How an Accidental Entrepreneur Went from No Orders to Sold Out Overnight

This Is Small Business

What if your business took off before you were ready? No team. No investors. Just a homemade product and a sudden wave of demand. That’s exactly what happened to Adria Marshall, founder of Ecoslay. When her flaxseed hair gel went viral overnight, she had to decide: shut it down or take the risk and build something bigger. Host Andrea Marquez unpacks how Adria scaled her side hustle into a purpose-driven brand, why staying small was her boldest move, and how she learned to embrace risk despite being a planner obsessed Virgo. Adria’s journey will show you how to build something real with what you already have. No MBA, no perfect plan – just purpose, persistence, and a few exploding jars along the way. If you’re waiting for the “perfect” moment to start, this is your sign: the mess is the journey.

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In this episode you’ll hear:

(01:47) Can solving your own problem turn into a business? Hear how Adria’s hair journey – and an obsession with DIY – sparked the beginnings of Ecoslay.

(05:00) Do you have to know what you’re doing before you start? Adria talks about launching her first product with no experience and no formal plan.

(06:53) What do you do when an expert says your idea won’t work? Adria hires a chemist who said her formula was impossible – so she proved him wrong.

(08:13) What would you do if your side hustle goes viral overnight? The moment a YouTuber changed everything for Ecoslay and how Adria juggled the chaos with a full-time job.

(14:40) What if your product starts exploding in the mail? The hard (and messy) lessons Adria learned and how she bounced back from her mistakes.

(16:38) How do you keep going when everything feels like too much? Adria shares how she grounds herself in difficult moments – and why making risky, values-driven decisions (like ditching plastic packaging) became her boldest moves.

(22:27) Still waiting for the “perfect” moment to start? Why Adria now sees risk as a teacher – and how she learned to bet on herself before she felt ready.