SHOW NOTES
What happens when a stand-up comedian and her retired mom decide to fix the food system by starting a plant-based soup company?
Eighteen years later, Sara Polon has some answers, and plenty of stories about what went wrong along the way. Her company, Soupergirl, has grown from a local delivery service and neighborhood soup shops in Washington, DC, into a soup and salsa business reaching about 1,000 retail locations.
I first knew Sara as a customer of her DC shop. Now, with Soupergirl expanding west, I’m looking forward to buying her soups by my home in Sacramento. But that growth almost didn’t happen.
In this conversation, Sara explains how the company nearly shut down, why a Whole Foods business supplying fresh-cut vegetables and dips helped turn things around, and why she’s glad the Sharks challenged—and declined—her original pitch on Shark Tank. Keeping manufacturing in-house, she argues, helped Soupergirl survive the pandemic and ultimately improve its margins.
We also discuss something Sara’s changed her mind about: whether small, local agriculture is necessarily the best way to feed the planet. She explains why she now sees a role for efficient, large-scale farming, while using her purchasing power to demand better treatment of farmworkers.
And we get into the psychological costs of entrepreneurship, from personally guaranteeing business loans to looking successful online while life behind the scenes is unraveling. Sara has turned that experience into I Regret Nothing, a one-woman show about the parts of life founders rarely put on LinkedIn.
Along the way, we talk about patient investors, taking a weekly Sabbath break from her phone, and an unglamorous business opportunity she wishes someone would tackle: better refrigerated storage.
DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE
Soupergirl and its store locator.
Sara’s one-woman show, I Regret Nothing, with tickets and livestream information for its November 17, 2026 performance at New York’s Cutting Room.
The Fair Food Program and Soupergirl’s pioneering certification for its tomato gazpachos.
Michael Grunwald’s We Are Eating the Earth and his food-and-climate conversations with Tamar Haspel on Climavores.
Sara recommends Michael Easter’s The Comfort Crisis and his Two Percent podcast.
Paul recommends Nicola Twilley’s Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves. And here’s his review of it.
MORE ABOUT sara polon
Sara Polon is the cofounder and CEO of Soupergirl, the plant-based soup and salsa company she started with her mother, Marilyn, in 2008. A University of Pennsylvania history graduate and former stand-up comedian, Sara has built the company around making convenient food while improving its impact on animals, the environment, and the people who grow its ingredients. She also wrote and performs I Regret Nothing, an autobiographical one-woman show.
TRANSCRIPT
Sara Polon 0:00
At a certain point, you need more money to grow, so you have to sign something called a personal guarantee. Which means when you take on loans, if the loans default, the bank comes after you, and that is very motivating because you don't want to lose your house.
Paul Shapiro 0:16
Welcome to the Business for Good podcast, where we spotlight people making money by solving some of the world's most pressing problems, I'm your host Paul Shapiro, author of a nationally best-selling book on food sustainability and CEO of a company in the same space. On this show, I speak with founders, investors, and thought leaders who prove that doing good and doing well can go hand in hand. The biggest challenges facing humanity are solvable and are often profitable too. My hope is that this podcast informs, inspires, and maybe even helps propel you to build a business that makes the world a better place. I'm glad you're here. Hello, friend, and welcome to episode 202 of the Business for Good podcast. All right, first, here is your random fact. Did you know that while we think our moon is very close to our planet. You can actually fit all seven other planets in the gap between the Earth and the Moon. That's right. If you line up Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune edge to edge, admittedly ignoring their rings, they would all fit in between the Earth and our Moon with room to spare. No, I'm not including Pluto as a planet here, but it wouldn't make much of a difference even if you did include Pluto as a planet because it is so small. So why we call it a dwarf planet? Pluto is even smaller than our own moon. All right. Now speaking of things that are out of this world, this episode's guest has a tenacity that is indeed beyond our earthly imagination. So what happens when a stand-up comedian and her retired mom decide to try to fix the food system by starting a plant-based soup company. 18 years later, Sarah Polin has some answers and plenty of stories about what went wrong along the way. Her company, Supergirl, that's S-O-U-P, has grown from a local delivery service and neighborhood soup shops in Washington D.C. into a soup and salsa empire, reaching about 1000 retail locations as I'm speaking. I first knew Sarah as a customer of her DC shop, and now with Supergirl expanding west, I'm looking forward to buying her soups in my own hometown of Sacramento now. But that growth almost didn't happen. In this conversation, Sarah explains how the company nearly shut down. Why a Whole Foods business supplying fresh cut vegetables and dips help turn things around, and why she's glad that the sharks on Shark Tank challenged and declined her original pitch. Keeping manufacturing in house, she argues, which is what the sharks were so concerned about, helped Supergirl survive the pandemic and ultimately improve its margins. And we get into the psychological costs of entrepreneurship, from personally guaranteeing business loans to looking beyond success. Right, oftentimes a lot of these founders want to look successful online, while life behind the scenes is actually unraveling. Sarah has turned that experience into "I Regret Nothing," a one-woman show about the parts of life founders rarely put on LinkedIn. Along the way, we talk about patient investors taking a weekly Sabbath break from her phone and an unglamorous business opportunity she wishes somebody else would tackle better refrigerated storage. As always, here are your three key takeaways from this episode. First, sometimes the experts are wrong. Sarah credits keeping manufacturing in house with helping her survive COVID. That was something again. The sharks on Shark Tank criticized. Second, growth can expand your impact. Bigger orders give Supergirl more leverage to bring farms into a program that protects farm workers. Third, success can hide serious struggles. Sarah's story is a reminder that a founder's public image rarely tells the whole story. All right, I will now let Sarah tell you that story herself. Sarah, welcome to the Business for Good podcast.
