Iroh's Corner: Recent Episodes
Jessi Freitag
A podcast based on Uncle Iroh’s wise words: ”Sharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life's true delights.” Interviews with entrepreneurs, industry experts, leaders, and other cool humans. Hosted by Jessi Freitag, Director of Marketing and Operations at LivBar.
Join us for tea with Karter Elhabbassi, owner of Ovation Coffee & Tea, a chain of coffee shops in Portland, Oregon with a Moroccan twist to the menu. Karter shares about growing up in the US and Morocco, how his family started the restaurant Dar Essalam in Wilsonville, Oregon, and then started Ovation Coffee & Tea, how they infuse a culture of hospitality into everything they do, and and so much more.
We recorded this episode in April 2022, and since then, Yelp published a list of the top 100 coffee shops in the US and Canada, and I’m excited to share that Ovation is #3 on that list! We’re releasing this episode on National Coffee Day in the US on September 29th, with International Coffee Day being just two days later on October 1st. Congratulations to Ovation for being named the #3 coffee shop in the US and Canada, and if you find yourself in Portland, be sure to stop by.
This episode was sponsored by Prompt'd Moments: Get 30% off your order at Prompt'd Moments using code TEA30
Episode Links:
- Ovation website & IG @ovationpdx
- Yelp's Top 100 List featuring Ovation
- KOIN story "Yelp says this brunch spot is the top reviewed in Oregon"
- Video from KOIN story for 2021 National Coffee Day featuring Ovation (and another clip here)
Show Links:
- Want to support Iroh's Corner? You can leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or buy Jessi a one-time tea here
- Visit host Jessi's Linkedin or website
- Check out the Iroh's Corner Tea Library with host and guest tea recommendations
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at hello@irohscorner.com
Join us for tea with Mélissa Rondeau, co-owner of Suzor Wines, a small production winery crafting beautiful, sustainable wines from the Willamette Valley. Mélissa shares about growing up in Montréal and pivoting from business school to hospitality, working in vibrant hospitality establishments in Europe that shaped how she views hospitality today, moving to Oregon and meeting her husband and co-owner of Suzor Wines, Greg McClellan, all about how they make beautiful wines at Suzor through Methven Family Vineyards' custom crush program, and so much more.
This episode was sponsored by Prompt'd Moments:
- Get 30% off your order at Prompt'd Moments using code TEA30
Episode Links:
- Suzor Wines website & IG @suzor_wines
- Video interview with Mélissa & Greg by Rich Schmidt
- Mentioned Rose + Lincoln juices
- Négociant wine shop and delicatessen
- Domaine Roy winery in Dundee, OR
- Aesthete Tea
Show Links:
- Want to support Iroh's Corner? You can leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or buy Jessi a one-time tea here
- Visit host Jessi's Linkedin or website
- Check out the Iroh's Corner Tea Library with host and guest tea recommendations
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at hello@irohscorner.com
Join us for tea with Nisha Supahan and Toby Linwood, owners of Tattoo 34, Portland’s only Indigenous & Black owned tattoo shop. Toby and Nisha share about their journey from meeting each other and multiple moves to landing in Portland, how Toby got into art and creating sculptures for the Olympics and ultimately tattooing, how they've intentionally built Tattoo 34, and so much more.
This episode was sponsored by Prompt'd Moments:
- Get 30% off your order at Prompt'd Moments using code TEA30
Episode Links:
- Tattoo 34 BEAUTIFUL website & IG @tattoo34pdx
- Toby's IG @tobylinwood
- Tattoo 34 Give Back page (Ukraine Fundraiser, BIPOC Tattoo Artist Fund, and more!)
- YouTube interviews with Toby and Nisha here & here
- Interview with Toby and Nisha on the Live in the Castro podcast
Show Links:
- Want to support Iroh's Corner? You can support us monthly for as little as $3 per month on Patreon or buy Jessi a one-time tea here
- Visit host Jessi's Linkedin or website
- Check out the Iroh's Corner Tea Library with host and guest tea recommendations
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at hello@irohscorner.com
This episode was sponsored by Prompt'd Moments:
- Get 30% off your order at Prompt'd Moments using code TEA30
Episode Links:
- Farmhouse Tea's website & IG @farmhouseteas
- Grow Create Sip website
- Get $10 off your first Farmhouse Teas order using this link!
- CeAnne's LinkedIn
- Interview with CeAnne on The Prairie Homestead Podcast "How to Confidently Bring Your Product to Market"
- So many great free ebooks! Including: Coffee Drinkers Guide to Loose Leaf Tea, Cooking with Tea, Charcuterie Board Tutorial & Recipes
Show Links:
- Want to support Iroh's Corner? You can support us monthly for as little as $3 per month on Patreon or buy Jessi a one-time tea here
- Visit host Jessi's Linkedin or website
- Check out the Iroh's Corner Tea Library with host and guest tea recommendations
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at hello@irohscorner.com
Episode Highlights:
- Ken shares about his career journey from programming in high school, to majoring in information systems, to running a CPG brand, to then starting and growing a software company.
- Ken's first client - sitting in the manufacturer's office and building software each day to solve inventory and operational issues.
- Choosing a co-founder and how sometimes soccer helps you find the right partner.
- Pivoting from a focus on selling to manufacturers to a focus CPG brands.
- How Fiddle maintains a competitive edge in the marketplace.
- Taking software building one "commit" at a time.
- Fundraising to fuel Fiddle's growth.
- Ken's leadership thoughts as Fiddle's team grows.
- "Don't let school get in the way of your education."
