We were lucky to catch up with Jason Brohard recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jason thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

At Green Jay Innovations, our mission is deeply personal to me. We’re driven to make functional mushroom supplements accessible to everyone, not just those with disposable income.
This mission took root when I saw how many people could benefit from these natural wellness solutions but were priced out of the market. The healing power of mushrooms shouldn’t be a luxury—it should be available to anyone seeking better health outcomes through natural means.
But our mission extends beyond affordability. We believe true wellness includes the health of our communities and environment. That’s why we organize regular community trash cleanups in Trinidad, where volunteers receive a free tincture as our way of saying thanks. We’ve also built partnerships with local businesses to host food drives that have exceeded our expectations in participation and impact.
What makes this mission meaningful for me is witnessing how these initiatives create a ripple effect. When someone who thought these supplements were out of reach discovers our products and experiences benefits, they share that with others. When volunteers come together to clean our streets or donate food, it strengthens community bonds.
We’re not just selling mushroom supplements—we’re cultivating a more accessible approach to wellness while nurturing the places we call home. That intersection of personal health and community health is what gets me out of bed every morning and drives everything we do at Green Jay.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My journey into the world of medicinal mushrooms began quite personally. After experiencing the remarkable benefits of functional mushrooms firsthand, I realized there was a significant gap in the market: high-quality mushroom supplements were often prohibitively expensive for everyday people. This realization sparked the founding of Green Jay Innovations in Trinidad, Colorado.
Our company specializes in creating accessible, affordable mushroom-based wellness products. Our line includes dual-extract tinctures of various medicinal mushrooms like Lion’s Mane, Cordyceps, Reishi, Turkey Tail, and Chaga, as well as specialized formulations like our “Power 5” blend that combines multiple mushroom benefits. We’ve expanded into mushroom-infused honey products and personal care items like our Tremella Mushroom and Moroccan Argan Oil Lotion and Hair Regrowth Serum.
What truly separates Green Jay Innovations from others in the functional mushroom space is our unwavering commitment to accessibility. While many companies position mushroom supplements as premium products with premium price tags, we’ve deliberately structured our business to keep costs down without compromising quality. We believe the remarkable health benefits of medicinal mushrooms should be available to everyone, not just those with disposable income.
This philosophy extends beyond our pricing model into our community engagement. We regularly organize community trash cleanups where volunteers receive free tinctures as a thank you for their participation. We’ve also established partnerships with local Trinidad businesses to host food drives that have had tremendous success in supporting our neighbors in need.
I’m most proud of the feedback we receive from customers who thought these types of natural wellness solutions were beyond their reach until they discovered our products. Hearing stories about how our Lion’s Mane tincture has supported someone’s cognitive health, or how our Cordyceps product has helped with energy levels, reinforces that we’re on the right path.
For those considering Green Jay Innovations products, I want them to know three things: First, we never compromise on quality despite our accessible pricing—our dual-extract process ensures maximum bioavailability of the beneficial compounds. Second, when you purchase from us, you’re supporting a company that actively reinvests in community wellbeing. And third, we’re always available to help guide customers to the right products for their specific wellness goals—we’re passionate educators as much as we are product creators.
In a wellness landscape often dominated by expensive trends and exclusivity, Green Jay Innovations stands for the democratization of natural health solutions. Everyone deserves access to the remarkable benefits that mushrooms can provide, and we’re committed to making that possible one tincture, one honey jar, and one community initiative at a time.

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

My funding story is refreshingly simple and speaks to what’s possible with limited resources but unlimited determination. Green Jay Innovations began with just $500 of my own personal savings—money I had set aside from my regular income.
The journey started when I began creating mushroom tinctures for my own use after experiencing their remarkable benefits firsthand. As friends and family members noticed the positive changes and became curious, I’d make small batches to share. The feedback was consistently enthusiastic, which made me realize there was genuine demand for accessible, affordable mushroom supplements in my community.
That $500 investment went toward purchasing basic supplies: organic mushrooms, extraction materials, simple amber glass bottles, and minimal labeling. I operated with extreme efficiency, making each dollar stretch as far as possible. My kitchen became my production facility, and my initial marketing was entirely word-of-mouth and free social media platforms.
What I lacked in capital, I made up for with sweat equity. I spent countless evenings and weekends perfecting formulations, designing labels at my kitchen table, and personally delivering products to early customers. Every dollar of profit went straight back into the business—buying more ingredients, improving packaging, and gradually expanding our product line.
This bootstrap approach taught me invaluable lessons about resource management and forced me to be creative with solutions rather than throwing money at problems. It also kept me debt-free during those vulnerable early stages and allowed me to maintain complete ownership of my vision.
I believe my story demonstrates that the American dream of building something meaningful from modest beginnings is still very much alive. While substantial startup capital certainly makes things easier, passion, determination, and a genuinely helpful product can overcome financial limitations. The $500 that launched Green Jay Innovations represents not just money, but the belief that making wellness accessible to everyone was a mission worth pursuing—a belief that continues to drive our growth today.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

We currently sell primarily through our own website powered by Square Online, which was a deliberate choice aligned with our mission and values.
When I started Green Jay Innovations with just $500 and a commitment to making mushroom supplements accessible to everyone, I needed a solution that would allow me to maintain control over our pricing, presentation, and customer experience. Our own website gives us this autonomy while keeping our overhead costs low—savings we pass directly to our customers.

The pros of selling through our own site have been significant:

First, we maintain direct relationships with our customers. When someone has questions about which mushroom product might best support their needs, they’re connecting directly with us, not with a marketplace intermediary. This personal touch is essential when dealing with wellness products, as we can provide education and guidance that simply isn’t possible through third-party platforms.
Second, we avoid the substantial fees that marketplaces like Amazon charge, which would force us to either raise our prices (contradicting our accessibility mission) or reduce our product quality to maintain margins.
Third, we have complete control over our brand presentation. Our website reflects our values, tells our story authentically, and provides educational content about mushroom benefits that helps customers make informed decisions.
That said, there are challenges to our approach:
The biggest con is visibility. Platforms like Amazon and Etsy come with built-in traffic and discovery tools that our independent site doesn’t have. We have to work harder on our marketing and community outreach to compensate for not being on these high-traffic marketplaces.
Additionally, we handle all fulfillment ourselves rather than using programs like Amazon’s FBA. While this increases our workload, it allows us to personally inspect each product before it ships and include handwritten notes of gratitude to our customers—small touches that strengthen our community connections.
We do maintain a small presence on Etsy to capitalize on their discovery features, but we keep this limited and use it primarily as a gateway to introduce new customers to our full website and local community initiatives.
As we grow, we’re constantly evaluating our sales channel strategy, but our commitment to direct customer relationships and keeping our products affordable will always guide these decisions. For Green Jay Innovations, our website isn’t just a sales platform—it’s an extension of our community-focused mission.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://greenjayinnovations.square.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Greenjayinnovations/#
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreenJayInnovations/