Latest / Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast) / Becoming the Patagonia of CBD and building a science-led brand for good, with Prima Co-Founder Laurel Angelica Myers

Transcript

Becoming the Patagonia of CBD and building a science-led brand for good, with Prima Co-Founder Laurel Angelica Myers · Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast)

• 0:00
  This is Laurel Angelica Myers for Female Startup Club. Hey everyone and welcome back to another episode of Female Startup Club. I'm your host, Doona Rasheen, and joining me on the show today is Laurel Myers, co-founder of the science-led, purpose-driven wellness brand that's elevating CBD products, Prima. Prima.
• 0:28
  The B Corp certified company's core mission is to rise up against the modern day stress epidemic through education and products made with the highest standards of purity, potency and transparency. Recently called the Patagonia of CBD by Forbes, Primo is built on the essential principle that balance is a critical part of health, healing and happiness and that we all deserve better in life.
• 0:50
  A brand consumer product and digital media expert with a passion for mission-driven business, Laurel's strategic leadership and operational acumen were fortified at the Honest Company, where she led brand strategy and product development for the organization's first five years. Let's jump into this episode. This is Laurel for Female Startup Club.
• 1:12
  Amazing. Well, thank you so much for being on the podcast today. I am so excited to talk to you. I'm so excited to be here and to chat. Thank you so much. I usually like to start by going back to your life before you started the business to understand what it was that, you know, gave you that light bulb moment, what you were doing that made you want to change courses.
• 1:34
  Gosh, that's a great question. Short answer or long answer? Long, always. So, you know, it's funny. I feel like life's journey is never linear. And if you had asked me 15 years ago when I was graduating college, do I see myself as an entrepreneur, you know, founding a startup in the CPG space? I would have looked at you like you had four heads because one, I wouldn't know what CPG stands for. Two, I would have said, I absolutely not. I have no idea. I don't know what I want to do with my life.
• 2:02
  And, you know, throughout my 20s, my main motivating principle was always something that was mission oriented. So for me, I know this about myself. It's always been that way since day one. Wherever I'm spending my time, I have to be making a positive impact. And that manifested itself in different ways. I tried on many different hats to see what sort of felt right. So that started off in the nonprofit space because to me that was logical. Where do you make a difference? Oh, working for a nonprofit, right? Yeah.
• 2:28
  And while I did enjoy that, for me, I found a lot of the red tape and the bureaucracy and the structure to be really frustrating. And I said, gosh, there's got to be a better way. And at the time, there was this big trend around social entrepreneurship and the idea of a triple bottom line business, right, where you're servicing people, planet and profit all at the same time. And I thought, well, that's a really compelling approach.
• 2:50
  an interesting business proposition to think about for-profit business differently. Well, let me give that a try. That feels like it's going to be something that really resonates with my desire to create an impact, but also move quickly and be challenged. So I ended up finding a job with a media company that was actually a certified B Corp. I don't know if you know what B Corps are, but they're businesses that are certified to be responsible to both community planet as well as their overall mission, but they're for-profit. So it's really living that principle.
• 3:19
  Found myself at that media company and the whole idea was around edutainment, right? How do you take entertainment as a way to sort of like educate people on these really important issues, whether it's climate change or the food supply, and give them an interesting and compelling way to think about things differently and empower them to take action, right? And to make a difference.
• 3:40
  So I was there building their digital business for about four or five years and learned a lot about content and storytelling and how to communicate. But at the end of the day, it wasn't tangible enough for me. And I felt a little frustrated that the digital medium, I just couldn't quite see the impact.
• 3:57
  of what I was doing. Still had no idea what I wanted to do. Ended up through a friend of a friend meeting one of the founders of The Honest Company, which is a fairly now successful family line of clean, non-toxic products. And they had just launched and we had lunch and, you know, we were just sort of chatting and he's like, wow, you know, I think...
• 4:20
  I think you could be really valuable because we're looking for people that are problem solvers that are, you know, passionate, this, that, and the other. Have you ever done anything in supply chain and product development? And I said, absolutely not. He looked at me and said, that's okay. We need thinkers and doers and we're building something from the ground up. And I said, all right. So I sort of jumped off a cliff at that point and had a huge career pivot. And it was the best gift of my life because it taught me so
• 4:46
  many of the skills and really the business education that I have today. So I joined the Honest Company in early days, month two, three, and partnered with one of the founders there to really build the entire product brand strategy, the brand marketing strategy, our portfolio. And through that learned R&D, supply chain operations. I mean, you name it. I got to wear 10,000 hats. And at that moment, that was a light bulb for me. I'm a builder.
