Adi Arezzini is the Co-Founder & CEO of Teami Blends, a lifestyle brand that creates wellness and skincare products inspired by the health benefits of tea! Starting Teami at the age of 23 in her bedroom while living at her mother's house, she had a dream of helping others figure out their digestion and gut health naturally after having gone through her own digestive issues during her service in the Israeli Defence Forces.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself, and what inspired you to start Teami Blends?
Sure! When I was 19 I decided to spontaneously move to Israel and join the Israeli Defence Forces. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life at that point and felt like I needed to do something drastic! I loved my military service and that is where I fell in love with exercise and nutrition- I was a Fitness Bootcamp Instructor for artillery soldiers. However, about a year and a half into my service I started having terrible digestive issues...I was only going to the bathroom once a week! Gross, I know. That is when I started looking for natural solutions for my gut health. 

What does your typical day look like?
LOL the word typical isn’t a word that a business owner usually has in their dictionary. But let me give it a shot:

6:30AM wake up + go to the gym or group fitness class
9:00AM start work at the Teami HQ!
9:00-10:00 - check in with all the executives and managers to ensure everyone is on track + answer important emails.
10:00-12:00 - meetings with retailers, phone calls with product development team, etc.
1:00-6:00 - check in with the warehouse and fulfillment teams, work on website improvements, planning social media calendar for @teamiblends and finalizing promotional calendar for email marketing.

That is just a random day, but each day is completely its own adventure! I never know what’s going to come at me, bad or good! 

What was the worst piece of advice you’ve ever received? 
“Don’t have business partners- you can’t trust anyone but yourself”

Without my business partner I would not have been able to build Teami to what it is today. I think that it is all about having the RIGHT partner that has different skills than you to bring to the table. 

What does success mean to you?
This has changed for me so many times. In the beginning I thought it meant making lots of sales, then I thought it was about being profitable, other times I thought it was about how much PR the company was having… but none of that is true for me in this exact moment.

Success to me means having happy and satisfied customers who love my products and brand...and want to support us and what we are doing! It also means having a great team atmosphere at the Teami HQ with our team...when I can promote someone or give them a big reward it shows me that I have been a successful leader and given them the space to achieve great things for the brand and for them personally! 

In moments of self-doubt or adversity, how do you build yourself back up
Man, what a tough one. I have to be fully honest here, the last 3 months have been TOUGH. I have cried multiple times in my office after everyone leaves for the day. I have made mistakes and I have doubted myself hard. We are the hardest on ourselves, it’s so true. 

One thing I do when I feel like I’m failing is I list all of the things I have done RIGHT. Even if it’s just small things like getting a project completed or handling a hard situation. I try to validate the good things I am doing and not just look at the bad. Doing this over and over and FORCING myself to do it is the only way I get out of the feeling that “I can’t do it”. 

It’s a skill that has to be practiced. I practice daily.

Do you have any morning routines or evening rituals to help you stay balanced?
Morning exercise is my thing! It’s the only time throughout the day that I don’t get constant communication on my phone or email. I then always make some sort of green juice or smoothie that I add adaptogen powders to. I’m obsessed right now with adaptogens from @moodbeli :) 

What’s your go-to Teami Tea Blend?
I would have to say our Teami 30 day detox! I made it 6 years ago as a way to cleanse and get back on track and I still do it 5-6 times per year! When I’m not detoxing you can catch me drinking Teami Focus so I can get stuff done ;). 

Where can we find you?
@adiarezzini ! I mainly post real life behind the scenes of being a business owner, can’t say I’m much of a content creator but I try 😉

If you liked this interview, you might like our recent interview with Avalon Lukacs, founder of Aura Inner Beauty.