Newsletter #19: An Interview with the Founder of ZEYA

Aimee LeMaire is the founder and CEO of ZEYA, an innovative home fragrance system that launched in Target stores and online in April 2025.  Below is the transcript of an interview that Aimee had with Karl Bracken, CEO of Ocampo Capital, on August 18^th, 2025.

Karl: Hi Aimee- thank you very much for taking the time for this interview!  At Ocampo Capital, we have enjoyed working with you and ZEYA this year, and it has been exciting to see the results after your launch at Target this spring.  My first question for you is: what is ZEYA?

Aimee: Happy to be here and to talk about ZEYA.  ZEYA is a wellness minded home fragrance brand that is bringing clean, luxurious fragrances to a mass audience at an attainable price point.

Karl: What inspired you to start ZEYA?

Aimee: As most parents do, when I got our dog and had our first baby, I became extremely vigilant about the types of products and chemicals I brought into our home. Everything from cleaning products to baby wipes were all-natural/organic. Fragrance products are notorious for their lack of transparency and were among the first to go. No one wants their newborn breathing in toxic chemicals, so we became a fragrance-free household. The problem is babies and dogs stink and I LOVE home fragrance. The only option I found for home scenting that met my stringent criteria was essential oil diffusers that were cumbersome, messy, and only lasted eight hours before needing to be refilled. As a new mom and pet parent, I didn’t have the time or frankly the will to deal with it every day.  I was shocked that there was not an easy, healthy option for luxurious home fragrance that helped to reduce stress, so I set out to create one.

Karl: I recently saw a news article in which a leading physician called out scented candles, sprays and heated diffusers as potentially toxic.  What specifically makes ZEYA different?

Aimee: Our ZEYA Portable Fragrance Diffuser does not use heat to diffuse the fragrance. Many products like wax melts, plug ins, and some candles work by heating petroleum products or plastic. That process can create off gassing of nasty and carcinogenic chemicals that I didn’t feel comfortable bringing into my home. We designed ZEYA to be heatless, so our technology and diffusion process does not create that off gassing of toxic chemicals. We also are extremely strict in our formulations for our fragrance oils, so that we don’t contain known endocrine disruptors, allergens, and dangerous synthetics. Our formulas qualify for clean formula programs like Target Zero and Sephora Clean because we want people to feel good about what they are bring into their home and breathing every day.

Karl: I am biased, but I think the way you built the ZEYA system is brilliant.  I can’t believe I have never asked you this next question before, but how did you come up with the name of your company?

Aimee: “ZEYA” means radiance or a source of light in Arabic. Our goal is to bring moments of joy to people’s homes and lives through a simplified, luxurious approach to home scenting. I felt like the name aligned with our mission to bring more positivity and wellbeing into the world. When you set your home up to be a supportive tool in your wellness arsenal to help you rest and restore balance, you are naturally more radiant and can tackle the world from a place of peace and warmth.

Karl: Ah- that’s cool.  Makes sense!  What have been the most memorable moments or milestones in ZEYA’s history, thus far?

Aimee: It’s hard to choose one because I have had an incredible journey that is just getting started. Getting into Target nationwide is extremely memorable. Meeting all the people who bring that channel to life and spending time in the midwest was very special. Attending my first ExpoWest was an eye-opening experience. Seeing how many talented teams are creating new and innovative products for the world was most exciting. The brands are the ones that are a part of people’s everyday life. Then realizing that ZEYA is one of those brands that people are excited about and interested in bringing in their home was such an honor. Even the fundraising journey has had its memorable and exhilarating moments.

Karl: What’s the biggest challenge you have faced thus far as a company?

Aimee: Technically, I should say managing the Target channel, but for me the hardest part has been to narrow down the brand voice. We are a universally appealing product that people of a large range of ages and backgrounds are interested in, so homing in on a voice that appeals to an older generation as well as a younger generation has been the most challenging.

Karl: Well, the good news is you have advisors and partners that helped you with the technical challenges of launching a brand at retail, and you did a nice job executing that launch.  Why did you choose to take the path of launching directly into Target?

Aimee: Taking an omnichannel approach was important to me because scent is an analogue experience. It’s impossible to sample product through your screen. Launching with Target allowed us to meet our customers where they are already and make the trial and sampling aspect as seamless as possible. We want to be easy to use and easy to buy.

Karl:  What advice would you give other entrepreneurs?

Aimee: Keep pushing. Don’t give up. The biggest opportunity could be right around the corner.

Karl: What is the best advice you have received from another entrepreneur?

Aimee: Don’t be precious with your ideas and creations. Bringing in a solid team with their own set of great ideas and creating the right amount of friction to polish the idea will bring to life something better than you could have imagined. Several heads are better than one. Also, there is no silver bullet to success. It is just grinding daily to get incremental market share, listening to the feedback, and iterating. Your first idea won’t be perfect, so take the feedback in stride and make your product better. The worst thing you can do is wait until you have a “perfect product” because you are creating in a vacuum. Ideas that are shared get better, but keep in mind that you must be discerning about what feedback to take and what to leave aside.

Karl: That’s very interesting.  What traits in entrepreneurs are most crucial to success, in your experience?

Aimee: People skills, problem solving, and tenacity are the most critical skills. The ability to look for and solve problems that consumers are facing is the first step in developing a product that people want. Problem solving is also critical every step of the way in building a company because things will always go wrong and you must have the ability to pivot, and problem solve quickly and effectively to stay on course to success. Tenacity is essential because you will be rejected, doubted, sometimes laughed at or your idea sneered at, and the journey is not easy or straight forward. Grit is essential to shake off the emotions and continue to press forward with what you believe in.

Karl: What do you see as the biggest upcoming challenges and opportunities for ZEYA?

Aimee: We treat our customers individually and on a one-on-one basis. I know their names and preferences and upcoming life events. As we expand into larger retailers nationwide, maintaining a close relationship with our customers will be more challenging. We are setting up systems in place, so that we continue to operate like a small business while at scale.

Karl: How do you leverage advisors?

Aimee: My advisors have been invaluable to me to supplement the areas where I don’t necessarily have the seasoned expertise like retail, venture capital, etc. I constantly leverage them as a sounding board, method of connecting with necessary talent, and therapist. Launching a company is challenging with the odds of success against it and my advisors have been instrumental in helping me avoid pitfalls and steer the company in the direction of rapid growth and success. I feel incredibly lucky to have found a group of individuals who are top of class and truly believe in what we are building with ZEYA.

Karl: What does an ideal advisor look like to you?

Aimee: The ideal advisor is an active participant who understands operating a business and that it’s not always pretty. They must be someone who the entrepreneur feels comfortable with sharing the truth, so that the advisor can provide helpful advice. They are an expert in their field with years if not decades of experience and preferably someone who has launched and scaled a business previously. A willingness to give time, knowledge, and an open rolodex makes the most impactful and helpful advisors.

Karl: With my last question I am going to turn the tables: what kind of advice do you have for me and Ocampo Capital?

Aimee: Keep doing what you are doing and believing in and supporting new ideas. Having an educational component for entrepreneurs, especially first-time founders has been extremely helpful.

Karl: Thanks so much for taking the time and sharing so much about the ZEYA journey thus far, Aimee!