Coco Meers, ’14
CEO and Cofounder of Equilibria, Chicago
The Challenge: Despite the 2018 legalization of industrial-hemp growth and the growing market for CBD, its unregulated status means that many aspects of the traditional finance and banking services remain limited for CBD companies. As a result, Coco Meers and her direct-to-consumer CBD company Equilibria faced a tough situation when they lost their payment processing ability in 2019.
The Solution: Coco Meers cofounded Equilibria, a premium CBD subscription company for women, with Marcy Capron-Vermillion in 2018. Their goal was to leverage CBD to help women access relief from chronic pain, soreness, and everyday stresses. It was a personal quest—as a busy serial enterpreneur and working mom, Meers uses CBD to quell anxiety, and to relieve pain from her autoimmune spine condition.
Understanding how critical quality and consistency is in this nascent category, Equilibria became part owner of a bioscience lab and farm in order to control its supply chain and differentiate its farm-to-home, clinical-grade products. Its model of premium CBD routines—as well as the personalized dosage support for clients—helped to grow a dedicated customer base. In its first three months after launching, Equilibria was going strong.
But in June 2019, Equilibria lost all payment processing by the firm’s original processor following a leadership change at the FDA, which blacklisted CBD as a category. The change sent the industry into tumult and left the firm without a way to sell inventory. It risked disrupting Equilibria’s entire model.
“Women were still turning to us for consistent help with sleep, stress, and relief, but as a direct-to-consumer-only company, we could no longer process their cards and earn revenue. As a brand-new company with little to no balance sheet at the time, it could have ended us,” Meers says.
Despite not being able to process payments online, “our incredible team got scrappy!” Meers adds. Even with its short time in business, Equilibria had a strong connection with its customer base. Clients sent checks and cash to allow the firm to ship their orders. Equilibria worked every part of its network and developed a matrix of backup solutions including going offshore and building its own payment gateway using the firm’s internal engineering capabilities.
“We stayed persistent and asked unabashedly for help from every part of our community,” Meers says. Six weeks later, Equilibria joined financial services company Square’s private CBD beta and resumed generating revenue and servicing its customers. The company, which has been featured in Fortune, Woman’s Day, Forbes, and Elle, among other media channels, has sustained double-digit month-over-month growth nearly every month since its inception, and is a leader in direct-to-consumer wellness for women.
The Takeaway: Businesses will face unforeseen challenges at every level at some point. When significant challenges occur, think creatively and rely on strong customer networks and other areas of potentially untapped support.
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