Vantage Voices · Episode 04
Erica Carraway
The brand developer behind Key Wellness on building an ecosystem, partnership as give-first, and the lesson she wants her girls to inherit.
Hosted by Rachael Barclay · Key Wellness
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Erica Carraway does not build businesses. She builds an ecosystem, and every company in it is named for a key on a keyboard. Alt is the herbal coffee she created on her own journey of reversing her diabetes, packaged so sustainably she tells you to pour it into a thrifted glass and let the thing sustaining your body also sustain your story. Escape is retreats that heal through astrology and the elements. Shift is her marketing agency. And Control, the newest, is a creative marketplace where talent trades for equity instead of chasing the next contract.
Ask her what she does and even her daughters just say everything. In one sentence, she is a brand developer, and her real work is making square one un-scary, for herself and for everyone she builds with. She will not do one thing forever just because it worked.
She and Rachael met at the Columbia Tower Club, where it was clear neither of their visions fit inside four walls. Erica's superpower is partnership, and she does it give-first: she shows up, supports people first, and lets the business manifest from the relationship. It is the exact culture Vantage is built on, and she was throughout every fiber of the launch.
The heart of the episode is her two girls. When her daughter planned a birthday and wanted to hand out VIP passes so everybody would feel like a VIP, Erica knew that one was hers. She wants them to inherit one lesson, not the companies: that her real title, connector and creator, is not on any job description, and that sharing your spotlight is a power that only ever fuels you.
What Erica can give the room: confidence, brand development from square one, and partnership built relationship-first. What she is looking for, most of all, is people ready to invest their skill and time to build the team behind Control, plus clients for Shift and cafe vendors for Alt.
Find Erica at yourkeywellness.com and on Instagram at AmanoDior. Alt lives at alt_xcoffee, and you can find it at Art Noir in the Central District, Lululemon in University Village, and the cafe at the Friends Museum.
Sharing my spotlight is a power. It doesn't take from you. It fuels you more than you will ever give it credit for.
Let the thing that is sustaining your body also sustain your story.
My title is not one you will find on Indeed. It is connector and creator.
What Erica can give the room
- Confidence: people leave an experience with her believing more in themselves than when they walked in
- Brand development from square one, for creatives and entrepreneurs who fear starting over
- Partnership and connection, built relationship-first, never as a transaction
The introduction Erica is looking for
Most of all, people ready to invest their skill and time, not just cash, to build the team behind Control, her creative marketplace where talent trades for equity. She is also open to new clients for Shift, and cafe vendors who want to carry Alt.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Erica Carraway?
Erica Carraway is the founder of Key Wellness. They help creatives and entrepreneurs afraid of square one, and small businesses that need a brand built from the inside.
What can Erica offer other Vantage members?
Confidence: people leave an experience with her believing more in themselves than when they walked in; Brand development from square one, for creatives and entrepreneurs who fear starting over; Partnership and connection, built relationship-first, never as a transaction.
What is Erica looking for?
Most of all, people ready to invest their skill and time, not just cash, to build the team behind Control, her creative marketplace where talent trades for equity. She is also open to new clients for Shift, and cafe vendors who want to carry Alt.
What is Vantage Voices?
Vantage Voices is the podcast of Vantage, a members-first network in Seattle. Each episode is a short conversation with one member so the room can get to know them before they meet.
Every member gets a seat in this chair.
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