# Cameron Hardesty

> Cameron Hardesty is the founder and CEO of Poppy Flowers, a nationwide wedding-floral company that combines farm-direct sourcing, digital planning tools and a distributed network of independent designers. An English graduate and former White House communications staffer, she learned floral design by volunteering in the White House flower shop, built product and international supply-chain expertise at UrbanStems, and launched Poppy in 2019 after discovering that her own wedding flowers could be produced for far less than a traditional florist quote.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Poppy Flowers
- **Organizations:** Poppy Flowers, UrbanStems, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Techstars, Davidson College
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor's degree, English, Davidson College
- **Known for:** Founded Poppy Flowers in 2019 and developed a nationwide, digital-first wedding-floral model., Built Poppy's designer network to more than 1,100 vetted local floral designers and served more than 6,000 couples by 2026., Raised a $2.66 million Series A for Poppy in 2025.

## Career timeline

- **2007** — Graduated from Davidson College after studying English and poetry and playing on the women's soccer team.
- **2012** — While working in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, saw the White House holiday flowers and contacted Chief Floral Designer Laura Dowling.
- **2014** — Volunteered in the White House flower shop while continuing her communications work.
- **2015** — Left government for UrbanStems, where she led floral product development, farm sourcing and supply-chain work.
- **2017** — Managed the flowers for her own wedding, using farm-direct sourcing and independent designers; the economics helped crystallize Poppy's model.
- **2019** — Founded and launched Poppy Flowers in Washington, D.C.
- **2020** — Joined Techstars and introduced Poppy-at-Home floral kits as weddings paused during the pandemic.
- **2023** — Reported that the Poppy network had passed 674 designers.
- **2025** — Named to the Inc. Female Founders 500 and closed a $2.66 million Series A.
- **2026** — Poppy reported more than 6,000 couples served and a network of more than 1,100 vetted local designers.

## Achievements

- Founded Poppy Flowers in 2019 and developed a nationwide, digital-first wedding-floral model.
- Built Poppy's designer network to more than 1,100 vetted local floral designers and served more than 6,000 couples by 2026.
- Raised a $2.66 million Series A for Poppy in 2025.
- Named to Inc.'s 2025 Female Founders 500 list.
- Participated in the Techstars 2020 accelerator cohort.
- Built international farm and vendor sourcing capabilities while leading products and merchandising at UrbanStems.
- Trained with former White House Chief Floral Designer Laura Dowling and studied with floral artist Gregor Lersch in Germany.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Appeared on the Women Advancing podcast to discuss turning wedding-floral pricing and logistics problems into Poppy's business model.
- **2025-12** — Poppy announced a $2.66 million Series A to expand its technology, B2B partnerships and leadership team.
- **2025** — Named to Inc.'s Female Founders 500 list for building affordable, sustainability-minded wedding floral services.
- **2025** — Poppy reported a nationwide network exceeding 1,100 designers and more than 6,000 couples served.

## Links

- Website: https://www.poppyflowers.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameronhardesty
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/poppyflowers
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poppyflowersco
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/poppyflowers/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@poppyflowersco

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/cameron-hardesty
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-26