Lauren Haynes is an herbalist, founder and CEO at Wooden Spoon Herbs, a holistic alternative to the westernized medicine approach. Lauren has been a clinical herbalist for ten years and started Wooden Spoon Herbs from her passion for medicinal plants. Wooden Spoon is a multi 6-figure brand that has been bootstrapped from the beginning. They sell world wide, are certified organic and are aligned with 1% for the Planet, donating 1% of their gross revenue to social causes, in this case, the medicinal plant conservation.
(00:34) Intro
(02:51) The start as an entrepreneur
(04:19) The start of Wooden Spoon
(06:01) From direct to consumer to wholesale
(08:15) Helping the planet
(09:21) The early experiments
(12:21) The testing phase
(13:17) The importance of mushrooms
(16:30) The challenges of manufacturing something new
(18:04) Medicinal plants conservation
(21:27) Where to find out more
(22:30) Rapid fire question round
(22:54) If you ever had to start again, how would you make your money?
(23:26) What is the most common or biggest mistake that leaders make?
(24:02) Who is a great leader (alive or dead) and why?
(24:31) What are your top three herbs?
(26:28) How do you hire top talent?
(28:11) How do you identify a good business partner?
(30:37) What is one of your proudest moments?
(31:21) Generating seed capital
(34:32) What is one interesting fact about you that not many people would know?
(34:37) What daily routines do you have (morning or evening) that have helped make you successful?
(36:04) What book (or books) changed your mindset or life?
(37:07) What is the most exciting question you spend your time thinking about?
(38:34) What advice would you give your younger self?
(39:19) What was your biggest challenge starting in business and how did you overcome it?
(40:01) What unusual or underrated food or drink should more people try out?
(40:49) What makes you happiest?
(42:00) Any asks or requests for the audience?
