• SHOP
  • SITES
  • NEWSLETTER
  • CEO HACKS
  • GLOBAL SEARCH
  • WEB SUPPORT
  • CONTACT
Hearpreneur
  • Inspiration
    Monday Motivation: WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU

    Monday Motivation: When All Is Lost, You Have Everything To Win

    17 Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Reveal Their Favorite Business Leader

    17 Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Reveal Their Favorite Business Leader

    Monday Motivation: WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU

    Monday Motivation: BEAST MODE – Motivational Speech

    Monday Motivation: WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU

    Monday Motivation: Nothing Changes If Nothing Changes

    Monday Motivation: WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU

    Monday Motivation: Your Belief-System is Everything

    Monday Motivation: WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU

    Monday Motivation: The Beast Attitude

    16 Entrepreneurs Share Advice That’s The Complete Opposite of What They Learned Before Starting Their Venture

    16 Entrepreneurs Share Advice That’s The Complete Opposite of What They Learned Before Starting Their Venture

    Monday Motivation: WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU

    Monday Motivation: NO MORE EXCUSES, YOU EITHER WANT IT OR YOU DON’T

    Monday Motivation: WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU

    Monday Motivation: GIVE IT EVERYTHING YOU GOT

  • Storytelling
    30 Entrepreneurs Explain What They Love About Being an Entrepreneur

    29 Entrepreneurs Explain What They Love About Being an Entrepreneur

    17 Entrepreneurs Describe Their Morning Routine

    17 Entrepreneurs Describe Their Morning Routine

    9 Entrepreneurs Share How They Use TikTok for Their Business

    9 Entrepreneurs Share How They Use TikTok for Their Business

    28 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Came Up With Their Business Name

    28 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Came Up With Their Business Name

    29 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Came Up With Their Business Name

    29 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Came Up With Their Business Name

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain What They Love About Being an Entrepreneur

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain What They Love About Being an Entrepreneur

    21 Entrepreneurs Share How They’re Incorporating Corporate Service Responsibility (CSR) In Their Businesses

    21 Entrepreneurs Share How They’re Incorporating Corporate Service Responsibility (CSR) In Their Businesses

    26 Entrepreneurs Explain What They Love About Being an Entrepreneur

    26 Entrepreneurs Explain What They Love About Being an Entrepreneur

    30 Entrepreneurs Reveal the Pivots They are Making in Their Business in 2023

    30 Entrepreneurs Reveal the Pivots They are Making in Their Business in 2023

  • Entrepreneur
    18 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Came Up With Their Business Name

    18 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Came Up With Their Business Name

    16 Entrepreneurs Share Advice That’s The Complete Opposite of What They Learned Before Starting Their Venture

    16 Entrepreneurs Share Advice That’s The Complete Opposite of What They Learned Before Starting Their Venture

    15 Entrepreneurs Share How They Continue to Learn and Sharpen The Saw

    15 Entrepreneurs Share How They Continue to Learn and Sharpen The Saw

    10 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Economic Outlook of Their Industry

    10 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Economic Outlook of Their Industry

    18 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Deal With Economic Uncertainty

    18 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Deal With Economic Uncertainty

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain the 2023 Trends They See in Their Industry

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain the 2023 Trends They See in Their Industry

    30 Entrepreneurs Discuss Whether or Not Business Success is Overrated

    30 Entrepreneurs Discuss Whether or Not Business Success is Overrated

    28 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Entrepreneurs They Consider to be Successful

    28 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Entrepreneurs They Consider to be Successful

    30 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Industries That Are Ripe For Disruption

    30 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Industries That Are Ripe For Disruption

  • Ideas
    18 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Came Up With Their Business Name

    18 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Came Up With Their Business Name

    15 Entrepreneurs Share their “Secret Sauce” aka USP that Sets their Companies Apart

    15 Entrepreneurs Share their “Secret Sauce” aka USP that Sets their Companies Apart

    9 Entrepreneurs Share Innovative Ways They Are Marketing Their Business

    9 Entrepreneurs Share Innovative Ways They Are Marketing Their Business

    9 Entrepreneurs Share How They Use TikTok for Their Business

    9 Entrepreneurs Share How They Use TikTok for Their Business

    18 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Deal With Economic Uncertainty

