Susan Hunt Stevens, Practically Green
Practically Green in Boston, Mass., started in July, 2010, is an online service that motivates and inspires people to make healthy and green changes in their life.
‘Ah ha’ moment that led to launching the business: My almost 2-year-old son nearly died eating a cashew in 2006 and we found out he has serious food and environmental allergies. We embarked in a serious home/green life makeover and I ended up going into a graduate program for sustainable design where I learned about the LEED system. I kept thinking there had to be something similar for people – like a LEED for Life, but nothing existed. So I left my job with the New York Times Company, where I led Boston.com, to start Practically Green.
Ideal customer: Women 25-49 with children in the home.
Landing first customer: We started with a Mother Board – nearly 100 women around the country – some very green and some not so green – who helped us develop the product.
Measuring Success: For us, it’s both mission and metrics driven. When we hear someone say, “We love Practically Green! It’s really helping me live a greener life!” then that’s a huge boost. But the key metrics for us are revenue and audience. Our partnership with NBC Universal to help with a Facebook application that drove green pledges for their Green Week was a great early partnership.
Biggest Struggle: We’re pioneering an advice/service category that heretofore has not existed – online personalized advice for living healthier and greener. Some people think it just isn’t really needed or that it’s a not for profit, not a real market. We overcome it by showing what happened in the weight management industry – and point to Weightwatchers, lose it!, and examples of big advice businesses that co-exist with lots of content businesses.
Surprise!: How willing and open people are to lending a hand, providing advice, making introductions. People want to see new businesses get up and running and they like to help.
Getting Sales: We have worked closely to have our early partners and customers be our advocates and market us to their fans and followers.
What I wish I would’ve known: I knew I was going to be working really hard, but I’m not sure I’d realized how hard it is to stop thinking about the business even when you aren’t working. Learning to truly let go for even a few hours is challenging.
What keeps you up at night (business-wise!)?: How do we get nearly every single user to rate us a “10″ on the Net Promoter Score?
Ever tempted to throw in the towel and just get a job?: No. I walked away from an amazing company, wonderful colleagues, and a rewarding career to pursue this business because I just felt it was filling a critical void in a major issue facing this generation of leaders and if we could be part of the solution, it would also be a great business to be in. I fundamentally still believe we are needed and it’s a great business, so I have no interest in throwing in the towel.
Moving Forward: We would like to have a very clear sense for the key drivers of our growth so we can make sure our investments in people, product and marketing are properly allocated.
Pricing, Getting it Right: Price test. But also be willing to start low, but move up quickly once you see traction.
Funding: I’ve raised a substantially sized angel round through a Boston-based group called CommonAngels. Understand the critical milestones needed for the different stages of funding way before you start fundraising.
A Few Good Tips: My market often comes with a low barrier of entry, which makes branding a very important part to my business. You have to represent your brand at all times. I spent months on finding just the right packaging for my product. And while it was not the most inexpensive, it reflects my design aesthetic. You need to find shows that work with your brand. Do not waste time at a street fair if you sell a high end product. They are not your audience.
Must-read Online Resource: Mashable, Advertising Age Digital, xconomy, Environmental Leader, and Treehugger since we are a mix of social media, digital media and green.
The absolute best part of owning my business is: pulling together an amazing, wonderful team to tackle a fascinating, challenging, but totally rewarding issue.
If I had to start over again, I would: have gotten started a little earlier.
I never imagined: prioritizing opportunities would be so difficult.
If standing on a rooftop facing crowds of aspiring or struggling small business owners, I would shout: “Keep up the great work.”
