Hello, everyone, and welcome to our next live interview. I love having the opportunity to do these interviews because I get to meet such interesting people. And our guest today, Andy, not only has a great story to share, but also what I'm excited about is hearing not only his journey as he's decided to start his wonderful business, Compassion Co, but really hear kind of the story behind it. What was the driving forces?
And also how he has been pivoting. As always, we love to talk about how times have changed the way we have done things, whether it's the way we've lived our lives, the way we have managed our businesses or a little bit in between. So hopefully we're going to spend some time today talking about not only the journey, but how Andy has been really making some amazing changes and refocusing, shifting and bouncing back in these uncertain times that all of us are navigating through. So I'm really excited to welcome our guests today, Andy.
Welcome to our session. Thank you for having me. It's so nice to talk to another human being. I know it's a really kind of an interesting day now where, you know, we're we're still we're pulled apart, but sometimes it's hard to meet new people or reconnect with people.
I mean, even before our session today, we realized that we had met potentially years ago in New York. And it's so nice to be able to use these tools like this, like going live and interviews so that we can talk to each other and kind of check in, see how each other's doing and also share our story. So I'm really glad that we're able to do that. So let's talk a little bit about your background.
Let's introduce you to our audience if they don't already know and love you. So let's give a little bit of background on how long have you been vegan and maybe share a little bit about your vegan journey. Sure. I have been vegan for I just hit my 13 year vegan anniversary and I wish I had some amazing, amazing light bulb moment story thing to do.
Honestly, it was as simple as just one day I was on tour with my band at the time and half of us were like, we should stop eating meat. And there wasn't any like big, like moment or anything. And we just did. And then, and then a few months later, we toured with a band that was vegan.
And I was like, they make it look pretty easy. So I'm just going to do that now. Uh, you know, it wasn't some, some like big, big, huge moment, but it was funny cause it just did it and never looked back. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
As they say, when you know, you know, and it's nice when you say, Hey, this is, this is right for me and you make that decision. So I think that's, um, I think that's a great story as well, because it shows that you made the decision and you stopped doing it. You made the decision, you started connecting with other vegans and that's important. That's big as we, as we all navigate life.
Um, so I think that's great. Now you sprinkled in the idea of the band, you know, I have to ask, give us a little bit of background. You know, do you still perform? Do you sing?
Do you play instruments? I have no idea. Sadly, sadly, I have not performed in quite some time. Um, but the, this band that I was in started in high school and it persisted all the way through college and it really kind of laid the groundwork for the type of lifestyle that I live now, which is largely on the road.
Um, but yeah, I was, I was the, the lead front man. I wouldn't call it singing exactly. I was more screaming and jumping around, but just having a good time. Uh, and so, so that was the thing that I thought I was gonna do with my life full time for a very long time until of course, you know, things, things change and evolve and people's interests change.
But, um, I spent a long time, uh, you know, touring full time and all over the U S Canada, UK. So that, that, that was like my, my entrance into veganism and radical politics also came from that as well as just a love of traveling. Nice. So you have a love for travel.
I'm also hearing obviously there's a creative spirit in you as well. Um, being able to perform and so forth. So from that background, what made you start Compassion Co? What, what was the driving force?
What was maybe, give us some of that history on, on why you started your business. So I was vegan for a few years at the time and I was simply just looking for clothing that was message where that I, that I could, you know, wear for myself to kind of promote that message, to insert a little bit of activism into my everyday life. And unfortunately at the time there just wasn't anyone making the clothing designs that spoke to me personally. Uh, you know, like right now there's actually a ton of really great vegan clothing brands out there.
And back then, which was nine years ago, there, there was only a few people doing it. And most of them, it didn't really speak to me. And I had a very specific aesthetic in mind and I had a very specific Messaging style in mind that was like fun, maybe a little bit snarky. And a lot of what was out there was either too, too soft for me, like too, just kind of like I heart tofu.
Or on the other end of the spectrum, very aggressive. Like I remember seeing a shirt that said, like, you can't eat meat with a broken jaw. And I'm like, Ooh, that, you know, uh, not for me, not for me. In my mind, in my mind, that doesn't start a productive conversation.
Maybe it does, who knows. But so I had friends just by virtue of the band. I was the guy in the band that did all the other stuff. The tour booking, the merch ordering, all of that.
So I had friends who were artists. I had a friend that would do the screen printing. And so I already had most of the infrastructure already in place just by virtue of living this life for so long. And I just had to figure out how to do it as a legitimate business.