Episode Links:
- Fiddle’s website & IG @fiddleinventory
- Ken's LinkedIn
- Listen to Ken's podcast: The Physical Product Movement Podcast
Show Links:
- Want to support Iroh's Corner? You can support us monthly for as little as $3 per month on Patreon or buy Jessi a one-time tea here
- Visit host Jessi's Linkedin or website
- Check out the Iroh's Corner Tea Library with host and guest tea recommendations
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at hello@irohscorner.com
Episode Highlights:
- Amy shares about her career journey from consulting, to non-profit fundraising, to founding aMYLK
- The story of Amy finding her new purpose in creating plant-based mylks
- How Amy prevents burnout and keeps her team stress free
- New product inspiration and the story behind the recent "I'm Cosmic" collaboration
- How aMYLK's are made and Amy's favorite parts of her work
- Amy's marketing strategies including managing her own Instagram and working with Delaney Vetter for PR
- The vision for aMYLK's growth over the next few years
Episode Links:
- aMYLK's website & IG @amylkshop
- Amy's LinkedIn profile
- INSIDER article featuring Amy: "How to make smooth and creamy almond milk in the blender"
- REAL SIMPLE article featuring aMYLK: "Are Tiger Nuts Worth the Hype?"
- Amy's interview on the Meaningful Marketplace podcast
- Amy's interview on the Living Out Loud podcast
Show Links:
- Want to support Iroh's Corner? You can support us monthly for as little as $3 per month on Patreon or buy Jessi a one-time tea here
- Visit host Jessi's Linkedin or website
- Check out the Iroh's Corner Tea Library with host and guest tea recommendations
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at hello@irohscorner.com
Episode Highlights:
- Yvonne shares about co-founding Momo Cocoa with her partner, Ian Levy
- Her career journey, including philosophy and law, and her work as a legal assistant / paralegal
- Growing up and living in California, and moving to Oregon
- Going from vegetarian to vegan and discovering the lack of good cocoa
- Using surgery recovery to research starting a business and taking the "Getting your recipe to market" class at PCC
- First orders and getting into retailers like Market of Choice
- Yvonne's love of "the alchemy of food" and surprising people with flavor combinations
- The story of Momo himself, the feline business namesake
- Participating in events like Crafty Wonderland, Gobble Up, and Omsi After Dark
- How Yvonne and Ian manage Momo and so many weekend events and markets
- The history of brewing cacao, cocoa, and the story behind many Momo Cocoa flavors
- Sourcing cacao and cocoa and the impacts of climate change on chocolate
- Upcoming events like Slabtown Makers Market and The Golden Evening Market
- What's next for Momo Cocoa and their mission to make better tasting cocoa available to everyone
Episode Links:
- Momo Cocoa website & IG @momo_cocoa_co
- Yvonne's LinkedIn
- Momo Cocoa featured in the Wall Street Journal article "Soothing Hot Chocolate Recipes: 16 Self-Care Strategies"
- More info on climate change and chocolate: "Madagascar is on the brink of experiencing the world's first 'climate change famine', according to the United Nations"
- Find Momo Cocoa at weekend markets: Beaverton Farmers Market, Hillsdale Farmers Market, Hillsboro Orenco Farmers Market
- Tea drank during episode: Momo Immunity Tea
Show Links:
- Get 20% off your order of LivBars using code TEA20
- Want to support Iroh's Corner? You can support us monthly for as little as $3 per month on Patreon or buy Jessi a one-time tea here
- Visit host Jessi's Linkedin or website
- Check out the Iroh's Corner Tea Library with host and guest tea recommendations
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at hello@irohscorner.com
Episode Highlights:
- Jenn shares about her time in the Peace Corps in Niger, WWOOFing in Ireland, and her early tea experiences
- Her career journey, which includes biology, social work, and accounting
- The story behind Black Ink Books and what it is like running a bookkeeping company
- Joining the Northwest Wu-Wo Tea Association and starting to lead local tea events and Meetups
- Meeting with Doug Livingston and Julie Rosanoff, founders of the at NW Tea Festival
- Bringing together the team to get a Portland tea festival off the ground and building on the groundwork of Heather Agosta at The Jasmine Pearl
- Choosing a venue for the first Tea Fest PDX and how the first year unfolded
- Learnings from the second year of Tea Fest PDX and how Jenn's business background has helped with the festival
- Jenn's favorite parts of Tea Fest PDX, how the festival is organized, and the emphasis on vendor satisfaction
- What to expect for Tea Fest PDX 2022 at the Lewis and Clark campus
- Jenn's tips for would-be entrepreneurs and small businesses
- Starting Pine & Peat Candle Co. with her mom and sister during the pandemic
- Jenn's guiding life principles
Episode Links:
- Tea Fest PDX website & IG @teafestpdx
- Pine & Peat Candle Co. website & IG @pinepeatcandles
- Black Ink Books website
- Jenn's LinkedIn
- Jenn recommends the podcast Don't Keep Your Day Job
- Jenn's sister's ceramics company: Suzi Brenner Ceramics
- Portland tea spots mentioned by Jenn: Tao of Tea & Fly Awake
- Ashland tea spots mentioned by Jenn: Dobra Tea & Lovejoy's Tea Room
- Articles featuring Jenn: Young Mountain Tea, Steph's Cup of Tea, & FINSYNC
- Tea drank during episode: Organic Nepali Green Pearl by Young Mountain
Show Links:
- Get 20% off your order of LivBars using code TEA20
- Want to support Iroh's Corner? You can support us monthly for as little as $3 per month on Patreon or buy Jessi a one-time tea here
- Visit host Jessi's Linkedin or website
- Check out the Iroh's Corner Tea Library with host and guest tea recommendations
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at hello@irohscorner.com
Episode Highlights:
- Mary shares about her love of ice cream from a very young age
- Moving to Portland, going to culinary school, and finding a great friend who happened to have a food truck with potential
- Working in the Portland restaurant industry while having the truck built out at Nasty Works in Eugene
- Starting Ramblin' Rose at Carts on Foster, making initial recipes at the Mercado, and a lesson-filled, first year
- Meeting the owners of Fat Squatch and moving to the new Shady Pines Vegan Food Carts pod
- How it works to be part of a food cart pod and the logistics of making ice cream in a kitchen and then storing in Yeti coolers
- Future plans to move into a new commissary kitchen and get ODA licensing to sell to restaurants and stores
- Finding TUME as a partner to make gluten free, raw, vegan brownies to include in sundaes
