Latest / Founder Talk with Alex Sheridan / Former Shark Tank Contestant: They Passed On Us, and Then We Built An Empire

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Former Shark Tank Contestant: They Passed On Us, and Then We Built An Empire · Founder Talk with Alex Sheridan

• 0:00
  Brittany Heiser, founder of Pluy and former Shark Tank contestant
• 0:04
  Welcome to the Show. Yes, thank you for having me.
• 0:06
  Excited to have this chat, and let's make sure we keep about a
• 0:08
  fist away if you can, OK? And you can move this up if you
• 0:11
  want to. Yeah, you can move it up and
• 0:13
  down. You're good.
• 0:15
  So can you. Before we get in too far into
• 0:18
  it, can you tell us the audience a little bit about what Pluy is
• 0:21
  and why it's needed in the world from your perspective?
• 0:23
  For sure, Pluy is the world's first and only self sanitizing
• 0:27
  diaper chaining tables. You can find Pluy chaining
• 0:30
  tables in public restrooms. Or really two moms who came
• 0:34
  together to solve a big problem. I mean, diaper chaining tables
• 0:38
  essentially haven't evolved since they were introduced in
• 0:41
  the 1980s. So change your baby.
• 0:44
  It's often dirty and and sanitary.
• 0:47
  It's uncomfortable. You're putting your baby on a
• 0:49
  rock hard piece of plastic and it's just inconvenient.
• 0:53
  I always feel like I have two daughters.
• 0:54
  You have a son. Right.
• 0:55
  Yeah, yeah. Mine are 12:00, will soon to be
• 0:58
  12 and 9 now so they're not so little but.
• 1:01
  Hey, you're out of the diaper. Face way out of the diaper face.
• 1:03
  Yeah, we're in a really cool face right now, actually.
• 1:05
  But I remember when I would put them on the change, I would
• 1:08
  almost be fearful to put them on one.
• 1:09
  I just was paranoid it was going to fall or something.
• 1:11
  But then 2, they were just kind of disgusting.
• 1:13
  I just felt like, oh, this has probably not been cleaned and
• 1:16
  forever, you know, it's just, it just didn't feel like the best
• 1:19
  option. So I know Addie Addie's your Co
• 1:22
  founder. Right.
• 1:23
  Yes. So how did you guys come up with
• 1:25
  this concept because that's kind of A and then why do you feel
• 1:28
  like it's, it is so needed versus what the the industry
• 1:31
  standard is now? So she was actually out to lunch
• 1:34
  one day at a Culver's, which is not one of our biggest accounts.
• 1:38
  Is that right? Yes, they know that.
• 1:39
  They know that. Story they do they do they
• 1:41
  contacted us after I've sod aired on Shark Tank and we're.
• 1:44
  In a lot of. Culver's in Indiana
• 1:46
  specifically, we're. Going to talk about Shark Tank
• 1:48
  in a little bit too. If you're listening and you're
• 1:49
  wondering, yes. Yeah, so it's Addy's idea.
• 1:52
  She was out to lunch with her family.
• 1:54
  She was a new mom, and she had never changed a baby out in
• 1:59
  public. So she tells the story.
• 2:02
  She was at this Culver she went to.
• 2:06
  Well, actually her husband was going to change their son and
• 2:09
  there was no changing table in the men's restroom, which is
• 2:12
  often a problem that we still see today.
• 2:15
  And it's it's actually outright offensive.
• 2:17
  When a business. Chooses not to put a changing
• 2:19
  table in the men's restroom. Culver's is now putting changing
• 2:22
  tables in the men's restrooms. I want to say that.
• 2:26
  And so he came back to the table and he said, Addie, can you, you
• 2:29
  know, change our sun? I can't.
• 2:31
  So she went in the restroom and she was like, what is this piece
• 2:34
  of plastic hanging on the wall? So it was uncomfortable and
• 2:38
  convenient and it was really dirty.
• 2:41
  And she has an amazing background in innovation
• 2:44
  specific to culinary innovation. She authored cookbooks, worked
• 2:49
  for CPG companies and food innovation, and then just kind
• 2:53
  of started researching diaper changing tables on her nights
• 2:56
  and weekends while working full time.
• 2:59
  She started talking to friends and family about her idea.
• 3:02
  And then we were introduced through a mutual mom friend who
• 3:06
  said, Brittany, I know you love product development.
• 3:09
  Why don't you 2 meet? So we had coffee in Evanston, IL
• 3:14
  and it was an hour long coffee. And we found ourselves sitting
• 3:18
  there for five hours and then ended up taking a picture of the
• 3:21
  two of us in the restroom in front of a changing table.
• 3:25
  And we said, let's do this. Let's bring this idea to life
• 3:29
  cuz it's, you know, a problem that you know, so many parents
• 3:33
  and caregivers have experienced for decades and let's do
• 3:36
  something about it. Now, did you know what the
• 3:38
  meeting was gonna be about? I did.
• 3:40
  I did OK. You knew she had an idea, you
• 3:42
  knew about the concept and you're like, this is
• 3:43
  interesting. I'm interested in hearing more.
• 3:45
  Yes, yeah. So my our mutual friend said
• 3:49
  Addie's got this great idea. I really think given your
• 3:53
  product development, kind of general business management
• 3:55
  experience, you guys would be a good pair.
• 3:58
  So I often tell people, you know, you may not have that home
• 4:02
  run idea. That doesn't necessarily mean,
• 4:05
  you know, you can't be an entrepreneur.
• 4:07
  That's true. You can always partner with
• 4:09
  somebody who has the great idea and help bring it to life.
• 4:12
  Cuz at that point, were you thinking about starting a
• 4:14
  business or was that not even on your radar?
• 4:16
  Well, I always have this entrepreneur itch.
• 4:18
  I come from a family of entrepreneurs, from my grandpa
• 4:21
  to my grandma's to my uncle, and so I was always writing down
• 4:26
  ideas but never felt like I had that that big idea.
• 4:31
  So when I met her and I saw she had a deck at that time and was
• 4:35
  starting to raise money. Was there a prototype or just a?
• 4:37
  Deck No, no prototype. But she did hire an industrial
• 4:41
  designer in Chicago and had gone so far to file a patent, but no
• 4:47
  prototype yet, like not even a cardboard version.
• 4:49
  So that's where too I was really excited because I was like,
• 4:52
  let's validate the features, let's validate this design
• 4:55
  that's on paper and start prototyping and.
• 4:58
  Is that where she needed you? It sounded like you filled some
• 5:01
  of the skills gaps that maybe she didn't.
• 5:02
  Have yes. And I think that's what's made
• 5:04
  our partnership so successful as we do come from very different
• 5:08
  backgrounds. And I think too, when you're in
• 5:10
  kind of a Co founding partnership, sometimes it's
• 5:13
  helpful when you don't come with baggage, you don't know the
• 5:17
  person. And so I often find a lot of
• 5:20
  businesses, they really fall apart because they're stuff from
• 5:24
  the past that comes into the present and the future.
• 5:28
  Yeah, I've heard a lot of horror stories when it comes to having
• 5:30
  a Co founder, but then I've heard circumstances like this
• 5:33
  where it's really worked out well and it seems like two
• 5:36
  people came together with different skill sets or kind of
• 5:39
  like a puzzle that that fits together.
• 5:41
  Yes. And so it seems like you got to
• 5:43
  have the same core values, the same vision, and then maybe some
• 5:46
  different skill sets that complement each other.
• 5:48
  Is that right? Yes.
• 5:49
  And what it was helpful too is we were both new moms, so we
• 5:52
  both knew this is a problem. We were experiencing it
• 5:56
  ourselves as you know, kids with or having kids with diapers.
• 6:00
  I'll also say what was really beneficial is she had her
• 6:04
  previous network professional and personal and then I was
• 6:08
  bringing my network to the table.
• 6:10
  So instead of you know Co founders that have a shared
• 6:14
  network, we were bringing very diverse networks in terms of
• 6:18
  potential investors, contractors, even customers.
• 6:22
  So that was a a really big benefit of us coming together.
• 6:25
  Now, when you heard the idea 1st and she's laying out the pitch
• 6:27
  deck for you, are you like this shit's crazy or whether or
• 6:31
  you're like this is it, this is the home run idea or you're
• 6:34
  like, I don't know if this is going to work.
• 6:35
  Like what? What was going on in your mind?
• 6:36
  That's such a great question because in my mind what was
• 6:39
  going on is this is such a great idea.
• 6:43
  I'm so excited to be like on the forefront of learning of this
• 6:47
  idea with the opportunity to bring it to life.
