transcript

Speaker 1:
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Speaker 2:
[03:32] Oh, so happy to be back, Guy. Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1:
[03:34] And of course, if any of you listening haven't heard the original story about how Eric and Adam Lowry built the cleaning products brand Method, you got to check it out. It's an awesome story. We will put a link to it in the show notes. Eric, when you were on Advice Line back last summer, we got an update on some of the projects that you had kind of wound down. Give us a sense of what's going on right now. What are you up to? You are so busy. You've got all these different things happening at the same time. Give us an update.

Speaker 2:
[04:02] Yeah. So I've moved much more into the venture investing space. And I joined Graycroft. We are launching a new $150 million dedicated consumer fund. We just made our first two investments. So I've officially made the move from entrepreneur to investor.

Speaker 1:
[04:17] Wow. And how does that feel? I mean, you were on the other side of the table for so long. And I had some opinions about some of the investors that you talk to. Yeah. What is that? What's that like?

Speaker 2:
[04:27] You know, it's like when you're an entrepreneur, as we're about to talk to several of them today, you very much feel like a quarterback and you get sacked over and over. So to be on the sidelines and playing coach feels really good. Where you could say to somebody, get back in the game. You got this. So after years of getting sacked, I'm really enjoying starting to play coach.

Speaker 1:
[04:48] Tell me a little bit about, I know your philosophy about building businesses was basically identifying opportunities for brands that needed a disruption or cultural shift, like cleaning products or vitamins or first aid, which is all these things you did. Do you apply that to what you look for in other startups that you're going to invest in?

Speaker 2:
[05:13] Yeah, very much so. And we work really closely with Target as a retail partner. And so I focus very much on identifying in any given category over the next three to five years, like what are going to be the big macro trends? And then it's just pattern matching and going out and scouting and finding founders and entrepreneurs then who are building into that.

Speaker 1:
[05:33] Interesting, yeah. As you know, you're here in the Bay Area. And it seems like it's here with more intensity right now, this idea that investors are really cold on consumer products right now, consumer brand CPG, right? Because of a variety of reasons. There was a sort of exuberant period where a lot of money went into consumer brands and a lot of them didn't, some of them didn't work out. And it's tough. It's tough, Mark. It's tough to hit $100 million, right? Which is really where a brand is either a target acquisition or raises more money and then pursues to go in public. I mean, is that real? Is it true? And if so, what's your sense of why?

Speaker 2:
[06:11] Yeah, I think it's a great time to be getting back into consumer. That's why I love our timing of building this fund. And what you said is exactly what happened. We really saw around 2020, 21, and even before that, a lot of tech money poured into consumer. And the things that were like literally a recipe would suddenly be classified as food tech. And these insane valuations got applied. That brought out all sorts of bad behaviors of trying to grow too fast. And I think now we've seen a really great reset. And it's never been easier to start a company, but it's never been harder to scale one. And I think as an investor, really picking the founders and the brands that you think fundamentally can be 100, 200 million brands. Like one of them I've been involved with for the last three years is Goudel's and Mac and Cheese. And trying to find those Goudel's are not easy.

Speaker 1:
[07:02] All right. Well, I think that the answer to this question is yes. Are you ready for our first call?

Speaker 2:
[07:06] Let's do it.

Speaker 1:
[07:07] All right. Let's bring our first caller. Hello. Welcome to the Advice Line. Please tell us your name, where you're calling from, and just a little bit about your business.

Speaker 3:
[07:16] Hi, Guy. Hi, Eric. My name is Christina Pang. I am calling from San Diego today and I am the founder of Havyn Beauty. Our mission is to bring joy and beauty to the lives of all through scent. And the way that we are doing that is by building the first fine fragrance and skincare brand formulated without the 82 known fragrance allergens, so that everyone, including those who have had to give up fragrance in the past, can enjoy it again.

Speaker 1:
[07:42] All right. Welcome to the show, Christina. So Havyn is a, it's basically perfume, but that is for people who stopped using it because they were allergic to it?

Speaker 3:
[07:53] Yes. So we do perfumes as well as fragranced skincare and we also have some home fragrance products. And it is designed to be suitable even for people who haven't been able to use it. So we're not, yeah, we're not like excluding people who just generally love fragrance, but we're making it possible for those who haven't been able to enjoy it.

Speaker 1:
[08:16] You know, I think as somebody who reacts to things with like my skin, I think most, maybe not most, like I feel like at least a third of the human population has some reaction to things like, you know, and so this is really interesting to me because I imagine, right, a lot of people are allergic to things in perfumes and they stop using it. Tell me the idea behind it. Did you have this issue yourself?

