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In This Episode We Talk About: How Chloe and Krissy met, became friends and chose to go into business together The process of going through their interests and figuring out their passion — yoga Sky Ting means Sky Place Signed a lease without much of a business plan but with a crystal clear vision Started as a single community based yoga studio in NYC’s Chinatown BREAKING: Soon to launch a paid monthly subscription video platform to spread their reach around the world About their mysterious third business partner, Nick Poe Design is a central pillar to Sky Ting’s brand that bring a bit of interest to the business Keeping Sky Ting’s instagram pretty weird How Krissy, Chloe & Nick divide responsibilities on paper but in real life, responsibilities overlap and it just works for them About Katonah yoga, the lineage Chloe & Krissy learned a lot from Hiring teachers with an authentic voice who are practicing what they are teaching Consciously considering building their yoga teachers careers is a part of what keeps teacher turnover low What it was like opening a small yoga business in New York City Once advantage to being in NYC was access to media and press and a disadvantage was the stress of higher rent prices Krissy & Chloe are both into biohacking, though Chloe might not call it that. A few favorites are limiting blue light, supplementation, tracking sleep, infrared light therapy and continuing to learn from their yoga teachers Growing small and organic or getting investors - a lifestyle choice Favorite way to build community is talent shows The teacher training also builds a strong community Personal definitions of success Speculations on the future of wellness More Sky Ting Studios are probably in the future but not this year The complexities of running a yoga studio Businesses Krissy & Chloe are inspired by: Patagonia for using their tax breaks to fund climate change and having repair programs, Soul Cycle for their success in entering the market so strongly on the cusp of wellness and SweetGreen founders & friends for growing their kindness and generosity as they grew their business Resources Contrapreneur Secret Facebook Group Sky Ting’s website Sky Ting’s instagram Support the creation of Contrapreneur through our Patreon. Contrapreneur Newsletter Follow Contrapreneur on Instagram! SarahDanu.com

In This Episode We Talk About: The workwear Handyma’am creates Function comes first for Handyma’am goods but form is very important too Bella’s background has nothing to do with clothing business Handyma’am came from Bella’s need for clothing that could keep up with her active hands-on lifestyle Learning new things with grit and drive Didn’t want to go through the effort of making just one jumpsuit, so a business was born The spark for Handyma’am came from a passion for collecting jumpsuits Bella was already called Handyma’am by her roommates and this is where her name came from Starting a business with Kickstarter Designing the Kickstarter to enrich rather than just raise money for her coverall production The financial reality of expanding sizing and perfecting fit Word spread rapidly through friends and family because she already had a small run of coveralls in circulation for about 1.5 years before her kickstarter Products designed for longevity and working on a repair aspect of the business Learning that delegating is a weakness and overcoming it Collaborations with other handyma’am business owners to lift everybody up - finds collaborations more interesting than always focusing on releasing new products Mental health, success & business Being okay with slow growth Using instagram to sell in the changing time of instagram Elevating women who support Handyma’am as what they want to be seen as Exercise as a form of self care Resources: Contrapreneur Secret Facebook Group Handymaamgoods.com use code contrapreneur for 10% off Support the creation of Contrapreneur through our Patreon. Contrapreneur Newsletter Follow Contrapreneur on Instagram! SarahDanu.com](https://sarahdanu.com/)