    18 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Deal With Economic Uncertainty

    30 Entrepreneurs Answer What has Been Their Favorite Technology Innovation

    30 Entrepreneurs Answer What has Been Their Favorite Technology Innovation

    30 Entrepreneurs Share Their Takeaways From 2022

    30 Entrepreneurs Share Their Takeaways From 2022

    30 Entrepreneurs Reveal the Companies They are Starting in 2023

    30 Entrepreneurs Reveal the Companies They are Starting in 2023

    30 Entrepreneurs Share Their One Prediction for Business in 2023

    30 Entrepreneurs Share Their One Prediction for Business in 2023

  • Posts
  • MORE
    • START
    • FAQ
    • NEWSLETTER
    • HACKS
    • ABOUT
    • SITES
    • GUEST POSTS
    • WEBSITE SUPPORT SERVICES
  • Community
    • FREE CBNation Buzz Newsletter
    • Premium CEO Hack Buzz Newsletter
No Result
View All Result
Hearpreneur
  • Inspiration
    Monday Motivation: WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU

    Monday Motivation: When All Is Lost, You Have Everything To Win

    17 Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Reveal Their Favorite Business Leader

    17 Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Reveal Their Favorite Business Leader

    Monday Motivation: WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU

    Monday Motivation: BEAST MODE – Motivational Speech

    Monday Motivation: WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU

    Monday Motivation: Nothing Changes If Nothing Changes

    Monday Motivation: WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU

    Monday Motivation: Your Belief-System is Everything

    Monday Motivation: WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU

    Monday Motivation: The Beast Attitude

    16 Entrepreneurs Share Advice That’s The Complete Opposite of What They Learned Before Starting Their Venture

    16 Entrepreneurs Share Advice That’s The Complete Opposite of What They Learned Before Starting Their Venture

    Monday Motivation: WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU

    Monday Motivation: NO MORE EXCUSES, YOU EITHER WANT IT OR YOU DON’T

    Monday Motivation: WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU

    Monday Motivation: GIVE IT EVERYTHING YOU GOT

  • Storytelling
    30 Entrepreneurs Explain What They Love About Being an Entrepreneur

    29 Entrepreneurs Explain What They Love About Being an Entrepreneur

    17 Entrepreneurs Describe Their Morning Routine

    17 Entrepreneurs Describe Their Morning Routine

    9 Entrepreneurs Share How They Use TikTok for Their Business

    9 Entrepreneurs Share How They Use TikTok for Their Business

    28 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Came Up With Their Business Name

    28 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Came Up With Their Business Name

    29 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Came Up With Their Business Name

    29 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Came Up With Their Business Name

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain What They Love About Being an Entrepreneur

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain What They Love About Being an Entrepreneur

    21 Entrepreneurs Share How They’re Incorporating Corporate Service Responsibility (CSR) In Their Businesses

    21 Entrepreneurs Share How They’re Incorporating Corporate Service Responsibility (CSR) In Their Businesses

    26 Entrepreneurs Explain What They Love About Being an Entrepreneur

    26 Entrepreneurs Explain What They Love About Being an Entrepreneur

    30 Entrepreneurs Reveal the Pivots They are Making in Their Business in 2023

    30 Entrepreneurs Reveal the Pivots They are Making in Their Business in 2023

  • Entrepreneur
    18 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Came Up With Their Business Name

    18 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Came Up With Their Business Name

    16 Entrepreneurs Share Advice That’s The Complete Opposite of What They Learned Before Starting Their Venture

    16 Entrepreneurs Share Advice That’s The Complete Opposite of What They Learned Before Starting Their Venture

    15 Entrepreneurs Share How They Continue to Learn and Sharpen The Saw

    15 Entrepreneurs Share How They Continue to Learn and Sharpen The Saw

    10 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Economic Outlook of Their Industry

    10 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Economic Outlook of Their Industry

    18 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Deal With Economic Uncertainty

    18 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Deal With Economic Uncertainty

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain the 2023 Trends They See in Their Industry

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain the 2023 Trends They See in Their Industry