Speaker 3:
[08:39] Yeah. So, you know, my background has been in the beauty industry. But then when I had my eldest child, he was born severely allergic and had also severe eczema. And so what we found was that he was just reacting to everything. So even clean, natural products, we were getting reactions to, and it wasn't until we cut all fragrance out of our lives, including natural fragrances, that his skin began to clear up. So naturally we kind of started looking into, hey, what is it about fragrance that is causing so many issues? And what we found is that fragrance ingredients in general, including natural ones, they contain a lot of allergens. And so it's not necessarily toxic, but if you're allergic to it, it's going to give you a reaction. And because he also had multiple food allergies, from that journey, we had discovered, hey, if you exclude what he's allergic to, we're still able to make great food. So it's kind of a similar concept we were applying to fragrance, skin care, beauty.

Speaker 1:
[09:50] That seems really hard, right? Because a lot of fragrances are just oils, right? Like lavender or something. And I mean, imagine you can't create a line of endless scents, right? There are only certain ones that work.

Speaker 3:
[10:03] Yeah, it's really, really challenging. And that's also why it hasn't really been done, because you're effectively going from thousands of fragrance ingredients, limiting that palette to maybe a couple hundred, if you're lucky. It's also something you can't necessarily do at home yourself in your own kitchen. You do need to partner with a specialized fragrance lab because they use these techniques to kind of separate the compounds that are allergenic from those that aren't.

Speaker 1:
[10:33] And tell me a little bit about the business. What did you say you launched?

Speaker 3:
[10:35] So I started the business August of 2024 after I left my corporate job. We were already kind of working on candles and things. And then we started working on the beauty and personal care. After that, we launched our first product last summer in July.

Speaker 1:
[10:53] Okay. And tell me about your sales last year. How'd you do?

Speaker 3:
[10:57] We ended the year a little bit over 100,000. This year to date, we're on track to maybe get to 250, 300. But we do have a stretch goal for ourselves of 400.

Speaker 1:
[11:09] And where are you selling the products?

Speaker 3:
[11:11] We initially launched on direct to consumer. We also have wholesale accounts with several luxury resorts and spas. And just last month, we launched nationwide at Anthropologie.

Speaker 1:
[11:23] Okay. Awesome. I want to bring in Eric Ryan. But before I do, tell us your question and we'll see if we can answer it.

Speaker 3:
[11:28] Yeah. So effectively, there have been millions of consumers with eczema, sensitive skin. They've been trained to think fragrance is bad and just to avoid fragrance entirely. And even the experts that they trust, like dermatologists, have been trained to think that as well. So when you're introducing a new idea into an established category like that, how do you rebuild that trust and help people feel comfortable giving fragrance a try again, especially if you have a very limited marketing budget?

Speaker 1:
[12:01] Okay. Eric Ryan, I want to bring you in. Any thoughts, ideas, questions that you may have for Christina?

Speaker 2:
[12:07] Yeah, I think you nailed it, which is like, you've got a really good idea. Fragrance is a hot category, particularly with Gen Alpha and Gen Z. Let me ask you a quick question. What percentage of consumers have fragrance allergies or are easily irritated by fragrances?

Speaker 3:
[12:24] So there's about 30 million Americans who have eczema, and then more than 100 million people who self identify as having sensitive skin. So that's a pretty big number because you can assume that most of them, a significant portion of them aren't able to use fragrance products.

Speaker 2:
[12:43] Yeah. Okay. It's fascinating because you're entering into a huge category that's growing and there's a really big addressable audience today, but you nailed it, which is the challenge of re-educating them, going from fragrance is bad to me to fragrance is safe for me. That's a huge leap. I think really educating consumers is hard, re-educating them is even harder. I think you're approaching it the right way. Just looking at the packaging is really beautiful. I think you have to create a brand that is appealing to everybody, that just happens to be allergen-free, and really kind of run two paths, which continue to bring in people who don't have sensitivities, but really love this idea of a fragrance that's just better for me in general, right? Because we're all questioning what's in these products, while at the same time, bringing in this group that's written off fragrances. But I think if you focused only on them, it's a much slower build, and just like nailing your emotional hook, the idea of like, you know, fragrance you can finally wear, and finding influencers who previously have never been able to wear a fragrance, finally, I can wear fragrance again.

Speaker 1:
[13:58] Right. So Eric, what you're saying is, is that it's probably a better idea to try and appeal to everybody who's looking for a, quote, better for you, fragrance or better for you products. I mean, one of the things that I think Christina would probably benefit from is having some kind of clinical study. And if that's not possible, like even dermatologists who could speak to the products like testimonials or even customer test, I mean, your website's great, but I don't see any of that. Maybe I'm missing it. Is that something that you're exploring and that you might want to try?

Speaker 3:
[14:34] Yeah, we have done several clinical tests, actually. You can imagine clinical tests are quite expensive. So we've done some on sensitive skin first, and they have come out with just incredible results. So we do share those with dermatologists that we speak with. We were also trying to work with some third parties to get different seals and everything. But again, it's quite expensive because there's just so many tests involved. And then I think one of the things we found is a lot of times these tests are also testing on healthy skin. And so since we're trying to prove something works for skin that's been really sensitized, it's also more expensive to recruit that population. So we are working on it, but it's taking a little bit longer.