IN THIS EPISODE WE TALK ABOUT: The idea for Sun & Swell came from Kate’s experience healing her relationship with food, trying the Whole30 and aligned with their desire to live in a certain city Product testing at local triathlon Took about nine months to bring product to market Kate’s healing, eye-opening journey eating whole foods Need for Whole30 approved marathon-training gel alternatives First began ideating around a training gel alternative but it evolved into snack foods as a whole Kate has a background in retail strategy Kates ideas about herself have grown and shifted with her company Realizing she can hire people to fill in what is not her strength Self-funded the company but are considering investors to help get over the hurdle of scale Plans to be a national brand focused on building a good business, treat their employees well and do good for the world Many consumers don’t have a grasp on how food cost, quality and are correlated Kate & Bryan strengths compliment each other well but they schedule in time to intentionally not work and spend time together in other ways Insights into the difficulties of production, considered a co-manufacturer but is happy to have figured out a way to continue making their healthy snacks in-house Kate turns to barre3 and surfing to disconnect and energize herself Launching compostable packaging soon Inspired by her mother’s baking, her father’s business side & Sadie Lincoln of Barre3 RESOURCES Contrapreneur Secret Facebook Group SunandSwellFoods.com use code Contrapreneur20 for 20% off your first healthy snack food order Consider supporting us through our Patreon. This is our first week having a Patreon… we will never forget our first supporters! Thank you. Contrapreneur Newsletter Contrapreneur is on instagram! SarahDanu.com Whole30

IN THIS EPISODE WE TALK ABOUT: Forming an appreciation of the ocean as a young child Wanting to be a marine biologist since childhood Anthropogenic, economic & societal impacts on marine biology Current economic landscape of the Sea of Cortez Biodiversity of the Sea of Cortez Communities that rely on handline fishing for their livelihood Asking strangers in a Mexican fishing village if he could live with them Studied environmental science and anthropology in college Building trust in a community other than ones own Getting into the soap making business Making fertilizer from compostable seaweed Partnering with an existing artisanal soap-making business in San Jose Del Cabo Making organic fertilizer out of seaweed The constructs of identity Seeing Conserva Collective as a tool to expose people to things they aren’t typically, centering around the ocean Giving back to the community of Agua Verde through education Dreams to expand replicate the model around the world Identifying more as a scientist than a business person

WORDS FROM LOUISE & LOU: “Talking to customers is the most rewarding aspect. It’s really what makes it fun to work so hard.” - Louise Ulrich “To us, getting away one day a month is the key to a healthy relationship and a healthy business.” - Louise Ulrich & Lou Fontana LISTEN ON ITUNES IN THIS EPISODE WE TALK ABOUT: Their inspiration, Louise’s mom, a champion marathon runner in Denmark who created her own super-healthy, delicious recipes Lack of nutrient dense bread in the USA Started by baking bread for friends, some of whom owned Santa Barbara based Juice Ranch and wanted to put it on their menu Challenging transition from baking out of their home to a commercial kitchen Pop-ups around town to get exposure Finding a brick-and-mortar space to open their first full bakery Choosing to grow at a manageable rate Working together as a couple The importance of good employees Ditching the traditional bakery insanely early mornings in favor of a healthier schedule good for themselves and their employees Focusing on wholesale to create steady business The struggles of balancing growth and maintaining a strong community Trend of knowing people you buy from in response to giant businesses Motivating self & employees How time off work creates space for big ideas and long term plans to grow Initial tactics to get the word out about their opening Clever ways to use up leftover bread to reduce food & financial waste Businesses that inspire Louise & Lou: Corazon,