    30 Entrepreneurs Discuss Whether or Not Business Success is Overrated

    30 Entrepreneurs Discuss Whether or Not Business Success is Overrated

    28 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Entrepreneurs They Consider to be Successful

    28 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Entrepreneurs They Consider to be Successful

    30 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Industries That Are Ripe For Disruption

    30 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Industries That Are Ripe For Disruption

  • Ideas
    18 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Came Up With Their Business Name

    18 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Came Up With Their Business Name

    15 Entrepreneurs Share their “Secret Sauce” aka USP that Sets their Companies Apart

    15 Entrepreneurs Share their “Secret Sauce” aka USP that Sets their Companies Apart

    9 Entrepreneurs Share Innovative Ways They Are Marketing Their Business

    9 Entrepreneurs Share Innovative Ways They Are Marketing Their Business

    9 Entrepreneurs Share How They Use TikTok for Their Business

    9 Entrepreneurs Share How They Use TikTok for Their Business

    18 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Deal With Economic Uncertainty

    18 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Deal With Economic Uncertainty

    30 Entrepreneurs Answer What has Been Their Favorite Technology Innovation

    30 Entrepreneurs Answer What has Been Their Favorite Technology Innovation

    30 Entrepreneurs Share Their Takeaways From 2022

    30 Entrepreneurs Share Their Takeaways From 2022

    30 Entrepreneurs Reveal the Companies They are Starting in 2023

    30 Entrepreneurs Reveal the Companies They are Starting in 2023

    30 Entrepreneurs Share Their One Prediction for Business in 2023

    30 Entrepreneurs Share Their One Prediction for Business in 2023

  • Posts
  • MORE
    • START
    • FAQ
    • NEWSLETTER
    • HACKS
    • ABOUT
    • SITES
    • GUEST POSTS
    • WEBSITE SUPPORT SERVICES
  • Community
    • FREE CBNation Buzz Newsletter
    • Premium CEO Hack Buzz Newsletter
No Result
View All Result
Hearpreneur
No Result
View All Result

Millennial CEO Disrupts Bottled Water Industry

in Inspiration, Storytelling
Reading Time: 5 mins read
Millennial CEO Disrupts Bottled Water Industry

RelatedPosts

19 Entrepreneurs Share Why They Started Their Own Business

Monday Motivation: When All Is Lost, You Have Everything To Win

17 Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Reveal Their Favorite Business Leader

Anytime there is a disruption, there is usually a signal of opportunity. This is no different in the bottle water industry. We had the opportunity to hear from Ryan Emmons, the CEO of Waiakea on how he's disrupting his industry and tips that he has for fellow millennial entrepreneurs.
 
Tell us your story:
To be honest I didn't have much of a background. I worked as a public television editor while in highschool, and in college worked two different jobs in finance while I started to develop Waiakea. I also did a lot of volunteering.
I was very involved in a few clean water NGO’s in Sub-Saharan Africa, and knew that whatever company I would start, regardless of the industry, its focus and mission would have to be on improving conservation and access to clean water and education. When live in Hawaii and you don’t stay at a resort, you can’t help but ignore the unemployment and poverty in some areas that is directly relevant to education. It bothered me and so I told my family that I wanted to work on a business that somehow could incorporate addressing these things I cared about, but also could address some important consumer concern.
Then when I was in the Entrepreneur program at USC, I saw an opportunity in the beverage and premium bottled water world.  Every premium water was differentiated solely through an exotic source origination story and design. These are obviously important, but I was surprised no one had attempted to address consumer trends towards environmentally friendly packaging, social causes, functionality (minerals, electrolytes, alkalinity), and powerful lifestyle brands. I had tasted some amazing water from my family’s well a few years before that, and thought even though it was a long shot, that the mineral profile and smoothe taste of the volcanic water was fantastic and unique. So I started to put together the Waiakea brand with my Hawaiian cousin and my co-founder Matt over the next 3 years focusing on these 3 pillars of Health, Sustainability, and Ethics/Charity, and we finally launched in 2012.
 
Tell us about your business and what you do. 
 
