Kari Warberg Block : Founder & CEO of EarthKind

Episode 628

On this episode of The Kara Goldin Show, we're joined by Kari Warberg Block, the visionary Founder & CEO of EarthKind. Kari shares her incredible journey from modest beginnings to establishing a business worth hundreds of millions by revolutionizing the pest control industry with non-toxic solutions. EarthKind, born from her passion and tenacity, champions environmentally friendly pest deterrents, making it a leader in the market.
We delve into Kari's innovative approach, which not only reshaped an industry but also reflects her commitment as a #KindnessRebel. Kari explains how standing up for what's right in her home, community, and workplace has been pivotal in her path to success. This episode is a testament to how passion, perseverance, and a willingness to challenge the status quo can lead to extraordinary achievements. Tune in to learn from a trailblazer who proves that with determination and vision, anything is possible. Now on The Kara Goldin Show!

Resources from
this episode:

Transcript

Kara Goldin 0:00
I am unwilling to give up that I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be. I want to be you. Just want to make sure you will get knocked down. But just make sure you don’t get knocked out, knocked out. So your only choice should be go focus on what you can control. Control. Hi everyone, and welcome to the Kara Goldin show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world’s greatest leaders. We’ll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs and really, some of the most interesting people of our time. Can’t wait to get started. Let’s go. Let’s go. Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Kara Goldin show today. I’m so thrilled to be joined by Kara Warburg block, who is the visionary founder and CEO of EarthKind we are also friends and fellow entrepreneurs. So you may notice that in in this conversation, it’ll be a lot of fun, but starting from humble beginnings on a farm with a vision to transform the pest control industry, Kari launched EarthKind with an annual household income of only $18,000 so we can all do it. Kari is a testament to that if we figure out what steps we can take in order to go and create what our vision is today, her company is valued at hundreds of millions for its innovative non toxic Pest Control Solutions. They’re safe for homes and the environment, she is just such a testament to what passion, perseverance and a commitment to sustainability can achieve. And she’s also a staunch advocate for kindness in leadership. And so I cannot even wait to do this interview and dive into not only Kari’s journey, but also hear a lot more about insights into entrepreneurship and scaling this incredible company called EarthKind so welcome, Kari.

Kari Warberg Block 2:13
I’m so happy to be here with you today. Super,

Kara Goldin 2:17
super happy. So Kari, for those who are not familiar with EarthKind, can you give us the elevator pitch? Break it down for us? What makes it the game changer that it is absolutely

Kari Warberg Block 2:30
before EarthKind came along, 98% of the time people had to kill a pest, had to use a toxic poison, and this is for home use, I thought that needed to change, so I invented a product that would repel the pest and prevent them from re entering back into the area. And it’s sustainable, it’s humane, it’s eco friendly, and best of all, it’s highly effective, and today it’s a top rated product, and it’s, I’m so thrilled that it’s changed the mark and may absolutely made the whole routine of pest control so so much more pleasant and earth friendly.

Kara Goldin 3:13
So you didn’t work for raid before, or any of these, these companies that you’re ultimately competing with. What was the moment you realized this isn’t just an idea, this could actually be huge, and I need to go do it.

Kari Warberg Block 3:32
That’s such a funny question. I didn’t work for one of those companies, but my dad did. I grew up with an entomologist, and I was a kid that came out. I didn’t want to kill things. I was always friendly in that way. And he loved bugs himself. And I said, Why do you love bugs so much, and you spend all of your time at work selling poisons that kill them? And he said, that’s that’s the industry, that’s the business model. So as a small kid, I just thought that makes no sense. It just made no sense to me. Although, you know, people need to get rid of the pest, they certainly don’t want them in their house. And I was one of those too. As a kid, I didn’t want him anywhere near me. He used to park the park the bugs in the room next door as he’s doing trials, and he had all kinds of crazy things going. So I developed this, like disdain and disgust for having any of them near me. And so all of that kind of blended together. And I thought there’s got to be other people like me that want to get rid of a pest, but don’t want to have to confront it, kill it, clean it up, dispose of it, and then worry about the toxic residue afterwards. So

Kara Goldin 4:49
starting with just, you know, household income that I read less than $20,000 a year. You were in South Dakota, correct? North Dakota? Western North Dakota. Sorry, North Dakota and so, and now, today, you’ve built a company worth hundreds of millions of dollars like I still, I mean, there’s so many people who say, I don’t, I can’t do this. I can’t start something like this, because I don’t have the background. I don’t have the financial, you know, initial startup funds to go and do this. How what were like, the first steps that you took in order to go and and make it what it is today.