You know, like as a band, you're not really paying taxes on every shirt you, you sell. So I had to, I had to do that. I had to like take a, hopefully we're past that statute of limitations. But, uh, you know, I had to like actually go and take classes, Chamber of Commerce and like figure all that stuff out.
Um, but yeah, that's the background was simply there was something I wanted and it didn't exist. So I just sort of made it happen. And, and the other thing was that a lot of the shirts I was seeing were, you know, made in sweatshops using not quite so eco-friendly materials. And I just felt like as, as vegans, we have to do better than that and extend that ethic, the vegan ethic throughout the entire chain of production.
So from the start, everything I did was sweatshop free and USA made. I used organic or recycled materials. I used water-based inks because I just, I just felt like if I'm going to produce something, I might as well produce it to the highest possible standards that I can, that I can muster up. Perfect.
I think that's really important is, um, you know, bringing those standards into our businesses. I think that's one of the things a lot of times people say, like when they think of a vegan business, they always think of like a food-based business. But to me, it's really what makes a vegan business unique is that as vegans, we bring a lot of those things that we're passionate about, the things that we care about. So the things that you were talking about, we're bringing in those standards into our business and we make sure that those standards drive not only the experience for our customers, but the impact of our business.
You know, that we're not buying products that are continuing a cycle that we don't want to contribute to. So I'm really happy to hear that you were doing that. And good on you for doing that, especially nine years ago when it might not have been as in vogue as it is today. So let's, I guess, hit the fast forward button.
You've given us a little bit of background on starting the business and kind of learning and getting it going. But talk to us about today. Let's talk about 2020. Let's talk about where you were.
Maybe let's do a compare and contrast. Let's talk about where you were in the beginning of the year and then start to bring me towards where you are now. How has, how has life changed or what's been the contrast? It's been a drastic change.
So, uh, as the company kind of grew, I, I quit my day job and was doing fashion company full time and a big part of that was going to VegFests and, uh, you know, at first I would do a little weekend thing here or there. And eventually I was just on the road so much that I started traveling full time. I actually moved into my van, uh, which, which is just a lifestyle that I absolutely love. And so for the last couple of years, including at the beginning of this year, my lifestyle has been traveling full time.
It's been a different VegFest almost every single weekend of the year. And that has really had really become a main part of my business strategy. And then all of a sudden this pandemic hits and the first thing to go are these large events, these large VegFests, you know, like one of my next events that I was supposed to be doing VegFest, what shift or changes did you make in your business to kind of keep your business afloat during these times? So it's as simple as shifting everything online.
I've always had an online store, but you know, when I very first started the company, I thought it would be as simple as make some designs, put them online, and people will buy them. And the first night I put them online and I posted on my Tumblr and Facebook, and I woke up to like three sales and I was like, okay, this is a lot of work. And I think it's only gotten harder since then. And so, you know, originally when Instagram was just sort of the chronological order, it was a real easy way to get sales and connect with your customer base and your friends and fans.
And now with the algorithms and all of that, so I've had to, I'm currently working on revamping my online store in general because now I want it to look like I take as much pride in that as I did my VegFest setup, which was something I loved to work on. And then also just kind of figuring out how to do online advertising and making sure that I'm not missing days without posting and things that before I felt like I could just be like, ah, whatever, if I don't post for a week, it's fine. The next VegFest is around the corner. And now there isn't that.
And then I've also just been working on doing more like special promotions and collaborating with other clothing brands in terms of like advertising and doing shirt swaps. And just like the vegan shirt community, the vegan clothing vendor community, a lot of us are very tight knit. And so we are always kind of figuring out ways to help promote each other. And so now instead of chatting all together at the VegFest, we're all online in Facebook groups and group chats and DMs and like figuring out, hey, you want to trade a shirt?
I'll post it here. We'll do this and promote each other's sales. So those have been some of the biggest kind of pivots and strategies is just really trying to maximize how we're making use of our social media and putting more focus on that than ever before. Now you mentioned social media and how you're doing things differently.
Have you found that you are posting different? Meaning because of our current environment, not only because everyone is going online, because in especially in the U.S. we have all this politics and all that noise kind of in a social space, we have social media being used for, you know, to raise awareness about, you know, social injustice. Have you been using social media differently?
