Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Starns.
Hi Karen, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I come from a family of makers. We like to work with our hands. My grandpa was a baker and a carpenter. He taught me how to make stained glass. My dad spent years perfecting his elephant ear pastries and in pursuit of the ideal pizza crust. I left home in Illinois to come to the University of Texas, got a business degree in 1989, and built a career and a family. Thirty years later, it was a homecoming of sorts when I returned to Austin as Chief Marketing Officer of OJO Labs, a fast-growing technology company, and became a lecturer in brand management at UT’s McCombs School of Business.
During those 30 years, I built a successful career in technology with two stints at Amazon and more than a dozen years at Microsoft. Great jobs, plus two kids and a tech exec husband, made for a very full life. Austin was never far from my heart — and when the opportunity to join a startup with incredible leadership, a compelling sense of purpose, and sky-high potential presented itself, I jumped. I’ve settled in Old Enfield and split my time between Austin and Seattle, building an incredible team at OJO and nurturing a new little venture producing culinary finishing salts and aromatic bitters on the side – House Arrest Goods.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Time. A non-renewable resource, time is more precious than I’ve treated it in the past. With my kids now in high school and college and my husband in a great place professionally, it has been the perfect time to reassess how I’m using my time outside of my primary job at OJO. I want to do things that fill me up, which – don’t get me wrong – might include watching Netflix, but in much smaller doses than before. I give more thought to time. From shipping orders to managing social media and creating content – these interesting and valuable actions will pay future dividends.
Skilling up. Once I determined my core products – a few finishing salts and bitters and tinctures, bringing my products to market called for new skills. I’d never designed my own logo before, so I needed to get proficient(ish) with Adobe Illustrator. I learned about product photography and lighting. I built a website on Shopify with both physical inventory and on-demand merch. And I’m still discovering how to appropriately scale my marketing efforts on Google, Instagram, and Pinterest on a shoestring, bootstrapped budget. As a marketing executive, I have always believed it is imperative to be a practitioner. As a founder and CEO, getting my hands dirty and owning every aspect of building House Arrest Goods raised the bar on my personal and professional growth.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about House Arrest Goods?
House Arrest Goods was born in 2020, when like many people I turned inward in search of meaning and positivity during a very unsettling and isolating time. Tinkering with micro-batch bitters and carefully balancing finishing salt flavors resulted in some winning combinations. First, I shared with friends and colleagues with no plans beyond the next experiment. I had complete freedom and zero pressure.
In the summer of 2021, I picked up “Choose Possibility” by Sukhinder Singh Cassidy to help me be a better leader and mentor, and it literally transformed the way I think about my own life. The desire to put my whole self into this passion project prompted me to take the plunge into this new venture. Since then, I’ve embraced the entrepreneurial side hustle managing all product development, brand and packaging, photography, and website development. House Arrest Goods launched in October – and while we’re still in our infancy, I’m buoyed by repeat business and delighted customers.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
“Choose Possibility” by Sukhinder Singh Cassidy is the book that inspired me to start this new venture “Essentialism” by Greg McKeown reminds me to ask, “what’s important now?”
“Twelve and a Half” by Gary Vaynerchuk provides some great leadership framing.
I listen to a bunch of podcasts including Pivot, HBR Ideacast, Bankless, Dare to Lead, Unlocking Us, How to Citizen, and Where Should We Begin
Pricing:
- Emerald Finishing Salt – $16
- Emerald Smoky Finishing Salt – $16
- House No. 3 Bitters – $18
- Thyme Tincture – $16
- Needs More Salt Apron – $32
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@housearrestgoods.com
- Website: www.housearrestgoods.com
- Instagram: house_arrest_goods
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/housearrestgoods/_saved/
Image Credits
Personal photo – Paul Stoddart; all other photos image credit – Karen Starns
