Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Bri Hart. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Bri, thanks for joining us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?

“Consumers want to buy from mission-driven brands, but often have to work too hard or spend too much to find products that align with their values. For too long, they’ve faced the choice between shopping for convenience or with their conscience,” said Briana Hart, Founder and CEO of buyVerde. “Our framework is designed to not only make it Amazon-easy for consumers to shop their values, but also to ensure each dollar spent goes to the impact they choose, because we’ve done significant work to validate and verify our vendors’ impact.”

Bri, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

buyVerde’s is the top online marketplace for social impact products. Our mission is to showcase a brand’s impact standards at the point of purchase. The company’s Standards Board uses a Values Framework with 6 categories so consumers can see how a brand is driving change and clearly understand a self-reported value versus one that has been vetted by an external organization. To validate this framework, buyVerde worked with the University of Virginia’s Batten School of Public Policy.

Our technology solves the two largest barriers facing value-based shopping today: the challenge of finding reliable information on which brands are making an impact in your price-point and the time it takes to find that information. Whether it’s household cleaners, baby care, personal care, cruelty free beauty, pet products, or health & wellness goods, consumers can filter by the values they care about most, or by price, and get instant results – all from mission driven brands.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Finding a cofounder is always so elusive. But I think the pathway to success is building the right team at the top, with different skillsets. Whenever you meet good people that have a culture fit and are smart and talented – even if it’s not the right time, it’s so important to maintain that connection. I had interviewed my cofounder and immediately thought he was a star and the right fit for a partner. But the timing wasn’t right – he took another job, and I kept interviewing. A year later, I reached out to see how his experience at a startup was – and he happened to be open to work. I brought him on as a cofounder 3 months later – but we did a “trial” before he joined to ensure he liked the work, got a peek under the hood and liked working with me. It was the best thing we could have done!! And he has been the best cofounder and partner I could imagine to drive the business forward in ways that I couldn’t alone.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

The current market environment is very difficult for startups and small businesses alike. There is a high level of burnout amongst everyone – and it’s quick to surface. I see it personally, and I also see it in my employees. I find the best way to handle this is to have a culture where it’s OK to talk about this with your boss / mentor / direct reports. Through these conversations, we’ve surfaced both reasons for burnout and how to pivot their career path to better align with their goals.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.buyverde.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buyverde/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buyverde/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buy-verde/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/buyverde

Image Credits
Juliet Wines, Caldera Lab, Lovesong Beauty