• 6:49
  But I also came in very much like, this is going to take a
• 6:52
  long time. This is going to be very
• 6:54
  expensive. My product development
• 6:57
  background is in commercial fitness equipment, fishing
• 7:00
  boats. Whereas she often shares that
• 7:03
  she's thankful that she was naive to hard tech, hard goods,
• 7:08
  product development because she kind of came into it as this
• 7:12
  won't be that difficult. You know, where I came in being
• 7:15
  like, we're going to have to go to, you know, a third party
• 7:19
  global test house. We're going to have to go
• 7:20
  through testing and certification.
• 7:22
  We're going to need an electrical engineer, a
• 7:24
  mechanical engineer, you know. Yeah.
• 7:26
  Just so that, yeah, I knew it was going to be a challenge.
• 7:30
  Sometimes as an entrepreneur, your ignorance is bliss because
• 7:34
  it's just like, I remember when I quit my corporate job in 2020
• 7:37
  to start my marketing firm. And I remember just, I wasn't
• 7:40
  even in a great position to do it.
• 7:42
  And I was just like, it'll just always work out and we'll always
• 7:44
  have fun. Like, yeah.
• 7:45
  And then a year later, I did hit a rough batch.
• 7:46
  I got through it, but it was just like, sometimes you're so
• 7:48
  naive as an entrepreneur, but it actually works in your favor
• 7:51
  because you don't know that all about the things that can go
• 7:54
  wrong. You don't know about the risk
• 7:56
  or, oh, there's this much planning and time that needs to
• 7:59
  go into it. You've just got this vision and
• 8:01
  you want to execute and you want to go, yes.
• 8:03
  Then on the other side, you got to be realistic and have a plan
• 8:06
  and Someone Like You has to lay things out.
• 8:08
  Yeah, especially for a product that is in public is, you know,
• 8:12
  30 inches off the ground with electrical and UVC light.
• 8:15
  Yeah, yeah. So, so going through that then
• 8:18
  I'm, I'm curious and most of our listeners are entrepreneurs,
• 8:21
  founders, if they have their own companies and we nerd out on how
• 8:24
  businesses work and what's the details and what are the
• 8:27
  insights we can learn and extract from your stories.
• 8:29
  So I'm curious to know kind of the evolution of the product.
• 8:32
  I've never built a physical product.
• 8:34
  I think a lot of people listening probably haven't
• 8:35
  either. So what is it like?
• 8:37
  You've got this, you're starting at the slide deck or the pitch
• 8:40
  deck at the coffee shop. What's next?
• 8:43
  And what is that kind of A-Z process like?
• 8:45
  Yeah. So one, even though you know, we
• 8:48
  had experienced the problem ourselves as moms, we thought we
• 8:51
  should validate and we should get into the hearts and minds of
• 8:55
  other parents and caregivers. So we actually hired a research
• 8:58
  firm called D Scout in Chicago, and it was a mobile marketing
• 9:03
  research firm. And at that time was really
• 9:05
  critical being mobile because we were heading into the pandemic.
• 9:12
  When did you guys meet for coffee?
• 9:13
  What month was it in 20? 20 That was like January 2020.
• 9:16
  February 2020. Yeah, so it was right.
• 9:18
  Before so really quickly we said, let's get deploy this
• 9:23
  research and let's just validate, you know, some of our,
• 9:27
  our own, you know, experiences and that initial research was
• 9:31
  really validating. It was like we need a softer
• 9:35
  changing surface, but it has to be durable because it's going to
• 9:38
  be in public. We need to, you know, have multi
• 9:42
  purpose handles so you can keep your diaper bag off The Dirty
• 9:45
  restroom floor. Yeah, that's another thing.
• 9:47
  So kind of all the features that we already had in mind, we were
• 9:51
  able to validate and then we got really good insights.
• 9:55
  And in terms of Oh my goodness, there's more men's restrooms
• 9:59
  that don't have changing tables than we even realized.
• 10:02
  Or oh wow, some of these businesses don't even have a
• 10:06
  changing table in the men's restroom.
• 10:08
  So while we were in the women's restroom, so while we were
• 10:11
  getting insights on the product itself, we were also getting
• 10:15
  amazing valuable insights on to the overall restroom and the
• 10:20
  overall experience that a parent or caregiver was having went out
• 10:24
  in public while out running an errand at a Target and having a
• 10:29
  dirty diaper. So I would say, you know, always
• 10:32
  do your research. I've seen a lot of founders in
• 10:35
  the past that they're so bullish on their idea because it's
• 10:40
  something they've experienced, but they haven't gone out and
• 10:43
  validated or they could have made their idea better if they
• 10:47
  had just done some early market research.
• 10:50
  So then our second thing that we did was start hiring because I'm
• 10:53
  not an engineer. I'm a product manager, but I
• 10:57
  don't have an electrical engineering degree or mechanical
• 11:00
  engineering. So the second thing we did was
• 11:02
  really to get up and running with a local design firm.
• 11:06
  So 2 shout outs. We worked with Mhub, a great
• 11:10
  engineer at Mhub Downtown Chicago and then we also
• 11:14
  employed a design firm in Palatine, IL called MPC.
• 11:18
  Now where are you getting the capital to do all this, this
• 11:20
  whole? Time.
• 11:20
  OK, good question. So we had about 600,000 already
• 11:24
  through Angel investors. OK.
• 11:26
  So individual friends, family, friends, individuals who really
• 11:30
  believed in the idea. And I think because Pluy was
• 11:34
  such an intuitive product, you know, an intuitive problem that
• 11:39
  we were solving, we really had a lot of people get behind us cuz
• 11:43
  they're like, Oh my gosh, why haven't these evolved since the
• 11:46
  80s? Oh my gosh.
• 11:47
  Like we've seen those hanging on restrooms and they are, you
• 11:52
  know, they do need to be, you know, redesigned.
• 11:55
  So we had about 600K in the bank but.
• 11:58
  What does that do to your mindset when you get, you know,
• 12:00
  and obviously a junior Co founder, but when you guys get
• 12:02
  that money, was that money already there before you were
• 12:04
  looking at the pitch tech or was it after?
• 12:08
  About a couple 100,000 had already been wired, so some of
• 12:12
  it was already in the bank. And then some came when you.
• 12:14
  Yeah. And then some came with some on
• 12:15
  your side of the family. Yeah, yeah.
• 12:17
  And we've actually raised, we've raised about, I will disclose,
• 12:21
  we've raised a couple $1,000,000 to date.
• 12:24
  And so that's where my earlier point about having different
• 12:26
  networks was really helpful because then we were able to,
• 12:30
  you know, tap into our networks when we were raising capital.
• 12:34
  Does it feel any different running a business when you've
• 12:36
  raised hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars of somebody
• 12:38
  else's money and now that's on your.
• 12:39
  Shoulders every day. And I always tell people, you
• 12:43
  know, sometimes when you say we've raised through Angel
• 12:47
  investors, individuals, some of those friends and family.
• 12:50
  And it's not like our, you know, parents just wrote us checks.
• 12:53
  Like we had to really make that clear, especially on Shark Tank.
• 12:57
  But there is a different level of stress when you, you know,
• 13:01
  it's somebody that was in your wedding, it's, you know, an aunt
• 13:04
  and uncle. There is this stress that you
• 13:08
  have people's money. They believe in you and I think
• 13:13
  sometimes, you know, people with venture capital, you know, they
• 13:19
  feel the stress because you have that, you know, time ticking.
• 13:22
  It's like 5 years, seven-year. You're expecting a, you know,
• 13:26
  10X return a certain multiplier. So it's just different,
• 13:30
  different version of stress. When you take VC funding,
• 13:33
  institutional capital verse, you know, raised through
• 13:36
  individuals. I will share something that I
• 13:40
  always promote is applying to grants that is a good.
• 13:43
  Hack, yeah. Yeah, in doing pitch
• 13:45
  competitions, we actually just won $20,000 through the Alibaba
• 13:49
  pitch competition. Congratulations.
• 13:51
  Yeah, so don't understand. Some of the sharks again.
• 13:55
  Yes, that's cool. Don't underestimate, you know,
• 13:57
  grants and pitch competitions. Is that for a product based
• 14:01
  companies mostly or is it if you have a service based company or
• 14:04
  consult like? Canadian, yeah, both really.
• 14:07
  Especially in this environment in the last couple years,
• 14:10
  there's a big push for, you know, female founders and female
• 14:14
  founded businesses and you can find plenty of grants that are
• 14:18
  upwards of, you know, ten $20,000 in non dilutive capital
• 14:23
  that you can get through a grant.
• 14:25
  Wow, and where do people go to look for those?
• 14:28
  Well, now with AI, just go to Gemini or chat GDP and just type
• 14:32
  in let you know grants specific to women or minority grants and
• 14:37
  you know, it'll give you the hyperlinks.
• 14:38
  And I always tell founders like don't hire anyone.
