Tackling Founder Impostor Syndrome with Brightland's CEO

0:00Your inner child, inner teenager is constantly whispering to you. And so the best thing you can do is really be compassionate with that self in order to then make the right decisions for the present and the future. Hey there, I'm Megan Coyle and welcome to Shopify Masters, your companion for starting and building a business. Many founders experience imposter syndrome when they first launch. Aishwarya Ayer certainly felt some of that when she started her olive oil brand, Brightland. You see, Ash is a home cook, not a food influencer or a restaurant owner. What business did she have in food, she thought?

0:38It turns out, quite a lot. Brightland's bottles have been splashed all over social media, as well as the pages of Bon Appetit and Food & Wine magazines. Ash is here today to talk about how she silenced her inner critic to build her business. Ash, thanks for being here, and thanks for talking about this. Oh my gosh, I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for having me. And this is something that I feel very strongly about in terms of, you know, it's something that I think people have shame and just a lot of feelings around. So I'm so happy to talk about this with you. Let's start with what imposter syndrome is.

1:13It's this anxiety people feel when they jump into a new role. And for you, you made this career switch from tech to food. What inspired the big change? What inspired The Big Change, honestly, was a bit of my past, present, and future coming together. So it was really, you know, I grew up in a family that was filled with obsessive home cooks. I ran away from cooking for a long time just to sort of find my own way and dove into the world of just dining out in restaurants. And then circled back to cooking and got curious about what I was eating, what I was making. and the cooking oil industry and that category became a little bit of an obsession for me.

1:54I read about like the Italian mafia many years ago being involved in olive oil and just thought it was so interesting and intriguing and went down the rabbit hole. So that's truly how I got started in olive oil and ended up starting Brightland. But you know, I, like you mentioned, I had a career before this. I was in tech. I worked at startups. I started my career in beauty. And I never thought that I would build a business in food. And I never thought I would actually be an entrepreneur. So I think I went through the motions of, hey, well, you know, I don't have an MBA. I just was thinking about all the lack and like, what I didn't have rather than saying, hey, here are the things that I do have, and maybe I can go out and do it.

2:37And so I spent a lot of time really focused on what I didn't have. And a lot of it was rooted in fear. I think a lot of imposter syndrome actually comes from fear. And so what I started doing was really digging into what am I afraid of? What am I so scared of? And it was really amazing because at the end of the day, I peeled back layer by layer. Okay, what am I afraid of? Disappointment. Who's disappointment? And like, you know, just kept going layer by layer. And it came back to like this basically mirror of me, of a different version of me who is younger, who is basically standing there being like, I don't know my place in this world.

3:17And that younger self was like, can you do this? Or are you going to just not be able to maneuver this? And it was just really fascinating to see that ultimately, like your inner child, inner teenager, inner younger self is constantly like whispering to you. And so the best thing you can do is really be compassionate with that self. in order to then make the right decisions for the present and the future.

3:49I love that. So do you think the younger version of yourself could have imagined that you would go into olive oil specifically? Like of all the things in cooking, why olive oil? No, my younger self would have never imagined that I would have gone into olive oil. And for me, it just came from a super personal place. I started cooking a lot more, was very intrigued by just generally going to the farmer's market, buying the best kale, buying the best cheese, buying the best bread. But then I realized that the thing that I was putting everything on was olive oil. And nobody knew where their olive oil came from, what they were buying.

4:27Everyone stands at the grocery shelves looking really confused. And this was back in 2016, 2017. And I was like, wait, there's got to be something here where we can build a brand that people feel really excited by, people want to put it out on their countertop. And after reading about potential quality issues in the category and in the industry, I was like, wait, maybe there's a way also to shine a spotlight on some amazing small family run farms. And realizing that there are exactly those high integrity, amazing small family run farms right here in California in the United States, that just made the whole thing even sweeter and more exciting.

5:06And so it was just this like passion piece that I just kept saying, wait, I think there's something here and all of us so delicious and it makes people really happy and it's bright and there's got to be something here. And so I had this duality of this could either turn into something huge or maybe I can sell a thousand bottles in eight months, and I'll be really proud of myself. So I was just sort of living in between the two truths, and I'm really happy to see how it has played out. That's awesome. So what you were seeing in olive oil, this gave you the opportunity to dig into it a little deeper and go beyond the shelf and learn more about these family farms.

5:49What did you do to educate yourself about the production of olive oil? I took classes at the UC Davis Olive Center. That was one thing I did. The second was honestly lots of books. I read a book by Tom Miller called Extra Virginity. That was the one that stood out to me the most and can't recommend it highly enough if you just are interested in the world of olive oil. And then I read about half a dozen other books that were much more boring, but very, very informative. And I talked to farmers and I talked to farms. And what did you learn from the farmers? I learned that most people have no idea what real authentic extra virgin olive oil tastes like.

