Carly de Castro, Co-Founder of Pressed Juicery
Carly de Castro is Co-Founder of LA’s cold-pressed juicing juggernaut, Pressed Juicery, which now boasts locations nationwide. De Castro says, “One thing I’m very proud of is Pressed’s growth as a company. When we started the business, we had one location in a 22 square foot broom closet in Brentwood. We had no idea if this concept would catch on. My co-founders and I were making the juice ourselves by hand, sometimes juicing through the night to make sure we had enough product for the next day. We didn’t even have a formal business plan or traditional outside funding. Now, we have over 40 stores in five states. We employ over 500 people. We’re still growing like crazy and will have close to 70 stores by the end of the year.” But nothing’s better than taking 5-year-old son Luca and 18-month-old daughter Francesca to the beach near their Santa Monica home. And as for doing it all, De Castro says, “Go easy on yourself. You can’t do everything perfectly, so try to get comfortable with giving each part of your life what you can and not setting your expectations so high that you are always letting yourself down. I find that my focus on each area in my life ebbs and flows…I am always a mother first, and there are quieter parenting weeks for me where I can devote more to work, and vice versa. No one knows what they’re doing, so take comfort in the fact that we’re all trying to figure it out together!”
photo: Carly de Castro