Interview by Jonathan Kersting
What if you could turn off the tap of single-use plastic while simultaneously building a thriving business that supports local communities?
Today we're diving into the extraordinary journey of Terravive with founder and CEO Julianna Keeling and COO Joe Swider. In this episode, you'll discover three game-changing insights:
1. How to Build a Business-First Approach - Learn why Juliana, who started with zero business knowledge while in college, emphasizes building a strong business foundation before falling in love with your product idea, and how accelerator programs can be your secret weapon.
2. The Power of the Triple Threat - Discover how being a woman, minority, and veteran-owned company isn't just about checking boxes—it's about bringing unique perspectives that drive innovation in sustainable manufacturing.
3. Scaling With Purpose - Find out how Terravive grew from a college startup to operating across 16 contract manufacturing facilities and three warehouses while staying true to their environmental mission.
Terravive's story is compelling because it proves that you don't need a business background to build something transformative. Julianna started as a chemistry student from a family of doctors, armed with knowledge of biomaterials but no business experience. Today, she's leading a company that's revolutionizing how we think about packaging and sustainability. This conversation, recorded in the Huntington Bank Studios, reveals the scars, the wins, and the wisdom gained from 11 years of building a business that matters.
The Pittsburgh Technology Council produces TechVibe to explore Pittsburgh technology, innovation and entrepreneurial community.
Transcription:
Great to have you guys here in the Huntington Bank Studios. I always say it, the best conversations happen right here 'cause I'm hanging out with people that are building really cool stuff and you guys are no exception to that rule. So thanks for being here. Thank you so much, Jonathan. It is truly a pleasure.
We always start with introduction, so our listener knows who's who and what's what. Juliana, let's start with you. Sounds great. Yeah. Thank you so much, Jonathan, for having us and thanks to Huntington for, for sponsoring and supporting. We love it. My name's Juliana Keeling, I'm the founder.
CEO of te started the business about 11 years ago and have grown it. We're now at about 16 different contract manufacturing facilities and three warehouses. We're on a mission to turn off the tap of single use plastic support local communities, and we're proud to say that we're a woman, minority and veteran-owned company.
You're the official triple threat Exactly. In Pittsburgh's thing. So Yeah, I agree. I I love that. And then Joe Yeah. What do you do all day long besides annoying her all day? Oh yeah. Well, someone needs to keep her in mind.
I know exactly. [00:01:00] You're not right. You know. Hi, I'm Joe Schweider. I'm the the Chief Operating Officer. And co-owner with, with Juliana. Mm-hmm. Regionally from Pittsburgh. Yeah. You know, lifelong Steelers fan and you know, went, I grew up, grew up in in Oakdale and then I went to Canavan. I was in in the military.
I was in the Navy. Went out, started a couple companies, and then bumped into Juliana about six years ago. Saw the potential and we just haven't looked back. I love it. We just skyrocketed ever since. Yeah. Well give us the overview of all that you guys do because I'm just a huge fan. God bless plastic and it's wonderfulness and what it does for the world, but also I hate seeing plastic just being tossed when it doesn't have to be tossed.
Yep. Now you can make, throw a single use stuff out of entirely compostable recyclable materials. Right? Absolutely. Am I getting close to this? You are. You are. Okay. Good, good, good. And what Terra VI is here to do is to turn off the tap of single use plastic. Yeah. And improve the health and wellbeing of people in the environment, but on a larger scale, you know, in a way that is not going to [00:02:00] sacrifice the convenience and our lifestyle of single use plastic.
Yeah. So, you know. Polyethylene based plastics, your LDPs, hdps, your traditional single use plastics. They were a great material, but we should think about it in the way that Thomas Edison produced his first light bulb. The first light bulb, you know, produced fluorescent light. It worked, but we are now at the point of LEDs.
I like that very much. Yes, TE V is all about bringing LEDs to the marketplace from a material perspective. We've come such a long way, and so Tera V is. Producing the highest quality compostable materials and you know. Providing them in a single use format, like, you know, like clamshells bowls, plates, cutlery, Togo containers, things of that nature, but may not of fully compostable materials so that when you use them you can really feel guilt free.
I that I wanna feel more guilt free. 'cause sometimes I don't, you go out and you get something to eat and you pick something up and you're like, well, I have no choice. Exactly. At least we [00:03:00] don't see as much styrofoam as we once did. I mean, that used to be the. Thing. And when you do see that in this day and age, like what are you trying to kill me and the planet?
We agree. Have, have you ever heard of the statistic that every single piece of plastic that's ever been created on the earth today still here, right? Is still here. So think about every single plastic that you've used, that I've used, that Joe's used, that everybody around the world has used, that our grandparents have used.
Yeah. It's still here in some form. Wow. That's crazy. Like, which is crazy. Yeah. And by 2040 there will be more plastics than fish in the ocean by weight. Oh my goodness. So it's really a pervasive, huge problem. It is. But we have a solution. Yeah. Well, tell us about that solution before we jump into that though.