Speaker 2:
[15:24] Yeah, one other idea too. So you're currently working with anthropology and I would imagine you're starting to think about Ulta and really working with a retailer to create this, you know, fragrance safe. At the end of the day, like you're not really building a brand, you're building a completely new category. And I would really brand that category, maybe around the idea of allergen free fragrance and make that a destination inside of a retailer. So if you sit down with Ulta, it's not about selling Havyn, which by the way is a great brand name. I think again, the design is beautiful and you can really see your beauty background coming through. But if you sit down with like an Ulta or a Target and work with them on this idea that Havyn is not a new brand, it's really a new category and then brand that category and position yourself of course as the leader of that category.

Speaker 3:
[16:10] That's really great. I love that.

Speaker 2:
[16:12] I really think the this idea of allergy free is relevant to everybody because it really means it's a safer fragrance. I think you want to really build this fragrance back to like at the end of the day, it is the most beautiful, amazing, like it just wins as a great fragrance that oh happens to be allergen free. That core audience who is really a need for them. I think that's a marketing tactic that is going to be a harder climb of convincing them that actually now fragrance is safe for you.

Speaker 3:
[16:43] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[16:43] But I think ultimately it turned this into a big brand. You've got to serve both audiences and look, most innovation comes from like really serving the needs of an extreme user that then you apply that to a general population. And fragrance, the challenge with fragrance is yes, it's a big category. It's growing, but it's insanely crowded. And I think the allergen free really gives you a meaningful pointed difference that's both rational as well as the emotion of selling a beautiful fine fragrance.

Speaker 1:
[17:11] The brand is called Havyn. Christina Peng, good luck. Thanks for calling in.

Speaker 3:
[17:14] Thank you.

Speaker 2:
[17:15] Thanks, Christina. Great to meet you.

Speaker 1:
[17:17] All right, we're going to take a quick break, but we'll be right back with another collar and another round of advice. Stay with us. I'm Guy Raz, and you're listening to the advice line right here on How I Built This Lab. When I started How I Built This, there were so many early stage decisions to make. It was super overwhelming, and every day seemed to introduce another question that needed an answer. When you're starting something new, finding the right tool that simplifies everything can be such a game changer. And for millions of new businesses, that tool is Shopify. Shopify is your commerce expert in everything from managing inventory to international shipping and beyond. Shopify can easily create email and social media campaigns and is packed with helpful AI tools that write product descriptions, page headlines, and even enhance your product photography. Start your business today with the industry's best business partner, Shopify, and start hearing. Sign up for your one dollar per month trial at shopify.com/built. Go to shopify.com/built. A lot of new founders I meet want their businesses to run more efficiently with tighter budgets and smaller teams, and they don't want to get caught up in how they should be doing payroll or HR or benefits, all within different team management systems. And that's where Gusto comes in. Gusto is online payroll benefit software built for small businesses. It's all-in-one, remote-friendly, and incredibly easy to use, so you can pay, hire, onboard, and support your team from anywhere. Gusto helps teams save time with built-in automated tools, offer letters, onboarding docs, direct deposits, and more. Gusto is ranked number one on G2's highest satisfaction product list for 2025 and is trusted by over 400,000 small businesses. Try Gusto today at gusto.com/built and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com/built. One more time gusto.com/built. Your website can really set the entire tone for your brand. I know that when I hear about a new company, the first thing I do is go to their website. Keeping your site updated and making changes quickly should be easy. That's why so many companies from early stage startups to Fortune 500s are turning to Framer. Framer works like your team's favorite design tool. It's built for real time collaboration with a powerful CMS that's great for SEO and analytics that help you understand what's actually working. And here's the key part. Framer doesn't slow you down. Any change you make goes live in seconds with just one click. Learn how you can get more out of your.com from a Framer specialist or get started building for free today at framer.com/built for 30% off a Framer Pro annual plan. That's framer.com/built for 30% off framer.com/built. Rules and restrictions may apply. Welcome back to the Advice Line on How I Built This Lab. I'm Guy Raz, and my guest today is serial entrepreneur Eric Ryan, and we're taking your calls, and Eric, you ready for our next one?

Speaker 2:
[20:59] Let's do it.

Speaker 1:
[21:00] All right, let's bring our next caller. Welcome to the Advice Line. You're on with Eric Ryan, co-founder of Method and founder of many other products. Tell us your name, where you're calling from, and just a little bit about your business, please.

Speaker 4:
[21:11] Hey, Guy and Eric. It's an honor to be with you guys. I learn a lot from this show, so thanks very much for the opportunity. My name is James Chambliss. I'm from Orange County, California. I'm the founder of Pidgin Toes, which is a fun kids flip-flop brand. Our goal is to build the world's raddest, comfiest kids flip-flops. And our core focus and motto is built for comfort for kids.

