When you have nothing, you appreciate everything.

Mark Brand would know. He had everything going for him: successful careers as a DJ and chef, a home, a loving partner. He was living the dream. But when a medical condition dashed his chances of staying in his adopted country of Australia, he was forced to leave everything behind and come back to Canada, the place he was born. It became a rebirth.

Even though life had taken a turn, Brand focused on what he knew he was good at — and good things started happening. Accomplished in the food and beverage industry, he opened his first restaurant in Vancouver with humble financial investment but a ton of heart, and proceeded to win accolades ahead of established restaurant empires. Brand was witnessing how good energy begets good energy, like an exponential algorithm of positivity, and that by connecting and contributing he could facilitate change. Soon, it would become his mission.

Ignited by the notorious mistreatment of residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Brand’s fiery devotion has made him one of the best examples of how social entrepreneurship can respectfully and effectively lift marginalized communities. He is the founder of A Better Life Foundation, an organization dedicated to using food as a catalyst to enrich, employ and empower people who need it most.

Hear how Mark Brand and Michelle Malpass, VP of Community at Traction on Demand, focus on making a habit of doing good to give everyone a chance to nourish their full potential.