Yes. I gotta know like, what, what inspired you to actually start this? I'm always impressed when people start something because that's, that's a big lift. I feel like somebody with your background, your intelligence, your knowhow, I mean, you could work pretty much any place you want to, but you decide like, I'm doing something.
For yourself, for to do something that, on your own [00:04:00] terms, which I think is always impressive. Thank you. Thank you. And you've do this for 11 years now, which I means like you're doing something right? Right. I mean, come on. Thank you very much. It's been, we've been, you know, we've been really fortunate to have a ton of success.
Okay. Ever since the business has been started. But you know, really for a couple different reasons. You know, Joe knows I've, I've shared this before, but I've always been extremely passionate about sustainability. Okay. And when I was growing up, I was working on research that was utilizing these types of materials that could look and perform like a single use plastic.
Yeah. But break down like an orange peel or, okay. And so basically we took that research out of the lab and then brought it into the marketplace. Where were you studying that technology? So I had really been working on this since I was in high school. Wow. Even when I was. I went to a math and science specialty center in high school and then was working at the local university and then got a full ride merit scholarship to Washington and Lee University.
Very cool. Where they gave me research funds specifically to continue this research. And then at that point, between my first and second year I used some of those research funds to go to San Francisco, where I learned [00:05:00] how do you take a kernel of an idea? Mm-hmm. Make that something larger. And then the other piece of it that I saw and that really had bothered me at the time was that, you know, others who were in this space were not, they were simply importing all of these products.
They were not actually making or manufacturing anything in the us. Wow. That's another green factor right there. Exactly. The fact that you have to ship that stuff across the ocean, those scope three emissions. So everything you do, you actually manufacture here in the States. Exactly. We manufacture everything from the raw material production.
All the way to the finished Good. We manufacture in the United States and we're the only one who's doing that. And we've been the only one who's been doing that for the last 11 years across a a a across a hundred products. Across a hundred different products. Wow. A hundred different products. Good lord.
So you're talking fork spoons? Yes. Plates. Dishes. Like take everything. Take out bags. Take out bags. The whole nine yards. Exactly. Wow. Which is another piece of sustainability as well, you know. There's the environmental side of it, but there's also supporting local communities. Yeah. You know, everything that we do should give back.
Just like how we do in the world of, you know, the, the products. We believe that [00:06:00] manufacturing is a great source of employment and hundred percent is a great source of Yeah. You know, economic strength is our, for our country. And so we need a strong industrial base. And you mentioned that you have a, well, you're manufacturing in 11.
Facilities. 16. I'm sorry. 16. Yes. Why was I thinking 11? So 16 facilities. That's impressive. Yes. It's, it's critical for a redundant capacity. Okay. A lot of people who you know, import from other countries have experienced the pain of, of the New Year's and, you know, all these different holiday changes and mm-hmm.
And it really creates a huge issue. I can share some success stories that customers have had, you know. Switching over from these things. Mm-hmm. But it creates a huge pinch and pain point when they're not able to get products a hundred percent right. What we have nailed is the ability to, you know, have a very secure, reliable supply chain by having multiple different locations that can produce the same product.
Amazing. So, Joe, I can understand why you were like, I'm joining this thing. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I would too. I'd be like, [00:07:00] wait a second, this is pretty cool stuff. You're like, Hey, have you ever thought about hiring a guy like me? I was like, so, hey, so, what you doing? I, how, how, how did you pull this off? This is, this is amazing stuff.
Yeah. But, but I, I feel like, so, so first off what, what has you here in Pittsburgh? Joe, go ahead. So, yeah, so, I thought he's, he's like bringing it here. He is like, we know we're gonna be, we're gonna be in Pittsburgh. Yeah. Well, no, I, I, I, I just think, you know, I, I was I lived through Pittsburgh during the high Times, the low times, you know, in the eighties, nineties, and then went away for the military, started a bunch of companies down south.
And but over the years, the last 15 years, I was always tied into the tech community around here. Fortunately, you know, I've, I've known Audrey for a while and you know, some of the folks and over the years, you know, I've started or been part of some teams that have started some companies here, like interface materials.
Mm-hmm. You know, with Snyder. Yeah, absolutely. Man. New folks over at in Lio, you know, Brian John. Yep. And when we're looking at different different expansion areas we started the company down in Richmond, Virginia. [00:08:00] And we were looking at different areas to expand, and so we said, let's, let's give Pittsburgh a shot.
And it's a, it's, it's a big enough city and there's a ton of smart people up here and let's, let's let's put some RD up here, which we have, and let's just expand from there. I love it. I also think there's a lot of untapped there. You know, there are a lot of cities throughout the US that have gotten a ton of recognition with respect to talent.
Innovation and overall capacity for capacity for growth. And I think, you know, there's that old Warren Buffet saying, you know, be, be greedy where others are fearful and be fearful where others are greedy. Mm-hmm. And I view that from the same lens of. Where we spend our time. And I think that in Pittsburgh there's a ton of extremely smart people, a ton of extremely hardworking people, and a long history of industrial success.
