Latest / The Growth Class with Phil Masiello / Consumer Psychology in Pet Care: Building Products People Actually Want to Use with Marissa Gurdian

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Consumer Psychology in Pet Care: Building Products People Actually Want to Use with Marissa Gurdian · The Growth Class with Phil Masiello

• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: Hey everybody, and welcome back to another episode of the Growth Class.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: And today we're diving deep into the consumer psychology and emotional drivers that make people buy, which is a subject matter that I wrote an entire book on.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: But anyway, my guest is uh Marissa Gurtian, the founder of Sweetpaws.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like a lot of successful consumer brands, Marissa's journey started with a real-world frustration.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: During the pandemic, she brought home a mini labradoodle named Soapy, which it's gotta be the cutest thing in the world, right?
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: Anybody who's a dog lover knows what a labradoodle looks like, and those things are just dying cute.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: So during the pan So while she loved the new puppy, she quickly recognized the friction points of pet ownership from dealing with sharp puppy teeth to the absurd everyday struggle to try and find and peel open a dog waste bag, which I struggle with every morning.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: But instead of just accepting the hassle, she built a brand around it.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: She launched Sweetpaws, creating stylish, pet-safe silicone wearable tethers.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: And I think she's the number one or number two uh in the say in the silicone wearable category.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: Uh she developed uh BTR bag opener to eliminate those daily annoyances.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: And today we're gonna dissect how she merges fashion function and how she successfully taps into the emotional drivers of pet parents to create products they don't just need but actually want to wear and use.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: So, Marissa, welcome to the show.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: Give us a little bit of background on yourself.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I don't know if I did justice to the intro, but um just give us a little bit of history on yourself and and and what you've done and and how you've done it because it's not your first rodeo.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: You actually built another brand.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's right, Phil, and thank you so much for having me this morning.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's such an honor to be on your podcast.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: My pleasure.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: I think you really did a spectacular job summing it up.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but to give some background, I actually never anticipated working in the pet space, never even anticipated having a pet.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think uh after about 10 years, my kids finally wore me down at the very beginning of the pandemic.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, they each wrote their own PowerPoint presentation, and it was the first time that we had an unscheduled at least two weeks.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: That's what they were telling us.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: School would be shut down for two weeks.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I said, okay, maybe we could tackle this and get some training in before school starts again.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: So as we know, the pandemic was a lot longer than two weeks.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: And that really gave me the opportunity to get to know SOB so well and also see all these points of friction and pet care that I felt uh the market was failing to address.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's great.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I love I love it when people build their products around something that they have to tackle.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: I was on I was on a call last week with a with a woman who built a floral business uh and she does a phenomenal job.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: It's a unique model, and she's I think she scaled up to 100 million.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: And she said, you know, she said, I I hear people talk about uh building a business around your passion.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: She said, and if I built my business around my passion, which is really something else, I think I'd be miserable.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: She said, because then I'd have to do it for a living, and then I wouldn't like doing it.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: She said, floral isn't really my passion in life, and but I it was something that stuck with me.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: I saw a need in the market, stuck with me and kept me up all night, and I think that's where you go.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: And so for you, it wasn't really your passion.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: Your passion wasn't building pet toys or or pets and all that.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: It just happened out of that frustration, which is always a better way, I think.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I I think in my case, of course, now I absolutely adore my dog.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: She's probably my favorite in the whole world, and um and we spent all day together, and she's really the boss of this company.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Her picture's on the back of every box.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but for me, I found that all of my points in the day where I was really enjoying being with her, like if I was walking her or uh playing with her, often it had a downside that was really frustrating.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so for me, it was kind of like how can I just extend the time that I'm really enjoying being with her and make it less stressful for me.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I I thought that the market really addressed her needs very well in terms of toys and treats and um, you know, essentials, but in terms of the pet parent, there was an opportunity to really offer better products so that we could make the most of our time together.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I agree.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, dogs I I I love dogs.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um I've had dogs my entire life and uh and I probably will until I die.