Speaker 1:
[21:32] And welcome to the show, James. So tell what makes your flip-flops, right? And what makes them different or special from other flip-flops?

Speaker 4:
[21:40] Yeah, we've done a couple of core things, which one of the number one complaints of kids, for the first time getting into flip-flops is scratchy toe cord between their toes. And so when we did some research and starting this out, we found that out. And so we've come up with just a really pillowy soft toe cord. And then the second thing that kind of helps us stick out is kids can customize their strap design. And so what happens on our website is they're able to choose their flavor, which is the color. So that's the first choice. And then they're able to choose their topping, which is the strap design, which is kind of fun for them.

Speaker 1:
[22:15] Oh, cool. So it's customizable. So it's not just like ready to wear, you can actually design the flip-flop. Okay, cool. And tell me, you said you launched the last year. Have you been in the apparel business or in footwear? Or like, how did this start?

Speaker 4:
[22:30] Yeah. So I've actually been in the apparel business. I started my core company out of college. And so I've been doing this for a while. I started with screen printing, doing mainly t-shirts and delivering them to the dorms. And it's kind of a funny story, but I used to put the t-shirts in my oven in my kitchen because I didn't have a big compare about oven to cure the ink. And so I would deliver them to the dorms hot out of the oven. So I've been doing that for a while. Now I do some help with branding and kind of the brand imagery, which is what I really love to do. And that's kind of what I did with Pidgin Toes.

Speaker 1:
[22:59] All right. You launched last year. Tell me how you're doing so far. Give me a sense of like, you know, of your sales, like quarterly sales.

Speaker 4:
[23:08] Yeah. So so far today, we're about 15K. So we really got going to end of Q4 last year and started hitting the ground running then.

Speaker 1:
[23:16] Got it. Okay. Before we dive in further, tell us your question.

Speaker 4:
[23:20] Yeah. So in a saturated market where I'm competing with brands with far more resources for content generation, plus the ability to undercut my $39 per pair price point, what can I do to build brand awareness and reach more customers?

Speaker 1:
[23:35] All right. Eric Ryan, Pidgin Toes, Flip Flops, customizable and more comfortable. Questions or thoughts for James?

Speaker 2:
[23:44] Disappointed you're not solving the biggest problem with kids' flip flops. Losing them. The number of times I had to buy more flip flops. I finally get to the point of the vacation, I always pack two pairs for every kid, knowing that we would need a backup. I love, I'm just looking at the website too, and I love the branding, the overall approach. Let me ask you a question. At the heart of it, what are you really solving?

Speaker 4:
[24:08] That's a good question. I mean, I'd say that in the industry, I saw a gap where all the kids' flip flops were mainly adult lines dabbling in kids. And so I really wanted to come in and say, hey, we are the best done kids' flip flop brand dedicated to creating awesome kids' flip flops.

Speaker 2:
[24:27] It's really trying to win on a product iteration is tough because it almost becomes more of an invention than building a brand. I love the name Pidgin, by the way. I don't know if you can just drop toes and just like Pidgin and just gives you a little bit more space to go. But even the idea of Pidgin Flip Flops and that I think will help you unlock again, like this bigger idea of like, what do you own? Do you own Summer? Do you own kids' first flip flop moment? Do you own kids' shoes? But I think there's a bigger idea here that you're kind of working on. First, though, is you got to win in this category. I think the customization really is, I think making that the hero is super, super smart. That's what's going to drive content. And I would really focus as much as you can on driving customization and then telling those stories. The other part I'm really, I think you could do well here as part of customization is licensing. Licensing, especially with retailers, is a great quick shortcut to really build, even though you're borrowing someone else's brand equity, but particularly for kids, bringing in kids' characters and be able to customize on top of that, I think would really get that flywheel going and be able to drive a lot more content around it.

Speaker 4:
[25:37] That sounds like a lot of fun.

Speaker 1:
[25:38] Yeah, I agree. I saw, I must have been on Instagram or something, a shop somewhere in Southeast Asia where you go in and there are flip-flops on a wheel, and you spin the wheel and you can stop it on a, maybe you've seen this and then you can pick the strap. And I saw that and you could create these customizable flip-flops. Now you're doing it here and so when I look at this, I think this is an experiential business. I think the direct-to-consumer is great and I hope it really blows up. But I think this is something that if you can kind of turn it into almost like a Build-A-Bear kind of thing. I mean, that's probably not the best analogy, but maybe it's something kids do on vacation. Like they know they're going to go to a shop that has this product available and they can spin a wheel and pick their flip-flop and then spin another wheel. And maybe they could even put their name on it. To me, this feels like an experience that you can do with your kids on vacation, right? And it's like, choose your own adventure. So it's not just a practical thing that you're going to want and wear, but it's a fun experience. And so I wonder whether, you said you're in Orange County, I mean, could you or have you try to do a live experience, like even at a farmer's market or at a sort of a fair or something where people can actually make them in real time?

