May 2025 Startup Grant Awarded to Wildbatch Co.

Video Transcript

Marcia: Today we are speaking with our Startup Grant winner for May 2025, Lacramioara Schulte, who goes by Q, and who owns WildBatch, headquartered in Gainesville, Florida. I’m Marcia Layton Turner and I’m a member of the WomensNet Advisory Board.

Q, could you tell everyone how you came up with the idea for your business?

Q: Yes! I’m the founder of WildBatch, a biodegradable all-in-one powder soap built for life outdoors. Designed especially for hikers, campers, and backpackers, each waterless formula comes in a compact bamboo capsule that weighs less than one ounce. It works for everything, for skin, laundry, dishes, and gear. Pretty much, it cleans everything when you are out in the wild.

After burning out in my last startup, both emotionally and financially, I craved something simpler, more grounded. I grew up in the Carpathian Mountains, where nature was my first lab. WildBatch is basically a return to those roots. No frills, just smart, effective care for people who really love the outdoors.

I tried everything out there, every eco-soap. They are sticky to the skin, heavy, they leak, and they all come in plastic packaging. So, being a chemist, I started to formulate a solution in my garage lab, because I have one set up in my garage.

Marcia: Wow, fascinating! For people in our community who are thinking about starting a business or who are currently in the process of starting a company, could you talk about a resource that you found particularly helpful, that you would recommend to another female business owner? What’s one thing that you found helpful? 

Q: Well, for me, it was very helpful joining a local business incubator. I am in Gainesville, Florida, and I moved here a few years ago, so I didn’t know many people. So, it’s very helpful to get out, force yourself, and meet people in your area. 

I joined this local incubator just to talk with other people, to start, you know, talking to them about my ideas, if it’s good or bad. And through them, actually, they introduced me to a mentor who very quickly became a very strong partner. And he brought a lot of structure and accountability that I really needed.

Marcia: Awesome. Well, so we’ve talked about resources, but now let’s go specifically to marketing. If you had to recommend one marketing tactic that has worked well for you so far, what would that be? 

Q: For me right now, because I’m just starting, the best marketing tool is to reach out to potential customers to test the product. Because this is real-world feedback, it shapes the product and also how I talk about it. 

I’m focusing actually on brand partnership or reaching out to micro influencers to test and to maybe talk about the products. So, for me right now, this is the most important thing.

Marcia: What’s one thing that members of our WomensNet community might do to show support for your business? 

Q: Well, if you know somebody who is hiking, backpacking or camping, send them to WildBatch.co. We’ve started to be very active on Instagram at wildbatchco. And I think being part of this community and knowing that this community has my back means a lot to me already. So, I’m looking forward to interacting with the other women in the community.

Marcia: Thanks so much for giving me your time and sharing your story with the WomensNet community, Q. And congratulations again on being our Startup Grant winner for May 2025.