We market and sell Waiakea Hawaiian Volcanic Water, one of the fastest growing premium bottled water and beverage brands in the country. Basically its a Carbon Neutral, Naturally Alkaline Fiji meets Tom's Shoes with a Red Bull approach to lifestyle branding ;). Originating as both snowmelt and rain on the Big Island’s Mauna Loa volcano, Waiakea is filtered through thousands of feet of porous volcanic rock, producing one of the most delicious, alkaline and electrolyte-rich natural waters in the world.
Waiākea® was founded in Hawai’i in 2012 as the first Hawaiian volcanic water and triple bottom line premium water of its kind, adapting an unparalleled platform of healthy, sustainable, and ethical attributes and initiatives. Waiakea’s mission is to sustainably provide naturally healthy Hawaiian volcanic water with the blessing of indigenous kapuna and konohiki, while contributing to and promoting clean water access, conservation, and education for those in need in Hawai’i and throughout the world.
How are you able to disrupt the industry that you are in?  
 
We at Waiākea sought to create a resonating lifestyle brand that can inspire and create meaningful, positive change in a variety of ways. Our goal was to create a transformation within the bottled water, beverage, and greater CPG industry, moving away from singular profit and towards a triple bottom line model that emphasizes people and planet. We realize that these industries are only growing larger, their products multiplying, and in order to create positive, real and systemic change, it had to come from the inside-out.
Better to light a candle than curse the darkness if you will.
I think that starts with us being the first major premium brand to use 100% RPET bottles, meaning our bottles are made entirely out of other post recycled bottles. This gives us a 90% smaller CO2 footprint than competitors. Then its being the first to offset the entirety of our logistics and manufacturing to 0 with our reforestation projects and landfill bio-capture projects. We also have been working on a nano-additive for the past few years that will enable our bottles to degrade if they end up in oceans or landfills, while still being fully recyclable. This is really just the environmental side, not even touching on our social impact (2% of revenues), that go towards our clean water projects in Africa and our non-profit partners in education and conservation in Hawaii.
What advice would you give to aspiring millennial entrepreneurs? 
  1. If you start a company that embodies certain things you love or feel strongly about, you will take it a lot further.
  2. Make sure you have a business model, not just users, with a pathway to profitability and cash flow break even. Otherwise, just stop.
  3. Be scrappy, and realize what VC money and losing ownership in your company can entail. In our age of flashy startups and an insane VC atmosphere, it can be easy to think of a completed Series A as a success. It is, and you should celebrate, but I see too many entrepreneurs that don't realize they just dilluted their ownership significantly and if they had been scrappy and raised just enough capital for their next inflection point, they might have been able to have 2x the valuation and give away 2x less of their company. 
What does entrepreneurship mean to you?   
 
Entrepreneurship means putting it all on the line in order to pursue one of three things (or all of them): a dream, financial independence, and/or a lifestyle change. It means embracing hardships and proving your resilience to the world while enjoying the process itself.
 
What entrepreneur do you look up to and why?
 
Elon Musk. He has an incredible foresight into the oncoming issues of the 21st century, has built some of the largest and most innovative companies in the world, and has built himself management and self-education systems to continuously improve his productivity and intelligence. Elon Musk for President haha 😉
 
Where do you see the business and the industry in the next 5 years?  
 
I see the water space continuing to eat soda market share over the next 5 years as we shift towards better eating habits and away from sugar. Regarding the business, I see most of our business coming from online sales, and I see Waiakea diversifying into a number of different lifestyle products, all which embody our healthy, sustainable, ethical brand mantra, not just beverages. I think we will also get into more home delivery bulk packages as well.
See also  Monday Motivation: Gary Vee Motivation [VIDEO]
Tags: bottle watermillenial ceo
Previous Post

Monday Motivation: Put in the Work

Next Post

Monday Morning Motivation: Jay-Z on LaVar Ball, Branding & Starting a Business

Related Posts

19 Entrepreneurs Share Why They Started Their Own Business
Entrepreneur

19 Entrepreneurs Share Why They Started Their Own Business

Each business has a story. No matter if the business is a Goliath like Wal-Mart or a local business owned...

Monday Motivation: WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU
Inspiration

Monday Motivation: When All Is Lost, You Have Everything To Win

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN5TA7Gmz7g This motivational video is to help CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners start the week off inspired to become great....