Kari Warberg Block 5:37
So what we are today is a far cry from what I started out to do, when I started out, I thought there would be other farm wives like myself that wanted to keep mice out of their tractor cabs, because for me, that was the real rub. I had mice crawling up my legs, my bare legs. It freaked me out, and I called every company out there and said, Do you have anything more friendly, more sustainable, safe for my kids and pets? And they pretty much laughed me off the line and said, You’re crazy. Just kill them. Do yourself a favor. So for me, it was being discounted like that. And, you know, having my values insulted, really, when we get mad, it’s because somebody insults our values generally, you know? And so I had this drive in me. It’s like, come hell or high water, I am going to figure this out. And I just knew there was other people like me, more moms out there. So I just looked around and, you know the old saying, start with what you have, where you’re at, and just take one step at a time, doing what you can do. So that’s, that’s really what I did. And the first step was to find a solution that worked, because we’re, you know, where would I even start? So I look to nature, which I happen to believe nature has all the answers, and how I invented my first product was kind of a serendipitous moment. I was out for a walk, and it was winter time. The snow had covered the ground. There was so much snow, there was no food left for the wildlife, and I happened to notice in the tree rows. I’m an avid cross country skier, and I like to hike and go out in the in the tree rows on a farm, that’s what you do. And there was bark on this one particular tree and the other trees, the animals were eating the bark. And I thought, why is no no one eating the bark on this tree? And it was just one of those blinding glimpse of the obvious. Well, maybe there’s something to do with this bark that is toxic to the the animals. So I started doing some research. There. Nothing was found back then. You didn’t have the internet to search anything, but I was able to take little pieces and start testing in my own equipment. Hey, maybe it’ll work. You never know. So, but I’m gonna take your bark. So you took the bar, it worked,

Kara Goldin 8:12
and you took the bark, and what, what kind of pest did it actually keep away? Well,

Kari Warberg Block 8:18
the it was, it was keeping the mice out of our out of our trucks, and that’s amazing, you know, I don’t didn’t know if it was a fluke. I didn’t know for sure. So I ordered some oil, essential oil, from that tree, and got it, and I saw that it worked. And so I went in, I got a grant, and I got some trials done, and and lo and behold, it worked. So to get the trials done, though, this it gets interesting kind of dicey. I had to start. I had to sell organic produce at the farmers markets to be able to pay for that. I sold my horse, which I had a pack horse to ride up in the mountains, which that I had gotten from an uncle, and I love that horse. I sold the horse. I sold my camper. I had a 1968 Pathfinder camper that I used to take my, you know, little kids and go camping in sold that went and applied for some grants and was able to go forward with the studies, and lo and behold, it worked.

Kara Goldin 9:26
That’s amazing. So how did, how did you know about the grants, and which grants did you actually apply for?

Kari Warberg Block 9:35
So there’s what’s called local economic development committees, and most cities have them. So I went to them and said, I have this idea. I think it, it’s, there’s something here, there’s, it’s a this. Mice are a big problem for farm people. And they all in the room said, Yeah, I hate those damn things. I think the. This is a good idea. So I got a grant, and I got a firt my first computer. I mean, we are talking way, you know, in the origins, got my first computer, got some sample like packaging ways to package it up, and got samples out to implement dealers. And I went to the implement dealers. And, of course, I started local at the local John Deere, and I said, you know, this is a problem. I want you to put these samples in your rattiest combines and stuff you got out there, stuff that just keeps attracting rodents and doing damage. And the next year it it really, it worked. And so I was able to, you know, proceed, and John Deere became our first national customer. As a result,

Kara Goldin 10:52
that’s amazing. How much was the grant for? So I got

Kari Warberg Block 10:56
a few different grants. The first one was $5,000 and the second one was $65,000 and the third one was about $200,000 so they elevated up in value because it took a while to get all the way to the federal EPA, because I had to get this product registered right with the federal EPA, and nobody else has been able to do it before or since for a rodent, because you have to meet a certain level of efficacy. And then, you know, governments can use it. Our product is used by governments, and so it cost a lot of money to make all that happen. Normally, a company would, it would cost a minimum of $2 million so I was able to get pretty scrappy and super, super resourceful, like I thought, I’m going to find everybody I know to answer any question that I can that I don’t necessarily need to pay for, and a little hint on being resourceful for the listeners, don’t be scared to go in and ask for what you need. I find most people don’t ask for what they need because they’re worried they’re going to look stupid, or they’re not going to be look smart, or whatever. I walked, I walked my ass into the USDA government offices and said, Can you give me the name of the smartest, most creative consultant, you know, out there that can help me on this, because I don’t have the money and I don’t want this to fail, and I think that this is needed in the market. And when I framed it that way, people were like, wow, I want to help this girl. And so I had to learn how to, of course, use my voice, because I was the introverted one that would have dropped out of high school had I had to take speech.