• 5:12
  I know I'm a builder and I love building things across so many different parts of the business. And in my time there, I got to gain all those skills and that insight. And now I'll sort of pause and you asked for the long story, so you're getting it. I love it. I love it. Keep going. For me, it was also, it coincided really well with an awakening that I was having with myself around the importance of clean products.
• 5:35
  I had grown up in a fairly health-oriented household, but that did not translate to the products we were using at all. So we had healthy food and healthful living, but very conventional products. And I had no awareness around the chemicals that I was putting on my body or using around me. And
• 5:53
  I started gaining this awareness probably two or three years before I joined Honest. So it was really beautiful that in this personal awakening that I was having, all of a sudden my career got to merge with that. And I got to actualize something that I was really passionate about in my personal life. Similarly, something very similar happened with CBD. So about four years ago, I was pregnant with my first child. And after having my daughter and all my friends were going through the same life phase, I
• 6:21
  I looked around and I realized the level of stress that everybody was feeling. And it wasn't just people my age that were having kids. I looked at our culture. I looked at our society. I looked at just the increasing levels of toxic stress and what it was doing to people. And...
• 6:36
  And I felt really frustrated because I didn't have an answer. And you could see I was looking for solutions. Other people were looking for solutions, right? There's a rise in things like Headspace, the mindfulness meditation app. All of these tools started coming out to give people coping skills to help manage their day-to-day stress better. And I sort of sat there and thought to myself, there has to be a better way.
• 6:57
  pause separately, you know, through my experience at Honest working in the natural products industry, I was pretty aware of different ingredient trends and ingredient science and what was going on. And certainly being in California, there was this rising conversation and awareness around cannabis and what's happening in the cannabis space. And for me, you know, I run a little bit skeptical. I need data. I need information. And I first heard about CBD and I thought,
• 7:22
  this sounds like snake oil. I don't know. It can help with your pain, with your stress, with your sleep, but also give you great skin. That sounds too good to be true. That's silly. And so the first thing that I did is I started to educate myself and to learn the research and the science. And once I discovered why it works on all those things, what body system it's connected to, which is our endocannabinoid system, which essentially establishes balance
• 7:48
  Right. And if you think about all those problems, the root cause is something being imbalanced in your system. And that's why it's such a powerful ingredient to impact so many components of your overall health and well-being. And it was this beautiful, like, kind of symphony of moments that were happening. I saw this big problem that I was experiencing in my life and in so many people that I love life.
• 8:09
  I had this skill set that I had developed around understanding how to build product and brand and business and also what it's like to see a startup go from something very, very small to something very big. And also this potential of this ingredient in this plant.
• 8:26
  And it was just sort of this aha, like it sort of all came together at the right time, at the right space. You know, I was very, very close with Christopher Gavigan, my now business partner, who was one of the founders of Honest. He and I share so many passions in this space. And we had also connected with Jessica Asoff, our other co-founder who has spent the last 15 years in non-toxic product advocacy and clean beauty. And also in the cannabis space, really doing a lot of education and awareness. And so the three of us got together
• 8:55
  And we're like, man, we've got to do this, right? No one is doing this well. There's so many products on the market, but the quality is terrible. It's not clear what they do or how they do it or why they work. I don't even know how to use them quite candidly. I just don't feel like there's a good solution that so many people are looking for. And so that was sort of the moment of...
• 9:16
  We kind of have to, you know, and I think I'm a big believer. Everyone is born with gifts and everyone is born with talents. And you have to identify what are your unique talents that you can offer the world? And how do you actualize that? How do you apply that? And for me, I recognized I have very specific talents that are very well suited to building.
• 9:34
  And to creating startups. Number two, I have a passion around this space. And there's an opportunity and a real need here. And it was scary. It was terrifying. You know, at the time, I had just had my second child and was coming off of a maternity leave. And that was a big leap for me. But I just kind of had to. Because I knew if I didn't, I'd always look back and wonder if. Um...
