155: Sara Polon of Soupergirl on Surviving ‘Shark Tank’, Raising $2M Investment & Becoming Plastic Neutral
Vegan Business Talk episode 155
In this episode I interview Sara Polon, co-founder of Soupergirl, a plant-based soup brand in Washington DC.
Sara is a former standup comedian who founded Soupergirl in 2008 with her mother, Marilyn, aka Soupermom.
Sara Polon (right) with her mother Marilyn.
The pair have been featured regularly on national television, including Shark Tank and NBC’s Today Show.
Last year Soupergirl received a $2 million dollar investment from Arborview Capital and Seth Goldman, Board Member of Beyond Meat.
More recently, the company has become plastic-neutral through its partnership with rePurpose Global in a further step to fulfill Soupergirl’s goal of saving the planet – one bowl of soup at a time.
In this interview Sara discusses:
• Why she gave up stand-up comedy to make soup and the skills her former career has brought to Soupergirl
• How she got Soupergirl’s products into WholeFoods, Costco and other retailers
• How she handled the roasting she and Marilyn received on Shark Tank in 2018 and what they learned from the experience
• The advantages of being on the show, despite not getting a deal
• The benefits the company has gained from media coverage
• How she secured a $2 million impact investment (including how long it took)
• And more
Katrina Fox
Katrina Fox is our resident guest vegan business expert at Vegan Business Tribe.
An award-winning journalist, content marketer and copywriter, Katrina is the author of the bestseller Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business, the first global book providing success strategies for aspiring and existing vegan business owners, and host of the Vegan Business Talk podcast.
She’s written extensively for niche and mainstream media for more than 25 years on animal advocacy and ethical business and was a regular Forbes contributor for a year specialising in writing about vegan and plant-based businesses.
