In 2012, if anyone had asked Javin Williams what he would be doing with his life in 2024, his answer would have been immediate and unequivocal: he would be pursuing a career in the field of information technology, just like his two older brothers. If anyone had suggested that he would instead be the Managing Director of Herboo Corporation Limited, a personal care/cosmetics company that he co-founded, he probably would have laughed and continued walking to one of his Computer Science classes at Northern Caribbean University (NCU). However, that’s exactly where he has ended up, and if you ask him, he’s right where he’s supposed to be.
Troubleshooting dandruff
Javin’s entrepreneurial spirit was activated when, like many others who wade into the waters of business ownership, he devised a solution to a problem he had and thought it could work for others as well. His problem was dandruff, and the top brands like Head & Shoulders and Selsun Blue were not working satisfactorily. He turned to his grandmother, who knows a lot about herbs, and asked her which plants he could use to remedy the situation. “She recommended rosemary and peppermint and when I used those herbs, they helped me with my dandruff. I thought, why do we have so many of these synthetic brands when we can actually produce a natural product here in Jamaica with local ingredients?” he said.
The opportunity to turn his thought into what eventually became Herboo (a portmanteau of herbal and shampoo) came when NCU announced a business plan competition in 2012, where the winning team would receive one million dollars to go toward setting up the business and to help with tuition. The team—consisting of Javin, his sister Kamla and classmate Kimiesha Maxwell—didn’t win the competition, despite much positive feedback, but the idea to make their herbal shampoo a reality firmly took root. “I found that I loved selling. I liked to convince people and show them a better option from what they were used to. Learning about business really excited me,” he said.
Kimiesha only remained involved for a short while and Kamla, who already had a degree in Social Work, needed some convincing. “Her plan was to help out one or two times and that has turned into twelve years,” he laughed.
The Herboo journey
Determined to protect their business idea, Javin copyrighted the formula for their flagship product, a two-in-one shampoo and conditioner, by registered mail the day after the competition and jumped right into a training course offered by NCU’s Morris Entrepreneurship Centre to bolster his knowledge base. While completing the course, he learned about the First Heritage Cooperative Credit Union Business Plan Competition, and Herboo was ready to go again. This time, they were up against teams from NCU, the University of the West Indies, and the University of Technology, Jamaica. To their delight, Herboo claimed the top prize of 300 thousand dollars. Even better, some of the judges were so wowed that they bought the product during the pitch presentation.
“We used that money to fix the labelling because at the time, we were using regular printing paper and alcohol bottles that we recycled. We were now able to purchase proper bottles and crack and peel paper, and we also bought a laser printer because we wanted to scale up the operations and print our own labels,” said Javin, adding that that move was a mistake and they should have worked on standarising the formula first. “Sometimes the batch would come out green, sometimes it came out yellow, sometimes brown. Customers were like, ‘What’s happening here, Javin? This isn’t consistent at all.’ There were stores that were interested in the product, but every time we delivered a batch to them it would look different. You know how when you’re cooking you use a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper and you don’t even know the exact amount? That was the case.”
They corrected that problem by working with the Scientific Research Council and the Ministry of Health just in time to enter another contest, the National Business Model Competition. Again, they faced off against students from the three major universities and came out victorious, putting the prize money right back into the business. This competition had an international component, so a few months later, they were in Utah in the United States to represent Jamaica against American university teams. Herboo placed eighth and was awarded best international team. “That was pretty solid for us,” said Javin. “When we got there, we realised it wasn’t about the competition, it was about the knowledge that you gained, because they had some serious business lessons to teach us.” They participated in several courses and field trips to top companies in the state, where they liaised with seasoned entrepreneurs.
