We had the good fortune of connecting with Brad Richardson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brad, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Ambush Candle Co is a husband and wife team. We started our company after a spell of creative uncertainty. Everything we’ve created seems to have stemmed from our spontaneous Grand Canyon road trip in 2018. We craved creative freedom, a sense of purpose, and a meaningful focus to channel our efforts. With backgrounds in home fragrance, graphic design, and retail, we teamed up to develop an American brand, hand-crafting useful products that are enjoyable, eco-friendly, and thoughtfully designed.

What should our readers know about your business?
Shortly after starting Ambush Candle Co. we opened a separate brick and mortar business called Compass Rose Outpost. We operated this store for 5 years before closing to pursue Ambush full time. Owning a physical store was an amazing experience for us because most of our business with Ambush is wholesale and private label for other stores. In-fact our products can currently be found in around 300 stores nationwide, plus about 6 other countries. By owning a store, we learned to better understand what our customers want and need. This has put us a step ahead of many other candle companies focusing mostly on wholesale.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We’re based out of beautiful Traverse City, MI. Visiting the downtown shops is one of our favorite things to do. We highly recommend grabbing tacos at Loco Boys, cocktails at Nolan’s Cigar Bar, finding vintage gems at Penny Lane and getting a coffee at Mundos. During the summer, the beaches are incredible. We highly recommend canoeing down the Boardman River and driving out to the tip of Old Mission Peninsula to visit the lighthouse.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Running our own business has proven to be a huge undertaking at times. We are incredibly thankful for our supportive family and friends, fellow business owners and amazing employees for helping us to get to where we are today.
We never went to business school or even graduated from college for that matter. Being able to learn from other entrepreneurs, podcasts and books have been a huge help along the way. One of my favorite books that I’d recommend to anyone in business is Profit First by Mike Michalowicz.

Website: https://www.ambushcandleco.com

Instagram: @ambushcandleco

Facebook: @ambushcandleco

Image Credits
All photos taken by Lindsey Mak and Ambush Candle Co.

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