Recipes
Closing out International Women’s Month with another inspiring CEO + founder – Katerina Schneider of Ritual. Learn more about Kat’s journey to creating a new kind of multivitamin below.
Tell us about your journey to creating Ritual – what inspired you?
The idea for Ritual came to me when I was pregnant for the first time. I started to become very aware of what I was putting in and on my body because the stakes were higher. I replaced all the items in my home that contained ingredients I couldn’t get behind and in the process I took a deeper look at the prenatal vitamins I was taking at the time. I was shocked to find that they contained some of the same potentially harmful ingredients I was trying hard to avoid. Since I couldn’t find a vitamin I was confident in, I decided to make it myself, using only clean ingredients that are backed by science. That’s where my journey began, as a skeptic of vitamins building a brand for other skeptics.
Who championed you and encouraged you along the way as you were dreaming up Ritual?
My husband was a big supporter along the way. When I first set out to start Ritual I was told over and over again that I needed a cofounder. It was my husband who encouraged me to hire people to fill the gaps in my experience instead. He was right and since then I’ve formed an incredible team of scientists, e-commerce experts, technologists, and creatives who all feel like partners to me.
How does design inspire you to share your message?
Design allows us to show and not tell a lot of the values we believe to be important as a company. I would rather show someone that we find quality and transparency important than tell them and all of this I believe can be accomplished through visual design. For instance, we just sent out thank you notes on clear paper to all of our customers who left product reviews- a nod to our commitment to transparency on all fronts. It’s more about a feeling that this company really cares about the little things than something
explicit.
What women inspire you?
My daughters inspire me. It keeps me motivated everyday to know that all of the decisions I make right now impact their future and the world they live in. We have some big environmental impact updates we will be making in the next few months that I can’t wait to share.
What’s your biggest piece of advice for female entrepreneurs?
I would tell them to make sure they are so committed to an idea that they couldn’t see their life without it. Creating and running a company is something you are committing to for the long haul in order to do it well. There are a lot of ups and downs – and you are going to be there at the end of the day because you’re doing something you’re incredibly passionate about. Make sure it is your life’s work. People will start a company for market size alone, and that’s not enough to build a business. You need a deeper passion for it and for the vision of the business. If you want to hire people and get them behind you, you need a deeper purpose.
What’s your favorite Lavva flavor?
Original!
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