Sara Polon 3:45
Thank you so much for having me, Paul. It's great to be here.
Paul Shapiro 3:47
You know, I'm a fan of yours. I've been a customer of yours, and I'm looking forward to your suit being available within walking distance of me pretty soon. That's pretty amazing. I think many years ago, when I was a customer of your brick and mortar store in Tacoma, DC, if you had said that I would be living in Sacramento and I would be able to walk to buy Supergirl soup in my location in Sacramento, I think both of us would have found that pretty surprising.
Sara Polon 4:09
I agree, Paul. It's been quite a journey. I did not see this coming, but I'm pretty pumped.
Paul Shapiro 4:15
Okay, so how does a history major like yourself, who started your career basically doing tours of the Middle East, and I mean like tourists, not tours of a military duty, but doing tours of the Middle East, and then you know you become a stand-up comedian, only to decide that with no business background of any kind, you're going to start a business, let alone with your mom as your co-founder. I know this is a true, well-worn path for many entrepreneurs to go through stand-up comedian to founder with your with your mom, but how did that happen?
Sara Polon 4:44
Yeah, it's so cliche, isn't it? Like tour leader to stand-up comic to suit maker, yawn. What basically happened was I realized a few things happened. I went through a really rough period in my life, realized I have major problems with authority, and then started reading about. Corrupt food system, and when you put all those things together, you logically decide that you should start a soup business. I'm surprised more people haven't done this. Oh, and drag your mom out of retirement, who also has no idea. Like she, her expertise are in like feeding from the soul and being worried about everything. So she took on the natural role as super mom and chief anxiety officer. But really, I just wanted to like get involved in fixing the food system. And I thought that if we could make a really delicious product that's cooked responsibly, sourced responsibly, and delivered in the most convenient manner as possible, we could make a dent. And that was very naive and overly optimistic of me, but it sort of worked. It's I just got a notification from my payroll like app that it's my 18th anniversary, which is not something I thought. I don't know. I didn't think the world would still be spinning 18 years later. So you know, kudos to the world. But yeah, that's
Paul Shapiro 6:02
you know the mortality rate for for startups is extremely high, and making it to 18 is obviously puts you in the most rarefied of air of people who start their own business. It's like 50% mortality by year two or three, and then to get to 18, that's pretty wild. So congratulations, but you know for somebody in the last 18 years, it is very unlikely. But it also suggests that there is some reason because it's very hard to do. You know, you said, "Well, you had some problems in your life that led you to do this." Well, I'd imagine this causes more problems in your life to try to start and build a business. So, why are you doing this? Like, what would keep somebody motivated for 18 years? I mean, you mentioned you were willing to fight what you call the corrupt food industry. What does that even mean? Like it's an all plant based soup company. You don't want to be known. You've said as a vegan soup company, but you are a soup company that exclusively sells vegan food. Are you doing this because you want to help animals? Because you want to help the planet? Like what is the motivation for you to actually put yourself through this?
Sara Polon 7:00
So there's first of all, I want to clarify we are soup and salsa company now with the same values. So I just I just want to want to clarify that. But the company name is Supergirl, like S O U P. So there's some practical reasons and some like deep soul reasons. First of all, at a certain point, and you know this as a fellow small business owner, although I don't know how you structured your business, but like at a certain point you need more money to grow, so you have to sign something called a personal guarantee, which means when you take on loans, if the loans default, the bank comes after you, and that is very motivating because you don't want to lose your house, so that's like on a practical level, like you have no choice. So, like technically, you own the business because you took on debt instead of equity. Although we have, you know, we we have a diverse cap table, but also, you know, you just want to, you you can't, you can't stop.
Paul Shapiro 7:57
You're a hostage.
Sara Polon 7:59
Yes,
Paul Shapiro 8:00
but what was the motivation at first? Like before you became a hostage, you signed this PG that you're you're taking on debt. Like, what is the motivation for you at first to say like why why this as opposed to any other business?