• 14:42
  We made that mistake in the early days of hiring a company
• 14:45
  to do grant writing on our behalf.
• 14:47
  And where we've been successful is really just we keep a Google
• 14:51
  sheet and we just copy paste like most of the answers are or
• 14:55
  most of the questions are typically the same on the grant
• 14:57
  applications. So we just, you know, have got
• 15:00
  into the habit of copy paste, copy paste.
• 15:02
  And now you got ChatGPT to help you too.
• 15:04
  So it's like, yes, it's a whole other free employee that you
• 15:07
  have. Yeah.
• 15:08
  It's incredible, Yeah. So and a lot of these grants,
• 15:11
  it's like they would, you know, wire you the money within a week
• 15:14
  and you have that little boost of.
• 15:16
  Capital. That's awesome.
• 15:17
  So, OK, so back to the story, your engineering companies.
• 15:20
  Oh, yeah, yeah. So I took, yeah, that was a
• 15:23
  great discussion, market research, an engineering design,
• 15:27
  you know, firm. And what was great about this
• 15:31
  firm is not only would they help us with the product development
• 15:35
  like prototyping, piloting, but they would also help us with
• 15:39
  procurement. So a lot of the issue with hard
• 15:42
  tech is, OK, we have a product and we're undergoing testing,
• 15:48
  but then we have to source the components and our, what's
• 15:52
  called the bill of material, you know, has like 100 different
• 15:55
  parts. So we had to find suppliers.
• 15:58
  And in the early days, it was like, hey, supplier in Taiwan,
• 16:02
  are you willing to make 50 of this part?
• 16:05
  You know, like our order's thousand, not minimum.
• 16:07
  And you're like. Well, right, right.
• 16:09
  And so that firm was really helpful because they could find
• 16:13
  suppliers who were willing to take a chance right on, not only
• 16:18
  like, I mean, it was a world's first product.
• 16:22
  So, you know, doing also tooling.
• 16:26
  That's a big thing too with a product our size, the size of
• 16:30
  Pluy is we also had to do what's called tooling to make, you
• 16:34
  know, those large plastic parts. Wow.
• 16:37
  So that's where a lot of this initial $600,000 went to.
• 16:41
  I mean, we weren't paying ourselves.
• 16:43
  It was like right went to the molds, the tooling, it went to
• 16:46
  sourcing the parts, it went to development with the design
• 16:50
  firm. And you guys are just living off
• 16:52
  money you have from previous jobs?
• 16:53
  Oh yeah. OK, we can make this last for a
• 16:55
  certain period of time, but. Yes.
• 16:57
  Was there a runway in your mind of, hey, we got to get, you
• 16:59
  know, start making some things happen within two years, three
• 17:01
  or five year like, yeah. That's a great question.
• 17:04
  We kind of had this 18 month mark where we said, you know, we
• 17:09
  really need since there was no prototype, you know, early 2020,
• 17:14
  it was like, we'll give ourselves 18 months and then we
• 17:16
  better have Pluy units in the field in public restrooms so we
• 17:21
  could kind of afford a small production run.
• 17:24
  We we produced about 40 to 50 units initially and we got those
• 17:29
  in public restrooms. And actually the White Sox
• 17:32
  Guaranteed Rate was one of our very first customers.
• 17:35
  Is that right? They saw a news segment about
• 17:38
  Pluy and we got a phone call. Never forget that day Addie and
• 17:42
  I were together and we got a phone call and it was like, hey,
• 17:45
  we want to put this in the nursing room for, you know, for
• 17:48
  families who are going to a White Sox game, so.
• 17:51
  That's a big call to get. It's a big, big for your
• 17:54
  confidence and momentum and just wow, you're validating your
• 17:57
  product. People want it, they get it.
• 17:59
  That's huge. Yes.
• 18:01
  And to see, you know, Pluy hanging on restroom walls, you
• 18:04
  know those first 4050 customers, I mean Addy and I would try to
• 18:08
  get to every single install. Most of our customers were
• 18:12
  local. That way we could go to the
• 18:13
  installations, we could see, you know, pluy out in the field.
• 18:17
  A lot of times we would ask families like, do you mind if we
• 18:20
  take a picture that like while they were changing the baby, but
• 18:24
  certainly like before or after. And I mean, there's nothing as
• 18:28
  gratifying as, you know, seeing your product being used by, you
• 18:33
  know, a consumer. And then obviously the reaction
• 18:36
  of the consumer was really validating.
• 18:39
  What do you feel like the key was to getting your product into
• 18:42
  stores? Oh gosh, because that's not.
• 18:46
  Easy. Yeah.
• 18:47
  And let's pursue because, you know, we were one.
• 18:51
  A lot of customers initially were hesitant.
• 18:54
  It's like, OK, this is a commercial, you know, Division
• 18:57
  10 fixture in a restroom. So often times we would have to
• 19:02
  drive a plowy prototype over to the customer so they could see
• 19:06
  it in person. We would spend, you know,
• 19:11
  countless Zooms, you know, going through a presentation and
• 19:15
  really making the comfort, you know, potential customers feel
• 19:17
  comfortable. And then I would say, oh, we
• 19:23
  were cold calling. Yeah.
• 19:24
  But that's where too, like our networks, we would, I would be
• 19:27
  like, OK, I went to college with somebody that's now at Starbucks
• 19:33
  or, oh, I went to Business School with somebody who's at
• 19:38
  Simon Property Group. You know, it was like scouring
• 19:41
  LinkedIn and just seeing, OK, how to connect the dots.
• 19:45
  And then just getting in front of as many people.
• 19:48
  It helps cuz I felt like we had a really exciting pitch and
• 19:53
  Addie and I both love to be in front of customers.
• 19:55
  So we would get on the phone, you know, or do a Zoom at that
• 19:59
  time. And I think customers like, you
• 20:03
  know, loved seeing our excitement.
• 20:05
  You know, as moms, as entrepreneurs, and it was like,
• 20:08
  OK, we'll give this a shot. But I always say it sometimes
• 20:12
  takes 5, you know, 810 emails before you get a yes.
• 20:17
  And a lot of times it's a, it's a no.
• 20:19
  But we always took that as a, OK, it's a, it's a no, but we'll
• 20:23
  just take it as a not right now. We'll come back to them in a
• 20:26
  couple months. That's right.
• 20:27
  What do you think was the psychological driver for people
• 20:30
  wanting to put this thing in their in their business or in
• 20:32
  their location because there had to be some type of maybe they
• 20:35
  didn't see it as, Oh my gosh, we have to have this tomorrow or
• 20:37
  our bills business is going to fall apart.
• 20:39
  It was kind of like a maybe they saw it as a nice to have or
• 20:41
  maybe some people did see it as a must have.
• 20:43
  What was the going on in the customer's mind that made them
• 20:46
  say yes, install one of these? Yeah.
• 20:48
  Well, I will say by the time that we were in production with
• 20:52
  even that initial production run, the pandemic had already,
• 20:58
  you know, happened in 2020. Kind of good timing.
• 21:01
  Yeah. So even though this was an idea
• 21:04
  before the pandemic and a patent had already been filed, really
• 21:09
  the pandemic, you know, created obviously this heightened sense
• 21:12
  of awareness of germs, of bacteria.
• 21:15
  You wore a mask for 2 1/2 years, for 1 1/2 years straight or
• 21:18
  whatever it. Was yes.
• 21:19
  Well, in our use of UVC Light, you know, there was already this
• 21:23
  consumer education that had taken place for us.
• 21:27
  So when we initially were working on Pluy, we thought, Oh
• 21:32
  my goodness, how much are we going to have to invest in
• 21:34
  marketing to educate people on UVC Light and what it does?
• 21:39
  And obviously the pandemic took care of that for us.
• 21:42
  I mean, you were seeing, you know, escalator technology.
• 21:45
  You were seeing UV light used in hospitals, even in, you know,
• 21:51
  elevators. It was like.
• 21:52
  Can you explain how that works in your product?
• 21:54
  Oh yeah, for anyone listening so they know.
• 21:56
  Yeah, you also saw like UVC light wands on the market.
• 21:59
  Yeah, so the UVC light system and it's patented.
• 22:05
  You open up the changing table, you change your baby on our soft
• 22:09
  cushion. Once you're finished, you close
• 22:12
  the changing table and we have a UVC light system, which includes
• 22:17
  like a magnet and what's called the Reed switch and a timer.
• 22:20
  It automatically turns on the light bulbs.
• 22:22
  So we have two UVC light bulbs behind a protective panel, and
• 22:28
  it turns on for 60 seconds. The two light bulbs turn on for
• 22:32
  60 seconds. And the UVC light that's known
• 22:35
  to kill, you know, germs and bacteria.
• 22:38
  So and we had to go through strenuous testing to make sure
• 22:42
  that we were getting what we say 99.99 effective rates to
• 22:47
  properly kill and that that bacteria.
