Hello, we’re YIELD and we’re one of the start-ups currently in residency with Pearson's’ start-up incubator. We’re going to be talking about who we are, sharing the experiences of fellow students currently interning for us and giving a little advice for any students looking to start their own business. So join us in this blog post as we share our experience inside the incubator.
How It All Started
We are a wellness company that sells gummy supplements to optimise the lives of young professionals, helping them perform better and lead healthier lives.
Although we’re in the wellness industry we define ourselves as a community-driven lifestyle brand, so we want to attract like-minded, entrepreneurial individuals to our community where we share content that can help you as you pursue your ambitions. If this sounds like a place you’re interested in then we welcome you to join our Instagram community.
So how was YIELD founded and why did we start selling our four gummy supplements: CBD, Nootropic, Immunity and Gut Health? Our four founders Jimmy, Dean, Rob and Blake arrived in the U.K. from New Zealand chasing big ambitions that had outgrown their home. Landing roles at global brands such as Coca Cola, Nestle, and Diageo, this relentless drive to achieve and perform at high levels came with a cost: burn out. We turned to supplements to sustain our lifestyle but found that many of them didn’t speak our language and weren’t kind to the planet. And after months of R&D here we are! Four functional products, a growing Instagram community and some other high points we’ll get to in just a moment.
The Highs And Lows
Being a start-up comes with its ups and downs. Since launching we’ve had a lot of both. Our most notable high is our listing in Selfridges where we were featured in their “Prototypes Of The Future” window display. This stands as testament to our vision of being an innovative company at the forefront of the wellness industry.
We managed to raise funding during the pandemic and at at time of economic uncertainty, this is an achievement we’re proud of - pretty cool that people want to invest in YIELD!
And lastly, being part of the Incubator and having access to amazing interns who we can see develop and who are passionate about something we created is a big highlight.
Its not been without its lows though. We’ve been rejected from retailers, experienced manufacturing issues that have cost us time and money and lost investments due to the current economic climate. We take these moments in our stride, there’s no such thing as success without a bit of failure along the road.
Looking to the future we hope to land more incredible listings, scale our e-commerce business, grow our community and expand into other markets. Which we hope our interns will play a role in.
Our Time At PCL
During our time at PCL we’ve had four interns with roles in sales, marketing, copywriting and sustainability. They have been invaluable in helping us grow our business. Whether it be
growing sales via cold calling retailers, engaging our community via social media and blogs posts, or growing our brand awareness via in store sampling at Selfridges. Not only that, they’ve helped free up the time for the Founders so that we can focus on more strategic projects. We would not be where we are today without their help, and feel very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to work with such talented and enthusiastic young legends!
Listen to what two of our current interns, Tom and Rohan, had to say about their time with us.
“Since joining the YIELD team nearly eight months ago, I have gained a lot of new industry experience in areas such as sales, influencer marketing and pitching to name a few. YIELD has introduced me to the life of start-up companies and the fast-paced nature of the work has been motivating and engaging since day one. I’m looking forward to staying on at YIELD and helping the company to continue growing.”
Tom (Marketing Intern)
“Working for YIELD has really been a great accelerator not just for my sales career but also all other aspects of business. I love how every week I might be tasked with a slightly different job, plus, the boys make the work feel like a hobby.”
Rohan (Sales Intern)
Team effort sampling at London Fields
A Message To Future Entrepreneurs
And to finish off, a message from Jimmy, one of our Founders, for any future entrepreneurs reading this: