Alison Diamond | JYBE — empire coven

Age || 35

Company Name || JYBE

Job Title || CEO

Company Start Date || November 2018

Social Handles || Instagram & Facebook

Company Website || JYBE

What did you want to be while growing up?

So many things, but the common thread in all my career aspirations has always been “doing good and making a difference.” From hamster vet (specific, I know) to art therapist, my heart has always been set on positive impact. I can already see bits of this in my daughter Norah, too, who is almost three. She’s constantly trying to help, comfort and “feed” everyone, including our pets, in her life.

Where did the inspiration for JYBE come from?

I love to tell this story. Paul & Steve (JYBE co-founders) started their other company, Co2Cycle, back in 2017 with the goal of turning commercial production sets green. They’d bust their butts all day long making sure there was no single-use plastic on set, managing their refillable canteen system, sorting trash, composting organic waste, etc…You get the idea. But then they’d come home, exhausted, and too tired to cook so they’d open up the Postmates app. Almost always what would show up to their doorstep was a plastic bag with plastic clamshells and utensils they didn’t even need. It broke their hearts and they longed for a way to find restaurants using Earth-friendly packaging choices and thus JYBE was conceived, though now quite born.

What was it like launching a new brand during a pandemic?

Oof. Talk about a rollercoaster. We were all set to launch our app mid-March when COVID hit, and we felt the only thing to do was put on the brakes. Like the rest of the world we were sad, scared, and laser focused on staying safe and caring for our families. A few weeks into home isolation, the data started pouring in that restaurant delivery rates were way up. We started to think about the waste being generated and formed a new plan, realizing that JYBE was more relevant than ever before given takeout and delivery trends. We tapped the data, we’d been collecting data via friends and family for about a year about their take-out packaging, and had a handful of restaurants we knew to be making Earth-friendly packaging choices already. We decided to get the word out and support them to our growing audience. That’s when Takeout Titleholder was born—our designation for restaurants earning the highest ratings.

Around the second quarantine month, we decided it was time to fully launch. It became clear we were in this for a while longer and we simply couldn’t ignore the now significantly increased damage being caused by our society's acceptance of single-use plastic. So here we are and we couldn’t be more proud.

How did your background help you with building JYBE?

I have 10+ years experience managing complex operations and account management. I know how to drive adoption, motivate large groups of people and “sell” clients (in this case restaurants) on the idea of change for the better.

What’s the best piece of advice you were given when you were starting JYBE?

I think it probably came from my husband Kevin Diamond, and JYBE CTO, actually. He said it multiple times in the beginning, and he reminds me on an as-needed basis (usually daily), that I do not need to have the answers to all the questions nor do I need to know how to do everything. I don’t have a marketing background and I’m certainly not a developer. What’s important is hiring the right people and leaning on them.

How do you define success?

Personally, I'm successful when I've put something out in the world that honors my values, which we’re doing with JYBE. Operationally, we’d like to see millions of users checking their restaurant choices on JYBE before ordering. Culturally, we’d like to inspire people to question the packaging that gets handed to them with the same diligence they now use in questioning the food that gets served to them. People have so many dietary go/no-go preferences these days because they are protective of their health. It’s the same with packaging, it’s just that the consequences hit you later. People should be just as obsessed with how products are wrapped and bagged, and they shouldn’t be shy about letting the restaurant or store know that they’ve lost a sale due to single-use plastic abuse.

We are believers in the power of the marketplace. When consumers speak, purveyors listen or risk losing sales. So we want everyone to speak up and make it clear that business-as-usual is not acceptable anymore.

What is the most important thing you’ve learned since starting out?

I learned that it’s okay if the idea you first have is different from where you end up. JYBE now is very different from what we first dreamt up and it's not a bad thing. It’s a great thing, really. Being able to adapt, take feedback, create and cut is all part of raising a start-up.

What is your go-to motivational quote and/or personal motto?