• 22:50
  So the UVC light, the reason why it only comes on when the tables
• 22:56
  closed is you don't want humans to be exposed to UVC light.
• 23:01
  Yeah, why? Don't we wash our hands with
• 23:03
  that stuff? So that's why you don't see like
• 23:06
  UVC light just like in in rooms because you don't want to be
• 23:10
  exposed to it. It's not like the good type of.
• 23:13
  So, so there was a big kind of push given that people were
• 23:17
  there was a heightened sensitivity around germs and
• 23:19
  bacteria and things like that because of COVID that kind of
• 23:22
  gave you as. Yeah.
• 23:23
  So customers were like, OK, you know, we're trying to make
• 23:26
  families feel safe coming back to our businesses.
• 23:30
  We're trying to get that foot traffic that we had pre COVID.
• 23:35
  Let's really evaluate our business and see what we can do
• 23:39
  in terms of like cleaning protocols.
• 23:41
  And so actually, I mean, I hate to say it because it was such a
• 23:45
  hard time in 2020 and continue to be with COVID, but it in a
• 23:51
  sense it really helps. Bluey same.
• 23:53
  For my business, we were did video and LinkedIn and it was
• 23:56
  like everyone can no longer go to any trade shows or anything.
• 23:58
  So I totally get that. I'm like, is it?
• 24:01
  I hate to say this because it is like so sensitive for so many
• 24:04
  people and obviously there was a lot of negative thing, but I
• 24:06
  don't think that takes away from our when people had good moments
• 24:09
  in that year. I think you could absolutely say
• 24:10
  that. But I feel like it was one of
• 24:12
  the best years I've ever had in my life.
• 24:14
  Yes, and that makes. Sense Trade.
• 24:16
  Show traffic like get down. Yeah, everyone had to go
• 24:19
  virtually, like I have nothing. Now I have to make videos or go
• 24:21
  on LinkedIn or do marketing. Yeah, because.
• 24:23
  I have to virtually connect with people.
• 24:25
  There's no literally nowhere to go.
• 24:26
  And we didn't know how long it was going to last.
• 24:28
  I mean, it was like, it was just months and months and it was
• 24:30
  like, holy shit. May go years.
• 24:32
  Yeah. And then people said maybe I
• 24:33
  should just start building a brand anyways, regardless if we
• 24:36
  come back. So.
• 24:37
  And as you know, it changed the game.
• 24:39
  It made people more, you know, more people started working from
• 24:41
  home and companies were more flexible about that.
• 24:44
  And like, Zooms blew up and it changed our lives forever.
• 24:48
  It just expedited probably what was going to happen in five to
• 24:50
  10 years anyways. It sure did you.
• 24:52
  Know so. And as a young business, I mean
• 24:55
  it gave us an opportunity to have meetings with customers
• 24:57
  that maybe would never have taken.
• 25:00
  That's true. Our request for a meeting
• 25:01
  because we could do it in a 30 minute zoom.
• 25:04
  So we got really good at like we have these eight slides, We'll
• 25:08
  keep the meeting to 20 minutes, you know, 10 minutes for
• 25:11
  questions. So as soon as we got a yes,
• 25:14
  we'll meet with you. You know, it was just over Zoom.
• 25:17
  So it wasn't, you know, we weren't spending a lot on
• 25:20
  travel. You know, our travel budget was
• 25:22
  really light and I think in the sense of, you know, so much
• 25:28
  moving to virtual, that really helped us get in front of more
• 25:31
  customers than maybe a business like ours would have at that
• 25:34
  time. Yeah so I don't wanna get the
• 25:36
  Shark Tank yet and I'm gonna cover that next.
• 25:37
  But before Shark Tank, what were the next?
• 25:39
  Cuz what year was Shark Tank 20? 20 OK Shark Tank was 2023.
• 25:43
  We aired in March. OK, so we did that initial
• 25:45
  production. Run next year.
• 25:47
  We saw Pluy out in the world a lot of validation.
• 25:52
  We knew that we could install. We knew that a lot of customers
• 25:55
  were OK running electrical for the for our P-100 Plus which has
• 26:00
  the UV light system. And then really from there it
• 26:04
  was raised more capital. It was like OK to really scale
• 26:08
  this business, we need more capital.
• 26:11
  We also at that time, so we were raising money, our precede
• 26:15
  round, what's called our precede round.
• 26:17
  Now during that time you're selling the ones you have
• 26:19
  though, you guys. Feel good about this.
• 26:20
  We're actually selling the next more than you have.
• 26:22
  Yeah. We're selling what we hope we
• 26:24
  can, what we hope we can afford and produce at a later date.
• 26:29
  At that time we were also looking to move our
• 26:32
  manufacturing. So we had kind of our version of
• 26:36
  a garage where we did that first production run.
• 26:40
  Obviously it was very formal, but you know it wasn't like
• 26:43
  large scale manufacturing. And so at that time, we started
• 26:47
  seeking out a contract manufacturer.
• 26:49
  So a lot of times founders think like, OK, we have to build a
• 26:54
  manufacturing facility or we have to lease a facility.
• 26:59
  Our approach was like, let's find a contract manufacturer who
• 27:02
  already has experience with assembly, and maybe they'll
• 27:05
  allocate, you know, a line for us or a room for us.
• 27:09
  So we got really lucky in the sense of we had a warm
• 27:13
  introduction to a $7 billion global contract manufacturer
• 27:17
  called Samina, and they just happen to have some space for us
• 27:21
  in their Wisconsin plant. So that was a big moment for us
• 27:26
  to be like, OK, they will help us with procurement for that
• 27:30
  next phase of production. They'll do our assembly and wow,
• 27:34
  they'll actually ship to customers on our behalf.
• 27:37
  So, but that was a big lift and I found myself like renting a
• 27:44
  huge, like you, U-Haul truck and taking all of our inventory of
• 27:50
  raw goods up to Wisconsin. And it was like a 8 hour drive.
• 27:56
  I have like thousands of dollars of spare parts, but that's that
• 28:00
  I remember driving up to Wisconsin and just being like,
• 28:03
  this is a big moment for our business.
• 28:05
  Like we're going to be able to scale in a way that we wouldn't
• 28:08
  have been able to if we stayed in our smaller facility.
• 28:12
  So it was raising capital, you know, being strategic and how we
• 28:17
  were going to scale our manufacturing.
• 28:19
  And then it was again, just Addie and I cold calling.
• 28:23
  We invested in ACRM system called HubSpot, which you've,
• 28:28
  you probably use even. And it was just like, how to
• 28:31
  get, you know, mass e-mail addresses of restaurants, of
• 28:35
  churches, of hotels, of stadiums, you know, any business
• 28:40
  that has a public restroom. Was there anything significant
• 28:43
  that you learned about the customer through this, you know,
• 28:46
  these few years of kind of getting the product out there
• 28:48
  that you didn't expect or didn't know in the beginning?
• 28:51
  Oh, I'm so glad you asked. So our original, our original
• 28:55
  sales strategy was let's get pluy in every market segment.
• 29:00
  So we sold to, you know, a restaurant, a hotel, a church, a
• 29:05
  stadium, a library, a school, you know, like the whole gamut.
• 29:09
  So those original like 40 to 50, we tried to get in every market
• 29:12
  segment cuz for us it was like we didn't yet know, yeah, who
• 29:17
  was gonna bubble up to the surface as you know, our key
• 29:20
  customers. But then the next phase of our
• 29:23
  sales strategy was like, OK, what we identified is one, not,
• 29:29
  not everyone really prioritize, prioritizes the family
• 29:33
  experience. And it's not only a family
• 29:35
  experience, it has to be a premium family experience
• 29:38
  because we were selling at a much higher price point.
• 29:43
  And then two, we were like, OK, which customers actually have
• 29:47
  the money, right, Yes, You know, it's like.
• 29:49
  All good things to figure out as you're in Lacona.
• 29:52
  Business, yes, especially at this time it was like post
• 29:55
  pandemic, yeah. So you think of a lot of these
• 29:59
  market segments, you know, they were, they were hurting like
• 30:03
  look at the restaurant. Yo, they got.
• 30:04
  Them the hospitality industry. So then it was like some of
• 30:08
  those insights that we were learning that was then
• 30:12
  applicable to our kind of phase two of our sales strategy.
• 30:16
  So then we really honed on businesses that are prioritizing
• 30:20
  a premium family guest experience and then also have
• 30:25
  the funds to purchase Pluy because we are a premium diaper
• 30:29
  cheating table. But that's a really important
• 30:31
  insight because you could sell the exact same service or
• 30:33
  product in one market and make very little and take the exact
• 30:37
  same product and service into a new market that has more money
• 30:39
  and potential and make a lot more money.
