WEBVTT - EYL #156: Shark Tank Winner Turned a Tennis Racket into a Comb 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:03.600 An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child 0:00:03.680 --> 0:00:07.480 in Massachusetts. An MS thirteen gang member from Al Salvador 0:00:07.720 --> 0:00:11.840 accused of murdering a Texas man of Venezuelan charged with 0:00:11.920 --> 0:00:15.840 filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just 0:00:15.920 --> 0:00:19.680 some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President 0:00:19.720 --> 0:00:23.320 Donald J. Trump's leadership. I'm Christy nom the United States 0:00:23.320 --> 0:00:28.120 Secretary of Homeland Security. Under President Trump, attempted illegal border 0:00:28.160 --> 0:00:31.680 crossings are at the lowest levels ever recorded, and over 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:34.960 one hundred thousand illegal aliens have been arrested. If you 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:38.920 are here illegally, your next you will be fined nearly 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:43.000 one thousand dollars a day, imprisoned, and deported. You will 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:46.680 never return. But if you register using our CBP home 0:00:46.720 --> 0:00:50.120 app and leave now, you could be allowed to return legally. 0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:55.240 Do what's right. Leave now. Under President Trump, America's laws, 0:00:55.400 --> 0:00:57.840 border and families will be protected. 0:00:57.920 --> 0:01:00.440 Sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security EARNS 0:01:00.440 --> 0:01:01.040 what's going on. 0:01:01.240 --> 0:01:04.520 Traditional universities are outdated and don't teach you how to 0:01:04.520 --> 0:01:05.480 become an entrepreneur. 0:01:05.920 --> 0:01:08.080 They just teach you how to become an employee. 0:01:08.640 --> 0:01:10.880 You go to school for four years and you leave 0:01:11.000 --> 0:01:14.959 with nothing but debt. But here why EYL University. Our 0:01:15.000 --> 0:01:16.520 curriculum is much different. 0:01:16.600 --> 0:01:19.240 Our university teaches you real world skills that you can 0:01:19.319 --> 0:01:22.800 use to gain financial freedom right away. In traditional universities, 0:01:22.800 --> 0:01:25.480 you learn from professors that have never did what they teach, 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:27.680 and they teach you how to become an employee. At 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:30.760 our university, we use instructors that are currently successful in 0:01:30.800 --> 0:01:33.679 specific field that they teach, and they teach you how 0:01:33.680 --> 0:01:34.679 to become an entrepreneur. 0:01:34.800 --> 0:01:38.680 For a limited time only, you can join EYL University 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:42.319 for twenty five percent off of the annual membership. Learn 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:45.679 about stocks, credit, real estate, crypto and more. Go to 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:50.000 eyluniversity dot com right now and sign up to become 0:01:50.040 --> 0:01:50.440 an earner. 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:55.000 Don't wait, don't hesitate it over there now my graduates 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:57.800 from my school being forced back. 0:01:57.960 --> 0:02:14.520 Drop Thanks, drop, Mike, drop drop. All right, guys, welcome 0:02:14.560 --> 0:02:18.240 back e y L. This is a special episode for us. 0:02:18.320 --> 0:02:26.960 We are in lovely Los Angeles and yes, so anytime 0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:29.200 we get a chance to connect with entrepreneurs is always 0:02:29.200 --> 0:02:34.160 a and a pleasure. But this has backstory to it 0:02:34.320 --> 0:02:38.120 and we love the backstory. So Mark Cuban shout out 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:38.440 to Mark. 0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:44.160 Yeah, the first of our billionaire editions. 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:46.040 The first, the first billionaire to come on off platform. 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:48.680 And he when he came on ey L, he spoke 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:51.320 about a company that he invested in called Twisted Up, 0:02:52.240 --> 0:02:54.600 and he gave the whole story, he talked about the founder, 0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:59.320 the well and fast forward a year and some change, 0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:05.000 we are interviewing the partners of that company, Twisted Up, 0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:09.680 Noel and Ace. So not only are they the first 0:03:10.000 --> 0:03:13.160 company that have been on Shark Tank, that have been 0:03:13.200 --> 0:03:24.000 on E y L. Yeah, also I believe the first 0:03:24.000 --> 0:03:27.640 company that we've had they have hair products right. 