Meet Karis Green: Entrepreneur & CEO

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

Hi Karis, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I started Vision Bottle during the 2020 COVID-19 quarantine. Living in SoCal, we had pretty strict orders to stay home. Working from home was tough for me. I was so used to traveling for work and being idle in one place started to give me anxiety. I would consider myself a creative person, but during the work from home transition I started to not feel like myself and struggled to stay motivated to do certain tasks. One weekend in May, I was organizing my home office space and found a vision board I had done in early 2019. As I reviewed the images on my vision board, I realized that I had taken the time to cut out pictures from magazines and organize them visually on a board – only to look at it a handful of times. That is when this thought ran through my head, “a vision board doesn’t work if you ignore it.” I then thought, how can I take the encouraging things on this board with me? Shortly after that, I found myself drawing out visual sketches for Vision Bottle and what I imagined it would look like to take a vision board, ON-THE-GO. I started with a few prototypes and just began enjoying my product, as a single consumer. I quickly realized that the motivational stickers on my water bottle (that I carried with me everywhere) was keeping me positive, inspired, and also hydrated more often then when I used my normal canteen. I would read the sticker phrases during work meetings, while working out, and even when it was in my car coaster and I was parked at a stop light. That is when I knew that Vision Bottle was never meant to just be for me, but for anyone who was looking for a motivational push every day, throughout the day. I never thought I would start my own business. I always admired people that did, and did my due diligence to support small business brands. As my idea for Vision Bottle started to take form, I decided to start researching the tools needed to start my own business. Even after the time spent researching, designing, and circumnavigating production issues, I continued to push so that I could bring you Vision Bottle. I wanted to give everyone the opportunity to stay motivated & inspired, even when it feels like there is no light to whatever tunnel you may be traveling through right now. 

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
By day I work in the healthcare industry – in neuroscience. I spend my days training professionals from various backgrounds on different neuro specific medications. I always dreamt of being a surgeon (but blood is not for me haha) so I pushed that dream to the side by the time I applied for college. I knew very early on in life that helping people was a calling of mine. At the end of the day, I want to impact people and leave them inspired, feeling cared for, heard, and respected. I got into the healthcare industry right after college. I completed an internship and landed a full time job with my employer. It wasn’t easy or a seamless process, but it was worth it (cliche, I know) and I learned a lot about myself over the last 4 years. My educational background is in Communications so pushing myself to apply for an internship in healthcare was a stretch for me (or at least I thought so at the time). As I reflect back on the younger me, I would say that I was pretty reserved and shy – existing within my plushy bubble which was comfortable and safe. The interview process was scary and intimidating but I overcame. The full time position looked daunting too and I was unsure if I was good enough to “survive” amongst all the tenured applicants, but I landed the job. 8 months later, I lost my position to a restructure and interviewed for a position that was a level above me (I figured that at worst it would be good practice for me), but I landed the job. 1 year later I asked for more responsibility from my role, my boss said yes and moved me to a position where I would hold more responsibility for the team. 2 years later, I applied for a training role (my current role) that everyone said I couldn’t have because I lacked experience (tenure), and no one has ever taken that particular job path. Today, I am proud to work as a trainer because I not only get to help impact people at my company but also patients. My biggest lesson learned along the way… EVERYTHING you have ever wanted in life, is right outside of your comfort zone. Get outside of your head and your bubble. I know its safe, familiar, and comfortable but you will stifle your own growth and potential if you stay there. You don’t know what you are capable of until you push yourself beyond what feels normal/natural. I have overcome my challenges by getting uncomfortable, by asking questions, by reaching out to that intimidating superior. Put on your alter ego and go for it. Additionally, always remember to ask for what you want, the worst they can say is no. Guess what – No just means, not yet! I want people to know that what feels impossible, can most certainly be your reality. Dream BIG and Dream OFTEN.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
(Pre-COVID) First stop is a hike at Runyon Canyon, then home to change for Avocado toast & coffee at Bottega Louie! After, we’ll stroll down to the beverly center or walk down Rodeo Drive. Lunch at Sugarfish and cocktails at Perch LA. Then rest before getting ready for dinner – Javiers, Catch LA, BOA, Bestia, or Bossa Nova Brazilian Cuisine would be the options.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am eternally grateful to so many people. Thank you to Sosa & Ade for accepting my idea and inspiring me to Go-For-It (they were the first two people I told my idea to)! Thank you to my closest friends Latreece & Brei for helping me create visuals and creative spreads. Thank you to Anastasia for connecting me with marketing peers for feedback and advice. Thank you to Serena for giving me ideas when creating the custom stickers. Thank you Lance for saving me in the middle of website building troubles. Thank you to Steven for being my first order ever and for also supporting me through the process. Last but not least, thank you to my parents who believed in my idea and held me accountable to seeing it through. Thank you to all that have supported, followed, liked, and purchased through visionbottle.com, I would not be here without YOU ALL! Thank You Shoutout LA for featuring me and Vision Bottle!

Website: visionbottle.com
Instagram: @VisionBottle
Facebook: @visionbottle

Image Credits
Image Credits – Vision Bottle, Karis Green