Progress on the way to perfection. I say it and write it daily, and I never get sick of it. JYBE’s ultimate goal is to eliminate restaurants’ use of single-use plastic. The most sustainable swap is one that is reusable and there are some really cool companies working on that solution. But until we get there, JYBE is here to promote the products that are readily available, cost-effective and Earth-friendly, like endlessly recyclable aluminum containers and renewable cutlery. This is how we prioritize materials.

Which women inspire you?

All mothers, really. Doing it all isn’t easy, but what we are capable of is truly a thing of beauty. Working moms, SAHM, single moms and even mom’s with the dreamiest of childcare set-ups. It’s so much. Literally while writing out the answer to this question I am chatting with my Instacart shopper about swapping chicken nuggets, I have my EWG app open making sure said nuggets aren’t going to be radioactive, I’m hyper-aware of texts coming in from our childcare provider, I am thinking about dinner, oh, and I am also running a company. Sometimes it isn’t pretty but to all the mom’s out there: you are my inspiration.

How can people incorporate less plastic into their eating habits, both at home and when ordering out?

There are so many simple ways to do this: bring your own bags to the grocery store, shop at farmers markets to avoid strawberries, etc, in plastic packaging, don’t order drinks when ordering to-go food because there are not a lot of great plastic-free cup options out there, re-use whenever possible, opt for aluminum foil over plastic wrap, switch to bees wax or silicone bags instead of Ziplocs, bring your own refillable water bottle from home when you’re out, don’t accept single-use plastic disposables if you’re dining in-house. And shameless plug here: use JYBE. We’re available in L.A. and San Francisco right now, with rapid expansion to Portland, Seattle, Denver/Boulder, Boston, Chicago, New York City, and D.C. in 2021.

How can restaurants benefit from using JYBE?

Millennials and Gen Z’s have made it abundantly clear. They are not only willing to spend more, but they also choose companies who prioritize sustainability over those that do not. Making the change to Earth-friendly packaging is good for the planet and for business. If a restaurant is already doing great packaging-wise, they are highlighted in our app. If they have work to do, we are here to help, free of charge, and will promote them like-crazy when they do.

How do you handle situations where you feel overwhelmed?

This is a daily struggle for me as I get overwhelmed easily. Making lists helps me a lot and nothing comes even close to the satisfaction I get from checking the box after completing something. But also delegating. It can be hard in the moment where my anxiety has kicked in and I am feeling tapped out, but asking for help is something I never regret. Well, almost never.

What has been the most rewarding thing since starting out?

I love watching people have their sustainability “ah-ha!” moment when they really wake up and understand the magnitude of the problem caused by single-use plastic waste. The first phase is typically the argumentative phase where I get a lot of “but there is a recycle symbol on the bottom, so…” The second phase is when they ask for a lot of confirmation, “cardboard milk cartons are landfill, right?” But the third phase is the best. It’s when they really get pissed and practically turn into Earth-advocates overnight. They start posting their concerns to their networks, they start sending me articles like this one, and they start to make purchasing decisions based on all of the above. Rewarding is honestly an understatement—it’s truly the best.

What advice would you give to other women trying to enter your field?

Jump in! Please. We need you, our Earth needs you, our kids and their future kids need you, too. The sustainability learning curve can feel steep but jump in and you’ll be amazed at how many people are just waiting to collaborate.

What are some of your goals moving forward for JYBE?

We joke about this a lot but we hope one day to not be needed (in our current form). We’d love to get to the point where you don’t need to search for restaurants making Earth-friendly packaging choices because it’s expected and already widely adopted. We are a long way away from that, though, so some of our shorter-term goals include being in the top-50 metropolitan markets in the U.S. in the next 3 years, being at the table for policy-change conversations as experts in sustainable packaging, identifying a stream of restaurants in our launch cities—Los Angeles and The Bay area - that would like to be a part of our Provider Playbook program and also we’d like to start seeing more people declining single-use plastic in stores and restaurants, and using their massive buying power to force this existential change in our society.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.