WEBVTT - Keeping Your Head Above Zero (feat. Dune Suncare) 0:00:01.080 --> 0:00:03.720 The views, information, or opinions expressed during this podcast are 0:00:03.720 --> 0:00:06.120 solely those of the individuals involved and do not represent 0:00:06.160 --> 0:00:08.360 those of Into It QuickBooks or any of its cornerstone 0:00:08.400 --> 0:00:11.600 brands or employees. This podcast does not constitute financial, legal, 0:00:11.680 --> 0:00:14.360 or other professional advice or services. No assurance is given 0:00:14.360 --> 0:00:16.840 that the info is comprehensive, accurate, or free of errors, 0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:19.639 and the information presented is for general information purposes only. 0:00:19.680 --> 0:00:22.160 Into It QuickBooks does not have any responsibility for updating 0:00:22.239 --> 0:00:25.400 or revising any information presented. Listeners should verify statements before 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:30.880 relying on them. 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:33.240 Hey everyone, I'm Austin Hankwitz. 0:00:32.920 --> 0:00:35.880 And I'm Denise Torres. Welcome to Mind the Business Small 0:00:35.920 --> 0:00:38.960 Business Success Stories, a podcast brought to you by iHeartRadio 0:00:39.040 --> 0:00:42.920 and Into It QuickBooks. In each episode, Austin and I 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:45.440 chat with small business owners as they share their stories 0:00:45.479 --> 0:00:47.760 about the ups and downs of owning a small business. 0:00:48.040 --> 0:00:50.159 Plus we'll learn from their experience on how you can 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:52.280 help fortify and strengthen your own business. 0:00:52.880 --> 0:00:55.279 That is right, and I am so excited for our 0:00:55.320 --> 0:00:57.960 guests today, But before we introduce them, I wanted to 0:00:58.000 --> 0:01:01.720 talk to you about your early day running your business. 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:04.280 Was there ever a moment where you thought you may 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:06.560 have to change your plans for your business because you 0:01:06.600 --> 0:01:08.280 weren't maybe hitting your financial goals. 0:01:08.360 --> 0:01:11.039 Jennis, I'm so glad you brought this up, Austin. 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:12.520 I think this is a struggle that a lot of 0:01:12.640 --> 0:01:15.520 entrepreneurs struggle with in the beginning, because we're kind of 0:01:15.560 --> 0:01:17.720 just throwing spaghetti at the wall and trying to see 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:20.280 what sticks. And for me, I found myself just doing 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:23.720 a lot of different things as a personal finance content creator. 0:01:23.760 --> 0:01:26.520 I was doing speaking engagements and workshops and one on 0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:28.840 one coaching and trying to launch a course, and doing 0:01:28.920 --> 0:01:32.039 affiliate marketing and influencer marketing, and I just felt like 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:34.920 I was being stretched so thin that I really started 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:38.280 to think about what are the highest return on investment 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:41.279 activities that are going to get me to my financial goals. 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:43.640 Let me focus on those things and do less of 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:45.920 the stuff that feels like a heavy lift without a 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:48.840 lot of rewards at the end. I'm curious if you've 0:01:48.880 --> 0:01:50.360 had an experience like that to Austin. 0:01:51.000 --> 0:01:53.640 I have, Jennie, and that's so cool that we really 0:01:53.720 --> 0:01:56.040 align so well on you know, what are those highest 0:01:56.240 --> 0:01:59.960 ROI return on investment deliverables that us as content creators 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:02.560 can create and share with our audiences to just get 0:02:02.600 --> 0:02:04.400 the best bang for our books. So for me, what 0:02:04.440 --> 0:02:07.200 that was is kind of reflecting and thinking, Okay, you know, 0:02:07.240 --> 0:02:09.480 I have a limited number of perhaps one off brand 0:02:09.520 --> 0:02:11.560 deals I can do, and a limited number of perhaps 0:02:11.600 --> 0:02:15.000 one off speaking engagements. But I could write a newsletter 0:02:15.240 --> 0:02:17.240 and it could go to two people, or can go 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:19.920 to two hundred thousand people. I still just wrote that 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:23.480 newsletter once, right, So thinking about the compounding effects of 0:02:23.560 --> 0:02:26.040 creating content and sharing it and distributing it with so 0:02:26.080 --> 0:02:29.440 many people was major for my business. I don't think though, 