Social Impact Heroes Helping Our Planet: Why & How Helmi Ansari Of GROSCHE International Is Helping To Change Our World
An Interview With Martita Mestey
You will make a lot of mistakes, and that’s okay as long as you learn from them. We’re still making mistakes, learning from them, and getting stronger day by day. Continuous improvement is the only attitude that is sustainable.
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Helmi Ansari.
Helmi Ansari is the CEO and chief sustainability officer at GROSCHE International Inc. He and his wife, Mehreen, founded GROSCHE in 2006 and sell their coffee, tea and hydration gear to raise money for the GROSCHE Safe Water Project. GROSCHE is a multiple award winning company and has funded over 200 Million days of safe water for people in need and counting.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?
Born to an international businessman dad and an English language poet and teacher mom, I spent my early years in Dubai where they were working at the time. Learning four languages at home and school was routine. We traveled, spent a lot of time with extended family, and our home was always a first stop for so many family members moving to find work in the Middle East. My love for nature and animals was an early age discovery. I would often bring home stray cats and puppies, and it just seemed natural that we take care of them. I excelled at school, though I hated studying. I loved playing sports, but never was the most athletic and often didn’t make the team. Instead, I ended up being the one that was organizing the teams and games as well as picking players and being the umpire or referee.
You are currently leading a social impact organization that is making a difference for our planet. Can you tell us a bit about what you and your organization are trying to change in our world today?
Almost 900 million people cannot access safe water and have to make do with water that is contaminated with bacteria, viruses, worms, and even fecal matter. Nearly a million people lose their lives each year due to drinking contaminated water. We’re working to help the poorest of the poor, who are facing these issues on a daily basis, losing health, education, and even life.
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
My wife and I had a close call with one of our daughters, who faced severe waterborne illness as an infant while traveling overseas. That harrowing incident led us to decide that we would do everything we could to try and save the lives of children and adults affected by the safe water crisis. We sell our products to raise money to run our Safe Water Project, which operates in six countries including India, Malawi, Pakistan, Philippines, South Sudan, and Uganda. We install biosand water filter systems that purify water from contaminated wells, rivers, streams, and even city water sources. These filters are locally made, Canadian technology, which provides local employment and creates a source of income for people. Each filter system supports a family of up to 10 people for up to 30 years. These filters require little to no maintenance and are a sustainable way to help people improve their lives and change the course of a generation in many cases.
Many of us have ideas, dreams, and passions, but never manifest them. They don’t get up and just do it. But you did. Was there an “Aha Moment” that made you decide that you were actually going to step up and do it? What was that final trigger?
I have always been business minded and involved in various ways of giving back. From working as a teenager to help rehabilitate refugees from the Iran and Iraq war to starting my own fundraising campaigns to buy computer gear for our school, I was always trying to organize resources to make things better. Coming to the U.S. from Pakistan for higher education put me in the cycle of having a normal career — go to work, earn money, pay bills, and repeat. I felt as though I was very successful in this pattern as I was working with some top name firms; however, something was always missing. When the incident with our daughter happened, I felt as though it was a clear sign from the universe. My career at that point was really built on a normal path which was all about amassing success. It was now time for me to find joy along with personal and professional growth, and that could only come with building a business entirely focused on changing the world.
Many people don’t know the steps to take to start a new organization. What are some of the things or steps you took to get your project started?
The initial steps in starting a business aren’t that difficult in North America. Registering it is easy, and many businesses can be started with smaller amounts of capital. We started GROSCHE with a $6,500 initial investment, a dream, and a ton of hard work. We initially started selling loose leaf tea door to door and donating all profits to the Sick Kids Foundation. Over time, my engineering and business brain kicked in, and I designed a series of teapots and cups to accompany our loose teas and expanded past door to door and into selling wholesale to retail stores. We reinvested all of the profit back into the business for around a decade. Customers like Bed Bath and Beyond and Hudson’s Bay Company found us and invited us to be in their stores, and we kept growing organically from there. The hardest part in business is keeping it going when things aren’t going that well, or when your competition is massive, and they are working every day to crush you. You find yourself in a position where you must stand out in a crowd of options when sales are low and costs are high and when customers keep saying they don’t need your product because your brand isn’t famous enough. The hardest part is finding the will to keep going, making the constant sacrifices, and working 100 hour weeks for years on end with a smile on your face.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
A few years ago, I met a mother in the Philippines who had a small infant in her arms. Her child had sores on his arms and body, which came from bathing in contaminated river water that animals would swim and defecate in. We installed a biosand filter in her home, and when I visited her village the next year, I made it a point to stop by her house and meet with her and her child. Her child was healthy, no sores or wounds, and seeing him brought tears of joy to my eyes.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or take away you learned from that?
