We recently connected with Dianna Aguilar & Tanya Major and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dianna & Tanya thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

We are both actors so we’ve never had “regular jobs”! Our lives have always been filled with uncertainty, inconsistency, and spontaneity when it comes to earning a living. Being a business owner is in many ways very similar. The difference lies in the empowerment that entrepreneurship brings with it. When we first started élevé our goal was to create a future in which we weren’t dependent on any acting gig or job to put us to work.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

We are best friends and cofounders who searched tirelessly for a simple yet refined sparkling water with health benefits. The problem with many popular sparkling waters on the market is that oftentimes they include additives such as sugar, sweeteners, artificial colors, or mysterious “natural flavors,” which can create a bitter aftertaste. When we couldn’t find exactly what we were looking for, we quite literally poured everything we had into making it ourselves! It took 2 years before we had a physical product in hand. After much research, several formulations, countless obstacles (and many tears), we are beyond proud of our three unique, functional, and delicious flavors.

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

Something we talk about frequently is the fact that we are both perfectionists, sometimes to a fault. Mostly it’s a good thing; everything we do comes with great love and attention to detail. But we often find ourselves so immersed in work that it can be difficult to take time for ourselves and just breathe. We’ve learned to lean on each other without any guilt, and to make sure we have dedicated personal time to decompress and spend time with loved ones.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Many roadblocks have led to unexpectedly positive outcomes, usually better than what was planned. For example, we originally wanted powdered adaptogens but our test batch was a complete fail! We had spent so much time and money sourcing the ingredients and perfecting our formulations, but our co-packer was unable to dissolve the powders properly. They ended up burning in the process and floating to the top of the vessel… so much product was lost and we were completely deflated. We needed to pivot and reformulate with liquid adaptogens. In doing so we found an amazing company out of Hawaii that uses organic extracts which blend beautifully with our organic flavors. The taste of the sparkling water is even more nuanced than our original formulation and we couldn’t be happier with the final result.

Contact Info:

• Website: elevewater.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/elevewater/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elevewater
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevewater/

Image Credits
First photo of founders: Wes & Alex Photography Product pictures: Alasdair Benson & Cassie Deane