Phoenix is known for many things: beautiful hiking trails, a world-class art scene, and abundant nightlife. But what many Phoenicians may not realize is within the heart of the valley is a thriving and growing small business community that is both collaborate and innovative.
Amazon’s Director of Seller External Relations Natalie Angelillo recently met with three unique and inspiring Valley-based sellers who are thriving in the e-commerce world and beyond. “I took away how passionate the Phoenix small business entrepreneurs are and how they’ve built such distinct and different businesses. They each have such a powerful connection built on giving back to the community,” Angelillo said.
What these small businesses quickly realized is they’re surrounded by a supportive community, which was evident at Amazon’s corporate office in Tempe. At the beginning of the holiday season, several locally-based Amazon sellers met with area chamber of commerce leaders who listened intently as the owners of Bundle X Joy, Elevated Craft and Zaaina talked about their businesses and the impact they’re having throughout the community.
Giving back 3%, and so much more
When Jess Berger left a high-ranking position with a national pet food company, she was on a mission to build a brand that connects with women, who make up the majority of pet food purchases.
“I didn’t see founders that look like me, I really didn’t. I also didn’t come from wealth so I had to learn as much as I could and I had to connect with as many people as I could. I quickly learned that women receive less than 3% of venture capital funding, with only 1% of recipients being women of color,” Berger said, noting change starts with businesses just like hers.
Berger’s super-nutrition, Phoenix-based pet food brand launched last year. Bundle X Joy has grown exponentially, selling in Amazon’s store as well as in physical retail. For Berger, responsibility comes with success.
“I thought that our 3% give back program to fund women entrepreneurs would provide us an opportunity to help uplift others,” Berger said. Many of those woman-owned businesses are also featured on Bundle X Joy’s website.
The growing company’s employees can also be found almost every weekend at festivals and community gatherings in greater Phoenix talking with dog owners. And with every single event, that connection to the community grows. The mission, to bring joy to women and pet owners, goes much deeper than just online and retail sales.
“We’ve partnered with Bestie B&B to provide safe night stays for pets. Many don’t realize that more than 70% of victims of domestic violence won’t go into a shelter because their pets aren’t allowed to come stay with them. We fund safe-night stays for them.”
Tapping into the innovative, local talent pool
Adam Craft showed up at Arizona State University 20 years ago and never left. The inventor of the Hybrid Cocktail Shaker found the Valley was an incredible place to perfect his craft and branch out on his own, launching Elevated Craft during the pandemic.
“There’s still a bit of the wild west feel to it and it’s not overrun with physical product businesses. It feels like it’s a very collaborative environment. Just the fact that we’re here in this room talking to other sellers on Amazon; we’re all sharing and there’s a collaborative environment that doesn’t feel competitive,” Adam Craft said.
“It’s more of rising tide that lifts all ships. The way we think of it, we all get better by more people being in the market in our local area. More people selling physical goods from this area brings in more resources for all of us as a group and community,” said Mark Craft, Elevate’s vice president of operations.
That is why these two business leaders, who also just engineered and launched a state-of-the-art hybrid cocktail glass, never turn down the opportunity to share their journey at local colleges and universities. It’s how they give back, inspire and find local talent.
“The impact on the trajectory of my career really came from one internship, it was one year at a design company here locally that had physical products,” Adam Craft said.
Elevated Craft has found incredible success in their studio in Old Scottsdale, designing great products and bringing them to market. But they’ve also found success launching careers. Recently, an intern just left the company, accepting a design and engineering job at NASA. Adam and Mark Craft couldn’t be more thrilled.
A business that is 100% Arizona
“I’m not sure my business would have grown this way in any other city, because everyone here is so open to new things. People are willing to help. Overall, it’s just a great city,” said Purvi Desai, founder and owner of Zaaina beauty products.
She started in 2010 by mixing face care products at her kitchen table and selling them at farmer’s markets. Now, Desai employs a team of 12, all hired locally, who pack beauty gift boxes in a 5,200-square-foot facility in Mesa.
“It’s loyalty, in a way. The business was born here and grown here, I just wanted to keep everything here at home. I wanted to make sure that we are 100% local. In the beginning we even used to buy all of our raw materials from local suppliers. But as we grew, it was not possible to find a supplier who could supply us everything in bulk,” Desai said.
Back to that team packing boxes, you’ll find a very young workforce. Every day they show up to work, but they really love their jobs because of an opportunity to learn.
“There are a lot of people like me around here who probably want to start a business but there aren’t many resources, and there’s not a lot of support and encouragement. For me, it was self-driven; listening to podcasts, reading articles and seeing people start something and make it big. It was so inspiring to me, so that’s what I did, and I want to help others who want to do that in their life,” Desai said.
Never far from home
All three small business owners are selling products on Amazon, connecting them to customers far and wide, and they’ve all witnessed tremendous growth in the past couple of years. But even as the products find homes in every corner of the country, their hearts and the impact of their successes remain right here in the Phoenix metro area.