We recently connected with Ari Tenenbaum and have shared our conversation below.
Ari, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Any thoughts about whether to ask friends and family to support your business. What’s okay in your view?
Starting a business is one of the most challenging things anyone can take on. For me personally, having a strong network of family and friends has been critical to my success. When we started Revolution Landscape, our first landscape projects were done on yards of friends and family. When we launched Instant Biologics and our flagship product, Instant Plant Food, we ran a Kickstarter campaign that was successful in large part due to participation from friends and family. Its not always easy to ask for help supporting a business or other project, but when you are truly passionate about something, most friends and family are happy for the opportunity to help you create something that will have a positive impact beyond just themselves.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
With a background in plant science and ecology, my career goals are to create sustainable solutions for environmental challenges, improve community health, and contribute to an economy focused on making positive change.
As a landscape architect I accomplish these goals by designing sustainable landscapes throughout Southern California. I am also a co-founder of the company Instant Biologics LLC which is developing a range of waterless products that help people, pets, and plants thrive. Instant Biologics’ flagship product is called Instant Plant Food™.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I love helping people connect with nature. All of my professional life has shared this common thread. Whether its teaching kids about organic gardening, presenting to other design professionals about sustainable landscape strategies, or developing a product that makes feeding houseplants easy earth-friendly – at its core, everything I do is about cultivating a deeper connection with the natural world.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
When COVID first happened we were not sure what the future of landscaping was going to look like. We had already been working on our houseplant fertilizer Instant Plant Food, but in Spring of 2020 we accelerated those plans as a result of the pandemic. Since then landscaping, has largely returned to normal although it continues to be plagued by material shortages and volatile pricing.
We continue to provide our high-end landscape design-build services while growing our other business Instant Biologics. Moving into consumer packaged goods from the design service industry has been a steep learning curve but we are really excited about the prospects of both of our businesses.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://instantplantfood.com/
- Instagram: @instantplantfood
- Facebook: @instantplantfood
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arieltenenbaum/
- Twitter: @InstaPlantFood
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/InstantPlantFood
- Other: https://www.revolutionlandscape.com/
Image Credits
Pauline Scully (head shot only)