SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- An indoor plant delivery company that launched amid the coronavirus pandemic is thriving.
ABC 10News first told you about IvyMay & Co. in July. Five months later, the entrepreneurs say they are thriving, thanks to their expansion into a chicken coop.
Starting a business takes guts. Starting a business during a global pandemic is extremely risky.
"We built our business around the idea of lockdown and quarantine," IvyMay & Co. co-owner Cody Warden said.
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Warden and girlfriend, Tammy Nguyen, thought if people cannot be outside, they would bring the outdoors to them. That inspired the creation of IvyMay & Co., an online houseplant curating and delivery company.
In July, Warden was newly jobless, and Nguyen was working her corporate PR job when they started the company. Since then, Nguyen quit her job, and their business blossomed. They went from having twenty deliveries to now more than 120 in a week. They hired more staff and outgrew their space almost immediately.
"We needed to figure out a spatial solution so that we can continue to grow," Nguyen said.
Their solution was Warden's father's backyard in Encinitas, specifically their chicken coop. Warden and his father renovated the 300 square foot space to have a greenhouse and an office. It is not your typical warehouse, but they say it is perfect.
"It's like working with what you have and being able to pivot and do whatever it takes to take your business to the next step," Nguyen said.
They say it is this kind of ingenuity, a loving family, and loyal customers that keep them focused. Whether they expand to delivery to other counties or build a storefront, only time will tell. But pandemic or not, they plan to stick around.
"We may not know where we're going to be in six months, but I can guarantee you that we will be around for you to talk to us in six months. Hopefully will be somewhere much further down the road," Warden said.
This Sunday, December 6, 2020, IvyMay & Co. will open their first in-person pop-up store at the Liberty Station San Diego Vintage Collective.