At this time, Herboo was still a home-based business, operating out of the kitchen. The business got a major boost when Norman Wright, Managing Director of tea producers Perishables Jamaica reached out and offered to help them with scaling up production. He recommended them to the factory that makes Revlon products in Jamaica, based in St. Thomas. This opportunity allowed them to leap from making 50 bottles over two days by hand to 100 bottles in one hour or less. However, it came with a major challenge as the team was still based in Manchester, so travelling to St. Thomas every day soon took a toll on their pockets. It was also difficult to get there early most days, so some people at the factory started complaining that their lateness was affecting the production schedule. Given Herboo’s much smaller numbers, this was also not cost effective, and the team was almost dropped.
They eventually managed to rent a car, which remedied the lateness, but soon faced another setback as it was stolen with the raw materials inside that they had prepared for what was to have been their largest batch of products. “Everything was lost,” said Javin. “For four or five months in 2016, nobody could get any Herboo products. We tried getting loans from banks but they said we were too small. We approached the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) and they said the banks would give them the loan and they’d guarantee 80 percent, but the banks still said no. One day I said a little prayer and said, ‘God, if Herboo is going to be successful, just provide a way out of the situation. As a matter of fact, if you can, make it happen tomorrow.’”
Angels and answered prayers
The prayer worked as they got a call from a member of their church who loaned them $2,000 CAD with three months to repay. They were able to buy raw materials and get back into production the very next day. They also received an Ignite grant from the DBJ, which helped them do another large batch. However, they needed a more constant inflow of funds to keep production going consistently. Javin first approached the Alpha Angels investor network, but although they liked what they saw, they weren’t having pitching sessions at that time.
But all hope was not lost. In early 2018, the DBJ sponsored an Investment Readiness workshop organised by consulting and advisory firm BizTactics Limited, which is helmed by Sandra Glasgow — a Co-Founder and Manager of FirstAngels, Jamaica’s first angel investor network. Herboo found itself among the 20 small businesses vying for a spot in FAJ’s upcoming pitching sessions. “There were a lot of things I didn’t know about angel investing. I had the misconception that these guys were trying to take away your company to maximise on their investments. Sandra demystified a lot of those myths,” he said.
Herboo was selected for 4 hours coaching to get ready for the pitch and Javin had only four days to get his pitch right before facing the Angels. “Day one I went into the coaching session thinking I had this locked. I went in and there was no small talk, no ‘Hi Javin, how you doing? How was your night? How was your drive up from Mandeville? None of that,” he recalled with a laugh. “As we started the session, Sandra said, ‘Hi, Javin. Let me hear your pitch.’ I was so nervous, I started getting all flustered.”
Javin went back to the drawing board a few times to finetune Herboo’s pitch, even working into the nights while sleeping in the car they were using as a company vehicle because he didn’t have anywhere to stay in Kingston and didn’t want to risk being late for any of his sessions. “It was all passion for me. I didn’t want to give a bad impression, I just wanted everything to go right,” he said.
In his final practice run, Javin decided to be bold and asked Sandra at the end if she would invest. “I looked right into her eyes and she said ‘yes’ without blinking. That gave me confidence that I really had something great here and it could actually work,” he shared. On the 23rd of February 2018, I made my pitch presentation and hit every nail on the head. I was so nervous, but one of the Angels stood up and applauded and in June 2018, the Company received an investment from five FirstAngels members to finance the purchase of raw materials and cover operational expenses. We created a Board of Directors, chaired by entrepreneur Paul Lewis who recently stepped down as Independent Chairman, with investors Joseph M. Matalon, CD and Sharon Roper as Investor Directors and my sister, Kamla and me as Founder Directors. The Board has been incredibly helpful in guiding our growth, making invaluable connections and helping us hone our strategies to ensure that we grow.” It hasn’t been all smooth sailing, but we have persevered.
He continued, “I think what has driven us is the energy we have as Founders. We have a certain energy about us whenever we talk about the brand. And we’re always learning. We haven’t been afraid to admit our mistakes and take advice. Our products also work, as many customers—including Joseph Matalon, one of the Founders of FirstAngels who is perhaps our biggest supporter, can attest”.