• 30:41
  And you really didn't change anything, but you just moved
• 30:44
  your customer base. And the best way I can explain
• 30:47
  it is restaurants that you could be a waiter or a waitress at a
• 30:50
  restaurant where the average meal is 10 bucks and you'll make
• 30:53
  a few dollars here and there, you know, on each table.
• 30:55
  Or you could go do the same exact thing, essentially little
• 30:59
  nuances, but essentially you're serving tables at a high end
• 31:02
  restaurant and you can make fifty 100 bucks a table.
• 31:05
  Oh yeah. So it's like I, I went through
• 31:07
  that too, where I was like, why am I trying to target these
• 31:09
  group of people when these people have all the money and
• 31:11
  will drop, you know, thousands of dollars, no questions asked
• 31:14
  every month. And then that's a really big
• 31:16
  one. Yes, I think that's such a good
• 31:18
  insight. And and to our surprise, one of
• 31:21
  the market segments that bubbled up to the surface was stadiums.
• 31:25
  So a lot of the, you know, MLB, NBA, they were like looking to
• 31:31
  bring, you know, families back and especially MLB became like
• 31:35
  one of our best customers because it was like you're
• 31:39
  watching baseball, you're outside and it was just, you
• 31:43
  know, such a great experience for families.
• 31:45
  One of our biggest customers like continues to be wow.
• 31:49
  Petco Park, San Diego Padres, wow.
• 31:52
  Yeah, that's awesome. I wanna play a video.
• 31:55
  Please do and I'll take a sip of my Celsius.
• 31:57
  Take a break and we'll make sure that the audience that they,
• 32:01
  they can actually watch this full video.
• 32:02
  OK, great. But just for me.
• 32:03
  And you will play it here and I'll play it.
• 32:05
  And then I'll stop. And I wanna get your thoughts.
• 32:08
  You. Know what this video is 0.
• 32:10
  Gosh, as a woman in business, I admire your friend.
• 32:12
  I think you are both so smart, so hardworking, so accomplished.
• 32:17
  I love the idea and the concept. I think it's brilliant.
• 32:20
  I think the real problem is it's pricey.
• 32:24
  Right now. I see it as premium.
• 32:26
  I have a high end restaurant. I'm going to put that in
• 32:29
  instead. If I have a high end store, I'll
• 32:32
  put that in. But if I'm, you know, every day
• 32:35
  where customers are coming in anyway, I might not because it's
• 32:38
  a huge expense. I think that there's a concern
• 32:41
  for me about what's going to happen as far as really going
• 32:44
  widespread and too high a price point.
• 32:47
  So I will cheer for you, but unfortunately on this one.
• 32:50
  Thank you so much. Laura, what does watching that
• 32:54
  back, what are the feelings that you get from watching that?
• 32:56
  I'm curious. We were really hoping that Lori
• 32:59
  would come on. She was the one I know giving
• 33:01
  her background too. And she had invested in a
• 33:03
  company called Phone Soap that was doing UVC light sanitation
• 33:07
  for cell phones. Wow.
• 33:11
  Oh, it was like we so wanted the wind.
• 33:13
  We didn't necessarily need the capital at that time and we
• 33:16
  didn't necessarily want to give away, you know, 2030% of our
• 33:20
  company you had dude wipes on, on.
• 33:23
  Your podcast and. I know they partnered with Mark
• 33:26
  Cuban and that's been fruitful for them, but it was like we
• 33:29
  still wanted to be able to, you know, get a win to get a Shark.
• 33:34
  But you know, the Sharks are so smart.
• 33:37
  I mean, they're on like season 1718 and they've seen a lot of
• 33:41
  businesses. And for us, we were so unique to
• 33:44
  even get on Shark Tank because at that time we were commercial
• 33:48
  only business. You know, it's not something
• 33:50
  that's going to sell like thousands, you know, because of
• 33:53
  an episode airing or, you know, Kevin posting on his social
• 33:57
  media. So a lot of the conversations
• 34:01
  with the sharks was around, you know, one, you don't have a
• 34:04
  national account purchase order yet.
• 34:07
  We would have liked to have seen that.
• 34:08
  And then two, we're not sure really how we could help Pluy
• 34:11
  given you are a commercial business and not a consumer
• 34:15
  business. How, how did that, how did that
• 34:19
  episode and being on Shark Tank shape you in the business?
• 34:23
  Well, I'll share a little bit about like how it came to be.
• 34:28
  So we went through, everybody would always say it was like the
• 34:31
  typical response. Like once we would talk about
• 34:34
  Pluy, they'd say, Oh my gosh, you guys need to be on Shark
• 34:37
  Tank. Oh, this feels like it's a Shark
• 34:39
  Tank idea. And so people had been saying
• 34:42
  that to us for years and then we ended up applying and it's a
• 34:47
  very strenuous application process.
• 34:50
  Like Addie had to fill out like a 30 page application.
• 34:54
  I had to do the same thing. And then you fill out an
• 34:56
  application as the business, you show all your financials and
• 35:02
  then you go through a couple interviews.
• 35:05
  And then when we got the e-mail saying, OK, your business has
• 35:10
  been approved to move forward to the next step and meet with a
• 35:15
  producing team, we're like, OK, like one phase successful.
• 35:20
  The next phase is then you start meeting with a producing team
• 35:24
  who you're assigned to, to talk about your set design, your
• 35:27
  pitch. How much are you asking?
• 35:29
  How much equity? So just because you got through
• 35:33
  the first phase doesn't mean you know you will get through the
• 35:36
  second phase and actually go out and film.
• 35:39
  And then the next big milestone was, OK, you've been selected to
• 35:42
  go out to LA and film. Did you get a call or add to get
• 35:47
  a call or? How'd you we got an e-mail,
• 35:48
  e-mail. We got an e-mail.
• 35:49
  We both got the e-mail. You're like, holy, yes.
• 35:51
  They're like, we're good out to LA.
• 35:53
  Wow. So we flew out to LA on a
• 35:56
  Saturday and we were supposed to film on a on that Sunday.
• 36:02
  We are a ball of nerves. We feel really good.
• 36:05
  The only thing that is scripted is that first 90 seconds.
• 36:08
  OK, that's the only thing. They don't.
• 36:10
  Scripted meaning they meaning read off something or meaning
• 36:13
  you. Memorize no meaning you memorize
• 36:14
  it so it's like hi I'm Brittany hi I'm Addie we're the moms
• 36:17
  behind pluy that is that first those first 90 seconds are
• 36:21
  memorized after. That they tell you, you have to
• 36:24
  memorize those like, hey, in 96, you got to have the pitch down.
• 36:26
  Yeah, yeah. And then you like send in videos
• 36:29
  of you doing those first 90 seconds, like you even have to
• 36:32
  do like a little dry run, but the sharks don't know anything
• 36:35
  about you and they don't know that those first 90 seconds.
• 36:38
  They kind, I think they only know like, right as you go out,
• 36:42
  how to say your company name, right?
• 36:44
  That's it. And then when we flew out there,
• 36:49
  Addie and I, because entrepreneurs, you're on such a
• 36:52
  tight budget. We always share a room and plus
• 36:56
  it's fun. It's like, oh, like, well, as we
• 36:58
  travel, we share a room. But for Shark Tank, we're like,
• 37:03
  you get a room, I get a room. Like we need the best sleep.
• 37:07
  But because we were both so nervous, we barely slept.
• 37:10
  Saturday night. And then at like 2:00 in the
• 37:13
  morning, I happened to wake up and I saw a text message saying
• 37:17
  there was a COVID exposure. So this was 2022.
• 37:21
  We were filming in the summer of 2022.
• 37:24
  There was a COVID exposure on set.
• 37:26
  We have to delay filming, so we ended up in LA like quarantine
• 37:33
  at a hotel for days. Like I think it was four days
• 37:36
  total and. You're paying for all this,
• 37:38
  right? Or they they.
• 37:38
  Fly Well, they cover a lot of this, yeah, of like hotel and
• 37:41
  flight. But then the day that we finally
• 37:45
  got to film, we had the very first film time.
• 37:50
  It was like 6:00 AM. Wow, they start that early?
• 37:53
  Yeah, because they're going all day.
• 37:55
  Oh. My.
• 37:56
  God, and like Damon had flown in.
• 37:58
  Oh, they hustle. And Damon had like flown in from
• 38:02
  New York overnight because they had to have like different
• 38:05
  sharks because the scheduling change.
• 38:07
  And we were just at that time, we were like, Oh my gosh, what
• 38:13
  is this even going to be like? We've been quarantined here for
• 38:15
  four days. We filmed and it is just, I
• 38:20
  mean, they're make, they're trying to make good TV, you
• 38:22
  know, they're like asking the variations of the same question
• 38:26
  like at the same time. And it was just such a surreal
• 38:30
  experience. They are so smart, you know it.
