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

Ming, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Fighting plastic waste is my mission. The impact of plastic goes beyond our planet — it extends to human health, environmental justice, and animal welfare.

When we produce and toss so much plastic, it gradually breaks down into tiny microplastic particles that float in our air, slosh around in our waterways, seep into our soil, and get in our food. They are in us. Microplastic contamination has been found in our lungs, blood, even unborn babies. Every week, you are ingesting about a credit card’s worth of microplastic.

When we say “throw away”, there isn’t an “away”. There’s only a transfer of the burden, from privileged homes to the less privileged homes near waste sites. Landfills are disproportionately located near low-income and BIPOC communities that have to live with land, water, and air contamination. Their next generation may also be born with higher rates of health issues.

When we leave plastic trash behind, wildlife bears the consequences. Would we like it if someone left trash all over our home? Especially when we may innocently mistake it for food? Recycling simply isn’t good enough. Cutting waste at the source is imperative.

Less plastic; more human, animal, and environmental wellbeing — That’s my mission. That’s why I founded a plastic-free goods company, Zebo.

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?

Growing up in Beijing in the nineties, I lived with my highly waste-conscious grandparents. Things like biking to school everyday, bringing reusable metal containers to restaurants, and repurposing torn shirts as rags were the norm in our home. When I moved to the US at 14 years old, I experienced a tremendous shock in every way: the culture, the language (I didn’t speak English at the time), and the unfathomable amount of disposable items. Take just paper — I had never used Kleenex or paper towels before (single-use), only handkerchiefs and dish clothes (reusable). But as a teenager desperate to fit in, I gradually learned to be fluent in English and the throwaway culture.

A few years after college, I was attempting a double-move: moving to a new apartment myself, and helping relocate our family home at the same time. Oh boy. The literal mountain of boxes felt so daunting, I couldn’t stop thinking: How did I get here? Since when did I start accepting endless, mindless consumption as my norm?

The decision to go minimalist and plastic-free felt natural and almost effortless — it simply made sense. The execution was anything but. It’s intimidating having to sift through a bajillion products claiming to be “eco-friendly” or “sustainable”. Where do I start? Who do I trust? Why are these products so expensive? A few weeks in, the pains were piling up and up. Yet to me, unlearning plastic was urgent and necessary. This has to be easier.

I created Zebo to simplify plastic-free living. Zebo is for the savvy and sustainability-minded shopper to get their everyday essentials, from toothpaste to laundry detergent. I rigorously vet every product in Zebo’s collection, so that everything is beautiful, effective, plastic-free, toxin-free, cruelty-free, and vegan.

Have you ever had to pivot?

While I think plastic waste requires system-level solutions, I also believe in the power of individual action. I launched Zebo with a 100% direct-to-consumer model because I wanted to empower everyday shoppers like me with easier, more sustainable choices. But with a bootstrapped budget and an intentionally minimal social media presence, organic customer acquisition has been slow. That was okay, because I didn’t rely on Zebo, a passion-driven side hustle, for income.

In January 2024, I got a call from my boss and HR. My employer had decided to lay me and my team off in a “restructuring effort”.

Processing this non-choice and a bruised ego took time, as I had always prided myself on being a high performer. More so than ever, I wanted to approach my professional next steps with the same mindfulness as I did in choosing a low-waste lifestyle. After more time and several half-hearted interview attempts, I decided, for at least the next 18 months, to be a full-time entrepreneur.

A pivot in my career triggered a pivot in Zebo’s strategy and business model. Zebo is now my sole focus and source of income, in urgent need for profitability and growth. I’m lucky to have so many bright, overwhelmingly supportive allies in my corner — my fiancé (who built his own startup and introduced Zebo to his employees), family (my mom is Zebo’s longest-running customer and shot the videos on our website), part-time team (from cofounders, advisors, friends who volunteered help or became customers, to student consultants) — to help me craft a new roadmap for Zebo.

In addition to consumers, I expanded Zebo to help organizations “live” plastic-free easily. For instance, Zebo curates sustainable offices supplies and corporate gifting for businesses. Zebo also provides plastic-free room amenities to boutique hotels.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

As the pivot to B2B was taking shape, one of my advisors asked during our check-in, “Have you tried talking to local hotels?” I hadn’t thought of it. The next day, I started calling front desks, introducing myself and asking to reach whoever was in charge of buying guest amenities. Dozens and dozens hung up on me or transferred me to voicemail — except one.

A kind, helpful receptionist at a 5-star hotel redirected me to the housekeeping line. A manager happened to be free and pick up. “Hello?” I was almost startled by a human, warm voice. “Oh, good afternoon! My name is Ming, I’m a small business owner here in Austin. I specialize in premium, plastic-free dental and bath products…” I began reciting my over-rehearsed pitch, a bit cotton-mouthed.

“That sounds interesting, do you work next Saturday? Come in with your products, I’d like to see them.”

Elated, I latched on immediately, “Yes of course! Does 10am work? I will be there.”

On Saturday morning, I drove to the hotel. After parking my beat-up Subaru in a lot packed with Jaguars and Porsches, I carried a weighty product demo box to the front desk and found a well-dressed woman standing besides the receptionists and beaming. “Hi, are you Ming?”

“Yes! Hi! So nice to meet you! Thank you so much for waiting for me!” I took a quick swipe on my jeans to dry my palm, and exchanged a firm handshake with her.

She walked me to her office. We spent the next hour poring over each product I brought. At the end, she asked, “Can you custom-design a dental kit for me? I probably need 100 soon”.

“Absolutely! I can come back in 2 weeks and show you a couple design samples. Does that work?”

It did. She became my very first hotel client. She gave me a chance when others wouldn’t, when no one else knew who I was or what Zebo did.

If you’re in a similar place and hesitating, go for it. Your first break may just be your next call.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shopzebo.com
• Instagram: @shop.zebo

Image Credits

Yonghui Chen, David Surtasky