388 | Leveraging Funding to Expand Your Business with Zeba Parkar, Treleaf

Apr 8, 2025

Zeba Parkar, the founder of Treleaf, shares her journey in crafting stunning laser-cut trellises while navigating the complexities of business funding. She discusses the pros and cons of leveraging debt for growth, highlighting strategic ways to use loans and grants. Zeba emphasizes the balance between spontaneity and planning when expanding through trade shows, and offers insights on effective cash flow management. This engaging chat reveals the importance of understanding financing options and the power of responsible borrowing for entrepreneurs.

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INSIGHT

Funding Complexity in Product Businesses

Growing a product-based business requires significant investment and carries higher risks compared to service-based businesses.
Funding sources include self-funding, grants, debt, and investors, each with different implications.

ANECDOTE

13 Trade Shows in 2024

Zeba Parkar and Treleaf did 13 trade shows in 2024, many unplanned but seized as opportunities arose.
This aggressive trade show participation helped grow their wholesale business significantly.

INSIGHT

Niche Shows Better ROI

Targeted niche trade shows yield better ROI than larger generic shows with high foot traffic.
Quality of attendees matters more than quantity for product sales and brand growth.

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Let's talk money. Money is a necessity in business, but it can also be a pain point, particularly for product-based business owners because our investments, overhead, and risks are generally heightened compared to service-based businesses.

We not only need to make money, but we also need to spend money for future expansion and growth. But where does that money come from? How are people doing this? We get this question a lot when we talk with our students.

Many brands in our industry are self-funded, meaning that they use their own money for start-up costs and then they reinvest those revenues or profits back into the business.

Another option is grants. We talked with Ashley Sutton of Hustle and Hope in episode 374 about how she has utilized grants to grow her business, and grants are funding that we do not need to pay back.

Today, we're gonna talk about leveraging debt and funding as a means to expand your business. I do not want to glorify going into debt for your business, but I do believe and know firsthand that there are responsible ways to leverage debt and essentially use other people's money for strategic growth within your business.

And that's why I asked Zeba Parkar from Treleaf to come back on the podcast. Zeba was on the podcast for episode 320, where we talked about the challenges she was facing in bringing a new product to life.

She does these incredible laser cut trellises and modern plant accessories that she manufactures in-house in her studio and warehouse, and she has a whole team and a lot of equipment.

Since then, she has expanded her business even more, and some of that has been done through funding from outside sources.

Zeba and I catch up on what's been happening in her business since late 2023, since we last talked on the podcast, including how she did 13 trade shows in 2024. We discussed her approach to finding funding for her business and different loan options that she looked at, including Shopify Capital, and lines of credit options.

We also talked about hurdles that she came up against when she started applying for this type of funding and she shared things that she wished she had known before she started applying for different types of funding.

Today’s episode is brought to you by our Proof to Product resource library. It’s where you can get your hands on our free resources to help you start, streamline and scale your business in your own way and at your own pace.

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You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/388

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