Entrepreneurial life often finds itself in cyclical patterns, once you’ve experienced the feeling of fulfilling business goals and achieving entrepreneurial success, how can you not want more? Moreover, the life of an entrepreneur often has a good story and a powerful purpose behind it. Entrepreneurship is always backed by a reason for taking the risks, a change that someone wants to see in the world, or a driving focus for the work that gives entrepreneurs the strength it takes to succeed. With Earth Day around the corner and green living at the forefront of many Canadian minds, it is a felicitous time to dive into the story of London-based air purification company, In The ClearZone.  

Founded by sisters Jenessa Olson and Madison De Sousa who followed the classic entrepreneurial path, In The ClearZone was a massive business pivot (and basically a start from scratch) for the entrepreneurs who found their previous venture to be detrimentally affected by the onset of the global Covid-19 pandemic. The founders have always had a focus on environmental sustainability and having a positive impact on our earth, driving the dream for their first venture where they provided clothing rentals to help offset the current fast-fashion, large-waste clothing trends. When large events and fancy clothing swiftly went out of style as the world tucked into their homes to stay safe, Olson & De Sousa took their individual expertise in business and marketing, along with their intentional care for the earth, and did what any entrepreneur in their shoes would do – they looked for a problem that they knew how to solve. In April of 2020, they launched In The ClearZone, a business built from sustainable solutions that offers air purification and sanitization for indoor spaces with a focus on comprehensive health.  

At the beginning of the pandemic, we started to see a lot of chemical integration into our everyday lives, and this sparked the In The ClearZone founders to provide a solution that would have a gentler effect on people and the planet. “We focus on being careful of what we put into the world”, said De Sousa, “And we didn’t want mass production for the sake of money. We are intentional about what we put out, and we want to make sure that it solves problems for people while also protecting the people and environment that we care so deeply about”. Wanting to take part in creating safer spaces for businesses, employees, and patrons as the health risk of the pandemic continued, they started with a process of trial and error, working with labs and London-based manufacturers to innovate and patent their products. They now offer a wide range of air purifiers with HydroClear and ClearScience  technologies that have been heavily vetted by research institutes to fulfill the sanitization needs of any space – in the public or at home. Working with IP and patents for the first time, they found the gaps in the market, innovated quickly and thoughtfully, and with a hands-on approach, created a product line that has had the positive earth and people impact that they intended.  

Olson and De Sousa created innovations that upheld their values of clean and green. As Earth Day comes and goes, we should all be thankful for the founders and innovators who are working each day to protect our environment. The core of an entrepreneur is what they believe in – how they want to help the world, how they will make sure they are being kind and careful while doing it, and how they impact the people that they solve problems for. These imperative aspects of entrepreneurship shine proudly from the In The ClearZone founder duo, who continue to focus on protecting our planet and protecting our people.  

“Everyone should be careful and responsible for their environmental output”, says De Sousa, “Having grown up in Alberta and now living in Ontario, we understand just how beautiful and finite our world is, and why it is important to take care of it”.  

To learn more, go to www.clearzone.ca