Meet Cara Oppenheimer and Cary Fortin, the founders of goodbuy. The two are on a mission to make shopping feel good by making conscious shopping easy. Read on to learn about the working moms and entrepreneurs behind goodbuy—the easy button for conscious shopping.
It’s likely that if Cary and Cara had a shared Instagram account, their bio would read:
Two working moms of four littles, trying to solve the world’s problems, with our own special blend of empathy and aggressiveness. In a relationship with each other, but married to other people.
Here at goodbuy, we’re all about origin stories and Cara and Cary’s is no exception. Five years ago, the two didn’t know the other existed. As recent Idaho transplants (Cara from LA and Cary from SF) showed up to tour a local daycare (partners and pregnant bellies in tow). Cary’s partner made some crass, out-loud comment about the lack of diversity in the classroom and Cara, (enjoying the comment, a lot more than the daycare), decided in that moment that her new friends were in that room. The rest is history.
Cary and Cara delivered their oldest kids in the same hospital two days apart, high-fiving as one left and the other entered, shared a mid-winter maternity leave, and have been great friends (and now business partners) ever since. Despite the fact Cary loves reggae and minimalism and Cara EDM and maximalism, the two are the ultimate dynamic duo, complimenting one another like bagels and cream cheese, their commitment to supporting small businesses is unmatched.
Before pursuing life as an entrepreneur, Cara lived the “agency life” for 17 years as a Creative Director, managing, building, and directing the vision for creative teams and Fortune 100 brands. While it may sound like a not-so-humble brag, its relevance is worth noting, as her experiences — archetyping consumers, understanding their motivations, and implementing meaningful experiences that resonated — are all part of goodbuy every day.
Cara is a strong believer in hands-on mentorship, elevating the people around her, and in ordering one of everything off the menu. Over the years she spent in the agency world, Cara learned a lot about what it meant to be a brand that lived its values, and unfortunately (on occasion), what it meant when a brand did not.
So, with those incredible learnings in her repertoire, and a deep long-standing desire to build something of her own, Cara started in on her second life building goodbuy. A brand that will live its values and live up to its promise as often, and as much, as humanly possible.
Cary has always been an entrepreneur and collaborator. She co-founded her first company, New Minimalism: Decluttering + Redesign, in 2013.
New Minimalism stood squarely at the intersection of beautiful, sustainable design and simplified living. Cary’s role was part-therapist, part-cheerleader (a role she was born for), helping people see beautiful potential for their homes and lives beyond fast fashion and mindless consumption.
Her work at New Minimalism was showcased in the New York Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Sunset Magazine, Refinery29, Design Sponge and more, leading to a two-part book deal. Those books sold out on Amazon twice, were published in multiple languages, and sold in over a dozen countries.
Cary brings to goodbuy a diligent and compassionate focus on community building, a commitment to live brand values, and an endless well of empathy and love for small business owners and consumers doing their best to shop intentionally in our hectic world.
Together, Cara and Cary envision a future where their children and all children are celebrated, honored, and systemically supported for being their truest, most liberated selves. If they happen to choose to work in or run small businesses, all the better 😉.
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