Today we’d like to introduce you to Lila Sullivan.
Hi Lila, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My business partner Kate Ferguson and I are childhood friends from Connecticut! We actually met while competing on the science fair circuit in high school. We were a part of a wonderful science program that encouraged pursuing intensive science research with universities, and Kate and I both made our way abroad to do research in high school (Kate on invasive lionfish on the reefs of Mexico, and I was studying the Paleolithic diet in London). It was an incredible experience to say the least. Kate then made her way to the University of Texas for her undergrad degree while I stayed in the Northeast studying Biology at Colgate University. Wondering the isles of Whole Foods in Austin is actually where Kate came up with the idea for Flourish – she was looking for great plant care products that young people in small spaces actually wanted to use and couldn’t find anything good enough.
We both moved to New York after school, working in corporate jobs, but Kate came to me with her idea to start Flourish just a few years later. We decided to team up in 2020 and start working on building the brand, content, and products that we NEEDED for our own plant care – and haven’t slowed down since.
Kate and I moved back to Austin a year ago, knowing that it was the perfect home for a business like Flourish – a city filled with our customers, people who love bringing the outdoors inside, and of course, a strong and growing startup community to get support from! We absolutely love being based in Austin – and are grateful for the friends and supporters we have here every day.
We “soft launched” our first product, Flourish Plant Food, in Dec 2021 at a big party at Kinda Tropical in East Austin. It was so wonderful to have the chance to celebrate our community and share our new product with people we love.
In March 2022, we launched our product, Flourish Plant Food, and website – flourishplant.com nationally! Flourish Plant Food is an organic, all-purpose houseplant fertilizer designed specifically for people in small spaces. We want to help you cultivate growth in the spaces that matter most, so we also have a plethora of helpful content and plant care resources on our website and blog!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Starting any business is definitely not easy, but we have been so lucky to be surrounded by such an incredibly strong community in Austin. When we find ourselves really worried about any individual piece of the business, we tend to reach out to our community for support. Recently Kate and I have needed support in nailing down marketing analytics reporting and have found everything we need and more with friends and connections from the startup community.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Flourish Plant is a plant care brand! We just launched our first product, Plant Food, an all-purpose, organic houseplant fertilizer built for people in small spaces. Plant Food is organic, helps build a healthy soil microbiome, and comes in an easy-to-use kit, making it great for beginner plant parents or first-time-fertilizers! We also have a really robust content platform on our website- with a plant care guide that helps anyone learn how to take great care of 30+ plant types and a blog chock full of both educational and lifestyle content! We also recently launched the SOS! Kit, with three single servings of Flourish Plant Food – a great trial product for those looking to take their plant care to the next level!
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Always follow up – say thank you, ask for coffee, and use your judgment to stay in great touch with people that you connect well with. You will have a more natural repour with some folks more than others – use that to your advantage. Also, you can find mentors and champions everywhere, so do not say no to networking events or opportunities to meet groups of people who are in your field. Even if you just stay for 10 minutes, you could make a life-changing connection.
Pricing:
- – Plant Food Kit – $35
- – Plant Food Subscription – $20
- – SOS! Kit (3 single serving samples) – $6
Contact Info:
- Website: flourishplant.com
Image Credits
Chrissy Fischer (Headshots and lifestyle photos) Soona (Product Images)