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: I actually had on my on my show a while ago was um Joe Rothley who built Greenies, you know, the dog and you know, that came out of he was another dog lover and he was he was working for the government in his 50s, and he um his wife came to him and said, their dog, I forget the dog's name, the dog had bad breath.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: He says she said to him, You have to solve this problem.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: I can't take it.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: The dog has bad breath.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: And he experimented, experimented, came up with greenies, uh, and then he thought, you know, this is there's nothing in the market.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: I tried to find something and he and he went and built it.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_01: And he said, you know, everybody thinks w it was a hockey stick.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: He said, It wasn't a hockey stick.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: He said, three years, four years, my wife and I, I quit my job.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: He said, and my wife and I, my wife was playing the credit card game.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: She was, you know, paying off this credit card, using this credit card.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: He said, and and it was four years of hard work until we got to the hockey stick.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, it was ten years of that until we exited to Mars.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I don't know how it's been for you, but I uh most founders usually hit obstacles along the way.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: That's good to hear because of course Greenies is everywhere, so everyone would assume it was an overnight success.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, they're a powerhouse company, so it's really nice to know that they're just like us, you know.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: But I I I do think for me it's the same where um there were little glimmers of encouragement along the way, but nothing really major happened until it all happened at once.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: And that wasn't until five years in.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: So um I think persistence is the most important thing for an entreprene entrepreneur to focus on and and the long game.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think, you know, if if you're confident that your idea is a good one and there are little indicators along the way, you just have to wait for the big thing to happen.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, for me, it did take a long time.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: But but you're mostly selling in in retail, right?
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: Or are you mostly selling D to C?
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: So we do have a website, sweetpawspup.com, and it started with just a single product, um, which was our wearable teething bracelet.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that was something I could talk about more, but that we used to redirect Sobey's nipping when she was a puppy.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um but our yes, the bulk of our business is through mass retail.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: We were lucky enough to onboard with Chewy early on, and so they for a while were our main customer, and then recently have expanded into a bunch of other retailers.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Target, Petco, Pet Smart.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: We're onboarding with Walmart right now, um, the container store.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: We're in every container store nationwide, which is a fun, like unexpected uh partner.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: QVC.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: So it's last year was a big year for growth for us.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's great.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: Did you say QVC?
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: QVC.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: Are you going on or are they just doing it on the website?
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: I was I was invited to showcase my products, and I ended up hiring an actress because I just felt a little overwhelmed by that's not.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'm doing this podcast, and but I I'm a little more of an introverted person.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um Are you really?
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: So I just hired someone and then I got to watch from home too, and it was really fun.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: And we do have the clip on the website.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um but that was that was really fun, and it was kind of it came about through a trade show, so it was very validating.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: It was really nice.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: We uh early on I built a um beauty brand with a woman named Carol Alt.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: She used to be a model back in the 80s, and um we built a a beauty, she turned into a raw foodist, and she had written books on the raw food lifestyle, and we took that and and built a beauty brand around her.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh she was she wasn't just a spokesperson, she was actually involved in the company, she was uh an investor, et cetera.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: And we launched on HSN, which is now part of QBC, but we launched on HSN.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: And um and I loved the format uh because uh you know, it was my second, it was my second business, but I loved that format because you you got instant recognition about what messages were uh triggering sales because you would watch, we'd be able to watch the statistics in the green room as it was happening.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: But when Carol would say something that triggered, right, I had these boards and I would write it down and I'd run out into the back of the studio and I'd hold it up and I'd say, say this again, say this again, say this again, because it triggered the phones.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: And it was great.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_01: And we launched on HSN and then we did the shopping channel in Canada, then we did, you know, Europe and Italy and Wow.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: And uh and we did that for a couple of years before we started getting into like Ulta and Sephora and uh uh boots and shoppers drug minor Canada, et cetera.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: But I loved the format.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: And then um when I did a shaving brand, we did the the same type of thing.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that what it you know, what it taught us today, because today we do a tremendous amount of video uh on social media, right?
