This episode features a conversation with Kimberly Jung ’08 and Emily Miller ’08, Co-founders of Rumi Spice.

In this episode of the WPAOG Podcast, Bridget Altenburg ‘95, President and CEO of the National Able Network, is joined by Kimberly Jung ‘08, CEO of Blanchard, and Emily Miller ‘08, Senior Impact Fund Manager at Twilio.org. In 2014, they founded Rumi Spice, an award-winning social enterprise that provides high-quality, sustainably farmed saffron to world-class chefs and Michelin-rated restaurants, by sourcing directly from Afghan farmers in an economic partnership partners in the supply chain.

“I think really what West Point teaches you is about leadership and management, which I think has been the most helpful in my career, and also in my time as an officer in the Army. That leadership part, you really just can’t get anywhere else in the same way that West Point gives it to you. And you learn it by doing. You learn it through practice. You learn it by following. You learn it by leading in small teams over and over again, and getting feedback for how to do it better. And that’s what I think is the most important thing that comes out of West Point into the Army.”

—Kimberly Jung ’08

Kimberly and Emily are 2008 graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point, former US Army Engineer officers, and Harvard Business School graduates. As social entrepreneurs and co-founders, Kimberly led Rumi Spice as CEO and Emily as COO. They have employed over 4,000 Afghan women and partnered with over 300 Afghan farmers. Their work has been featured on Shark Tank, selected for Y Combinator’s social fellowship program, and featured in the New York Times, the Atlantic, Foreign Policy, NPR, Forbes, the Chicago Tribune, Nightline with Diane Sawyer, Voice of America, Food & Wine, and more.

In this episode, Kimberly and Emily talk about how their time at West Point and in the military prepared them for becoming entrepreneurs, the tremendous impact Rumi has had on spice trade in Afghanistan, and how their startup has helped create jobs for women in the country. They also recount stories of their experiences serving abroad in the Middle East.