The Story
Kevin Espiritu is the founder of Epic Gardening, the world's most followed gardening brand. What started as a hobby blog in 2013 has grown into a business doing tens of millions in revenue per year - bootstrapped to $7.3 million and beyond.
Kevin grew up in San Diego, really into science and math. When he was 13, his dad passed away in a swimming accident - a moment that made him exceptionally independent and stopped caring what anyone thought he should do. After graduating college with no clear direction, he spent months trying random hobbies: night photography, drumming 6-8 hours a day, video games.
In 2013, he started gardening with his brother just to break the pattern and get outside. He fell in love with it and registered a blog - not thinking it would be anything but a hobby. He moved in with his mom's ex, then a friend, spending 12 hours a day writing blog articles and trying to get traffic. Within 2-3 months, the blog was making $2-3K/month. By late 2016, it hit $4-5K/month - an accountant's salary. That's when Epic Gardening became "a real thing."
Key Insights
The Power of Curiosity
- •"Curiosity as an entrepreneur is what propels you"
- •Kevin is innately curious about everything: how to grow plants, how e-commerce works, how to lead a team, how to hire
- •Sometimes you go down rabbit holes that seem purposeless, then "lo and behold a year later, two years later, there it is"
Revenue Growth Timeline
- •2016 (first 6 months full-time): $70,400
- •2017: $75,000
- •2018: $225,000
- •2019: $540,000
- •2020: $2.8 million
- •2021: $7.3 million
- •Roughly tripled or more every year
The Product Lightbulb Moment
- •As a creator, brands wanted to sponsor his content
- •Realization: "Why would I not just be the brand who would sponsor my own content?"
- •Noticed everyone kept asking about a specific product: corrugated metal raised beds
- •The product existed overseas but not in America
- •Put up a "crappy Shopify store," posted an Instagram story, sold all 250 units in 2 weeks
- •2019: $250K media revenue + $250K product revenue
- •"The actual business is beneath the educational mat I was putting out"
Day in the Life
- •Some days: Making lots of content and videos
- •Some days: Meetings (product development, executive, partnerships)
- •Has to block schedule for actual gardening time with no agenda
- •Hard to turn the brain off: "Oh that'd be a cool video, that'd be a cool concept"
The Homestead
- •Third of an acre in suburban San Diego
- •1,000 sq ft house with girlfriend
- •Nine hens, 300+ plants, 25 fruit trees
- •Epic Gardening HQ: filming content, testing products, growing seed varieties
Key Advice
"A lot of beginners will say 'I need to know stuff before I do stuff.' You don't need to know as much as you think. You don't need a fully baked business plan, business cards, and website registration before figuring out if anyone wants what you're selling. Consume some knowledge, but immediately put it into action. I spent so many times spinning my cycles on learning without doing - you're really just treading water doing nothing in the real world."