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:31.560 that there was ever a time where I really was like, 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:33.799 wait a second, am I doing the wrong thing here? 0:02:33.960 --> 0:02:37.480 I've always been really just strongheaded and encouraged by my 0:02:37.560 --> 0:02:40.040 audience and everything else that I've been able to build 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:42.720 alongside awesome creators like yourself, Jenius over the last couple 0:02:42.720 --> 0:02:44.919 of years. But I'm right there with you right figuring 0:02:44.960 --> 0:02:47.600 out that best ROI time spent and just doubling down 0:02:47.600 --> 0:02:49.840 on your strengths and what you know best. But enough 0:02:49.880 --> 0:02:57.120 about us, Let's introduce our guests. At the start of 0:02:57.160 --> 0:02:59.359 March twenty twenty, when it felt like there was nothing 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:02.800 else to do. Emily Doyle and May Quak got cracking 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:05.720 on building a bar setting suncare brand that could be 0:03:05.760 --> 0:03:09.000 loved and used by all. May being an avid surfer 0:03:09.040 --> 0:03:12.160 and darker complexioned Gal, had severe pain points within the 0:03:12.240 --> 0:03:16.240 existing options on shelf, plagued with white cast problems and 0:03:16.320 --> 0:03:20.280 difficulty finding quality SPF on the go, and Emily, a 0:03:20.320 --> 0:03:23.960 freckly fair skinned skincare lover, was frustrated by the lack 0:03:24.000 --> 0:03:27.639 of innovation and skincare benefits on the market. By combining 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:30.680 their passions and defining what was missing from their experience 0:03:30.720 --> 0:03:34.000 as the lifelong users of sunscreen, it was apparent what 0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:37.200 Dune Suncare needed to be, not only for them, but 0:03:37.280 --> 0:03:40.360 everyone else as well. Two years later, they have launched 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:44.160 a skin tone inclusive clear gel suncare line packed with 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:53.600 skincare benefits that's created for and accessible to all. Emily 0:03:53.600 --> 0:03:54.800 and May welcome to the show. 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:57.040 Thank you, Thank you for having us. 0:03:57.160 --> 0:04:02.120 Love the bio, Love the bio. May. The first kind 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:03.800 of question I have here here is and when I 0:04:03.840 --> 0:04:05.960 was doing the research and the background all that fun stuff, 0:04:06.000 --> 0:04:09.680 I was just fascinated that you all were able to 0:04:09.720 --> 0:04:13.800 sort of create skincare products so like, are you scientists? 0:04:13.920 --> 0:04:16.640 Are you skincare professionals? How did the idea of this 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:19.640 company come about? And where does the name Doune really 0:04:19.680 --> 0:04:20.360 come into play here? 0:04:20.400 --> 0:04:20.760 As well? 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:22.320 Well, I'll kick it off. 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:26.080 So, as you mentioned, March twenty twenty, I was supposed 0:04:26.120 --> 0:04:29.240 to be on a weekend surf trip. I ended up 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:32.760 being there for three months and I called Emily and 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:36.600 I realized that we finally had the time and space 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:40.960 to build our dream company. We decided to combine our passions. 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:43.479 You know, like you mentioned, I am a surfer, I'm 0:04:43.480 --> 0:04:46.560 in the sun all the time, I'm using sunscreen daily. 0:04:46.960 --> 0:04:50.320 And there was nothing that I gravitated towards or that 0:04:50.400 --> 0:04:53.480 I felt was innovative and accessible and fun. 0:04:53.920 --> 0:04:56.359 Yeah, I got to be honest. I was so in 0:04:56.400 --> 0:04:59.120 love with skincare, even at a really early age. 0:04:59.200 --> 0:04:59.359 You know. 0:04:59.400 --> 0:05:02.400 My mom used to take the grocery shopping after school, 0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:05.839 and upon entering the grocery store, I would gravitate toward 0:05:05.920 --> 0:05:09.760 the skincare aisle and steal products off the shelf and 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:12.200 sneak them into the grocery cart, hoping that my mom 0:05:12.200 --> 0:05:16.599 would never notice. And that love infiltrated into my career 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:20.039 after college so I ran a number of PR marketing 0:05:20.040 --> 0:05:23.760 departments for a few fashion designers in New York. So 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:28.480 I worked on everything from contract negotiation points to building 0:05:28.560 --> 0:05:33.200 and executing on large scale PR marketing initiatives and press 0:05:33.440 --> 0:05:36.880 days and in store launches. So that was really my 0:05:37.120 --> 0:05:40.560 first step into understanding the beauty market. 