0:03:27.480 --> 0:03:28.200 In the hair industry. 0:03:28.240 --> 0:03:28.880 First company. 0:03:29.000 --> 0:03:32.560 Yeah, we had Wade who had some products here, but 0:03:32.720 --> 0:03:34.440 he's a bar is different. 0:03:34.360 --> 0:03:37.640 Way the barber. Yeah you know bro, Yeah, man, you 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:40.600 know I met him when I was first starting the 0:03:40.640 --> 0:03:43.160 Brown Brothers in at twenty seventeen. He was just starting 0:03:43.160 --> 0:03:47.600 the hair units. Man. Yeah, I didn't get one. Just 0:03:48.440 --> 0:03:53.240 for the record, Yeah, he's dope the way. Shout out 0:03:53.240 --> 0:03:53.760 to Wait. 0:03:54.280 --> 0:03:56.520 But the hair industry is a billion dollar industry, especially 0:03:56.560 --> 0:04:01.800 for black people, black women, black men, huge, huge industry. Unfortunately, 0:04:02.280 --> 0:04:05.400 we don't own vast majority of hair products. The hair 0:04:05.440 --> 0:04:08.200 industry even though we spend so much money on it. 0:04:08.240 --> 0:04:10.000 So this is going to be a dope, dope conversation. 0:04:11.080 --> 0:04:13.200 So first and foremost, thank you guys for joining us. 0:04:13.200 --> 0:04:14.960 Appreciate it having us. 0:04:15.040 --> 0:04:18.920 Yeah yeah, but the introduction, man, So let's go. I'm 0:04:19.000 --> 0:04:21.440 going to say this right now, eyo, Noble Peace Price 0:04:21.839 --> 0:04:23.640 twenty four, Make it happen. 0:04:23.720 --> 0:04:24.400 Put it out there. 0:04:24.440 --> 0:04:28.040 You have it, ladies and gentlemen. So let's get into this. 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:32.280 I want to talk about Twisted Up. But before that, 0:04:32.400 --> 0:04:33.680 I want to just go on too back. But I 0:04:33.680 --> 0:04:35.240 just want to preface it. So twist it up. You 0:04:35.240 --> 0:04:38.640 guys have like tennis rackets on your shirt. Oh I'm 0:04:38.640 --> 0:04:39.520 glad you do. 0:04:39.640 --> 0:04:41.200 You have the fish in your pocket? 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:45.000 So that all right. So before we get into the backstory, 0:04:45.040 --> 0:04:46.000 tell me what this is. 0:04:46.240 --> 0:04:48.680 What is this? It was something that birthed out of 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:52.000 necessity to help me twist my hair right to wear 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:55.560 your hair natural. As you know, as a culture outside 0:04:55.600 --> 0:04:59.240 of braids, cornos locks, there wasn't really anything that we 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:01.200 have that come to wearing my hair naturally. And I 0:05:01.320 --> 0:05:04.159 was using the competitive product of Cross Bunch, and you know, 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:06.080 we get a lot of rap that we don't like. 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:08.160 Cross punches like I love cross punches, and if you're 0:05:08.160 --> 0:05:09.760 going to use one, like I would give one a 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:12.160 shout out. Used New Drag because he's the founder, he's 0:05:12.200 --> 0:05:14.800 the one that started it, the original, and he's been 0:05:14.880 --> 0:05:17.320 knocked off and it's just sad. I just wanted something 0:05:17.320 --> 0:05:19.320 that was a little bit better, more hygienics, and that 0:05:19.480 --> 0:05:21.640 can clean, fits in your pocket. Then you go to 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:23.160 a club and they say, take off your hat. 0:05:23.880 --> 0:05:24.520 Still look good. 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:26.520 My hair is maden. But I wanted to figure out 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:27.719 how to do my hair something. 0:05:27.560 --> 0:05:28.719 To go to the club with a sponge. 0:05:31.200 --> 0:05:34.440 Don't it, don't do it. Don't gonna patch you down? 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:37.200 Like what is that? Bro? So I just wanted something 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:39.320 that was sleep, something that can be clean, fits in 0:05:39.400 --> 0:05:41.760 your pocket, and I didn't have to replace it as much. 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:46.159 So all right, how did you come up with the idea? 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:48.479 Because if you're listening order you can't see it. It 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:52.040 is a the best way I can describe it. It looks 0:05:52.040 --> 0:05:54.320 like a tennis racket without without a handle. 0:05:54.520 --> 0:05:57.400 Yeah, it's your shrinking man, it's a it's a small 0:05:57.400 --> 0:05:58.120 tennis racket. 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:01.359 So how what do you Yeah, it looks like it 0:06:01.400 --> 0:06:05.080 could be like a badminton racket for table tennis. 