When we were first starting out, I was introduced to a supplier and bought some teapot warmers from them. The delivery driver brought the warmers to our home, and this was before we had a warehouse. I was at my day job at the time, and my wife told me that the delivery driver came to our house and asked her if she had a pallet jack to receive the pallets. She said, “What’s a pallet jack?” Yup, that’s how we started.
None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?
I was fortunate to have family members and family friends who are engaged in international trade. I would constantly seek out their advice, both tactical and strategic, to learn more about this new industry. Some of these informal advisors are now on the GROSCHE advisory board and formally helping us work towards achieving our mission.
Are there three things the community, society, or politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
- Doing things like respecting the environment by being carbon neutral, valuing your staff by being a living wage champion, and by trying to run a better business by being a social enterprise all increase the costs of business today. In many ways, it’s not a fair playing field as most businesses simply do not care about these things. All businesses can find small ways to use their mission for good.
- There are no special credits or grants given to these types of businesses. We compete with normal businesses that don’t care about these things and can often sell items for a little bit less than us. But the reason we, and businesses like ours, success is when the community, society, and politicians recognize the work that we do.
- From sharing on social media to recognition events to coverage in magazines and journals, and eventually, customers making the choice to purchase from such businesses, is what we all need to help us make the world a better place through ethical and restorative commerce.
How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Can you share a story or example?
There are two aspects to this. The first one is that by being less wasteful in how business is conducted, you are able to reduce costs. Reducing energy, fuel, and resources all add up over time. The second aspect to this is when a business really does achieve a high level of social and environmental responsibility, they can then begin to be transparent with their customers and consumers. This builds engagement with their audience. The best marketing a brand can do is to reach the customers who care about the same things as they do, creating a cycle of growth and eventually profitability as well.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
1. It will take a lot longer than one year to be a success. It took us nearly 10 years to get to the point where I left my day job and moved over to GROSCHE full time, joining my wife day to day.
2. You will make a lot of mistakes, and that’s okay as long as you learn from them. We’re still making mistakes, learning from them, and getting stronger day by day. Continuous improvement is the only attitude that is sustainable.
3. You will lose a lot of sleep and take on a lot of stress as you do this. It will be all worth it. I know that the work we do is saving lives, and changing lives, and that helps me sleep really well!
4. You will truly succeed when you have the right people on your team. I can easily correlate our good years and tough years as a business with the quality and engagement of our team. All our recent growth is owed to having a talented and motivated team that is making a difference.
5. All the pain, the hard work, and sacrifices will be totally worth it one day! As we reflect over our past struggles, we are reminded of just how motivating it is to see it through to the end. Success and growth inspire us to work harder and do more.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
Always believe that you can change the world. It’s always the will and effort of a single individual that starts a movement. One person absolutely can make the difference. Every choice we make has an impact, and all our choices do come back to us one day in one way or another. There is no escaping that.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
When doing anything, always try and do the best job that can be done — don’t settle. Set a high bar for yourself. When you act as your own harshest critic, but also recognize your own growth and progress, you get better and better at whatever you’re trying to do.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
There are so many! I feel like speaking with Oprah Winfrey would be a very interesting conversation. As someone who has seen immense struggles in her early life and has gone on to inspire so many to make positive changes within their own, there is a lot I would like to learn from her. If I can learn to communicate like her and inspire others like her, I can accelerate our movement to change the world through GROSCHE and our Safe Water Project.
How can our readers follow you online?
The GROSCHE website is one of the best ways to say up to date on all news surrounding The Safe Water Project. You can follow GROSCHE on all social media channels including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. If you’re looking to connect with me specifically, you can find me on LinkedIn.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Social Impact Heroes Helping Our Planet: Why & How Helmi Ansari Of GROSCHE International Is Helping… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.