• 9:56
  So that's sort of my origin story and sort of how Prima came together. And it's been pretty crazy. You know, we've been at this for over two years now, and we've been in market for over a year. And we're an officially certified B Corp. We're the first EWG verified hemp CBD brand. We're in, you know, one of the top brands of Sephora for CBD. Like it's been a crazy, crazy wild ride. And again, if you had asked me five years ago, if I had predicted this for myself, I
• 10:23
  I don't think I could have said so, but it's been the best decision I've ever made.
• 10:30
  Wow, it just sounds so incredible and fun and amazing. I think it's really like it's interesting when people start businesses and you look back to the pre-story and you're able to see the unique kind of like combination of the things that you were doing, especially like starting at the NGO. And I'm sure that you were able to take learnings from that, obviously, especially the early days being at a startup that's huge now. I think they're valued as a billion dollar company, right? Yeah. Which is just incredible experience to have.
• 11:00
  When you guys were like, okay, yes, we kind of have this vibe that we want to start a new business. What happens next? Do you guys be like, yeah, let's work on this in our, in our side time? Or are you like, okay, let's just like jump off the cliff, resign and move forward and like raise money or like invest your own money. What happens there? Yeah.
• 11:21
  Gosh, well, I can certainly tell you our story. And then I'll also provide some insights that might be helpful for your listeners, because I think it really depends on what your idea is and what you're trying to accomplish. So, you know, for us, yeah, we worked on some ideas on the side, but at the end of the day, we felt like we really wanted to put our all into it. And, you know, for me personally, I was coming off of a maternity leave and it made perfect sense to say, no, I'm
• 11:47
  and focus all of my energy here. I was personally at a very natural transition for that. So it made sense. I think it would have actually been really challenging to go back from that leave to a traditional job and then figure out how to do this. And I think the three of us, we knew without a doubt that this is something that we wanted to do. And we knew that we would find a way. So all of us really committed to that. And, you know, for the first few months, it was all about
• 12:12
  What is the brand, brand positioning? What is our key, you know, unique differentiation on the market? How are we going to do it, right? What does the supply chain look like? Really starting to identify a lot of that foundational legwork. And then we ended up raising capital in mid-2018, right?
• 12:27
  And then, you know, probably from mid 2018 to the launch of 2019, that was all building, right? All, all building and execution. But, you know, for us, we were far enough along with the idea that that capital was to build a team and to get inventory, right? So for us, the idea of let's invest our own money. And we certainly did early on with, with like, you know, brand development from a design standpoint, things that are sort of lower cost, right? That, you
• 12:54
  It's also important that you have some of that fleshed out before you go raise money. But we didn't want to spend too much of it because, again, we didn't really know what was going to be the appetite for CBD within the investment community. And fundraising at that time was really challenging because CBD was still pretty stigmatized. And at that point, no traditional institutions had invested in CBD. The only companies that had actually financially backed it were traditional cannabis companies. And we're in hemp, which is a bit different than marijuana.
• 13:22
  And we didn't want to be in the marijuana funds because it's a very different industry. It's a very different sector. We really wanted traditional venture capital backing because we see our growth and our trajectory as being much more of a traditional CPG company, right? And that's where we see the future of hemp.
• 13:38
  So for us, there was certainly some early days personal capital investment just for some small things. But ultimately, we needed to raise that money to take it to the next level to build that product, build that inventory and really get it off the ground.
• 13:53
  But I think it really depends what your idea is and what you're trying to accomplish. So if you're building an app or a tech experience, maybe you don't need that much capital. You can do a small friends and family round and get enough to do some early UI UX design, some brand design, and some early stage engineering to get you a prototype. It really depends what your goals are and what you're trying to accomplish.
• 14:19
  you know, if you need financing to build a technical spec, if you're building something that requires, you know, real, like technical machinery innovation, then you're probably going to need to raise a greater amount of capital because that's too much, you know, to personally front or to get from a friends and family round. So,
• 14:35
  It really depends. There's no one way and no right way to do it. If you can find a way to get far enough with your idea that you can do it yourself and do some bootstrapping that sets you up for greater success with institutional funding. Great. If you can't do that because of the idea you have and the capital it's going to take. Great. Um, you know, it's, it's hard finding your path, finding your fate.
• 14:59
  Yeah, finding your feet and also knowing what you need and speccing that out and pricing that out and also knowing what you're going to use the money for. And that's really important. So going in with a plan, here's how much capital I'd like to raise and here's how I'm going to deploy it. This much is going to be spent on brand development. This much is going to be spent on inventory. This much is going to be spent on...
