"Support everything with numbers" with Kylee Guenther
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Kylee Guenther is the CEO of Pivot Materials, (https://pivot.eco), an entrepreneur and second-generation her family to work in the plastics industry. Kylee grew up on the plastics manufacturing shop floor and is passionate about finding environmentally friendlier solutions to everyday issues involving sustainability, especially related to plastics waste.
Can you tell our readers about your background?
I’m the second generation in my family to work in the plastics industry. My dad was on the founding team to create the first plastic bottles with handles incorporated – the gallon milk bottles we all use. I basically grew up on the shop floor, learning about the industry from the ground up. After graduate school and working at a couple of jobs where I didn’t feel like I was making a difference, I dove in and started my own business.
What inspired you to start your business?
I finished graduate school during the last recession and couldn’t find a job in my field and also couldn’t find a job where I felt like what I did matter. I always had this deep feeling like I needed to do something that mattered. That combined with growing up in the plastics industry inspired me to start Pivot Martials, which is all about changing the plastics industry. I knew I had to do something meaningful and this is it. Plastic affects everyone on this earth, even animals. And it’s everywhere. When explorers went to the deepest ocean trenches last year, plastic had already beat us there, as they found a plastic bag and candy bar wrappers. I don’t think I’ll ever again have the opportunity to work towards solving a problem that literally affects every single person on this planet – That’s what inspires me.
Where is your business based?
Detroit, Michigan.
How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?
I’m very much a numbers person. Math is my favorite sport. So, before I started this business, the first thing I did was make sure I had a problem big enough to solve. By this I mean I knew if I started in a business in this space, enough people would need what I wanted to sell and I could make money. I think this type of research is super important to do because so many business owners just decide to start a business and they don’t really research anything – They just jump in and fail, because they were trying to solve a problem that was either too small or that people didn’t have at all.
I did my research first and realized that I have a $279 billion dollar addressable market and only 9% of plastics globally ever get recycled. See – This is why math is so fun – It gave me the confidence to know that there are a real problem and a huge market to address it in, which can lead to a successful business.
I’d recommend to everyone that wants to start a business approach their idea like this. Read a lot of market reports and talk to people already in the space.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?
I haven’t had any formal marketing training, so I basically had no idea where to start. However, I did a bunch of research on companies that sell plastics and it seems like none of them really had any type of successful online marketing and I’ve only ever seen one materials company advertise on TV. So, I decided this must mean they do face to face marketing.
When I started my company, I was super shy and really struggled to talk to people. But I knew if my business was going to be successful, I needed to conquer that fear and start talking at conferences and events as part of our marketing efforts.
I worked really hard for two years to get over my fear of talking to people and since then, I’ve been speaking a lot and in front of crowds as large as 2,000. These face-to-face and large crowd speaking events are the absolute best form of marketing for my company because when someone hears me, the company founder, speaking about what we do and why we do it, I really feel like they can feel our passion and connect with our values. It makes all the difference in the world.
Now that I’ve totally conquered my fear, I LOVE being on stage and also become a keynote speaker. This gives me the ability to do lots and lots of talks and share my message with a much larger audience. You can learn more about this at KyleeGuenther.com. (The new site should be up in the next 1-2 weeks.)
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
I’m trying to disrupt the plastics industry. Literally, it’s one of the largest industries in the world and has basically remained unchanged for the last 50 years. Every day is a challenge. Every single day.
I just keep pushing forward. I know our team works hard, we have an amazing product and the world needs our products to help reduce the plastics crisis. I can’t leave a problem this huge alone, so I just keep pushing.
How do you stay focused?
I think being very focused is just part of the core of who I am. I’ve very driven and goal-oriented so the losing focus hasn’t ever been too much of a concern for me.
How do you differentiate your business from the competition?
Our products are new to the industry. We use plant waste and combine it with traditional plastics and biomaterials to create new materials, without using harsh chemicals. We can provide a material that makes the same or better quality final product, without all the plastic. It’s a win-win for anyone looking to create a high-quality product, without all the plastic waste.
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
Person to person marketing and speaking at conferences and events has been the most effective for us. Our team is small and scrappy, but we have an amazing story and are hard workers. People see that, plus see sample products made from our material and they know we have an amazing product that can help them.
What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
Support everything with numbers!!! Do your research, understand your findings, and be able to support those with facts and figures. It’s a lot easier to explain why you want to do something when you can explain that your potential market size is X, it’s projected to grow X percentage in X years, X companies have a similar product, and using this product can solve X problem.
What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?
I’m obsessed with OneNote. I use it for my daily to-do list, team management, and notes. It’s an incredible product!
What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?
My incredible mentors – I love them!!!! Most of them started supporting me when my business was only an idea and I had no clue what I was doing. However, they believed in me as a person and have been by my side this entire time. They are all different and all have their strengths but one of the coolest things is one of them was on the founding team to work on the Mars Rover project. For a nerdy girl like myself, this is just like getting to work with Justin Bieber.
Who is your business role model? Why?
Honestly, I don’t have one. I want to be myself through this process, instead of emulating what someone else is doing.
How do you balance work and life?
Honestly, don’t have the best handle on it. It’s also been far more challenging to balance due to COVID. I certainly shouldn’t be giving out advice here…
What’s your favorite way to decompress?
I’m a champion napper. I also recently got Hulu and Netflix and I’m trying that out. I’m watching Superstore night now. When I’m able, I love to travel, spend time with my family, and write my book. It’s a book of short stories about my experience as a female entrepreneur in a male-dominated field.
What do you have planned for the next six months?
My first and most important priority for the next six months is making sure everyone in my life survives COVID and is well, mentally. It’s been exhausting for everyone thus far, but I think we have a long way to go still.
Other than that, my team and I are working on some interesting research on new materials that should be available for trials in about six months. I’m working on my book and growing Pivots customer base too.
How can our readers connect with you?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyleeguenther
@pivot_materials
Pivot.eco
https://www.linkedin.com/company/pivotmaterials
@KyleeGuentherSpeaks
KyleeGuenther.com (New site laughing in 1-2 weeks)