From College Startup to Sustainability Leaders: Earth Brands Inspires at Dartmouth

On October 23rd-24th, DartUP, Dartmouth's student social entrepreneurship program at the Magnuson Center, hosted Earth Brands CEOs Misha Vitels and Peter Frelinghuysen for an event series at Dartmouth College. Through a fireside chat and an interactive luncheon, Dartmouth students got a firsthand look at the social entrepreneurial story from the innovators behind Earth Brands—a company committed to making sustainable products, including their flagship biodegradable and compostable Earth Cups. 

Misha and Peter’s journey began as sophomores at Williams College, where they connected over a mutual commitment to sustainability. Their bond formed during orientation, where they guided new students on proper waste disposal. This experience heightened their awareness of the thousands of single-use plastic cups littering their campus after parties, highlighting a pressing environmental issue.

This experience inspired them to launch Earth Brands—a line of 100% plant-based, compostable products designed to replace traditional plastic. 

The Earth Brands founders raised their initial funds through a GoFundMe campaign and used the capital they raised to place an initial order of 100,000 cups. Misha explained that the “minimum order number of cups was 100,000” in order for the cups to don the Earth Cups branding. “We had no idea how long it would take to sell them,” Misha stated, “but we thought, alright, this is the minimum, so we have to try it. If it takes two years to sell them, it takes two years.”  

Their first major sale to Cisco Brewers moved 50,000 Earth Cups, clearing out half of their inventory in an instant. Buoyed by this success, they expanded their product line to include a broader range of eco-friendly options, rebranding as Earth Brands.

Though the founders were excited about the business, the sudden loss of inventory proved to be a major financial obstacle. “We waited six months for these 100,000 cups to arrive, and then we sold out of half in about a month,” Misha explained. “We realized we’d run out of inventory soon… So we started thinking—how do we raise money? How long is this going to take? And who the hell is going to give us money?”

Peter explained that attracting investors was a major learning experience. “It's kind of counterintuitive because, at first, you want to act like you know everything,” Peter said. “But smart investors can tell if you don’t have all the answers. Once we were more honest about that, it actually helped…Most of our investors told us that ‘At the end of the day, we're not investing in what you've done, but in what we believe you're going to do’”.

With this approach, Peter and Misha successfully navigated a seed funding round, raising over $2.5 million with support from prominent investors like Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Boston Celtics governor Wyc Grousbeck. This early funding provided a strong foundation to advance to a Series A round, allowing Earth Brands to scale operations and broaden its product line. 

Soon afterwards, Earth Brands began partnering with a variety of businesses, from coffee shops, restaurants, bars, and mom-and-pop shops, to chains with over a hundred locations. Their eco-friendly products soon appeared in locations like Blank Street Coffee, the Dallas American Airlines Center, and even Madison Square Garden—placing their products in the hands of tens of thousands of fans at basketball games and concerts. 

During their visit to Dartmouth, Misha and Peter engaged students through a two-part event series that offered a deep dive into the journey and mission of Earth Brands. The event kicked off with an evening fireside chat, where the CEOs shared their story, insights, and philosophies on social entrepreneurship. The following day, DartUP hosted a luncheon that provided students with an intimate setting to ask questions and learn directly from Misha and Peter about the realities of building a sustainability-focused business.

At the fireside chat, Peter and Misha discussed the values and lessons that have shaped Earth Brands, including a key philosophy from their college tennis coach that has become central to their approach to business. “He always used to always encourage us to stay neutral during a match,” Peter said. “There are ups and downs, big moments and small moments [in a match]...And we've adopted this mindset and used it in our business. When you're more neutral, you don't get phased by the ups and the downs.”

This mindset also helps them navigate their partnership. When asked if they always cooperate well, Peter admitted, “We’ve definitely had plenty of fights, plenty of disagreements… But we sit down, work them out, and talk openly. One of us has to convince the other, and then we’re both on board. I think that’s why we balance each other out well. We stay neutral ourselves, and in a way, we neutralize each other.”

The following day, on Thursday, October 24th, DartUP and Earth Brands hosted a luncheon, providing a more intimate space for the CEOs to open the floor to student questions. Peter and Misha shared insights about working in sustainability, refining their products, navigating the startup experience, and the mindset behind running a successful business. 

“When we first started Earth Cups, we didn’t plan for it to be a for-profit company,” Misha explained. “We initially wanted to be a nonprofit, but we realized that to replace all Solo cups in the country quickly and with scale, we needed a for-profit model. This way, we could take on investment, buy machines, and build a marketing team…and at our core, we're fully sustainability-driven”.

Though not experts in sustainability themselves, Misha and Peter continue to improve their product with help from experts. Earth Brands’ most notable item, the Earth Cup, relies on bioplastics and is entirely carbon neutral; whether disposed of in your backyard, landfill, or even the ocean—within 90 days, Earth Cups will break down 99.1% into the soil. “We just talked to experts—material scientists, chemists, even professors at Williams...and now, we have people on our team who have relevant material science or engineering backgrounds,” Peter explained.

Expanding on their commitment to innovation, Peter shared their biggest current initiative: establishing their own manufacturing facility. “We’ve opened up what we’re calling Earth Base—a facility about 45 minutes outside Kansas City, where we’re now printing on cups, manufacturing cups, and producing other products ourselves rather than relying on third parties,” he explained. “It’s a big step to have our own space, our own workforce, and control over production. Setting up a 30,000-square-foot facility with massive machines is all new to us.” 

Peter also highlighted their focus on material science, which “goes hand in hand” with production. “We’re investing in testing, blending, and mixing different materials, which will help us differentiate our product line and bring more innovative products to market.”

Reflecting on the journey, Peter emphasized managing growth by staying focused. “We've learned [to avoid] saying yes to everything,” Peter noted as an important lesson. “For example, customers still request unique items like Banana Split bowls in unusual sizes. Early on, we’d say, ‘Yes, we can do anything,’ but now we’re prioritizing our core products—our bread and butter—to help us scale effectively.” Misha agreed, explaining that this disciplined approach allows Earth Brands to balance customer requests with sustainable growth.

As Earth Brands continues to grow, Misha and Peter remain committed to their mission of making sustainable choices accessible to everyone through eco-friendly products.