• 15:20
  team and here's the early team that I'm going to hire so that when you go into these conversations, it's not, Hey, I'd like to raise $500,000 because that's what I'd like to build my business. It's having a clear vision and really speccing that out and showing to those investors, whether they're friends and family or more traditional capital, that you have a clear plan of how you're going to get there and where that money is going to go. And that's going to give them a greater level of faith behind not just your idea, but your ability to execute against it.
• 15:49
  That's what people are really investing in, right? It's people and it's the idea. So can you sell the idea? How are you uniquely positioned to solve this problem? And from your idea standpoint, and two, why are you the person to do it? Right? Because they're investing in you, not just your idea. So what is it that you bring to the table and how can you really show that off?
• 16:12
  And when you guys went into those meetings and you have the pitch like ready to go, all this kind of thing, obviously, if there hadn't been VCs, like traditional VCs investing in CBD at that time, what do you think made them excited about your business and excited about you guys as a team?
• 16:29
  Yeah, I think it's a couple of things. I think, number one, you have to show that there's a clear problem and a clear opportunity for the market, right? So it's product market fit. Do you at least have that idea and that concept? And for us, we were really fortunate in that there was so much buzz around the idea of the CBD market, but no brand had actually capitalized on it yet. Nobody had done it well. And certainly there was a lot of frothiness and a lot of activity. But if you looked across the landscape,
• 16:58
  there was no clear player from a brand standpoint or from a team standpoint that said, hmm, they're the ones for success, right? So number one, we had a really clear idea of the problem solution in the market, right? And it was a combination of both what's happening in CBD, what are the projected market sizes and growth? And then number two,
• 17:18
  why is CBD uniquely positioned to solve a very relevant consumer need, right? And if you look at the increasing trends in stress, stress is the root cause of 75% of doctors visits, the trends in all of these other things from, again, apps to the rise of practices like yoga to the growth within the supplement and wellness industry. So many of these indicators point to, yes, there is a desire and a need here, and nobody's quite tapped into it.
• 17:46
  And then the third piece, and I think this is what makes us really unique, is the team, our background, where we come from. If you look at the three of us, we each have a very different and unique, but very strong background when we bring it together that's highly credible, highly experienced. We've built brands. We've grown brands. We've scaled brands. We know what quality means. We know how to develop product. We know supply chain and operations. All of that...
• 18:12
  That leadership and that know-how is part of our team. And when you combine all of that together, I think that's what really made the difference for the traditional VC community because it wasn't somebody just coming in and saying, hey, I've got a great idea on CBD, but I have no experience in building consumer products, right? It's, hey, we've got this great idea.
• 18:32
  to build brand and consumer products. So it was sort of the perfect marriage. And for the three of us, it also aligns perfectly with our passions. And it's such an authentic story for the three of us. It's, you know, it's, I don't want to say it's bulletproof, but like if you poke at it from any angle,
• 18:48
  I think we just came across with a very, very strong proposition. And I'm really grateful that the investment community saw that because it was not easy. You know, I will say that. And there were some times where we didn't think we were going to get financing. And we certainly didn't think it was going to come from the traditional venture capital community, where there were some funds we thought we were going to have to partner with. And we didn't love that.
• 19:09
  And, you know, I think that's, that's another piece of advice that I have, which is know the money that you're taking because that it does come with strings and there's people behind that with thoughts and opinions and philosophies and values. And it's hard because in early days, you so want that capital so that you can start your idea and your business, but having the discipline to know, does this person have values alignment with me?
• 19:38
  Are they backing this idea for the right reason? Will they support my decision-making? Will they agree with my decision-making? Will they see my point of view? That's really important because it's a relationship. It's like a marriage with your investors. And you have to make sure that it's a really good match
• 19:56
  Otherwise, you find yourself managing through conflict and finding a lot of misalignment on what the goals of the business are and also how to accomplish that. So it's hard and it requires discipline and some really hard decisions because it might mean saying no to certain money.
• 20:13
  But in the long run, I think it's really important. And I think especially being a woman and knowing the challenges of raising capital as a female and what that entire landscape is like, for me, it's even more critical. Finding people who really understand and who really believe.
• 20:33
  Yeah, and the people who you want to talk to first thing in the morning or last thing at the end of the day when you're already tired and you've already got a million other things going on, especially having a family and, you know, life outside of your startup. So for sure I understand that. And it's something I hear time and time again with every founder I speak to that's raised money. They always bring in the analogy of the marriage. It's definitely something that's repeated on the podcast a lot.