And I look at it from that lens. As well. I like that. Yeah. I'm first off, we're glad you're here in Pittsburgh doing what you're doing and you're [00:09:00] finding, finding success so far. Thank you. How long have you been in Pittsburgh for now? About a little over a year. Okay, fantastic. And so I'm just curious. I, I'm always like, I feel like you're like, like, like David Goen gets the giant Goliath, 'cause I'm assuming the industry that creates these one time plastics or even places that are doing.
You know, compostable stuff are, are, are like, like gigantic based in China. So there's these big giants you're going up against. How do you kind of win against them? Because I know obviously with having 16 facilities pumping out your stuff, like, I mean, I I love you're doing something I love. One of the things about Joe and I is that we love the David and Goliath game because we win every single time.
I like hearing that. Keep talking gi very cool. Love that game. And we win and we have been winning for the last 11 years. That's amazing. So we have figured out how to outmaneuver, how to, how to. How to beat, beat the Goliaths, but at a larger macro level. Yeah, it hasn't been that hard because. Because we have consumer sentiment in our [00:10:00] direction.
Interesting. That makes sense. I like that. Yes, plastics consumption is going up, but that's a reflection of population increase a hundred percent. Anybody who really thinks about it knows that they would rather use a compostable material that's not going to harm them long term. That's not gonna be around when their great-great-great grandkids are gonna be on forever.
Like that is a disgusting thought. I mean, truly, that's like, you know, you wanna leave and ideally you wanna leave, you know? In a better place, you wanna leave the earth a better place than what you found it. And you know, a mountain of trash is not, is not the answer to that. Exactly. And so consumer sentiment knows that, you know, consumer sentiment is driving the use of compostables, you know.
Made in USA is something that has been around since, you know, this, this movement has been around. Actually, you know, this is something that our founding fathers believed, and our founding fathers actually you know, put requirements in place when we were you know, dealing with the British to require the use of made in USA products.
There you go. And it's just gone through different iterations. [00:11:00] Yeah. But we're now. Come, coming back full circle. I love it. I just think it's so cool making something here in the States that is environmentally friendly. There's a huge market demand for it. Absolutely. This is, I can see why you're, you're, you're, you're growing so much.
Who, who are some of your typical customers? Yeah. You know, I'm happy to share a couple, you know, success stories. Please do. Just some customers who have made some really smart decisions. But, you know, we've had a couple different customers. I'll, I'll speak to the, to the university side. Okay. You know, we have a co, a couple customers in, in Virginia.
You know, one's Virginia Tech. They've been an awesome customer. Another one is Washington and Lee University, also in Virginia. All right. Selling to your own people there. I like this. Okay. They, you know, they, they saw, they saw the value early on and you know, I think a lot of people had challenges, had challenges during the COVID pandemic from the lens of they couldn't get the, their supply chain where they needed it to.
Right. And in the food service business, you've got to get products on time. And so the whole heat with your hands thing gets old after twice. [00:12:00] Right. That's why, especially when people are concerned about contamination. Yeah. Like spreading germs just a little. Doesn't little. Yeah, exactly. So, people did use mo move to more single.
These products, but you know, they need to get those products on time, Uhhuh and when they're expecting them. And so Virginia Tech and Washington and Lee were, were great supporters. They saw the value early on and they, they adopted it immediately. You know, we've also had other, others, you know, like government buildings.
The US House of Representatives has been an awesome, really customer. Yeah. Oh my goodness. Through a That's amazing. Exactly. I love hearing that. Absolutely. I'm sorry. When you, when you That's a cool customer hill and you're the cafeteria's there. Yeah, exactly. It's, it's mostly our product That's terrible products.
Oh, that's what I'm talking about. That's, that's awesome. Well, in, in the, and the driver there was, prior to us coming along, almost all the products there were imported from China. Okay. So if you're a legislator and you're trying to support your, your constituents saying, we wanna bring jobs here, we want American manufacturing.
Oh, by the way, you're gonna be fed on products that are coming from China. Exactly. That may or may not have PFAS on them, you know? Right. The toxin. That's not a good [00:13:00] look. Mm-hmm. Not a good look. So they, they found us, and so that's why we're up there for That's awesome. That's a, that is, I love hearing that.
That's like, okay, yeah. You're doing something right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'm wondering myself, I can understand why you're growing. As fast as you're growing because of me, obviously there's this need, there's, there's this demand. But I still go back to how you've been able to outsmart the big players. I wanna figure out like, how can we get more people, like in Pittsburgh, more companies in Pittsburgh to like make sure they're buying local, right?
Because I think a lot of times people like, they might have an order or something and they're like, yeah. It's like it's, they don't want disrupt something. They may not understand. I don't know. I just feel like there's a way that we can get companies like yours. More traction. Mm-hmm. Locally, what are your thoughts on how we can convince people to be using locally made products?