- The story behind Mary's beanie babies and trolls at the truck
- Why sprinkles aren't allowed at Ramblin' Rose and Mary's love of edible flowers
- Mary's favorite places to source ingredients (stone fruit from Baird Family Orchards, edible flowers from Wapato Island Farm, Rise Blooms, & Sideyard Farm, cacao from Holy Kakow, and cold brew from Jet Black Coffee)
Episode Links:
- Ramblin' Rose website & @ramblin_rose_pdx
- Mary mentions the Come Thru Market
- Mary and Jessi chat about Aesthete Tea and the podcast episode featuring founder Briana
- Jessi mentions how much fun she had at PlumCon, an online event by Plum Deluxe
- Tea drank during episode: Wildberry Refresher herbal tea by Plum Deluxe
Show Links:
- Get 20% off your order of LivBars using code TEA20
- Want to support Iroh's Corner? You can support us monthly for as little as $3 per month on Patreon or buy Jessi a one-time tea here
- Visit host Jessi's Linkedin or website
- Check out the Iroh's Corner Tea Library with host and guest tea recommendations
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at hello@irohscorner.com
Episode Highlights:
- The story of starting both Aesthete Tea and Thornton's Supply
- Growing up in New Jersey with a folk healer and herbalist mother
- Choosing a career path in fine arts, living in New York City, and interning with Sunny Shin, curator of Art Mora
- Briana's first solo curation of “Horses and Bayonets” with Hector Rene and being featured in the NY Times
- Moving to Oregon and working in branding at an agency
- Deciding to start a tea company and creating a product that she could feel good about
- Hustling at events and farmers markets in the early days of Aesthete
- How Briana established relationships with the farms that Aesthete sources from
- The story behind some of the blends and why Briana's mom created them
- Opening the new tea house in August 2021
- From commissary kitchen to dedicated warehouse
- Yves, Briana's awesome landlord, and his daily tea time ritual which Jessi has had the chance to witness
- Briana's advice on including rituals in your life
- Aesthete's employees and culture
- Aesthete's amazing press pickup in major publications
- Briana and her mom's passion for making herbalism & plant medicine available to everyone
Episode Links:
- Aesthete Tea website, IG @aesthetetea, & Pinterest
- Thornton's Supply website & IG @thorntons.supply
- Briana's LinkedIn
- Media features of Aesthete: Women's Health, Vanity Fair, Huffington Post, Vox, Madame Noire, Business Insider
- Briana mentions that she loves Cave Painter Coffee (and they stock it at the retail location)
- Briana mentions that La Vie en Rose (Kate's favorite tea from Episode 8) was developed for and in conjunction with Suzor Wines
- Tea drank during episode: Tabula Rasa by Aesthete Tea
Show Links:
- Get 20% off your order of LivBars using code TEA20
- Want to support Iroh's Corner? You can support us monthly for as little as $3 per month on Patreon or buy Jessi a one-time tea here
- Visit host Jessi's Linkedin or website
- Check out the Iroh's Corner Tea Library with host and guest tea recommendations
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at hello@irohscorner.com
Episode Highlights:
- Jamie describes her undergraduate experience and transitioning (ironically) away from fashion merchandising and into marketing and management
- Starting her career at Whirlpool and participating in the Real Whirled Sales Development Program
- How she met her husband and navigating both working at Maytag/Whirlpool
- Deciding to pursue a masters degree in organizational development while at Whirlpool
- Being recruited over to adidas and her various positions, including being part of launching the Ultraboost within Running Specialty and now leading the US Wholesale team that focuses on Kohl's
- How Jamie, her husband, and friends started Silver Harbor Brewing - from buying used equipment to staffing to deciding whether to also have a restaurant to adding The Garden
- How Jamie avoids burnout and her recent experience at the Global Leadership Summit to recharge herself
- A week in the life of the Gross household and how their local village empowers them to do what they do
- Expanding Silver Harbor Brewing with the Union and Social event center coming soon
- “If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one”. – Dolly Parton; Jamie's love of Dolly!
Episode Links:
- Jamie's LinkedIn
- Silver Harbor Brewing Company website & IG @silverharborbrewing
- YouTube video about working in sales mentioned by Jamie: "Shit Sales Reps Say"
- Global Leadership Summit mentioned by Jamie
- Recent depression statistics mentioned by Jamie
- About Dr. Henry Cloud and his website with mental health resources
- Podcast episode about Dolly Parton mentioned by Jamie
- Learn more about using Microsoft OneNote which Jamie mentions for staying organized
- Jessi mentions My People's Market in Portland
- Tea drank during episode: Goddess Oolong by Mamancy
Show Links:
- Get 20% off your order of LivBars using code TEA20
- Want to support Iroh's Corner? You can support us monthly for as little as $3 per month on Patreon or buy Jessi a one-time tea here
- Visit host Jessi's Linkedin or website
- Check out the Iroh's Corner Tea Library with host and guest tea recommendations
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at hello@irohscorner.com
Episode Highlights:
- Josalyn describes learning to make macarons and launching her online shop, be. macarons - from packaging for shipping to discovering the best cadence to ship
- Bolaji shares about watching Josalyn struggle to find the right photography setup and designing a mini studio in response
- They both describe launching Kwerke, from design, to prototyping, to launch, to future plans
- How they met in London and their adventures to Greece and Thailand
- Josalyn's career journey in finance, including an MBA overseas and working in hedge funds
- Bolaji's career journey including moving from Nigeria to London at 17, getting a degree in mechanical engineering, and product development at Ford, Siemens, and Tiffany's
Episode Links:
- Kwerke's website & IG @kwerke.co
- Be. Macarons IG @be.macarons
- Bolaji's LinkedIn & Josalyn's LinkedIn
- Tea drank during episode: GT Golden Pineapple Kombucha
- Bolaji mentions his daily biscuit ritual and McVitie's biscuits
- Josalyn mentions launching Be. Macarons. on Shopify
- Jessi mentions the book "The Lean Startup" and the concept of MVP (minimum viable product)
- Join Jessi at PlumCon! On August 20-22, 2021, an online tea event by Plum Deluxe. Get a tea blending kit here and we'll all blend tea together!