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: And what it what that whole process taught us was how to really use video to sell your product and get your messaging across and what messages people want to hear and how to do it, you know, not not in a sales y way, but in a in an informative way.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: So sort of like infomercial, right?
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: But uh infomercial tends to give negative connotations to people.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: But um you know, so yeah, I think it's I think it's fantastic.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: And we do the same thing with connected television advertising today, you know, which is a lot.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we wasted so much money in the past on traditional television, I can't stand it.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: But connected television, so if so efficient.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: So all those things, you know, we build as we do things in life, we build to the point where, you know, all you keep you keep building all these processes and and knowledge base that it's it finally winds up clicking and you go, Oh, yeah, I I remember when we did this.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: It'll work today.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: So Yeah.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: That's I would have never guessed you for an introvert, though.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: But I think it's really cool that you got to do that kind of in the heyday of um, you know, not infomercial TV, but HSN and QVC.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: And it must have been really exciting to be a part of that at that time.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: It was still exciting for me, but I think it in terms of my customers, the ones who are most excited were a different demographic.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: They're the ones who don't even know what Chewy is, you know.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: They're QVC was very validating in that case.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, no.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's uh it was fun.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we we were always like you get to meet a lot of people like Suzanne Summers had a line, uh Joan Rivers had lines, you know.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Forbes Riley.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: So like we would be on these shows and we get to get to meet all these people.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: Iman uh had a line, and uh, you know, it was that part of it was hysterically fun, you know.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I would walk I I had to always go and manage Carol, right?
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: Because I was sort of, you know, uh I was in charge and so she wanted me with her whenever we did shows.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: And um I can, you know, they have this room uh with all the beauticians to get you ready for the shows.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: And you'd walk in there and there'd be like all these, you know, well-known women, you know, Joan Rivers and all these people.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm standing there, you know, like, oh my God, I don't even because I just woke up 15 minutes ago because we were doing shows like every you're doing shows like every four hours, and I'm walking in there going, Oh my god, all these beautiful women are in here.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: Like, oh my god, I gotta get out of here.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: But anyway.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: No, it was fun.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: It was it was a it was a lot of fun and it it was very informative.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: That whole thing.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um and so my wife and I are taking Italian uh lessons learned to speak Italian, uh, because we like to to to go to Italy a lot.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: And so my the Italian our Italian instructor said, you know, you should immerse yourself in the language.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: So I watch QVC Italy every day.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's a great idea.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_01: Like an hour in the morning.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: Great idea.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna you could also open like a side hustle, some kind of business in Italy.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna have all these salespeak coming.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we do we do we do have clients in Italy, and I go there, and that's why I wanted to learn it a little bit more.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's fantastic.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: Plus, it's easy for me because I know what they're talking about.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: Even if I don't know what they're talking about, I know what they're talking about.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: There's a visual, right?
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's funny.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: I know it's great.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: But I would have thought you would have been great on there talking about your product so you can get over.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: I understand the fear, but it's funny because you know, people, uh consumers want to hear from the founder, right?
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't know if you're doing videos for your social talking about your product or not, or if you're comfortable with that.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: But so many founders can talk about their product in a situation like this.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: But if you say I want to make you a video of you, they get like, I can't do it.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: I I have help with my social media, and I have to say we could do a much better job.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's not we should focus more on it.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm not really the face of the company as much as I should be.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Soby's more the face of the company.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, she's happy to take on that role.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but she's more comfortable with her celebrity, I think.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: That's you could use you could use a uh you could use a voiceover for for Soby to talk to that.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's true.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's not a bad idea.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: I like that.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: Which would be kind of fun.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you could come up with some sort of a shtick where people are focused on Soby.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and she does have such a big personality, like really huge personality.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: She's a huge character, and she makes us laugh all day long.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: And she's very smart and like very good at um, I don't want to say manipulative, but what's a better word?
