We recently connected with Ashley Crawford and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashley, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I was preparing myself to be a vegan food entrepreneur without even realizing it! Starting my vegan journey nearly 15 years ago allowed me to be able to experiment with different recipes and find things that I really enjoyed cooking. Although veganism is much more popular now, it was a challenge for me when I first became vegan, especially dining out so cooking was the only way for me eat what I wanted. The name “Vēginning” actually came about jokingly. While having a conversation with a friend a couple years ago she says “You really have been vegan since the beginning, before it was a thing” I was like yeah the Veginning! A lightbulb went off in my head and the concept of Vēginning Vegan was born. It doesn’t come from a place of arrogance just a cool play on words. I wanted to bring a fun, quirky, modern approach to food and create a menu that reflected me as well so I knew I wanted it to be comfort food too. Because LA already has a huge vegan food scene it was a little easier for me to get started. I began popping up at farmers markets, street fairs, and food festivals.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Although I am not a classically trained chef, food as been a passion of mine for a long time. I grew up humbly in Detroit, Michigan and moved to LA about 8 years ago. Before I started Vēginning, my background was art and beauty, so leaping into the food industry was a completely different, yet challenging experience for me. I am most proud of myself for having the courage to try something new and other people actually enjoy it too.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was being afraid to ask for help. I learned that in the process of entrepreneurship receiving as much help as possible is key to growing your business. My family and friends helped me a lot with my Popup events, even the initial setup of Vēginning and all the legal stuff was assisted by my mother who is much more experienced and knowledgeable in that area. So this allowed me to be able to focus on the creative aspects of my business.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

The initial capital used to start my business was solely from my own savings. I invested in my food and product inventory. Selling equipment and hardware. Bought a Billboard in LA to advertise, paid for Instagram ads and other marketing tools. You name it, I definitely did it!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://vginning-vegan.square.site
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/veginning.vegan