STUART LANDSBERG founded healthy-home products company Grove Collaborative with a mission to make it the most radically sustainable startup in its industry. After soaring to a $1 billion valuation in 2019, his San Francisco-based firm became a public benefit corporation in 2021 and pledged to go plastic-free by 2025. In addition, last year Landesberg turned his attention to taking Grove public through a merger with a SPAC backed by Virgin Group co-founder Richard Branson. But it would ultimately take a personal health crisis to seal the deal.
When I met with Richard Branson in the summer of ’21, the first question he asked wasn’t about cash flow. It was: ‘Why is zero plastic by 2025 the right goal?’ The next thing he said was: ‘OK, you’ve convinced me. Tell me how you’ll achieve it.’ The conversation solidified that the commitment from Virgin to sustainability wasn’t lip service. I knew it was the right partner.
At that time, the SPAC market had gone from feast to famine, and it took some real time to make sure it would be a transaction good for all parties. Then I had a kidney transplant, which I have so much gratitude for–I have a genetic disease–but which was a crazy thing.
That was November 10, and it changed my outlook on life. I saw more clearly how perfection can be the enemy of progress. I came back and was like, We need to stop messing around and get this transaction over the line. The deal was announced on December 8.
When we announced it, I was wearing a button-down to do interviews, but underneath were sweatpants and a giant brace. I was still in pain. Actually going public was emotional for me in a way that I did not expect. Yes, it’s just a financial event. But we’ve always been an underdog, and it felt like a real validation of our mission and vision for what’s possible.
From the October 2022 issue of Inc. Magazine
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