Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Lonigro.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Emily. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started LimeRed to create a different kind of company: one based on doing the right thing not just for a bottom line, but for people and communities.
In 2004 I was working at a small marketing agency. It wasn’t a terrible job, but I had been active in the anti-war and progressive movements for a while, and the job was just the thing I did during the day to fund what I was most passionate about.
Soon, I realized this Robin-Hooding wasn’t enough. I couldn’t bring myself to sit in one more consumer products marketing meeting to try to sell manufactured garbage with manufactured garbage marketing. It didn’t do anyone any service other than to the guys at the top of the pyramid making the big money.
So I quit.
I had one nonprofit client, a computer, and an apartment in Uptown, Chicago. And two mouths to feed — cats. I decided to dedicate my professional life to promoting and designing things that matter. There was no roadmap, I didn’t have a financial benefactor, B Corporations weren’t a thing yet and the road was winding and full of obstacles. Everyone asked if my company was a nonprofit.
A lot of the big questions running the business came down to core principles: How can I reconcile the need to make money with the need to do good in communities? How can I take care of my family and everyone else at the same time?
What gets sacrificed? What is important? Who else is doing this well and succeeding?
The only examples I knew about at the time were larger companies like Toms of Maine and Seventh Generation, companies who had long histories and made a ton of money. But I knew it could be done.
So I grew the LimeRed brand and other like-minded ones over time with a different perspective; a new set of rules. Making a company into an impact-driven organization took risks, trial and error, culture shifts, finding the best people and so much more work than I could have anticipated back in 2004.
A company like ours has to walk the talk in everything we do and that’s a lot harder to do than you’d think. But it’s up to us to change things.
LimeRed is entering its 15th year in business. We’re a Certified B Corporation and Certified WBE. We’ve been deliberately inclusive, transparent, and diverse before those were things people wanted to be.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No tons of obstacles:
1. Our market was higher ed and nonprofit for a long time until our governor decided not to fund higher end and nonprofits and we almost went out of business.
2. I had a baby in 2013 and could barely close a deal, mostly I think because people assumed I would give up my first baby (LimeRed) for this one. They were wrong.
3. Whenever I’ve bent the rules to take a job to feed the beast instead of our humanity and social mission, that decision has bitten me in the ass.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about LimeRed – what should we know?
We are a small team of designers, researchers, and builders who have dedicated our lives to creating change. All of the work we do has to prove a community benefit and meet our own conscious standards. We are all mentors, teachers, explorers, and partners who care deeply about our communities and causes, so we spend a lot of time working with others to help outside of our work here at LimeRed.
Our staff has always been inclusive and diverse, for 14 years. We are woman-owned and a Certified B Corporation. To us, this is just who we are and it contributes to our different perspective, which hasn’t always been a valued in the marketplace. Now, as people are looking for teams who question standards and build businesses and brands differently, we’re happy to show them a different way.
This isn’t just our job, it’s our life.
As a design agency, we do everything from naming buildings to designing brands to building websites, but it all has to have a positive community impact.
Also:
We have a new book coming out: Branding for Changemakers, available on Amazon.com and iTunes.
Demetrio and I also make a podcast called HumanSense, which tells stories from people who were compelled to make a big change.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My partner Demetrio is the only person I ever want to work with. He’s a magician and we are perfect together. There was a moment in 2016 when my staff got poached by Obama and high high-paying employer, and we almost called it quits. But we realized we only wanted to work with each other, so here we are now.
My Advisory board has some of the smartest, compassionate people I’ve ever met.
And Jim Kelly, my first business coach from back in 2010 has shaped my trajectory more than he or I probably knows. Ha!
Contact Info:
- Address: LimeRed
4611 N Ravenswood Ave, Suite 203
Chicago Il 60640 - Website: www.limeredstudio.com
- Phone: 3122389070
- Email: howdy@limeredstudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/limeredstudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/limeredstudio/
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/limeredstudio
- Yelp: LimeRed Studio
- Other: www.humansense.io
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