Speaker 4:
[26:56] Yeah, I've had the thought and it's a really good idea, which kind of pushes me to want to do it more. You know, because I've really been trying through my website, how do I paint that picture? You know, and so I thought up close, I really might be able to see people's reaction to it and do something like that. But we could do it. Yeah, it's a good idea.

Speaker 2:
[27:13] Yeah, I think that's the gold. I think everything is built around customization. And Guy, I love that to you because you could do hotel activations and that then drives your entire content strategy. And then if you could lay around licensing on top of it to just continue to drive freshness and relevancy. And at the end of the day, I think you're not selling flip flops, you're really selling summer and celebrating summer. And summer sometimes is on a vacation during the winter. But that, I think, will give you the foundation that will start then unlock a bigger brand idea here as well.

Speaker 1:
[27:46] Yeah. Can you imagine, Eric, being on vacation with your family somewhere and in the hotel lobby, there's somebody who offers this product and you've got a kid and they're like, I want those flip flops, right? And you would do it. I mean, make your flip flops in 10 minutes. How long does it take, by the way, to make a pair of these, James?

Speaker 4:
[28:05] Gosh, a few minutes per pair right now, which we're hopefully will speed up.

Speaker 1:
[28:10] That's a few minutes is great. I mean, if it's part of an activity and it's customizable and even down the road, you get your name printed on the strap. I mean, you can imagine all kinds of activations.

Speaker 4:
[28:23] Oh yeah.

Speaker 2:
[28:25] How hard would it be to create event teams that go into kind of building on Guy's idea? So you send event teams into hotels during peak moments and you use that to not only drive sales, but also drive content that ultimately fuels your marketing.

Speaker 4:
[28:39] There's a process right now with the straps, which is a little more labor intensive and takes a little bit of a skill set. And so that's my only concern. So we would have to figure out a way to streamline that and make it a little more foolproof, I think.

Speaker 1:
[28:53] But have you done it yourself, anything like that, so far?

Speaker 4:
[28:57] No, I love the idea. Yeah, and there's plenty of them down here. And I think doing that would be really fun. And I know my kids will love it.

Speaker 1:
[29:04] And as Eric said, it's a chance to create content and to encourage people to do it. You know, scan this QR code, show us your design, you know, show us your flip-flops, feature, put the kid, you know, and then eventually on your web page, you want to see kids wearing these things. You want to see what it looks like on kids' feet.

Speaker 4:
[29:19] I love it. Yeah, it's great. It's a great idea.

Speaker 1:
[29:22] Eric, final thoughts or James?

Speaker 2:
[29:23] If you can create cost-neutral marketing through events, then I think you solve your problem of how to create a flywheel here. And then how I agree with Guy is like, this is your really selling an experience in any way you can layer on that experience, vacation kits, summer bundles. And I think ultimately as a parent, like that would have been the best souvenir to come back with with kids.

Speaker 1:
[29:45] Yep.

Speaker 4:
[29:46] Got it.

Speaker 1:
[29:47] And useful too, right? Exactly. Not just another piece of junk but like another stuffed animal that just gathers dust. Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[29:53] Yeah.

Speaker 1:
[29:54] Awesome. The brand is called Pidgin Toes, James Chambliss. Thanks so much for calling in. Good luck.

Speaker 4:
[29:58] Thank you guys. It was a pleasure.

Speaker 1:
[30:00] Thanks, Ben.

Speaker 2:
[30:00] Thanks, James.

Speaker 1:
[30:01] Thanks. You've gone through this with your kids and at some point you're like, so you've had this thing on your shelf for like nine years that you bought at a souvenir shop and what are you going to do with it? And so eventually they're just going to go off to college and just leave it in their room. And then they're going to box it up and put it in your basement. And then one day you're going to say, hey, you bought this for like $7 on vacation and I've been storing it in my basement for 19 years and anyway, flip-flops.

Speaker 2:
[30:32] No, and every parent loves flip-flops and there's nothing cuter than little flip-flops with a kid's name on it and some sort of customization. So like, you know, parents will just eat this up. I think that's the right approach the way he's thinking about it.

