Throughout a post-college browsing journey to Costa Rica in 2010, Paul Goodman and Griffin Thall fell in love with the native artisan scene. From the colourful hand woven bracelets offered in every nook to the significant conversations with the locals, the 2 SoCal pals had been impressed by the laid-back way of life of the nation’s nationwide motto: Pura Vida — a Spanish expression that interprets to “pure life.”
However the extra they communicated with the locals on the town, the extra they realized that being an artisan in Costa Rica was a wrestle. Artisan wages weren’t sufficient to help a household alone and made it robust to search out housing past a single room with a number of beds. That’s when the 2 pals had been impressed to take motion and bought 400 bracelets from native artisans to showcase in a neighborhood boutique again residence.
It was an instantaneous success that might inspire them to create the Pura Vida model — a jewellery firm that provides again to artisans whereas celebrating life’s little pleasures of slowing down and residing life to the fullest.
Immediately, the enterprise has grown to a worldwide scale and helps fund artisans and charities world wide — with many millennial and Gen Z audiences supporting the purpose-driven enterprise model. We not too long ago caught up with Paul and Griffin on the grand opening of their second flagship retailer in Irvine, California to study extra about their enterprise success. Learn on to see what they needed to say.
This interview has been gently edited for readability and size.
GoDaddy: Are you able to give us a fast rundown of what Pura Vida is all about?
Paul: Pura Vida is all about residing free, not taking something with no consideration, and residing within the second. We make merchandise and equipment that give again and assist totally different artisans and charities whereas offering [a] enjoyable and care-free setting by means of our merchandise.
Griffin: All of our merchandise are reasonably priced, handcrafted — a majority of them give again to charities and artisans — and we actually need folks to depart with feeling when shopping for our merchandise.
GD: Inform us about Pura Vida’s conception and the way it got here to fruition.
Paul: In 2010 Griff and I had been on a university commencement surf journey and we met two artisans on the seashore who had been hand-making tremendous colourful bracelets. They had been homeless on the time and we determined we needed to assist them, so we purchased 400 bracelets and introduced them again with us and that’s sort of how Pura Vida began. And right now, we help over 600 totally different artisans the world over — making our merchandise and giving again to totally different charities.
GD: What had been some obstacles you needed to overcome and what classes did you study alongside the best way?
Griffin: I feel we’ve grown just about 100% year-over-year since we began the model. So I might say our greatest challenges had been operational — scaling, stock administration, provide chain (getting issues from different international locations into the U.S.), and delivery out the high-volume orders that we do. [It] was not a simple activity, so I might say that was in all probability probably the most tough half (scaling the enterprise).
GD: The idea of giving again is an enormous mission of Pura Vida. How are you persevering with to maintain the momentum alive as the corporate grows?
Paul: As we come out with new merchandise and as we discover new organizations that we will help, we soar on board with them and get them into the Pura Vida way of life and be capable to promote merchandise that give again. So we now have catastrophe aid bracelets when a catastrophe occurs within the U.S. or the world [and] we will launch them straight away and lift cash for that group or that trigger — it’s an enormous a part of Pura Vida.
Griffin: Additionally, we simply obtained B Corp licensed, which is a extremely large deal. It took like a yr and a half [and] we had an enormous guidelines of issues to work on to replace — from our provide chain, to the paper, to how issues are shipped, to how issues are worded. And [we] actually [made] certain that we might do all the things we might to change into B Corp licensed. Now we’re with manufacturers like Patagonia [and] Toms so it actually places us in a distinct class of a model.
GD: Do you’ve any recommendation for entrepreneurs seeking to incorporate extra sustainable practices into their enterprise fashions?
Paul: I feel we’ve all the time tried to do what’s proper — whether or not that’s for the world, the setting, or for our staff. We need to depart an enduring impression for our clients and staff by doing good and making folks really feel good by sporting our merchandise.
GD: Pura Vida does lots of work with charities. How do you select which of them you need to accomplice with?
Griffin: We’ve a web page on our web site that provides folks a chance to kind in ideas for bracelet concepts or charities to work with, in order that’s positively a supply for various organizations.
We even have a group in our workplace that manages the charity relations, the charitable merchandise, and partnerships that we do — they usually’re all vetted amongst our group. We attempt to do our greatest to help as many charities as we will however not too many the place it doesn’t really feel particular or they don’t get a large test donated to them.