0:06:05.440 --> 0:06:09.440 Yeah. Yeah, I was using a tennis racket for about 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:11.160 three years to do my hair. So you were walking 0:06:11.200 --> 0:06:13.040 around with a tennis racket. I bought three of them. 0:06:13.040 --> 0:06:14.440 I had one in my car, one in the gym, 0:06:14.480 --> 0:06:18.880 and one of my girl's house. So no, this is 0:06:18.920 --> 0:06:21.000 this is actually how we met. So how did you 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:21.240 get that? 0:06:21.520 --> 0:06:25.320 I love entrepreneurship because it's all about innovation and innovation 0:06:25.600 --> 0:06:27.440 things that people. You got to have an imagination to 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:29.680 be an entrepreneur, right, yeah, so, oh I. 0:06:29.680 --> 0:06:31.719 Can't take credit for that. Bro, My cousin. My cousin 0:06:31.800 --> 0:06:34.120 came in with the tennis racket. Like, bro, it was 0:06:34.120 --> 0:06:37.240 an after midnight conversation, probably had one too many, you know, 0:06:37.640 --> 0:06:41.919 something gave me came in. It's like, bro, did you 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:45.240 know that you can get your hair twisted with a racket? 0:06:45.360 --> 0:06:47.839 So can you can you show how do you do this? Yeah? 0:06:47.880 --> 0:06:48.000 Bro? 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:50.480 You can you just pick out your hair or just 0:06:50.680 --> 0:06:54.560 literally just go in a circle and it just makes 0:06:54.560 --> 0:06:56.640 these twists. Man, Like it just twisted up. How your 0:06:56.640 --> 0:06:59.200 hair twisted? Right now? Yeah? From an afro to a twist. 0:06:59.200 --> 0:07:01.760 We got before and after shots. She can go on YouTube. 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:03.600 We got a bunch of videos that show about it, 0:07:04.640 --> 0:07:08.320 and it's just it's just crazy, Like, uh, the story 0:07:08.400 --> 0:07:11.560 is just man. I mean so like you're like a 0:07:11.600 --> 0:07:11.960 real right. 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:13.800 I used to teach for Yeah, I used a real 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:15.840 tennis racker, so like you're going to stores with the racket, 0:07:15.920 --> 0:07:17.400 like you're going out at night, Like I'm gonna have 0:07:17.400 --> 0:07:19.000 a racket in my car, and. 0:07:18.680 --> 0:07:21.640 So I had one in my car. So like when 0:07:21.840 --> 0:07:25.160 when we first met, he was like, Yo, we were 0:07:25.160 --> 0:07:25.800 playing basketball. 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:28.960 I was giving them buckets. By the way, reference. 0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:32.360 He was like, Yo, how do you get your hair 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:34.440 this way? And at the time, I was toying with 0:07:34.480 --> 0:07:36.520 the idea of drinking it. And I was like, bro, 0:07:36.680 --> 0:07:39.360 like I'm going to tell you this because you're cool, 0:07:39.400 --> 0:07:42.400 but you can't tell like nobody right because I'm trying 0:07:42.440 --> 0:07:44.480 to figure this out. He's like, all right, what what 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:47.280 is it? You know, we went to the locker room. 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:50.640 You put the like we was doing like some illegal 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:52.960 stuff locker room, real. 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:57.160 Quick tennis racker, bro. Because for me, it was a necessity, man, 0:07:57.160 --> 0:08:00.320 Like I I wanted to wear my hair naturally and 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:02.400 I was tired of putting the texturizers in my hair 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:04.560 and I just I wanted my hair to be done, 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:07.560 and it worked, like in a minute, two minutes, my 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:11.600 hair was like done and for a culture without my 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:15.200 hair being short. I've never had that, Like even picking 0:08:15.200 --> 0:08:17.240 out my hair hurts, right, I've never had a way 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:19.280 to just to take off my hair, take off my 0:08:19.320 --> 0:08:23.200 hat and just so previously for you to get your 0:08:23.240 --> 0:08:25.080 haird to that you have to do it yourself and 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:27.840 twist it. Oh no, I sponge used to sponge the 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:31.480 thing with the kids using Yeah, my only thing is 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:33.199 that when it's in the gym bag or it's everywhere, 0:08:33.320 --> 