Being an entrepreneur is one of the hardest things Kathryn Lewis has ever done.
“One of the conversations that I’ve had with my family is I’ve never known how to take the easy route,” she says. “But it’s also been one of the most rewarding things.”
Kathryn’s path to entrepreneurship began in corporate America where she developed a solid foundation in business. Today, she is the co-founder and CEO of dMass, a company that specializes in resource management and education.
“I didn’t know it at the time, but working in corporate America fundamentally changed the way I think and how I understand systems,” she says. “It was in that process that I really learned that I love to make decisions and see the impacts of my decisions.”
If it’s positive, stay the course. If it’s negative, correct the course, she says.
When her father, a doctor, wanted to open his own practice, he asked Kathryn to step in and run the business side for him. She left her job as a supply chain manager and agreed to front the business side of the operation. It was then that she became fascinated with all things business and decided to go to Europe to get her MBA in Milan.
After graduating, Kathryn looked for her next entrepreneurial adventure. Passionate about languages, communication, and business, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. Science certainly wasn’t on her radar, but she ended up co-founding a business that tracked scientists who were working on energy harvesting.
“The sciences freaked me out,” Kathryn says. “The word ‘molecule’ is still like fingers on a chalkboard to me, but science is also where the most exciting, mind blowing innovations are happening. You actually don’t need to know science to know what it can do for you.”
At that point in her career, Kathryn was surprised by her passion for the field. As fate would have it, working on energy harvesting led her to her current business partner, Howard Brown. He had a background in business and was passionate about the environment. He was the CEO of a resource management company for more than 20 years and was looking to publish a book that contained all of the lessons he’d learned throughout his journey. He asked Kathryn for help.
The business opportunity for the project soon became visible, but Kathryn lacked the background in environmentalism and didn’t yet understand Howard’s passion for it.
“I asked him, ‘Why is the environment so important to you that you are dedicating your life’s work to this?’” she says. “He told me, ‘Everything in this room is nothing more than the earth’s crust that’s been dug up, rearranged, manufactured, labeled, and shipped to you.’”
Running her hand along her desk, she explains how he was talking about everything from the table and chair to the light in her office. That realization sparked something within her.
They started talking about ways to monetize the business model. It was tricky, but with her background in supply chain management, she knew exactly what it took to get raw material from the ground, through the manufacturing process, all the way to being delivered to the customer. With her experience and Howard’s passion for the environment, it became evident that they were on to something.
“I initially thought the environmental conversation was punitive and polarizing, and I was turned off because it was positioned in a way that was making a value statement or ethics statement about my judgment,” Kathryn says. “But I really began to see that environment and business are not separate and there’s real opportunity there.”
Soon, it wasn’t just an idea; it was something that she was excited about. Together, Kathryn and Howard founded dMass, and in 2012 they published their book: “Naked Value: Six things every business leader needs to know about resources, innovation, and competition.”
dMass was born with the mission to support the innovators who create sustainable alternatives to limited resources by connecting them with investors, clients, or competitions to showcase their work. They also partner with businesses to educate them on resource management. dMass helps companies find ways to use less resources without sacrificing the quality of their product by implementing the innovator’s solution into their business model.
For example, dMass will help a company look at their supply chain management to figure out what kind of resources they use. For example, if a company uses rubber, dMass will start by finding out where they source the rubber from. This process enables the company to think about long-term, sustainable solutions based on what’s happening within the region where their materials are sourced. Then, dMass helps the company identify where there are opportunities to substitute an alternative material for rubber. In the long run, this not only benefits the customers, but also allows companies to use a fraction of their resources, which is better for the environment.
dMass has a database with more than 2,000 innovations that can be accessed through their subscription-based service called Minedwell. Kathryn says Minedwell is a way for companies to benefit from the innovations if they would prefer to do the research themselves.
Kathryn says we live in a land of ample resources. But it’s her mission to change the talk about resources and find ways to incorporate sustainable alternatives into everyday businesses. Throughout this journey, the environment has become very important to her.
“I think anyone that spends time in nature appreciates how it makes you whole,” she says. “And when you’re in a city like New York, you look to escape to nature.” But Kathryn says it’s easy to forget what happens to nature in order to provide many of the modern day comforts we have come to know and love.
Kathryn’s entrepreneurial journey wasn’t always smooth sailing, but that doesn’t change her outlook on the experience.
“I would recommend you pick the hard path every time,” she says. “You don’t have to know everything, but fill those holes with people who are smarter, more talented, or more educated than you are because you really can’t do it alone.”
Photographs by Lauren Kallen