- Jessi mentions her IG about living gluten free: @glutenfreefreitag
Show Links:
- Get 20% off your order of LivBars using code TEA20
- Want to support Iroh's Corner? You can support us monthly for as little as $3 per month on Patreon or buy Jessi a one-time tea here
- Visit host Jessi's Linkedin or website
- Check out the Iroh's Corner Tea Library with host and guest tea recommendations
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at hello@irohscorner.com
Episode Highlights:
- Laura and Mike describe their dream and now reality of a family farm where they raise their sons and share the local fruit bounty with customers
- Mike shares the history of farming in his family, including the history of the farm they work today
- Mike describes how they started growing table grapes, haskap berries, and aronia berries and the other crops he farms with his father
- Laura shares about their time doing farmers markets and using the time for fast consumer feedback
- Laura describes how she started experimenting with fruit spreads, creating her own niche and legacy, how the farm bill let her test her early batches, and how she landed a commercial kitchen and eventually a co-packer
- What it looks like to sell in a produce product like table grapes to the grocery store and how they get the fresh table grapes to the stores
- The challenges involved with the fires in 2020, including evacuating and making tough decisions about product quality
- Laura shares about life as a mompreneur
- Mike explains what it means to be a certified organic farm and how they are certified by Oregon Tilth
- Current business challenges and exciting developments coming soon, including in-person event "The Wedge" in Portland in October 2021
Episode Links:
- Mt Hope Farms website & IG @mthopefarms
- Mikes IG @farmer_mike_ellis
- Capital Press article about Mt Hope Farms: "Table grapes, unique fruits a hit"
- Mike mentions varieties of grapes by Dr. Maxine Thompson, who was a world-renowned horticulturist and professor at Oregon State University. I had not heard of her prior but she had a major impact on our food system, and you can learn more about her here.
- Tea drank during episode: Lamplighter Lemonette by FarmHouse Teas
Show Links:
- Get 20% off your order of LivBars using code TEA20
- Want to support Iroh's Corner? You can support us monthly for as little as $3 per month on Patreon or buy Jessi a one-time tea here
- Visit host Jessi's Linkedin or website
- Check out the Iroh's Corner Tea Library with host and guest tea recommendations
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at hello@irohscorner.com
Episode Highlights:
- Alex and Emily describe how they decided on mochi donuts and how mochi donuts are unique
- They walk through the various business model's of Mikiko so far: delivery, grocery, wholesale, and pop ups
- Emily shares about her's family's annual Mochitsuki ceremony and stories from growing up in a Japanese American family in California
- The first Mikiko pop-up at WeWork and then the start of the pandemic and having to pivot
- Alex shares his journey in food, including Oak's Park, Lardo, Ping, his own food cart, and Umi Organic, including developing an award-winning yakisoba noodle
- Starting at a commissary kitchen and then finding/renting a dedicated kitchen
- Selling into the New Seasons bakery section and landing dream customer Tea Bar
- How pop-up locations have been established
- Adding members to the Mikiko team and growth plans
Episode Links:
- Mikiko Mochi Donuts website (with retail location list) & IG @mikikomochidonuts
- Thrillist article featuring Mikiko: "Mochi Donuts Are the Japanese and American Pastry Hybrid Sweeping the Nation"
- Eater article featuring Mikiko: "Why Mochi Doughnuts Are Trending in Portland Right Now"
- Commissary kitchen in Beaverton mentioned by Alex: Bohemian Kitchen
- Award-winning organic yakisoba noodles developed by Alex at Umi Organic
- Links to Alex and Emily's favorite teas here in the Tea Library
- Emily mentioned Trader Joe's tea cheese: Tealicious Cheddar Cheese
- Tea drank during episode: Guava Goddess by GT Kombucha
Show Links:
- Get 20% off your order of LivBars using code TEA20
- Want to support Iroh's Corner? You can support us monthly for as little as $3 per month on Patreon or buy Jessi a one-time tea here
- Visit host Jessi's Linkedin or website
- Check out the Iroh's Corner Tea Library with host and guest tea recommendations
Show highlights:
- Courtney describes starting a pop-up pop tart business during a global pandemic
- Her process for designing and creating tarts (and gluten free options)
- What it's like to have always have been vegetarian and then go vegan
- The supportive nature of the Portland business community
- Pop tarts' impact on the life of a vegetarian child
- Burning out and restructuring in order to maintain her passion
- Courtney's experience growing up in a military family and living in multiple countries
- What it's like to get a diatetics degree and how that informs Courtney's work today
- The details of collaborating with other businesses like previous guest, Katelyn Williams at Kate's Ice Cream
- Future plans for the expansion of Toast'd PDX
- Jessi and Courtney nerd out about vegan cheese, Great British Bake Off, nachos, and baking macarons
Links:
- Toast'd PDX website & IG @toastdpdx
- Podcast episode of Courtney on We Never Met with Sam Kirkegaard
- Courtney's favorite vegan cheese: Violife
- One of Courtney's favorite teas: Ginger Turmeric Tea at Trader Joe's
- Jessi mentioned 4HeartsKombucha
- Jessi mentioned the new Smith Tea Makers location on 23rd
- Tea drank during episode: Purple Jasmine by JUSTEA
- Want to support Iroh's Corner? You can support us monthly for as little as $3 per month on Patreon or buy Jessi a one-time tea here
- Message @drinkspindrift and let them know they should sponsor Iroh's Corner ;)
Show Highlights:
- The origins of Happy Campers Gluten Free - including time at Willamette University undergrad and MBA and Farmers Markets
- How Jan and Lacy met - spoiler alert: Jan was a real person!
