🔧🌱 Designing for Change: Santiago Forero Vega’s Journey from Systems Thinker to Sustainability Entrepreneur

In this episode of The Underswell, I’m joined by Santiago Forero Vega, a sustainability consultant, entrepreneur, and 🥑 avocado farmer on a mission to make sustainability a performance driver—not just a cost center.

From launching his own consulting company, ThinkSID, to helping run his family’s avocado farm in Colombia, Santiago blends personal experience with corporate know-how to tackle one of the biggest challenges in the agricultural world: how to make sustainability actually work for farmers.

💬 “Disappointing my future self was the scariest thing. That’s what pushed me to finally take the leap.”

We cover his non-linear journey from business school to design science to sustainable food systems, and how he weaves it all together into a career built on empathy, pragmatism, and systems thinking.

This episode is a masterclass in real-world sustainability strategy, shifting the narrative from carbon accounting to profitable, practical change—especially in ag. If you're a purpose-driven professional wondering how to align your skills with a greater mission, you’ll want to tune in.

💬 What We Talk About:

• The early career experience that introduced Santiago to human-centered design
• How study abroad in Hong Kong reshaped his worldview
• What he learned at the consulting firm Quantis while supporting the world’s biggest food brands
• Why starting ThinkSID was both terrifying and liberating
• How farming taught him sustainability’s biggest challenge: uncertainty
• Why he thinks the current approach to climate metrics is leaving farmers behind
• His vision for “profitable sustainability” in the ag sector and beyond

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• Change is hard—especially when your livelihood is on the line.
• Farmers face pressure to evolve practices, but need clear, low-risk pathways to make it happen.
• “Profitable sustainability” means designing initiatives that increase yields, reduce costs, and make business sense first—then reap the climate co-benefits.
• Your career path doesn’t have to be linear. Santiago’s story blends business, design, agriculture, and entrepreneurship into a unique, purpose-filled career.
• Don’t fear the pivot. Santiago’s jump into entrepreneurship came after a visa setback—and he’s not looking back.
• Networking isn’t about schmoozing. It’s about borrowing inspiration and learning from the virtues of others.

💡 Memorable Quotes:

“You get to steal a little bit of the virtues of everyone you meet.”

“Disappointing my future self was the scariest thing.”

“I think too much weight has been put on sustainability’s shoulders… now it’s time to balance it with the rest of the business.”

“We should be building departments of profitable sustainability.”

“Degrees matter less than you think. There’s always time to pivot.”

🎧 Listen to this episode if you are:

• A sustainability professional or ag consultant rethinking your approach
• A founder or aspiring entrepreneur wondering when (or how) to take the leap
• A business student or early-career pro trying to connect purpose with practice
• A curious systems thinker who wants to make real-world impact in food or farming
• Tired of climate conversations that don’t address business realities

Follow Santiago and keep up with his entrepreneurial journey: 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/santiagoforerothinksid/

More about thinkSID: 🔗 https://thinksid.notion.site/