Julia says

We sat down with our Co-founder, Julia Kay, to chat to her about the Great Wrap journey, her vision and what’s to come.

Can you tell us a little about your back story and what led you to start Great Wrap?

"I was working in architecture and I’d spent my career obsessing over the materials I was using.  I saw huge amounts of waste in the construction industry and wanted to do something about it. Both Jordy and I used pallet wrap at work and knew there were no sustainable alternatives for it. In the US alone 145 million tonnes of construction waste goes to landfills each year.

Almost everything around us has been wrapped in conventional pallet wrap for some time during its existence. So we knew this needed to be tackled. One day we were sitting on a beach and asked ourselves if we weren’t operating in our respective industries would they be any different without us. The answer felt like a no which was when we really decided to do something more meaningful for the planet and for ourselves. We both love spending time in the ocean so the plastic waste problem felt like a natural fit to tackle. That’s when Great Wrap was born."

You are a husband and wife team, what’s it like working with your spouse?!

"I love it! But at times we have to ban ourselves from talking about Great Wrap and head outside for a hike. We always knew we wanted to work together and before Great Wrap we tried a few different business ideas together that never really took off. We tried a wine label, opened a cellar door and organic grocer as well as a few dining events. We have a lot of very similar values so we often get excited about working on projects together. Thankfully we have complimentary skills so it works well for us."

What is the best advice you have received? 

"The best advice I’ve ever received is to trust your own instincts. When you start a business you will find that immediately you attract a lot of unsolicited advice. Sometimes this can be great, other times it can give you whiplash. Very early on in the Great Wrap journey a mentor reminded me that nobody knows our business as well as we do so I try to remind myself of this most days."

What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?

"In praise of shadows by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki - this book isn’t typically about business but it is about appreciating both light and darkness. It is actually an essay on aesthetics but it reads more like a poem and I love rereading it. Sometimes to create beauty things can be hard or dark. This is important to remember when things get hard in your business! There’s a lot of moments about appreciating the nuances of the world around us which is important too.

Also, High Growth Handbook by Elad Gil - a bible for anyone dreaming of scaling up their ideas into a business that changes the world."

What does the future of Great Wrap look like?

"The future is what motivates me everyday. Our product are a solution for a problem that had previously not been solved. We are seeing a significant amount of conviction from the market, who are making the move away from conventional stretch wrap.

The next ten years at Great Wrap will be big! They’ll look like rapid growth, new product development, international expansion, biotech advancements, growing teams and thoughtful leadership opportunities."