Breaking Good: The Green Llama Story with Kay Baker

Breaking Good: The Green Llama Story with Kay BakerWhat happens when an occupational therapist and a neuroscientist turn their garage into a makeshift lab during COVID?Apparently, you get Green Llama.I sat down with co-founder Kay Baker to talk about how one random conversation about cleaning products turned into a growing sustainable cleaning company, complete with compostable packaging, refillable products, farmers markets, cold calls, a warehouse, and one slightly suspicious-looking garage lab they lovingly call “Breaking Good.”We get into what it actually looks like to build a company from scratch when you have absolutely no idea what you're doing yet, why Kay says every new founder should find a mentor immediately, and the particular brand of crazy required to leave careers you love and bet on yourselves.But what I loved most about this conversation was Kay's take on sustainability: progress over perfection.Because trying to eliminate every piece of plastic, make every perfect purchase, and somehow live a flawless zero-waste life can make a person a little nuts. Instead, Green Llama is focused on making better choices, asking better questions, and improving as they go. Sometimes that means experimenting with trigger sprayers made from recycled wind turbine blades. Sometimes it means being on version four of compostable packaging.And sometimes it means accepting that running a small business involves stopping mid-podcast because UPS is literally knocking on the warehouse door.We also talk about working with your husband without making Green Llama the only thing you discuss at dinner, why llamas are surprisingly perfect sustainability mascots, the realities of growing into retail, and the unfinished children's llama story I am now publicly pressuring Kay and Matt to FINISH.It's founder life in its natural habitat: smart ideas, organized chaos, a few shiny squirrels, and figuring it out as you go.And yes, I'm still waiting for the “Breaking Good” photo shoot.Check out Green Llama https://greenllamaclean.com/