0:08:35.640 like you ever just thought, like since the dawn of time, Like, 0:08:35.720 --> 0:08:38.080 have you ever seen like a black sponge? Like the 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:39.880 reason why I Crows sponge is black is just because 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:41.840 of heides the dirt. And again I'm not talking like 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:44.800 messing the company, Like I love the product. Without it, 0:08:44.840 --> 0:08:47.360 I never would have created it, right, But I just 0:08:47.440 --> 0:08:49.600 needed a better mouse trap for me. I was replacing 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:52.560 it way too much. I was spending somewhere north of 0:08:52.600 --> 0:08:55.040 like thirty to forty bucks on my haircut every two weeks, 0:08:55.120 --> 0:08:57.199 and then I was spending anywhere between ten and fifteen 0:08:57.200 --> 0:08:59.640 dollars on a sponge every ten days so in a month, 0:08:59.679 --> 0:09:01.360 I'm spent one hundred bucks on my hair and it's 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:01.800 just crazy. 0:09:01.800 --> 0:09:03.480 When they do it in the barbershop, I'm not sure 0:09:03.480 --> 0:09:05.240 if it's the you know, the most. 0:09:05.400 --> 0:09:07.880 Hygienic thing to do, right, because it's like, you get 0:09:07.880 --> 0:09:09.240 a cut, they put the sponge in my head. 0:09:09.600 --> 0:09:11.200 My son gets the cut, they put the sponge in 0:09:11.240 --> 0:09:16.400 his clean the United States, every state has a fine 0:09:16.760 --> 0:09:18.679 for reusing it. In the state of California, it's a 0:09:18.679 --> 0:09:20.000 two hundred and fifty dollars five. 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:21.640 So you can't use So if he gets a cut, 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:23.200 they have to use a new one for me. 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:26.559 Correct. If they get caught we using it, it's a 0:09:26.559 --> 0:09:28.640 two hundred and fifty dollars fine in the state of California. 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:30.319 Every single state has a fine. 0:09:31.240 --> 0:09:33.040 So all right, yeah, because my son doesn't use this one, 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:34.920 he just picks his hair out use it before. 0:09:35.120 --> 0:09:39.079 No, So bro, I get you one so the house 0:09:41.040 --> 0:09:43.760 appreciate it. So this is like the new afro pick. 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:47.280 It's the modern day afro pick. Afro pick, but it 0:09:47.280 --> 0:09:49.400 gets you. The curls at the top gets you. That's 0:09:49.400 --> 0:09:50.360 to look at everybody wants. 0:09:50.559 --> 0:09:52.280 That's kind of yeah, that's kind of I think it 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:54.800 was like a Nick Young like Swaggy pe when he 0:09:54.840 --> 0:09:55.440 had it like that. 0:09:55.480 --> 0:09:59.120 And then I think Usher his album. 0:09:59.200 --> 0:10:02.120 Yeah, yeah, the fade, all the all the ball players 0:10:02.200 --> 0:10:04.719 have their hair like that. It's like, how big can 0:10:04.760 --> 0:10:05.320 you have it? Now? 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:08.959 Because I see some dudes ins like it. 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:14.480 Probably want to like they see. 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:16.880 Some of them when they that long. No, you don't really. 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:18.960 When it's that long, you don't have to maintain it. 0:10:19.000 --> 0:10:20.880 But when you got hair like our size, Like if 0:10:20.920 --> 0:10:23.240 I have an afro and I go to bed, I'm 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:25.400 gonna wake up and it's gonna be half my hair 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:25.760 gonna be. 0:10:25.760 --> 0:10:27.840 Put this long enough, you'll turn in the dreads. 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:31.480 So starting point, all right, so let's get into this story. 0:10:31.640 --> 0:10:33.439 So all right, you have the idea. 0:10:34.480 --> 0:10:37.079 You you realize that it's not the most efficient thing 0:10:37.160 --> 0:10:39.160 to have a tennis racket. You have the idea to 0:10:39.440 --> 0:10:40.320 shrink it into what. 0:10:40.240 --> 0:10:40.800 It is now. 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:44.000 So what are the steps because a lot of entrepreneurs 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:46.240 have ideas, but getting it off the ground is the 0:10:46.240 --> 0:10:48.360 hard part. What are the steps that you took to 0:10:48.400 --> 0:10:50.400 take the idea from your head to a product? 0:10:50.559 --> 0:10:57.320 Ready? Ready? Your secret? Google? Okay? Google? And YouTube? That 0:10:57.480 --> 0:10:59.640 is it? I am not I'm very good with numbers. 