We spoke with each of them about how they got their start, the skills they picked up at UBC, and their advice for students who want to be future entrepreneurs or innovators. She laughs about it now. Ryley and Neil got married in , and in early , she began applying her skills to making the company grow.
She turned her attention to promoting Naked Snacks on Instagram and began building the business through partnerships with local influencers, community partners and sponsors.
The business continues to evolve thanks to financing Ryley and Neil were recently able to secure, making them one of the few small businesses hiring during the pandemic. For anyone interested in pursuing their own entrepreneurial aspirations, Ryley is clear-eyed about how difficult it is.
How do you convince the guy downing a double Big Mac at University Village to care about health products? Aaron was exposed early on to the benefits of natural health products through the family business. Growing up playing hockey, his dad gave him freshly pressed reishi mushroom capsules while his peers were downing sugary energy drinks. After supplementing his undergrad with a Master in International Business at Grenoble Graduate School of Business, Aaron started as a purchaser at Organika before spending four years in sales.
It took me these three years to really shake off what people thought and believe I deserved to be in the position that I was. When Aaron started full time at Organika, he recognized that the company was stagnating β sales were flat despite the industry growing.
