In 2010, I quit my job as director of alumni relations at Stanford Law School to pursue my dream to start a business that did something good in the world. My goal was to disrupt the $3 billion e-commerce flower industry while helping local flower growers and providing a better option, both environmentally and aesthetically, for consumers.

Most people don’t realize that the majority of flowers sold here are flown in from other countries, often coated in chemicals that are illegal in the U.S. On top of that, the flowers are at least a week old. Online flower options are limited and expensive. I personally found it frustrating that when I wanted to order flowers for my mom in rural Indiana, I was relegated to choosing from online designs that just didn’t match my personal preferences. After researching, I found I wasn’t alone in my frustration. I wanted to fix this. After all, sending flowers is essentially sending love to someone, so it should look like love went into the floral design.