Episode 75: Erika Welsh; Wild Friends

Erika Welsh is one of the co-founders of Wild Friends. Wild Friends is a female-founded natural foods company that specializes in nut butters. They are a B-Corp (Certified Benefit Corporation) and through their company have a giveback program called Fuel Her Future where they donate 1% of their sales to programs that help to empower women and girls to chase their dreams. Additionally, they partner with Girls Inc. of the Pacific Northwest as their non-profit partner. In this episode, Erika shares the story about how she started Wild Friends in college with her best friend, going on Shark Tank, using Wild Friends as a platform to give back to women and girls, making products that bring joy to people’s day, and so much more! I hope that you enjoy my conversation with Erika! This episode is hosted by Emma Benner. What we talked about: 3:25- Introduction to Erika and how she founded Wild Friends 12:45- How Erika and her co-founder, Keeley, created and grew the business without prior business experience 16:05- The turning point in the business when it started to grow 19:35- Going on Shark Tank and how that transformed the company 25:45- Being in business with her best friend and how they’ve kept a positive relationship throughout 32:45- The strengths that Keeley and Erika each bring to the business 36:35- Their giveback program; Fuel Her Future and the nonprofit that they partner with 41:10- Finding joy in their products bringing other people joy 43:45- End of podcast questions Show notes: Get 20% off of your order at getfinleys.com by using the code “ILLUMINATE20” Fill out the listener survey here Girls Inc. of the Pacific Northwest Fuel Her Future Book recommendation: The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes   Follow The Illuminate Podcast: Illuminate Podcast on Instagram Illuminate Podcast on Twitter Illuminate Podcast on Facebook Follow Sandyboy Productions: Sandyboy Productions on Twitter Sandyboy Productions on Instagram *As a Finley’s ambassador we do earn from qualifying purchase.