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When we talk about a business, we assume that success can be measured numerically, in dollars and cents. The more revenue and the bigger the percentage of profit, the more successful the business.\\xa0We also assume that the focus of the business, is the business itself.

Normally, these assumptions are true. But, like all assumptions, there are exceptions.\\xa0Both Peter Ricchiuti\'s lunch guests today are running businesses that are not, \\u201call about me.\\u201d They\\u2019re for-profit businesses that are, uniquely, not all about their own profit.

Paola Barona is the owner of Del Alto Valle Coffee. Paola\'s company has two goals:

1, to provide New Orleans and the US with varieties of coffee from her native Colombia that are otherwise unavailable, or unaffordable.

2, to use all the profits from those sales to provide school supplies for children living on small farms in the isolated, rural communities in Colombia, where the coffee beans are grown.

Sabrina Short is founder and CEO of NOLAvate Black, a connection hub primarily dedicated to Black people in New Orleans tech sector.\\xa0They also extend their services to Indigenous People and People of Color.

They\\u2019re a for-profit company that helps tech companies connect to talent. On the other side of the equation, they\\u2019re also a Talent Incubator. And they have a division that helps people land a first job in tech.

NOLAvate Black started out as an idea for a networking Happy Hour in 2018. It\\u2019s since grown into an impactful part of New Orleans\\u2019 tech sector.

Most of us are conditioned to think of business success in terms of \\u201cmore\\u201d and \\u201cbigger.\\u201d The more money a business makes, the bigger it gets, the better it is.\\xa0

It\\u2019s easy to seem open-minded and say, \\u201cYour definition of success can be different.\\u201d But it\\u2019s very hard for anybody in business to actually break out of the bigger-is-better mindset.\\xa0And it\\u2019s even more difficult to find people who genuinely put other people\\u2019s interests ahead of their own.

Paola and Sabrina are both talented business people who are devoting their talents to advancing other people\\u2019s lives and careers.

Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at\\xa0NOLA Pizza\\xa0in the\\xa0NOLA Brewing Taproom. You can find photos from this show at itsneworleans.com.

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