Sara Polon 8:11
Yes, totally. Number one, you you you don't ever think that you're going to be the one that fails, even though statistically speaking, you will. That, but like if you're a CEO if you're a founder you just ignore all rational thought but number two like in the darkest of times our values push me through so what keeps me up at night there are a couple things that keep me up at night the bank account no just that used to keep me up at night we're doing okay now but I really want to help push the world in a correct direction, and that means a few things: our supply chain. So we became the first CPG brand to get a fair food certification, which means that the laborers picking the tomatoes in our fields, in the fields of the farms we work with, are treated fairly and protected from stolen wages, slavery, assault, sexual assault, we can get into that later. But that that is a huge thing to me. Like we know that with every purchase of our products, our salsa, our gazpacho, etc., we're we're we're helping. We're directly helping the labor force. And number two, if I can get you know consumers every day to have a plant-based meal, even if it's just lunch or soup for breakfast. I have it or dinner. It means less animal agriculture is involved in someone's diet. It means we're you know pushing the needle a little bit in helping animals and helping the planet. I mean, I don't need to tell you and your listeners how much the industrial agriculture, animal agriculture, contributes to climate change. So, right. So, if you're someone who really cares about the climate, water, air, you know, people for a while were like, "Oh my gosh, the Amazon's on fire!" It's like, yes, because we set it on fire to clear. You know, to clear space, to grow, to to just have more cattle, right? So like, and then they're going to fart, and every like everything gets worse. And then what happens to these creatures when they're processed, as we like to say, is the stuff of nightmares. And so if I can get a few less meals involving meat, I'm I'm doing okay, and when you're like looking at an empty bank account and you're like, what am I going to do? And you're just like, I gotta keep going because I've been given this opportunity to do it.
Paul Shapiro 10:32
Right, I understand that, and I appreciate your humility. But it's more than a few. I think you're in 1000 locations now with your store. We're we're gonna get there. But I do want to ask you, Sarah. Has your motivation changed over time? And the reason I ask this is because I, in anticipation of this conversation, have listened to a number of interviews of yours over the years, and you know I I feel like I'm like the you know this like uh like I'm like I'm the host of Meet the Press here, going back and and looking listen to your your past commentary, but I do get a sense, like you may have evolved in some of your views on some of these issues. Now, let me give you an example. I feel like in your more recent interviews that you're more open to the idea that what you would call industrial agriculture, not animal, but plant agriculture, is is maybe better for the planet than local, small scale, organic farmers market type agriculture. I see you nodding your head in agreement. I want you to you know verbally see if that's also accurate. But I ask this because this is something that I think a lot of us, myself included, came to the conclusion of some time ago, which is that you know we used to think that you know buying local or going to the farmers market was somehow better for the planet, and it turns out maybe not. It may not be better. It may be worse, actually. So, why? What what has changed for you in this regard?
Speaker 1 11:44
Man, you're really ah, you're catching me. Yes, I I've done a 180. Yes, I did a 180. I use. I'm
Paul Shapiro 11:52
I'm glad you checked that because I. Oh, it's always a pet peeve of mine when people say they've done a 360, and I think well, that means you still agree exactly where you started. Okay, you've done a 180, and I'm with you. I'm with you. My own view evolved on this too, so I'm eager to hear what happened for you and what you now believe.
Sara Polon 12:07
So it's very hard when you hear like podcasts given by like Tamar Haspel and Michael Grunwald, and you read their is that his name, Michael Grunwald, eating. We're eating the planet, right? So data and facts are frustrating because you know we want to believe that our local farmer and their beautiful local produce and their display at the farmers market. Which, by the way, I go to the farmers market every Sunday. I'm not anti-farmers markets. I I am an I would say yeah. I was going to say a produce elitist. I am a produce elitist. I'm like, don't you dare serve me watermelon in January, like I am an asshole. You
Paul Shapiro 12:43
you insist that your watermelon has seeds in it.
Sara Polon 12:46
Oh no, I don't eat seeds. What? What?
Paul Shapiro 12:48
Oh, okay. So you do not want you do not want the all natural. We're gonna get. We're gonna get. No, we're gonna we're gonna get to
Sara Polon 12:53
watermelon in a minute because like the slavery involved in the picking of watermelon also is why I'm like very focused on local in terms of if you can afford it, and and in terms of community and teaching people where their food comes from, and understanding the connection between like not everything just mysteriously appears at the at the grocery store without a lot of work. But
Paul Shapiro 13:14
is there evidence that so-called locally grown watermelon is less likely to include slavery in the? No, I just happen to know the farm.
