. I decided not to let the obstacles of “no jobs available” or no jobs on job boards set me back. What I’ve learned through my very short professional life is if you don’t ask you’ve already gotten the worst response you can get (no). It is always worth reaching out and taking a shot. You never know what people will say.

In terms of sustainability, the biggest lesson I have learned (which is obvious but also important to reiterate) is every company is so different and their sustainability can be just as strong as another but completely different. There are so many hurdles businesses have and small/medium have it even worse. Think about a jam company, if you are really good at making jam, you may not have a business background or any experience/knowledge of sustainability but you want to start a business and want to make it sustainable. You only have so many hours in a week and funds available so you do what you can and continue to grow as you can. This is why E-CO Alternatives is named alternatives, because we find companies that are mission/value aligned, are doing more than the average in that said industry and CARE about their impact, then we help them become more sustainable, help raise awareness to their brand and watch them grow their sustainability as they have the capacity to. We care about intentions, purpose and values.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I absolutely love the mountains, I would take them around the mountains on a few really nice hikes, I recently found Staunton State so probably some hikes over there. Then to Idaho Springs to see the fun mountain town. I’d show them around the highlands areas, go to some of my favorite boutiques, probably go to Bamboo Sushi (they are a sustainable sushi restaurant). Then show them the Edgewater public market, I love the shared market places we have and this specific one has a great sustainable zero waste shop AND an artisans shop (Artisans thrive) which has a lot of sustainable products AND supports local artists abroad! I personally love showing people the variety of neighborhoods, food and drinks in Denver so half the time would be exploring all the deliciousness we have to offer. Lastly, Meow Wolf has definitely been added to the list recently, it is such a fun museum.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My experience at DU with Janney Carpenter in my Social Enterprise courses definitely created that initial love for the world of impactful businesses. She showed us the incredible businesses out there that were intentionally focused on making the change in the world. She taught us how important it is to listen to our constituents/clients and showed us real life examples of the successes and failures when businesses don’t listen to their constituents. In addition, we learned about the “wheel of social enterprises” because you don’t stop listening, you listen, build something, try something, then change it based on the feedback of the project/program. E-CO Alternatives has taken all of that wisdom and we are constantly pivoting and growing based on what we are hearing from others.

Website: https://ecoalternativesllc.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eco.alternatives/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madisongawler/

Other: TikTok: @eco_alternatives