Building the future of handmade: Roberto Milk on NOVICA, AI and artist empowerment

What happens when technology helps human creativity thrive instead of replacing it? In this episode of Catalytic Capital, host Ken Kurtzig speaks with Roberto Milk, co-founder and CEO of NOVICA and Handmade.com, about his 25-year journey building a global marketplace that connects artisans directly with customers. Roberto shares how an unexpected conversation in a Stanford Portuguese class inspired NOVICA, how the company pioneered online artisan commerce before Etsy existed, and how it has delivered more than $144 million to artisans worldwide. He and Ken also explore NOVICA’s impact on women, families and local economies; the importance of preserving cultural traditions; and how Handmade.com plans to use AI to help millions of artisans reach global customers while protecting the authenticity of human-made products. NOVICA has already raised more than $100,000 from 15 donor-investors through CataCap. Learn more about NOVICA, its impact and the opportunity to support its next chapter: https://catacap.org/investments/novica Follow Catalytic Capital for more conversations with entrepreneurs using business and investment capital to address some of the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges.