{"id":69701,"date":"2019-11-12T11:23:20","date_gmt":"2019-11-12T16:23:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/?p=69701"},"modified":"2020-09-03T05:53:18","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T09:53:18","slug":"this-shark-tank-winner-proves-that-profit-and-purpose-are-not-mutually-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/community-stories\/member-spotlight\/this-shark-tank-winner-proves-that-profit-and-purpose-are-not-mutually-exclusive","title":{"rendered":"This \u2018Shark Tank\u2019 winner proves that profit and purpose are not mutually exclusive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The first time John Sorial\u2019s kids saw him cry was while watching their dad pitch his company TaDah Foods<\/a> on the season 11 premiere of ABC\u2019s Shark Tank<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he was presenting to the panel of Sharks\u2014including mainstays Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Grenier, Robert Herjavec, and special guest Daniel Lubetzky<\/a>, founder and CEO of Kind Snacks<\/a>\u2014Sorial\u2019s adrenaline was pumping. The tense moment crystallized why he started his company in the first place: \u201cI started thinking about the success [my] company is potentially going to provide to the children we\u2019re supporting,\u201d he explains. \u201cAnd all that my family has given for me to be here. My wife has sacrificed so much to support me. I walked away from a corporate job to pursue this idea and this passion. It all came together, and it was just this raw emotion. And all of a sudden, I was trying to continue pitching my company and our products through the tears.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sorial founded TaDah Foods in 2011. The company, a member at WeWork 1775 Tysons Blvd<\/a> in Tysons, Virginia, prides itself on providing delicious, natural, plant-based frozen foods, with recipes inspired by the Lebanese and Egyptian cuisine his immigrant parents would prepare for him as a kid. \u201cThe whole idea behind TaDah is to take people on this culinary journey, where they will begin to trust us and experience new foods and new flavors. And to offer them the most convenient format possible.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But here\u2019s the twist: More than 25 percent of TaDah Foods\u2019 profits are donated to charitable causes\u2014a fact by which most of the Sharks on the episode appeared to be taken aback. The company works with several charitable foundations, but the one Sorial says he was thinking about during his high-pressure pitch was the Meant 2 Live Foundation<\/a>, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of impoverished youths around the world and empowering them through education, mentorship, food programs, musical inspiration, and spiritual nourishment.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn the surface, they don’t have anything to hope for other than survival,\u201d Sorial says of a group of orphan children he met in Zambia through Meant 2 Live. \u201cAnd when you meet them, they’re just full of joy. They lift your spirits up. You go there to work with them and to help out, whether it be to teach a class or to work in the health clinic or just to play with them, a little bit of soccer. And you end up being rejuvenated. You’re the one who ends up getting lifted up by them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sorial found himself crying on Shark Tank<\/em> because he felt like he was fighting for these children who inspire him so much. \u201cThe more I tried, the more emotional I got, until I finally had to take a break and take off my glasses and wipe my eyes, wipe the tears from my eyes,\u201d he says. \u201cI put my glasses on, and I started to talk through the tears some more and regain my composure. And to my surprise, when I looked up, the entire panel was emotional as well.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The often stony-seeming panel of Sharks really did appear to be taken by Sorial\u2019s heartfelt fight, though not all agreed that giving away a quarter of a company\u2019s profits is the best business decision. Ultimately, Sorial was able to strike a deal with Kind\u2019s Lubetzky, whom he believes is the exact right fit. Lubetzky invested $500,000 for a 25 percent stake in the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s a huge blessing for us to have someone like Daniel, who is as committed to social giving as we are,\u201d Sorial says. \u201cHe understands our struggle, not just as a food brand competing with mega companies that are much larger in scale, but he understands the purpose behind it. And it’s always been about the food, but the deeper meaning is that food is this part of the social fabric that really connects us. People can always connect through food.\u201d Sorial adds that both he and Lubetzky see food as the perfect agent for social change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sorial says that he\u2019s proof that companies can be both profitable and giving. The charitable aspect of his work is what propelled him to keep going when the entrepreneurial life got hard. \u201cTo be honest, there were times in my company where I should have probably thrown in the towel,\u201d he says, explaining that he\u2019s pretty sure he would have given up if he hadn\u2019t devoted the company to something beyond financial gain. \u201cBeing an entrepreneur can be extremely rewarding, but it can be almost soul-crushing at times, a very lonely type of thing. So having something that is bigger than you, bigger than your company, helps you push through. And I think it’s a good business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“John is incredibly passionate about his company and his product,” says Gina Westfall, a WeWork community manager in the building from which Sorial works. “It’s been great to see the success he’s experienced over the last several months and we’re excited to be a part of the growth of Tadah Foods.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To aspiring entrepreneurs, Sorial says he urges them to challenge their own thinking. \u201cWhy are you limiting yourself? Rather than thinking of profitability and generosity as an either-or scenario, look at this as an \u2018and\u2019 proposition. Why can’t we be successful, profitable, and<\/em> give back to the community? It makes sense.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WeWork members can receive $10 off their first\u00a0<\/em>TaDah Foods<\/em><\/a>\u00a0order with promo code TadahxWework10.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n