Scaling a Business Without a Plan: How Urban Remedy Got Into 400 Whole Foods Stores
Dear FoundHer...Real Founder Stories for Women Small Business OwnersShow Notes
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Neka Pasquale turned a side project into a $48 million business, and she'll be the first to tell you she had no idea what she was doing.
She was an acupuncturist treating patients when she started making food and juices as part of their care. People loved it, word got around, and before long, Urban Remedy was growing faster than she could plan for. There was no roadmap. Just a lot of late nights, a lot of mistakes, and a refusal to quit.
On this episode of Dear FoundHer, Neka sits down with host Lindsay Pinchuk to talk about starting a business for the first time with no roadmap, no business background, and no idea the thing would grow into what it became. She shares what it was like fulfilling 500 juice orders while pregnant, shipping food across the country before she was remotely ready, and learning operations, HR, and food safety by making every possible mistake first.
The story of how Urban Remedy landed in Whole Foods is worth the listen alone. It didn't come from a pitch. It came from a bike ride. That's partnership marketing working exactly the way it's supposed to, and it's a reminder that the relationships you're already building matter more than any campaign you could run.
Scaling a business that sells fresh organic food nationally comes with scaling challenges most brands never take on. Neka talks about managing rapid growth without losing the mission, the burnout that built up quietly over 12 years of nonstop doing, and why protecting what your brand stands for gets harder the bigger you get.
For women entrepreneurs who are building something that actually means something, this conversation offers a candid look at what growth actually asks of you.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 How Urban Remedy Started by Accident 06:25 Managing 500 Orders While Pregnant 08:39 The Operational Chaos of Scaling a Business 11:15 How a Bike Ride Led to 400 Whole Foods Locations 15:36 Staying True to Your Mission at Scale 22:22 The Real Challenges of Scaling Fresh Food Nationally 23:39 When and Why to Hire a CEO 29:14 What Every Woman Founder Needs to Know Before Scaling a Business
Connect with Neka Pasquale: Follow Neka on Instagram
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