Nothing is Ever Wasted: Interview with Social Entrepreneur Alex Budak

I recently went one on one with Alex Budak. Alex is a social entrepreneur, faculty member at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and author of the new book Becoming a Changemaker.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth? 

Alex: Thanks for having me, Adam!  As I look back, the thread connecting all of my passions, interests, and work has been helping people from all walks of life become changemakers.  

I’m a faculty member at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business where I developed and teach the class “Becoming a Changemaker.”  It’s the exact class I wish I could have taken when I was 22 and just beginning my own changemaker journey.  I bring all of my past experiences into the classroom with me, from co-founding the social enterprise StartSomeGood, which tears down the barriers getting in the way of starting change initiatives, to living and working in Stockholm supporting the growth of the social enterprise ecosystem in Scandinavia. 

I consider myself so fortunate to do work that I love, and I live for that magical moment – whether in the classroom or outside of it – when someone realizes for the very first time that they just became a changemaker.  

Adam: What do you hope readers take away from your new book? 

Alex: I hope that readers finish the book with a fresh, new identity as a changemaker, and the courage to lead positive change from wherever they are.  I want them to read the stories of the diverse array of changemakers I spotlight in the book, and shift their thinking of changemaking as “something other people do,” to “something I do.”  I want them to feel equipped with new tools and techniques for leading change – even, and especially, when it’s hard – and that they feel ready to take action in ways large and small as a result of what they’ve learned in the book.

Adam: How can anyone become a changemaker? 

Alex: The core belief driving all of my work is that anyone and everyone can become a changemaker.  It all starts with giving ourselves permission to become one.  We may need someone else to give us a formal job title or position.  But the identity as a “changemaker” is there for us whenever we are ready to give it to ourselves. We don’t need permission from anyone – besides ourselves.  It means that we can lead positive change from wherever we are – whether we are an intern or a CEO.  We tend to over-glorify the founder or CEO, putting them on a pedestal which can feel unobtainable to most of us as a result.  But real, substantive change takes all of us leading from wherever we are.  It takes all of us deciding, first, to become changemakers.  

Adam: What do you believe are the biggest impediments to driving change and how can they be overcome? 

Alex: Scholars Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton write about something they call the “knowing-doing gap.”  What they find is that what holds us back from taking action is not knowing what to do, but rather organizational cultures of fear that paralyze us from taking action – even when we know what steps to take.  Therefore, I believe that the biggest impediments to driving change revolve around our relationship with failure.  At the organizational level it’s the fear of questioning our internal status quo, and disrupting our own processes and methods (which may have brought us success to this point).  At the individual level, it’s the fear of failure – that if I stand up and try to lead change but end up failing, that I will be penalized for doing so.  With the rate of change in the world today, standing still and not taking a risk and not attempting change is a bigger risk than trying something – even if it doesn’t work out perfectly the first time.  

Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader? 

Alex: The best leaders are changemakers.  They have the mindset to see the world as it currently is, yet also imagine alternative paths forward.  They have the leadership skills to mobilize others towards a shared vision and to do so by leveraging influence more than authority.  They get others to feel like they are part of shaping and leading the change as well – even if they aren’t the formal leaders.  And finally, they have the action–orientation to identify something that needs to be changed and to take those crucial first steps of action.  This doesn’t mean getting everything right the first time – but it does mean having the courage to try.  

Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level? 

Alex: It might sound surprising, but I think most aspiring leaders would do well to focus their energy on developing a sense of humility.  It’s counter-intuitive, I know, if we look at most leaders today who project an aura of impenetrable confidence.  But I’ve found in working with leaders and aspiring leaders all around the world that developing humility is an incredible unlock to our own leadership potential.  A sense of humility helps to ground us as leaders, reminding us that we aren’t the smartest people in the room (and if we truly are – you need to go find another room)!  It also helps us recognize our own blind spots and biases and allows us to transform into servant leaders who support our teammates in being and becoming their very best selves.  

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders? 

Alex: Firstly, embrace what Carol Dweck has termed a “Growth Mindset.”  If you aspire to lead any type of positive change, you will inevitably hit roadblocks, setbacks, and obstacles on a daily basis.  A growth mindset reminds us that we can lean into these challenges, and these failures, and come out stronger on the other side for having done so.  Someone with a fixed mindset will tend to give up quickly.  A growth mindset helps us persevere through the tough times.

Secondly, get to know the people you work with on a human level.  There’s a ton of pressure in offices and boardrooms to get things done as quickly as possible.  There are times where absolute efficiency rules all, and that’s okay.  But often there is a chance to play the long game and invest in the human relationship side of your team and teammates.  Get to know what motivates them, what excites them, and what scares them.  And get to know what makes them full people outside of the zoom room or away from the conference table – from family life to hobbies to lived experiences.

Thirdly, have a bias towards action.  There is no shortage of problems in companies and communities to be addressed.  Become known as someone who gets things done, and who steps up when others don’t.  Our companies and communities need people with this mindset!

Adam: What are your best tips for social entrepreneurs?

Alex: Social entrepreneurship is hard.  Really hard.  So be sure you are going into it for the right reasons.  Just like traditional entrepreneurship, there will be a ton of ups and downs – and then with the social component, there’s the additional layer of pursuing and measuring impact on top.  You have to be obsessed – completely obsessed – with the problem that you want to solve.  And you have to fall in love with that deeper “why” to drive you past the inevitable ups and downs.  I believe that the best social entrepreneurs are those who won’t rest when they’ve simply started a social business or made a solid impact.  They won’t stop until they have fundamentally solved a problem and created lasting, systemic change.  That’s a huge undertaking – so be sure that your “why” will carry you throughout that journey.

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received

Alex: That advice comes from my grandmother.  She said often that “nothing is ever wasted.”  Put another way – all of the experiences we ever have will be valuable to us at some point, even if it doesn’t seem that way in the moment.  That means that even if we take a non-traditional path in our lives or careers – that experience will come back to serve us in positive ways at some point.  I think about her advice often as I reflect on my undergraduate studies. I felt so fortunate to be at UCLA and to be surrounded by this incredible array of courses to take.  I ended up taking some seemingly random courses – from the Geography of Brazil to the History of Jazz.  But the lessons from both of these classes – and so many more – have come back to be helpful to me in surprising ways.  Indeed, nothing is ever wasted.


Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.

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