Starting a business can feel overwhelming, especially when you have no experience in the industry. But for Lauren Olds, that didn’t stop her. With nothing more than a Google search and a strong vision, she launched a wellness beverage brand that generated over $11,000 in revenue during its very first month.
Her story is a clear example of how determination, creativity, and a willingness to learn can turn a simple idea into a growing business.
From an Idea to a Brand
About two and a half years ago, Olds first voiced her desire to start her own brand. It took more than a year of refining ideas before she settled on a concept that felt right.
She kept returning to the same category: tea.
While exploring the market, Olds noticed a gap. Many drinks marketed as “wellness beverages” were either loaded with sugar and artificial sweeteners or simply didn’t taste good. She wanted to create something different—something that balanced health benefits with an enjoyable drinking experience.
That idea became LEEVA, a collagen-based tea designed to combine function and flavor. Each serving contains 10 grams of protein from collagen, a protein that naturally declines in the body with age.
The drink is designed to be customizable and sensory. When opened, the can releases the aroma of ginger and lemon, and drinkers can adjust the intensity by adding more or less powder. The result is a warm, slightly spicy beverage meant to feel both comforting and energizing.
The First Step: A Simple Google Search
Olds’ journey began with a straightforward question typed into Google:
“How do you start a beverage brand?”
From there, she focused heavily on product development and branding, which turned out to be the most time-consuming and expensive parts of the process.
Because she was building the company while working a full-time corporate job, she decided to invest in areas where she lacked expertise or time. Over the course of a year, she spent more than $80,000 bringing the idea to life before launching LEEVA.
Learning the Industry From Scratch
Entering the beverage and consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry without prior experience meant Olds had a steep learning curve.
To speed up the process, she enrolled in a six-month founders course designed for food and beverage entrepreneurs. The program included a small group of founders who met regularly to learn from industry professionals who had either built brands themselves or worked closely with them.
Beyond formal education, Olds found that community played a critical role. Living in San Diego, she connected with a network of entrepreneurs and creatives who openly shared advice and support. Social platforms like Instagram and TikTok also introduced her to other founders in the CPG space who documented their journeys and offered insights.
A Lesson in Timelines
Looking back, Olds says one mistake slowed her progress early on.
During product development and branding, she took a relaxed approach and told partners there was “no rush.” Without a clear timeline, projects stretched far longer than expected.
Her advice today: whatever timeline you think a project will take, double it.
Maintaining momentum, she says, is essential for getting a product to market.
The Vulnerability of Building in Public
Launching a brand isn’t just about logistics and sales—it also requires emotional resilience.
Olds describes starting LEEVA as one of the most vulnerable experiences of her life. Entrepreneurs invest not only money but also their identity and personal reputation into their businesses.
Once she began posting about the brand online and officially launched the website, everything became open to public opinion—from the product itself to her decisions as a founder.
The response to LEEVA has been overwhelmingly positive so far, but Olds admits that building a brand publicly can still feel overwhelming. When founders create content around their businesses, their personal visibility increases quickly, and strangers often know more about them than they know about their audience.
Confidence in both yourself and your product, she says, is essential for navigating that reality.
When Something Goes Wrong
Even successful launches come with unexpected challenges.
Just one week after LEEVA went live, Olds started receiving messages from customers reporting that the safety seal inside the cans had popped open during shipping, causing powder to leak into the lid.
For a new brand, a packaging issue during the first week could have been disastrous.
Olds immediately began investigating the problem with her manufacturer to determine what caused the issue and confirm that the product itself was safe. She then inspected every remaining unit in inventory and resealed any cans that showed the same problem.
Transparency became her main strategy. She posted a video explaining what happened, why it occurred, and how the issue would be resolved. She also emailed customers with a link to the video and offered to make things right for anyone dissatisfied.
The result? Not a single customer asked for a refund.
Her background in customer relations helped guide her response. For Olds, honesty and accountability are non-negotiable when dealing with customers.
Early Growth and Sales
Although LEEVA is still a young company—just a few months old—the early results have been promising.
The brand generated more than $11,000 in revenue during its first month. Olds believes the company could reach around $200,000 in revenue during its first year if growth continues at the current pace.
Interestingly, the brand’s early traction came without paid advertising.
Instead, Olds focused on organic marketing, including social media content and frequent appearances at pop-up events. This strategy helped her understand who the product naturally attracted and what customers valued most.
Now that she has gathered that data, she plans to expand into paid marketing, strategic event partnerships, and additional industry support.
Balancing a Side Hustle With a Full-Time Job
Building a brand while working full time requires intense discipline.
During the week, Olds spends four to five hours per day working on LEEVA—usually a few hours before her corporate job and a few more afterward.
Weekends are even busier. She frequently participates in pop-up events that require hours of preparation and several more hours on site. At this stage, she’s effectively working seven days a week.
Her tasks range from packing orders and answering emails to creating social media content, planning marketing strategies, and coordinating collaborations with other brands.
Administrative work typically happens in the mornings, while evenings are reserved for creative tasks like marketing ideas and content creation.
The Best Part of Building Her Own Brand
For Olds, the most rewarding aspect of running LEEVA is the creative freedom it offers.
She describes the business as a combination of a science project and an art project—something entirely her own where she gets to make every decision.
That level of ownership pushes her to think creatively, experiment, and constantly improve the brand.
Sometimes, she reminds herself of a simple truth: she’s the boss.
If something isn’t working, she has the power to change it.
Her Most Important Business Advice
Olds’ biggest advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is simple but powerful:
Be crystal clear about your “why.”
Why are you investing your time, money, and energy into building this business? What kind of life do you want it to create for you?
Starting a company will demand far more than you initially expect. Early mornings, missed social events, long weekends, and constant problem-solving are part of the journey.
When those difficult moments come, having a strong sense of purpose makes it easier to keep going.
As Olds puts it: if you know exactly where you want to go, the sacrifices along the way start to feel worth it.