• 21:02
  Yep. Yep. That's right. I want to go into the early days of the marketing and the hustling, obviously working in a space that's highly regulated and has red tape around it for traditional advertising like Facebook and Instagram ads, for example. What were you doing to get the word out there and how were you getting in front of your target customer? Yeah.
• 21:26
  Everything. Absolutely everything. I would say there isn't a tactic that we haven't tried. And I think for us, there's no one thing that's proven to be really successful. It really is the sort of groundswell and the surround sound of all these things working together. So we did a lot of product seeding, right? Sending products to people who were either part of our friends and family or friends of friends of family and really getting our products into people's hands because we knew we were so proud of the products that we had developed.
• 21:56
  we knew as soon as somebody tried it, it's like an immediate fall in love experience. And our biggest challenge from day one and continues to be that hurdle to trial, right? If we get somebody to try our product, the retention and the loyalty is unbelievable. So getting people to make that first purchase, to get that first trial,
• 22:17
  That's our biggest challenge. And so for us, we thought, well, how can we solve that? Right. So a lot of it is seeding and Sam. A lot of it is word of mouth awareness. So we tried things like, you know, small events, activations, again, really trying to educate because this is also a space where there's so much.
• 22:34
  confusion. There's so much demystification that needs to happen. So we also invested a lot in content and education before we actually launched consumer product. We actually launched Prima as an education platform primarily to help educate on one, how do you understand your body and your health? Because I think there's a lot of fundamentals that quite frankly, a lot of us are missing in understanding, well, what is the impact of stress on my body and how does all of this connect and
• 23:00
  How does hemp help? What is the difference between hemp and marijuana? What is the difference between CBD and THC? Super basic questions that there was really no authoritative voice on giving a clear answer. So we invested a lot in that content and education and then tried to figure out, okay, how do we get that content education out there?
• 23:17
  We've done a lot with earned media and press and PR. We've done, you know, some, some celebrity gifting. Certainly we have been working hard at the advertising piece and figuring out, I mean, I can't even tell you how many people.
• 23:34
  trials and failures and trials again on the Facebook advertising side. You know, it's a never-ending double-edged sword. But in many ways, it's a blessing because so many companies, I think, become overly reliant on Facebook advertising to grow their brand and their business. And at a certain point, the business gets...
• 23:55
  large enough where that channel doesn't actually continue to perform for you. And then you're left with, well, how else can I grow? And in some ways it's a bit of a blessing because it has forced us to diversify our marketing from day one and trying everything again from like affiliate placement to newsletter placement to, um,
• 24:15
  Gosh, you know, display, like you name it. I feel like the only thing we haven't done is out of home because it's really expensive. And I think for a brand like ours, that's so small and growing to invest something like that doesn't really convert because we just don't have enough brand awareness, but it's really trying and testing everything.
• 24:31
  And just continuing to iterate and continuing to, to see what works and what doesn't and being comfortable also accepting failure quickly and knowing what's not working and saying, great, not doing that again, right? Let's pivot over here and being really flexible, but it's,
• 24:48
  Look, marketing CBD is really hard. It's really, really tricky. It's really tough. But, you know, we're persistent and we're continually finding a way. And again, for us, it's sort of the groundswell of all of the things working together. We have a really strong organic social media strategy. And with that, we're building a lot of relationships with...
• 25:15
  I don't really like the word influencer, but people with influence. Yes. Thank you. Um, just connecting with them and talking to them about our brand. And for us, it's about finding people who authentically and genuinely love the brand. You know, it's not a traditional like influencer marketing model because I think consumers see through that, right? They, they see how transactional it is. They see that there's not a lot of heart and soul behind it. And
• 25:41
  We're not about that, right? We're about authenticity and finding people who just feel really passionate. And we want to find ways creatively that we can collaborate with them and, you know, provide some mutual support. So I wish I had like a good answer for you. No, I think all of that is wonderful.
• 25:57
  It's definitely a hustle. It is trial and error. It is not being afraid of failure, learning from those failures, figuring out what doesn't work and walking away from something quickly if you see that it's not going to be viable because capital is precious, right? And you don't want to waste it. Cashflow is important. That's for sure. Yeah, exactly.
