Wow! In celebration of National Women’s Small Business Month, we’ve been talking to women who run brilliant companies. We are humbled, fired up and proud to be in the company of these women who turned their ideas into smashing reality.
Today we bring you Tempest, a New York-based company at the forefront of changing the way we view alcohol, alcohol use and sobriety. Founder and CEO Holly Whitaker formed the company in 2014 after the difficult process of going sober herself. She found available treatment programs and methodologies to be irrelevant and alienating, and on the other side, she sought to create something different for others with similar experiences. Something modern, accessible and empowering.
Tempest offers online courses and community for people questioning their relationship with alcohol and those already trying to quit drinking. More than 5,000 people have completed courses. Through Tempest resources, students uncover their own, very personal motivations for using alcohol, then set unique paths for sobriety going forward.
Speaking of continuing recovery, some 60 percent of Tempest students convert from sobriety school to the company’s aftercare program. The program gives school alumni continued access to a community of support and topic- and identity-specific discussion groups.
Tempest is now focused on scaling up to broaden access to its treatment resources, placing a priority on educating the health care industry, particularly insurance companies, about its new approach to substance-use recovery. In 2019, Tempest succeeded in establishing the school as a covered expense from health savings accounts.
Tempest will also continue to educate the general public about the benefits of early intervention. Research shows that the time from when an individual first thinks their relationship with alcohol might be a problem, to when they seek and receive care, is 10 years. That’s too long.
Tempest is a humble yet aspirational brand, appropriately colored and supported by the thousands of people it has helped so far. Many of them go on to work at the company. We think it’s a brilliant brand, and we believe in what it’s doing in the world. Check it out today – the company offers a range of membership options.
Happy National Women’s Small Business Month!
Vladimir Jones is Colorado’s original independent, integrated advertising agency, with offices in Denver and Colorado Springs. We believe in brilliant brands and love making the world love them as much as we do.