Sara Polon 13:21
No, I just have. I have been to the farm, and I know the farm. I I shop at one farm, and I know them very very well, and they're phenomenal people. And so I I trust this this farm. Like when I say I'm an elitist, like I don't even go to all farmers markets. I go one one stand at one market, and I'm very close with them. But that is not a way to feed a growing planet, right? So, like, I know birth rates are going down, but there's still like a gazillion of us, and you can eight and a half billion to be precise. Right? Eight and a half billion miracles. It's a lot of miracles. There's probably a few too many of us, but I digress. I probably shouldn't say that out loud. But you cannot feed 8 billion people with like Joe and his like pig wandering around. It like per acre, you you you need to maximize the amount of food that you can grow per acre, and so like in terms of using less land to feed more people, the miracle, and I'm going to say that of modern industrial agricultural is incredible. So I don't think we should break down that system. I think we should force that system to be better. And when I speak of that, I I speak of first of all labor rights, big time labor rights. Like the people picking the food, we need to. Much of it has been mechanized, and who knows what the future brings in terms of robots and whatnot. But right now, a lot of the delicate produce, such as strawberries and watermelon and tomatoes, need to be picked by hand. And unfortunately, even to. Domestically, the treatment of the laborers on those farms is the stuff of nightmares, and I mean nightmares. Like we, I don't want to go and I don't, I don't, the kid. There might be kids listening to this podcast. I'm not kidding, but like really bad things. And if we can, through capitalism, supply and demand, get farmers to level up, I'm gonna buy. I'm gonna buy tomatoes from you. I'm gonna buy sweet potatoes from you, etc. If you sign on to this program, that will provide the pathway for you to treat your labor force. Honestly, with standards that you and I would probably think would be just just expected: access to shade and water, sanitation. Right. So, like a lot of this, these outbreaks they came from farms where I again I don't want to be vulgar, but the labor force does not have access to sanitation. They don't have access to bathrooms and hand washing facilities. And so, what are these people supposed to do? I'll let you, your imagination run wild. So these standards are also just good for human health, right? Because then you don't have problems when you have lettuce and you need to be near a bathroom, so that's number one. And and so if we can work with these industrial within this industrial structure that is necessary to feed a growing planet, I think that's how we move the needle. And then when we get consumers to be more aware, when I said I used to say the story behind your food, it's like oh local, local, local. No, no, no. It's like what really goes into the production of your food, and understand the power that you have as a consumer every time you make a food choice. That's incredible.
Paul Shapiro 16:37
Yeah, I think like you know, first and foremost, most people, of course, are not going to go to farmers' markets, whether they can or can't afford it. It's just a lot easier to go to Safeway or Costco or Walmart, etc. Whether you know, you know, we we spend as a proportion of our salaries a lot less on food than we used to, but still, that doesn't mean that people want to spend more. Most people don't want to spend more on food, whether they can afford it or not. I'm an example of this. I could afford to go to them, but I don't because I find it more convenient to go elsewhere, and I don't find it any better. In fact, I find it worse for the environment to go to them because it's so inefficient to get all of the produce there, as opposed to using far more efficient systems that are used to get to like big box grocery stores. But the thing that is is like ruffled my feathers the most on this issue is the misperceptions about organic, like we think about organic as this really wholesome standard. And when I ask people why do you buy organic, they always tell me, "Well, I don't want pesticides." Then I say, "Well, do you know that organic allows pesticides? Like there's no prohibition on pesticides in organic. They have restrictions on what types of pesticides, but that's not based on safety. It's based only on how they are made, right? So if a pesticide is human-made, it can't be used. But if a pesticide is made in nature, it can be used, and that has nothing to do with toxicity. It only has to do with the provenance of the pesticide. And then, when you consider that you know organic requires more deforestation because you have less produce being grown, and so you need to deforest more. And then, when you consider that organic requires way more animal inputs because you can't use human-made nitrogen fertilizer, you have to use blood meal, bone meal, fish meal, etc., and manure as your fertilizer. Like it just, it just like is actively worse. It's it's not even that it's not you know maybe not worth the money. It's just actively worse, and that I think has been something that, for me, expressing this point of view has been socially unpopular within my own social circle. But it seems self-evidently true. The more that you learn about it, it just doesn't appear better. Now, if somebody listening wants to challenge us and let me know why I'm wrong, I'd welcome hearing it. It would be better for me, for my social status, to not believe this. So I would love to be told why I'm wrong, not just that I'm wrong, but why I'm wrong on average about organic. Not one farm that you know, but like you know, on average, why this is wrong. But that's you know been a pet peeve of mine, I should say.
Sara Polon 18:51
Well, I'm a big I I believe in the democratization of food. I don't want to use I don't want to do something myself that I can't recommend to others. So a lot of people say to me when I tell them that I'm vegan. First of all, it is very weird. I become suddenly like a priest, and people want to then express like, well, here's my approach to meat eating. I'm like, I don't care. Like, it's just like fine. And I always say like, oh, I just want people to put thought into their food choices. Fine. But a lot of people say, oh, they only buy, you know, local meat. That's you know the the cow is running around, and then they split the cow right. They like buy a whole cow or something, and it's like slaughtered properly. And I'm like, that's great. Okay, fine. But number one, again, the land usage required to grow that cow and the the carbon footprint of growing that cow is horrendous. And number two, what you're practicing, 99% of this country cannot do, and so that is not a sustainable solution for everyone.