• 26:18
  Do you think that the policies within companies like Facebook will evolve to allow the marketing of CBD? And is that something that you as a company is angling at and trying to have those conversations with someone like Facebook specifically? Yeah.
• 26:36
  yes, yes, and yes. Look, I think all of this is going to continue to evolve. The way the CBD market looked two years ago is wildly different than how it looks today. I mean, it's not just Facebook. If you think about everything from just so many traditional business infrastructure components, 3PLs, I know this sounds silly, but like accounting software, like so many traditional business...
• 27:01
  tools and services have limitations on CBD, right? So it's not just how do I advertise, but literally it's, well, what platform can I sell on? What fulfillment center can ship me? I didn't know that.
• 27:14
  Absolutely. What payment processor can I use? So the challenge that you face from an advertising standpoint, we face that across every part of our business. Yes. Got it. That's something we've had to negotiate and really identify partners who believe in us. And what I can say is, you know, having spoken to many, many people, certainly on the banking side of the industry, a lot has
• 27:38
  At the end of the day, look, many businesses are in business to make money. And at the end of the day, there's a big opportunity with CBD. It's about balancing the opportunity weighted against the risk. You know, I think a company like Facebook has some additional challenges because their business is so complex. It is so big. It is so global that their risk calculus is probably a little bit different than
• 28:02
  I don't know when it'll change, but I'm sure at some point that it will. And I'm sure our regulations here in the United States will also change and evolve. Right now, the FDA is taking some additional hemp guidance under review. As regulations evolve, then these other institutions are going to follow suit. So the only guarantee is that it will change. What that changes, who knows? When it happens, it will.
• 28:24
  Who knows? But until then, we're staying nimble and doing our best and certainly trying everything we can to talk to anybody who will listen so that we can educate them on what the real is from a regulatory standpoint and what the real is too from our perspective, right? Because I think the other problem with the CBD industry and the reason so many companies are wary is there's a lot of...
• 28:50
  unethical practices out there. There are a lot of companies who are making pretty unethical medical claims, who they're targeting in terms of audiences, what they're saying it'll solve. It's really sad. And I think, unfortunately...
• 29:05
  So much of that then sort of smears the good of the industry and people who are doing it the right way, compliant with regulations, with quality standards. And that will all start to course correct. I think, you know, even this year, there was a report that said, you know, two-thirds of CBD businesses are probably going to go out of business as the industry really starts to refine and consolidate. And a lot of those small players are going to fall off the map.
• 29:32
  So it'll only continue to evolve and, and to mature, right? It's still a pretty new market and all of this is being defined as we speak. And that's also what makes it exciting. It's like, yeah, it's a world of opportunity for you. Yeah. It's a wild West, right? Like nobody's done it before. And that's also what makes it really exciting. And for me, one of the things that's most motivating about it is we really get to pave our own way.
• 29:55
  it's not something that's been done before. And that's thrilling. How many times can you create a product or be in a market that's truly that undefined? Yeah. You're creating the blueprint. That's so exciting. You're the cowgirl creating the blueprint. I love it. What advice do you have for women who have a big idea, want to start their own thing, want to get out there?
• 30:23
  Um, believe in yourself. Number one, I think a lot of women struggle with the idea that they can and that they deserve to. I think there's a real challenge around confidence. And I would say step one, you have to believe in you.
• 30:40
  And then everything will come from that, you know, have a clear idea, a clear vision and whatever it is, you have to be passionate about it because this will be your life. It will consume your nights, your weekends, your, your dreams. I mean, I can't tell you how many nights I wake up and I've been dreaming about work. Um,
• 30:58
  but I love it, you know, because it's exciting for me. So I would say, have that passion, have a clear vision and a clear idea, and also know why you are uniquely positioned to do that. Why are you the person to solve this problem? Why are you the person to make this happen? And that idea, that clarity and that confidence is,
• 31:22
  that will lead to success because other people will then see that in you, but you have to see it in yourself first and foremost. And I think, you know, the, the other pieces, know who you are and don't compromise, right? Know what you stand for, know what you believe in, and don't be afraid to stand up for that. You know, I think it can be really easy to,
• 31:43
  or tempting, should I say, when you are faced with opportunities that require you to give certain things up and look, compromise. Yes, you'll always have to compromise, but, but know, know where your non-negotiables are for you to remain happy and authentic and true to the vision that you're trying to accomplish.