- Kitchen adventures - the various kitchens and bakeries involved in Happy Campers' growth
- How Jan and Lacy keep all aspects of their life nourished
- The origin of the Happy Campers name
- Getting Happy Campers Gluten Free bread on store shelves - the first three stores: LifeSource, Dave's Killer Bread Outlet, and People's Co-Op and then getting into chains like Whole Foods
- The Happy Campers online community
- Developing recipes and new products
- Jan and Lacy's favorite teas and Jan's secret tea recipe(!)
- Shoutout to our sponsors on Patreon: Tyler, Kenton, and the Wulffs
Links:
- Happy Campers Gluten Free website & IG @happycampersgf
- Jan's LinkedIn
- Happy Campers story video
- Statesman Journal article on Happy Campers in 2015: "Gluten-free bakery started in Salem thrives in Tigard"
- Portland Radio Project Biz503 Episode "Married to Your Business Partner" featuring Jan & Lacy
- Jessi's favorite Happy Campers products: Wild Buns & Buckwheat Molasses bread
- Plant-based soft-serve mentioned by Jessi: Ramblin' Rose in Portland
- Tea drank during episode: Republic of Tea The Bates' Plum Pudding
- Plum Deluxe tea mentioned by Jessi: Self Care Blend
- Want to support Iroh's Corner? You can support us monthly for as little as $3 per month on Patreon or buy Jessi a one-time tea here
Show highlights:
- Growing up in the Philippines and moving to the US for college
- Discovering tea for the first time at,Tealuxe in Boston
- Moving to Oregon and starting a corporate gifting company
- Purchasing the property for the Sandy, Oregon, tea cafe
- Finding a tea contact in the UKERS Directory and traveling to China to find her first tea source
- Adding employees to the cafe & trusting them during overseas travel
- Stories from various tea travels
- Taking Chariteas online to move back to the Philippines and start a tea garden
- Exhibiting at Northwest Tea Festival and TeaFestPDX
- The story behind the color changing tea: Olive & Dingo's
- Sourcing ingredients from the Fancy Food show
Links:
- Chariteas website & IG @chariteasllc
- Charity's podcast: Tea Journeys with Chariteas
- More of Charity's travel stories here
- Podcast interview with Charity by Tea Trade Mart - including more travel stories and a tea training
- Tea Trends 2021 - Charity is one of the experts consulted
- Chariteas is sponsoring the tea tote bag fundraiser this June/July by TeaFestPDX
- Charity's current favorite teas: Grey Dragon & Summer in Provence
- Tea drank during episode: Strawberry Oolong by Chariteas - a blend no longer available (sad for you, but I have a stockpile)
Show Highlights:
- Jessi explains the prevalence of angel investing and how common acquisitions are in the world
- Who angel investors are - the requirements, motivations, and methods
- How valuations work - and how to roll your eyes with the Sharks on Shark Tank
- The qualifications for a business to be an angel investment and how investors evaluate companies for investing
Links:
- Previous episode with angel investor Marcia Dawood with the perspective of an angel
- Previous episode with Sarah Smith mentioning fundraising for The Dyrt
- Jessi mentioned the study on Angel Investor Returns by her former professors Rob Wiltbank and Wade Brooks
- Calculate valuations while watching Shark Tank using this
- Jessi mention's Steven Smith's tea legacy - read more here
- Tea drank during episode: Glazed Lemon Loaf by Tazo
Show Highlights:
- Current order experience at Sugarpine Drive-in and expansion plans for Sugarpine Roadhouse
- Emily’s story of becoming a chef and getting into food
- Meeting her husband and co-owner, Ryan Domingo, in New York
- Starting a catering company together called Larch Provisions after moving to Corbett, Oregon
- Converting a 1920s gas station, that was most recently a rundown snack shack, into Sugarpine Drive-In and crafting the restaurant to match the local vibe
- Origin of the name “Sugarpine”
- Marketing methods for opening the drive-in initally
- How it worked raising funds using Kickstarter and Emily’s tips
- The opening weeks at Sugarpine (when demand outpaces your expectations!)