Speaker 1:
[30:45] Okay, next up after the break, another caller with another business challenge. I'm Guy Raz and we're answering your business questions right here on the advice line on How I Built This Lab. About a year ago, I got these really cool hooded sweatshirts for everyone on the How I Built This team, and I got them custom embroidered with the show's logo. Whenever I wear it, people are constantly asking, where can I buy that? And well, sorry, you can't get them, because I had them custom made. But if you want something just as cool for your team, Vistaprint offers everything you need to confidently and effortlessly create branded apparel. Choose from a range of options that fit your style, business and budget because your team deserves the best. Whether you're looking for branded merch for giveaways or for team uniforms, get the best apparel for your business at Vistaprint. You can also get lots of other custom products like drinkware, stickers, notebooks, pens, t-shirts, so much more to help you market your business your way. Vistaprint, print your possible. Right now, new customers get 20 percent off with code and new 20 at vistaprint.com. You may have heard the best voice in show business, Morgan Freeman, talking about a serious and underdiagnosed heart condition that's often missed, ATTR Cardiac Amyloidosis, or ATTR-CM. It's a condition that can greatly disrupt your life with symptoms like severe fatigue, shortness of breath, and carpal tunnel. If left untreated, ATTR-CM may become serious, leading to a shorter lifespan. Atruby helps adults with ATTR-CM live longer and have fewer hospitalizations due to heart issues, so you can focus more on living for what you love. Tell your doctor if you're pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding, and about the medications you take. The most common side effects were mild and included diarrhea and abdominal pain. If you have ATTR-CM, talk to your cardiologist about Atruby and visit atruby.com/podcast. That's attruby.com/podcast to learn more. It's time to get busy living. Brought to you by BridgeBio. Welcome back to the Advice Line on How I Built This Lab. I'm Guy Raz, and today I'm taking your calls with Eric Ryan, who founded Method, Olly, Welly, and so many more brands. Eric, you ready for our next call?

Speaker 2:
[33:31] Let's get into it.

Speaker 1:
[33:33] All right, well, let's bring in our next caller. Welcome to the Advice Line. You're on with Eric Ryan, co-founder of Method, founder of many other brands, Welly, Olly, et cetera. Tell us your name, where you're calling from, and a little bit about your business.

Speaker 5:
[33:45] Thank you, Guy, and thank you, Eric. My name is Ben Forrest, and I'm calling out of Deland, Florida. I'm the founder of Reserved for Humans, which is a brand that is exploring a new category in jewelry. Our first product is the Spire Pendant, which is a light up crystal necklace that is designed to reveal the hidden textures and colors inside of natural stone. The Spire is the start to a broader line of illuminated jewelry with more designs currently in development.

Speaker 1:
[34:14] Awesome. Ben, thanks for calling in. It's a crystal that you wear around your neck and it has like a light in it, like you flip a switch and a light goes on.

Speaker 5:
[34:23] Yeah. Currently, you twist it to turn it on and it has a very soft light that lasts surprisingly a long period of time over a week straight or you can use it sparingly.

Speaker 1:
[34:33] Got it. When did you launch this business?

Speaker 5:
[34:36] I soft launched it last year in August. I say soft because I started with low quantity. The way it was machine designed allowed me to start small, kind of test the market, not go broke with the tooling and everything.

Speaker 1:
[34:50] Tell me who are your customers? Who's buying these things?

Speaker 5:
[34:56] You would think music festivals, parties, everyone lets their first things like go to the music festivals. Actually, all of our marketing is on meta right now because I can't go past my bandwidth. It's just me doing the marketing. Our customers are very, very diverse in age and culture and background, and it's just surprising to learn how liquid the market is for this thing.

Speaker 1:
[35:18] And how have you done so far in sales?

Speaker 5:
[35:20] Yeah, so after soft launching, I kind of stress tested the ads and my high school friends and my mom just assembling these. And December, we did $92,000 in revenue.

Speaker 1:
[35:33] $92,000 in December?

Speaker 5:
[35:35] Yeah.

Speaker 1:
[35:36] Wow. Have you replicated that since?

Speaker 5:
[35:39] I actually turned everything off to go right to China. I spent two months there to get the assembly and work with factories and prepare for 3PL. And just now got back actually a few days ago and starting to turn the ads back on and prepare to scale.

Speaker 1:
[35:59] Wow. Okay. This is interesting.

Speaker 5:
[36:00] All right.

Speaker 1:
[36:01] We got a lot of questions for you. Before we get there, what's your question for us? Yeah.

Speaker 5:
[36:05] So the Spire pendant appears to be the first of its kind. And we've already seen early traction. My concern is that if this truly becomes a new category in jewelry mainstream, like I really truly believe it will. Larger companies with more resources and speed can come in, especially given its hardware. So should I raise outside capital now and expand the product line and build the brand around it? Or just continue bootstrapping and don't listen to that little voice that's like, hurry up.

Speaker 1:
[36:36] Got it. Okay. Eric Ryan, I want to bring you in here. Interesting product, $90,000 or $90,000 in one month. I mean, wow.

