{"id":5316,"date":"2016-03-06T08:31:24","date_gmt":"2016-03-06T12:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=5316"},"modified":"2016-03-06T09:00:23","modified_gmt":"2016-03-06T13:00:23","slug":"hard-to-open-package-inspires-a-million-dollar-business-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=5316","title":{"rendered":"Hard-to-Open Package Inspires a Million-Dollar Business Idea"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In this series of \u201cPassion Plays,\u201d Kerry Hannon<\/a> introduces\u00a0you to aspiring entrepreneurs who turned their interests into innovative and rewarding second-act businesses. Meet Paul Tasner and Elena Olivari<\/strong><\/p>\n

AGES:<\/strong> 70 and 50
\nHOMETOWN:<\/strong> Greenbrae, Calif., and San Francisco
\nBUSINESS:<\/strong> Pulpworks, a designer and manufacturer of eco-friendly packaging<\/p>\n

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The idea<\/h4>\n
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Paul Tasner, Pulpworks. Photo courtesy of Pulpworks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Six years ago Paul Tasner had some time on his hands. After a 35-year career managing supply chains at companies like Clorox and California Closets, he had recently lost his job at Method Products, which makes environmentally friendly soaps and household cleaners.<\/p>\n

Then 64, Tasner despaired of finding another high-level full-time position. So he hatched a business idea, inspired in part by his stint at Method, where he had undergone a late-in-life conversion to environmentalism. Says Tasner: \u201cI felt a passion to make a difference for people and the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

His other inspiration was his wife\u2019s recent purchase of a pair of shears designed to get into those hard-to-open plastic packages in which many retail products are sold these days. Ironically, the scissors themselves were similarly packaged, and extricating them was a frustrating ordeal. \u201cRidiculous,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

An engineer by training, Tasner set out to learn all he could about recycled, biodegradable\u2014and easier-to-open\u2014packaging.<\/p>\n

Read article on Time.com\/MONEY<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The groundwork<\/h4>\n

While molding recycled goods into packaging isn\u2019t new\u2014egg cartons are a familiar example\u2014Tasner knew that most marketers wouldn\u2019t want to display their wares in something so drab. But his research led him to processes and materials that could be combined to turn paper, cardboard, and sugarcane fiber into a thin but sturdy, glossy-white packaging material.<\/p>\n

Read next: How This Teacher Turned Her Love for Peanut Butter Into a Winning Business<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Elena Olivari, Pulpworks, Photo courtesy of Pulpworks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hoping to build a green manufacturing facility, he conducted another search\u2014this time on LinkedIn\u2014and connected with Elena Olivari, an architect committed to sustainability. \u201cI was looking for a new job that would give me a stronger feeling of purpose,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen Paul briefly explained why he was writing to me, my wishes were answered.\u201d Teaming up to form PulpWorks<\/a>, they spent $25,000 to design and build a prototype package\u2014a smooth and colorful alternative to plastic\u2014then applied for a patent on the product they dubbed Karta-Pack.<\/p>\n

A change of direction<\/h4>\n

Tasner and Olivari spent nearly all of 2012 pitching venture capitalists in order to raise the $17 million they calculated they would need to build a Karta-Pack factory. They got nowhere. Tasner never imagined that investors wouldn\u2019t want to do well by doing good. \u201cYou\u2019re never too old to be naive,\u201d he jokes.<\/p>\n

Their frugal ways\u2014and support from their families\u2014helped them carry on. (Tasner says his wife, a registered nurse with her own health care startup, \u201cnever blinked an eye about supporting PulpWorks.\u201d) Each partner had contributed $50,000 in nonretirement savings at the get-go, investing the funds \u201cin slow drips\u201d to develop prototypes, apply for a patent, and travel to trade shows and meetings with potential investors. They worked then (and still do) in home offices, meeting once or twice a week. And once it sunk in that they wouldn\u2019t get their $17 million, they revised their business plan to one requiring little upfront cash. Instead of building a plant, they\u2019d outsource production, licensing the design to other manufacturers.<\/p>\n

The new approach worked, helping PulpWorks land contracts with companies including Burt\u2019s Bees, LeapFrog Enterprises, and T-Mobile. A big help was the professional network that Tasner built up over decades in the same industry. \u201cWe don\u2019t always have the perfect person to sit down with,\u201d he says, \u201cbut we always have someone who can at least open the door to us and point us in the right direction.\u201d Revenue is expected to hit $1 million in 2016, and the business carries no debt. Tasner and Olivari now each take salaries of about $5,000 a month.<\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spent almost my entire life doing exactly what we\u2019re doing here with PulpWorks,\u201d Tasner says. \u201cBut I\u2019ve done it for employers, not for myself. It\u2019s an amazing feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

BY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kerry Hannon<\/a><\/span> @KerryHannon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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