Katrina Thompkins could quite easily be deemed a modern-day hero. It’s not just the fact that she’s a registered nurse who’s been working on the frontline during the pandemic, but also that she has successfully launched a thriving business during that same time. Best of all? It’s a business designed to help people who are suffering.
K’dara CBD is a health and wellness brand that makes the pharmaceutical grade, full-spectrum CBD products. It already sells a growing list of items under its banner, including oils, tinctures, gummies and pain creams. Everything is high-quality and organic – and it’s already making a difference to people.
The company is still just over one year old but it’s already earned a loyal customer base. The brand’s social media impact is one of the best ways to determine just how much it has resonated with people, with it currently having over 10,000 followers on Instagram.
This is all the more impressive when you consider that Katrina still works as a nurse. She’s been working hard to save lives and make people comfortable at hospitals in New York, one of the worst-hit places for coronavirus in the United States. This is clearly inspirational and tells you a lot about this young entrepreneur.
Katrina was born and raised in Arlington, Texas, where she was a natural basketball player in high school. It wasn’t until she injured herself that she came to see just how much difference a nurse can make to someone’s life. Katrina then changed course and trained to go into the profession. The stage was set for her to start her first job after she earned a degree in nursing from Baylor University.
While making an impact in hospitals in Texas, Katrina always held a belief that there were endless benefits to herbal medicine. This is because her grandmother, Clover, had used plants, herbs and natural remedies to treat illnesses. Clover sadly passed away from breast cancer, but it’s Katrina’s belief that if she was still alive today then the cannabis plant and its components would be a big part of her life.
Katrina – who due to her job is no stranger to seeing pain and suffering – set out to help people when she became a CBD product retailer with K’dara CBD. The name is a subtle nod to her grandmother, with the ‘K’ representing Clover while the ‘dara’ part means ‘wisdom’ in Hindu.
While the business is already popular and now boasts a range of products for pets as well as people, Katrina has been outspoken about some of the funding issues she’s encountered – sometimes as a result of being a black woman.
She told The Story Exchange:
“One of the biggest pain points is funding – it’s a challenge for women and minority entrepreneurs in general, and the cannabis industry is no exception. CBD is a very capital-intensive industry, there are no federal loans or funds – it’s either people self-funding or getting private investors.”
It’s important to remember that Katrina’s brand is young. We can only hope that she’s able to secure the private investors she needs to help the company grow and expand the number of people in which she’s able to help.