Latest / Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast) / 6 quick questions with Tiffany Krumins, Founder of Opu Probiotics (Part 2)

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6 quick questions with Tiffany Krumins, Founder of Opu Probiotics (Part 2) · Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast)

• 0:00
  Welcome back. Here are the six quick questions.
• 0:12
  Question number one is what's your why? Why are you waking up every day and building businesses that impact millions of people around the world? I mean, I guess that's an easy answer, but like, you know what I mean? Yeah. Well, I've got like three parts to my why, so I'll try to be quick. I'm kind of long-winded, but number one is obviously making people feel better. This product I'm passionate about because it helped me and I want it to help other people.
• 0:35
  Um, number two is my family. My dad and I started this business together after we lost my mom. My mom was waiting on a transplant that she did not get. And when we lost her, they lost 43 years of marriage. My dad lost his small business. And so just taking care of him and bringing him into this company full time where we can continue to do this is my biggest why 100%. He's my everything. My third is where everything started with me. That little boy I described on
• 1:05
  That entire community of individuals with disabilities and special needs is where my heart is. I don't really love the business side the day-to-day. That's difficult for me, but they are where I'm happy and my best. And so we have actually hired a young adult with autism, and we plan to hire many, many more. We've got a great community partnership with a place called Lionheart Works, which is
• 1:28
  And so they basically take young adults out of high school and they teach them the skills they need and they help partner them with the right company. And so that's how I met Alex, our employee. And that's one of my big whys, too. It's fantastic because I was terrified. Like, I want to do this. This has always been a dream of mine. Yeah.
• 1:46
  What if I don't do it right? What if, you know, I don't know the disability laws. Like there's so many things that I didn't want to do as a business owner to both insult this person or hurt the company. And they actually facilitate all that. So I thank them a lot for that constantly because they've brought him into my life. And he's a great part of our team. And we hope to have a lot of other young adults through that program. Those are all three my whys. Yeah.
• 2:11
  That is so many beautiful whys. Oh, my gosh. That's so, so special. Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, how can you not wake up passionate about those whys, right? And money has never been one of my whys. It's just not my thing. I think it's because I grew up with very little and was very happy and had parents that –
• 2:29
  loved each other and loved me. So I never really had that desire to be rich or, you know, make millions. It's those moments, you know, when he came to work for me and I got to send him the offer letter and then he accepted it and it was like, oh my God, this is happening. You know, those full circle, it gives me chills just saying it because those full circle moments where something you dreamt of came true. Those are the things that should keep you going, you know, the gas in your tank.
• 2:53
  Oh, hell yes. I love that. Oh my gosh. Question number two is, and this can be from either business or both. What has been your favorite marketing moment so far? Oh, I love, oh gosh, this one was really cool. And I'll try to make it short again. Don't worry, we're not in a rush. You're all good. So I lost, look, you can see my pajama pants.
• 3:15
  I'm dressed professionally and then not. So I got the opportunity to go with Ava the Elephant on the first ever, or not first, first ever episode of Shark Tank, you know that, on a morning show, a really big DMA, I think it was, or Today Show. And I was so excited. And when they called, I started to, I shared this on LinkedIn recently, so you might know the story, but I love the story.
• 3:37
  they basically said, do you know any other mom inventors? And I was like, oh my gosh, yes. There's one here in my own state. She has this product. It's for kids taking shots. And I went on and on and on, like I did on this podcast, about her company, way more than my own. So I think I shared like 20 seconds of my company and then I was like singing her praises and going on and on. And then the producer's like, okay, great. You know, thanks so much. We'll reach back out if you're going to be a part of it. And so I was like, okay, cool. Okay.
• 4:04
  And I never heard from her. And I was like, oh, man, I guess I didn't get that. And I turn on this show, you know, a week later. And here she is on the segment I was trying out for, basically, because I had, you know, promoted her and she got it. She had no idea. It wasn't like she took my spot. But I had done that. And I was kind of devastated. I was like, God, I got to be a better business person. Like, I have to market for my own brand. And why don't I do better? And I was kind of beating myself up because...