Kara Goldin 13:03
Yeah, it’s so interesting. So I guess when you incubated this idea that time when you were you’ve pulled the bark off the tree, and then you had this idea, and you went and tested it to the time that you actually had a product. So you had, you had gotten the grants, you had produced something I remember your early packaging was, you know, significantly different than what it is today. And you know that just speaks to you’ve got to start somewhere, which you did, and if you have a great product that will speak for itself, and the consumer, you know will understand and but how long did that whole process take until you got the approval and all of that?

Kari Warberg Block 13:54
It was about seven years when, yeah, for our first brand, we have two brands in the market. One is called Fresh cab, and it’s more in the farm and rural communities, governments, municipalities use it RV market, and we have another brand called stay away, and that’s found in Lowe’s Walmart grove. A lot of stores like that reached the mass consumer and the moms, for sure, but that brand didn’t take as long with those products. I was able to be out on the market within little over two years. Wow, okay, I simply knew how to do it, which made part of the difference, and I knew the regulatory environment inside and out by then, and you know, learn the engineering lessons, so to speak. So

Kara Goldin 14:47
you not only have have things that actually keep the mice away, but you have an incredible suite of products now, including. Your mosquito repellent. Can you talk a little bit about some of your products and sort of the timeline of you went from one product to many more?

Kari Warberg Block 15:11
Yeah, so I was never, ever gonna stay go away from rodents. In fact, I’d said, said no, a lot of times to customers, they’re like, Do you have something else? Do you have something else? And I thought, I just, I don’t know. I didn’t think I could do anything else, for some reason. And I started listening to customers, and they were right, right. Give, give the lady what she wants. So we started to expand. And how we expanded is we went into looking for whatever the most toxic things were on the market. That’s how I prioritize what I wanted to replace. So we started with spiders, because a lot of cans, aerosol cans, which go in the landfills, are sold to kill spiders, and it doesn’t solve the problem, because you spray the spider, watch them die. It’s painful to watch and do and they come back. So I’m like, Okay, I’m going to spiders. And it was a scary I was terrified of spiders myself, literally terrified. And I got it took getting bit twice by round brown recluse spiders before I actually pulled the plug and said, okay, okay, universe, I will do this. I will do this. And today, that’s our number two top seller. It’s called stay away spiders. And you place it anywhere where the spiders come in, and it’s this great smelling little sachet type thing. And they just stay away. And it’s top rated, really awesome.

Kara Goldin 16:47
And it really, really, it really works. So it’s, it’s super, super terrific. So when did you launch that second product from the time that you launched the first so

Kari Warberg Block 16:59
that one, that one came out in about, let’s see 2018 20, something like that. So we were really, let’s see 2007 is when we originally just kicked off, and then we went national within just a few years. And then I waited quite a few years, really, before I went into the mass market, because I was just like people, it was a big, it was a big, huge step for us. And I originally went in and I talked to the the mass market, you know, merchants, and they said, well, we don’t want this brand. We want a new a new brand that’s different because they thought the farm one was too nichey for them. There was an exception to that, so we already had the door open, which made it easier. Kara, and when I looked at the marketplace, there really wasn’t anything catering to the customer that we had, that we’d grown, you know, and by this time, we’ve got a couple million customers that we’re in contact with. And so it it was kind of an easier sell to get in when we were already retail ready and we could send people into the stores. So every

Kara Goldin 18:19
entrepreneur faces setbacks along the way, and obviously you push through at least one setback. But was there one where you thought this might not really work, and how were you able to push through it? Yeah,