Have you been kind of approaching it differently with kind of this new kind of space where all of us are kind of in the same playground, but doing different things? Has it been different or has it been more the same and you're just maybe being more consistent? So I think that a lot of the like political aspect of veganism, and I would say veganism is in and of itself political as a social justice movement, has been baked into the company from the start with the things like making sure it's sweatshop free and all of that. And then over the years, I've also gotten I've just I've learned that it's important for me to be outspoken on certain things and especially in terms of like body liberation and making sure veganism is representing all body sizes by offering, you know, three, four X clothing, extra small clothing, things a lot of people I wish more companies would do things like that.
And so I feel like just by virtue of focusing more on my social media now, I'm talking about it, but I don't think it's like anything I'm doing now is not like out of the ordinary. It's not like, oh, no, I need to start talking about this thing now, but it might just be amplified more, it might be happening more just because I'm now spending so much more time in that space as opposed to just kind of meandering and posting a shirt here and there. Got you. And do you feel like you're spending more time like on the marketing strategy, not just with social media, with email marketing?
Like, are you feeling like, you know, you're trying to build a degree around digital marketing these days since many of us are being many people were being pushed in this new direction? Like, do you feel like you're ahead of that direction? You're digging in and diving deep or are you more of a person that's kind of like I go with the flow and see how things go? I'm trying not to be as much of a go with the flow person in this regard in this moment.
So I have been doing more just reading up on social media strategy and, you know, how to handle ads and how to quantify and use hashtags and all of those things. So it's definitely inspired me to learn more on that and actually have posts and email blasts like scheduled much further in advance than I normally would. Normally, it's like, Oh yeah, I guess I should promote this new shirt that I have coming out. Okay, take a picture, post it the next day.
And now it's much more regimented out. So I have been paying a lot more attention to that and trying to educate myself. And I certainly still have a lot more to learn in that regard. But it's been fun and interesting to experiment and see what works and like what doesn't work.
Have you had anything that's been an aha moment? I always love to share with people, you know, when you start doing things differently, managing your business differently, sometimes it's those things that like, Oh, I wish I had known what I know now, like months ago or three months ago. Is there any aha moment or anything that you learned kind of either about yourself or your business that you maybe want to share with our audience to help anyone out that's maybe following in your footsteps? They're transitioning to the retail space.
They're kind of going in from VegFest into online that you would maybe give to them as a little bit of advice. So I think there's probably two things. The first is more of like an internal thing, which is if you're like me and your business, you're like, I'm a sole proprietor. I rely on screen printers and artists and all of that.
But the day-to-day is me. And learning to be okay with maybe not hitting a deadline or something and not feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders. And that if you're having a bad day mentally, you're productive wise, it's okay because tomorrow is another day. And I'm still working on it, but like learning to be kind with myself on that aspect of things is really crucial because if I don't, I find that you just kind of go down that hole of like, well, I couldn't get this done today and tomorrow's gonna be bad and just learning to be kind with yourself.
And the other thing that's more practical, honestly, is just like really utilizing hashtags. There's like services out there that'll tell you which hashtags are, you know, like high, high competition. Everyone's using this hashtag and you're probably not going to get a lot of value out of it. But these are like the mid-tier and the low tier.
If you hit on those things and just like learning to start really dropping in a lot more of those targeted hashtags that are not like the super general thing on your Instagram post. I have found has increased traffic on the posts that I've been starting to actually pay attention to that too. So I would say this is a practical tip. That's something that is, you can't overlook the value of a hashtag for discovery.
Nice. So you're saying I shouldn't just put everyone shouldn't just put vegan, vegan, vegan on every post. I mean, that's my go-to is like, okay, hashtag vegan, hashtag vegan shirt, hashtag vegan. Done.
And now it's like, oh no, there's all these other things you can make use of. But I mean, I will say if you, if you hit on the hashtag vegan and you get put into the feed, the value is immense, obviously. It's just like much more of a lottery to hope you get that traction on it. Yeah.
And I love the idea. I think when we're running businesses and especially from a marketing standpoint, I'd love to have multiple strategies. I mean, it's nice to have that lucky strategy, but it's also great to have these kind of marketing tactics that you do that help you build your business over time. That builds like the building blocks.
So even when you get lucky, you have a little bit of a balance between the things that constantly deliver and then the lucky blitz, um, that can help, you know, help kind of create those, um, exciting things happening in our business. Now you mentioned earlier that you were doing some collaboration. You were doing some bundles. You were doing different things to drive sales.
Um, I know our audience loves deals and I love deals too, personally. Is there anything that you're working on right now or you're going to be kind of planning or baking into the process that people should think about, especially if they are in the market for some shirts or clothing apparel? Sure. Uh, so, you know, lately I've been experimenting with bringing back old designs.
