This month Diana sits down with RiNo member Ricardo Rocha, CEO of Bondadosa to talk about his amazing comapny and team who are addressing food insecurity around Denver and getting meals into the hands of those in need. Bondadosa has seen tremendous growth over the past few years and we have been honored to call a company like Bondaosa a part of our community!
Transcript:
Diana: Hi guys, and welcome to Enterprise Coworking Community Spotlight. This month, we're talking to Ricardo Rocha, founder and CEO of Bondadosa. Ricardo, thank you so much for taking the time to sit down with me over Zoom and talk about your company. Tell us a little bit about Bondadosa and what you guys do.
Ricardo: Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. Bondadosa was founded in 2017 [00:00:30] as a social enterprise looking to address food insecurity around Denver. So, as you know, and even now, more pressing now than ever, right through COVID, we all aware that there are hundreds of thousands of people who are at home and at risk and they don't know where perhaps or when their next meal is going to come from. And so we were founded to focus on this kind of food insecurity, thinking that people like you and I wanted to be [00:01:00] more kind and wanted to be more involved in in supporting a food system that helps people who may find themselves in need thrive, and that we have an active role to play on that. So that's kind of why we were founded. We were first a technology and now more of a distribution company. So that's kind of how people can can can work with us.
Diana: What an incredible organization you guys are. And on Bondadosa means Kind. Correct?
Ricardo: That's [00:01:30] right. It means Kindly.
Diana: Beautiful. How long has Bondadosa been in business?
Ricardo: You know, we've been in business for now almost three and a half years, and we have grown a ton. Right. So so over the last year, over the last three years, we've just been through all kinds of changes and pivots and running experiments, all related to food access.
Diana: Incredible. What makes Bondadosa different than other companies in your industry?
Ricardo: Yeah, it's interesting, [00:02:00] right? Because, I mean, when you think about delivery services, you think about post mates, GrubHub and Instacart, sometimes even Amazon. I think what makes us different is our origin story, first. Right. We we are we were founded out of a very specific needs, very focused on those those kinds of of needs. And I think that makes it makes us different. It makes a company culture different. We also run on electric fleets. I [00:02:30] think that's another cool part about what we do. We you see the vehicles parked outside and we're looking to purchase more. I think lastly, what makes us really, really different is our ambition to create a more sustainable food system. It's very focused on food. It's very focused on connecting consumers to local products and and making sure that along the way we're doing good. And I think that's for for many companies, [00:03:00] you know, you're kind of greenify the social enterprise model. You, like, put a face to social enterprise and it's just really what we do every day. So for us, this is what we wake up and and go to sleep with.
Diana: Incredible. I love the decals on your car. I mean, you could see them coming from a mile away. And I think their beautiful.
Ricardo: We need ten more of them. Yeah, soon.
Diana: There [00:03:30] has been amazing growth in your company. What are a few goals or achievements that Bondadosa has attained recently that you're proud of and you'd like to reach in here.
Ricardo: Yeah. You know, we it's hard to tell from our website, but over the last three months, we've spent a significant amount of our resources and time building something called the Denver Metro Emergency Food Network and the Denver Metro Emergency Food Network we stood up a Website and a sign up sheet, really for families who are going to become food insecure [00:04:00] because of COVID. And since then, we've delivered about two hundred and seventy five thousand meals to those in need. Over the last three months alone, I think that as a as a as a reason why we've grown so much, but also a reason why we need it to exist before and after the pandemic. So, you know, delivering more than a quarter of a million meals in the span of a quarter is an incredible feat. And I am just in awe one of of the team that we've built to [00:04:30] make that happen and also eager to find out where it will take us before COVID. So, you know, there are about 16 million meals a year are skipped in the city and county of Denver alone because they don't know where their next meal is going to come from. And having delivered only about a quarter of a million of them shows you the gap that needs to be filled before COVID right now, only now and now, it's only gotten wider. And so for me, that this incredible amount [00:05:00] of growth is an opportunity to set us to set us up to really solve this problem long term.
Diana: Incredible. Incredible. Why did Bondadosa Choose Enterprise Coworking as its home?
Ricardo: The charging stations. Honestly, like the number one thing was the charging stations for me. Trying to pilot what a what an electric vehicle fleet would look like and what we would need was a huge part of what we do. The flexibility [00:05:30] around your membership. So like the one hundred ninety nine dollar, 24 hour access membership was really helpful for me. I mean, you've seen us grow from one person, one desk to four to eight to now nearly 60 people staffed, you know, so it's it's just been a great place for us to experiment with the ups and the downs and the growing pains and the challenges of being a young startup. So for me, it was just a perfect setting and of course, a coffee shop. You know, just having a coffee shop there [00:06:00] and ready to pick you up in the mornings is is this great.
Diana: Amazing. I'm so glad that Enterprisers is able to provide you with a comfortable and flexible coworkig home.
Ricardo: Yeah we love the conference room to right when you invite people over And it's it's so inviting and it's so welcoming, clean, nice and sweet. So we're just happy to be here.
Diana: I, I'm so glad to hear that. So lastly, what would you like our viewers and fellow members [00:06:30] to know about Bondadosa?
Ricardo: Yeah. So Bondadosa is on a mission to create a more sustainable food ecosystem. We want you all to know that you play an active role in that, which means being aware where you shop, how you shop and how it impacts people, planet and profits across the food ecosystem. And so we're eager to share what we do with with with all of you and eager to have you be part of our organization in one way or another.
Diana: Amazing [00:07:00] Well, thank you so much, Ricardo, for sitting down with me today and telling us a bit about Bondadosa. we're so excited to have you part of our community and we're hoping to see even more big things from you in the future. For more information on Bondadosa, you should visit their Website at bondadosa.org. Or you can contact Ricardo directly by Ricardo@bondadosa.org. Thank you so much.