Paul Shapiro 19:54
Yeah, lentils are a great food, but also like self evidently, every factory farm is local to somewhere. If you. Live in Maryland, there are billions of chickens who are raised locally who are subjected to. I bring that
Sara Polon 20:04
all. I'm like Purdue. Your Purdue chicken is local,
Paul Shapiro 20:08
right? Yeah. No, I mean, listen, I'm a fan of lentils as well. However, I do think this is like a self-serving thing to say, but I do think that mycelium has a bigger role to play in the future of food because of how much, like how much more protein dense than lentils it is. It's a whole food, like like lentils. It's high in fiber, like lentils. But you know, lentils are like 20% protein by dry weight, whereas you know the mycelium can be over 50%. I think it's
Sara Polon 20:33
yes. Go on.
Paul Shapiro 20:35
Yeah. And so anyway, I I think that in the future, like mycelium will play a bigger role in human diet. Now I say it's self-serving because I run a company that makes mycelium, but I'm doing that because I believe in it, not the other way around, right? So I'm not promoting it because I because I make my sodium. I make my sodium because I believe this first.
Sara Polon 20:51
Lentils are only one. I do have lentils or legumes every single day. That if I were if that was my only, so I am I get about 130 to 140 grams of protein a day. I could not achieve that without additional forms of protein beyond lentils. But lentils also have fiber, and their carbon footprint is so low. And I I make a really good lentil soup.
Paul Shapiro 21:15
Well, I was with you recently in person in D.C. and I did take note of how jacked you look, so I could tell that you were that that that you were doing something. There there is something going on. So now now you're revealing it. No, that's good. You know, look, I'm vegan as well. I've been vegan since 1993.
Sara Polon 21:32
You are slow right now.
Paul Shapiro 21:34
Thank thank you. So I, but I I do think that many of the vegans who espouse nutritional information don't emphasize enough the need to actually take protein seriously. I think there's very seriously. I
Sara Polon 21:47
agree.
Paul Shapiro 21:47
Yeah, there's like a general view of if you eat enough, you'll get enough protein, and that's true for like for living. It's not necessarily true for optimizing your health, though. Well, especially
Sara Polon 21:55
as I am a woman of a certain age. Now that I'm looking at 30
Paul Shapiro 21:59
32. Yeah. Okay. Got it. Got it. Oh, sorry. Sorry, I didn't want to go up. Yeah.
Sara Polon 22:03
I do. It's like so important. And in terms of longevity, right? So I have no intention of not being able to hike and bike and do all of the things when I'm 80. I mean, my folks are primarily plant based, and 81 and 83, they went hiking in the Canadian Rockies last summer, and Iceland and Vermont. They're just like because it's you got to focus on your nutrition and exercise. And yeah,
Paul Shapiro 22:31
and for folks who are listening and not watching this, so that you get the joke, both Sarah and I find ourselves much closer to 50 than to 30, just for for what it's worth. I mean,
Sara Polon 22:40
technically, yes.
Paul Shapiro 22:42
Yeah, yeah. Okay, let's go back to when you and I were were both younger, and you were very famously Sarah on Shark Tank. I don't want to give any spoilers since this is like eight years ago, but they did not invest in you. You were well, sort of. Okay, all right. Well, let me let me just tell the story, and you tell me where I get it wrong. So, you were seeking half a million dollars for 10%. So you're seeking a $5 million valuation at the time. You were reporting like two and a half million in revenue, but only a 5% profit margin. And so the sharks basically they challenged the valuation, and they also didn't like that you appeared resistant to outsourcing production. You wanted to self manufacture, and so you left the show without a deal. Now you did get huge publicity, and you've said this really helped supercharge Supergirl to get all that publicity. But looking back in hindsight, do you wish that you would have gotten the Shark Tank deal? Like they challenged the participants. Like were they right? Should you have outsourced production? Should you have taken a smaller valuation, or were they wrong?
Sara Polon 23:43
They were wrong. So post the self manufacturing is the reason we were able to survive COVID, and now self manufacturing is considered the way to go. We can flex up and down based on demand, right? We have much more control over our costs, of our supply chain, our sourcing, our standards, we pay very well. We pay like 98% of the healthcare premiums, or I mean, excuse me, the insurance premiums. We pay well beyond a living wage. We pay time off and sick leave, and you can't do that with a co-man with outsourced manufacturing, and we also, you know, we're working with the Fair Food team to onboard more farms because we have the capacity to do that now. Because we've grown so much, we're able to to start saying, "Hey, we'd like we'd like you to join this program," and our margins have just drastically improved over the years. Drastically improved. So I'm so glad that did not work out, and I'm so grateful for the publicity. That I mean, that was in 2018, and we still like people want to take the call and talk because of Shark Tank. Amazing! It's amazing, and the guest shark did end up investing. Matt Higgins, who's awesome, did end up investing a small amount, but he's a great mentor and friend, and I'm eternally grateful for his support.
