What Fuels Plant People Co-Founder Gabe Kennedy's Goals

As is common with a lot of small businesses, Gabe Kennedy and his co-founder Hudson Gaines-Ross launched Plant People with a few thousand dollars in their pockets. With unique individual backgrounds and a shared interest in holistic healing after both endured serious injuries, they decided to create Plant People. But in opening up the conversation with Gabe about Plant People on this episode of #WeGotGoals, I quickly got the sense we were going to be talking about much more than CBD droplets, capsules and balms. For Gabe, using natural, holistic methods to heal after his spine injury was a no-brainer. But throughout his long road to recovery, he realized just how unique his story was. His parents are herbalists and acupuncturists, so Gabe grew up around the concept of natural medicine. And his love for natural, delicious, home-cooked food had him cooking at age 14. He graduated at the top of his class at the Culinary Institute of America. But where does that lead one to starting a business like Plant People? A simple sentence to describe the business, Gabe says, is a "CBD company" - but he continues in the episode to explain how and why Plant People is much more than that. "We really are here to celebrate the power of all plants. We're operating at this intersection of plant wellness and modern science." That's why you'll find Plant People in more places than just online. You'll find Gabe and Hudson hosting dinners utilizing their CBD drops in their dinner menus. And trust me, when you hear Gabe talk about a mindfully crafted lavender sorbet dessert infused with CBD, your next move will be Googling "Plant People dinner event calendar." And do you know what we didn't even get around to talking about on the episode? Gabe's impressive resume as chef - he won ABC's The Taste (where he was named "America’s best undiscovered cook" by Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson, Marcus Samuelsson and Ludo Lefebvre), and served as the private chef for an impressive list of people, including the Clinton family. All that is to say, Gabe is up to a lot right now and has his eyes set firmly on the future. Another pillar to Plant People's foundation is for advocacy and education. There is still a lot to learn about this industry, but Gabe's excited about its potential to give back to the land and the economy as it grows. "Hemp has the power to be regenerative," Gabe says. "[We're] excited to see what systems we support as the industry grows." And as for personal big goal on the horizon? He's thinking big for Plant People but sticking with small, attainable goals for his daily life. "I need to meditate, take care of my mind, move my body a little bit, I want to listen to some great music, I need to get a little bit of sunshine and I need to have some awesome food. If I can do those things every day, it's a pretty great day." Intrigued by Plant People and want to try it out for yourself? Order here and take 15% off your first order with code, WEGOTGOALS (excludes subscriptions and merchandise). Pop in your earbuds and make this episode of #WeGotGoals part of your morning or evening. If you feel like it helped you have a better day, leave us a rating or a review wherever you get your podcasts, like iTunes or Spotify. We'd really appreciate it!