Alejandra Guerra’s love of candles, and bond with her mom, inspired a sustainable brand that puts the planet first

So the story is quite simple in the sense that I love candles. I’ve always loved fragrance. I love scents. And two things happened in my journey of loving candles.

One is I realized they were super wasteful. My mom actually loves candles as well, which is how my mom also comes into the story of Everly. 

We always had a ton of candles growing up around the house. And then, every time a candle was finished, we’d be left with these containers. It was such a shame to throw them away for two reasons. A, they’re beautiful, and B, it’s just creating waste. A lot of these containers, I learned, can’t even be recycled for various reasons.

One goal was to address the issue of single-use candles and create a model that allows us to reuse those containers and refill them.

Another aspect of this is that I wanted to create a candle that was free from toxins. The more I learned about fragrance, because I really loved it, I realized “fragrance” is, as a term, protected by the FDA under a trade secret. So brands don’t need to reveal what’s in their fragrance. Of course, not all fragrances are bad, but some can be, because there are a ton of ingredients within fragrance that don’t need to be disclosed. A lot of them are hormone disruptors and just a whole lot of things that aren’t great for you. 

Plus, most candles also use wax, which comes from paraffin wax, which is a byproduct of petroleum. All this made me feel, that my candle habit was not so great for me or the planet.

Initially, I started making clean candles, just working with essential oils at home and making regular candles. I started giving them away to friends and family.

At the time, I was the managing director of an e-commerce agency, and this was just a small hobby of mine. Then my friend convinced me to try a Christmas market, “Just try it,” she said. So I did, and we sold out! That was a really good sign that people were interested in this kind of product and were willing to pay a higher price for higher quality ingredients.

The moment I started getting repeat customers wanting to buy the product, I realized: I’m basically selling them the same container again. It felt so wasteful. 

That’s when I asked myself, 'how can I solve this problem?’

I considered asking people to drop off their containers for me to refill, but it wasn’t scalable. And shipping them back and forth also felt wasteful and harmful to the environment.

I took a break to think about it, and then it hit me. I came up with the idea of a candle kit that works to refill any container. It’s a compostable pouch filled with pre-mixed wax and fragrance. You just microwave it, pour it, and you’re done. That was the solution to the waste problem, and it would make our product even more unique.

I love my mom. She’s not involved in the day-to-day operations, but she’s definitely present when it comes to big-picture decisions, the kind of stuff that really shapes the business. That’s why it always makes me laugh when she suddenly has a strong opinion about something unexpected.

Like one time, we posted this meme on Everly’s Instagram, it was this viral Seth Rogen image with his hairy arms. The person on our team who handles social thought it was hilarious. She’s really tapped into internet culture and Gen Z humor. Honestly, I didn’t fully get it, but I trusted her vibe and went with it.

Then my mom saw it and texted me a screenshot: “This is not on brand.” [laughs] She’s usually totally chill, but that day I got a surprise “What is this?” on WhatsApp. It was such a classic moment of generational humor not quite aligning.

But really, she’s amazing. Her instincts are sharp, especially during R&D, she gives the kind of feedback you don’t get from anyone else. She’s also our biggest ambassador. So many people have discovered Everly just from her telling them about it with genuine passion.

She’s also been my biggest source of strength. From day one, she’s encouraged me to go for it—even when things felt uncertain or scary. Early on, she gave me this little paperweight that’s stayed on my desk ever since. It’s engraved with a line from a poem by the Australian writer Erin Hanson:

“What if I fall? Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?”

I hadn’t heard it before, but the moment I read it, it hit me. It was exactly what I needed at the time, and honestly, still need sometimes. That quote has carried me through every hard decision, every leap of faith. It’s a reminder that the fear of falling will always be there, but so is the possibility of soaring.

There is freedom waiting for you,
on the breezes of the sky,
and you ask,
“What if I fall?”
Oh, but my darling,
what if you fly?”

That’s just who she is, quietly powerful, always there with exactly the right nudge when I need it most.

Yeah, we do. We work with a fragrance house, and we only use clean ingredients. We’ll send them a brief like: “We want something fruity, or woodsy, or cozy.” They’ll send us back samples, and my mom and I go through them together.

Once we narrow down our picks, we test with customers too. It’s a really collaborative process, and a fun bonding experience for us.

Packaging. That was a huge issue. We needed something that was compostable, could hold liquid wax during production, and be microwavable. That’s a tall order!

I probably spoke to over 50 different vendors. It took us about nine months to find the right solution. There were moments where I wondered, “Does this even exist?”

Also, staying sustainable means higher costs. If I used cheaper packaging or manufactured in China, I could improve our profit margins instantly. But that’s not what Everly is about.

We had a waitlist on our website and so much early engagement. People loved the concept. That excitement and interest kept us going.

Also, I tell all founders: start marketing your idea before you launch. Even if you’re still figuring it out, build a waitlist, test content, and get feedback. That energy will feed you.