It's a great question. Especially your product. 'cause you're here right now. I'm like, Hey, I'm gonna see you guys like in some major restaurants of certain types. Yeah. Well AB absolutely. They might have smiley cookies and stuff. Just saying so. Yeah. Or, or, or, or french fries. Exactly. Yeah. Just saying, just saying [00:14:00] just think out loud.
Just thinking loud. Just thinking out loud. I mean, we would not object to that, you know, if our fiber based products, they hold up oil and grease really, really nicely. So you get Perfect. Perfect. And those probably the cookies Sure. Look great with you know, against them, the background of the products.
Would you like to Yeah, I, I, I would say, you know, a, a lot of it Jonathan's about just make sure that, that they're aware of us and then aware of the story. You know, we have some clients that wrap a whole marketing campaign about the TE story. Yeah. And literally it's Juliana starting the business 11 years ago.
Okay. We survived COVID, we've expanded now to 16 plants. It's woman, minority, veteran owned. We're all about American manufacturing, where David and Goliath, and you know, a lot of folks just wrap a marketing story around it. I like that. And as a guy originally from Pittsburgh, folks in Pittsburgh used to take pride in buying American made products.
I don't see as many as there used to be, but me either. And that's why I'm, I want to talk about this because it's something, I mean, the tech council's been talking about this literally for as long [00:15:00] as I've been here, which is longer than you'd ever want to know. Okay. But seriously, like, it's like it's the whole, we've actually had some old school entrepreneurs back in the day, God rest their souls.
I'm not here anymore, but like. Buy Pittsburgh camp, like why do we get behind a buy Pittsburgh campaign? And I kind of want that because I feel like there should be something out there to remind people. There are great solutions, there's great technology, great products being built right here that you can use.
Absolutely. Other cities are doing that. Yeah. Austin for sure does that. Oh, they really? Oh yeah, 100%. You walk into Austin's airport and they have numerous, well, at least one large place that basically is all of the, you know, local things in Boston. We were in Providence earlier this week at a conference, and they had a whole shop and it was just dedicated to, you know, buy problem.
Yeah. Okay. Well, and, and even so, when we were in Austin a couple weeks ago, you know, I, I don't know if you noticed it, Jules, but there was a lot of folks had. You know, products out there, you know, store owners, and it had made in Austin. Yeah. Yeah. They, they, they had tags everywhere. Yes. And they, they took pride.
Yes. In, in American [00:16:00] made products. Products made locally. And to your original question. Personally, I think more folks around Pittsburgh and Western pd Yeah. Should be doing that. So my idea back in the day was, mm-hmm. This is me. Let's hear it. Really dating myself. Let's go. Remember the old Intel inside thing you had?
This is like 1998, right? Yeah, yeah. PGH inside, right? With a little thing going on to it. So whatever you're buying, it says, here's some Pittsburgh inside there. Even if it's a virtual product, it's on the website saying you're buying that. But anyhow, I'm just saying I just wanna see you guys sell as much stuff as possible because obviously you're onto something pretty amazing and it's something that just is so beneficial to, to the environment and, and just us being human beings and not just littering and destroying everything in front of ourselves.
Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I, I'd just say, you know, to to to that point, I was at my mom's house over in Oakdale a couple months ago, and I was walking through the back woods and I found a sand pill, a plastic sand pill that I played with as literally a 3-year-old. Okay. And it was [00:17:00] back there.
And it was still there. Oh, yeah. In fully intact. Fully in intact. It had worms. It was like halfway buried. But that just drove home. I mean, that was. Yeah, it doesn't go away, away. I don't wanna date myself, but that was several decades ago. Point two. Yeah. In, in that several. And you know, and that plastic P is still there.
I mean, completely intact. It goes to Sha, right. Plastic takes, it doesn't, it doesn't away hundreds of thousands of years to disappear. Right. Especially. You know, if you're using something one time, it shouldn't be made outta plastic. Exactly. If it was made outta one of our biomaterials, it would've been gone.
It would've been gone in about six months. Yeah. That's what it would take for something to break down. Yep. I love Max. That's, that's incredible. Yeah. So, I'm, I'm curious are you gonna be adding more products to your lineup, or do you, do you pretty much have the gamut of everything that can be done when it comes to single use?
Yeah. Like where do you guys stand in that regard? You know. From a, from an assortment perspective, our current assortment really is geared around operators, food service operators that are running a takeout [00:18:00] operation. Okay. And so we feel very confident with the current assortment. That being said, you know, we have had certain very large customers come to us and say, Hey, can you guys make this particular product perfect?
Right, right, right. And we'll commit serious volume against it. Yeah. And that has, you know, that's been a awesome dialogue that we've been having. But from a, from a. Yeah, just a business perspective, you know, we're really looking at, you know, with every, with every modicum of growth, putting that back into how do we create a better product mm-hmm.
More on time delivery. Okay. And better serve the customer. Yeah. Rather than adding, adding more and more products. Because I just think from a, this is one of the things I learned at the Target incubator a long time ago. You know, it's not really about. Y you know, if you're increasing your assortment, sometimes that means that things are not going right.
