BC Business
Fatso Nut Butters CEO Jill Van Gyn talks imposter syndrome and the importance of culture.
To honour the contenders in our second annual Women of the Year competition, we’ve created video interviews with finalists in eight categories.
For this instalment, we talked to Entrepreneurial Leader winner Jill Van Gyn.
An academic by trade, Van Gyn became obsessed with a struggling peanut butter company in her hometown of Victoria and bought it in 2016.
Today, Fatso Nut Butters sells its peanut butter and almond-and-seed butter nationwide—at smaller retailers and at major chains such as Loblaws, Sobeys and Whole Foods Market—and in Washington and Oregon. It also recently became certified as a B Corporation.
“There’s so much pressure to succeed in business and entrepreneurship,” Van Gyn says. “Entrepreneurs are always expected to be constantly killing it—we always have to be these uber achievers, and it can be really overwhelming,” Van Gyn says.
For profiles of all the 2021 Women of the Year winners and finalists, click here. Congratulations to everyone.
Thank you to the judges—Laurel Douglas, Paris Gaudet, Trish Mandewo and Tina Strehlke—for their time and effort. We’re also grateful for the support of our generous sponsor, the Women’s Enterprise Centre.