• 38:34
  Was like they're on a different. Level, Yeah, Such good
• 38:36
  questions, such good comments. It was just such a surreal
• 38:41
  experience. And I will share, you know,
• 38:44
  after we walked off the stage. I think we were both, I mean, we
• 38:49
  were sad. We were like, oh, man, we wish
• 38:51
  we would have at least gotten an offer to negotiate.
• 38:53
  Yeah, spoil alert. We didn't get an offer, but we
• 38:57
  knew the reasons why. They made it very clear the
• 38:59
  reasons why. And you obviously saw Lori very
• 39:02
  complimentary. They were all very
• 39:03
  complimentary. But we were sad.
• 39:06
  And it felt like a big, it felt like a big.
• 39:09
  We lost. It felt like we failed.
• 39:13
  We lost a competition when in reality the win was then our
• 39:17
  episode actually airing. Oh yes, so then.
• 39:21
  Because you don't know if your episodes gonna air or not.
• 39:23
  Right. Oh, yeah.
• 39:24
  It's like 140 companies go out to LA, they film, and only about
• 39:28
  90 actually see the light of day each season.
• 39:31
  So then it was like the e-mail that we received saying our
• 39:35
  episode was selected to air. We called each other.
• 39:38
  We weren't together. I was at a Starbucks downtown
• 39:41
  Chicago. And we were like, Oh my gosh, we
• 39:44
  have our air date and they give you your air date 2 weeks
• 39:48
  before. So then it's like you are two
• 39:52
  weeks going through, you know, website design, social media,
• 39:55
  asset creation, you know, you are we, you know, we had to tell
• 40:00
  our investors. They were so excited for us.
• 40:03
  I mean, it is just two weeks of just, you are running on pure
• 40:07
  adrenaline and then the episode airing.
• 40:09
  Because millions of people are going to see that.
• 40:10
  Around yeah, they, I think it, the estimated viewership is
• 40:14
  around 4 million. And our website crashed like
• 40:18
  right when we, right when we walked down the hall and started
• 40:22
  our pitch, all of a sudden our website crashed.
• 40:25
  We're on the phone with our, you know, website host and we were
• 40:31
  like we specifically said, can our web server handle this
• 40:35
  instantaneous traffic? And they're like, yeah, you were
• 40:38
  good on that. But what happened is you're on
• 40:40
  like a shared server. So we didn't want to compromise
• 40:43
  all these other businesses that are on the shared server.
• 40:46
  We were like, why didn't you tell us that?
• 40:48
  Why didn't you tell us that? Obviously that's important.
• 40:50
  To know, I know, I know. And a little secret on Shark
• 40:54
  Tank is we're now a commercial and a consumer business.
• 40:59
  So you'll see that we have our portable diaper changing mat.
• 41:03
  It's called the Pret Changing Clutch.
• 41:06
  Yeah, we actually had a really early versions of our portable
• 41:12
  diaper changing mat in our diaper bags.
• 41:16
  And we thought, OK, if it feels appropriate, we're going to
• 41:20
  bring out our portable diaper changing mat and say, hey, this
• 41:26
  is another product that we're working.
• 41:27
  On one more now, yeah. But it felt like it would be too
• 41:31
  confusing and and we felt like they would actually hold that
• 41:34
  against us and, and question why, you know, we yeah, why we
• 41:39
  were also focusing on a consumer products.
• 41:41
  So what's is this any different than what you'd see?
• 41:44
  Like what's what's unique about this?
• 41:45
  Yeah, obviously, if you're in a place where they don't have a
• 41:47
  bluey. Right.
• 41:48
  Yeah. Or like even a lot of times
• 41:51
  people change their child's diaper, like in their living
• 41:54
  room, Yeah, where they don't have the changing table that's
• 41:57
  in their nursery. So.
• 41:58
  Car I've changed diapers everywhere.
• 42:00
  Yeah, yeah. You're a dad.
• 42:01
  Two kids, Yeah. So we thought, well, if pluy
• 42:05
  can't be everywhere in every restroom yet, why don't you take
• 42:09
  a little piece of pluy with you? And we really wanted to
• 42:13
  reimagine the, you know, traditional diaper changing
• 42:16
  that. So we wanted it just a very
• 42:19
  simple design because we learned that a lot of parents don't use
• 42:23
  like, all the bells and whistles, like all the zippers
• 42:25
  in the pockets. We want it to be thank you.
• 42:29
  Well, we wanted it to be much more stylish.
• 42:32
  I think that's important for moms and the new moms too.
• 42:34
  Yes, because before they're very like utilitarian, it's like
• 42:38
  black Navy or cream. And so we have about 8 different
• 42:43
  skews now and it is like a women's clutch, like a, you
• 42:48
  know, like a designer clutch. We also capitalized on a trend
• 42:52
  at the time, woven neoprene. So it's kind of this like woven
• 42:55
  look. And then we designed this with
• 42:58
  materials where it's machine washable.
• 43:01
  So you can throw it in the washing machine and it holds up
• 43:05
  and then you obviously air dry it.
• 43:07
  And then too, like a lot of people love to put like a diaper
• 43:10
  wipes in an extra onesie and then you just throw it in your
• 43:16
  diaper bag. Wow.
• 43:17
  And then we just launched a couple months ago a Pluy heart
• 43:22
  teether. It's antimicrobial.
• 43:25
  And this comes in pink and blue. So it's a little heart teether.
• 43:30
  So babies that are teething very cool, love our teether.
• 43:35
  Yeah. And it makes for a great baby
• 43:37
  shower gift, especially these two together for.
• 43:39
  Sure. Where does someone buy on your
• 43:41
  website or do you guys sell them somewhere else or where?
• 43:42
  Yeah, buy on our website through our social media accounts, but
• 43:49
  we've had a lot of success with boutiques throughout the nation.
• 43:53
  So we sell to local boutiques all throughout the United States
• 43:59
  and they have just loved carrying our preps and our
• 44:02
  teethers. So that's been a great way to
• 44:04
  generate quicker revenue for us because the diaper changing
• 44:08
  table could take about 12 to 18 months for a business,
• 44:12
  especially if they're trying to spec it into new construction.
• 44:15
  Where is this? You know, a store can make a
• 44:17
  decision and we can ship within a couple days.
• 44:19
  Wow. Yeah.
• 44:20
  So we've generated a couple $100,000 just from our consumer
• 44:24
  products. That's awesome, Yeah.
• 44:25
  Branching out, you know? Yeah.
• 44:27
  Did being on going back to Shark Tank, did being on Shark Tank
• 44:30
  change the way that you look at your business where there's some
• 44:32
  key takeaways, maybe one or two big ones where you're like, we
• 44:35
  need to rethink this or approach a little bit differently?
• 44:37
  Yeah, it really did. I mean the the conversation
• 44:41
  around having a national account shortly afterwards we like
• 44:44
  double down on national accounts.
• 44:48
  And so CVS we're actually Pluy is now the brand standard and
• 44:52
  CVS, is that right? Yeah.
• 44:53
  So anytime a new CVS is under renovation or new construction
• 44:58
  day spec in pluy. So that was so excited, exciting
• 45:01
  for us. And Simon Property Group is
• 45:04
  another. Now we're the brand standard for
• 45:07
  Simon Property Group, the largest, you know, mall owner in
• 45:10
  the United States. And so we really shifted our
• 45:13
  priority after Shark Tank to really focus on national
• 45:16
  accounts. We also since we aired on Shark
• 45:19
  Tank the last two years, we have really prioritized cost
• 45:23
  reductions. So I mean that Lori clip, it was
• 45:27
  like, you know, our business is going to pay a premium and even
• 45:31
  though we've held the price, we haven't increased the price of
• 45:34
  the chaining tables. We've really tried to cost
• 45:38
  reduce and whether that's the design or the sourcing, that way
• 45:42
  if we need to, we can offer a discount to get that sale.
• 45:47
  And you said there was a bunch of people that hit the website.
• 45:49
  Obviously it crashed for a. Little bit.
• 45:50
  Oh yeah. What was the what was the kind
• 45:52
  of the business impact on the back end of being on the show?
• 45:55
  Did you see? Yes.
• 45:56
  I'm a great story, I. Have a great story.
• 45:58
  So we our episode aired in March of 2023.
• 46:03
  About two months later we were at a big trade show.
• 46:06
  We were like, OK, we're going to spend the money.
• 46:08
  We're going to exhibit. It was a multi site retailer
• 46:11
  trade show. So think of like Target
• 46:14
  Starbucks, you know, finish, like finish like all these multi
• 46:19
  site retailers. And we had our little 10 by 10
• 46:24
  booth. We had a diaper changing table
• 46:26
  like installed on like a fake restroom wall.