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like she she has this all wrapped around her little paw.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_01: Those are very, very smart dogs.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: Labradoodles are very smart dogs.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: And they're also very social, you know.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: So I can see it.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: So so the first product you you held up, w which was a teething uh thing, you did that because she was nipping at ankles?
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: So we were um in lockdown.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: It was early March 2020, and um when we got her, so like within a few months she started teething.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: And at the time I had an eight-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: And so I also had Soby who was like this big.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: So she was tiny and adorable.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: But when she came around, and teething is a very natural, normal thing for puppies.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but if she got your wrist or if she got your ankles, it was like a little scary because you know, they call them baby sharks.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um it was like a little bit challenging because we were in lockdown, we couldn't leave the house, we're stuck with her all the time, and she was looking for things to soothe her gums.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: So I consulted with a dog trainer and they said that you should just always have a dog toy around to redirect them.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: And if they start nibbling on your wrists or your ankles, just replace it with the toy.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I found that that was much easier said than done because we'd be in the family room and all her toys would be in a bin.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: But if we were in the so they'd be nearby, but not that accessible if you were on the couch.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh if we were in the kitchen or the bathroom or the bedroom, there wasn't a toy.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: So um I started researching whether there was something wearable that would make that easier to do, and I didn't find anything.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um so then I thought, well, if I were to create something, what would I want it to be?
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought I would want it to be a bracelet so that you could always wear it.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: I would want it to be really safe.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and at the time, you know, I since I had an eight-year-old, I just raised two young kids.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: I knew that silicone was a very safe material.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's non-toxic, durable, dishwasher safe, but free of lead, phthalates, BPA, uh chemical flavoring agents.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: And also used in surgery and um baby products.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: So that was the first place I turned.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I knew it was also like very squishy and could soothe the gums.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I developed this bracelet, and you could just wear it on your wrist, and then you're always ready.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: If the dog comes nipping at you, you just remove it from the wrist and redirect them.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: And they start usually chewing on this and they run off into the corner and they're very happy and they're very durable.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then what's cool about it is later, once the dog's done teething, you know, within a year or so, you could still use it for indoor fetch, you could use it for games of chase, and cats love it too.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I have a lot of customers who use it when they're on Zooms to distract their cats.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't knock over furniture.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: If you throw it in the house or lamps, um, it rolls.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: So um it it lasts the life cycle of the pet.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: So we pitched it to Chewy and they didn't have anything like it.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: And as you know, like there was a boom of puppies during the pandemic.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: So they were just kind of open to anything.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: So they took a chance on us and they they ordered it and it did really well.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um so from there we developed a larger version, the chunky teether, which is bigger for bigger people and bigger dogs.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then we were kind of off to the races and thought of all these other products that could smooth the friction in the daily routine from playtime to bathtime, um, all inspired by Soby and her shenanigans, and it's been a lot of fun.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's great.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: I I think you should use Sobey as the uh as the impetus.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: But it's true, we got a when when the kids were young, um, like I think the youngest was five and the oldest was eleven, I think.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: And um we got uh Pete, who was a uh Great Pyrenees.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_01: So he was a herding dog.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: He was a herding dog.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: So he always tried to herd them, you know, and he would do it by nipping at them because that's what they do.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: They herd the sheep by by you know nipping at them.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_01: And he's also a very he's a protector.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: His role in life is to protect the herd as well as keep the herd contained.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: And uh it was a very challenging time.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: And this was before you were you were around, so we didn't have any teething toys.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: So it was like we were trying to do all kinds of things to to to redirect that boy.