#ICYMI: Ridwell - Building a Service Driven by Customer Love

Ridwell is having a moment in my North Portland neighborhood. The eye-catching white boxes with orange lettering have been growing like weeds on neighbors’ doorsteps for months. And as I found out from listening to Aliya Marder, co-founder of Ridwell, at the latest AMA Lunch and Learn, that is the result of a strategic (paid, organic, and grassroots) motion that has Ridwell blooming in eco-conscious cities across the country.

Ridwell arose from a simple question about the ability to recycle batteries from co-founder Ryan’s son, Owen. After struggling to find a straightforward answer for that and many other household items, a company was born. Ridwell is empowering communities to build a less wasteful future by helping to correctly recycle items not traditionally taken by municipal recycling, funded by subscribers to the service.

During the presentation, Marder spoke about Ridwell’s difficulties scaling recycling operations, their successful grassroots marketing template as well as how that template will have to change outside the PNW going forward – spurred by lessons learned in the Denver market. The company is also looking towards the future with potential growth opportunities such as waste reduction efforts or product delivery. While it’s been a learning experience, Marder said what she enjoyed most about taking the leap from big tech to meaningful entrepreneurship.

I love that this is a tangible product. When I close my computer for the day, I can still see my impact. – Aliya Marder, Co-Founder, Ridwell

As always, there were insightful questions from the marketing professionals on hand, allowing Marder to dive deeper into several topics including market research, email marketing, and brand adherence.