• 46:31
  We had a big sign that said as seen on Shark Tank.
• 46:35
  And a couple of gentlemen were walking by our booth and they
• 46:39
  paused and they gassed. They were like, we saw you guys
• 46:42
  on Shark Tank. Turns out a couple facility
• 46:46
  manager executives from Starbucks, Yes.
• 46:51
  And they said we're dads. We saw your episode and we
• 46:55
  thought, gosh, that is a great product.
• 46:58
  And we had kind of a Shark Tank moment where they shook our hand
• 47:03
  on the spot and said, we will pilot Pluy and a couple
• 47:07
  Starbucks out on the East Coast. So for us it was like, OK, we
• 47:12
  didn't get a deal on Shark Tank. But because these, you know,
• 47:16
  executive star episode on Shark Tank, they already knew about
• 47:19
  Pluy. Yeah, they had already.
• 47:21
  Yeah, they had already kind of made a mental note to look into
• 47:24
  it for Starbucks restrooms and that has really helped us.
• 47:30
  So we're we're, we have a couple Starbucks.
• 47:32
  We're hoping that expands into the future.
• 47:35
  But that was a big moment for us because of Starbucks.
• 47:38
  We got a couple inbound orders like from a Cadillac dealership
• 47:42
  in Florida, from Culver's, a big franchise group in the Midwest.
• 47:46
  So it definitely translated into sales, just not, you know, like
• 47:52
  thousands of products, like, right, Because again, we were
• 47:56
  just commercial at that time. I will also say it's like such a
• 48:00
  fun story. To Oh heck.
• 48:01
  Yeah, like people love trying about Shark Tank.
• 48:03
  It's so interesting. I wanted to talk about today
• 48:05
  because it's just an. Interesting thing.
• 48:07
  Yeah, founders are curious about it.
• 48:08
  Everyone's. Curious.
• 48:09
  Yes. Yeah.
• 48:10
  Well, and then you're now in one.
• 48:13
  You're in this amazing network. Like Dude Wipes, Yeah.
• 48:17
  You talk to Shawn. He knows.
• 48:18
  'Cause yeah yeah, I know the team over there, Ryan, Megan,
• 48:21
  it's like love seeing their growth I love seeing them on
• 48:25
  LinkedIn, what they're sharing. You know, there's major, you
• 48:29
  know, successful businesses that have come out of Shark Tank and
• 48:33
  they're actually it's not really publicly promoted because it's
• 48:38
  more of just a Shark Tank alumni type of event in network.
• 48:43
  But there's like a Facebook page, an event, a reunion every
• 48:47
  year. So it's not yeah, it's not on
• 48:50
  like Shark Tank ABC affiliated. But it's just a, you know, a
• 48:53
  bunch of, you know, Shark Tank alum that keep in touch, that
• 48:58
  help each other, that have a Facebook channel to, you know,
• 49:02
  just, hey, what are you doing with, you know, Black Friday?
• 49:06
  Like, Hey, any tips on, you know, selling on QVC?
• 49:09
  So it's it's a really wonderful supportive community.
• 49:13
  And it's cool how your initial kind of loss quote or or no
• 49:18
  turned into such a so many yeses down the line and so many wins.
• 49:22
  And I think that's kind of the journey of an entrepreneur is
• 49:24
  half of it should. I would say it's two things.
• 49:26
  One, it's like staying in the game and keeping your head up
• 49:29
  even when times were tough. And then two, you got to
• 49:31
  continue to get better, improve, innovate, build skills.
• 49:35
  And if you do that and you got a good product or service, you're
• 49:37
  probably going to win. So many people give up and most
• 49:40
  people don't even get to the Shark Tank platform, but they
• 49:43
  give up when they're like, oh, they had a set back or, you
• 49:45
  know, a couple investors said no, maybe 20 investors said no.
• 49:49
  And it's just like, you know, and I was reminded me of I was
• 49:51
  watching a clip on Jerry Seinfeld, the comedian.
• 49:54
  And I know it's so random. I'll tie it in though.
• 49:55
  But, you know, obviously he had the one of the most successful
• 49:58
  iconic shows in the history of TV Seinfeld, right.
• 50:01
  And they were he was talking about how, yeah, I mean, changed
• 50:05
  everything. It's I don't think if there's
• 50:06
  any show that's going to ever compete with that.
• 50:08
  I mean, kind of TV shows are now dispersed like Netflix and
• 50:12
  Simpsons. Yeah.
• 50:12
  I mean, it's one of those like Friends.
• 50:14
  Yeah, exactly. It's one of those like you just
• 50:16
  generational. And he was saying how the first
• 50:19
  season was a complete bomb and they wanted to take it off the
• 50:22
  network. It had shitty ratings.
• 50:25
  It was not doing well. It's all the executives didn't
• 50:27
  like it. There was like one key executive
• 50:29
  that like, I like the show and like, let's let's give it
• 50:31
  another shot. The next season little better,
• 50:34
  but still kind of in the territory of being cancelled.
• 50:37
  And then the third season, they got a little momentum. 4 season
• 50:40
  kind of took off. This season started becoming
• 50:42
  cultural icon and it just was, it's cool to hear that because I
• 50:46
  think you look back and you kind of everyone kind of knows that
• 50:48
  show whether you watched it or not.
• 50:50
  You kind of just assume it was like always a hit, you know,
• 50:52
  like and it wasn't. It really wasn't.
• 50:54
  And he was on, he was saying he was on Carson killing it for 9
• 50:57
  years straight before anyone even offered him anything to do
• 51:01
  with ATV show. And so I love hearing those
• 51:03
  stories. I love them too and it helps
• 51:06
  founders keep going. It does.
• 51:07
  It really does. Yeah, like this wasn't a
• 51:09
  success, a success overnight. And we, you know, I read the
• 51:13
  book like you decades ago, The tipping point.
• 51:16
  It's like as founders, it's like, OK, like hang on, make
• 51:20
  smart businesses decisions. But like what could be the
• 51:23
  tipping point? What will be the tipping point
• 51:25
  where we just then are like, OK, we've made it.
• 51:28
  I mean hitting that 1,000,000 in revenue milestone.
• 51:31
  Like that was a big moment for us.
• 51:33
  It's like, and then the next year it's like how do we get a
• 51:35
  million in annual revenue? And then for us a big moment
• 51:39
  too, that was about a year after Shark Tank.
• 51:42
  It was 2024. We Pluy was an answer on
• 51:46
  Jeopardy. No.
• 51:47
  Way, Yeah, we literally, I was. I'll never forget I was dropping
• 51:50
  my son off at flag football and I get an e-mail actually from
• 51:54
  our Starbucks contact and then all these messages start
• 51:57
  flooding in and it's like Pluy was just an answer on Jeopardy.
• 52:01
  And then I was like, did somebody answer it correctly or
• 52:04
  like, and a woman did buzz in and said a diaper chaining table
• 52:08
  and she got 1000 points. And I'm like, that's a big
• 52:10
  moment to be on Jeopardy, which isn't a paid thing.
• 52:14
  It's like Jeopardy. Would it be Jeopardy with that?
• 52:16
  You know, if it was a paid promotion?
• 52:19
  So where's the Business Today? When, what, what are you guys
• 52:21
  looking forward to? Like we're, for those of us who
• 52:23
  don't know kind of the insides of it.
• 52:25
  Where are you guys today and what's exciting for the next few
• 52:27
  years? There's so many exciting things.
• 52:29
  One, we're just, we're so pleased with how our consumer
• 52:32
  products are doing. 2 it's just continue getting pluy diaper,
• 52:36
  chaining tables in public restrooms.
• 52:39
  You know, you, we're still focused on the United States.
• 52:42
  There's a huge expense in going internationally.
• 52:46
  Even getting into Canada is a big capital investment.
• 52:50
  So we're really focusing on the US getting more national
• 52:54
  accounts. We also we haven't hit that
• 52:58
  profitability mark quite yet where it's like significant
• 53:01
  profit. That's a big milestone that
• 53:05
  we're, you know, really prioritizing and that means also
• 53:09
  like how, you know, negotiating with suppliers, like being smart
• 53:12
  about air shipment versus ocean shipment for raw goods.
• 53:15
  So it's really those three things.
• 53:18
  And then also we're at the point where we really are looking at a
• 53:22
  strategic partnership for the commercial side of the business.
• 53:26
  We are in an industry where you need to be specked in, you need
• 53:30
  to get in front of architects and designers, you know, 24
• 53:34
  months before, you know, a building is being constructed.
• 53:36
  So it's like, is there a strategic partner out there who
• 53:41
  can really help us scale the business on the commercial side
• 53:44
  in terms of distribution and visibility and and ensuring that
• 53:50
  we can get that sales scale that's needed to really grow
• 53:54
  this business and be what we think it can be and what we know
• 53:58
  it can be? Was there one moment where you
• 54:00
  ever doubted the business? So many moments.
