Startup Advice

The Johnson City Farmers Market Is Where Businesses Are Born

For local founders, those Saturday morning tents have become one of the best launchpads a new business can have. Green Llama is proof.

By Emma Ayala June 2026 Johnson City, TN

Every Saturday I find myself strolling between two rows of white tents, brainstorming what I'm making for dinner with the fresh local produce surrounding me. And I think now more than ever, we care about where our food comes from and how it's made. Consumers are asking questions like: Where was this beef raised? What is the origin of this honey? Was this chicken given antibiotics? Where did you get the flour used in this bread?

That same awareness has made room and created demand for entrepreneurs who share those same values, and maybe started their side hustle because they themselves once asked those very same questions. People who care just as deeply about what's in our cleaning products, our candles, the things we bring into our homes. And more often than not, they're starting right here, under those white tents at the Johnson City Farmers Market.

For a lot of local founders, the market is where they sell things on a Saturday, but it's also the very first chapter of their business.

A Backyard Shed and a Big Idea

Kay and Matt are a perfect example of how low-barrier opportunities, like the Johnson City Farmers Market, or being a vendor at Sentimental Journey or The Generalist, can launch wildly successful businesses. In the early days of the COVID pandemic, they had an idea: what if home cleaning products could actually be good? Non-toxic, genuinely effective, and completely zero waste. Not two out of three. All three, or don't sell it.

They spent over a year formulating before their first sale. They converted a backyard shed into what they now call the Llama Lab, insulated the walls, painted the floors, installed a dehumidifier, and figured out how to wire an AC unit themselves. Inside, a ribbon mixer they named Lady Mixelot blends the laundry powder. A tablet press named Tabitha stamps out cleaning tablets. Orders ship from the same four walls.

And when it was time to start selling? They got a tent at the Johnson City Farmers Market.

"We launched at our local farmers market in Johnson City. We saw revenue early on because of it."

Kay, Co-Founder, Green Llama

She's a stellar example of how much opportunities matter. Being able to start at a scale that small and validate an idea is a huge part of why Green Llama has seen so much success.

Why the Market Works for New Founders

So many businesses in this city trace their roots back to the farmers market. Every Saturday, you're standing in front of customers; neighbors, regulars, people who will tell you exactly what they think. You're learning things no business plan could teach you. Does my pricing make sense? Does my packaging communicate what I'm selling? Does anyone actually care about this? What could be better?

The market gives you a low-risk environment to answer those questions before you spend money you don't have.

For Kay and Matt, it also led them somewhere they didn't expect. Someone at the market handed them a flyer for FoundersForge's Startup Bootcamp. That connection turned out to be a turning point, and FoundersForge has had the opportunity to mentor Kay and Matt along the way — support that has been a big part of how the business grew.

"If we had had mentors from the start, we would not have made the same mistakes early on. It takes a village. Anyone who says 'I built this business myself' — they're lying."

Kay, Co-Founder, Green Llama

Community isn't a nice-to-have. For a lot of founders, it's what keeps a business alive in those early years when everything feels uncertain.

Five Years In, and Still Going

Green Llama is now about five years old. They've outgrown the Llama Lab and moved production to a rented warehouse. They've grown a small team, outsourced most manufacturing, and built a brand that holds to its three pillars without compromise: non-toxic, genuinely effective, and completely zero waste. Not two out of three. All three, or they don't sell it.

But it wasn't an overnight climb, and Kay is honest about that. Traction didn't come until around year three and a half to four. Profits took even longer.

"We did not see profits for about three or four years. It took that long, after putting a lot of our own money in and growing very slowly, before that money came back."

Kay, Co-Founder, Green Llama

What kept her going was the same thing that got her started: community. Mentors who could see the big picture when she couldn't. Peers going through the same thing. People who showed up and said, you're doing great, keep going.

Everyone Starts Somewhere, and in Johnson City It's Usually the Market

Green Llama started under a tent. Now they're in a warehouse, with a team, with a product line that's grown alongside the values that started it all. That arc, from farmers market booth to real business, is possible. We see it happen here all the time.

If you've got an idea and you're not sure it's ready, maybe it doesn't need to be ready. Maybe it just needs a tent.