6:27And why is that? Most of the olive oil that we're all consuming at grocery stores is fairly old. It may not have the like bright tasting notes that a real fresh extra virgin olive oil actually has. And so I think freshness is key in the world of olive oil. And so that was a huge learning lesson for me in terms of, okay, what should actually fresh olive oil taste like? It should have taste. And I think most of us are used to olive oil tasting somewhat like butter, almost like neutral. And what real incredible olive oil and what Brightland olive oil tastes like, it's really pungent, peppery and grassy, and it tastes like something that's alive and, you know, from the land.

7:16It's bright. It's bright.

7:23And that realization, that really transformed everything. Wow. So once you were ready to start making your own olive oil, you had to figure out a way to finance the production. Tell us why you decided to bootstrap the business at first. Yeah, I was thinking a lot about what are the options. And I think it's really easy to say, hey, let me go find investors before I've even proven anything out. At least a few years ago, that was a trend for a while. And it didn't sit right with me. I just really wanted to prove product market fit to myself, to be totally honest, to say, hey, there's actually something here before going and bringing on somebody else's money.

8:08Because I just took it really seriously. It's somebody else's money. and I didn't want to take it on before I was even totally sure that there was something here. So, you know, for about a year and a half, we didn't raise any money. And then I was getting to a place where I needed to hire. We were saying no more than we were saying yes, because we couldn't keep up with demand. And those were all the indicators to me of, oh my gosh, I think there's something here and I should probably go raise money to be able to accelerate our growth and to be able to fund the purchase orders or the inventory that we wanted to buy.

8:43I mean, that goes back to the duality you were just talking about, which is like, two things can be true. You can have this like flexibility to bootstrap and lead the company where you'd like. And then at the same time, it's limiting your growth. So to do the other thing, you limit the growth, but you are at the mercy of investors a little bit. But what tools or resources helped you gain the confidence in your ability to become a founder and really overcome that imposter syndrome that you first started out with? So much of it was honestly like digging into myself, working with a coach, doing a lot of vision boards.

9:24It was getting in touch with that like woo-woo side that I think people are much more open to doing now. but maybe five, seven years ago, people were a little bit like, wait, this is far out. But I think, you know, I thought a lot about my future self and what would myself at 75 think. And I was like, you know what, I think that she would regret not at least trying. So there were things like that that I did. I read a book by Hal and Sidra Stone called Silencing Your Inner Critic. and that was really helpful. And then honestly, a lot of it was also not looking too much at the noise. I didn't look at what other entrepreneurs who were ahead of me were doing.

10:06I didn't spend that much time on Instagram, like just being fed all this content because I think that would have actually overwhelmed me rather than ground center. I'm a big believer that like silence and stillness actually give clarity. They even say like with a river, you need the river to like stand still. And that's when the mud clears away. And I really believe that for our brains too, and our hearts. And so I spent a lot of time not looking at things online. And I still do that to this day, I will actively like not spend time on Instagram and not spend time on the internet. because I think that that actually helps give me clarity and focus rather than distractions.

10:55And it's taking in too many other people's energies. I understand. Was there a moment of clarity that just was like an I made it moment for you where you were able to step back and go, you know, I feel like a founder now. I feel confident in where Brightlin is going. Or are you still waiting for it? It's two truths can be true. I've had multiple moments like that. And then I've also had multiple moments and still continue to say like, wait, is this, is this real? Like, do people like, do I have a real company? So I think I just, you know, kind of am grappling with both things being true at the same time, honestly.

11:36Awesome. I'm excited to chat more. I'm here with Aishwarya Iyer, founder of Brightland. I want to take a moment to thank you for listening. Please subscribe to Shopify Masters and leave us a review if you're enjoying the show. It helps others find it too. Thanks.

11:55One of the most distinctive parts of Brightlands brand is the bottle because it's so aesthetically pleasing. And notably, it's not green like so many other olive oil brands. What did you want to communicate to customers with the design of the bottle? When I was looking at grocery store shelves, I was blown away by how confused everyone was, including myself. Everyone would just stand there and not be very inspired. People didn't feel like they were educated. Everyone was just like, I don't know what to buy. But at the end of the day, olive oil is one of the few ingredients in our kitchens that we use so much and lives on the pantry.

12:33And I was kind of like, wow, I'm like walking into some of my friends beautiful homes, renovated kitchens, you know, really nice stuff. And they have this like terribly sort of unappealing bottle kind of sitting there. And so both of those things made me think a lot about, huh, what if we created something that was really distinctive, stood out a ton, got inspiration from fashion and beauty and the wine and liquor industry, and incorporated that into this category that hasn't seen that at all. And so that was really the genesis for it. And then it was really amazing to learn that, you know, one of olive oil's biggest enemies is light.

