Meet John Stewart | CEO & philanthropist.

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

Hi John, what do you attribute your success to?
Sagrado was based on the idea that life is short and our time with each other is sacred. Sagrado translates to sacred. Our product is highly qualified to bring people together for sacred moments. Quality products are designed to be consumed slowly, savored, and shared with loved ones. Our products are not low cost, and the bigger mission is to create a massive wealth to be shared and invested in people who need help and an opportunity to get ahead in life. Sustainability has been essential to our company, and we have intimate relationships with all our partners in our supply chain. Our partners must also share a sustainability mindset and a giving heart for the community and treat their employees well. Sharing also the mindset for inclusion and no tolerance for discrimination. Our partners must share these values to be a part of Sagrado. Education is one of our more vital focuses as this gift, once given, can never be taken away or lost. Educating people for self-improvement and creating better opportunities is a powerful way of helping others. Our mission is to help make the world a better place by creating more equality for all humans.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
As stated, our business is designed to bring people together through the consumption of high-quality products to be combined slowly, savored, and shared with people you love and or value in your life. The other side of our business which is a crucial separator is our heart of sustainability and giving a portion of our profits to help others. Part of sustainability must not only start with your own business but, as mentioned earlier, must be shared down the supply chain to the raw materials. If you don’t know the people in your supply chain by their first names, it is hard to state you have a truly sustainable supply chain if you don’t know the people you purchase from. I travel to the Dominican Republic regularly and can say my partners are my friends. As we expand into other countries, we will continue the same model of partner intimacy.

Education is critical to us, and helping others to learn a trade or receive a higher education is one of our passions. The passion of our team has been addicting by many quality professionals and in attracting our staff. We have been very blessed by the people that have found value in our mission and want to see us successful in carrying out our mission of helping others and setting an example as a company that cares. I have learned that there is a lot of good and a lot to be done to help others. When I started this business, I told others I wanted to make a lot of money, more money than I could ever imagine. And with that money, I want to give a lot of it away and help more people than I could ever imagine helping in a lifetime.

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?
If visiting Colorado, I would take my friend to the mountains to see the beauty of our Rocky Mountains and all the nature we are blessed to have surrounding us. We would eat at small non-chain restaurants, stop and small local bars and meet the locals. We may hike, go river rafting, mountain biking, skiing, or boarding. It all depends on the season. Sitting by a fire at night by a stream or lake and enjoying a local craft beer, spirit, or coffee. We may even smoke a Sagrado cigar. Gaze at the stars, laugh about our stories, and possibly cry recounting the past. For me, time is best spent with people who matter to you. Life is short.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The first half of my life was shaped by passion and several decisions which led me down the road of hard knocks. I believe all the bad choices I made in my life helped prepare me and harden me for what was up ahead in my 2nd half. At 50, I returned to college to complete my bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary liberal arts studies. This pause in my life is what I needed and changed my thinking. I would have to shout out to Colorado State University and the education I was afforded at an older age. My capstone was terrific, and I was impacted by the four books I had to read, synthesize the learning and report my understanding. Being Wrong, Cathryn Shulz, The One-Straw Revolution, Masanobu Fukuoka, Our Declaration, Daniel Allen, Success and Luck, Robert Frank. The experience and wisdom from these four books and synthesizing the information reshaped my thinking and answered many lifelong questions. The capstone, completed during COVID, energized me to continue to the CSU MBA program, which I completed this past July. My coffee business was the selected MBA project, and I had a team of three other cohorts who voted to join our project. My education has had the most significant impact on my new thinking and understanding of the world. From this, I have a newfound passion for helping others and investing in the future of humans. Inclusion and diversity are core for my new ventures.

Website: www.sagradocoffee.shop

Instagram: @sagradocoffee

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/sagrado-global-llc-5374aa230

Twitter: @SagradoCoffeeCo

Facebook: @sagradocoffeefb

Image Credits
Spirit Mountain Plantation-Chad Wallace Connect Coffee Roasters-Caleb Benoit