Latest / Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast) / "How do people make drugs" is what this Founder was Googling to start her oral care business, Bite, with Lindsay McCormick

Transcript

"How do people make drugs" is what this Founder was Googling to start her oral care business, Bite, with Lindsay McCormick · Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast)

• 0:00
  This is Lindsay McCormick for Female Startup Club.
• 0:12
  Hey everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. I'm your host, Doon Roisin, and joining me on the show today is Lindsay McCormick, co-founder of Byte. Byte is on a mission to upend the personal and oral care industry with innovative products that are made with the planet in mind.
• 0:32
  Started by Lindsay in her living room and after launching their viral toothpaste tablets in 2018, they've since expanded to offer the first and only 100% plant-based and plastic-free oral care set. Bite is here to make your daily routine more sustainable with products that are plastic-free, cruelty-free, made with effective, clean ingredients, one smile at a time. The most common review the brand receives is, It's weird at first, but now I'm obsessed.
• 1:02
  In this episode, we're covering how Lindsay started her business in her living room, taking online chemistry classes and Googling how do people make drugs, why she turned offers down on Shark Tank from Mark Cuban and Kevin O'Leary, and the lessons she's been learning along the way. And as always, please do subscribe and rate and review the show to help other ears find us. This is Lindsay for Female Startup Club.
• 1:29
  Lindsay, hi, hello. Welcome to the Female Startup Club podcast. Thanks for having me, June. I'm very excited. I am so excited. As we were saying before we hopped on the call, we're in no man's land. It's one of those days between Christmas and New Year's. So I'm super excited to be chatting to you and mixing up my day a little bit today. I'd love to start by getting you to introduce yourself and what your business actually is.
• 1:55
  Definitely. So my name is Lindsay McCormick, and I'm the founder and CEO of Byte. We make plastic-free personal care. We started with toothpaste tablets, and I started it in my living room in 2018. And we now have grown. We're available online and in some retail stores as well.
• 2:14
  Amazing. I always want to go back to life before you started the business to find out what you were up to and what even got you thinking about starting a business in the first place. Yeah. So I did not really expect to start a business. I was traveling all the time. I was a TV producer before I started Byte.
• 2:32
  which meant I was on a plane every other week and I was flying to all these different destinations for shoots and traveling carry on only. So it's only there a few days and I've always been super passionate about the environment. I was before that, even I was a surf instructor, a snowboard instructor. I was out on the mountains and in the ocean all the time and kind of seeing, you know, the plastic problem and, you know, what we need to do to really step up conservation. And so I was traveling and I had gotten my kit all down where I had my shampoo bottle that I could refill and my conditioner bottle that I could refill and my face wash and,
• 3:01
  And I was throwing out these little toothpaste tubes every single shoot. And I was just like, this feels so wasteful. And I feel like I've done so much with the rest of my stuff. Like, why can't I figure out toothpaste? And so I started looking into alternatives at like, you know, tooth powder and other toothpaste tablets that were on the market, but they were all in plastic. And so that was the beginning of this process for me. It was like, okay, I want this so I can take it on shoots for my job. I'm going to start making it.
• 3:30
  And then from that, I was like, well, if I'm going to be making it for myself, it needs to be as effective and safe as possible. And that's when I started looking into the ingredients in most toothpaste. And I was just like, wow, this is absurd. I was like, I've spent more time looking at what's on the back of my shampoo bottle than I have ever even looked at the back of my toothpaste tube. And turns out there was a bunch of stuff in there that I was like...
• 3:52
  I don't want that in my body every day, you know, and so I started taking online chemistry classes, and talking with dentists and dental hygienists, and starting making the first like iterations of what bite was in my toaster at that time. So that's kind of how it all started. And
• 4:10
  I definitely did not set out to make a business. But after I started investing in these like machinery and time, I was like, well, I might as well, you know, sell this on Etsy and Shopify and see if other people want it. You know, it would be great if I did. But I figured it would just be for like me and my friends. And then from there, that's how it all started and kind of just grew into what we are today.
• 4:36
  That is so cool. I love that you were taking online chemistry classes to fully understand what you needed to put in it. Can we just talk about how you actually go about, you know, in those early iterations of what you were doing, how do you actually make a toothpaste bite? And like, when you say machinery, what do you mean?
• 4:55
  It's a really good question. So it's changed. So at first it was, I mean, this was literally like me in my, you know, I say a lab, but it was really our dining room that I turned into my lab and I would just sit there all night and I was researching, you know.
• 5:12
  different ingredients and what I could use. And I would go down to like Whole Foods and I would go buy, you know, they had different things there like xylitol and erythritol, which I couldn't find a normal grocery store. I got a lot of stuff off of Amazon, like just went on there and like got off Amazon. Then there's a website called Chemistry Connection that has different like, you know, little like surfactants and things like foaming agents and
• 5:34
  So I was just buying these little samples of things that I could try and I'd put them in mason jars and I was mixing them together to figure out, you know, what felt good, what tasted good, what, you know, worked when I like clean my teeth with it good. And the machinery at first, because I didn't want to buy a tableting machine. So...
• 5:54
  Our bits or our toothpaste tablets are dry, dry little toothpaste tablets. And they're made by being pressed in a tableting machine. And those machines are, I mean, it is an entire career to know how to work those machines. Like it's a whole new thing. And they're very expensive. And so I was like, I do not want to buy a tableting machine. I want to. So I bought a pastry kit.
• 6:16
  And I was trying to take the powders I was making and mixing it with a little bit of coconut oil or like these different things and pipe it out of a pastry bag onto like these little balls kind of like
• 6:27