0:05:41.360 --> 0:05:42.800 So when we came. 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:44.920 Together to build Doune, we are like, we want two 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:48.680 for one products. Product is paramount, it's got to be 0:05:48.800 --> 0:05:51.880 something that's totally differentiated in the space. We wanted to 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:55.679 be skin tone inclusive. We were pulling benchmarks from Asian market. 0:05:55.760 --> 0:05:59.040 Clear gel was something we really wanted, and we knew 0:05:59.120 --> 0:06:02.560 convenience and extasibility was key. So we kind of like 0:06:02.800 --> 0:06:05.919 came out of the gates right away focused on retail 0:06:05.920 --> 0:06:08.880 distribution strategy and accessible price point. 0:06:09.839 --> 0:06:12.479 So let's talk a little bit more about once you 0:06:12.760 --> 0:06:14.760 made that big break and things were coming out, where 0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:17.599 did the name of Dune come from? Why Dune? What 0:06:17.640 --> 0:06:18.400 does Doune mean? 0:06:19.720 --> 0:06:19.840 All? 0:06:19.960 --> 0:06:20.159 Right? 0:06:20.279 --> 0:06:24.320 So Emily was on her daily COVID beach walks and 0:06:24.600 --> 0:06:26.880 she called me and she was like, I got the 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:31.159 name Dune, And she ran over to my house and like, 0:06:31.400 --> 0:06:33.359 of course, I'm like the pessimist, and I was like, 0:06:33.400 --> 0:06:36.240 that won't ever work. But eventually I was like, this 0:06:36.279 --> 0:06:36.920 is perfect. 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:40.440 Yeah, so dune. We loved how quick and easy it 0:06:40.480 --> 0:06:44.520 was to stay. But moreover, it's universally understood in its definition. 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:49.279 So dunes are natural resilient barriers for our beaches and 0:06:49.320 --> 0:06:53.280 everything inland. They helped protect, and when you think about it, 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:55.800 that's exactly what we are trying to do or achieve 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:57.560 rather with our sun. 0:06:57.560 --> 0:06:59.120 Caroline, I love that. 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:02.320 I love that. So let's get into the nitty gritty. Right, 0:07:02.440 --> 0:07:05.320 let's talk business. Let's talk numbers and metrics, all the 0:07:05.320 --> 0:07:08.400 fun things. The first year of operating a business is 0:07:08.480 --> 0:07:11.160 usually the make or break year, Right, what was the 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:14.680 biggest benchmark, internal benchmark that you all had made for 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:17.000 yourselves that said if we hit this, we got to 0:07:17.080 --> 0:07:19.280 keep going. And it was there ever a moment where 0:07:19.320 --> 0:07:21.120 you thought, oh my gosh, we might not hit this benchmark. 0:07:21.160 --> 0:07:22.120 We're gonna have to shut down. 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:27.760 Oh man, Yes, yeah. We launched on June eighth of 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:32.080 last year, twenty twenty two. We had actually solicited the 0:07:32.080 --> 0:07:35.800 support of our PR agency, Autumn PR. They're amazing to 0:07:35.920 --> 0:07:39.200 help drive our long lead press and our short lead 0:07:39.280 --> 0:07:42.880 like digital press initiatives prior to launch to put us 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:45.840 on the map, and they absolutely blew it out of 0:07:45.880 --> 0:07:47.600 the water. I obviously have to give us a little 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:49.200 bit of credit because the product and the. 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:50.240 Branding is good too. 0:07:50.440 --> 0:07:53.480 But you know, we were in book in Vogue and 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:56.600 l and Vanity Fair and Harper's Bizarre. We made Oprah's 0:07:56.680 --> 0:08:00.360 June O list. So this was really in the first 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:03.880 month that we were off to the races. And then 0:08:04.040 --> 0:08:07.480 shortly thereafter, you know, we joke that we received the 0:08:07.480 --> 0:08:12.880 hottest DM slides we've ever received from Alta and Urban Outfitters. 