Joe Demin has been an entrepreneur since before he knew what that word meant. When he came to America at age 5, his family was fleeing the USSR as refugees. Like many refugees, they came with what they could fit in their suitcases and prepared to build a new life from scratch. Joe taught himself English by watching Sesame Street and soon began growing the lustrous black beard he’s known for today.Joe’s first job came at age 6, when he persuaded the adults on his block to pay him to move their garbage cans down to the curb every Monday morning. His next was selling gas station candy to other kids on the school playground (at a reasonable mark-up).After Joe put himself through college at DePaul University (through a handful of Ferris Bueller-esque, “mostly legal” schemes), he entered the high-stakes world of finance. As the first undergraduate ever hired at Chicago’s most prestigious firm, he was convinced that he’d found the path he’d tenaciously pursue to the top. This was 18 months before the 2008 recession kicked off by toppling the markets.Making layoffs into lemonade, Joe took off for Hawaii, where he discovered that his definition of success didn’t revolve around ruthless money-chasing or putting his name on buildings. Instead, he realized that he wanted to pursue… happiness.Joe is now the co-founder and Chief Relaxation Officer of Yellow Leaf Hammocks, whose mission is to spread global bliss and empower families to rise from poverty. The origins of Yellow Leaf are a pretty crazy story (involving elephants, a secret map and a 600-mile cab ride), but the results have been absolutely incredible. Yellow Leaf sells the world’s most comfy hammocks and promotes the life-changing results of daily relaxation. Through their supply chain, they’ve empowered thousands of people to rise from poverty to the middle class. Yellow Leaf has received international accolades (Shark Tank, B Corp, shoutouts by Oprah, Vogue, and FastCo), but by far the greatest measure of their success is the bright futures they’ve assured in their weaving communities.Joe sees himself as a conduit to share these families’ stories with the world. He believes passionately in the power of business to do good, while also doing well. Artisan enterprise is the second-largest employer in the developing world, but the vast majority of global artisans still live in poverty. By evangelizing the transformative updates Yellow Leaf has made in the artisan supply chain and product development process, he hopes to be a lever in bringing the next billion people worldwide out of poverty.