HILARY QUARTNER (CC’11) OF HILMA
Hilary Quartner is the Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Hilma, which makes natural remedies that are backed by scientific research and clinically studied. Hilma offers clean label medicine cabinet staples including Immune Support, Upset Stomach Relief, Tension Relief and Indoor/Outdoor Support, and is backed by Forerunner Ventures. Hilary lives in Brooklyn, New York, and holds a BA from Columbia University (CC'11) and MBA from Harvard Business School.
What Inspired you to Start Hilma?
I have two co-founders, and we all came together with different experiences with natural remedies and alternative approaches to our health that brought us to see the opportunity there was for a company like Hilma.
But the specific moment where the idea was born was around the concept of a Vitamin C packet, which is relevant today too. We looked at the label of most Vitamin C packets and realized that they were pretty incongruous with all of the other products that we were using in our lives, where there was an expectation of transparency and clean labels. We found the concept of combining wellness remedies with these concepts to be compelling given that we knew that there were really strong opinions in the space; that combination led us to see that there was a hole on the pharmacy shelves for the types of products Hilma would eventually create.
What skills are vital to starting a business, particularly in the personal wellness industry?
Like in every industry, entrepreneurship is about persistence; just continue to try different things internally, but also, externally: pound the pavement, and whenever you get knocked down, get back up again. Also, preparation is incredibly important; prepare to the extent that you can, and then pivot if necessary and be flexible. Additionally, know when you need help, and reach out for help.
From conceptualizing a product to clinical studies to eventually putting products on the website, What goes into creating Hilma’s Clinical Herbals?
We start with an area or condition that we want to address not only based on customer need and demand, but also areas where there are compelling natural options that are backed by clinical research. Then, we brief our herbalist; she comes up with a formulation with scientific substantiation for every ingredient that we use. Our criteria for inclusion is that there has to be a significant body of existing clinical research on each of the ingredients for us to use it in our products.
At that point, we then take the formulation, review it with our doctors, who make up our scientific advisory board, and ask them to provide their perspective and insight based on their more conventional training. Then, we finalize the formulation.
Then, we go take it to our manufacturer and go into post-production. Post-production involves clinical research, which is what makes us different from other brands. We’ve invested in clinical studies for all of our products which, in the natural products space, is unusual. A lot of companies only do the first step of referencing existing clinical research without making the extra investment and actually studying the resulting product.
Because our process of formulation, manufacturing, and clinical research takes a long time, we then plan our market strategy; we seek to answer questions such as “why do you need this product for this condition?” and “Why is it better to have our alternative over the counter product?” We also seek to make sure we educate consumers about the ingredients through our packaging. Then, of course, we logistically make sure we can present it to someone on the website and sell it.
Were there any specific challenges that came with being a female founder in general and, more specifically, in the health and wellness industry?
In the early days as we were going through our initial fundraising process, there’s always this idea that it’s a disadvantage to be a woman fundraising – I think the numbers would support that. But Hilma has two other co-founders who are also both women, and we come from a network of incredible female mentors who were female founders. We’re also female-led – our founders, and many of our scientific advisors and investors are women.
There actually is, in some ways, an advantage to being a woman in the health and wellness industry; the primary consumer is often female. This advantages us in some ways as we’re able to better understand the dominant consumer in these spheres. Of course, we need to have good representation so that we can better understand the diversity of our consumers, but the reality is that it often does skew towards women.
What are some books, podcasts, newsletters, or blogs you’ve enjoyed and would recommend to CWBS?
Podcasts: Unfinished Biz by VMG Partners
Newsletters: James Clear’s newsletter.
Books & Authors: Give and Take by Adam Grant, Atomic Habits by James Clear.
What are some personal wellness practices you’ve incorporated into your weekly routine?
Wake up early (and getting a workout in!).
Read the news and have breakfast.
Get fresh air and go on walks.
As a Columbia College alum, is there any advice you’d give Columbia students?
The first thing that comes to mind with this question is to take advantage of the city; there are so many amazing people that are there and places to see. When I was a Sophomore, a friend and I started a blog/personal style questionnaire for up-and-coming people in different industries in New York. It was the same format as the last page of Vanity Fair; we asked questions like “What is your greatest fear?” and “What is your favorite decadent food?”, we just asked a lot of fun questions. Interesting people answered, and it was so entrepreneurial.
Now that friend and I are both entrepreneurs and we both channeled that spirit into something we thought was fun and interesting with other creative people. Take advantage of the people that are around you, and take advantage of the city to explore and hear about what makes people excited about what they do. It’s a very special thing to be able to do that, and it’s also a time in life where everyone’s really willing to talk to you, which doesn’t always last.