0:08:13.440 --> 0:08:16.960 So Alta reached out to us in July, you know, 0:08:17.080 --> 0:08:21.040 month to post launch, the biggest beauty retailer in the country, 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:24.480 asking to carry the line at the start of this 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:27.360 coming year, which we are fast approaching our launch in 0:08:27.440 --> 0:08:30.360 two weeks from now, in five hundred and fifty doors 0:08:30.400 --> 0:08:34.720 across the US. But we knew when we had retail interest, 0:08:34.960 --> 0:08:37.440 we had something. We knew we wanted to be an 0:08:37.480 --> 0:08:39.760 omni channel business. We knew that's how we were going 0:08:39.800 --> 0:08:44.800 to find success, and an omni channel approach is a 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:50.120 multi pronged retail strategy. So man I started calling visiting 0:08:50.320 --> 0:08:55.160 all of our favorite specialty retailers, boutiques, high end surf shops, grocers, 0:08:55.240 --> 0:08:59.559 and hotels. So we secured about twenty of those accounts 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:03.240 right launch. But I would say the biggest hurdle for 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:08.160 us was about five months pre lunch, we had gotten 0:09:08.200 --> 0:09:12.199 a call from our packaging supplier and a contract manufacturer 0:09:12.240 --> 0:09:15.280 we were about to go into contract with, thankfully we 0:09:15.360 --> 0:09:19.800 hadn't yet. We had learned that our packaging was not 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:24.240 going to be able to deliver until August of the 0:09:24.320 --> 0:09:28.960 following year, so pushing our lunch to September, completely missing 0:09:29.040 --> 0:09:32.120 the sun season. By the way, we had already raised capital, 0:09:32.520 --> 0:09:36.160 so we had investors and partners that were like heavily 0:09:36.240 --> 0:09:39.960 counting on us for a summer pre summer launch, and 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:43.200 we had also found out from our contract manufacturer, with 0:09:43.280 --> 0:09:46.640 the raw material shortages and all the ships being held 0:09:46.720 --> 0:09:49.120 up at the ports, it was going to be almost 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:50.120 twice the cost. 0:09:50.960 --> 0:09:52.479 So we were devastated. 0:09:52.559 --> 0:09:55.240 I mean, we thought for sure that was it may 0:09:55.280 --> 0:10:00.560 and I scrambled to find new partners that help us 0:10:00.559 --> 0:10:03.000 to launch in time and at the price points that 0:10:03.040 --> 0:10:08.280 we needed to offer accessible formulations, and we were. 0:10:08.160 --> 0:10:09.080 Able to pull it off. 0:10:09.120 --> 0:10:12.320 But yeah, that was that was the time when we 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:15.360 felt like this is really a make or break it moment. 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:20.280 So big kudos to our partners for really like doing 0:10:20.360 --> 0:10:23.240 everything in their power to support us in that moment. 0:10:23.960 --> 0:10:26.720 And look where you are now, right five hundred plus 0:10:26.760 --> 0:10:29.760 Alta Beauty Doors like that is so so exciting. It 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:31.600 actually it leads me to my next question here before 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:33.600 I flip it over to Genie, I'm really curious, what's 0:10:33.640 --> 0:10:38.400 your strategy for differentiating your product and brand against all 0:10:38.440 --> 0:10:41.600 of your competitors, Right, skincare is such a congested market, 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:44.760 like Ulta must have seen something specific and unique with you. 0:10:44.880 --> 0:10:47.160 What was that strategy of differentiating yourself? 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:51.760 You know, we really broke the category, the suncare category 0:10:52.520 --> 0:10:55.120 out into two sectors. So you have the mass brands 0:10:55.160 --> 0:10:57.520 like the copper Tone Swine Tropics, Banana Boats of the 0:10:57.520 --> 0:11:01.160 world that we've all known their legacy household brand names. 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:04.880 And then you have the specialty, more modern brands, you know, 0:11:04.920 --> 0:11:07.120 the supergroups Kolas of the world. 0:11:07.800 --> 0:11:09.319 And when we. 0:11:09.120 --> 0:11:12.040 Were really like at the inception point of the brand, 0:11:12.200 --> 0:11:14.920 when we were idating on what the whole was in 0:11:14.960 --> 0:11:21.040 the market, it really came down to accessibility, quality products, 0:11:21.280 --> 0:11:26.120 branding and universality. So we really were looking at our 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:30.080 competitors who were predominantly speaking specifically in the specialty space 0:11:30.120 --> 0:11:33.960 to women. While we love our women, like sunscreen is 0:11:34.000 --> 0:11:36.920 not marginalized, it's for everyone to wear everyday, year round, 0:11:37.440 --> 0:11:40.480 and so we really wanted to lean heavily into marketing 0:11:40.520 --> 0:11:42.920 to everyone. Today, we have data that points to the 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:45.960 back end of our Shopify which says that our age 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:49.400 demographic range is between sixteen to sixty five and we 0:11:49.440 --> 0:11:51.640 have almost a fifty to fifty split between a male 0:11:51.679 --> 0:11:54.040 female customer, which is remarkable. 