• 32:06
  And then persistence, right? Be persistent. It might not happen overnight. It might not happen tomorrow. It's something that could take years to come to life. And that's okay. You know, if you've got the passion and if you've got the confidence and the belief and the persistence, you're going to have a chance
• 32:22
  good things will come from that, even if it doesn't happen in the way that you think it might happen. And I don't know, I would say don't be afraid of being a woman either. I think there's a lot of different beliefs on how to navigate this space. And I think don't try to hide that. Embrace that part of you. Embrace all of you, all of your pieces. And really use those and bring them to the forefront and make them shine.
• 32:53
  and just be who you are. That was amazing. Thank you so much. I love that. Yeah. Such nice advice. We are up to the six quick questions. Let's do it. Ready? I'm ready. Question number one is what's your why?
• 33:13
  Okay. This is going to be a, bear with me. I'll get there. It's going to sound a little complicated, but I'm going to get there. Are you familiar with Deepa Iyer's roles in the social change ecosystem? I know that sounds very academic, but it's not.
• 33:28
  I'll send you to this podcast. But essentially, she maps out all these different personality archetypes and what those roles play in creating social change. And it's something I really started to dive into this summer. And it was an aha moment for me to help me really understand myself and frankly, my why, which is that I am, you'll have to look it up, but she has all these different personas and what those gifts are. I am a weaver, a caregiver, and a builder to my core.
• 33:58
  And that means I make connections. I see how all things are coming together. I care for other people's wellbeing. And I come from a place of empathy and I just want to help other people have a better life and live better. And I'm a builder. I love building things across so many different things. And for me, when I saw this beautiful framework and system, I understood myself in a way that I felt like I didn't have the words for my entire life.
• 34:27
  And I would say that for me is my why. That's what motivates everything I do. It has from day one. And it's been a really empowering tool to understand why I do what I do.
• 34:41
  That is so fascinating and I'm so excited to do it. I want to learn about whatever my things are. It's really cool. I'll send it to you after the podcast. It's awesome. Amazing. Thank you. Question number two is what's been the number one marketing moment that's made your business pop?
• 35:02
  This is going to sound like a cop-out, but there is no one moment. It's all the things coming together that surround sound, that groundswell. Though I will say launching in Sephora didn't hurt. Yes, big moment, big moment. That was really big for us. Really cool. Sephora launched, getting our B Corp certification and our EWG verification. Those three things I think really helped put us on the map from a leadership and a credibility standpoint. So those were pretty significant.
• 35:32
  Yeah, and I also read that you guys were helping Sephora develop their kind of standards for CBD, which is also just so cool and must have been like a thrilling personal moment to be part of something like that.
• 35:45
  Huge. I mean, we're getting to define it. And look, I have to give Sephora a ton of credit. You know, they built out their clean program. And as they looked at CBD as a category they really wanted to lean into, they said, well, we need to have some clear standards here because, you know, the regulators aren't really doing their jobs. So retailer has to become regulator. Yeah.
• 36:03
  How do we approach it? And we collaborated with them on understanding what's meaningful, what's relevant, what's really going to raise the bar. And it was such a gift and an opportunity to be part of that definition for a retailer that has so much impact on the market, right? I mean, their standards essentially set the way for other brands to do their business. So it was pretty incredible. Pretty special. Really, really cool.
• 36:30
  Yeah. Question number three is where do you hang out to get smarter? I'm a reader. I love reading. It's sort of how I, I get osmosis. And I think for me, there's smart means a lot of different things. There's business smart, there's personal life smart, there's cultural and world smart. I love reading books, fiction and nonfiction. I love great journalism. Um, but I also really love having conversations with people and learning from other people who are smarter than.
• 36:57
  And a lot of that I found comes from the entrepreneur community. So connecting with other founders, connecting with other business leaders, asking a ton of questions. Well, how did you do this? And how did you approach that? And, you know, have you ever had this failure? And how did you navigate through this problem? And just learning and being open and asking questions. I found that to be so, so valuable and so humbling as well.
• 37:23
  And I think it can be hard to ask for advice sometimes, but at the end of the day, people just want to help and they, they want to share what they've learned and don't be afraid to ask people for that. It's, it's really powerful. Agreed. Absolutely. Can vouch for that.
• 37:42
  So question number four is how do you win the day? And that's around your AM and your PM rituals that keep you feeling happy, successful, motivated, productive, etc. This one's easy. It's my morning cup of coffee. It has been...