- How Emily and Ryan divide up their roles in the business
- What it looks like to develop new menu items
- Adapting to the pandemic - different stages of continuing to operate
- Pieces of pivoting during in the pandemic that will remain permanently
- How Emily maintains her love of their work while growing a successful empire
- Emily’s favorite parts of working at Sugarpine
- Instilling the Sugarpine culture in employees and finding new employees
- Coming soon: Sugarpine sauces at New Seasons Markets and Powells
Links:
- Sugarpine Drive-In website & IG @sugarpinedrivein
- Article from Sugarpine's opening year: Q and A with the Sugarpine Crew
- Emily's favorite evening tea: Meadow by Smith Teamaker
- Tea drank during episode: Uncle Iroh(!) tea blend by Dollar Tea Club
- Emily mentioned: Lazy Susan
- Jessi mentioned: Collaboration between @katesicecream (episode with Kate here!) and @toastdpdx
- Jessi mentioned: McMenamin’s Rooftop Bar
Show Highlights:
- Anne's previous career in animation and production
- Starting a cooking school in Culver City with a friend and then running that school for 12 years - printing recipes, radio advertising, unreliable dishwashing crews, and a popular confection class
- Moving to Oregon and making toffee where demand exceeded supply quickly
- Finding out why toffee wasn't a year-round product and the journey to all vegan products
- Taking the "Getting your recipe to market" class at PCC - when your step-kids support a pivot of our product
- The origin of the Tom Bumble Bar - when "toe-candy" becomes a reality
- Partnering with Eb & Bean in Portland to share "Tom Bumble Crumble"
- The story behind all her other products: Hazel Jones, Ezra Cash, Lou Whistle, Bob Dandy, June Dandy
- Finding kitchen spaces - starting at Kitchen Cru and the challenges of permitting a new space
- Selecting a chocolate source and moving from Tcho to Ranger Chocolate
- Choosing equipment and understanding how each candy has it's own realities of how it can be worked with and how much can be made realistically in a day
- The importance of making great hires to stay sane
- Getting into New Seasons Markets and other fine food stores
- Anne and Jessi celebrate the beautiful Oregon weather
- UPDATE: Anne's doggo is okay! It was an inner ear issue that is solved.
Links:
- Oregon Bark website and IG @oregonbark
- Anne's LinkedIn
- Find Oregon Bark products in stores here (zoom in to see locations)
- Anne's favorite teas: PG Tips, Unfrazzle your Dazzle by Mountain Mels, Feel Better by Jasmine Pearl, and Genmaicha
- Tea drank during episode: Herbal Intentions (made for Knot Springs by Smith Teamakers)
Show Highlights:
- The camping and life stories behind the beginnings of The Dyrt & becoming the "Yelp" of camping
- The Dyrt's summer camping contest (national sponsor is Eddie Bauer)
- Founding a company with her husband, Kevin, and how they work together
- Building a free community (and needing initial funding to do that)
- A day in the life starting The Dyrt and how Sarah's role has changed over time
- Sarah’s time living abroad (England, India, Japan) and her passion and work in getting students to study abroad
- How The Dyrt team uses Slack for work and play
- Work culture before the pandemic and now; adjusting to keep team cohesion
- First hire at The Dyrt and growing to now 30 team members
- The process of adding The Dyrt Pro (a paid version of the free app) while staying committed to the core product which is the free version and the community
- Building brand partnerships early on and now with larger companies (like Eddie Bauer)
- Sarah and Jessi are both vaccinated (yay!)
- Allergies in Portland are the real deal
Links:
- The Dyrt website & instagram (@thedyrt)
- Secret dog page on The Dyrt website
- About us page with the rangers & legends (tops users) who are critical to The Dyrt community
- Sarah's LinkedIn
- Join the 2021 Explorer's Giveaway for free prizes
- Free 90 Day Trial of The Dyrt PRO here (link automatically applies code LBAR3M)
- "Six Question" interview with Sarah by TechNexus
- "Woman in the Wild" interview of Sarah by the Outdoor Project
- International Women's Day Spotlight of Sarah in The Dyrt magazine
- Sarah's favorite tea: PG Tips
- Tea drank during episode: Raspberry Lemon Rooibos from Treasures & Teas in Edmonds, WA
Show Highlights:
- (0:54) Marcia describes her role at Mindshift Capital and becoming an angel investor
- Realizing so little funding goes to women and people of color and deciding to stay in the industry only if she could focus on supporting underrepresented founders (they get less than 5% of capital)
- Being a venture partner at Mindshift and helping source deals
- Challenges of a global fund with US deals and international business entities
- (3:11) Definition of an angel investor and how they differ from venture capitalists
- (3:44) Where is a company at for an angel investor to come in; what is “early-stage"?
- (4:21) How Marcia got into angel investing initially
- Her long career in education with Kaplan
- Seeing early-stage companies with new technologies and innovative ideas got her hooked
- (5:41) What the Angel Capital Association does and Marcia’s role as a board member - soon she’ll be taking over as chair!
- "Growing Women’s Capital" - a syndication group to get angels interested in investing in women-led companies together to share opportunities to invest
- (7:24) Marcia’s own podcast, “Angels Live!” - co-hosted by Warren Spiwak
- The world needs more angels - Shark Tank is a fun show but it makes it look like only the super rich with jets can invest in companies
- Angel investing is a way to make change in communities, create jobs, and hopefully make a return too
- She couldn’t find a podcast about how people because angels - mostly podcasts on how people built companies
- There used to be a higher barrier to entry into angel investing, but now you can get started on deals for $5-10K (Portfolia)
- Sometimes you work with companies who have never had an investor and sometimes more well known companies like Everlywell
- (11:31) Pitching tips and stories
- Don’t bury the lead! Say your wow factor in the first 15 seconds like a big deal with a major retailer
- Give the investor a picture of what scaleability truly looks like
- Don’t be a company that has a solution looking for a problem - just because something is cool, doesn't mean people will change with buying habits
- (14:44) What she looks for in a founder and founding team
- (16:18) Marcia’s experience as a board member for multiple startup companies
- A board member's three jobs: 1. Don’t let the company run out of money; 2. Make sure you have the right management team at the company; 3. Talk about how you are going to exit at each board meeting.
