Meeting with Laure Bouguen, founder of Ho Karan
Hello Laure, can you introduce yourself and tell us about your background in a few words?
My name is Laure Bouguen, I just turned 30 and I have been an entrepreneur for 6 years now. I created HO KARAN during my studies in business school with the desire to show that hemp (or cannabis sativa) heals, that it soothes, and that it can allow us to consume and produce in a more responsible way. In short, it's just one plant and the answer to dozens of problems!
Tell us about your Ho Karan brand and your daily mission?
HO KARAN's mission is to de-stress urban dwellers thanks to the soothing properties of hemp. For this we have created products (sublingual oils, infusions, creams, serums…) but also experiences like our No Stress Studio at the Hoy hotel where we offer three complete treatments with holistic therapists.
What are the benefits of hemp and CBD?
Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the cannabinoids found in hemp flower. The best known is THC, which is psychotropic and prohibited, but there are more than 120 cannabinoids. CBD is non-psychotropic, but it is soothing and relaxing. It can be used as well sublingual oil or infusion to de-stress as in topical application. COSING (the large European database of cosmetic ingredients) has also recognized CBD as an antioxidant, anti-seborrheic and skin protector. It can therefore be used to slow cell aging and fight against free radicals, as well as to regulate excess sebum.
Other parts of the hemp plant are very interesting, such as the seeds which provide an oil that is very well balanced in essential fatty acids which will regenerate the skin or make it possible to supplement with omega 3 or the essential oil resulting from the distillation of the flower which is antibacterial and very soothing.
Everything is good in hemp!
How do you manage to teach about this plant which still raises a lot of questions?
We create a lot of content: on our social networks, our blog, and now via a podcast. We also work in partnership with well-being professionals (naturopaths, sophrologists, yoga teachers, etc.) and content creators on instagram and youtube, who relay the brand.
We also co-founded the Syndicat Professionnel du Chanvre in 2017 to educate political decision-makers and help advance regulations around hemp so that consumers have access to healthy products.
How do you manage your daily life as an entrepreneur?
I have had a very different daily life for the past few months. Before the covid crisis we had an office in Nantes and an office in Paris and I went back and forth almost weekly between the 2 cities and teams. We now work entirely remotely. So I made the choice to leave Nantes, the city where I started HO KARAN, to explore other countries and in particular Portugal which attracted me a lot. I live in colivings, airbnbs or with friends sometimes, and I come back once a month to Paris and Nantes for meetings and to see the team. We work very well remotely with points in video, by phone, by email or slack.
What are your well-being and anti-stress tips? How do you like to unwind?
I think that well-being is above all a state of alignment between who we are, who we want to be and what we do to achieve it. It's a perpetual quest because it's complicated to know yourself well and we change during our lives. It is also based on a set of factors: health, love, economic and social success, etc. For years I made "roadmaps" for HO KARAN, annual plans that I presented to my teams and to my investors and that I was committed to achieving. I assumed that my personal life should follow this plan as well. This year I made a personal roadmap, completely unrelated to that of my company, with my own objectives in terms of health, sport, places I want to visit, friends I want to spend time with, etc. And every last Sunday of the month I read it again to see where I am, if I finally added or removed things. It's a kind of personal check-up to check that I'm still in my shoes, aligned between what I'm doing and what I want to be, and where I wonder if I appreciate the journey as much as the destination.
During the first confinement I was in my apartment, alone in Nantes, and what I missed the most was the water. I love being both on the water and underwater. I practice freediving and it is one of the most relaxing methods I have found. Since I returned my apartment at the beginning of 2021, I have therefore always settled near the sea, which is the best place to recharge my batteries.
Finally, you tested La Sérénité d'Hygée, what did you think of it?
Obviously ! I put Serenity powder in my bottle in the morning. I drink a lot of water so I usually finish it around noon. The taste is slightly harsh but that doesn't bother me. For those who are sensitive to taste, just put it in a tea or yogurt rather than directly in water. I'm also a big CBD consumer so between adaptogens and cannabinoids, my days are pretty serene :)
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