So, very proud to say that we're profitable, self-funded, and truly bootstrapped. I did consider raising money at one point, but ultimately chose to grow on my own terms. We’re now a profitable company, growing 50% year over year.

All of the press we’ve gotten has been organic. The influencers we’ve worked with have believed in our mission and partnered with us on an affiliate basis, we’ve never had to pay people upfront to support us. Even getting into retailers like The Detox Market, which only accepts about 2% of brands, happened because of the strength of our product and values. Our products are on their site, and stores in NY, California and Toronto.

But, I did think seriously about raising money, but I knew that bringing on an investor is a two-way relationship. It’s not just about getting capital, they become part of your decision-making. 

I wasn’t willing to compromise the integrity of my brand just to improve margins. I knew exactly what I could change, packaging, formulas, production, but I didn’t want to.

Staying true to the original vision mattered more. That’s something every founder should consider carefully: whether the trade-offs of outside funding are worth it to them.

And believe it or not, I also received a few grants along the way. People don’t talk about that enough, but there are amazing opportunities out there if you take the time to look for them.

We were incredibly scrappy. We did a small friends-and-family round, just my mom, my aunts, and me. That was it. After that, we never raised again.

My mom and I literally sat down and asked, “How many credit card points do we have? Can we redeem them for supplies?” That’s how we funded our first production run. We just figured it out.

Most people don’t realize how useful credit card rewards, cash back, and store redemptions can be. We’ve always been very disciplined about staying debt-free and paying our cards off every month, but those points helped us bridge early gaps, cover travel, and reduce out-of-pocket costs.

We also run Meta ads during key moments, like Q4, and some credit cards offer bonus points specifically for ad spend. That’s been a huge advantage. My advice? Look at where your business spends the most, ads, inventory, software, and find a card that rewards you for those categories. 

When you're bootstrapping, every point and every dollar really does count.

Yes, the grants! First of all, there are a lot out there. It just takes research and some persistence. In the U.S. especially, there are people and organizations that truly want to help entrepreneurs, and I’ve been fortunate to tap into a few of those.

For example, early on, I was able to hire full-time employees whose salaries were covered by a grant. That saved me thousands of dollars right at the beginning. Some grants also offer dedicated funding, like $5,000 or more, for research and development, which helped move things forward fast.

When I first started, I didn’t apply to grants specifically for Latinas, but if I could go back, I’d absolutely include those in my search. I’ve since realized that these programs exist to help level the playing field. They're designed to support founders in building meaningful, sustainable businesses, and if you qualify, you should definitely go for them.

The Cartier Women’s Initiative, for instance, supports impact-driven businesses and ties beautifully into Everly’s sustainability story. There’s also Grants.gov, which is a huge database with thousands of federal programs. Also, platforms like Female Founder World regularly post updated grant opportunities.

A big learning for me has been: talk to people who’ve done it before you. Ask questions. Do the research. Writing grants is real work, but it’s so worth it. Because at the end of the day, you’re building something on your own terms, and you don’t owe anything to anyone.

Yes, and sometimes, it’s not just about the money. One incredible program I discovered was from The Detox Market. Working with them was honestly a dream come true, they aligned so beautifully with our mission.

They offer a program specifically for POC entrepreneurs called The Launchpad. It’s a multi-faceted experience where you collaborate with their creative team to learn best practices: what types of brands thrive, why they succeed, and how to position your own brand effectively.

You're part of a cohort of other POC founders, which creates a strong sense of community. And at the end of the program, there's a chance they’ll launch your brand in their stores. We were fortunate to be selected—and they placed us in all of their locations, across both Canada and the U.S. That was incredible.

Even beyond the retail opportunity, the program itself was just fantastic. It’s hands-on, strategic, and deeply educational. It’s not a grant per se, but it definitely lives in that same ecosystem. I highly recommend exploring these kinds of opportunities.

Legacy...the most important and beautiful surprise I’ve gotten...I’ve had many university students reach out and tell me they’ve done projects on the company. They’ve used us in school projects. They’ve reached out, like, “Hey, would you let me interview you for my assignment?” Students at Berkeley, it’s been so uplifting. 

For me, the intention behind this project was not only to become an entrepreneur, but to do something better. Better for the planet. Doing business in a better way. So if I can inspire a new wave of entrepreneurs to do business more consciously, that’s the legacy I want to leave.

That’s such a good question. To take the leap? I’d say, believe in yourself. Anything can become a reality. Be persistent.

My biggest piece of advice and the thing that’s helped me the most is: surround yourself with people who’ve walked the road before you. I’ve found so much guidance and support from people who had one, two, or three years of experience ahead of me, people who launched a product, made mistakes, and could tell me what to do and what not to do.

Find a community of like-minded people. You need that support. It’s the most rewarding, most fun thing in the world to have an idea, bring it to life, and see people want it. But it’s hard. There are really hard, really lonely days.