I think that, that, that's not a good sign. You wanna be actually narrowing your assortment over time. Yeah. Because those are the things that have really got the margin that are selling well. That you know that there's repeated need for. Exactly. That's what some of the good, really good merchandisers taught me a long time ago.
Yeah. So, you know, [00:19:00] it's also what the whole product market fit. Right, right. And so you focus on that. So many entrepreneurs just, they think they have a good idea and they develop it. But they don't have an end market to it. That's so I see that so often, and all I wanna do is, yeah, it's unfortunate. Be like, please stop right now.
Yeah, yeah. I'm serious. I mean, if you, if there's not an addressable market right now, a market's not gonna be created because you built something. Right. Sorry. It's like, I know it's devastating, but I know yeah, and that's obviously, I see this market, I think, how many people. I, I can only imagine the billions of people a day that are using takeout.
Oh, yeah. Right. Oh my God. Mean, come on. I mean, that's literally, literally billions of people day. Literally billions of people. People and how like, and they're, they ain't going away. So people for sure are always gonna need the product that you have. Exactly. Which, which is just, it goes to show you, this is such a.
An essential part of our lives in so many ways. Absolutely. Must be all. Start working with our hands, but like I don't think that's happening. I don't think that's gonna happen any, anytime. No. We at least need some Cutler, which we can also provide. Exactly. It's like, wait a second, this is kind of kinda weird.
So. So it's really exciting to see you in this position then. Thank you very much, John. So, so the big thing is like, I mean, how do you [00:20:00] keep up? Are there new technologies that you're looking at absolute. That allow you Absolutely. To use different types of materials Yes. And things like that. So, yes. So that, that's when like the scientist and you starts coming out on a regular basis.
You're like, Joe, I'm putting on the lab coat today. Oh yeah. I'm not, I'm not coming out for a couple days for sure. Yeah, I mean my, my background is in chemistry, which, you know, which it was the genesis of this whole thing. Yeah. There are absolutely, we, we absolutely stay on top of all of the latest and newest technologies from a material perspective.
Mm-hmm. You know, people who are processing things in a different way. But that's also one of the really unique and interesting things that I love about Pittsburgh because, you know, there's so much, I, I really view Pittsburgh as the epicenter of AI and robotics. A hundred percent. A lot of other. Cities and locations, you know, they definitely t themselves as being the epicenter of AI and robotics and they're certainly good at it, but you know, I think Pittsburgh really has a unique hold on it because of what's going on at CMU Pitt and the entire ecosystem around it.
That Pittsburgh Robotics Network, [00:21:00] in addition to what Pittsburgh Technology Council, what we're doing here. A hundred percent. Yeah. So. Get a unique lens into what's coming and you can get some really smart people to look at processes and how things are being done. And I think it is a real competitive advantage.
Yeah. And to your earlier question about how do you how do you outmaneuver or outsmart? Yeah. It's through looking at things in a different way. So like those big, you know, Goliath type companies, it's like moving a, you know, huge animal, like back and forth and it can only. Turn around. Like if you're, if you've got something buzzing, if you've got a fly buzzing in the back, it takes 10 minutes to move.
To move that whole huge Goliath back. But you know, we move, turn around. You're quick, right? Less than a second. Okay. We turn around less than a second. Identify if that fly is something that we need to be worried about or not. If that's something that could be an advantage us or not, and then act accordingly.
Wow. And that is why I love the size that we are and where we're growing because I think we are actually way better positioned for the future. Yeah. [00:22:00] I mean, you keep it nimble, obviously, and that's an, and obviously with having all these facilities to manufacture, you can get big orders out when you need to get them done.
So you can really, you got some real competitive advantage out there. I agree. Yeah. Well, and, and, and plus, you know, we stay focused Yes. And we stay focused on our three pillars. Mm-hmm. You know, it's, you know, American manufacturing, certified compostable products and, you know, our, our ownership structure.
Fortunately, Julian and I. Own the business fully. We don't have any outside investors. Oh, you said the magic words, man. So, so we're in control of our own destiny, but you know, we find our bigger competitors. In, in the, in the greedy side of making more money or profit. Mm-hmm. We have one big one that's a big Chinese importer.
They have gotten into well, they were acquired by a very large plastics company. Yep. So how is that They're trying to diversify. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. They're trying to resite or, or, or they're getting into the the reusable plastic containers. While all the studies that we've seen, those plastic containers get thrown away just as much.
So, you know, they're. Kind of going [00:23:00] down the greedy side, we've stuck to our, our three pillars and we're not wavering. Exactly. The other thing too is, you know. Exactly. We've stuck to those three polars, which is compostable, which I genuinely, truly believe is the most sustainable way to go. Yeah. If we can integrate more composting, which is a work in progress, I will, I will admit, not everybody has access to composting, but we're moving in that, in that direction.
If we can shift. To a single stream composting model and use compostable materials. That is how nature has been Getting rid of waste for billions of years literally turns it into great dirt. You know what Im saying? Exactly. Simple as that. So you can, billions of years you can grow because you can grow more stuff billions.