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's it was hysterical, but it was it was a funny, funny time.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: But we were doing I had a trainer, I had all kinds of stuff to try and get him to stop because he would he would he would draw blood sometimes.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it hurts.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's a real problem.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um and the other teething solutions aren't really designed to help the person.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: They're really just designed to help the dog.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there's another issue with them, which is some are made of um nylon, and they I don't know if you've if anyone's had one for a long time, they know that sometimes like they could kind of wear down in a way where there are pieces missing, like little pieces are missing and it gets very rough on the surface.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: And if you talk to a vet, a lot of times those little particles kind of get stuck in the intestines and it causes something equivalent to diverticulitis, where um they need to surgically operate to remove it.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: So what I like about silicone is it's smooth and it's non-toxic and it it won't cause that kind of damage to the intestine if it is ingested.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you have to be careful.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_01: Even the even the bones that they give to dogs, you have to be careful with because they could shatter and splinter into smaller pieces.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you have to you have to re- There's a lot of products out there that you think are safe and they're they're not necessarily safe.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I'm glad you thought through that.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: You know.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think it's that regulated.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: I think we're kind of still in the early days of pet care from a regulatory point of view.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um I don't think claims are validated.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I I am I'm happy that all of our products we have third-party testing that validates the safety and certifies that it's um food-grade silicone.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: But I think just like with baby products, if you really care about your dog, you have to make an educated decision about what you're giving them.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: No question about it.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you try and do all kinds of things like, you know, I I put a water filtration system in because we we have a we we we don't live in the country.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_01: We live like north of a city, three miles from the city, but we're in the woods and we have a uh we have a well.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I grew up in the Bronx.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't know anything about wells.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: And all I could think of was the water's coming out of the ground.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: I gotta have a filter system.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I put in this filtration system because I was buying, you know, bottled water, big bottles that I was given using for the dogs.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_01: And uh the kids used to laugh because they'd say, he doesn't care what we drink, but the dogs.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_01: And so I bought I put in this water filtration system, and then, you know, I was very careful about like the food and and the toys.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: And the one thing that I found that the dogs loved, and uh it's actually very easy and inexpensive, were deer antlers.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: They uh they loved them to chew on, and they're actually very safe because it's it's calcium in a in a sense, it's calcium, and it doesn't splinter like a bone, like an animal bone does.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and so uh a friend of mine who who hunts used to give them to me, and the dogs they loved them.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: And that was that was like our go-to product because I was always afraid of bones, plus their digestive system.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_01: It you know, in some cases, some of those products, you know, give them bad digestive, you know.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's so yeah, I've always been very careful with the dogs, you know.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_01: I I do a lot.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: I like how your kids noticed that.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you know what was funny was I'll tell you a quick funny story was that we got this uh German short haired pointer, was a rescue, and she was just full of energy.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: And uh and so I took her running with me.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_01: And uh and then when we came back, I thought, you know, she just did like six miles and that's a lot.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: So I started, but she didn't it didn't affect her at all.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: It affected me more than her.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: Amazing.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: But that's a good trainer, right?
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: She's a she's a jumper.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: She my daughter is an equestrian, and so we s we have this setup in the backyard for the dog to jump.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Anyway, but I came back, it was a Saturday morning, I came back from the run, and I started cooking bacon and eggs.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_01: And the kids all thought I was cooking it for them and I was cooking it for the dogs.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: Because I said, Well, she just did this run.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_01: She needs something more than her regular food.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: So they were like, Oh my God.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: He just, you know, it they all they all used to say if there was a fire in the house, he'd save the dogs before us.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: That's funny.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_01: But uh so so what are some of the other products that you you you moved on?
