From Nearly Going Out of Business to an 8-Figure Cult Following, with Allison Evans and Kelly Love, Co-founders of Branch Basics
Dear FoundHer...Real Founder Stories for Women Small Business Owners
Lindsay Pinchuk
4.9 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 2 July 2024
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
“We didn’t care about cleaning products. We didn’t set out to sell soap,” says Kelly Love. She, her best friend Allison Evans, and Allison’s aunt Marilee Nelson, co-founded Branch Basics with a different mission in mind. “We believed there was a need for truly safe products, and we knew we had built a platform to share this crucial information,” they explain. Their goal was not just to sell soap but to transform lives through Branch Basics.
In this episode, they join Lindsay Pinchuk to discuss their journey from near closure to a $40 million revenue DTC business, driven by a mission to educate and empower people to live healthier lives. They share their experiences with harmful chemicals, which led them to create toxin-free, sustainable products and prioritize transparency and quality.
Despite major setbacks, their commitment to their mission and community support fueled their success.
Allison, Kelly, and Marilee’s story is a testament to the impact of living authentically and creating products that truly make a difference in people’s lives.
Quotes
- “Our products have always been a vehicle for educating and creating a community, which is why we’ve sold direct to consumer for several years. We really want to have that community relationship.” (10:01 | Allison Evans)
- “Human health is our number one goal. We put human health above everything, but efficacy is right behind it.” (32:28 | Allison Evans)
- “Know your strengths. Know that when your pie is bigger, your piece is smaller, but you’d rather have a smaller piece of a bigger pie. People who hold on too tightly to their equity and pride, refusing to admit when they need help, are making one of the biggest mistakes.” (38:55 | Allison Evans)
- “Test and learn. Just start doing whatever your idea is. Start on a small scale with a minimum viable product. Don’t worry about proving scalability before you even prove the concept. Get as much feedback as you can in those early days and don’t hold yourself back, either from perfection or from thinking, ‘How am I going to scale this and reach everyone?’” (45:42 | Kelly Love)
Connect with Allison Evans and Kelly Love:
https://www.instagram.com/branchbasics/
Grab Lindsay’s JumpStart Your Business Blueprint from last week's episode:
https://lindsaypinchuk.myflodesk.com/11stepsforbusiness
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, it's me Lindsay Pinchuk, host of Dear Founder. In a few minutes, you're going to hear today's |
| 0:05.8 | guests Alison Evans and Kelly Love talk about how they started their business and almost |
| 0:11.6 | had to close their business, but then restarted their business to make it what it is today, |
| 0:16.7 | a company focused on human health that earned $40 million in revenue last year alone. |
| 0:22.3 | Allison Kelly and their third founder, Mary Lee, started a company that looks very different |
| 0:26.8 | than it does today. But do you want to know what? When they got started back in the day before |
| 0:32.2 | social media was even a thing, they simply got started. They learned as they went along. |
| 0:37.4 | They made mistakes and they grew from them. They learned as they went along. They made mistakes and they |
| 0:38.8 | grew from them. Much of what they've done over the years is what I tell you to do here each and every |
| 0:44.1 | week. They're also the same steps that I outline in my jumpstart your business blueprint, my free |
| 0:49.4 | guide to help get you going and provide support as you get your own brand off the ground. |
| 0:59.3 | You can grab the link to that e-guide in my show notes to help you get started or to check your own progress along the way. Let me know what you think. And now on to today's episode. |
| 1:05.6 | Today's conversation is honest and real. Both Alison Evans and Kelly Love discovered the transformative power of living |
| 1:12.8 | in an environment free from harmful chemicals and using food as medicine when they were in college, |
| 1:18.8 | which led to them wanting to share this experience with anyone and everyone. They wanted a megaphone |
| 1:24.6 | to shout what they had learned from the rooftops. |
| 1:28.1 | And that is why they started their business Branch Basics. |
| 1:31.4 | This Y is a huge focus of today's conversation as Branch Basics is a mission-driven brand. |
| 1:36.9 | Honestly, the knowledge, education, and learnings that they share are first and foremost to |
| 1:42.0 | help you live a healthier life. |
| 1:43.8 | And because of this, |
| 1:44.9 | they're able to sell their incredible products. In 2017, Branch Basics launched their signature |
... |
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