• 54:03
  Was there a big one that you remember that you're like, we
• 54:04
  almost packed it in. Well, I would say we got our
• 54:11
  biggest order to date about two years ago.
• 54:15
  It was from an airport and they wanted a significant amount of
• 54:19
  Chloe units and they needed it by the end of the year.
• 54:23
  Like they had to have it by December 31st.
• 54:27
  And it was one of those things that was like due to the capital
• 54:30
  budget. Oh, they had to.
• 54:32
  Spend. Yeah, they had to spend and they
• 54:33
  needed it, you know, by the end of the year.
• 54:35
  Corporate games. Yeah.
• 54:36
  And I'll never forget, I was like 1.
• 54:39
  We always joke like we will fly to Taiwan, we will fly to India
• 54:43
  to get parts if we need to. Like obviously we won't.
• 54:45
  But we said yes. We said, OK, we will make this
• 54:50
  happen. We'll get these units in your
• 54:53
  hand by the end of the year. But it was so nerve wracking and
• 54:57
  I was like, they had even paid us for them out.
• 55:02
  It was like AI won't disclose the number, but it was
• 55:05
  definitely like almost 6 figures and we just had to every day.
• 55:11
  It was like a stand up meeting with our production team.
• 55:13
  Every day it was reviewing what parts have received, what parts
• 55:17
  have gone through the inspection.
• 55:19
  And we didn't quite meet like December 30th or 31st, but the
• 55:25
  units had left our manufacturing facility and that technically
• 55:29
  counted as they had shipped. And so that airport was like
• 55:34
  January 2nd. Like when they arrived, they
• 55:37
  were like, it's fine. It's.
• 55:38
  Fine, at least. Yeah, yeah.
• 55:39
  But that felt like a big, like, make or break moment.
• 55:43
  And then I think every founder will say, like, you could have
• 55:45
  the best 5 minutes, and then you could have like, the worst 5
• 55:49
  minutes. That's so true.
• 55:50
  That's so true. And I love kind of a lot of the
• 55:53
  transparency that we see today, whether it's like on your
• 55:56
  podcast or on LinkedIn with people being like, it's really
• 56:01
  tough. Yeah.
• 56:02
  And you're not alone. Yeah.
• 56:04
  You're not alone. And yes, social media you, I
• 56:07
  think founders and entrepreneurs and young businesses are
• 56:10
  businesses are getting better at sharing.
• 56:13
  You know, this is frankly like all the stuff that goes on in
• 56:17
  the background. Like it's not just it's not all
• 56:20
  like roses everyday as an entrepreneur, I mean, sometimes
• 56:23
  like we're still like packing up something in our the back of our
• 56:26
  trunk or going to an install and we're still doing those things
• 56:32
  to this day. And there's just many times that
• 56:34
  you doubt what am I doing? Is this going to work as this,
• 56:37
  right? Is this did?
• 56:38
  I really leave my 401. K is this the right direction?
• 56:42
  You know, should I change this? Not what the market want, you
• 56:44
  know, it's Yeah, you just Yeah. And it you have to have real
• 56:47
  conviction. And you're right, It's it's you
• 56:50
  could have two days in a row that were just terrible.
• 56:51
  And it seems like the world's coming in on you.
• 56:53
  And then two days later you want some clients and this and that
• 56:56
  your social media bots are. What's a roller coaster?
• 56:59
  It's such a roller. Coaster, so it is a roll and so
• 57:01
  you have to stay kind of even keel and I think it helps when
• 57:05
  you've been been doing it for a few years, the first couple
• 57:07
  years, first two or three years or four years, maybe even are
• 57:10
  are tougher because you haven't had the experiences.
• 57:13
  So now it's like I can go back and go, hey, been through a
• 57:15
  challenging moment before. We're going to get through this.
• 57:18
  Keep positive, keep working your ass off.
• 57:19
  We'll be fine. Yeah.
• 57:20
  I will say though, like the first couple years I feel like
• 57:23
  though are almost easier because you're in a honeymoon phase.
• 57:26
  Yeah, it's true. It's like.
• 57:27
  You don't know what you don't know.
• 57:28
  That's true. I think we're founders and you
• 57:30
  see like those statistics of only, you know, certain
• 57:33
  percentage actually make it to year 10 or year five.
• 57:36
  Year 5 is a big one where it's like those first couple years I
• 57:40
  look back and I'm like, oh, I miss those days.
• 57:42
  Me too, I think the same thing. Yeah.
• 57:44
  And then I we always say it's like patience and persistence.
• 57:48
  Like we, we want the yeses, we want the home runs, we want the
• 57:52
  highs. But like we have to remind
• 57:54
  ourselves like be patient, but also be professionally
• 57:57
  persistent. Like send that 5th or ATML, you
• 58:01
  know, call that customer and see if you can, you know, build a
• 58:05
  better relationship than via e-mail.
• 58:08
  I will say too, I think my corporate experience was really
• 58:12
  valuable. I mentor a lot of younger
• 58:15
  founders, especially female founders, ISO, you know, go
• 58:19
  speak to like high school students.
• 58:20
  And I'm like, you know, getting that corporate experience about
• 58:24
  formality and operationalizing and, you know, not getting too
• 58:29
  stressed because it's like, we'll figure out how to get
• 58:32
  through this time or there's always a solution.
• 58:36
  It might, it might be really a creative solution that, you
• 58:39
  know, you're like nervous to actually put in emotion.
• 58:42
  But we'll figure it out. Like we always say, like we got
• 58:46
  this, we'll figure it out. You have to have the mindset to
• 58:50
  make it, you know, and I think enjoy the ride, enjoy every
• 58:53
  phase because I'm, I'm with you. I look back at the 1st at least
• 58:55
  the first year. Second year was a little
• 58:57
  tougher, but the first year I'm like, man, those are some of the
• 58:59
  best times ever. I'm just like a stupid
• 59:01
  entrepreneur, you know? I didn't know anything.
• 59:03
  Like I just the world is. Ignorant and I was just like,
• 59:05
  everything's going to work out. And we got a vision in this and
• 59:08
  it did all work out. But it it just, yeah, there's
• 59:11
  something about you got to enjoy each phase.
• 59:13
  You know, if you're a little bit slower, enjoy that phase if
• 59:16
  you're busy or enjoy that phase if you're, you know, going
• 59:18
  through some things, find the find the moments that you can
• 59:21
  enjoy and relish because you'll look back on it and you, you
• 59:23
  will enjoy it. You will look back and say, that
• 59:25
  was a good memory, a good experience, But you can't get so
• 59:28
  focused on the next step all the time that you miss, you know,
• 59:32
  the moments that you have in between.
• 59:34
  Because really to me that the, it's like they say, the, the
• 59:38
  journey to the mountaintop is really the top of the mountain.
• 59:41
  You know, it's not, it's the destination, It's not really
• 59:43
  getting to the actual place you want to go.
• 59:45
  It's really about the journey. You know so and we may not get
• 59:49
  that like big acquisition or that big you know 10X multiplier
• 59:55
  for a sale, but like I will. Say we might, You know, you
• 59:58
  never know. Yeah.
• 59:59
  But I will say regardless of like where Pluy is in 10, you
• 1:00:03
  know, 1520 years, we have learned so much and the
• 1:00:08
  relationships that we have established, I'm so proud that
• 1:00:12
  our our products are out there in the world.
• 1:00:14
  They're being used. We get, you know, pictures from
• 1:00:17
  strangers of like, Oh my gosh, I loved your diaper changing
• 1:00:20
  table. Or they'll scan our QR code and
• 1:00:24
  they'll, you know, give us a great survey.
• 1:00:28
  To me, especially as somebody who's been in product
• 1:00:30
  development for decades, like, that brings me so much joy is,
• 1:00:35
  is seeing our products in the world and, and being, you know,
• 1:00:40
  received really well. Yeah.
• 1:00:42
  Ready. This is a great conversation.
• 1:00:43
  Thank you SO. Much.
• 1:00:44
  I appreciate you coming on. Great.
• 1:00:46
  Where can people find you, connect with you, learn more
• 1:00:48
  about what you guys do, or even buy some of the stuff?
• 1:00:50
  That's great. Hello, pluy.com, Instagram,
• 1:00:53
  Facebook. Hello Pluy.
• 1:00:56
  We love followership. We love, obviously purchases and
• 1:00:59
  sales. And then you can also find Pluy
• 1:01:02
  products and many of your local boutiques.
• 1:01:04
  And then please send us pictures if you see Pluy out in public
• 1:01:08
  and change a diaper. Appreciate you coming on the
• 1:01:10
  show. Thank you.