Latest / Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast) / 6 quick questions with Rebecca Veksler, Founder of Solcups (Part 2)
Transcript
- 0:00Welcome back. Here are the six quick questions. So question number one is, and this we've definitely touched on, what's your why? Why do you wake up every day and do what you're doing?
- 0:21I love this question. My why is I really believe that I have through this company and through, you know, my voice, the ability to create positive impact and positive experience on the world. And
- 0:39There is nothing more special than not only seeing that we're changing the environment one cup at a time by eradicating the requirements for plastic production, but people's mindset. If I can change someone's mindset to be a more positive one and a more conscious consumer, I can sleep at night.
- 1:00I love that. That's so cool. Great mission to have. Number two is what's been your favorite marketing moment since you started the business? My favorite marketing moment was...
- 1:18Probably seeing the product like on posters, on buses all over New Zealand and also through the UK and Europe, like just traveling and seeing your products like billboarded all over the world. I just think that's so surreal. I still can't really understand it. Yeah. Wow. That sounds like a different kind of thrill. Very exciting. Yeah.
- 1:41Question number three is what's some of your go-to business resources when you have to think about things like a book or a newsletter or a podcast? I always go to my mentors.
- 1:53Definitely. And if I could suggest the biggest, most valuable piece of advice is build your circle, build your network and build your tribe and make sure everybody in that space is much smarter than you are. I love that. I love that. We've been building a private community. It's called Hype Club, but we're in the process of launching 2.0. And it has just been the most joyful thing to be part of because there's so many women who are first time founders.
- 2:22starting their business, coming in and coming together. And I learned so much from what they're going through and like what they're doing to kind of get the word out there. It's just such joy. And I think having that network of other founders around you that you can turn to and ask questions is just invaluable. You can't, you can't find better answers to questions. You can't find this stuff on Google. It's, it's so important. I totally agree.
- 2:49Question number four is how do you win the day? What are your AM and PM rituals and habits that keep you feeling happy and motivated and successful? Hmm.
- 3:01I love this because my entire sentiment is do one thing a day that brings you joy. And fundamentally I didn't have much of a childhood, so I always try as much as I can to bring in that play into the office, into the day, into my life. So my morning is really important to me. It's my special time. I have to work out. I have to journal or meditate or just have a little bit of peace. And if I don't start my day like that, it's just –
- 3:31my brain isn't together, so...
- 3:34always have me time in the morning. And during the day, I like to implement five to ten minutes of playtime, and that goes for everyone in the team. So I have a hula hoop. I have a trampoline. I like to get everybody to sort of stand up and stretch or just get out of the office and go for a walk or something. I've got the dogs as well, so just any kind of play. And then in the evening, I really, I know it sounds so ridiculous, but silence. Silence.
- 4:02Like there has to be half an hour to an hour where I don't talk to anyone. I don't look at a phone. I don't touch the computer. And I just stare at a wall because and meditate essentially just to reset and, you know, reboot. Have some quiet inside. Inner quiet. I love that.
- 4:21Question number five is what has been your worst money mistake and how much did it cost you? I've got a few of those. The worst one was we, oh, this is a terrible story, we built the second version of our e-com website with this company that promised us the world, charged us money,
- 4:49In total, it was almost $50,000 in losses because, oh, it's such a terrible story. I'm like I have PTSD thinking about it. They had to redevelop it a number of times because of,
- 5:04terrible coding problems, but somehow managed to blame us because of our naivety. And then in the end, left us half dead as a half completed website. And it turns out that one of the business partners ran away with all the money. And it ended up being this like big fraudulent case. I know it was like sheer
- 5:26Bad luck. But although that was such a terrible loss and it was a ridiculous amount of money, we ended up meeting an incredible developer that not only overnight built us a website for free just because he felt so bad for what occurred. But, you know, again, to this day, we still work with them and...
- 5:46yeah, are so grateful to have been saved. But that was a horrible, horrible loss and mistake. Yeah, that sounds painful. That sounds crazy. But shout out to the developer who helped you and came to be your saving grace. That sounds absolutely amazing. So many good people out there.
- 6:06Yeah, it's always a silver lining. There's always good people. Absolutely. Last question, question number six, and you just gave us a pretty good one, but not that one. What is just a crazy story, good or bad, that you've had from building your business? Oh, my God. A crazy story. Yeah.
- 6:29Honestly, there's so many. Like I've lived such a crazy life. I think for me the craziest aspect, and I know it's so simple and it's not that shocking, is walking and travelling around the world and seeing people use your product. Like I've been doing it.
- 6:46In the smallest town in the south of France, in Nîmes, I was like literally there for three days and I think I experienced, you know, a dozen or two people walking around with a soul cup. And...
- 7:01To me, that blows my mind. I will never get used to it. I will never understand it. I remember in the first year of operating, being in New Zealand and seeing people walk around, I'm like, where did you get it from? How do you have one?
- 7:17That is so cool. I know it's not like wild, but to me it is because it's just, you know, how we started so small from a living room, you know, growing into this incredible global brand where people all over the world are reducing their waste by stopping single use plastics by using a product I designed with my mom is just insane.
- 7:41is just insane. That is so cool. It's such a cool story. I'm so grateful that you came on the show to share your journey so far with me and for everyone listening. Thank you so much, Rebecca. Thank you. Thank you so much.
- 8:00Hey, 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.
- 8:25And 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.
- 8:47As 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.
- 9:03Hey, it's Dune 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.
- 9:27And 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.
- 9:50As 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.