Meet the Founders - Bower Collective
EIS eligible, circular economy solution tackling plastic waste.
For the second time this week, we are delighted to be profiling a Conduit Connect company which is back on the platform for a second time - Bower Collective. Bower Collective is a subscription-based household and personal care brand on a mission to eliminate waste and make sustainable living simple and accessible to everyone. Since launch, Bower has seen 44% MOM growth, has built a community of over 50,000 people, and has saved nearly 7 tonnes of single-use plastic waste from landfill or incineration. Bower was the winner of the 3rd Conduit Connect Dragons in April 2020, and closed a successful seed round with a number of Conduit Connect members on board. They are now raising £2m to invest in technology and marketing to accelerate this growth. Read on for our interview with the founders, Nick Torday and Marcus Hill, and if you’d like to learn more please email info@theconduitconnect.com.
Marcus Hill (L) and Nick Torday (R), Co-Founders, Bower Collective
Describe your startup in two sentences
Bower Collective is aiming to be the world’s leading digital-first sustainable consumer goods company. Bower helps people create a sustainable home by delivering Earth’s best household products in reusable packaging.
What gave you the inspiration?
Both of us come from a background in sustainable business. Nick ran a technology consultancy that worked with everyone from the UN to WWF and Greenpeace. Marcus founded London BioPackaging, an award-winning biodegradable packaging company.
We came together in early 2019 with this core hypothesis: the plastic waste crisis is one of the defining environmental issues of our time. How can we build a transformative business that meets this challenge head on?
How did you meet?
We are old school friends! So we met a few years ago and have always followed each other's careers with interest - Bower presented the perfect opportunity for us to bring our respective skill sets together.
What has been your greatest success to date? And your greatest challenge?
Our greatest success to date has been achieving product - market fit within a short timeframe, growing at 44% month on month and building a community of over 50,000 consumers. Our greatest challenge has been supply chain disruption amongst the Covid pandemic.
How has Covid-19 affected your business?
As we mentioned above, the biggest challenge has been the major disruption to supply chains. As 90% of our products are manufactured in the UK, this has not been too problematic but componentry such as pumps and dispensers has been and continues to be a struggle! Overall though, it would be remiss of us not to recognise that lockdown has in some ways helped our growth as people are at home a lot more reflecting on their consumer choices.
What kind of impact is your business having and how do you measure it?
Our impact is specifically focused around the elimination of plastic waste, In 2020 we worked with a researcher from Oxford University to build a Plastic Waste Calculator. We now use those same algorithms as the basis for measuring our own impact and we have a dynamic impact data dashboard on our homepage. We will be publishing our first Impact Report soon.
When you were little what did you want to be when you grew up?
NT: I think either a footballer or rock star, so pretty stereotypical!
MH: I wanted to be an archaeologist, inspired by Indiana Jones...
If you weren’t doing this, what would be your plan B?
Can’t imagine doing anything else! Almost certainly problem-solving through the lens of purpose-driven business as that is the passion we both share.
What would you save in a fire?
NT: Other than my family, I’m not that bothered with possessions, so probably my percussion collection….
Every Bower Collective Purchase Helps Protect 1m2 of Seagrass through their partnership with the Marine Conservation Society
Who is your role model/ greatest influence? And why?
NT: My Dad is my greatest influence. He was a successful entrepreneur and then at the age of 60 he wrote a global bestseller called Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.
What is your happy track?
NT: Egbe Mi O by Fela Kuti
What are your company values?
Purposeful: We want to be true to our mission and build a successful business that delivers real change in the world.
People first: We always put our people - employees, customers and partners - before profit.
Generous: We are generous of spirit in how we treat our customers and we also assign a portion of revenues to relatable causes.
Brave: We embody the entrepreneurial spirit, and innovate continuously to scale the business in pursuit of our vision.
What are you most looking forward to in 2021?
Building out the team, continuing our fantastic growth trajectory and getting our full B Corp certification confirmed!