- Sometimes the founder/CEO is not the right person and you have to have hard conversations
- Start having conversations about what would a big company need to acquire your little company; your angel investor should help you with these connections and conversations
- (19:00) It’s 100% okay as a founder to not be the CEO forever, especially if most of your experience is the product and not in scaling a company
- Role of executive sessions after startup board meetings
- Communication is key - especially with hard decisions - everything out in the open
- Looking forward to traveling to international events post-pandemic, especially when she gets the chance to travel with locals
- (23:35) What she often sees of international startups
- Her role as an activator at SheCEO and how it works as a non-profit offering 0% loans to entrepreneurs
- (26:00) Advice for companies who might want to get an investment from an angel someday
- Be as scrappy as you can and get as far as you can with your own money
- (27:34) How to connect with angel investors
- A quotation she likes entrepreneurs to keep in mind: “If you are asking for money, you’ll probably get advice; if you are asking for advice, you’ll probably get money.”
- When an investor says “no”, it doesn’t mean “NO”, it means “not now” or "not yet"
- It takes six months to a year to raise money
- Surprise new way to end our podcasts (replacement for Keep Stop Start)
- Jessi's continued supplement journey (she's aware she needs more excitement in her life)
Links:
- Marcia's LinkedIn
- Angels Live! podcast website
- Mindshift Capital website
- Angel Capital Association (ACA) website
- ACA resources for entrepreneurs - including angel group directory
- Next Wave Impact Fund website
- How I Built This Podcast website
- Marcia's Keep: online Pelaton classes with even 5-15 minute meditation/quick moment options
- Tea drank during episode: Garden Path Oolong by North Fork 53
Show Highlights:
- Kate's Ice Cream has a shop in Portland and is available at local grocers
- National shipping is available once a month and Kate’s commitment to sustainable packaging
- Kate’s time in the brutal restaurant industry and then at LuluLemon
- Growing up eating lots of desserts and ice creams in Louisiana - buying Blue Bell by the gallon on sale
- Graduating from LSU (article about Kate on LSU website here) and moving to Boston and discovering the dissatisfaction of working for someone else
- Kate created a Tumblr reviewing local ice cream shops and started connecting with people like the founder of Nada Moo
- Initially starting to make dairy ice cream until a pivotal moment with family (8:30); trying to whip up dairy free ice cream for her sister but it tasted terrible
- Feeling inspired by the challenge to make dairy free ice cream that tasted good and seeing a gap in the market
- In the details of starting her first ice cream company, including starting funds, buying a tricycle, and going to farmers markets (9:58)
- Kate’s encouragement that starting a business can seem like such a big, unachievable step, but the importance of breaking it into smaller steps and using community resources like your local health department, local small companies, and not being afraid to ask lots of questions
- Running Scoop Sights (first company name) really scrappy, learning all the things, funding equipment through Kickstarter - doing it all herself and reaching burn out
- Moving from Boston to Portland, not planning to start another ice cream company (11:40)
- Rediscovering the desire to be self-employed and her natural leadership abilities
- A full year of recipe testing and building a business plan
- Launching at the Portland State Farmers Market in 2019 and becoming part of the community (14:00)
- Taking out a loan (food companies aren’t cheap!), getting a shared kitchen, and then deciding to build her own kitchen with the hopes of making it available to other starting vegan/gluten-free makers (17:00)
- Choosing a space for not only a kitchen but with a hidden courtyard where the garage door could be rolled up to sell ice cream - “an ice cream speakeasy"
- Bringing joy to people during the pandemic and the joy of Kate and her team
- Connecting with New Seasons Market during Feast Portland (21:00)
- Networking, networking, networking - not being afraid to cold call other women entrepreneurs
- Presenting to New Seasons Market, showing the connection to their customers, being a part of their Partner Fund
- Launch date with New Seasons Market was set to be March 20, 2020. Kate was nervous, but then her ice cream sold out over and over as a comfort product (check out Episode 3 with HIbisbloom for more stories about launching during a pandemic)
- Kate’s mission and priority to collaborate with women and minority owned businesses - Jessi’s fingers are crossed for a comeback of Kate's collaboration flavor with Hibisbloom: Lemon Balm Hibiscus
- How when starting Kate’s Ice Cream, she started with 3 employees at the beginning (one original employee still works for her!) (27:00)
- Intentional growing of her team to have time and space to plan for the future of the business
- Kate's process for creating new flavors
- Entrepreneurship is hard and has ebbs and flows but is rewarding
- Stay tuned for the opening of Kate’s Ice Cream's second location!
Links:
- Kate's Ice Cream Instagram @katesicecream
- National shipping for Kate's Ice Cream
- Interview with Kate on Daily Origin: "Halted to a Pandemic Proof Business"
- Kate's with Sneakweek PDX and with CherryBombe
- Kate's current favorite tea: La Vie En Rose by Aesthete
- Watch Kate's favorite part of the ice cream making process here
- Jessi's Keep: the book "Breath" by James Nestor
- Tea drank during episode: Strawberry Immunity Herbal Tea by Plum Deluxe
Show Highlights:
- How tea found Andy while living in Europe
- His journey from IT employee, to blogger, to tea maker
- The original “Plum Deluxe” blog about appreciating the little things in life
- Learning how to make tea and turn flavor ideas into reality
- Setting up the right supply chain to make the best tea, such as ingredient sourcing
- How Andy continues to innovate and create new flavors
- Turning tea-making accidents into new flavors - “before you panic, taste it”
- Plum Deluxe content: the “core is email communication” with inspiration and recipes, and then they built on that with education materials to answer tea questions, virtual events, and Spotify playlists
- Coming soon - afternoon tea detective time - short audio episodes with a fun mystery and prompt to influence story
- Conjectures on why tea people love listening to and reading about crime (concerning or not?)
