A self-described environmentalist, Ken Jacobus’ commitment to reducing single-use plastics is revolutionizing the takeout food industry.
Concerned about plastic's damaging effects on our waterways, food systems, and bodies, Jacobus left a successful career in Silicon Valley to create a company that could make a difference.
Jacobus founded Good Start Packaging in 2009 and has served as CEO and owner since its inception. Good Start Packaging offers compostable takeout food containers made from renewable plant-based materials like corn, wheat fiber, and U.S.-grown perennial grasses. These products use fewer resources and produce less pollution to manufacture than plastics. They also utilize agricultural byproducts, providing an additional revenue stream for farmers.
Under Jacobus' leadership, Good Start Packaging has grown revenue by over 60% per year for the past three years. The company's growing client roster includes organizations as varied as independent restaurants and meal delivery companies, to sports stadiums and universities.
Becoming a Certified B Corporation has been central to how Good Start Packaging measures success, not just by growth, but by impact.
“Becoming a B Corporation has meant holding ourselves accountable to be the company we always set out to be from the beginning. At Good Start Packaging, we believe business can, and should, be a force for good. The B Corp framework helps us measure the many small choices we make every day that add up to something bigger,” says Ken Jacobus, CEO and Founder.
The B Corp assessment provides Good Start Packaging with a rigorous, third-party framework to evaluate the company’s practices across its entire operation, from employee benefits and workplace culture to product sourcing, shipping methods, and commitments to community and environmental impact.
This commitment to measurable impact has created a positive feedback loop within the company. A stronger employee culture supports better business performance, which in turn enables Good Start Packaging to reinvest in sustainable practices and community initiatives, measuring success not only by profits but also by the positive impact the business creates.
Before he started Good Start Packaging, Jacobus served as Vice President of Sales at Macrovision Corporation, leading the Video Embedded Solutions Group. There, he created pricing and go-to-market strategy for new product launches and company acquisitions, growing annual revenue from $30M to $80M in his last three years. Before joining Macrovision Corporation, he was Manager of Business Development, Cable TV Services at Microsoft TV.
Jacobus studied Telecommunications Management at Syracuse University and currently resides in Wilton, New Hampshire, with his wife and two sons. In his free time, he enjoys biking, yoga, traveling with his family, and trying as many restaurants as possible. He has cultivated a secret talent for collecting credit card points, which he put to use to provide hotel rooms for Ukrainian refugees.