Tony Arnerich is the CEO of Arnerich Massina, co-founder of 3x5 and advisor to many mission-driven companies, including Fish People, a pacific northwest coast sustainable, traceable seafood company. We met in line at a bakery in Santa Barbara and started a conversation about working with one’s spouses that flowed into talking about getting more women involved in business, particularly the business of money, His first taste of entrepreneurship was inspired by a negative towing experience. In the 70s, he and a friend bought a tow truck for $1,300, printed some business cards and just got started even though he claims it was not really his thing at all. Years later, he sold the towing business and with the bit of profit from selling the land, he moved to Portland and opened up a restaurant. Today Tony manages a $20 billion impact investment firm in Portland, Oregon. He also co-founded the B Corp 3x5, a growth-oriented venture capital firm that primarily invests in innovations in life sciences and the natural resource sector. He also serves as an advisor to several mission driven companies like Fish People, a sustainable, traceable seafood company. IN THIS EPISODE WE TALK ABOUT: Investing in sustainable versions of investments in food, water, energy and healthcare Early adopters are doing the work to be Demonstrating leadership by doing it Good business ideas must be economically profitable “We are not giving up one nickel of return in order to make a positive impact. We have to work harder. For the most part, people just have to get out there and get it done.” - Tony Arnerich Seeing the future to invest in solutions “Opportunity is a spark. You never know where the fire is going to come from.” — Tony Arnerich The importance of having women on your boards for diversity of though and experience.” — Tony Arnerich “What I’ve found with companies that I invest in that have women in the c-suite and on boards, the perform the best. Statistically.” — Tony Arnerich “Statistically, we can prove that women own businesses, women run businesses and have higher financial metrics than those that are solely male.” — Tony Arnerich Network is source of investment deal flows “The essence of a great private equity firm is there deal flow. You build deal flow by building relationships.” — Tony Arnerich "Success is having good energy flow.” — Tony Arnerich The future of capitalism… or something else… and why it doesn’t really matter right now Tony's Inspiration - John Gray of Portland, Oregon, Ken Plasse, CEO of Fish People and Cody Friesen, CEO & Founder of Zero Mass Water… plus the support of his family.

Scott Linde talks about how he started Sun Potion nearly 8 years ago, the ways he sources plants, how code is incorporated into his business and so much more. This is a good listen! Sharing stories like Sun Potion’s is exactly why I created Contrapreneur. As Scott would say, in-joy! IN THIS EPISODE WE TALK ABOUT... Scott’s upbringing - an early intro to plant science, rigorously structured schooling and how he ended up in California Tuning into the body by receiving rolfing His first superfood smoothies - by the vitamix full! How Sun Potion sources their products Beginning to work with labs to test bioavailability and bioactivity The foundation of introducing the plants to the people Adaptogens are burgeoning in popularity, but they’re ancient! Ron Teeguarden of Dragon Herbs - mentor making excellent herbs Collaboration in the herbal wellness field Redefining what it means to be a shareholder Started the company with $10,000 of personal savings Had a customer purchasing $10,000 of product monthly from the start Not interested in having investors to grow Sun Potion any faster than it is organically growing Authentic representation of life 99% is a bitch and 100% is a breeze Sees business as a service vehicle to the plants Contracts a lot of work out “This business will grow just as long as you’re growing. It will grow as much as you’re able to grow. It’s okay whenever you decide you want to stop growing, you should just know the business will stop growing too.” Finds the accountability of a Vistage group beneficial Why Sun Potion is diverging into natural fabrics

Mandy Kordal, founder and owner of Kordal Studio talks about sustainable clothing, alternative education, doing business in the modern NYC fashion industry and what success is. Kordal Studio’s mission is to create garments in an ethical manner by paying workers a fair wage, designing garments that are not trend focused, and using natural and organic textiles whenever possible. Mandy makes some garments in her Brooklyn, NYC studio and collaborates with weavers in South America. In this episode we talk about... Not your average college education Mindset shift towards sustainability “Abercrombie was a pretty big learning lesson because that’s when I learned I didn’t like working for a corporate company, or really a very large company. It was really helpful as an internship.” - Mandy Kordal Hand knitting vs machine knitting “When I moved to NYC and started working full time, [the sustainability or un-sustainability of fashion] started to click to me because I’d see the full cycle of a garment. In my internships, you wouldn’t necessarily here how you know, the fabric didn’t turn out right, so we’re scrapping all of it, so I became a lot more aware of sustainability when I began working full-time.” “When you’re making a good product, if you put in the hours, it will likely end up working out.” - Sarah Patter Mandy's first hire, timing how that's working out Starting your business off with a kickstarter Visit Mandy's studio at 893 Bergen Street during open studio hours Resources: KordalStudio.com Mandy’s instagram Rebecca Burgess of Fibershed Popup at the Wythe Hotel SarahPatter.com