How I Got Here: The Co-Founder of Great Wrap on the importance of blue-sky thinking
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHARLIE HAWKS
WORDS BY CAIT EMMA BURKE
“There has never been a better time to start a business in the sustainability space. Consumers, businesses and investors are all ready for solutions.”
Have you ever stalked someone on LinkedIn and wondered how on earth they managed to land that wildly impressive job? While the internet and social media might have us believe that our ideal job is a mere pipe dream, the individuals who have these jobs were, believe it or not, in the same position once, fantasising over someone else’s seemingly unattainable job.
But behind the awe-inspiring titles and the fancy work events lies a heck of a lot of hard work. So what lessons have been learnt and what skills have proved invaluable in getting them from daydreaming about success to actually being at the top of their industry?
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Welcome to How I Got Here, where we talk to women who are killing it in their respective fields about how they landed their awe-inspiring jobs, exploring the peaks and pits, the failures and the wins, and most importantly the knowledge, advice and practical tips they’ve gleaned along the way.
This week we speak to Julia Kay, the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of the compostable stretch wrap brand, Great Wrap. After spending her early twenties studying architecture, Julia threw herself headfirst into her career and worked on an array of fascinating projects, from “small heritage-listed galleries and resorts to education-focused buildings”.
Upon moving to Melbourne and meeting her now husband, Jordy, the pair realised they wanted to work on something more meaningful – something that took an active approach to fixing the plastic waste problem in Australia. With a background in art and architecture, Julia was able to build a compelling brand identity and Great Wrap was born. Here’s what she learnt along the way.
What do you do and what’s your official job title?
I’m the Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Great Wrap, the only compostable stretch wrap made from food waste. We make stretch wrap for homes and businesses from food waste in Melbourne.
Take us back to when you were first starting out. Did you study to get into your chosen field, or did you start out with an internship/entry-level role and climb the ladder? Tell us the story.
My background is actually in architecture, I did the whole study thing for six years in my early 20s. I lived and breathed architecture and always knew I wanted to be an architect from a young age. My mum used to renovate houses in Western Australia (WA) which is where my love for architecture started. A portion of my Masters was completed in Milan which I loved, then I went on to get a job in Melbourne.
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My time in architecture was incredible and I know I’ll end up back there one day, but for now, my focus is on Great Wrap. Over the years I’ve worked on some amazing projects from small heritage-listed galleries and resorts to education-focused buildings. I was always really obsessed with the materials I was building with and it was in my research into low embodied carbon materials that I caught sight of how many pallets wraps the construction industry wastes each year.
I met my now husband, Jordy, when I moved to Melbourne. At the time he was making wine, farming organically and also using a lot of pallet wrap. It was over a few glasses of wine one night that we decided we wanted to do something more meaningful together… we were discussing how dire the plastic waste in Australia is and started chatting about pallet wrap – a petroleum-based plastic that is used globally, is single-use and ends up in landfill, taking hundreds of years to break down.
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We knew it was a problem that needed tackling so we thought we’d give it a go. Nobody seemed to be doing anything about the problem, yet everyone was using it! Coming from an art school background, I knew that building a powerful brand would be an important piece of our business so I got to work on building a website and brand that could get us going and cut through the masses. We partnered with Monash University to develop a stretch wrap formula that utilised food waste as the main ingredient and we were off!
At our launch in 2019, we were literally packing orders out of our lounge room when things started to take off for us. We were able to raise a small amount of seed funding to set up a pilot factory on the Mornington Peninsula. Fast forward three years and we have a commercial-scale manufacturing facility and a beautiful team of more than 30 supporting us to get Great Wrap into homes and businesses across Australia and the US.
What challenges/hurdles have you faced getting to where you are now? Can you tell us about one in particular?
Initially, I think the biggest challenge was having the confidence to step away from a career I loved and spent so much time building. It took me a really long time to get used to the fact that I might not have the answer right away, as was often the case in architecture. I count myself lucky that along the way I’ve met some amazing founders who have been there to give support and advice. Three years on, I now love the daily challenges I face and the world of material science.
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One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced recently has been navigating the set-up of our new factory and expanding internationally. But I have learnt so much about the world of engineering and bioprocessing in the process – more than a healthy amount! As a designer, the prospect of setting up a facility seemed not too dissimilar from building a school or a gallery but I was totally wrong. I am happy to say we’re only a few weeks away from being completely set up in Tullamarine. I’m really excited to see that come to fruition along with our upcoming compostable pallet wrap launch.
What do you want people to know about your industry/your role?
There has never been a better time to start a business in the sustainability space. Consumers, businesses and investors are all ready for solutions. Although the news can sometimes seem a little bleak, I do believe there are a lot of impact investors out there looking for projects to work on.
I’m also lucky enough to be exposed to amazing people doing really important work in my day-to-day – I’m really optimistic about the future of materials and the health of our planet. Since starting this journey three years ago the Australian start-up community and support for sustainable businesses have grown so much but there’s still a lot of room for new businesses and ideas!
What’s the best part about your role?
There’s a lot to love including exploring new ways to make materials and the creative freedom I have. I recently took the company through a rebrand as well as conceptualised and designed Great Mate, a refillable dispenser for our home cling wrap. It’s been an amazing journey for me as I have been able to use my background to work with industrial designers, visual designers and creatives whilst learning a lot about how the products around us are made.
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You might not believe it, but I’ve built buildings faster than it took us to develop and manufacture Great Mate. There is so much to think about when a product is made from 100 per cent recycled plastic, has to be repeatable at scale and is designed to withstand the test of time. Overall, I think the best part of my job is being able to assign my own briefs and bring them to life in real-time. I’ve also enjoyed learning new skills from finance, marketing and business acumen. When we started Great Wrap this was all pretty much a foreign language to me but it’s really helped me mature my creative process.
What would surprise people about your role?
I imagine it would be the breadth of what a day looks like. No day is the same at Great Wrap, and I am constantly learning which I love. As we live down the coast there is a lot of time spent multitasking in the car ride to the factory!
What skills have served you well in your industry?
Being able to tell a narrative visually has been so beneficial in my role – through our recent rebrand, product design and even investor relations, this has come in handy. Also, problem-solving on the fly which I am grateful to have learnt during my years in the design field as an architect.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to be in a role like yours one day?
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Don’t be afraid to try something you’ve never done before. Have an open mind and surround yourself with people who’ve been there; learn as much as you can. The sooner you ask questions that might feel unnatural, the sooner you’ll know the answer and it can all grow from there. [It] sounds cliche but it’s true! Also, blue-sky ideas are the ones worth working towards!
What about a practical tip?
Look after yourself – prioritise your sleep, do Pilates (I’m obsessed with Fluidform at the moment) and take the time to swim in the ocean if you feel like it! There is honestly no better feeling than an ocean dip at the end of a day.
You can keep up with Julia here.
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