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:57.720 I love that insight and I'd love to dive in 0:11:57.800 --> 0:12:02.679 more to the profitability aspect of business. Right, So the 0:12:02.760 --> 0:12:06.160 first couple of years of business, you're usually reporting losses 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:09.240 unless you just have a Unicorn launch that you know, 0:12:09.480 --> 0:12:12.440 super profitable. Did you guys find immediate success. 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:16.360 We're currently not profitable yet, but next year we will be. 0:12:16.760 --> 0:12:17.000 Yeah. 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:19.120 I mean I think that's part and parcel with how 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:20.559 things work, right, Yeah. 0:12:20.320 --> 0:12:23.640 For sure, Yeah, we're we're planning to be profitable early on. 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:27.040 We are planning also to have a pretty banner year 0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:31.560 comparatively last year. That our growth is pretty substantial just 0:12:31.600 --> 0:12:34.400 based on you know, all of our retail partnerships that 0:12:34.400 --> 0:12:38.240 are secured. We've been incredibly lean to be honest, you know, 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:43.000 we've really like raised nominal funds relative to how much 0:12:43.040 --> 0:12:46.720 growth we've had. And we're a two woman band. We 0:12:46.760 --> 0:12:51.840 work with an onslaught of freelancers, contractors and agency folks. 0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:54.600 But May and I are running every corner of this 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:57.680 business by ourselves and have been for over three years. 0:12:58.240 --> 0:13:00.880 We are really excited to close. Is there a fundraise 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:03.480 if like this is like a plug for investors who 0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:06.880 want to come to the table, but we are really 0:13:06.920 --> 0:13:09.960 hoping to put money towards building a team at this point, 0:13:10.000 --> 0:13:14.840 which it would require for scaling. So Sunscreen unpnounced to 0:13:15.240 --> 0:13:18.720 May and I as it's an OTC product meaning over 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:22.280 the counter, is incredibly time consuming if you're starting a 0:13:22.320 --> 0:13:26.079 product from zero and also incredibly expensive. If we had 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:29.000 known what we know now then at start, I don't 0:13:29.000 --> 0:13:31.640 know if we would have been here today. But that's 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:35.000 why there's really pretty nominal competition when it comes to 0:13:35.240 --> 0:13:37.120 who the main players are and who's driving the most 0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:37.920 revenue per year. 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:41.720 So you alluded to some of the supply chain issues 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:44.240 that you ran into, and I'm curious if you have 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:48.840 any advice around building those relationships with vendors that are 0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:51.120 affordable and that meet your standard of quality, Like what's 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:52.080 your best advice there. 0:13:52.559 --> 0:13:55.080 We did a lot of vendor vetting, like we were 0:13:55.120 --> 0:13:59.240 always in meetings with every different contractor or raw material 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:03.600 supplier just to gather all the correct info we found 0:14:03.600 --> 0:14:07.320 to write partners that can meet our deadline and goals. 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:09.679 She's making it sound much easier than it is. 0:14:09.880 --> 0:14:10.199 It's not. 0:14:10.360 --> 0:14:13.560 It's not it's not easy. It's definitely not easy. 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:15.880 To lean into what may mentioned. You know, I think 0:14:15.880 --> 0:14:19.600 the critical component here is setting a goal for yourself. 0:14:19.680 --> 0:14:23.480 So let's just say time. It's really challenging, you know, 0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:26.160 with all the testing and compliance and if you have 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:28.800 clinical hard claims that you're putting on the front of pack, 0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:31.240 you have to test against all of those, which costs 0:14:31.320 --> 0:14:35.160 money and require certain banks of time. So I would 0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:39.160 say start with your desired time, add cushion in, and 0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:43.440 then work backwards from there. It's constantly like problem solving 0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:46.200 and finding solutions so that you can hit your targets. 