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Female Founders: Susan Buckwalter of Recoup Wellness Beverage On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

It is all on you. It is all on you to make it successful and to keep yourself balanced. A lot of founders burn out because they put all their energy into the business and forget to save some for themselves. Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint for most, so it’s important to pace and recover accordingly.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Susan Buckwalter.

Susan Buckwalter is co-founder of Recoup Wellness Beverage, a mission driven company committed to helping people feel better and live well through plant-powered, modern remedies. Recoup’s flagship product is a ginger-powered hydration + health drink for daily wellness and workout recovery. Susan is a former college athlete and outdoor sports enthusiast with a passion for wellness and fitness. She has a background in product innovation and brand management from Unilever, eos products, and Campbell’s. She has worked on natural products including V8 and eos organics, as well as mission-driven brands including Dove and Dove Men+Care. Susan has a BA from Gettysburg College and an MBA from Cornell University.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I come from a family of entrepreneurs. My grandfather started a manufacturing company when he was 18 and it is still in the family today. My sister started her business, Organizing Boston, when she was in her early 20’s and is still running it successfully 20 years later. Seeing the pride of building your own company and the advantages of doing so successfully, has been inspiring. By comparison, I’m a little late to the entrepreneurship game, but creating my own company has always been a goal.

In my 20’s, I pursued my passions for traveling and the outdoors, working abroad in four countries and later running an outdoor retreat center. As I began to think about next stages of my career, I wanted to challenge myself and ensure that I had a wide range of opportunities, so I went to Cornell’s Johnson School of Management for my MBA. Through my studies in business school and work experience at Campbell’s, Unilever and eos products, I realized my passion for innovation and building meaningful brands that people love. Throughout this time, the desire to build my own company was always on my mind, but it was hard to dedicate the energy. Finding a co-founder who complemented my skill set was the last little push I needed to take the leap into full time entrepreneurship. As an avid athlete I was tired of sugary, artificial sports drinks. I wanted to create something all natural that went beyond hydration to deliver health benefits.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

Being an entrepreneur has allowed me a level of flexibility that I never had in the corporate world. When the pandemic hit, my boyfriend (now husband) and I decided to drive cross country and explore living in California. Being able to time shift and work my own hours allowed us to see the country, camp in the National Parks, and work from anywhere. I loaded up the van with several cases of Recoup and sampled them though out the country. I was able to build opportunities on the West Coast that will help us in becoming a national brand. It was an incredible experience and one that expanded my horizons personally and professionally.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I worked for several years in the non-profit space and I’m currently on the board of a non-profit, YMCA Camp Hi-Rock. Coming from a background in non-profit fundraising there were two times during early investment pitches where I used the word “donation” instead of “investment.” Investors definitely do not want to think they are donating to a charity! It was a good reminder to choose your words carefully and know your pitch by heart.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Susan: My mom has always been extremely supportive and encouraged me to chase my passions. She never pressured me to do what everybody else was doing or to take the easy way. She has always been adventurous; she worked as an international flight attendant in the hay day of air travel, went to Woodstock with her siblings, and moved across the country at one point to live in San Francisco. From big things like taking us backpacking in Europe to small everyday decisions, my mom instilled in me a confidence and sense of adventure that has allowed me to follow my own path to success.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?

I think there are a few pressures and expectations that hold women back.

1. Women not seeing achievable examples of success. We see many examples of hugely successful women, but we need to hear more stories and celebration of the women who have built a small franchise or sold a company for a profit. There are many ways to be a founder that don’t involve an IPO or raising millions. We need to hear more of those stories.

2. There is still a societal expectation that a woman will probably take a career hit when she has kids. It can be daunting to start a company if you feel either having kids will jeopardize its success, or people will think you are not prioritizing family if you are an entrepreneur.

3. Access to capital is still very limited. According to Bloomberg.com women secured just 2% of VC funding in 2021.

4. Entrepreneurship and basic business skills are often not taught in school or are not required courses. If girls don’t have strong role models that encourage them down that path, it is not an easy one to pursue.

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

  1. As female founders, we can offer to mentor and to share our stories. We can normalize the journey, which is often challenging.
  2. As consumers, we can lift others up in our community and support small businesses.
  3. We can challenge our assumptions about the roles of women and what their career paths should look like.
  4. We can encourage girls to think of themselves as entrepreneurial and to think about their strengths in the context of business. Open up their eyes to the many career options by introducing them at a young age to people in various industries.
  5. Incorporate more entrepreneurship and business courses into high school and liberal arts education. I was a Psychology major, with minors in French and Neuroscience. I didn’t take a business course until I was 28 years old and arrived at Cornell to begin my MBA. Had I been introduced to some principles of business earlier in life, my career might have taken a very different path.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

It’s a personal choice and it is not for everyone, but it would be great to see more female founders.

  1. Running a business is an incredible learning experience, one that many people never have the opportunity to try. You will become an expert in your field and expand your technical knowledge, as well as your awareness of market dynamics.
  2. It takes a high level of self-awareness to be a good founder: to be honest where you need help, and to understand your strengths. Being a founder will challenge you personally and help you grow.
  3. Diving into a world that you are passionate about changes your relationship with “work.” When you are deeply motivated, you unlock greater potential and you find new levels of satisfaction in what you do.
  4. Following a unique path leads to other unique paths. If you pursue something with passion your world expands. You become an expert in a niche, you grow your network, and you are presented with opportunities that would not exist otherwise. You may not retire from the first venture you start, but it can set your career on a trajectory that brings you joy.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

Myth 1: There is an archetype of a founder that you need to have this brilliant idea or see the future like nobody else can. It’s not all about the brilliant idea. Success is about execution, so if you can see a way to do it slightly better/faster/cheaper that will be meaningful for consumers, there is a path for you to succeed.