Kari Warberg Block 18:38
there’s been quite a few. The probably the biggest one, though, and it’s something I haven’t talked about a lot, but we had a supplier that was cheating us, I suspected, and I got to the bottom of it, and sure enough, there was some cheating going on. So I self reported to EPA, and I said, Hey, we got a problem here. And they said, Okay, fine, we’ll get this fixed. Whatever that happened to be the year Trump came into office and he said, we’re going to have Christmas in DC again. So our file got held until december 24 and went nine months, nine months Kara, and it cost us over 8 million that year. I had to go out and talk to each of our retailers, public corporations, and say, Hey, I can’t send you product right now. And I invited them, you know, it was like, I have this thing. It’s never waste a good crisis. And I get everybody in a room, I said, What is the most grand and amazing thing we can do with this crisis? And that’s, that’s, that was our plan going forward. So I said, you know, we have competitors now. If there was only a couple back then, we have dozens today. And said, Try our competitors product. See how it does for you. And I gave them an alternative. This isn’t going to work as good, because it’s one thing EarthKind is known. Our products are the premium, the best one on the market. They’re the most effective, and they’re guaranteed sustainable, because we do 100% of the manufacturing. But getting back to that story, it was pretty scary, because we were within, really a couple weeks of bankruptcy. That’s how, that’s how down to the quick we were, because I kept my people, and I thought, I don’t want to retrain people. And I, you know, it wasn’t their fault. And so it came just like, oh, by the grace of God, we got it, and we were able to get back in business, and then, and then get recovered. And then I went to federal court, and, you know, one against this third generation company, which was, it was that, in itself, was really scary, and it took a lot of mental resources, because they were, they brought the big law firm, and, you know, filed suit against all my employees. And you name it, it was, it was unbelievable. But we, you know, we persevered through that one. But here’s how taking this step back and this crisis turned out to be really good, because those retailers saw me right across their desk face to face, saying your business means a lot to me. I understand if you’d want, don’t want to put us back on the shelf. I know you need to make your numbers, and you know how we have to make our numbers right to stay on those shelves. But they it did so much for our brand and the trust in our brand, because they saw me risking everything, including, you know, going out of business because I cared that much about the quality of the product and the relationships that we had and what we were telling our customers, I cared about the regulatory so when we came back, we never lost one order in that whole time, we ever every single customer repurcha back from us, and it opened the door to such a greater relationship, because by this time, we made it up to the the VPS office, because they, you know, they lost a couple million of of business in their own, you know, segment, or on their shelf, and they had to go and explain what was going on. So that worked for us in the long run, but sure was scary,

Kara Goldin 22:46
and to your point, never waste a crisis. I bet you and the team were that much stronger once you got through it. Oh,

Kari Warberg Block 22:53
absolutely, because we came through that, and then when COVID hit, yeah, it was like no big deal. We were we were shifting gears, and within two or three days, we had everything we needed, and people were working in their homes, and it was just like business as usual. And yeah, the staff is super resilient. And we did the same thing again when COVID hit too. So I pulled everybody together and said, Let’s not waste this. What do you want to do? And because we didn’t know any answers at that time, when, when our retailers would be open again, we were selling online, we declared ourselves essential, which helped. But they all had a super passion for wanting to help teachers in some way, because of all the students and the teachers how hard they had it, so we created this campaign where we championed and held up eco teachers that were actually getting Students outside in nature and teaching them math and teaching them science through nature. And it was an incredible success. And it we won a global award that year, and we had so much new business come from that. And our retailers saying, I want to get involved in this. I think, you know, planting pollinator gardens is a good thing. We worked with the World Wildlife Federation, national habitat adventures, schools across the nation, and I even wear monarch earrings today.

Kara Goldin 24:34
Yeah, I love it. No, that’s you guys have done such an amazing job with that. So when you look back on or think back, I should say on day one, as you were getting going, if you could change anything about what you’ve done in building this business, what would you do?

Kari Warberg Block 24:56
Well, I think I would um. I worry less and act more. I had this discipline thing where I told myself, if I ever have a problem, I’m never going to worry about it for more than 20 minutes a day, and then I block 20 minutes a day to worry about it. But I still didn’t. I still went off the edge, I still went off the rails on that one. And you know, especially when it because it’s all uncertainty in the beginning stages, you other people can’t necessarily see your vision, so you have to learn how to articulate that vision and not seeing it as rejection when people look confused that, you know, that took me quite a few tries to because, you know, geez, in school I was, I was a special ed because our family moved so much, I never caught up. And so it was really a lot of hard work to not take anything personally. In those years, I got over that never to make any assumptions. That’s another thing that that I’ve learned the hard way, and in the early years, you often will make an assumption. But here’s one of the things I learned in that and I learned this on when I was serving the White House during the Obama administration, on the National Women’s Business Council, women are scared to ask for what they want. Even professional like women in the nine figures and 10 figures sometimes have a hard time asking for what they want. So surrounding ourselves with girlfriends and yeah, people like you. Kara, it makes it a little less scary, because it’s oftentimes, it’s just the story that we tell ourselves, and it isn’t, it isn’t necessarily true. It’s this lie that that got started and we have, it gives other people courage when we speak up, even when it’s hard to do it. And I was case and testament to that. Because, you know, I’m not a PhD, which has never happened in our industry. You had to have a PhD, you had to be an entomologist, you had to come from an MBA, you had to have this big business background. Yet, you know, I’ve reached all these positions simply because I was honest and authentic and said, I think this really matters. And and people then bought into it, and they, you know, thank goodness they helped me. Praise God. They They helped me because none of us would be here without those people around that help us.

