Scenes From a Mall

Lisa von Sturmer and Andrew Sutherland are CYBF entrepreneurs and the co-founders of Growing City, an innovative business committed to urban composting solutions. They were recently featured in CYBF’s promotional Clear Channel mall campaign. Lisa and Andrew report back after a serious day of hanging out at Oakridge Mall and Richmond Center….

When we were 16 and working at the mall, we never thought we’d be involved in organics recycling. Years and many questionable hair colours later, it felt really exciting to be back at the mall as proud business owners and representatives of CYBF.

It didn’t take long to find our banner or should I say BANNER.  There’s nothing like seeing a 9x12ft version of yourself suspended from the ceiling to make you feel like you’re on the right track!

We have to say, when we officially left our established careers to pursue our company full time – many of our friends thought we were crazy!  They were skeptical that we could find a market for our service.  It was definitely a scary leap of faith!  However, working with CYBF has really given us the support and resources necessary to pull through tough times and create a viable business that’s growing.  Since October 2009 Growing City has diverted over 5 metric tonnes of food waste from our local landfills.  We’ve gone from 1 Compo-Capsule in service to over 65, and every week we’re adding new clients.

Seeing that poster was an incredible validation of our decision to take a huge risk and as an extra bonus our nay-sayer friends were the first to text us pics of our larger-than-life selves.  They were happy to be wrong… and we’re happy they were wrong too!

For you young guns out there – it’s like the poster says – entrepreneurship is a real career choice!