Only up from there
“Before the Angels came on board, we were pretty much in a holding pattern. We didn’t have the financial resources or the knowledge of how to burst out of the small space where we were. We were trying to just expand our lean operation. When we received an investment from the Angels, it became much bigger,” Javin shared.
At the outset, the business took on a new model that included outsourcing production to Fleetwood Factory in Yallahs and securing a local distributor to handle marketing and sales. They also purchased a company vehicle to help with some deliveries and get around for everyday business activities. In 2022 the Company raised additional working capital financing from the Angels via a Jamaican Dollar 7.00% Subordinated Convertible Note.
From its humble beginnings in 2012, Herboo has now expanded its line to include 6 products: a 2-in 1 shampoo and conditioner, Jamaican Black Castor Oli, a Protective Moisturising Hair Oil, a body and face oil, a Rosemary and Lemongrass Shampoo and a Rosemary and Sweet Aloe Conditioner. The products are available online and in 200 stores locally (up from 30 in 2012), and they are exported to four countries outside of Jamaica, Javin having gone to Europe in 2019 to promote the brand and explore export opportunities in that region. Sales have increased 454% since 2018 when the Company received its first angel investment and it now hires 2 full-time team members 20 sales promoters.
“To see Herboo move from Mommy’s kitchen mixing up our little formula to selling our products in France, is heartwarming,” said Javin. “I don’t regret any moment going with FirstAngels. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
Even more than the capital injection, Javin believes the investors themselves bring the most value. “Success isn’t guaranteed, so when you can partner with an Angel who is more knowledgeable than you are and can guide you and ask you the right questions, it’s a no brainer,” he said. “A lot of the things that we have learned during the Herboo journey were through pitching and the feedback and questions that they were asking, as well as the discussions in our Board meetings.”
He advises his fellow entrepreneurs who might be ready to explore angel investment to ensure their ducks are in a row: “Document everything. Don’t take anything for granted. I had a lot of the business in my head but on paper, very little. Account for everything. Document where your customers are coming from. Document your formulae, everything. Investors want to see the historic data. When something is in your head you can forget, and you can’t guarantee it will come back to memory when you need it.”
Javin also encourages bigger companies and established business operators to do what they can to support the small business ecosystem. “The only way for a country to grow is for small companies to be profitable. A lot of small companies can’t be profitable because they don’t have the financial backing, so they’re still in a hand to mouth situation. For the big brands and companies out there that that have that kind of cash that they can invest in small companies, it’ll be worth your while because you’ll be building up a small company,” he said. “Herboo couldn’t get a loan from the bank. We couldn’t get a credit card. When FirstAngels came on board, the bank called us. These big companies can do a lot, just by showing their support, sitting on the board to give them some guidance. Herboo could never be successful now without that kind of investment.”
Clear vision
From the start, Javin was very specific about his vision for his company: “Herboo is going to become a household name in Jamaica, just like you know about the brands Revlon and Tresemme,” he had said. Today, in 2024, the Founders of Herboo are grateful for the progress they have made. According to Javin, “Our products are bigger than us, so there must be some divine intervention on this brand. We’re counting our blessings and doing our research and as we’re learning we’re just networking and implementing. We’re showing the world that Jamaica has some of the best herbs and we’re going to put them into use and gain the benefits.”
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WHERE TO FIND HERBOO BOTANICALS
URL: https://www.herboobotanicals.com/
Shop: Products are available online – https://www.herboobotanicals.com/shop or at more than 150 pharmacies, supermarkets and beauty supply stores islandwide, including: MegaMart, Fontana Pharmacy, Monarch Pharmacy, York Pharmacy, Valu Drug, Taits Pharmacy, St. Jago Pharmacy, Marjan’s Pharmacy, Loshusan Supermarket, Lee’s Food Fair, Joong Supermarket & Wholesale, Discount Beauty Supplies and Lily’s Beauty Barn.