Kara Goldin 27:43
It’s so true. So let’s fast forward at 10 years. I know you just hired yourself out of a job, a new CEO came in. You’re still going to be involved, obviously, in the company. But what’s your big vision for Earth, kind and the impact you want to make.

Kari Warberg Block 28:03
So the vision has pretty much stayed the same since the beginning, when I got this desire placed in me and and realized that it was my calling, not a sexy calling, right? But it was past, but it the fact of 98% being toxic. I always thought, in 33 years, I want to flip that and have it only be 2% toxic. So I figured same number of years Christ walks on the earth, maybe this pest control space can clean up. And I realized after we were 18, which was just this year, that I felt like my work was done. My job was done as a CEO, because we’d already made it to that stage. Proctor and Gamble came into the space. SC Johnson came into the space. We’ve got dozens of competitors, so there is no turning back the clock, it’s going to happen, but I wanted to make it happen faster and more impactfully in a sustainable way. So I’ll take on those initiatives going forward as the chairman, rather than the CEO, running all the day to day. So I’ll be working on the product development, side, finance, side, strategic relationships, all the stuff I really enjoy doing

Kara Goldin 29:30
that’s awesome. How did you find your CEO

Kari Warberg Block 29:36
right in the least suspected place? I called a good friend of mine who I’ve worked with for 12 years, and he’s helped me on growth initiatives, helped me on my sales pitches, helped me train my teams. And I said, Do you know anybody that would be good for this role? And he said, I would. I said, You. What, what?

Kara Goldin 30:01
That’s amazing. And

Kari Warberg Block 30:02
he goes, No, really, it’s just such an amazing vision. You’ve done so well with it. You know, we’re a debt free company. We’re growing. We’re meeting our turns. We’re a top place to work. We’ve got incredible products. We’ve got relationships, you know, all over the world to continue to grow. And he’s like, this is the spot. This is the place. I’m really, really good. And I said, But you already have a business, Scott? And he said, I know, but I love you, and I think I love the products, and I think I really would be very good at this. So I hired him, and the team was so excited there. Said, How the heck did you ever get this kind of a leader? Kari, I mean, he’s

taking companies public. He’s been that’s amazing. What’s his last name? Demolin Scott. Demulin, Scott, yeah, that’s

Kara Goldin 31:03
amazing, very, very, very cool. Well, Kari, it’s been such a pleasure having you on and all the best for even further success, for sure. And I know our listeners have loved hearing all about your journey, and if you loved this episode, everyone don’t forget to leave a five star rating and follow me and Kari on social. Love all the info in the show notes as well. But thanks for tuning in and until next time, thanks again for listening to the Kara Goldin show. If you would, please give us a review and feel free to share this podcast with others who would benefit. And of course, feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode of our podcast. Just a reminder that I can be found on all platforms at Kara Goldin, I would love to hear from you too. So feel free to DM me, and if you want to hear more about my journey, I hope you will have a listen or pick up a copy of my Wall Street Journal, best selling book, undaunted, where I share more about my journey, including founding and building. Hint we are here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Thanks for listening, and goodbye for now you.

Click to subscribe:

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Listen OnApple Podcasts
Listen on Spotify
Listen OnSpotify
Listen on Overcast
Listen OnOvercast
Listen on PlayerFM
Listen OnPlayerFM

People Also Liked

630

Giorgos Tsetis: Co-Founder & CEO of Nutrafol

629

Sharon Price John: CEO of Build-A-Bear

629

Eric Dawson: CEO of RIVET

626

Kim Vaccarella: Founder & CEO of Bogg

625

Maria Ross: Author of The Empathy Dilemma