When Jennifer Tice was a young child, she roamed the gardens and woods with her grandmother, listening carefully to all of the plant wisdom her grandmother told her. Over the years since, Jennifer has added to that knowledge, combining modern chemistry with plant-based skincare. The soaps, skin care and lip balms of Evolve Botanica are the product of a lifetime of learning and a commitment to local farming. Evolve Botanica sources its ingredients locally, uses no parabens, phthalates, sulfates or petrochemicals, and is cruelty-free. This is what you should put on your skin!

Learn more about Jennifer and her company, what motivates her, and how she continues to dream big and evolve. Then shop women-owned on TheWMarketplace and start a new skin care regime today.

What motivated or inspired you to start your own Evolve Botanica?

It really began in the gardens with my grandmother as a little girl, and this became a passion. As I grew up, that led to a beautiful combination between chemistry and my roots. I knew I could do it better. But I wanted it to be a daily routine for every woman, not just the ones who could afford the high-end label products.

Have you had to overcome any significant barriers in business or in life, and how did you manage to conquer them?

I always found myself in fields where being a woman was like being a unicorn. Just because I had eye liner and brightly colored hair, I couldn't possibly know what I was talking about. I used to joke that I started my own company because I wanted to dye my hair blue and get away with it. I wasn't exactly joking, but starting my own brand and having the freedom to grow outside of the concrete box I was planted in (and dye my hair green if I wanted to) gave me life. And I hope I can give someone the courage to break their own pot and stretch their leaves to the sky.

What is one piece of advice you wish you had heard, and listened to - in life or in business?

Believe in your vision. Even if it means standing up to family, to friends, and to the jealousy in the wings. No one has YOUR vision. Don't be afraid of it.

What are your hopes for the future?

I want to hire the staff who need a little more than a job. The staff who need a safe place to create. Who want to dream. Who want to grow. I want my farmers to be able to find the freedom of selling to a brand who truly honors their products, and to grow with me.

What motivates you to keep going?

What motivates me every day is the customer who comes up and tells me that their acne or other skincare issue that they have battled with for years was solved with our products.