GD: What do you suppose is the scariest a part of beginning a enterprise enterprise and why?
Paul: I feel it’s simply the unknown. Whenever you’re simply beginning you don’t know what’s going to occur or the way it’s going to go. However I feel that’s all the time the enjoyable half as nicely. So I feel it’s positively a steadiness between not figuring out what’s going to occur and attempting to take the problem of taking the leap.
Griffin: Yeah and I feel entrepreneurs get scared to simply begin. And in case you don’t have a place to begin, you by no means know the right way to evolve and optimize from there.
So I feel the largest recommendation is: simply begin.
Whether or not you’ve each query answered and all of the instruments in your toolbox or not, simply begin.
GD: What’s your greatest recommendation for individuals who need to open a retail enterprise?
Paul: I feel you need to focus in your clients and your model and construct up the word-of-mouth and construct up the merchandise — as a result of I feel the merchandise are going to be what drives the purchasers to the placement. After which be sure that the placement matches your model.
So I feel right here in Irvine [California], it’s shiny and sunny. We’ve obtained the palm timber, we’ve obtained the Ferris wheel — it’s Pura Vida and I feel it actually matches the model. And that’s what is de facto going to make it profitable.
GD: When did you resolve to take Pura Vida on-line and the way has it impacted your enterprise? Did you begin in ecommerce or conventional brick-and-mortar?
Griffin: Proper after we began the enterprise in 2010, we made a web site. We additionally supplied our merchandise wholesale. We’d principally hit up all of the surf shops, yoga studios, nail and hair salons, boutiques — just about anybody we thought could be match for Pura Vida. On the similar time, we had been constructing our web site, getting all of the apps, determining ecommerce and graphic design. So I might say we began on day one.
GD: The Pura Vida Bracelet Golf equipment looks as if a profitable subscription-based choice on your on-line clients. What impressed the concept behind this?
Paul: We simply needed to provide a enjoyable expertise for our clients who’re tremendous loyal and buying each month — why don’t we take the guess[work] out of it and provides them custom-made unique merchandise at a reduction each single month, so long as they join a subscription. So it’s been an enormous success for our model and an effective way to unfold word-of-mouth exponentially for us.
GD: With the opening of your second retail retailer in Irvine, it appears Pura Vida is gaining extra momentum in reputation. What else do you hope to perform sooner or later?
Griffin: We positively need to open up extra shops. We simply launched our clothes line like a yr and a half or two years in the past, so we’re going to broaden on that.
We need to be sure that folks love the standard, the scale and the match. The bracelets weren’t good on day one, neither was the jewellery. Clothes is a brand new class we’re breaking into and it’s really been doing rather well in retail shops so we’re assured in that.
GD: Describe your most memorable success and why it means a lot to you.
Paul: I feel opening our first retail retailer was fairly memorable. It’s superior to see after 10 years the model actually come to life in individual and see clients stroll in, contact and really feel the product and be so stoked strolling out. Simply seeing them put on the product in individual, versus on-line, is a game-changer.
Griffin: And the model was born on a surf journey to Costa Rica and [is special] even to at the present time — like final week I used to be touring all through Europe and in two or three totally different international locations, I noticed folks sporting Pura Vida in each nation I went to. I’ve seen folks [wearing them] everywhere in the world and journeys that we’ve been on. I’ve seen them in Bali, I’ve seen them in Italy, in Paris, and I’ve seen them in Barcelona.
So it’s actually humbling to see our merchandise that had been sourced from Costa Rica, El Salvador and Central America — and now persons are sporting them globally. It’s a fairly cool feeling.
GD: How do you preserve a contented work-life steadiness for you and your staff?
Paul: I feel we’ve all the time constructed Pura Vida to have that work-life steadiness. We’ve all the time constructed the workplace and the tradition to need to go into work on daily basis and be enthusiastic about it. It’s a cool way of life enterprise. We’ve all the time targeted on that so it’s probably not a separation between work and life — it’s sort of one.
Griffin: We would like folks to really feel comfy and relaxed, both working within the workplace or working from residence on this new setting, and actually simply residing the model. I feel that’s why folks need to work for Pura Vida — due to the tradition and love for the model.
Thanks to Paul and Griffin for sharing their story. You’ll be able to study extra in regards to the firm at puravidabracelets.com.
Editor’s observe: Pura Vida is a domains buyer with GoDaddy.