I, I remember there was like this trend for a while where people were carrying around like their own. Metal straws and stuff. I'm like, oh, that's weird. I'm not a straw dude to begin with. Yeah. Just, I don't need a straw. I'm sorry. I drink whatever the I can't imagine people like gonna carry around like a set of cutlery, like on a ring.
Could you imagine that some people are trying to do that? Oh no. And it's just not, it's not, it's just not. Realistic. You can't put that [00:24:00] in your pocket, man. Well also imagine like you eating tuna and then you like put that in your pocket. Even if you watch an oven, it still smells like tuna. You're carrying around old tuna all day long.
Maybe eat your spaghetti with your tuna smelling fat. Yeah. Like how does that work? I mean, that's just gross. Hey, don't knock it to your truck. Tuna spaghetti. I mean, yeah. Hey, to eat the own, I can't imagine that becoming a tr, I'm trying to think of the, what would be a threat to what you're doing out there?
And it'd be like what people are gonna embrace plastic more like, well, I mean everybody's, you know, plastic. The, the whole industry is just growing. Yeah. You know, plastic is growing, the population's increasing, like there's just an increasing use for this. But, you know, one of the reasons why we have, I have never ideologically ever believed in the, in the Reusables model, because I've looked at the numbers.
I've looked at how much water consumption's needed, I've looked at how much labor is needed. Electricity, but also you're using plastic. Yes. Some people have, you know, a, a metal version, but they all utilize plastic components. Terabyte is about no plastic, no plastic, no more polyethylene [00:25:00] based plastic.
Okay. That's what our whole me is. My dad would cry if you heard you say, well, but, but I would tell him not to cry, but he would. But polyethylene, he was probably doing bigger products. He was doing bigger, bigger products, but also like polyethylene based plastics is. Is the foundational building blocks for how we are here today.
We needed polyethylene based plastics to get to polylactic acid, to get to poly hydroxybutyrate, to get to PHB. These are, that was a fundamental step, and we actually use a lot of the same equipment. So a lot of those people who are very skilled in polyethylene lene. Interesting. So, uses the same equipment, injection molding and skillset injection.
Yeah. You're just putting a different material that you're, that you're injecting exactly. Into it. That's it. That's it. Interesting. So you're just, rather than using, you know. You know, petroleum based polyethylene, you're just using a slightly different resin that's produced in a different way. Exactly. It has a different chemical composition.
Very cool. I don't know, I just, I, I'm, I'm completely So your dad shouldn't cry. No, he's not. I like to be dramatic just because, you know, I'm, I'm all about the readings here. Let's bring him in here. Absolutely. [00:26:00] So, so with all this activity going on, I mean, you guys in a hiring mode at all, like Yes. Yeah. How big is the Tevi staff?
Yep. So across the entire, so. One of the, I'll, I'll give you a little secret sauce. Okay. I like this. I'll give you a little secret sauce. Yeah. So one of our secret sauces has to been, has been to maintain a hundred percent control of the business. I like that. And ownership of the business, I should rather say.
Okay. And that has enabled us to make decisions that are best for our customers. Okay. And best for our employees. So what we've done is, you know, not take on outside investment. You know, fund it through cash flow and bootstrap it. But then we've also utilized, you know, contract manufacturing. We've also utilized a lot of, you know, contracting.
We've also, you know, contracted out a lot of, a lot of hires. And so, you know, throughout the us, between the manufacturing locations, warehousing, it's over a thousand jobs, contracted jobs that we're supporting. Wow. Thousand American jobs. That's so awesome. Yes, so very cool. It's, it's a huge chunk [00:27:00] and each of those manufacturing drugs has a significant downstream positive impact on the economy.
These are people who are, you know, buying a house. They're gonna to the grocery store. They're getting movies. Getting takeout. Getting takeout. Exactly. Exactly. You know, versus, you know, some other jobs where, you know, it has, you know, it's, it's, it's just one person who might be moving a lever or something like that, versus there's a lot of jobs being created here and a big impact on the community.
That's so, yeah. So we, yes, we are absolutely hiring. Would you like to add anything to this? Yeah, so I, I, I like that. 2, 2, 2 things that, so, yes. So on the hiring side, we are hiring some sales folks on the commercial, non-commercial side. So think of distribution, think of universities. And then also some logistics folks, logistics managers.
So we're definitely staffing up there. But on the multiplier effect that Juliana just mentioned you know, I, I took issue one time a couple weeks ago with a reporter from Bloomberg and they had someone, they had a shop owner up there talking about how bad the tariffs are and how it was [00:28:00] hurting their business.
They employed two people and they were importing, their entire store came from China. Mm-hmm. In Asia. Mm-hmm. So their economic impact is two people. And I told the, the reporter, I said, if Te Viv. You know, if Terra v manufactures products, we employ people, then the, all the downstream effects to the, to the, to the barber, to the laundromat, to the parts tolling companies.