- How the Plum Deluxe online community was built
- The importance of kind but firm community guidelines and making community very optional for organic growth
- Listening to the community to create new events and implement ideas - try them and keep what sticks, like “Uncrafty with Jenna”, “Create and Sip”, and monthly "Q&A with Andy"
- How they create multiple ways to give people opportunities to connect to something bigger than themselves so they can take what they need
- Hiring for culture versus skill - importance of alignment of values
- First employee is still on the team - the evolution of being an early team member and wearing lots of hats to a larger team (15 people!) and getting to focus on a specific area
- Plum Deluxe’s strong cultural memory - don’t call them for plumbing issues
- Andy shares about how his mom has inspired him
- His willingness to try things outside of the normal boundaries of tea (getting wild with earl grey)
- Andy’s day bookends - starting the day with time to think and ending the day with time to wind down
- The importance of spending time planning teas and ingredients
- Andy’s superpower of intense sense of smell and how that helps make great smelling/tasting teas but comes with a dark side
- Discussing in-person events and when it might be time again
- Andy and Jessi both start magnesium supplements (the thrills of adult life)
Links:
- Plum Deluxe Instagram @plumdeluxe
- Read the beautiful “About Us” story on the Plum Deluxe website
- Sign up for the newsletter that started it all "The Blend" - delivered to your inbox every Sunday with recipes, tea time tips, and thoughtful encouragement
- The Plum Deluxe FREE 5-Day Introduction to Tea Basics course
- Plum Deluxe Spotify Channel with playlists and (coming soon ) short afternoon detective stories
- Tea Andy drank during the episode: Oregon Breakfast
- Tea Jessi drank during the episode: Spiced Orange Chocolate (closest comparison on the website is Brunch in Paris)
- New to Plum Deluxe? Start with a Tea Tasting Flight or the Best Sellers Sampler Set
- Jessi's favorite Plum Deluxe tea: Self Care
- Plum Deluxe podcast episode with Laura Childs about her tea shop mystery books which often feature Plum Deluxe teas
Show highlights:
- Steph describes her role as a senior director at adidas, including a breakdown of her merchandising and marketing teams supporting all Foot Locker brands
- How she went to Oklahoma State University on a singing scholarship but ultimately landed on a merchandising major
- Working in the music industry at Virgin Records in publicity and A&R (artists and repertoire - finding new talent!)
- Being the first girl trained at a Golden Glove in boxing, competing nationally, and passing up the opportunity to go pro to stay in school
- Experience as a key account manager at adidas for Amazon and the difference between working in sales and marketing
- Experience working at Fossil from in a store all the way to senior account executive
- Tips for working with people in different countries and time zones - people are people, assume positive intent
- Secret to getting people to work cross-functionally
- How to navigate starting a job at a large organization or changing roles at a large organization like adidas
- The importance of coffee chats and asking "what am I not asking that I should?"
- Leadership philosophy: people + team + culture = results & “the bigger the dream, the more important the team” (quotation by Robin Sharma)
- Reconnecting with her passion for artwork during the pandemic and setting goals for her artistry
- Steph's vision of having a gallery and sharing the work of other artists
- Message of encouragement during the pandemic - if you are hitting the COVID-19 wall, rest on it
Links:
- Follow Steph's art on IG: @stephdeckart
- Steph's new gallery website: Good Vibe Gallery
- Steph's Linkedin
- Steph's new favorite painting tool: Posca pens & instructions
- Jessi's "Keep": the Pillow Cube for side sleepers
- Jessi's "Start": Free Pilates challenges
- Tea drank during episode: Spruce Black Yuzu Kombucha
- Info on KPI's and the book "Measure What Matters"
- Types of Organizational Structures
Show highlights:
- Stephanie shares about agency life and how she started to accumulate clients on the side
- How she created benchmarks and goals to decide when to jump all into her own company
- Building an influencer database and how to reach out to influencers
- How she stays organized from large page planners, to Google Sheets, to Slack
- Important mentors in her life for business advice and the importance of recognizing that you don't know it all (like on things like taxes that can make a big difference)
- Building a team (and how it was working with a team member in another time zone)
- The importance of referrals - the best way to get clients!
- Her up and coming website and LinkedIn page
- Stephanie's recent farmer's market speed run
- Jessi's encounter with the Portland Unipiper
- The first time Jessi was invited to a dance party
- Tiktok addition, morning routines, and how to keep tea warm
Links:
Stephanie's favorite organizational software: Slack
Wave accounting software
Stephanie Nash Marketing website & LinkedIn (both brand new!)
Stephanie's LinkedIn Page
Jessi's favorite podcast: Ask Iliza Anything
Tea warmers on Amazon
Portland Unipiper
Tea drank during episode: Brew Dr Pineapple Guava Kombucha
Stephanie favorite Tazo Chai Concentrate
Find a Co-Packer at Partner Slate network
List of 1,600+ Co-Packers
Co-Packing Terminology
The Specialty Food Association has a learning center where sessions are free for members and affordable for non-members.
Co-Packing Agreements
Co-Manufacturing Conundrums
Signs your business is ready for a co-packer
Questions to ask a food co-packer
The 10 Big Food Companies
Hibisbloom website
@hibisbloom
Hibisbloom recipes
Oregon Entrepreneurship Network Angel Fund information
Hibisbloom is available locally in Oregon at New Seasons Market, Market of Choice, and select other natural food shops and farmer's markets. Nationwide shipping is also available.
LivBar website
Tea drank during episode: Savannah Cinnamon
Kayla Joy Creative's website
@kaylajoycreative
Accounts referenced:
- @bromabakery
- @foodtographyschool
- @thebiteshot
Payroll software recommended: Gusto
Stretch Break app: Stretchly
Tea drank during episode: Dragon Fruit Desire
What are LivBars? Go here.
Interested in more info on Jessi? Go here.
Found out you need to watch Avatar: the Last Airbender?
Tea drank during episode: Reading Nook