How Yumi Co-Founder Found a Way to Spotlight Real Parent Pandemic Stories

As a journalist, it was the story she couldn’t stop thinking about. When Evelyn Rusli opened a Dropbox folder in 2017 that she received from her friend who had just become a first-time mom, she became immersed in a world of data and clinical studies related to the importance of nutrition during the first 1,000 days of a baby’s life. Fast forward to being the Co-Founder, President, and CMO of Yumi, an organic baby food delivery service tailored specifically to baby milestones, created with her friend (and now business partner) Angela Sutherland. Together, they understand the modern parent’s everyday challenges so well that they even incorporated real families and current scenarios in the brand's latest campaign, “This is Now.” Learn more about the stories in the brand’s latest campaign, the events from Evelyn’s former journalist life that paved her way to successful start-up world, and how she handled typecasting when meeting with investors in Yumi’s early days. How did you get to where you are today? I was in awe of the overwhelming science on the importance of nutrition during the first 1,000 days and the dearth of nutritious options at the grocery store. The need for a service like Yumi was painfully obvious and I quit my job as a journalist soon after. It was the story I couldn’t stop thinking about. That said, I do believe that my former life planted important seeds, critically shaping my path and future perspectives as an entrepreneur. I remember one interview in particular with Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn and famed technology investor. He spoke of Archimedes, the great mathematician and inventor in ancient Greece, who invented a revolving screw-shaped blade to pump water against gravity. He is believed to have said, “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” It was a metaphor for startups and the idea that startups can be incredible vehicles to impact the world at a massive scale. That conversation gave me a new lens and inspired me to take the plunge years later. Tell us about what you are doing now. As a former writer, I also describe my role as the chief storyteller at Yumi. In its abstract form, I believe a brand is a collection of interwoven stories that ideally connect a company’s mission–its reason for being–with its audiences. Yumi’s on a mission to raise a healthier generation, but that’s more than a tagline. It’s embedded in the strategy of how we think about our product roadmap, our packaging, our personalized content to customers–pretty much every touchpoint has a story to tell. More recently, we’ve been in the weeds in our brand refresh. We needed to create hundreds of new visual assets, including lifestyle photography, in the middle of pandemic lockdowns. These restraints, however, created an opportunity to pull our Yumi families into the storytelling. Our Creative Director shipped cameras across the country, gave them some instruction on lighting and technical settings, and asked them to show us their “now.” It ended up being a perfect reflection of our brand ethos and how we celebrate the modern parent fighting for a better future, whether that relates to food, society, or the earth they’ll leave behind. https://youtu.be/L8qZq6sG5Js How do you foster strong professional relationships as you grow in your career? My husband is actually a mentor here. One Saturday, I saw him working on a spreadsheet and I realized it was notes on the people in his life–their birthdates, their pets, learnings and preferences. It wasn’t optimized in a certain way and it wasn’t exclusive to “professional” connections. He’s constantly investing in people and focused on building meaningful connections, not optimizing for transactional value. He’s taught me the importance of continually investing in one’s relationships and the value of random, well-intentioned “hellos.” If you’re focused on building meaningful relationships with people, life becomes vibrant. What’s one way you’ve invested in yourself that’s had the most impact over the course of your career? What about within the past year? I put boundaries in my schedule to get out of the daily churn of blocking and tackling and the back-to-back-meetings grind, so I have some time to zoom out and think creatively about the company’s biggest priorities. How do you view work-life integration, especially now, and what advice can you share with others who may be struggling with it? I believe in leaning into whatever is giving you energy and inspiration. Sometimes that may be work, and sometimes it may be family/personal interests. In deciding between the two, you have to be brutally honest with yourself about what you need. If you can do that, you’ll find a way to be the best version of yourself which benefits every facet of your life, whether work or personal. Can you recall a situation where you've dealt with typecasting in the workplace? And what advice do you have for other women on how to overcome typecasting at work? Think how you can upend people’s expectations. In the beginning several investors thought because we were women, that we were going after kids food as a mere passion project, that it was “cute.” Think how you can upend people’s expectations. As our pitch evolved, we put more emphasis on the numbers and data. It’s always helpful to be aware of the stereotypes people might hold, and the subtle and direct ways you can subvert those narratives. What’s one tip you can share or something you’ve learned on how to handle salary negotiations or raises? Don’t be afraid to ask for specifics. Ask about the value of your shares, ask about how the vesting schedule works, ask how compensation could change over time. Be confident in your worth and know you have every right to ask. Who has helped you in your journey and how did they help shape your career? My original mentors at the New York Times, Jane Perlez and Raymond Bonner. They offered me the summer job of a lifetime at 18, when I became their intern and freelancer for the NYT Southeast Asian bureau. I worked for them every summer and winter I could while I was in college. They taught me the importance of asking the right questions and the importance of humility in the process–always be aware that you are working off an imperfect dataset. They repeatedly reminded me that I was capable of exceptional things–something I believe everyone needs to hear when they’re young. They are still like parental figures to me and have been there for every life milestone. What’s the single best piece of advice you’ve ever received? You learn a LOT from starting a company, but one of my favorites is to be a near term pragmatist, so you’re aware of potential roadblocks, but a long term optimist, so you always retain the will and determination to push through any short term roadblocks. What does success mean for you? Being able to live every day with a deep sense of purpose and joy and having relationships of great depth. As it relates to Yumi, raising a healthier generation with real, nutrition-first food.

Women Trailblazers

How Yumi Co-Founder Found a Way to Spotlight Real Parent Pandemic Stories

Evelyn Rusli shares the company's early beginnings and what she applied from her former storytelling career

Luz Corona

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Luz Corona