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:01.960 Anything that I would give myself that I'm like great at. 0:11:02.360 --> 0:11:05.280 I'm not an engineer, gole. I googled a YouTube like 0:11:05.400 --> 0:11:08.280 the hell out of it, and what happened was that 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:09.920 I was trying to figure out a way how to 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:13.200 shrink it. Nothing came up. And right after Shark Tank 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:16.200 this before I was on, I was just watching it. 0:11:16.760 --> 0:11:19.679 This show came on, like how to Invent something and 0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:22.040 it was talking about three D printing. I was like, 0:11:22.160 --> 0:11:25.440 what the heck is three D printing? I go to 0:11:25.480 --> 0:11:27.760 Google what is three D printing? It talks about you 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:30.200 need a cajar. I was like, all right, cool, go 0:11:30.240 --> 0:11:33.280 to craclists cadars for hire. What is that? What's a 0:11:33.360 --> 0:11:36.240 cad draw? A cadrew is? A cajar is like a 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:39.959 digital image that will give to the printer a three 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:42.679 D printer that were allowed to print whatever you're trying 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:45.160 to like do. So it's like the blueprint for the 0:11:45.160 --> 0:11:48.600 three D printer. So I go to Craigslist and I 0:11:48.640 --> 0:11:50.560 try to find a cad draw for hire and I 0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:53.920 interviewed like maybe five or six. I vibe with one. 0:11:54.320 --> 0:11:56.040 I tell him what I need. He tells me like, YO, 0:11:56.120 --> 0:11:58.640 give me the dimensions. I give him the dimensions. I go, 0:11:58.679 --> 0:12:00.800 I wanted to fit in my pocket, in my back pocket. 0:12:00.840 --> 0:12:03.080 Can't be this big, has to be a little bit smaller. 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:05.920 Send it to him, paying his money. He sends me 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:08.760 the file. Then I go to google three D print 0:12:08.760 --> 0:12:11.280 shop near me, and I find a print shop near me. 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:13.600 I go, we print it out, go to a tennis 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:18.280 racket store, get it handstrung, and then done. This was 0:12:18.280 --> 0:12:21.840 made in a three D printer. Original original, the original, original, 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:24.160 the original one is this big bulky one. I still 0:12:24.160 --> 0:12:27.680 have it. It was handstrung. They first like what two thousand, 0:12:28.160 --> 0:12:31.480 the first like two three thousand cons were hand shrunk. Yeah, 0:12:31.520 --> 0:12:34.800 so handstrung looks like actual tennis. Actually instead of having 0:12:34.840 --> 0:12:38.520 the stainless still wire mesh, it was actually like handstrung 0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:40.000 in a tennis shop. 0:12:40.080 --> 0:12:42.720 So like if anybody's ever played tennis, if you haven't, 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:46.000 that's like the wiring deck correct strings. 0:12:46.000 --> 0:12:49.400 And so you switched to standless steel why because I 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:52.679 couldn't scale and it was costing too much. So initially 0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:56.440 I never wanted to turn twist it up into like 0:12:56.559 --> 0:12:59.760 a business because I didn't know how big it could be. 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:02.360 And I wasn't going to leave like a six figure 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:06.520 job to start something that I thought was very niche right. 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:09.480 It was for African Americans, African Americans that have hair, 0:13:09.960 --> 0:13:11.640 that want to wear their hair a certain way, like 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:14.040 how big is this market? And it wasn't until my 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:16.320 barber gave me a call and said, yo, I just 0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:19.120 got fined. If you don't turn it into a business, 0:13:19.320 --> 0:13:22.240 I'm going to So then January of twenty seventeen, I 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:25.120 did a hair show on Long Beach, sold out. Then 0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:29.200 I went to Browner Brothers, sold out, did Barbican in March, 0:13:29.480 --> 0:13:32.079 sold out, and then the Connecticut Barbara Expo in April 0:13:32.440 --> 0:13:36.000 sold out. And after I sold out out four shows, 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:37.839 I just turned off the foust and Willis did the 0:13:37.880 --> 0:13:39.760 mortgages and made this something. These are the top hair 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:42.480 shows in the country by far. For like, if you're 0:13:42.520 --> 0:13:45.319 trying to do like any type of barbering show, I 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:48.480 would say the last three for sure. Definitely Barbican in 0:13:48.520 --> 0:13:52.000 New York. It's a great platform. I love it, Connecticut 0:13:52.000 --> 0:13:54.320 Barbara Expo, and Browner Brothers. If you're trying to do 0:13:54.400 --> 0:13:55.720 anything for the culture. 