Ep. 103: Defying the Entrepreneurial Odds – Building an Emerging Sustainability Brand During the Pandemic with Stephanie Downs

There’s never any harm in planning out the big picture and then breaking it down into chunks. I personally do it to make the big goal less overwhelming. So we take a big, one-year goal, and then break it down into quarters, and then break it up down into months.

— Stephanie Downs

Shownotes:

[00:20]Taking animals out of products and still having cool things.

[03:36] Stephanie’s business history: from working with PETA, starting her plant meat business and going into leather-alternative space.

[06:23] Most vegan leathers are made of plastic: innovation in next-gen vegan leathers.

[09:00] The demand for leather alternatives is vast and mostly comes from fashion brands.

[11:10] Collaborative relationship with smaller and huge brands: electric vehicle industry and creative processes.

[13:28] Market penetration is different within automotive and fashion industries: startup needs to strategize where to focus the energy.

[16:08] Staying sharp in strategic mindset: breaking KPIs into monthly plans and additional tricks.

[18:40] Helping companies hear your voice and choice, plus voting with your dollars, are great approaches to getting more vegan products made.

[20:22] Vegans are loyal customers: vegans love luxury too.

[22:58] The importance of educating consumers: leather is embalmed skin – how the products are made.

[25:54] Switching to vegan food is the hardest because food is an emotional thing, but people will start using other vegan products very easily.