From One Crockpot to a Closed-Loop Soap Company: Alyssa Cherry on Starting Small, Staying Scrappy, and Building Fillaree

Alyssa Cherry did not grow up with one clear dream mapped out in front of her.

What she did have was a belief that the world could be better—and that ordinary people could do something to help make it that way.

That belief became personal when Alyssa started paying closer attention to her own family's waste. She composted. She carried reusable bottles. She looked for ways to use less and throw away less. Then one question kept bothering her: why couldn't she simply refill the cleaning products she already owned instead of constantly buying another container?

A trip to California changed everything.

There, Alyssa walked into a refill store and saw the idea she had been imagining brought to life. The next day, she saw another refill setup at a farmers market. She turned to her mom and sister and asked whether she could go back to North Carolina, teach herself how to make liquid soap, and start a refill company.

Then she did the work.

With a library book, a YouTube video, a thrift-store Crockpot, and a lot of persistence, Alyssa began experimenting. Her first batch failed. So did many after that. It took 85 tries before she made a clear, consistent batch she felt confident selling.

More than a decade later, Fillaree has grown from one Crockpot to large production tanks, a small team, dozens of retail partners across the country, a Durham storefront, and a partnership providing amenities to the Inn at the Biltmore Estate.

But Alyssa's story is not about overnight success. It is about organic growth, small wins, learning as you go, listening to your intuition, and doing what you can with what you have.

For any woman waiting until she has the entire roadmap before beginning, Alyssa offers another way forward: figure out the first few steps, take them, and let the next ones reveal themselves along the way.

Key Discussion Points

• 01:44 — Alyssa shares that she did not grow up with one specific career dream and describes herself as an idealist who believed the world could be made better.