Waterloo Engineering is known for encouraging and supporting entrepreneurship. But it was only in her fifth co-op term that Kayli Dale (BASc ‘20, chemical engineering), co-founder and CEO of Friendlier, understood the impact a founder can make and set out to launch her own business.
In 2020, Dale and her friend Jacquie Hutchings (BASc ‘20, chemical engineering) launched Friendlier — a company aligned with their values and committed to eliminating single-use packaging with reusable containers.
In just over four years, the company has reused over one million containers, diverting 58 tonnes of waste and reducing carbon emissions by over 168 tonnes and most recently closed a $5 million seed extension round of funding at the end of 2023. Headquartered in Guelph, Ontario, Friendlier has expanded its services across the province with plans to push into the rest of Canada.
Dale recently kicked off Velocity’s 2024 Startup 101 Speaker Series and addressed a room full of emerging entrepreneurs on how anyone can get a startup going. In her conversation with Eric Blondeel, associate director of start-up development at Velocity, Dale emphasized the challenges involved with getting a business off the ground. She highlighted the need for would-be entrepreneurs to prepare themselves for a lot of negative feedback and conflicting advice, to test before launching, and to understand what customers truly want and need.
1. Be prepared to hear a lot of "no": Despite the company’s recent success, Dale said it took about 200 conversations to secure early funding for Friendlier. Hearing “no” was the hardest part of starting out. So, Dale and Hutchings got creative with their approach to meeting potential customers, like volunteering with specific non-profits to meet restaurant owners and chefs who could be users of the product.
2. Know your "why": Dale and Hutchings didn’t have the plan for Friendlier mapped out when they started talking about the startup. They began with a focus on hating packaging waste and the end solution grew from there. Dale recommended having a "why" for your business and talking with people in the industry and potential customers before determining the end solution.
3. Stay focused: In addition to hearing a lot of "no," Dale and Hutchings received plenty of unsolicited and conflicting advice when starting out which, Dale said, if you listen to it all can affect your focus. An important business milestone for Dale and Hutchings was learning to know what advice to take and what to ignore. Dale credited her and Hutchings' Waterloo Engineering training for helping them build the company, particularly the importance of continually iterating, learning and knowing when to move on.
“A Waterloo Engineering degree can be tough,” she said. “But once you’ve done it, you know how powerful hard work and determination are in the face of difficulties. This helped push us through some of the early startup challenges to where we are today.”
Eric Blondeel of Velocity and Kayli Dale, co-founder of Friendlier in conversation.