So we have a massive, massively larger impact on the economy than someone that's just a shop owner importing everything from China. Makes sense. Yeah. And so he and I went back and forth. Okay. And he interviewed us and Wow. That interview may, may, may be coming out, but, but I took issue because all the press was about how bad these mom and mom and pops were.
Right. Whereas we're trying to, you know, create thousands jobs. Yeah. Well and you're taking a much different tack than a lot of companies do. 'cause it is easy to say, I'm gonna. I got the easy access to these very inexpensive things. I can bring them in and sell them at a profit and make money, which is totally [00:29:00] cool.
Yeah. But now you're, you're dependent on someone else's platform, for lack of a better term, right? Mm-hmm. You're, you're dependent on China. Yep. Something like this happens. That's the, that's what happens in business. And one thing I've learned from some entrepreneurs over the past, which is what you're exactly doing right now is the fact that you have full control because you're keeping this within the country.
Mm-hmm. Right. To domestic is a lot easier to, to keep track of than what's gonna happen abroad. So. Exactly. I think that's a, that was a really smart move upfront. I mean, to be able to ba to say that we're not gonna be reliant. And it's interesting you on things outside the country. So, yeah. Thank you very much.
And it's interesting you mentioned that too, because when we first did it, it wasn't even from a, it wasn't even from a business perspective when we first made that decision. Yeah. To. Produce everything in the United States. It was actually a poor business decision. It was when? Huh? It was before COVID.
Okay. Like everybody, it was much cheaper to bring product in. Yeah. I guess it'd be easier just to start out because you could like, yeah, I have access to these things and it was less expensive because China, Vietnam, and others we've known are dumping product into the United States. Mm-hmm. You know? At a significant [00:30:00] loss to keep, to put our industrial base, you know, out of work.
So at the time it was actually a very poor decision, but we did it anyway because Joe and I like to say that we are the most patriotic, disposables company out there. Good Lord. I, I would, I love it. I would very much challenge anybody who wants to say that they're more patriotic than vi you know, so we, we really did it because we thought that it was the best thing for the country.
It's the best thing for our industrial base, and it's something that's in line with our mission and our values. That's awesome, man. I love it. Also very patriotic. Yeah. It's, it's it's line with the made in USA piece. Would you agree? Disagree. I fully, fully agree. We have red, white, and blue everywhere. I was gonna say, but, you know, but, but also, you know, when you look at the sustainability side for the purists out there, they realize how much pollution is created when you ship products across 7,000 miles.
Miles. It's often, often not accounted for in something. Exactly, yes. And so there's the pollution from the unregulated factories overseas. To the pollution shipping 7,000 miles. So, mm-hmm. Is it really worth the [00:31:00] pollution footprint for a hot cup, one hot cup or a fork to ship at all that distance? And by the way, that plastic fork will be here for your great-great-great grandchildren.
So is that, you know, so the purists out there are really starting to look at the, the pollution footprint of importing. Mm-hmm. And we doesn't stuck sense to our guns. Make, you know, since 2015. It's an exciting story. I, the tech council know we're huge fans of what you're doing, just on many levels. Thank you.
But thank you. I get to talk to you more about this, your passion and enthusiasm for this. To me it, it's like, oh, I just, I don't know. Like keep going, keep, thank you very much. It just makes sense. We believe in it and it's not stuff, I mean, no, I can see it in this. This isn't your core here. This isn't just something you're trying to build and flip, which people do.
And that's fun. That 100%. Now what's going on here? You're building something 'cause you. See an opportunity to do something that's very impactful across many different levels here, which I think is just awesome and I'm so happy you're in Pittsburgh. Thank you. Doing this. Thank you very much. But before I wrap things up though, I always have to ask people just, I love being able to tap into our members who are [00:32:00] building great stuff to give us a little advice.
I mean, I think anyone just listening to this will have picked up some key advice from you about building business, but any kind of something key that you really learned along the way, building this thing that you think could be helpful to others. Yes. That are also trying to, to, to build something kind of cool and unique?
Yes. Okay. I have many, many, and I have scar in my back. I have many. Okay. Well from the, we we'll start, we'll give you the top one. Gimme the top one. We'll give you the top one. Okay. And we'll, we can have you stop by for two, three, and four at some point because I'm open to getting as much information as possible.
So yes, give us the number one then, Juliana. Okay. I would say. For someone who's first starting out. So keep in mind, when I started the business, I was in college, knew nothing about business, knew a lot about chemistry. Mm-hmm. Knew a lot about biomaterials. Sure. But knew nothing about business. My parents are, my family are doctors.
Like, you know, really did not come from a business background at all. Okay. What I would say, and this is something that Joe helped to make it clear to me, is that. You know, when you're first starting out, you wanna build a strong business first. You [00:33:00] don't wanna build a cool product because you think it's cool.
You wanna build a strong business first, and here's the way to do that. So everybody says that, but then they're like, well, you know, it takes money to produce this stuff. Okay. So something that I found was really successful was going to a couple different accelerator programs. A hundred percent. Okay? So one of the ones that I went to was the target incubator in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
They gave non-dilutive. Funding as well as, you know, introduced us to the entire C-suite at Target. Taught me how to do, how to do business in retail. Taught me how to negotiate, taught me crazy, cool how Target thinks about these things. You know, in addition to a lot of great contact connections there.