Speaker 2:
[36:43] Now, Ben, what I love what you're doing is you're putting a fresh spin on jewelry. I mean, you're really creating digital jewelry. And jewelry has always been about expressing oneself. And what I love about the light approach is you're actually allowing people to express how they feel in that moment. And I think there's something really, really powerful in that. But you're also running the risk of becoming a one hit novelty and also just getting run over by fast followers from China and Etsy. So I think being really thoughtful about how you build a brand around this and really laddering up to like, what is the big idea here? Because the big idea is not jewelry that lights up. I think the big idea is how this allows you to express yourself in a way that's always been inherent and true to jewelry, but it hasn't been done before. And you're just applying a modern approach to that. When people use the product, how do they really express what they love about it? What does it give them?

Speaker 5:
[37:40] I think it kind of just scratches that itch, your inner child. And that sounds silly, but that's kind of how it started is just the curiosity and the wonder behind this object, which you can assign meaning. And I think it also like invites curiosity. So a lot of people, they tell us they get so many compliments and I see it myself wearing it. It just kind of stands out. So people are like, what is that? How does that light up? Is that a crystal? And it just like creates a moment by just wearing it too.

Speaker 2:
[38:13] And then the capital question, have you started to talk to investors yet?

Speaker 5:
[38:17] I haven't. One just kind of like saw our story one day, like in the midst of December. And I just jumped the gun and like sent him some and he apparently loved it. But I didn't want to seem desperate and like keep following up. I don't know when the right time is, and that's what brought me here.

Speaker 2:
[38:32] Well, one thing I can tell you is the right time to raise money is when you don't need it. And you're also kind of solving an imaginary problem right now, which is to take capital or not take capital. But you don't know yet if you can even raise capital for this. And so my advice would be, don't worry about the decision to raise or not raise. I would start reaching out to investors and really go to those conversations, not trying to prove yourself, but really improve yourself. Like going in and really listening and understanding. And the great thing is like you don't actually have to ask for the money because if anybody's excited about it, of course they'll always offer to invest. That's what investors do. But I think right now I would put aside the decision whether I have to raise capital or not and I would just start taking meetings and really use that to learn. And then if you have an investor that really wants to move forward with you, then make the decision whether to take that investment. And the worst case is you don't need the capital yet. You want to keep bootstrapping it. But you've started to warm up an investor base. So when you do need the money, you're not starting cold.

Speaker 1:
[39:34] Yeah. My feeling, it's slightly different, which is I think it's a great idea to talk to investors. I don't think you're in a position to raise money. 92,000 in a month is incredible. But people want to see that repeated. They want to see consistency. The other thing is that, and I'm just going to put this very bluntly, and then I'm going to follow up with, I'm going to give you some bad news, but then I'm going to follow up with some good news, which is, I don't believe you have a defensible product. This is a product that can be replicated, right? The good news is, if you build a brand around it, then you create that mode. And it sounds like that's really where you want to put your energy, which I think is where you absolutely should be putting your energy. And the brand around this thing, I mean, I'm not a crystal wearer, but I can imagine the kind of person that wants to wear a glow-in-the-dark crystal, and I mean this with all sincerity, not in any way like, oh, that's a sort of a weird hippie, but I mean, it's a person who wants to be part of a community, right? What does it mean to wear this? It's almost like people who wear fancy watches, people who wear certain fancy brands of watches, they will recognize somebody else wearing that watch, and they will oftentimes have a conversation like across, I've seen this happen in restaurants and bars. You know, or some people wave at each other when they're driving the same car. That's the community you want to build. And so I think that you have a lot of work, but really interesting work ahead of you to focus on that community aspect of what these are, because somebody else can come up with light up crystals. So now the question is, well, why are they going to buy your crystals? Because they're reserved for humans, right? This is your brand. So that's where I think you are right now. And I agree with Eric, you're not in a place to raise money and you shouldn't be. But having those conversations certainly doesn't hurt. I just don't know if you're going to have the bandwidth to do that and build a brand and focus on advertising and production and etc. etc.

Speaker 5:
[41:33] I love that. Thank you. And maybe I'll take up Eric's advice and take these meetings when I have the bandwidth just for practice and maybe something will happen.

Speaker 2:
[41:42] That's right. You know, build those relationships and just get as much free learning as you can while you're on this journey.

Speaker 1:
[41:49] Eric, you also, it's amazing how many categories you have experience in and you built brands and you have experience in jewelry as well. How do you, I mean, I'm putting you on the spot a little bit here, but how would you think about starting to build a brand around, you know, a light up crystal, a pendant around your neck?

Speaker 2:
[42:06] It's a really exciting challenge, but it's not an easy challenge. And that's why I was going back to like, it's how does this product make you feel when you wear it and how does it allow you to express your feelings to other people? And I think in a lot of ways, you've kind of created the modern day mood ring. And if there's a way to be able to really build into it, that you can express your mood or your energy on the spot through it. And I think that does what Guy said, is like, then it creates conversations. So when you're in a social setting or a bar and somebody like recognizes it, that's a great conversation starter. But I think that's really the big idea here is, like I said, jewelry's always been about expressing individuality and personality and what you care about. But no one's ever been able to express their mood in real time through jewelry. And now because you can apply digital technology to do that, I think that's really the big idea. And that's what drives the community that Guy is referring to.