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: Because you said that was the product you started with, and then you started expanding the category.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: So we started with toys and then moved on to, like you mentioned, um, I love walking my dog, but I hate opening the dog waste bag.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: And there there are some people who are able to do it without a problem.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: My husband's one of those people, but the rest of us really struggle.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: I, you know, I could spend 20 minutes on a neighbor's lawn just embarrassed trying to open the bag.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna lick my fingers.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um so I developed a tool that opens the bag instantly, no licking fingers, no more frustration.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's patent pending, and it really does work in an instant.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so it was really exciting to launch that.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: We launched with a container store because it also opens produce bags at the grocery store.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: So we sell it as a two-pack, one for the leash and one for your like your market tote.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um and what's really cool about that is I found there's a much wider audience for it.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: There are a lot of people with dexterity issues, not just germaphobes like me, but people who truly can't use their fingers in a way that allows them to open a bag because of arthritis or or whatever.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, or just people who are in a hurry and just really value their time.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: So this product's really resonated.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: We have another product that hangs from the leash and holds the used dog waste bag so that you don't have to carry it.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um we Soby once on New Year's Eve detonated a canister of pepper spray.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: So it was in like a fanny pack that I walked with in two inside two zip pockets.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: So she unzipped two pockets, one within the other, took it out, detonated it all over her face and body.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_00: So here we had this crisis, and it was probably 10 45 New Year's Eve, so everything was closed.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: We live in New York, so it was freezing out.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_00: You couldn't go outside and hose your dog down, it was too cold.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: So we had to give her an emergency bath where we got the pepper spray all over us because that was the only option we had.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so we now have a pair of uh silicone spa gloves that we keep stashed away.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I developed that product.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: We just launched that with Pet Smart a few months ago, and it's selling three times faster than projected.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_00: So that's extremely exciting.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: We we sold out of our whole first year's supply within the first three weeks.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um that's fantastic.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's you know, a lot of pet gloves don't come in a pair.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: So if your dog rolls around in something disgusting, you have one hand that's okay, and the other hand is out of luck.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um so this comes in a pair, and they're very easy to sanitize, and they come up like you know, a good distance to protect your sleeves.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they fit most people and they have micro massaging bristles on both sides.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: So they offer a lot of innovation.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: We try to focus on innovation.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot of features they have that other gloves don't.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so that's been really cool.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: And then separately, um we have a few other products too that are all just problem-solving products for pet parents made out of silicone, so extremely safe material.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but beyond that, we have a second line that is a collaboration with another company.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so while the first line, sweet pause, addresses kind of practical needs of the pet parent, the second one is more of um targeting the emotional needs, where we've noticed that in a lot of retailers, um, pet parents are traditionally overlooked.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: So particularly in the greeting card space, but other places too.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um if it's Mother's Day, there's there aren't a lot of options for people who choose not to have kids or have them later in life, and really their pet is their primary relationship.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: So we designed a greeting card line specifically for pet parents that um not only validates that relationship but celebrates it.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: And have found a lot of success.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: We launched it on Chewy.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: It just went nationwide and in all pet co-locations this past month.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: And um we're right now working on an NCAP with Walmart to have a modern pet parent display of those greeting cards.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: So that's really fun.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: That's really fun.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think it's needed.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: There are a lot, you know, you shouldn't have to take a Sharpie to a greeting card and and edit it to to fit your lifestyle.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, no.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_01: I I think that's fantastic.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: I I think that uh, you know, it it's so funny that you thought about that because I would have never uh it it just didn't occur to me, you know, to to that that that would be a thing.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_01: That's funny.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um I I love the the the bag opener because I suffer from that, you know, in especially in the wintertime because you can't wear gloves and open the bag, you know.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_01: And the bags and then there's some bags that are good and some bags that are really not good for opening.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: And it's such a pain in the neck.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: And like you, I can I can literally stand on somebody's front lawn trying to get the bag open, you know, and I'm doing this with the bag and I'm doing this, you know, and and so I gotta try it.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: I I said that to you when we first spoke.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_01: I have to try it because I desperately need it's true, I desperately need it.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_01: Except in the summertime when my hands are a bit sweaty, then they open up right away, right?
