Our brand lets people be eco-friendly without "looking" eco-friendly :). Our conditioner bar replaces 6 bottles of Oribe Gold Lust or Pureology Conditioner and can save a woman with an expensive conditioner habit over $200 with just the purchase of one bar.

What was the inspiration to start this business?

Burned by eco-friendly swaps over and over again, founders Kate Assaraf & Millie Rodriguez are determined to provide plastic-free options that don't feel like a sacrifice. In a world where plastic-free & alarmist marketing is the focus of every new eco-friendly brand, we are laser-focused on performance. Plastic-free is just a bonus.

When you started your business, did you ever envision that you would be where you are now?

We just started shipping after the pandemic destroyed our marketing and launch date dreams--but somehow it has worked for us. The word of mouth on our product has blown us away. With zero dollars in marketing spent, we have sold over $25K of product in 2 weeks! It has been insane...I did not think it would take off this fast. In fact, I was so nervous to launch I barely slept or ate for weeks because I was so worried. We put all of our money into this brand, and I spend 2 years unpaid building it.

Was there ever a time that things didn't fall into place, struggles, or challenges? What were they and how did you get past it and grow from the experience?

Every day there's a new one. Our China partners were hit first, then our lab here in the states shut down, then our marketing plan was to seed the product in hotels, surf competitions, and trail races--and all of those things were canceled. Building a brand from scratch, everything and anything will go wrong. But when you start, you must be nimble and adapt easily. Our coworker lost 6 family members to Covid--and we watched in horror as many people went on with their lives, completely indifferent to the pandemic or how it touches us all. The hardest thing was not being able to do lifestyle photoshoots or product photoshoots because of shelter in place and lack of product. I handled that by using stock images on our Instagram and just owning the fact that everything was going wrong, not right. People really seemed to love that --and I got a lot of messages from people saying that the realness was refreshing for them.

What was the biggest lesson you learned while starting and growing this business?

That is okay to bank on yourself, but you really need to be willing to put in the work.

What would you tell a FEM that is struggling in her business and feel like it's too difficult?

You need to have a meeting with yourself about how you are managing your own time. It is so easy to get distracted and to let the pandemic be an excuse to slow down or loosen your own standards. Don't let it, keep powering through!

What continues to inspire you to keep on growing your business?

Our customers, the excitement they feel when they reach out with great hair photos and a new way of looking at the possibilities of reducing their plastic. It's all my dreams come true.

Final advice for those thinking of starting a business or looking to grow their current business?

Do not lose sight of your mission. I reluctantly made a vision board for the first time this year and as corny as it sounds, it actually works.

To connect: @kateassaraf // @saynoap