Emerging
WINNER
Jessica Alba
Co-founder and president
Christopher Gavigan
Co-founder and Chief Product Officer
Sean Kane
Co-founder and COO
Brian Lee
Co-founder and CEO
The Honest Company
www.honest.com
The roots of The Honest Company are deeply intertwined with actress and activist Jessica Alba, the company’s co-founder and president.
When Alba found potential toxic hazards in detergents and diapers that she used to care for her daughters, she discovered that children were being exposed to chemicals through products intended for infants that have been linked in scientific studies to development disabilities and chronic illness. She believed that despite claims to the contrary from companies, many products being sold contained harmful materials. Alba partnered with author, advocate and parent Christopher Gavigan, co-founder and Chief Product Officer, and they set out to create a company in line with their vision to serve as a single solution for the range of family needs, ensuring product safety, extraordinary customer service and convenience. They met their match in co-founders and fellow parents Brian Lee, CEO, and Sean Kane, COO, pioneers at definitive digital startups that have evolved into industry-leading paradigms.
Together, they launched The Honest Company with an e-commerce subscription model based on a single brand with flexible product bundling for customizable solutions home-delivered with no commitments or upfront fees.
Launching in the health and wellness consumer goods category, its products attract expectant mothers, toddlers and kids to their partnerships with artisan and brand leaders in eco-friendly family products. Now, The Honest Company is expanding their offerings into furniture, accessories, toys, soft goods and more.
The company’s employees are empowered to use paid volunteer hours to work with causes close to their heart and take advantage of donation matching to double their cumulative impact. So far, they’ve clocked a total of more than 550 volunteer hours.
Partnering with the Los Angeles-based organization, Baby2Baby, The Honest Company has donated over 112,000 products, more than 155,000 diapers and, through their Buy One, Give One program, donates one crib for every crib sold.
FINALISTS
David Allerby
Co-founder and CEO
Tyner Brenneman-Slay
Co-founder and COO
Ryan Iwamoto
Co-founder and CMO
24Hr HomeCare
www.24hrcares.com
Perseverance and the ability to overcome obstacles are two key ingredients of becoming a successful entrepreneur. By choosing to start their business during the financial crisis, David Allerby, CEO, Tyner Brenneman-Slay, COO and Ryan Iwamoto, CMO, all co-founders of 24Hr HomeCare, showed they all have those ingredients in spades.
Upon visiting the Small Business Administration, the organization recommended against starting a business because of the economic climate. That advice did little to persuade the co-founders from starting 24Hr HomeCare, a company that provides high-quality, non-medical in-home care to seniors and the developmentally disabled.
The three young entrepreneurs possessed a combined 20 years of experience in general management, operational compliance, and launching and expanding new offices. In addition to their familiarity with the industry and the growing need for homecare, the motivation behind founding 24Hr HomeCare stemmed from a shared understanding of the industry’s shortcomings and the desire to introduce a new standard of care to homecare.
The strategy behind founding 24Hr HomeCare was to provide the kind of quality service that wasn’t yet available on the market, including adopting technological advancements to software and assistive devices, careful screening and extensive diagnosis-specific training for caregivers, and exceptional service.
There were obstacles in building the company from the ground up, however, as individuals seeking care look for trustworthiness that often comes with company longevity. 24Hr HomeCare first positioned itself as the alternative choice, filling in when other companies had difficulty providing facilities with quality caregivers. When given the opportunity, the company delivered an improved homecare experience, winning over clients until becoming the preferred provider.
The three entrepreneurs envision creating a nationwide homecare company that will eventually become a household name synonymous with great service. 24Hr HomeCare opened its ninth branch this spring, and in 2015, the company plans on opening its first out-of-state branch to begin expanding nationwide.
Hayden Slater
Founder and CEO
Eugene Kim
President and COO
Pressed Juicery
www.pressedjuicery.com
Pressed Juicery had a rocky start when Hayden Slater opened it in November 2010. Aside from the normal onslaught of competition, the health department shut down Pressed Juicery within just two months of opening. Though Slater, who serves as CEO, faced risks of personal bankruptcy, lawsuits and legal troubles with state regulatory bodies, he opted to keep the business open and address all issues raised by the health department and reopen as a strong, compliant organization.
As Pressed Juicery struggled financially through its first year, Eugene Kim became an adviser and then president and COO. Under Kim’s and Slater’s leadership, the company underwent extensive reorganization and eventually expanded to 20 stores with 15 currently under construction. The company owns all of its equipment, a fleet of trucks and a 25,000-square-foot facility in Fresno, California, that are capable of replenishing 200 stores per day.
The founders’ vision was to create a convenient, accessible juice bar to serve modern customers. The company delivers an unprecedented level of freshness to consumers, averaging less than three days from the time of juicing to consumption, compared to 180 days through traditional channels.
They run their operations lean, with no more than two employees staffed at all times. Aside from the employees, there is only a refrigerator in each of the 18-square-foot stores. Kim and Slater trust that customers will reward the business for providing quality products and forgive them for skipping the “nice-to-haves.”
Future plans include building 200 more stores on the West Coast, 200 stores on the East Coast and a secondary factory in New Jersey.