17 Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Reveal Their Favorite Business Leader
Icons

17 Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Reveal Their Favorite Business Leader

In the dynamic world of commerce and industry, some individuals stand out as beacons of inspiration and innovation. These extraordinary...

Monday Motivation: WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU
Inspiration

Monday Motivation: BEAST MODE – Motivational Speech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxsdES3_WRo This motivational video is to help CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners start the week off inspired to become great....

Next Post
Monday Morning Motivation: Jay-Z on LaVar Ball, Branding & Starting a Business

Monday Morning Motivation: Jay-Z on LaVar Ball, Branding & Starting a Business

18 Entrepreneurs Explain What They Love About Being An Entrepreneur

18 Entrepreneurs Explain What They Love About Being An Entrepreneur

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Join CBNation Buzz

Name(Required)
Email(Required)

Welcome to CBNation Welcome to CBNation powered by Blue16 Media (Web Design & SEO). We are a B2B brand that is exists to help over 1M business owners succeed. Our philosophy and foundation is based on resources, visibility & connections (Visibility + Resources x Connections = Success). We are focused on being the #1 business resource for CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners.

We hope you enjoy this site, and please let us know if we can be of any help!

Please note in the sake of transparency our sites do contain affiliate links that pay us a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read our Affiliate Disclaimer.
CBNation Library
CEO Hacks
I AM CEO Volume 3

RSS Our Latest CBNation Content:

  • Monday Motivation: Discipline Yourself – BEST Motivational Video (ft. Eric Thomas)
  • IAM1868 – Author Helps Leaders Achieve Success as Individuals and in Teams
  • Leader Works on Strategic Fundraising Communications
  • Attorney Runs Digital Agency Focused on the Legal Sector
  • 20 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Best Way to Learn Leadership
  • IAM1867 – Coach Helps Sales Marketers Create Repeatable Patterns of Success

Our Sponsors

Subscribe

Join thousands of subscribers & be the first to get new freebies.

Name(Required)
Email(Required)

What is CBNation?

We're like a Global Business Chamber but with content...
LOTS OF IT

CBNation includes a library of blogs, podcasts, videos and more helping CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners level up

CBNation is a community of niche sites for CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners through blogs, podcasts and video content. Started in much the same way as most small businesses, CBNation captures the essence of entrepreneurship by allowing entrepreneurs and business owners to have a voice.

CBNation curates content and provides news, information, events and even startup business tips for entrepreneurs, startups and business owners to succeed.

+ Mission: Increasing the success rate of CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners.

+ Vision: The media of choice for CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners.

+ Philosophy: We love CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners and everything we do is driven by that. We highlight, capture and support entrepreneurship and start-ups through our niche blog sites.

Visit CBNation

RSS Our Latest Content:

  • Monday Motivation: Discipline Yourself – BEST Motivational Video (ft. Eric Thomas)
  • IAM1868 – Author Helps Leaders Achieve Success as Individuals and in Teams
  • Leader Works on Strategic Fundraising Communications
  • Attorney Runs Digital Agency Focused on the Legal Sector
  • 20 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Best Way to Learn Leadership
  • IAM1867 – Coach Helps Sales Marketers Create Repeatable Patterns of Success
  • IAM1866 – Results-Driven Performance Coach and Consultant Helps People Achieve More Happiness, Fulfillment and Success
  • 7 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Podcast for Business
  • IAM1865 – Performance Coach Helps Women to Focus on Inner Work and Mindset Mastery
  • IAM1864 – Transformational Coach Empowers Leaders and Achieve Life Goal Potential

©2023 CBNation | Powered by CEO Blog Nation & Blue16 Media | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Affiliate Disclaimer | Website Support Services

No Result
View All Result
  • Inspiration
  • Storytelling
  • Entrepreneur
  • Ideas
  • Posts
  • MORE
    • START
    • FAQ
    • NEWSLETTER
    • HACKS
    • ABOUT
    • SITES
    • GUEST POSTS
    • WEBSITE SUPPORT SERVICES
  • Community
    • FREE CBNation Buzz Newsletter
    • Premium CEO Hack Buzz Newsletter
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
SettingsAccept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
 Share This
 Facebook