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Entrepreneur Ventures is an early-stage enterprise capital agency partnered with Entrepreneur Media that’s devoted to backing passionate and revolutionary founders as early as day one. On this sequence, we’re profiling the superb entrepreneurs that Entrepreneur Ventures is working with to share their insights on constructing and rising a thriving enterprise.
What is the elevator pitch of your organization?
My title is Raina Kumra and I’m the founding father of Spicewell. Salt and pepper have not been upgraded in over 100 years and we’re on the very starting of a clean food and food-as-medicine motion. And so seeing these two issues, I needed to create the proper product for the occasions. Spicewell is superfood seasonings — with our salt, you get 10 % of your every day nutritional vitamins from twelve natural greens in a pink Himalayan salt that’s low in sodium. Our black floor pepper mix is combined with turmeric and 12 natural greens to present you 10 % of your every day nutritional vitamins.
Each have been clinically studied for anti-inflammatory diets and are superb for digestion. These are Ayurvedic, a standard Indian medication system, so there are about 5,000 years of research backing up why and the way we use these mixtures.
What impressed you to create it?
I used to be all the time in tech and I used to be investing out of a small fund I helped run in L.A. I spotted I needed to be a founder once more, so for about eight years, I used to be actively on the lookout for concepts however I did not discover something I preferred. After which throughout the pandemic, my husband had knee surgical procedure and I used to be making ready to do every little thing he wanted as a result of he could not get off the bed for 2 weeks. Nicely, about seven hours after bringing him residence, my five-year-old daughter broke her collarbone in a motorbike accident. It was fully bananas! So I began to faucet into Ayurveda, which helped me heal rapidly after I had damaged my elbow in a motorbike accident. I healed three weeks quicker than my orthopedic surgeon anticipated, and I had simply eaten a lot kale, spinach and turmeric and ginger. So for my household, I went just a little overboard. I went into the backyard, chopped kale and broccoli, dehydrated it. My husband and daughter additionally obtained higher superfast, about 50 % quicker than their docs anticipated. So not solely did I’ve 5,000 years of research, I had my private experiences that confirmed me that this works.
Associated: How to Pitch Your Company to Entrepreneur Ventures for Investment
The place did you go from there?
I started learning food and health and realized that 94 % of Individuals have a nutrient deficiency of some form. That nutrient deficiency is the gateway to power sickness. After which I began studying labels after which grew to become this label hawk. I used to be so indignant about issues I had been routinely feeding my kids and trusting the advertising and marketing that mentioned “It is so good for you!” However in actuality, these things was filled with crap. Individuals don’t know what they’re consuming. There are 4 further elements in most desk salts — one in all them causes gastro issues, rashes, and allergic responses. And I can’t inform you how a lot pepper that’s within the grocery store at present is filled with poisonous heavy metals. so I took a course at Cornell and obtained a certificates in plant medication. From there I started growing Spicewell’s salt and pepper.
Credit score: Spicewell
How did you get your product on retailer cabinets?
That was the massive studying for me. Retail is a very tousled trade — the consumers have a whole lot of energy to make or break you. And in the event that they do take you, it is like a blessing and a curse as a result of your margins are simply slashed as a result of there is a dealer charge, a distributor charge, after which the retailer wants their 40% to 50% margin. So it is a actually exhausting enterprise that may solely work in quantity. We obtained fortunate pitching our first retailer, then we obtained into Erewhon Markets, after which we obtained into The Contemporary Market, that are in over twenty-five states with 161 shops.
Associated: This Founder’s Platform Is Unlocking the Secrets of Living Longer Through Personalized Nutrition
How did you get that first assembly?
Becoming a member of the Naturally Network was big. In my case, it was Naturally Los Angeles. It’s a nonprofit group that has a bunch of sources for brand spanking new individuals within the meals trade. As a result of here is the factor: new persons are what the meals trade wants. It wants new concepts, it wants new merchandise that aren’t coming from Large Meals. So that they’re form of a help system they usually arrange this pitch day with Gelson’s Markers. I gave my pitch, the customer cherished it, put an order in and that was executed. The chance solely got here due to the Naturally Community.
Apart from the apparent issues about understanding your numbers back and forth, what’s one thing that folks pitching buyers ought to know?
It’s a must to actually perceive psychology. In case you are not creating urgency and FOMO and making anybody you discuss to grasp that it is a very restricted particular time to be concerned on this firm, I do not assume it is simple to achieve success. An investor would possibly say they’re , nevertheless it’s on the particular person pitching to pressure that relationship to maneuver ahead — let’s get this executed. As a result of if not, it will probably go on eternally.
You might have raised some huge cash over your profession. What’s one factor that’s essential to you in an investor in addition to their {dollars}?
There is no “dumb cash” on my cap desk. Since my first startup, I’ve raised about seven and a half million {dollars}. I would not say we had dumb cash, however we had sort of unengaged buyers who gave cash — which is nice — however they actually did not give their time, curiosity or connections. You need buyers who’re basically saying, “Allow us to be a part of your crew.”
What does being an entrepreneur imply to you?
Being a real entrepreneur means you simply can’t cease your self from constructing. I have to create one thing that does not exist that the world wants that solely I see. And if I do not do it, another person goes to. They usually’ll both do it extra poorly or they are going to do nice and I will get actually pissed off as a result of I did not do it!
Entrepreneurship has no ensures for fulfillment. How do you address uncertainty?
There are lots of people who’re true entrepreneurs however they’re held again by worry. I believe you must take a look at that worry and analyze it. Is that this worry of lacking out on revenue? Is that this worry of failing? All tremendous legitimate issues, however then you must take a look at that worry and you must examine the chance that lies forward and ask your self, “If I do not do that, it will be a lot worse than me giving into my fears proper now?”
What’s a quote that motivates or evokes you?
I really like the quote “All the things is a section.” And it’s truly from some parenting ebook I learn. Through the early days of being a dad or mum, there are occasions if you’re like, “What’s going on?!” However these occasions will move. Similar factor with a enterprise. Proper now, this enterprise is 2 years previous, so it is a toddler. There will be some tantrums and complicated moments, however this is not going to be the everlasting state. Entrepreneurs must know that point and what you are promoting will proceed to maneuver ahead. And I’ve discovered that if you put a product out on the planet, it takes on a lifetime of its personal. And day by day it sort of comes residence from college and says, “Hey, I did this at present!” Each single day there may be one other alternative that I by no means noticed coming.
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