• 4:29
  I felt spastic in my anxiety and all the things that I do and how much I talk, basically. I thought I had blown this for my company. I could have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales. Well, the second I let that go, because I had beat myself up and down, and then I was like, you know what? I got to move on. I got to get back to work. I got to get back on my business. And the second I did, the very next day, I got a call, and it was Dr. Oz producers saying, we want you to come over with Barbara, my investor from the show, and we're going to
• 4:58
  And he's going to interview just you and Barbara. And you're going to talk about your story. So I went from this little segment where it was going to be like, oh, here's a product. Here's a product. Here's a product. You know, I'd be one of three or six to this full blown 12 to 15 minute segment, which is huge. I mean, Shark Tank's only three minutes, you know.
• 5:15
  Whatever it was, even if it was 10, it felt like an hour. And he told our whole story and I got to sit with Barbara, which was insane, you know. So, yeah, that was my favorite, like accidental marketing moment that was absolutely meant to be.
• 5:31
  And what it also reminds me of is like sometimes something, you know, what you deem as something bad has happened, even though it was actually great because you helped this other woman who would have, you know, absolutely cherished that moment. But you couldn't see the good that was going to come from it yet. But like that's like the life of a roller coaster. That's the life of an entrepreneur. You're on that roller coaster of ups and downs and maybe something bad is happening to you right now and you can't see your way out of it. But tomorrow or the next day or three weeks from now,
• 5:59
  something might change and the best thing ever will happen to you. And that's just the way that it goes. What you just described is what makes a good entrepreneur, period. Like the ones that could see what you just said and summed up so well, and that can live that every day. Those are the ones that are going to succeed. I mean, there's not been a single one. I don't know a single entrepreneur that's successful that has a chip on their shoulder.
• 6:18
  oh, I didn't get that. No, no, no, they treated me wrong. Or some of the people have been on Shark Tank and they complain about it or I was edited wrong or this or that. And it's like, make the most of it. If you were edited weird and this, why don't you make something funny out of it? Why don't you turn it into a marketing opportunity? I mean, there's so many chances to, you know, decide your fate in that. And some people just can't get it, so.
• 6:39
  Yeah, hopefully if you're in a rough place, think about it. Like something else is around the corner. Let it go. Move on. It may not be a Dr. Oz interview, but hey, it could be like something else, you know, something else for your brand. That's it. Yeah, because he's not even on the air now. Question number three is what's your go-to resource for business, whether it's like a newsletter or a book or something that you consume all the time to get smarter?
• 7:05
  Um, because of my, I read a lot, but more just for fun. Um, because of my learning disabilities, I've never really learned in that way. I'm more of like a dive in and do it type of person. Um, I don't necessarily get books and unless it's something I'm really looking to learn more about, like this whole probiotic thing, but yeah.
• 7:23
  I don't necessarily get them to learn a solution or learn a way to do things. I do it more hands-on and diving in. So I would say I learn more from the people around me. I've got a patent agent that is one of my best friends and an engineer that's one of my best friends. And they're two men. One's closer to my age. One's a little bit older.
• 7:42
  and they're just incredible human beings. And so some women get together for coffee with their friends. I go sit with Noah and Brock and hang out, and we talk ideas. You know, one of them has the most incredible story that every time he tells me something, I'm like, really? That happened in your life too? Like he had this giant brand acquired and was on NASDAQ, but you would never know it. You meet him, and he's just like this quiet, you know, reserved dude. And that's how I learn is being around those people and kind of soaking up all the good stuff that they have to give.
• 8:12
  I love that. Shout out to those guys. Yeah, they're fantastic. Question number four is how do you win the day? What are your AM or PM rituals and habits that keep you feeling happy and successful and motivated? Yeah.
