Prima’s Assaf is Combating Stress via Pure and Potent Plant Therapeutics
I had the pleasure of interviewing Jessica Assaf, Co-Founder and Chief Education Officer of Prima, a B Corp and purpose-driven brand elevating hemp-based cannabinoids and functionally innovative botanical ingredients. A graduate of Harvard Business School, award-winning entrepreneur and activist on a mission to use business to improve health, Jessica has been a leading advocate for safe products, corporate accountability, consumer wellness and female empowerment since the age of 15. Jessica is also the founder of Cannabis Feminist, a cannabis community for women.
Thank you so much for joining us!
What motivated you to launch your startup?
Since I was a young girl, I always wanted to “change the world” (specifically, to improve health) and initially I thought that meant I should be in public policy and pass bills into law. After studying Public Health and Social Activism in college, I spent many years working in the non-profit space before I shifted my focus to business and worked for a variety of startups in the clean beauty space before getting my MBA. In business school it hit me that business is the most effective way to impact health and wellness right now. Brands can help people feel better faster than legislative bills, and companies have the opportunity to create products that are solutions to and tangible tools for some of the biggest issues we face.
I started Prima after meeting my now business partners, Christopher Gavigan, former Honest Company founder, and Laurel Angelica Myers, purpose-driven operator and Honest alum. We all share the same values and vision to use purpose-driven and conscious business to transform health. Prima is the deepest expression of our values and commitment to improving health, by making botanical ingredients like CBD elevated and accessible. We now have over fifteen products in three categories on our DTC site www.prima.co and at retailers like Sephora, The Vitamin Shoppe, Whole Foods, Thrive Market, Nordstrom, and more. We’re also a Certified B Corp and our products have industry-defining standards for purity, potency and transparency.
What is it that excites you about what you’re building?
We are a whole body care brand, so we have line of products for the skin, body and mind made with the highest quality CBD and clinically-backed botanical ingredients. Prima was started to create solutions for the biggest epidemic of our time: stress. Our skincare, body care and supplements are designed to target different kinds of stress and help the body get back to homeostasis, or balance. As a result, we’ve heard incredible stories about the ways the products have positively and immediately impacted people’s health and happiness.
Every day we hear that people are sleeping better, feeling better, and are experiencing less stress, so they can enjoy their lives. That’s truly our goal — to help people feel better so they can show up better for the people around them. And it’s so incredible to see it happening.
What has been your biggest challenge when growing your startup?
There’s still a lot of confusion around CBD, and though it’s considered federally legal, we still face a lot of barriers in trying to scale our business and open up people’s eyes to the therapeutic nature of CBD. Many retailers still can’t sell CBD because of payment processing issues, we can’t use Facebook and Instagram advertising in the same way other companies can, and many consumers still associate CBD and hemp with marijuana, perpetuating an outdated and inaccurate stigma that prevents them from trying our products. We still have to do a lot of work to educate people on the benefits and safety of CBD.
What are your future plans for your startup?
We are continuing to build the leading brand in CBD and botanical wellness, and we are excited to launch more products and reach more people.
If you had to share, “words of wisdom,” with a Founder who’s about to start their own startup, what would they be?
Who you start a business with is arguably more important than who you marry. A business is a partnership between humans, and it’s important that you choose partners with similar values, but different and complementary skill sets. You will spend more time with your team than anyone else in your life, especially if you’re building a high growth startup, so choose wisely. And start a business with people who see and value your unique superpowers, maybe even more than you do, and people who want to create space and opportunities for you to leverage those superpowers.
Remember that what you’re creating is your legacy, and it may be around longer than you are. So create products and services that reflect your deepest values and truth, and how you want to be remembered. Don’t try to appeal to everyone, because then you’ll appeal to no one. Be bold, be memorable, find your one hundred true fans and do everything in your power to love and support them. The rest will come.
Last one: they say it takes twenty years to make an overnight success, so be patient. Good things take time :)
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Follow @prima and @jessicassaf on Instagram.
This was very insightful. Thank you so much for joining us!