0:14:49.080 --> 0:14:52.840 Coming up on Mind the Business small business success stories. 0:14:52.800 --> 0:14:55.480 We both had to like drop our egos and get 0:14:55.600 --> 0:14:59.000 super vulnerable with each other and just be honest about 0:14:59.000 --> 0:15:02.120 where our strengths lie, what we want in the business, 0:15:02.120 --> 0:15:03.560 like how we both want to lead. 0:15:04.120 --> 0:15:18.040 We'll be right back after the break. Welcome back to 0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:20.960 Mind the Business Small business success stories brought to you 0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:26.920 by iHeartRadio and Into It Quick Books. So, as a 0:15:26.960 --> 0:15:29.640 company that was developed during the pandemic, what sort of 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:32.200 safety neess have you built into your business model to 0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:34.480 be able to weather economic storms. 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:36.000 Yeah. 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:39.640 One of our longest standing and most valued partners is 0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:43.200 our finance and OPS team. They've been with us for 0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:45.600 over a year and a half. They've really helped build 0:15:45.800 --> 0:15:49.280 our entire financial model projecting for the next five years. 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:54.080 We're constantly updating that to input actuals and put updates 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:57.320 based on new relationships that we have or sell through 0:15:57.360 --> 0:16:01.800 expectations from retailers, etc. I also think it's really imperative 0:16:01.960 --> 0:16:06.160 to build an infrastructure, a strong, solid foundation and business 0:16:06.360 --> 0:16:09.160 infrastructure straight out of the gate. We've worked for a 0:16:09.200 --> 0:16:13.400 number of different companies that hire a finance team for like, 0:16:13.480 --> 0:16:16.280 after being in business for five years and the books 0:16:16.280 --> 0:16:20.400 are a mess and everything is delayed, or you've jeopardized 0:16:20.400 --> 0:16:23.160 relationships with some vendors that you were working with for years, 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:26.400 so we're like, we got to get this tight, got 0:16:26.400 --> 0:16:27.840 to get it tight right away. 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:30.640 That really leads me into my next question here, which 0:16:30.680 --> 0:16:32.880 is like in the early days, how are you really 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:36.280 balancing these budgets of income expenses? Like what was the 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:38.920 most difficult part of figuring out the cash flows and 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:40.920 how did you really overcome that. Was it your finance 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:42.480 team that you were able to really lean on or 0:16:42.720 --> 0:16:45.480 I mean, who taught you all to think that I 0:16:45.560 --> 0:16:47.840 need to focus on this day one right out the 0:16:47.880 --> 0:16:49.920 gates to make sure that four or five years down 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:51.440 the road it's not a mess. 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:54.840 Well, I think both of us had come from the 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:58.680 production world, so we've worked on production budgets. So like 0:16:59.080 --> 0:17:02.480 we've both were really meticulous about budgeting and making sure 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:05.320 we hit those goals. You know, from the get go, 0:17:05.520 --> 0:17:08.800 we've set a long term goal of our budget what 0:17:08.920 --> 0:17:12.320 we can put in personally, because remember we didn't have 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:16.159 jobs and we worked against that. We split costs in 0:17:16.240 --> 0:17:20.280 the beginning and just make sure that we hit those numbers. 