Speaker 2 25:12
Whether you're just getting started or have sat in the C-suite for years, sooner or later, most of us hit a wall, a plateau, an obstacle. The Action Catalyst Podcast is designed for this moment with actionable steps from top thought leaders in business, sports, and entertainment, and a brisk format perfect for on-the-go listening, which has earned it a place on numerous top podcast lists from Inc., Entrepreneur, Business Insider, and many more. Ignite your inspiration now at theactioncatalyst.com or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Paul Shapiro 25:42
So I do want to then also move on in this in the Supergirl story. But you mentioning this investor Matt Higgins and other investors that you have, you said you know you're 18 years in. Do your investors expect some type of liquidity anytime? Like, are they looking for an exit? Are they looking for some way to get a return on their investment.
Sara Polon 26:01
I mean, I think all investors are. I'm very fortunate. I impact investors, and they're very patient, and they're incredibly supportive, and they're values focused, and they appreciate what we're building, and they also appreciate that we were able to like honestly pull this business back from the brink of bankruptcy to be to we've grown doubled and tripled year over year since 2023, and so they are like, okay, let's let's see this turnaround. Like, let's see what happens here. So, I don't. I am so so fortunate to have an incredible board and investors that really believe in what we're building, and I don't feel like existential pressure to achieve some some specific outcome immediately. I mean, I think we'd all. I I I think in general, like I want to take this as big as possible. And am I is this going to happen just with Super Girl, just with Super Girl alone? I don't know. I don't know. But like the bigger the bigger we are, the bigger impact we can have.
Paul Shapiro 26:56
Right. I mean, I mean, it goes without saying. But you know, most VCs, right? They have a fund that has a life cycle, maybe five or eight years, and they're looking to return to their LPs some multiple of what they put in within that time frame. You're at 18 years. You know these early investors are.
Sara Polon 27:13
They came in much later.
Paul Shapiro 27:14
You mentioned you've doubled or tripled your revenue annually since 2023. You did close your brick and mortar shops to focus on doing distribution in Costco and Whole Foods. You're now in 1000 different locations, much very very different from when you're working at with you know two brick and mortar shops. But how did the business transform? Like you know you've said that things nearly broke when you got into Costco. Like what did you have to do? You said mentioned that you were almost bankrupt. You've said elsewhere that you, yeah, that you couldn't, you know, you were at risk of missing payroll. Like, what happened that this crisis ensued? And when you got into, you know, this large scale distribution, seems awesome, but obviously it's a major change.
Sara Polon 27:53
We pivoted and added this salsa pico de gallo line for Whole Foods, and we now provide fresh cut vegetables, salsa, pico de gallo, and other dips and fresh items to all of the Whole Foods up and down the entire East Coast. That is a big business, and it has allowed us to expand our fair food purchases, which has just been incredible. And it's also certified kosher. We are certified kosher, which is a huge deal to me. It's really important, and so that that allowed us to then grow the rest of the business. You know, we're now we started off in one Costco region, and then two, and now we're going to be in four, and now we're going to add Sprouts, and then we added Giant, and then so it just like the the just the the business. We're just very grateful. I do live in existential terror that this is all going to be taken away from me, and I think that's like when you are at the point where you're like mailing checks at 501 on the Friday of a three day weekend. So, or or you can be like, what does technically mail mean? Like, and someone's like, did you mail the check? And it's like, well, you know, I addressed it and I put a stamp on it. But like, what is male? Like, what is it? You know. So, I think that keeps you humble and it keeps you hungry and it keeps you like never take this for granted and and still, you know, really ponder like every penny you're spent. Not every penny, but like, do we really need to fund X, Y, and Z campaign? Tell me why. You know. So it's like it's interesting how that impacts your decision making, even when you're kind of through the throw. Okay.
Paul Shapiro 29:30
So you are now flying high. Your profit margins are substantially better than what they were in 2018. You're in all these locations, you keep on expanding. The Supergirl Empire is a is you know soon to be one on which the sun never sets. So you decide that with all of this newfound success, that you want to start a one woman show and start performing as anybody would naturally do, of course.
Sara Polon 29:56
Again, so trite, like it's yeah, yeah, yeah, so cliche. Yeah, it's
Paul Shapiro 30:00
it's it's almost embarrassing. So your show, which is called which is called I Regret Nothing, it's an autobiographical storytelling about finding yourself overwhelmed despite outward success. And I have not seen it because you've been in D.C. and I think soon in New York. But the promotional material includes your early comedy experiences and what you refer to as an embarrassing 4am. ER visit, although don't disclose why you're there at 4am. But you talk about the collapse of a serious relationship as part of the story, and you said that in 2023 you suffered business catastrophes, this relationship crisis, health problems all collided. What happened? You tell us like what happened in 2023 that was so terrible.
