Meet Jayme Jenkins and Jessica Stevenson, RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards Start-Up Finalist

Jayme Jenkins, Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer, and Jessica Stevenson, Co-Founder and CEO of Everist, have been named finalists for the 2025 RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards. As the innovators behind one of the most acclaimed beauty startups in recent years, they continue to shape the future of sustainable personal care.

Since its launch in 2021, Everist has evolved into a 20-time award-winning brand, redefining the standards of hair, scalp, and skin wellness. Their pioneering “haircare-meets-skincare” concentrates—the first of their kind—have been recognized by esteemed publications, including Time Magazine, Cosmopolitan, and ELLE for their groundbreaking innovation.

Driven by a mission to reinvent everyday beauty with exceptional results and reduced environmental impact, Jayme and Jessica are spearheading a transformation in an industry poised for change. Meet the visionary founders behind Everist.

I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur when…

Jessica: I was young and saw my parents successfully building their small business in the challenging art industry. I thought, I could do that too! I think I’ve always had that drive to be a builder and innovator—someone who likes to challenge the status quo—inside of me.

Entrepreneurship is made for me because…

Jessica: I love the idea of building something with a positive, lasting impact. Creating something new that can make a difference in people’s lives and on our planet is both rewarding and full of challenges, which definitely keeps things interesting.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned on my entrepreneurial journey is…

Jessica: Resilience. There will be plenty of highs and lows as you navigate something new. Still, your ability to see clearly through them, keep an open mind, and have a contingency plan to pivot when necessary, can make all the difference for the company—and for maintaining some perspective for your own personal health.

My proudest accomplishment is…

Jessica: Reinventing a product that people use every day—shampoo—into something better for both people and the planet. When we hear stories from our community about how much better their hair, scalp and skin feel after using our products, it’s the best feeling.

The biggest risk I took that paid off was…

Jayme: Resigning from my corporate role to jump fully into entrepreneurship (with two babies at home!)

The best advice I’ve received as an entrepreneur was…

Jayme: Listen to your customers and solve people’s problems. I love a beautiful brand more than anyone, but at the end of the day, we exist to make people’s lives better— that’s why we named our brand after our customers (they are The Everist!). An Everist is someone who thinks about the forever impact of the choices they make. They are intelligent, conscious consumers.

If I had an extra hour in the day, I would use it to…

Jayme: Stay in bed and snuggle my kids. Right now, at this stage, I feel like every hour of my day is scheduled!

If you Googled us, you still wouldn’t know…

Jessica: As mothers with young families—and with me currently expecting—Jayme and I understand the challenges of balancing entrepreneurship and parenthood. Scaling a business is much like raising another child, and we’re living proof that it’s possible to do both.

The impact I hope to make through my work is…

Jayme: Changing the beauty industry for the better—less plastic, less shipping of heavy, water-filled formulas. We’re here to prove that more sustainable options can be better than the status quo—for both people and the planet.

The future excites me because…

Jayme: It’s always evolving. I love to learn, watch trends, and try to put the pieces together. We’re optimists about what the future will bring and, in this role, we’re never bored.

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