From hiring a raft of new marketing staff to negotiating the return of hospitality and taste testing potential ketchup recipes
Being the founder and CEO of a startup, every day is different. With a tight team of 12 people, it’s often all hands on deck. For this column I thought I’d share a ‘day in the life’ for me at Rubies in the Rubble.
I wake with a jump: I have two toddlers whose sun-clock alerts them it’s morning. After a lot of bed bouncing, I’m showered, they’re fed and I’m on my bike to the office, which is finally open – the joy!
Grabbing a black coffee and peanut butter on toast, I’m at my desk to recap my to do list. This particular morning starts with an interview for a Kickstarter role. Kickstarter is an amazing government initiative to support young people into work post-Covid, and this summer we’re hiring six to support with sales and marketing.
A large part of my role is being the face of the brand, and maintaining the relationships I’ve built from the ground up. Today I have an update call with Marriott to discuss the long-awaited return of hospitality and finalise their post-lockdown ketchup needs.
After lunch, it’s on to my one-to-ones. Today I’m catching up with Jo, who manages our products, to sign off our Christmas exclusive and get an update on how we’re progressing with pulling information together for our carbon footprint assessment, as well as areas we can improve throughout our supply chain (aligning with our B Corp commitments).
To finish the day we have a team taste test of a new potential ketchup recipe– exploring if we can utilise surplus apples as well as pears, without compromising on taste. I love these times the most, as it’s important for us as a company to keep pushing boundaries in our products and packaging.
I then spend time back in my inbox, actioning any points of the day before heading home. I really value this cycling time on my commute – I find it such an important time in my day to review and reflect, before getting back home to see the kids.
It fills me with pride to see our team juggling so many projects and adapting to our rapid growth. There are many resources startups generally lack, but we have one thing in common: we’re a small team trying to deliver the world, with the resources of a mouse but the guts of a lion.
Jenny Costa is founder and CEO of Rubies in the Rubble: rubiesintherubble.com
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