• 8:28
  Mine are, my biggest thing is either time, undivided attention with my kids and my family, my husband, or being outside. I have to be outside every single day. We talked about this off air before the show that if it's bad weather for a full week, I'll find myself just really diving because I've got to get outside. I've got to hike. I've got to be moving. So that's how I win the day, just getting fresh air.
• 8:53
  I love that. I could so go for a hike this weekend. I would love that. Question number five, and you've already shared one, but maybe you've got another one in the bank, is what's the worst money mistake you've had and how much did it cost you?
• 9:07
  I think that was the worst. Yeah, that 75 was, I mean, there were a lot more that added up over time, but no, I want one other funny one that'll help consumer-based products was I didn't know when I was shipping my product the very first time I was bringing it over from overseas, I got a quote for the shipment. They gave it to us. Barbara and I were like, oh, it looks reasonable. I guess that's the best we can get because it was through one of her contacts of a contact of a
• 9:33
  Come to find out we had paid to ship. There's things called less than loads. So when you're shipping product, you're shipping it on the back of a semi, you know, that big container on the back of a semi. That whole thing, say you pay $5,000 to bring that over from overseas to the U.S.,
• 9:50
  Say that whole thing is $5,000. That's about what we paid for our first shipment of Ava, but it only filled up about one-third of it. So whoever that was that took us for our money, they filled up the rest of that box and other people's shipments because I didn't even know a less than load was a thing. So when you're doing less than load, you're saying, I only want to take up this 10 feet. How much is it? And they'll be like, oh, $1,250. $1,250.
• 10:13
  And you're like, okay, got it. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, another misspin. We never made that mistake again, obviously. But it's things like that that if you don't know, you don't know. Always get a second opinion. Yeah. Always get a double quote. Right, right. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, still a tough pill to swallow when that kind of stuff happens. Last question. Question number six. Again, you've shared so many of these already, but I'm sure you'll have another one. What is just a crazy story, good or bad, that you can share from your time building these businesses?
• 10:43
  Probably the craziest development story was when I had another segment that I was trying to get, or no, was it, I don't know if it was prep for Shark Tank to air, but something that was very urgent. Oh, it was probably one of the meetings with the retailers. We were waiting on a prototype of Ava the Elephant to come over.
• 11:01
  And, um, it was, you know, it was an urgent thing. Get it here, get it here now, make sure the soundbox works, all that. It got here. It was an elephant. I obviously had sent them the MP3 or MP4 or whatever of my recording that was supposed to be on it. And when we pressed the button, it barked. So it had like a...
• 11:19
  It was like a preexisting sound box or something they had used that had like a dog barking. And that's what it was. And we could not use them. They were supposed to be used. Oh, that's what it was. It was supposed to be used on The Doctors Show. So The Doctors, which was another popular show here. I don't know if it's even still on. They were trying to tell moms how to give medication to their kids. And like, oh, we found your product. It looks great. But it wasn't out, out. Like we were literally getting our stuff in before Shark Tank. I can't remember the timing. Yeah.
• 11:47
  And we were fine with sending them the sample. That's what we were going to do is send them this prototype because it was, everything else was the same except for the sound was wrong. And we actually lost the opportunity because they wanted to be able to press it on air. And we're like, well, why can't you just like do it in a, you know, an earpiece or play it separately or, you know, but yeah, it didn't work. So another one lost that ended up working out fine. And then, so.
• 12:11
  That's crazy. Oh my gosh. This has been so great. Thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing your journey and all the ups and downs. It's like a therapy session. I always say when I get done, it's like, oh, okay, I got all that off my chest from the years. But yeah, hopefully it helps somebody else. Well, I've loved hearing your story and I'm sure there are so many people who are going to listen to this and be like, wow, that was just so inspiring. I'm so grateful. Thank you so much. Thank you. I appreciate it.
• 12:43
  Hey, it's June here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 13:08
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 13:30
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.
• 13:46
  Hey, it's June here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 14:10
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 14:33
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.