Contrapreneur

Yoga can be a tricky business to get figured out but Krissy Jones & Chloe Kernaghan have created, nourished and sustained a collection gorgeous, buzzy yoga studios throughout NYC. Sky Ting Yoga is comprised of three design-centric spaces that have quality classes, teachers and community to match. We talk about the role authenticity plays in the success of a business, what’s it’s like opening a small business in NYC, how taking on investors or not can be a lifestyle choice and what we hope to see in the future of wellness.

Handyma’am was born in 2014 when Bella found herself underwhelmed with the selection of well-made, durable clothing for women in the marketplace. Working as a hairstylist, with a ton of hands-on hobbies—woodworking, riding motorcycles, tearing down walls and building new ones—Bella needed workwear that could fit with her can’t-sit-still lifestyle. So she got hands-on and made her own! Bella had no background in design or fashion, but she found the resources she needed to create a technical, super-durable women’s workwear piece. Bella’s story is something else. We talk in detail about using kickstarter to launch a business, then & now. Bella shares her vision for slow, quality product-focused growth, talks about the challenges of producing clothing in America and shares what she’s learned about business and herself through her work with Handyma’am.

Kate Flynn, the founder of Sun & Swell Foods did not want to start her own business preferring the sense of security at her day job. But a new’s years resolution led Kate to reconsider her eating habits and find healthier ways. She began the Whole30 and it changed her life. One day, she decided to take a big leap, move to her dream city of Santa Barbara and launch the business she’d been thinking of, a healthy snack food company inspired by the lack of snacks available on the Whole30, Sun & Swell. Kate talks about the unique way she has discovered to get her snacks where people feel like snacking, what it’s like being in business with you family and shares how her business develops as she is developing.

Brandon Rus graduated university and asked to be dropped off in a remote Mexican fishing community, as you do. He went door-to-door asking people if he could live with them. Somebody finally said yes. Brandon immersed himself into their community and learned about their source of sustenance - the Sea of Cortez. Brandon headed back to grad school with a clarified focus on marine biology. After years of study and working in marine biology, Brandon took what he’d learned and directed his efforts into a business on a mission to empowering coastal communities through connected oceans. Conserva Collective works with the local artisan community in Mexico to offer healthy soaps concocted with local ingredients. They also are beginning an organic fertilizer initiative in partnership with area farms. Conserva Collective is giving back in a big way.

Contrapreneurs & bakers, Louise Ulrich & Lou Fontana, the couple behind Santa Barbara’s superfood bakery, join Sarah Danu to talk about starting their bakery, their commitment to healthy, whole foods and what it’s like starting a business together as a couple. They share insights about creating the space to have breakthrough ideas, strategies for getting the word out about any business launch and much more.

Tony Arnerich is the CEO of Arnerich Massena, co-founder of 3x5 and advisor to many mission-driven companies, including Fish People, a pacific northwest coast sustainable, traceable seafood company, joins me today to talk about investing in the future. His companies are focused on sustainable versions of things he sees to be most critical to the future: food, water, energy and healthcare. We talk about how investment work allows one to see into the future, the importance of having women in business and about how having children and grandchildren gave his work new meaning.

Scott Linde talks about how he started Sun Potion nearly 8 years ago, the ways he sources plants, how code is incorporated into his business and so much more. This is a good listen! Sharing stories like Sun Potion’s is exactly why I created Contrapreneur. As Scott would say, in-joy!

Mandy Kordal, founder and owner of Kordal Studio talks about sustainable clothing, alternative education, doing business in the modern NYC fashion industry and what success is. Kordal Studio’s mission is to create garments in an ethical manner by paying workers a fair wage, designing garments that are not trend focused, and using natural and organic textiles whenever possible. Mandy makes some garments in her Brooklyn, NYC studio and collaborates with weavers in South America.