And then also attended the Lighthouse Labs Accelerator in, in Virginia which additionally opened up a ton of doors, more non-dilutive. Funding and really helped me get on my feet, which is also where I met Joe. Okay. So it was also an excellent program and I know Innovation works also has a great accelerator program as well here in Pittsburgh.
And I know I have a lot of friends who have been through that as well. Well, I couldn't agree more. If you can look for an accelerator program no [00:34:00] matter where you are, that is a great way to validate Yes. And sharpen your business plan. I'm a big fan without a doubt. 'cause you, they wrap some support around you to kind of get you over some of those major early hurdles.
Yes. Oh yeah, exactly. What would you say? Yeah. Now I, I would say my, my top two would be ensure you have product market fit. You know, we, we already talked about that. Yep. But so many people, so many entrepreneurs don't. Why do people forget about that? Seriously? 'cause that is the top thing you're probably taught.
It goes right out the window when someone thinks they have a great idea is call day. And for some people, Hey, I'm smarter than you. Well, there is that as well too. It's like, yeah, you're so smart. So smart. Yeah. So, you know, it gets down to basics. It's product market fit. And then I would say also, you know, depending on what program you're in, your default, if you're an early entrepreneur, your default shouldn't be to take the first angel investment that comes along. Yep. Investment's tricky. 'cause you're seeing some dollars in front of you and you're like, it's validating your ideas. Exactly. You're excited. Exactly. And you know, and, and a lot of folks see, well, hey, I'm gonna get $50,000, a hundred thousand dollars.
Well the, it's only half my company. [00:35:00] But the bite. Yeah, exactly. But the bite of the apple, the return that they get. Is is horribly bad, right? Right. And so if you can extend that out, as Juliana mentioned, bootstrap it as long as you can get some early customers. Get some cash rolling. You know, and go that way.
And then every day that goes on, your valuation increases. So it's not a great idea to get some to get some money to help like prove my marketing plan out that it's gonna work, and no. Well, marketing is acquired and more important. Yeah. Well, and that's, and that's in the early days, whenever I first met Juliana, there was a lot of advisors giving her.
In my mind. Mm-hmm. Very bad advice. And you called him out on it and, and and I called him out. I made several enemies. 'cause I, I was going against, I was like, no. I was like, he or she is trying to take advantage of you. Interesting. And so I called them out early on. I was like, you know, she has a great idea.
Don't take advantage of her. And people would get pissed at me. I'm sorry, but you know. No, that's all, you know, PG 13 here, it's all good. Yeah. So PG 15, so, [00:36:00] you know, PE people will get mad. I'm like, no. I was like, that's. You know, she has a great idea. If you wanted, if you wanna put $50,000 in, don't, don't take 20% of the company.
Exactly. 10%, even 1% of the company that'll kill the, that'll yeah. Kill her. And, and then all of a sudden, and then fortunately, had she had done that, that was 2019, team COVID hit, the markets completely switched around for Tev, and you either Tev wouldn't exist anymore. Or Juliana would be so diluted that she wouldn't be sitting here.
Absolutely. You know, she'd have 5% of the company. So you asked before, you know, how Joe, you know got involved and how this whole thing happened? Yeah. So when all of this was going down, I said to Joe, okay Joe, you know, you're telling all these people that this isn't a good idea. Fine. Well what do you think would be a better idea?
And he said, well, why don't I join you? And I said, well, you better get ready to get in the trenches 'cause it's about to get muddy in here. And he said, okay. And so he went. All [00:37:00] in. And that is what differentiated him from everybody else who I interacted with. Everybody else just wanted to give me a little bit of cash, but they wanted some equity and they weren't really willing to really roll up their sleeves and get dirty and get into it.
Yeah. And that is what Joe did, and he's opened up so many doors. Awesome. And it's been. Like, honestly an unbreakable team since we met. Cool man. In 2019. Oh, that's 2019. It's been, we've been, you know, know with the David and Goliath, like, you know, one person has been like, you know. Exactly. That's so cool. So some someone's, some someone's gathering rocks and another one's getting the sling ling ready.
And that is how it's been for our, for six years. That's what I'm talking about. You built some serious momentum. Glad you're doing it here in Pittsburgh. Gave us some great advice. I think to anyone listening out there, if you're thinking about building a company, you guys have thought this through and thank you.
Amazing stuff. So glad you're here. Thank you, Jonathan. Thank you for having us. What an absolute pleasure. I have learned so much today type of stuff that's making Pittsburgh proud. Simple as that. So we'll leave [00:38:00] it on that note in, in case you forgot. Oh my goodness. Yeah, this is still Jonathan Kirsty. I'm still with the Pittsburgh Tech Council and Tech Vibe Radio.
Just love having conversations like this. It doesn't get any better as far as I'm concerned. I'm gonna see you on the next one.