Part of my model has always been not to keep a design around for more than one or two years. There's, there's like one or two designs that are just going to always be my flagship that I'll still stick around. Uh, but the, the negative side effect of that is of course, people see a shirt they love and they're like, Hey, can I get it? I'm like, no, sorry, it's gone.
I hope that spurs people to get it when they want it, when they first see it. Um, but as an experiment, as something that doesn't require me to like pay, pay for new artwork or anything, I've been bringing back old designs, but only doing them as limited like pre-orders. So I'm only going to make as many as people actually order. So it's not like a And sound quality, and they haven't figured out what they're doing yet.
But we actually started, we created like a start here playlist where we picked our four maybe favorite, but episodes that we think are really good starting places that give people a good idea of the types of conversations they'll get. And so you can go to Spotify, you'll find that playlist there. If you just scroll through the list, you'll see those things. And that's a good way to break in and get an idea of what we're about and see if we're like a good fit for you.
Perfect. I love that you're putting those episodes together because yeah, it is hard to kind of manage that backlog. So it's nice to have a place you know like start here kind of feel. So as we're wrapping up the interview, I just realized we're about 30 minutes in.
We're having so much fun here. I always love to ask my guests, you know, anything that you want to share with the audience. Anything, especially as many of us are thinking about what is the rest of the year going to look like. You know, like you mentioned earlier, earlier, some of us thought this is just going to be temporary.
We just had to ride it out for a couple of weeks and then we're like, maybe a couple months. And now we're realizing it may be a little bit longer. And for most of us, it looks like it's definitely going to be the full 2020 that we're going to be managing through this. And so I don't know if you have any recommendations or any thoughts about how you're going to be approaching the rest of the year and any advice you may have for others as they're trying to navigate the rest of kind of 2020.
That's a big question. You know, I think for me, what I think that we all need to be thinking about is not looking for heroes, not looking for saviors, and realizing that like we are all the ones that are going to get ourselves through this. And so figuring out the ways that we can create community, that we can create a collective sense of care for each other. I think like, honestly, that's going to be the way forward, regardless of who's president, regardless of who our representatives are, like the change happens on the ground, and that's true for veganism, as well as any social justice movement, as well as any sense of community and like community care versus self-care.
All of that's coming from us. And so figuring out ways we can connect with each other. I think that in the long term, that's what gets us through this pandemic through the next pandemic and all the horrible stuff that is going on right now. Perfect.
Well, thank you so much. And if people want to get in touch with you or I don't think we gave them the website for Compassion Co. and also the social media handles. You want to just give everyone that really quick just in case they want to get in touch with you or they want to look at maybe a couple of shirts that they want to recommend to a family or friend for the holiday season because I know that's going to be coming up soon too.
Let's maybe give them at least the links so they can check it out. Sure. It's nice and simple. It's just compassionco.com.
So just compassionco.com and it's compassionco on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, which I barely use. And the Bearded Vegans are also on Facebook and Instagram as well, just at The Bearded Vegans. Perfect. Anything else finally you want to share with our audience as we wrap up today?
I think that's it. This has been a pleasure. Thank you for having me on. Perfect.
It's been a pleasure chatting with you, catching up with your life and business and really all the great things that you're doing and kind of the inspiration that you've been giving us, especially about the idea of let's stop looking for all these heroes out there. Let's make sure that we are really part of that movement and we are the ones driving that change. So I love hearing a little bit of that inspiration and also keeping a little bit of that in my subconscious. I'm having one of those bad days because I definitely feel like it's so important to remember our power and remember what we can do.
So thank you so much for joining me today. Thanks for taking the time. Thank you everyone who watched us live. We love the comments.
We love when you guys are participating and gals. So I really, really want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I also want to say for any of my folks that watch this at a replay or you listen to this as part of our podcast, we'd love to hear from you as well. So hit us up with comments.
We monitor them after the session. we love to see what you're thinking, what you're hearing about, how you're enjoying these sessions. We also love it when you give us a little bit of love or a like or a thumbs up. Those are wonderful as well.
That keeps us going, keeps us motivated. And it's also just a nice thing to see, especially nowadays with some of the gloom and doom in the headlines in the news, it's nice to know that our community is enjoying these sessions. So we really appreciate it when you like and give us thumbs up on these posts. So thank you everyone for your time.
Thank you so much, Andy, for spending some time with me today and we'll talk with everyone later. Bye.