Speaker 1:
[43:04] Yeah. And I'm thinking like you want to have people posting photos of them at Burning Man, or I don't know, just festivals. And I'm just spitballing here, like a desert festival, you know? To me, it's like that's, it's a community of people who are open, artistic, sort of free-spirited and spiritual maybe. And there's a lot of different directions you can go in. And one thing is, have you tapped into your customer base? Have you had a chance to ask, like, who are you? What do you like? What are you interested in? Have you, and if you haven't, then you should start to do that.

Speaker 5:
[43:43] Yeah, so our ads are quite different. And I've used different models and different, like, the festival vibe. I went into Bonnaroo and filmed and did reactions and stuff. But a lot of them are, like, I have a model friend that's wearing a denim jacket, very normal clothes, and he's got some other chains on, walking in slow motion. And that's hitting a whole different market of just normal, not crystal lovers and music festival rave goers. It's just like, it fits in with like, oh, like that could be my style. And you can wear it with anything.

Speaker 1:
[44:20] It's like, Eric, it's like how like super high end, you know, sort of high fashion people wear hokas. Like they're wearing hokas with their outfit, because hoka became a thing too, even though it's a consumer brand that anybody can buy pretty much.

Speaker 2:
[44:36] Yeah, you know, I think a big idea of digital jewelry is going to become a real thing, because it allows you to enhance the appearance of it, if it's done in a really subtle way, which I think is what you're trying to do. The people who are using it and expressing their energy in real moments in real life, that is like the community you're building, and that's the big idea.

Speaker 5:
[44:54] I love that. Thank you.

Speaker 1:
[44:55] Awesome. Ben Forrest, a brand called Reserved for Humans, thanks for calling in. Good luck.

Speaker 5:
[44:58] Thank you so much.

Speaker 2:
[44:59] Thanks, Ben.

Speaker 1:
[45:00] All right. Eric, now that you are a VC.

Speaker 2:
[45:06] Sounds so fancy, doesn't it?

Speaker 1:
[45:08] Yeah, fancy. Sounds very fancy. What, now that you have all of this sort of knowledge about how to run businesses, how to start them, and I've asked you a version of this in the past, but I'm wondering if you have another piece of advice for yourself, for like when you were starting out and also when you were talking to investors. Now that you're on the other side of the table, what would have been helpful for you to know that you know now?

Speaker 2:
[45:35] I think a common theme and almost everybody we heard today is just confidence. Like all these people are clearly accomplished and have that ability. But the hardest part is the mental game and that self-confidence that keep going when things get hard. And at the end of the day, it's not the capital risk or the time risk. It's really your personal reputation risk and willing to put that out there. But it's the mind games. And I find too, as I've moved to the venture side, so I use the word coach. Like so much of my job is to just almost play therapist and really help people stay confident and focused on the right things in this journey. And that's the part I wish I had more help with in those early years.

Speaker 1:
[46:14] Yeah, awesome. Eric, thanks so much for coming back onto the show.

Speaker 2:
[46:18] Always a pleasure, Guy.

Speaker 1:
[46:19] That's Eric Ryan. He's co-founder of Method, Olly, Welly and many more brands. By the way, if you haven't heard our Method episode with Eric and his co-founder Adam, you got to go back and check it out. It's a great story. And here's one of my favorite moments from that episode. I read it at one point, Eric, that to prove that this really was non-toxic, you actually drank it.

Speaker 2:
[46:40] Yeah. So I was in London. I love the British press. I was so skeptical. And she said, is it safe enough to drink? I was like, sure. So we both took a shot at the toilet bowl cleaner. Okay. And then I immediately text Adam. Finally, he got back to me. I was like, hey, just drink the toilet bowl cleaner. I'm going to be okay, right?

Speaker 1:
[47:03] Hey, thanks so much for listening to the show this week. And by the way, please make sure to check out my newsletter. You can sign up for it for free at guyraz.com or on Substack. And of course, if you are working on a business and you'd like to be on this show, send us a one-minute message that tells us a little bit about your business and the questions or issues that you're currently facing. Because we would love to try and help you solve them. You can send us a voice memo at hibt.id.wonder.com or call us at 1-800-433-1298. Leave a message there and make sure to tell us how to reach you. And we'll put all of this information in the podcast description as well. This episode was produced by Noor Gill with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Casey Herman and our audio engineer was Cena Loffredo. Our production staff also includes Alex Chung, John Isabella, Kerry Thompson, Chris Messini, Catherine Seifer, Ramel Wood, Sam Paulson, Neva Grant and Elaine Coates. I'm Guy Raz and you've been listening to the Advice Line on How I Built This Lab.