Sara Polon 30:40
You have to see the show because a lot happened. But yeah, you're asking me to give away the show. But I will say it is the story of, to be quite blunt, the shit show behind the scenes. So if you followed me on LinkedIn or you followed Superball on Instagram, everything is going great. And the truth is, behind the scenes, like you know my ex, he he he met him many times. That it was like nothing was as it seemed, and and as it turns out, a lot of people are living these lives where nothing is as it seems. But we all are supposed to hide it, and we're not supposed to talk about it. And it turns out that the more we talk about it, the easier it becomes to kind of move through it, and I am the response I'm getting from CEOs and from you know founders and also from just regular people of like I had no idea you too oh me too not me too like the I don't not no just like I I feel seen I feel relief I feel like I want to maybe share my story with you. It's been incredible. I'm really excited about where it's going. The show in New York. It's on November 17th at the Cutting Room. IREGRETNOTESSHO.com, and it's we're going. Then we're we're probably coming out west. So stay tuned. I I I'm I'm. It's it's it's an experience. We're inviting people to really experience this with me, and it's been incredible, incredible.
Paul Shapiro 32:07
I hope you do make it out west. I would love to see it. The reviews look absolutely stellar. I mentioned my pet peeve about organic. I have another pet peeve, which is when I talk with founders or I listen to founders, and they're talking about, oh, it's awesome! We're killing it. And then, like a couple months later, I find out they go bankrupt. And I always think, whenever somebody says that, I was like, "Why don't you just tell the truth? Why don't you just say, you know, like, you know, there, there are like there, there are some good things and there's some bad things, and you keep going. And whenever I read like a glowing profile of a company or a founder, I always think, well, there's probably some really horrible things also. And whenever I read like an expose of somebody, I always think, "Wow, it's probably not as bad as that." I bet there are actually some positive things that are happening too. And I just think, like you know, you know, like in life, there's lots of good things and lots of bad things that happen, and you just keep moving forward. So I'm I'm interested in hearing what all of these calamities that befell you were when they see the show.
Sara Polon 33:00
There's a live stream option for for $20. So there's a live stream option. I I think that's exactly right, Paul. It it's it's it's complicated. Life is complicated. Life is messy. But like, man, when you get through it, I know things are going to get really bad again. It's just life. I I just know. I know I'm in this moment of time. But I'm having, I mean, so much fun is hard to say because I still it's like growth is is it's brutal. It is absolutely brutal the decisions you have to make and like like it and like you know as a founder like I've never learned HR. I don't know. Like it reminds me of when I was like leading teen tours at a previous and it's like the counselors would call me with like these questions about the kids. I'm like, I don't know why would they do that to themselves. Like I don't know, you know. So it's just so hard. But also like, man, every day above ground is a beautiful day. And some days it's hard to remember that every day above ground is a beautiful day.
Paul Shapiro 34:02
I like that a lot. I have. I'm not really known for my love of artwork, but I do have a couple pieces of art that I have up in my home that are particularly meaningful for me, as that I think about often. One of them is a metal sign that simply says, "Nobody cares, work harder," and that is how I feel. Like nobody cares about my problems. Like even even I often don't care about them. I'm just like I just keep going. And then also there's a great philosopher you may have heard of. His name is Rocky Balboa.
Sara Polon 34:33
Oh, I think I've read some of his
Paul Shapiro 34:35
work. Yeah, yeah, very very well cited in the philosophical literature. Yeah, but I have another quote of his up, which says that in life it's not about how hard you can hit; it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. And that is how winning is done. And I do think about that often as a in so many aspects of my life. Like how many how hard can I get hit and just keep moving forward? You know, the floods come. Are you going to go for a swim or not? And that is certainly. How I feel about things, and I try never to think of myself as even in the slightest way as some type of victim. Whenever, no matter how bad things are happening, I just think, well, you know, this this isn't this too shall pass, good or bad, right? Like you know, the good things aren't going to shall
Sara Polon 35:14
pass everything. This too shall pass.
Paul Shapiro 35:19
Yeah, yeah, no doubt. Okay. Well, speaking of things that are passing, think about the next five years, Sarah. What is your aspiration? Do you want to be somebody running a much much bigger food company with, you know, let's say hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue? Do you want to be performing? Do you want to be doing something else? Like, what what is the Sarah Poland of five years from now, in 2031, going to be doing. Do you hope
Sara Polon 35:42
all of the above? I don't think I'm the right person to run a business of that size. But if we can work out something where Super Girl has grown to, you know, 1000 stores is comical. You know, it's like 1000s of doors, and if I'm able to, you know, fight the good fight on behalf of our values and keep growing our values and work on the supply chain and growing the brand. That would be incredible. And also, telling the founder story and getting people to relate to the person behind the brand, aka being on stage and building something bigger there, because that is essential to growth. One of the things we're battling right now is private label. A lot of retailers are just creating their own products with their own brands on them because they're cheaper and they can cut costs and cut corners in many regards. And I hope that consumers understand there is a person behind this brand. There is a person, a real person, who has real vision and believes strongly that every time you buy a Super Girl product, you're moving you're moving the world in the right direction. And I know it sounds absurd, but the way we've set up our company, I truly believe that. And let me tell you, we stumble, we fall, we mess up all the time. But I, I, I, I'm hoping that we can grow enough and grow this brand enough and make it recognizable enough that people understand that, and then also understand the humanity behind it as well. Hence my, I regret nothing story on november 17 at the Cutting Room. I regretnothing show.com,
Paul Shapiro 37:16
where you can live stream as well for only $20, which I am actually highly likely to do that. I know about that. Yeah. Okay, Sarah, you have done a lot. You've done more things in your life than most people will. You've only lived for for three decades so far, but most people will, of of course, not not do as much as you have in such a short time in their whole life. Are there resources that you would recommend that they check out that have been useful for you. Any books, speeches, movies, documentaries, anything that has been useful for you in your own journey with Supergirl that you would recommend?