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:25.080 Yeah, I think it's understanding what you have and what 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:27.720 you need to work against and what you absolutely need 0:17:27.720 --> 0:17:29.840 to spend money on. Like do you absolutely need to 0:17:29.840 --> 0:17:31.720 build a team right now, or can you be lean 0:17:31.800 --> 0:17:35.320 and handle it yourselves as founders, you know, you're constantly 0:17:35.440 --> 0:17:36.680 trying to figure out what's. 0:17:36.520 --> 0:17:37.160 The goal here. 0:17:37.320 --> 0:17:40.199 For us, it was product. We had to spend a 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:44.199 lot of money up front on product. Who would we 0:17:44.280 --> 0:17:47.960 be without it? And not to mention, building an OTC 0:17:48.160 --> 0:17:50.919 product from zero means a year and a half of 0:17:50.920 --> 0:17:53.879 your time and a lot of money upfront. So while 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:57.960 we've also been able to start production on products that 0:17:58.000 --> 0:17:59.800 we're going to launch at the end of next year, 0:18:00.280 --> 0:18:05.080 even now we're also facilitating terms. So it's looking at like, 0:18:05.119 --> 0:18:07.760 all right, I've been in a relationship with this vendor 0:18:07.840 --> 0:18:12.160 for a year now, we can do incremental spend against 0:18:12.160 --> 0:18:15.199 the quote, or we can come down here because of 0:18:15.400 --> 0:18:18.840 X mistakes, or you know, you get into like negotiation 0:18:19.080 --> 0:18:21.240 mode to cost save as well. 0:18:21.280 --> 0:18:23.919 That's interesting. I never really thought about it like that, 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:25.920 But I guess you're right back to though, what may 0:18:26.040 --> 0:18:27.959 was just kind of alluding to before, with you know, 0:18:28.000 --> 0:18:32.080 being unemployed. You know, as you were unemployed when starting Doune, 0:18:32.080 --> 0:18:35.160 what were some of the advantages and disadvantages of nurturing 0:18:35.200 --> 0:18:38.000 your brain child without having another job to supplit your 0:18:38.040 --> 0:18:38.920 time between. 0:18:39.359 --> 0:18:42.640 Well, we both had to take turns to pick up 0:18:42.720 --> 0:18:46.320 you know, freelance gigs, but like in between our days, 0:18:46.400 --> 0:18:50.119 like we'll be taking on pitches and VC meetings and 0:18:50.200 --> 0:18:52.920 just you know, putting one foot ahead of each other. 0:18:53.200 --> 0:18:56.600 And big kudos to Emily, she sold Disney stocks to 0:18:56.720 --> 0:18:58.800 pay for our first chemist. 0:19:00.000 --> 0:19:01.720 Don't worry. It was supposed to put my kid through 0:19:01.760 --> 0:19:06.520 private school, but they'll be going to a different school. 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:07.600 Yeah, you know. 0:19:08.280 --> 0:19:10.320 This over lining to COVID, and we always say this 0:19:10.480 --> 0:19:12.800 is time and space. You know, there was one thing 0:19:12.840 --> 0:19:15.120 that May and I are steadfast on, which is work 0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:19.760 life balance. And we weren't willing to forego our evenings 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:22.359 after a full time day job or our weekends to 0:19:22.440 --> 0:19:26.680 really put all of our muscle energy money into building 0:19:26.760 --> 0:19:30.120 a brand, particularly in the suncare space, because it would 0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:31.359 have taken us five years. 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:34.040 So we were really lucky we. 0:19:34.040 --> 0:19:39.280 Capitalized on the time that COVID allowed us. And it's 0:19:39.400 --> 0:19:41.840 wild that COVID really lasted two and a half years, 0:19:41.880 --> 0:19:45.760 which is exactly how long we needed to bring our 0:19:46.320 --> 0:19:50.920 launch collection to market. But we also say like at 0:19:50.920 --> 0:19:53.600 that moment in COVID, like so many people, you kind 0:19:53.600 --> 0:19:56.720 of have to torch your ego on fire. You have 0:19:56.800 --> 0:19:59.399 to put it in the trash and start again. You 0:19:59.400 --> 0:20:01.920 can't think of out like, oh I I climbed the 0:20:02.000 --> 0:20:03.960 ladder for all these years, and I made it to 0:20:04.000 --> 0:20:07.159 the top of pr and marketing, and like none of 0:20:07.160 --> 0:20:08.040 that mattered anymore. 0:20:08.080 --> 0:20:08.880 It was all trivial. 0:20:08.920 --> 0:20:11.119 We are thinking about our health and the well being 0:20:11.200 --> 0:20:17.080 of our friends and family and ourselves. It was negotiating 0:20:17.520 --> 0:20:21.879 rent with our landlords to try to come down on 0:20:22.000 --> 0:20:25.440 monthly costs, and you figure it out. 0:20:25.840 --> 0:20:29.560 We tapped into our savings as well, so as every 0:20:29.720 --> 0:20:33.000 you know entrepreneur has probably has had to do. 0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:33.960 Yeah. 0:20:34.000 --> 0:20:37.639 Absolutely, So I'm curious how do you guys keep the 0:20:37.720 --> 0:20:41.360 friendship and still be business partners and you know, keep 0:20:41.400 --> 0:20:43.240 everything flowing, because I know that's not easy. 0:20:44.320 --> 0:20:46.359 Oh my god, this is such a weighted one. It's 0:20:46.440 --> 0:20:49.960 so personal personal. The relationship you have with a co 0:20:50.040 --> 0:20:53.520 founder is deeper and more intimate than any other relationship 0:20:53.560 --> 0:20:57.080 you'll have, including a romantic one. And you know a 0:20:57.119 --> 0:21:00.919 lot of people start businesses with the no that there's 0:21:01.160 --> 0:21:03.800