• 37:58
  For the last 20 years, it is my non-negotiable. It is that start to my day. It's that quiet moment. I have a hot cup of coffee in bed before everything gets loud. And for me, it's my meditative ritual. And everybody that knows me knows this about me.
• 38:15
  Um, that's, that's definitely how I win the day. I would say as cheesy as it sounds, I, my nighttime, like wash my face, like take care of my skin, brush my teeth. And then I have aromatherapy that for me, it's like the 10 minutes that sort of reset, take me back down. I never skip it no matter what. And that's, again, I've got a strong beginning. I've got a strong end and all in all, none of it takes more than 10 minutes.
• 38:43
  Love that. Love the wind down rituals. Question number five is if you only had $1,000 left in your business bank account, where would you spend it?
• 38:54
  That's easy on my team. At the end of the day, a brand is, is only as good as the people behind it and nothing can happen without those people. So you can certainly spend it on advertising, but who's doing that? Who's creating the vision for that? Who's executing it? Who's making sure that it's working. You have to have people to run your business no matter what. And our people are our greatest asset. We have a Prima, one of the most phenomenal teams I've ever had the pleasure of working with in my entire professional career. And,
• 39:24
  no doubt if I had, you know, last money in my pocket, it's going to them. Love that. You'll have to be sure to let them know after this podcast is slip it into their inbox. Question number six, final question is how do you deal with failure?
• 39:44
  That is a great question because I am, I'm a perfectionist and I'm an overachiever. So for me, initially failure was very, very, very difficult. But as I've grown older and matured, I've realized that honestly, failure is the only thing that provides growth, right? It's,
• 40:04
  it's actually really hard to grow with success because you don't really know why something worked or how you quite got there. And it's only through challenges and roadblocks. And often that means failure that you learn how to do things, whether it's differently or in it from a different point of view and a different perspective. And I've, I've learned to approach it from a really different mindset. Yeah.
• 40:26
  I think failure is only wasted if you don't learn from it. So for me, while failure is never easy, it doesn't bother me anymore as long as I can fail quickly and understand how I can learn from it and use it to make me stronger, make me smarter and make me better. And from that point of view, failure is kind of a gift, right? Because it helps you accomplish those three things that
• 40:55
  it's an opportunity. Um, and it's, it's a part of life, but having the right mindset on how to approach it is really important. Otherwise it'll crush you. Um, but if you flip it, it's a really beautiful opportunity and a really beautiful gift. Yeah. I love that. Such a, such a great way to think about it. Great way to approach it. Awesome. Oh, I have loved this episode. Chatting with you has been so nice. I just want to wrap up by getting your favorite products. What are they? What do people need to look out for on the
• 41:26
  Great question. Well, we actually have a product called The Go-To, which I really do believe is the go-to. It's like my deep breath at the end of every day. It's a single serve, a CBD powder infusion. I put it in water, but you can put it in just about anything you want. And for me, it's just...
• 41:43
  It's sort of that instant zen, that immediate comeback to earth, a deep breath for your whole body. But asking me my favorite product is like asking a parent what their favorite child is. There is just no way to answer that. I would say it depends what you're looking for, right? We have something that helps with sleep.
• 42:01
  We have something that helps manage day-to-day stress. That would be at the daily or the go-to. If you're looking for a boost in energy and cognition and for your brain to really turn on, we have another CBD powder called BrainFuel. We've got amazing skincare products. My personal favorites are the Afterglow, which is a super rich night cream and Night Magic, which is a...
• 42:22
  It's the best facial oil you'll ever use. The only one you'll ever need. And a personal fan favorite of mine is the Bath Gem. It's a bath soap with CBD, effervescent minerals, magnesium, Epsom salts, and lavender. And it's like, it's a day at the spa for $16. It is, it's unbeatable.
• 42:42
  So lots to choose from, but also for your audience, we set up a special promo code for 20% off all of the products at prima.co. It's STG20. So I hope you enjoy lots, lots to discover, lots to play with there, lots to find. So I hope you enjoy. Thank you so much. I'm so excited to check it out. And thank you so much for being on the podcast. Likewise, Dune. It's been a real pleasure. Thank you so much.
• 43:10
  Hey, it's June here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 43:35
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 43:57
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.
• 44:14
  Hey, it's June here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 44:39
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 45:01
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.