Happy Family Organics: Shazi Visram (2020)

How I Built This · 4 Jul 2022 · 1h 08m

What this episode covers

Shazi Visram, founder of Happy Family Organics, explains how she pivoted from a failed frozen baby food concept to a $200 million brand by adopting the pouch format after seeing it in Australia. She details raising $550,000 from friends and family after rejecting a VC term sheet that would have given investors 70% equity, and leveraging a free American Express Super Bowl commercial to raise $8 million in three weeks. Visram discusses selling 92% of the company to Danone to secure resources against competitors like Gerber and Plum Organics, driven by both strategic necessity and her son’s autism diagnosis.

Mentioned

Companies
Gerber, Beechnut, Earth's Best, Plum Organics, Danone, Whole Foods, Target, American Express, Honest Tea
Also
Seth Goldman, Jessica Rolf, Columbia Business School

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