Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria Webb.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My father is a brilliant self-taught photographer and graphic designer. My mom is an expert in business management. Nearly a decade before I was born, the two of them opened up a photography studio and built a flourishing family business. He was the creative, and she made sure the numbers made sense. I don’t know if it’s nature or nurture but, thanks to my parents, the only thing that matches my passion for business is my love for the creative.
In 2013, I received my bachelor of arts from Clark Atlanta University in Public Relations – a major I chose because I felt that it would allow me to explore both my business and creative talents. Immediately after, I enrolled in Full Sail University’s entertainment business program for the same reason. I graduated with my master’s in September of 2014, and just this June I completed the Creative Business Leadership masters program at SCAD.
In March of 2017, I was affected by a large round of layoffs at the advertising agency I’d called home for four years. It was bittersweet – I knew I’d eventually leave the agency, but I had been hesitant to do so. I wasn’t ready to take that leap. Now, I know being laid off was the push I had needed. I decided to turn my part-time side hustle into my full-time business, providing social media services for small local businesses and then, a chance encounter with an old friend led me to Cultiv8.
When I moved to Atlanta in 2008 to begin my post-secondary education, it was the first time I had been away from my small hometown for any longer than the average vacation and I immediately fell in love. Atlanta was warm, colorful, loud and best of all: different – truly unique. I felt like it was the beginning chapter of the very best part of my life, and it was.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has not been easy, but of course, nothing ever is. I’ve long dealt with severe anxiety and depression, but I’ve persisted still. As an undergraduate, I was plagued with what many might call bad luck and others might call sheer misfortune – I wouldn’t call it either. My first year, I was about $12,000 short of being able to pay my tuition and my family was unable to support me financially. Many of the courses that I took (and passed) at Clark Atlanta University, I took without the luxury of textbooks. I could not afford them.
One month into my fourth year at Clark Atlanta, I found out I was pregnant with my son. I finished the semester before moving back to Louisiana. I got a job at a boutique, enrolled in three courses at McNeese State University and for the next four months, I waddled to and from work and class. On May 9th, 2012, I drove to campus to take two final exams. Halfway through my physical science final, I started having painful contractions. I ignored them but they kept coming. I finished that final, and then I finished another before I went home. With five weeks until my due date, it hadn’t even occurred to me that I was in labor, but the pain was so daunting that I called my doctor. That night at 11:56 pm, Pierce was born. I had been in labor for over twelve hours. My doctor joked that Pierce knew how important my finals were, so he had taken his time. That Autumn, I left with my three-month-old son to move back to Atlanta and finish what I’d started, where I’d started it. What followed was (what I thought were) the hardest nine months of my life, but I graduated from Clark Atlanta like I’d said I would since I was 14.
Earlier this year, I was assaulted by an Atlanta Police Department officer who had been called in response to a simple noise complaint. My kneecap was fractured and dislocated. I thought that I had experienced trauma but that redefined the word for me. It changed my life. All the while, I was working full time to help Cultiv8 come to fruition. Juggling motherhood, school, physical therapy, doctors appointments, Cultiv8, and self-care has been the new “hardest months of my life”. But seeing Cultiv8’s success makes it all worth it.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Cultiv8 Hemp Solutions, Inc story. Tell us more about it.
Cultiv8 Hemp Solutions partners with farmers and landowners all over the country (and soon, the world) to grow industrial hemp to be used for biodegradable paper, plastic, biofuel, and protein to name a few. I’m a co-founder and the Chief Creative Officer of the company, Cultiv8 is dedicated to developing biodegradable alternatives to paper and plastic products in an effort to reduce plastic waste and foster a culture that improves the social, economic and environmental welfare of the world.
The industrial hemp market is potentially a trillion dollar market because of the 50,000-plus products that it can replace, from paper and plastic to building materials.
We definitely hope that with this opportunity, we can help contribute to economic prosperity in rural and farm communities while increasing the presence of Black farmers nationwide. In 1920, Black farmers represented nearly 14 percent of the country’s farmers. Now, that number is lower than 2 percent and they account for about 2 percent of agricultural sales. With the low production costs associated with hemp when compared to cotton, soybean, and corn, we believe we can make a real change in more ways than one.
We provide the landowners who participate in our program with all of the operational costs, machinery, seeds, technology, and labor they need. In return for the use of their land, we pay them a percentage of the net profit from our end product.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Hemp is a completely new industry with endless possibilities. Currently, the market is expected to grow exponentially, reaching into the trillions within the next 5-10 years. It’s an exciting time for us, especially with the recent federal legalization of industrial hemp. We have access to resources like never before and everyone is looking to get into this lucrative business. This has been great for us and has helped us to get unheard of funding and opportunities.
Contact Info:
- Website: cultiv8hs.com
- Email: info@cultiv8hs.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/cultiv8hs
- Facebook: facebook.com/cultiv8hs
- Twitter: twitter.com/cultiv8hs
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