13:14Three of olive oil's biggest enemies are light, heat, and air. And, you know, when you see olive oil that's in a plastic, like not so opaque, when you see it in a clear bottle, like that's terrible for the oil. And so what ended up being amazing was that in addition to our bottles being really beautiful and they have this like iconic like white packaging, they also protect the oil even better. So we sort of hit like a double whammy in terms of like form and function. You're also an Indian American founder and you've been able to work some elements of your heritage into the design as well. Can you talk a little bit about that?

13:56Yes. Brightland is very colorful. I come from an Indian family and we never shied away from color and that vibrancy and I think with Brightland we've definitely leaned into color that way.

14:17Every single one of our bottles has a lot of color on it even though it still has this like matte white look we didn't ever want it to be like super minimalist and then when we think about like creative campaigns and photo shoots, we really do lean into the maximalism and have leaned into it, whether it's in style or not in the zeitgeist. We sort of are like timeless and sort of how we think about that because it's just such a core part of who I am and where I come from. And I want elements of my culture to show up in the unexpected sort of surprising ways too. Yeah, it's bringing your whole self to the brand as well, which is awesome.

14:56You've expanded into much more than olive oil. Brightland makes honeys and vinegars. How did you approach the product expansion? It was a mix of a few things. It was, are our customers asking for it? Do we have a unique point of view? Is this something we want to come out with? Can we find the right makers or partners? Does it fit under the thesis of high-integrity, small-family-run farms? and what was amazing was that we ended up checking the box on all of those things when it came time for vinegar and for honey and it's just been really amazing we work with the most wonderful vinegar producers everything is made on site and they double ferment like triple crown blackberries and naval valencia oranges and double ferment them with california chardonnay grapes and california zinfandel grapes and it's just a really beautiful process and the products are so good and they complement our oils so beautifully.

15:51So it's just been a really nice addition to our portfolio. Now tell me a little bit about the very popular pizza oil that Brightlin also makes. Yes. Last spring, we introduced something called a pizza oil. So one of my favorite foods is pizza. I grew up, my dad made pizza for us almost every week. And I mean, who doesn't love pizza? Absolutely. So honestly, right. And then we started thinking about what's a fun accompaniment, like what can be pizza's best friend and who does pizza love? And that's where pizza oil really started finding its legs. And we ended up working on a special oil that has jalapeno, garlic, basil, oregano, a little bit of rosemary.

16:39And it's so outstanding. And we came out with it last spring and just couldn't keep it in stock. And it has just been this runaway, flyaway sort of hit for us. And it's currently out of stock, but it's coming back in stock in June, which we are so excited about. Just in time for summer and all the pizza tasting items on the summer menus. How did you decide to change the packaging for that particular product? Yeah, we looked a lot at hot honey. We looked at what other pizza accompaniments were in, and a lot of them used like a very casual format squeeze bottle or like some sort of dipping mechanism.

17:20And so we thought about what would be the best use case for a pizza oil, something that's so casual, and ultimately decided on something that resembled like the hot honey vibe. Oh, that's so cool. Talk to us a little bit about maintaining the relationships with the producers for all of your products. A lot of them are based here in California. How did you find them and how do you continue to innovate with them? Yeah. Oh my gosh. I mean, in the early days, I found them through Google. I found them through going to olive oil festivals. It was really just dialing and getting a lot of no's and then ultimately getting some yeses.

18:04But now I'm so, so excited. You know, we have an amazing director of sourcing. She has 15 years of olive oil experience. She's a true olive oil expert, and she's incredible. And she leads the charge in terms of our sourcing relationships and finding new amazing producers. For example, we just came out with this limited edition Castle Vetrano olive oil. So the Castle Vetrano olive is this like chubby green olive that I think everyone loves, gets in a lot of snacking boards and all of that. And we made an olive oil with it. And our director of sourcing helped us find the most magical producer in Sicily, in the region of Castelvetrano itself.

18:45So you can't ask for anything more. And so we released that product a couple of weeks ago. And it's just been amazing to see the response. Was it a shift working from a lot of producers that were in your now home state to working with producers who are abroad. Yeah, it's our first, it really is our first product that we've sourced from abroad. And it's been so exciting. I'm so thrilled with the response. And I think it just goes to show, you know, you can find beautiful, high integrity, delicious products in a lot of regions in the world. And our starting place was California. And I think we'll continue to find the best of the best, no matter where it comes from.

19:27Well, we wish you the best of luck with all of your future products and current ones. Thank you so much for coming on the show, Ash. Thank you so much for having me. This was a blast. That's Aishwarya Iyer, founder of Brightland. This episode was produced by Schweng Esther Shan. Shopify Masters is also produced by Gogo Zoger. Our engineers are Matthew Schwartz and Miku Betlam. Benjamin Gottlieb is our managing producer. I'm Megan Coyle. See you next time on Shopify Masters.