Myth 2: That you need to have a huge growing business or raise outside capital to be a founder. Your local florist is a founder, your wedding photographer is a founder, so many people you may know have started businesses and are working every day to grow them. Some may want to scale and some may be happy building something that they are a part of every day.

Myth 3: There is no turning back. Now, after working for yourself it can be a challenge to go back to working in a traditional environment, but that depends on your work style. Some people are dying to get back to office banter and the relief of someone else handing payroll. You can try and fail at your own business but still be successful. As long as you learn from it and can tell a story about how it made you a stronger, smarter, better employee, there will always be hiring managers impressed with your drive, responsibility, and self-awareness.

Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?

I personally think I’m well cut out to be a Co-Founder. Meaning, if I had to do it all on my own, I don’t think I would be as successful. There are certain parts of running the company that would be really draining to me, and likely keep me from progressing. I’m fortunate to have a co-founder who can tackle some of the things I’m not as good at.

As for who needs to seek a “regular job,” I would hate for anyone reading this article to feel pigeonholed or dissuaded from giving it a try. Here are a few traits that help as a founder:

  1. Confidence in yourself and those you bring on to help (advisors/employees/board members.)
  2. Openness to feedback and a thick skin for those who don’t believe in you
  3. Ability to handle the emotional rollercoaster of entrepreneurship. One minute everything is perfect, the next you are out of inventory and everything you built is at risk.
  4. High level of self-awareness and recognition of your strengths and weaknesses

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

  1. It’s going to take longer than you think- a lot longer. Plan for your formulation/production to take 2–3 times longer than you want. Last year, we were delayed for months by a co-packer who promised us things would be running in a few weeks, only to push it out further as the date grew closer. As it stands now, we are closing in on a six-month delay and are just now producing the rest of the batch. This is an extreme example and they have exhausted any reasonable excuses. However, with the current state of the global supply chain and unpredictable staffing due to COVID-19, it can be very challenging to hit the dates you plan for at the beginning of a project.
  2. It is a roller coaster. Wow, I can’t tell you how many times I have been celebrating a win when in creeps some bad news. We were literally popping champagne to celebrating raising over $550,000 when our manufacturer called to tell us production was delayed again. The important thing is to focus on the big goals, take time to celebrate the wins along the way, and keep in mind that everything is temporary.
  3. You need to be totally committed. At first that might not mean 100% of your time, but it does mean a mental and emotional commitment that you make to weather the storms that will come. You need to be committed for a few reasons: One: People will only follow you and invest in you if believe in what you are doing. Two: If you recruit people to join you, they are placing their future and career in your hands. If you bring on a co-founder, that relationship is like a marriage. Complete with legal documentation and the occasional fight. Treat the decision with the same gravity as choosing a life partner. Three: As I mentioned before, it is a rollercoaster, so you need that long term view and grit to get past the ups and downs.
  4. It’s not as glamourous as you imagine. Do you like loading boxes into a moving truck and trying to park it in midtown Manhattan? Do you dream of donning rubber gloves and a ski jacket to hand out samples in front of a New England grocery store in February? Being a founder is incredibly hands on. It often means taking on every aspect of making and selling a product. There is a certain satisfaction that comes from doing it all yourself, but it isn’t always pretty.
  5. It is all on you. It is all on you to make it successful and to keep yourself balanced. A lot of founders burn out because they put all their energy into the business and forget to save some for themselves. Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint for most, so it’s important to pace and recover accordingly.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

Our mission at Recoup is to help people feel better and live well through plant-powered, modern remedies. Our products are enjoyed by athletes, but also by people who are undergoing chemotherapy, struggling with morning sickness, and recovering from surgery. The amount of ginger we use in Recoup is clinically-proven to support muscle recovery after a workout, relieve nausea, aid digestion, and boost immunity. I’m proud to be making our all-natural recovery drink accessible to people who really benefit from it. As we grow, we will continue our commitment to the community and people we serve and expand our charitable contributions. As an individual, I support programs that give kids and families access to wellness education and the outdoors. It is something that I believe is lift changing and I want to deepen my impact as I become more successful.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I believe there is a movement underway in which people are connecting more deeply with themselves and their bodies. I see our brand as a part of and a small catalyst in that movement. At Recoup, we see three layers of connection as integrated and deeply important. Connection to self, to others, and to the Earth. I hope that people can balance those and draw those connections even deeper. When we listen to our bodies, we make better choices and lead healthier, happier lives. When we vividly see our connection to the Earth, we take action and we make changes that benefit the planet. When we empathize and connect with others, we feed our own souls and make the world around us a brighter place.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Sarah Blakely of Spanx. She has built an incredible brand, culture, and company. She seems down to Earth and approachable. She also cares about and invests in female-founded companies, so she is a great example of someone who is paying it forward and using their success to have a positive impact.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Female Founders: Susan Buckwalter of Recoup Wellness Beverage On The Five Things You Need To Thrive… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.