Companiesandme

Who knew that choosing a life of yoga and health food would lead me to founding and becoming the CEO of a consumer product company? Some people think that an MBA is the best route to running a business, but it was an immersion into wellness and environmentalism that helped me to understand a newly emerging market... and that the world was finally getting ready for the crazy idea I had in college for something called "To-Go Ware."

When I was a student at the University of Michigan, I went out for ice cream one day with my sister. We were served in plastic, even though we hadn't said "to-go." This was the time that disposables began to permeate all aspects of food service, replacing the ceramic dishware and dishwasher even if you were eating your food on site. I wondered why we couldn't bring our own plates and utensils to reuse, as we did with our reusable mugs all over campus. There should be a kit we take with us everywhere, and it should be called "To-Go Ware," I thought. And the idea stayed with me for 7 years, until finally fate and life would lead me to start a business around the idea...

In those 7 years, a great transformation happened for me. While living in New York City, I abandoned an acting (and waitressing) career for an insatiable passion for yoga and natural food preparation. I learned as much as I could about raw foods, macrobiotic foods, natural remedies and more. I became a yoga instructor and a personal wellness chef. I began to meet amazing people, many in the Natural Products industry, and learned that there were new companies emerging that were selling products that were not only organic and healthy, but supporting fair trade and environmental supply chains.

Finding these products was a new inspiration to me. As a yogi, I was under the impression that I needed to be a renunciate, that in order to be in balance with this world, one must withdraw from society, from the day-to-day, from material possessions and consumerism. But what I began to understand was that it was all about how you do business that counts, and that conscious consumerism can be a vehicle to share ideas with people and proliferate things like conservation, health and social justice. Products could be a means for people to participate in the solutions, to vote with their dollars, to understand that their purchases had power to change the world.

After moving to San Francisco in 2002, I found an enormous like-minded community. It was such a vibrant group of environmental and social activists, yogis and health professionals, and natural products entrepreneurs. Here I found the people I didn't have to explain why carrying your own fork with you was a good idea, and I had the good fortune of being able to start To-Go Ware by selling to my friends and community. The local co-ops, the raw food restaurants, the yoga studios, the non-profits and the progressive conferences that were held, were my first customers.

After 6 years of growing the business, no longer does To-Go Ware cater only to early-adopters and the progressive fringe, but rather to a wide swath of mainstream folks. Even though we still sell in small, grassroots stores and organizations, we are found nationwide and in Canada in chains like Whole Foods Market, REI and Patagonia. The world has changed a lot since I started To-Go Ware in 2004 (thanks, Al Gore), and there is an ever-growing market for people looking to reduce waste, but also have concerns around the potential hazards of plastic foodware, such as the leaching of BPA and Phthalates. And as the growing concerns about how, as a nation, we are eating, our products appeal to those who want to pack healthy meals and an ascribe to the idea that you are what you eat (with).

So how can this story inspire you in your own endeavors?

Well, there are some basic tenets that I have drawn from my unconventional journey:

Intuition is everything: Follow your heart, your gut, and that inner wisdom that leads you down the path of the unconventional and meaningful, of innovation and true promise.

Be of service, be fulfilled: Take a look at the things you are doing and see how they can have an impact of good, in one capacity or another. If your actions and work do not have a positive impact, look at where you can make that change. I can almost guarantee that when your work aligns with a higher purpose, your own sense of alignment with this earth and the people on it will be greatly enhanced.

Trailblaze: Find a way to make your impact by choosing a way no one has ever seen it happen before. By stretching yourself and the conventional norms, you invite people to do the same. Trailblazing leads to innovation and evolution.

Nurture: As much as your business or personal endeavors should support and take care of the planet, it's important to take care of yourself and those you care about. Never let the task at hand supercede personal relationships, health and living a life that brings you joy.