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_01: But the rest of the year, but that's that's two months out of the year.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I'm out, you know, multiple times during the day with the dogs that uh, you know, they the morning and evening.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_01: So Right.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: Same.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I I don't know if you can relate, but I've I've many times experienced what I call the wave of shame, where someone's pulling out of their driveway and you're standing there trying to clean clean up their lawn, and I'm just trying to open the bag.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, just trust me, it's gonna happen.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: I just have to get the bag open, you know.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody wants to feel that feeling.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's so uncomfortable.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we're lucky we live on a street that has, I think, a dog in every house, and at six in the morning, there's a group of us, because my dogs get up at six, and there's a group of us that meet, and then everybody walks.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_01: The dogs are all off a leash, and the we we we live on a dead end street and it's like half a mile long, and all the dogs are off of a leash.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and the w the hard part is though, that as we move, other people come out with their dogs and join us, right?
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: And everybody that comes out brings treats.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_01: So it's like Halloween for the dogs every morning, because you know, and they know.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_01: So like they'll go to Linda's house and she's gonna they'll sit there at the driveway waiting for her to come out with her dog, and then they get treats.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_01: Our mail woman, the woman who delivers mail, she brings treats in the mail truck, and all the dogs know 130 every day is when she comes down our street.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: Every dog in the neighborhood sits at the end of the driveway, every dog in the neighborhood waiting for dawn to come.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: You have a pet paradise.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: I don't I've never heard of anything like that.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's really incredible for your dogs.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_01: My friends and relatives all think it's hysterical.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: My we have I I am I'm Facebook friends with the postwoman because she dresses her dogs every day for bed, every day in a different outfit.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: She's a person who's those are her kids.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_01: And so she dressed every day in a different outfit.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_01: I could show it to you.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_01: You would die every single day.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_00: She follow her on Facebook too.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: She dresses her, she dresses her dogs to go to the vet.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_01: She she has these little uh things with a bow tie on them.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_01: That's what they wear to go to the vet.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_01: Swear to God, it's hysterical.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, I need to send her some greeting cards.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, no, no.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna tell everybody about it because I I guarantee you everybody in my neighborhood is going to look for them.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_01: We have a petco, we have Walmart, we have, you know, places close by, everybody uses Chewy.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, we'll uh I'll I'll explain it all to them, especially the bag opener, because we all suffer from that.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: We all suffer from the bag opener because we all buy the rolls and the, you know, it's like at the grocery store.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_01: So go to your website and buy, go to Chewy and Buy.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, I just thank you for the opportunity.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: I think the pet retail landscape is rapidly evolving, and it's really exciting to be a part of that.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: And um it's you know, the passion you have for your own dogs and your the your neighbors, I think that's really extraordinary.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, the the news right now I think can be a little heavy.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's nice to focus on positive things like that, and it makes me smile.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: So I I appreciate that your time today.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I I I appreciate you coming on.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's uh it's I know it's difficult sometimes for people to get away from their business, but you know, what what I'm really impressed with, what really works for me, and I think the lesson here is that, you know, what Marissa did with Sweetpaws is so effective because of it's essentially her deep understanding of the customer's emotional pain because she went through it, right?
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_01: And that's really what we're all trying to do.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_01: We we look for the pain and then we look for the solution to the pain.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: You know, she didn't just launch a generic pet toy.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_01: She didn't just say, hey, I'm gonna go on Amazon and sell, you know, pet toys.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_01: I found this pet toy somewhere.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_01: No, she said she identified the exact points of friction that in her dog owner's early life, right?
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_01: That's her routine that she was focused on.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_01: And then she designed the that solution.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it's great.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_01: I applaud what you're doing.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_01: Good luck.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_01: I I I hope you continue to scale.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: And anybody out there listening to this, uh, those are the lessons.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, look for the pain, solve the pain point, even if it's your own pain.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for coming on, and we'll see you uh next time.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: I had so much fun.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for having me.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_00: Take care.