Goldwasser would quickly grow her business into a six-figure nationwide brand within one year and only recently left her consulting to pursue it full-time, focusing on elevating the entire matcha ritual experience beyond just selling a product. The More Than Matcha founder shared how appearing on the reality TV show 60 Day Hustle became a pivotal moment in her journey. Initially treating the business as a side passion project while working full-time, she struggled to pitch her company effectively.
“It was an incredible side passion project that I was so excited about and always excited to work on at the end of my consulting day–but I wasn’t treating it like the business that it is or the business that it should have been treated,” she said. “As much as I would have wanted to take that show all the way and win it, it kind of pushed me into reality and founder mode of just, I need to start treating this business like a business.”
This challenging experience forced Goldwasser to shift her mindset, leading to a complete rebrand with new messaging, packaging and positioning. She noted the power of community collaboration, particularly through pop-ups with other female founders, believing that working together creates better customer experiences than going solo.
“What started More Than Matcha is I felt like I wanted to be more than just a matcha brand and really lean into every part of the experience that customers also care about in addition to delivering an incredible product,” she said. “I wanted to be more than just a matcha brand and really lean into every part of the experience that customers also care about in addition to delivering an incredible product.”
When asked about advice for women who are sitting on an idea but afraid to take the leap, Goldwasser offered a hot take:
“Don’t make a long term business plan at first before you start–don’t think about it,” she said, adding that it’s simply overwhelming. Instead, she suggests taking one step forward every day. “But if you are not embarrassed by your first iteration of your product—then you waited too long to launch.”