0:13:55.760 --> 0:13:57.880 So the initial barber that you showed you had the 0:13:58.080 --> 0:13:59.400 was it this prototype or were. 0:13:59.240 --> 0:14:01.480 You No, it was it was the actual action. Yeah, 0:14:01.520 --> 0:14:03.319 I can send you a photo of it, bro, it's 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:05.400 or a video of me using it. And they knew, like, 0:14:05.400 --> 0:14:06.920 this is it, this is gonna be Genie. Yeah. He 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:08.880 was like, yo, you you I just got fine. Bro, 0:14:08.960 --> 0:14:10.840 you gotta you gotta sell this and if you don't 0:14:10.840 --> 0:14:13.880 sell this, then we're going to have a problem. 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:16.720 So I did it, so you had to you want 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:19.960 to go No, I was saying you had kind of 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:20.400 breezed over. 0:14:20.480 --> 0:14:22.600 But you had a six figure job, you work, you. 0:14:22.560 --> 0:14:25.120 Had real estate, real estate, the mortgages. Yet a lot of. 0:14:25.080 --> 0:14:26.680 Times people think that, you know what, I'm gonna be 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:29.440 an entrepreneur. I'm gon quit my job and. 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:32.520 I'm gonna start this journey. That wasn't your path whatever, 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:33.680 it was never my path. 0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:35.320 Why did you take that route? 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:44.080 My mother? So god, hey mom, don't hate me. Yeah, 0:14:43.240 --> 0:14:46.680 you know I'm a West Indian right, So, like, academics 0:14:46.680 --> 0:14:50.400 are huge, it's very huge, and uh, you either go 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:52.440 to school or get out. So when I decided to 0:14:52.560 --> 0:14:55.800 drop out of college, I did not know what I 0:14:55.800 --> 0:14:57.680 wanted to do with my life. But I know I 0:14:57.720 --> 0:14:59.120 didn't want to live out home with my mom because 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:00.480 I didn't want to be told with to do that. 0:15:00.600 --> 0:15:02.760 Dynamic just didn't work out. I feel like every man 0:15:02.840 --> 0:15:04.760 gets to a point where they it was like, stop 0:15:04.800 --> 0:15:09.720 telling me what to do, right, So my fear of 0:15:09.760 --> 0:15:12.640 going back home drove me. So I was a server. 0:15:13.400 --> 0:15:15.360 I saved up enough money for me to move out 0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:17.320 and never go back. And then I had a goal 0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:19.880 and I was like, yo, before I hit twenty five, 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:21.520 I want to have one hundred thousand dollars in my 0:15:21.560 --> 0:15:25.200 bank account. How can I do that? Work three serving jobs, 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:28.240 live off one save the other two. So I did 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:29.720 that more than I wanted a party. I did that 0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:31.280 more than I wanted to buy Jordan's. I did that 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:32.840 more than I wanted to hang out. Like I had 0:15:32.880 --> 0:15:34.960 no life for two and a half years, and I 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:37.200 saved one hundred thousand dollars. So by the time I 0:15:37.280 --> 0:15:39.000 hit twenty five, I had it in my bank account. 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:40.880 And then I ventured off to real estate and that 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:44.000 was that was my principal, like I will always have 0:15:44.320 --> 0:15:46.360 X amount of dollars in my account, but the rest 0:15:46.360 --> 0:15:48.920 of the money is for me to experiment. And as 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:51.720 I started gaining this confidence that to try new things. 