Sara Polon 37:48
I this is a really hard one for me because it changes all the time. But I do recommend you find community, and I know that is so cliche and not really tangible for many people. But community for me, I am I am Jewish, and I'm very involved in my local synagogue, and I have a lot of shared values. And I'm able to find respite. I do observe the Sabbath. I turn off my phone on the Sabbath, and that has kept me sane. And so I could tell you books to read or or you know, podcasts to listen to, but community and understanding that everything is much bigger than yourself has honestly kept kept me sane. But but I will also say that Michael Easter, The Comfort Crisis, is awesome. That's so.
Paul Shapiro 38:40
Yeah, I listen to his books. Yeah, I haven't read the Comfort Crisis, but I have listened to a podcast with him about it, and it was very it was very resonant with me. That actually that did we're too comfortable was the basic, and we're yeah,
Sara Polon 38:52
that book. I've read all of his books, and I listen to his podcast. I'm a big fan of his, so I do. I I just anything that puts things in perspective and makes you realize we're just a little speck. None of this really matters.
Paul Shapiro 39:05
I I do take comfort in that. Whenever I make mistakes, I think, well, nobody's going to remember when I'm dead anyway. Yeah. Yeah. Now. Okay. So now I know that when you're ghosting me on Saturdays with my text messages, it's not personal since you're you're taking a digital. Oh, it
Sara Polon 39:21
is also personal.
Paul Shapiro 39:22
Okay, got it. Yes, that's why I didn't get a response on Sunday or Monday or Tuesday. Also, it's a very long Sabbath. It's a very long Sabbath. Yeah, I
Sara Polon 39:29
just really take it very seriously and sometimes extend it for weeks, Paul.
Paul Shapiro 39:32
Yeah, selectively with certain individuals, I understand. Yes. Okay. Finally, Sarah, for 18 years you've devoted yourself to Supergirl, but as is often the case with founders, they have lots of ideas for different companies that they wish would exist, but they don't have time to start themselves because they're so busy doing their own thing. Is there a company that you think that somebody who's listening right now should consider starting on his or her own?
Sara Polon 39:54
I well, the thing that there's. The biggest challenge for a lot of food producers is refrigerated storage, and if there is someone who can really innovate on refrigerated storage, having like pot stopping point, you know, like refrigerated storage, there's just not enough. There's simply not enough.
Paul Shapiro 40:17
Interesting. There's an excellent book on this topic about basically cold chains, and I know it sounds boring. Maybe not to you, but to the average person, a book on cold. I'm like, wow, when tell me. Yeah, it's called Frostbite, and I've I've written about this, and I'll send you some stuff on it. But interestingly, there is a global cold rush, not a gold rush, but a cold rush for more and more cold chain space for basically refrigerated and frozen warehouses, and sadly now there is more square footage of artificially cooled locations than there are actual polar locations. So as the polarized caps melt, we have more and more artificially cooled locations for our food chain. But anyway, you know, for food safety purposes, this is obviously very important, so we don't get sick from all this food that we're transporting around. But yes, I'll include in the show notes for this episode, among all the other things that we've been talking about, also a link to frostbite, so people can check out that book too. And I'll I'll email it to you, Sarah. So, Sarah, unlike you, I regret many things, and I maybe will do a show one day that we call it. I do regret some things, but for now, I'm glad that you regret nothing, and I'm glad to see the success of Supergirl. You have defied so many odds by becoming a profitable business and having the sustainability of staying in business for nearly two decades. So my hat is off to you. I'm rooting for your continued success, and I look forward to your rollout in Sprouts so that I can start buying Super Grow again. Since I haven't had access to it locally for some time since I moved to California about a decade ago, so I'm giving you a fifth bump from Sacramento, and I will continue to watch from the sidelines as you create that empire.
Sara Polon 41:58
Thank you, Paul. You have honestly been an inspiration since the start, since the beginning. You really, really have your work has been incredible, and I'm grateful for everything you've done for the animals, the planet, humanity. So, there you go.
Paul Shapiro 42:12
That's very generous of you. Thanks, Sarah. Thanks for listening to the Business for Good podcast. To explore more conversations like this one, visit businessforgoodpodcast.com and be sure to subscribe so you don't miss future episodes with founders, investors, thought leaders, and more, turning global problems into powerful opportunities. And if this episode resonated with you, please share it with your network. You never know who you might inspire to be in the business of doing good.