BloomNation - Empowering Local Florist and Their Customers

The Story of a Brand

Ramon Vela

Business, Entrepreneurship

5 • 145 Ratings

🗓️ 26 June 2025

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What happens when you mix a deep love for small business with the drive to shake up an outdated industry? You get BloomNation.

In this episode, I sat down with Farbod Shoraka, Co-founder & CEO of BloomNation, to talk about how a few powerful insights—and one unforgettable lunch—led to the creation of a platform that empowers thousands of florists and small business owners across the U.S.

We delve into how BloomNation evolved from a simple idea into a nationwide software solution that enables independent florists to thrive in the e-commerce landscape. Farbod opens up about his personal motivations, lessons learned during the pandemic, and how his company is helping preserve the soul of small businesses while building for long-term resilience.

Here are some key moments from the episode:

* How Farbod’s father’s unwavering support helped him leave finance to launch his first startup

* The early insight that disrupted the floral industry—and why removing the middleman mattered

* How the pandemic became a tipping point for small business digital adoption

* The strategy behind BloomNation’s evolution into Promenade and their recent UK expansion

* Farbod’s no-BS advice for founders: “Don’t listen to anyone. Carve your own path.”

Join me, Ramon Vela, in listening to the episode and hear how one founder is creating meaningful impact—one bouquet, one order, and one small business at a time.

For more on BloomNation, visit: https://www.bloomnation.com/

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You're empowering the business owner and you're empowering the consumer, right? Because they're both getting something. They're getting value out of this whole transaction.
0:08.8	And to me, like, that's, I don't know, I love those type of businesses. I'm always envious of those
0:13.8	business where you can create a good business. You can make a living. But you also create a, you create an ecosystem that can benefit numerous different people, right?
0:24.0	That's right. It's a feel good. It's capitalistic, but it's also feel good, right? Like, we're not
0:28.3	like a nonprofit or it's not a charity, but it is for profit. But it's the best version of that because it's
0:33.4	helping real people. It's doing what's better for the industry. We're disrupting the industry
0:38.7	and making a more effective way of people finding florists, ordering flowers online. We're
0:44.8	helping the small business owner. It's a win-win for the two most important people in the
0:48.6	transaction, the sender, the florists, those are the important people, not the broker.
1:08.8	Hey, everyone. This is Ramon Vela, and this is another episode of the story of a brand.
1:11.8	Like always, we have an amazing guest in brand that we're going to feature on today's show. But before we do, imagine 100 influencers constantly talking
1:17.6	about your brand. Sounds great, right? But getting there seems hard. Not for Surral.
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1:31.7	and manages everything in one place.
1:34.8	Plus, it has a built-in affiliate tracking and social listening, so you'll save on multiple
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1:42.8	You also avoid hefty agency fees and hours of manual searching.
1:48.3	Plus, Saral's customer happiness team will support you every step of the way.
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2:05.0	Welcome back.
2:06.1	This is going to be a great show.
2:08.1	I have with me an amazing founder and brand that we're going to feature.
	...

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