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:54.720 I just kept doing it, so I would never fully 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:57.520 quit anything. I must have cash flow coming in. So 0:15:57.520 --> 0:16:00.600 it's the same thing with Twisted Up. Not until I 0:16:00.600 --> 0:16:03.560 did four shows and sold out, I wasn't gonna just 0:16:03.680 --> 0:16:05.800 go quit, but I had some money that I can 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:07.840 go figure out and test the waters and see how 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:10.800 did I can make this? So all right, when you 0:16:10.840 --> 0:16:13.640 start the company, how much money did it take just 0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:15.880 to get the company off the ground, and what was 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:18.800 your what was your first initial push as far as marketing, 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:23.800 I can tell you this, Without Ace, this is probably 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:25.960 gonna have been as big as it is because he 0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:29.320 worked for me for free for a year. Like let's 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:30.000 talk about that. 0:16:30.560 --> 0:16:32.400 Yeah, I mean, we didn't know it was gonna be 0:16:32.480 --> 0:16:32.840 this big. 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:34.320 It was just one of them things where you know, 0:16:34.400 --> 0:16:36.160 like you got a best friend and you got somebody 0:16:36.200 --> 0:16:38.520 that got an idea, and every time he's just like, hey, 0:16:38.640 --> 0:16:39.280 you know, I. 0:16:39.160 --> 0:16:42.320 Got this coming up, or I got a video, or at. 0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:44.320 One time we had no units. We was in a 0:16:44.320 --> 0:16:46.240 warehouse till I am. We had to sneak in the 0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:48.720 warehouse and work in the warehouse till like two am, 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:49.560 four am. 0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:51.480 Like eight pm to two am shifts just to make 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:53.520 enough units just so we have enough for the shows. 0:16:54.120 --> 0:16:56.960 So you guys know each other since like childhood or. 0:16:57.840 --> 0:17:02.160 Twenty seventeen, twenty sixteen, sixteen, twenty fifteen, Yeah, somewhere around there. 0:17:02.160 --> 0:17:03.680 So when I met him at the gym, that was 0:17:03.720 --> 0:17:06.200 when like was was just getting started. 0:17:05.920 --> 0:17:07.040 When he was giving them buckets. 0:17:07.160 --> 0:17:12.439 Yeah. Yeah, we want to change this narrative right now. 0:17:14.880 --> 0:17:18.240 All right, So but like north of a hunch k 0:17:18.359 --> 0:17:20.159 one hundred k, north of hundre k. 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:23.520 North of one hundred k, So all right, so you 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:27.280 start with six figures from your own personal savings. Yeah, 0:17:27.320 --> 0:17:30.000 and that's to actually manufacture it in bulk. 0:17:30.440 --> 0:17:35.600 By the moves. The patent was expensive, say mark was expensive. Yeah, 0:17:35.680 --> 0:17:37.840 all right, So what's the process of getting something pattern? 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:40.800 So when you when you apply for a patent, you 0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:42.760 first obviously need a lawyer, and then you need to 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:44.639 know what lane you want to go down. There's a 0:17:44.640 --> 0:17:47.000 design patent and then there's a utility patent, and both 0:17:47.000 --> 0:17:50.240 of them have two different functionalities. So a design patent 0:17:50.359 --> 0:17:55.360 just protects your design. A utility patent there's an actual use, right, 0:17:55.440 --> 0:17:57.879 so it can be written vague and anything that falls 0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:01.040 into that description regardless of what it looks like, it's 0:18:01.040 --> 0:18:04.280 still is going to infringe on the utility of your 0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:07.399 patent a design. If I had a design patent and 0:18:07.480 --> 0:18:09.159 this will circle and you came out with a square, 0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:12.320 you're not infringing. You change the whole design. I have 0:18:12.400 --> 0:18:15.000 a patent on what the what it looks like. So 0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:17.919 based on the education that was told to me by 0:18:17.960 --> 0:18:20.359 a lawyer, I decided to go down the utility patent 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:22.960 because I wanted to make sure that no matter what 0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:26.520 it looks like, that I am protected. And then once 0:18:26.560 --> 0:18:28.600