  you know, the candy dots, it was like a dot on like paper. Like I was trying to like, I was like, maybe I can do this and I can bake it. And I set my toaster oven on fire. And I was like, I can't bake it. And so then I was like, okay, fine. I have to, I have to invest in this machine. And so it was a thousand dollars, which, you know, now looking back, that was nothing to start a business. But at the time, this was a hobby and just trying to solve this problem for myself. So I was kind of like,
• 6:52
  am I getting obsessed with this? Like, what am I doing? Like, why am I spending so much time? And you know, why am I going to be buying this equipment? So I bought, I finally did. I bought the equipment and I actually bought it originally. It was a TDP zero and as a tablet machine. And to even find out what kind of tablet machine I had to spend time on Reddit. And I was actually looking up how to make drugs because I was... Oh my gosh. Yeah. Because I needed to figure out how to... Your landlord must have been like, what is going on in the kitchen? There is for sure like an FBI license.
• 7:21
  watch list of my search history. Cause I was like, how do you make tablets? And everything I was finding was just like these huge, like a hundred thousand dollar machinery things. And I was like, I need to know how to make it in my living room. And I was like, who makes tablets in their living room? And I was like, people who make drugs, they are the ones who make tablets in their living room. So I was like, I was on Reddit in like the deep, deep holes of Reddit. And I was like, okay, I need TDP five. I need a binding agent. I need all this stuff. And so I started, you know, that's literally how it started.
• 7:51
  I got a machine from a company in Texas and the guy, he was just starting out with his business as well. So he was super helpful and would get on the phone with me. And that's how I learned how to tablet and like press out my tablet. Holy moly. That is such a cool beginning story. Wow. And so at that point, I guess buying the machine really made you be like, okay, well,
• 8:13
  it can't just be for me, I'm going to try and, you know, as you said, put it on Etsy. What were your friends and family saying at this point? Were they like into the idea? Were you validating it through them? Or what was the vibe? Yeah, so I really leaned on friends and family at first. So I, you know, again, so my background, I was a TV producer. But then before that, I was a surf instructor and snowboard instructor. So like active lifestyle, people who really care about the planet and want, you know, are kind of more into things that could be more weird, I guess, like, because they're just like a different type
• 8:43
  of, it's not like the typical nine to five, you know? So I was like, Hey, what do you guys think? So I was sending out and I actually still have, I printed up surveys where it was like, what do you think of the taste? One through five. What do you think of the texture? One through five. And I would press, I would hand press out these bits and I would send them to family friends. I would take them to work at my TV producing job and I would hand it out and be like, what do you guys think? And I got a lot of,
• 9:06
  really important feedback. I mean, at first they didn't taste as good. Right. And I was able to like give a lot more affordance to that because I was making it. So it was like my baby, I was like, it's fine. It tastes fine. You know, but then someone else gets it and they're like, no, this is not, this is not good. You know? And so I'm not going to eat this. Yeah. Like this is not going to make me switch. I don't care how much plastic I'm saving. And so it was one of those things where it was definitely...
• 9:27
  you know, I surveyed friends and family, but that's it. You know, like there were no major focus groups. I think I sent it out to like 10 of my friends who were all here in LA and started going off of that. And then, yeah, so that's kind of how that started. And then when you started putting things up on Etsy, was it those friends buying or did just random people on the internet start finding you on Etsy as well?
• 9:50
  Yeah. So Etsy, I put it up and then I actually took it down from Etsy because then it started there. And then I put it on Shopify because Shopify was able to make a site. And like, for me, I don't have a tech background. My boyfriend who now is my co-founder does, which I'll get into that. But at first, my first Shopify site was literally like photos from my iPhone of my product. Like,
• 10:10
  on a template, you know, it was not cool. It did not look great. Like it was just like, this is what we got. And most of the people who bought from me at first were, I recognized every single name, you know, and I had put it up on Facebook. I had put it up on, like I was talking to people and I'm,
• 10:29
  not necessarily a shy person, but I'm not like a very big, like this is me and what I'm doing person. So there was a lot of, I had to get over that. And the way that I would think about it, like I didn't want to post on my Facebook and I didn't want to do this. It felt very weird, but I saw it as like,
• 10:47
  This is something that's so important to me, you know, like the background of it, of just like learning about the ingredients and the, you know, billion toothpaste tubes that end up in our landfills every year. And like just being so motivated that I was like, this is my job and I need to get over my shyness and just post. So I was posting and it felt very.
• 11:06
  Honestly, it felt weird at the time. It felt very self-pushing out. And I was like, this is strange. But I did it. And yeah, so the first customers were all friends and family. And I still remember the first time where I saw someone's name where I was like... And then I looked on Facebook and I was like, no, I don't know that person. And I was just like, oh my gosh, how did this happen? And so I still remember when it started kind of crossing that chasm.
• 11:31
  And how do you think it crossed? Was it like word of mouth? Or did you start seeing that because the more you were posting and the more you were putting out there, you were starting to spread the net a bit wider? I think it was. So this was back in 2018, which doesn't feel like that long ago, but it really was a million years ago in internet age. And the vegan and zero waste blogging community was very, very small. And those influencers now, they had a few thousand followers.
• 11:59
  Right. So they were looking for things. They were they were looking for products just like mine. And so I and I'm vegan. I've been vegan for a long time. So a lot of my friends on Facebook and Instagram are also vegan. So then they started post and also, you know, zero waste or low waste.
• 12:14
  So when they started posting about it, that then got these kind of newer zero waste vegan bloggers interested. And then they wrote blog posts on it. And then that's how I started getting on their radar. And so it was still like very small, very tight knit of two communities that I happened to naturally already be in who then started writing about it. And that's yeah, that's how it started.
• 12:37
  And so at that point, are you talking like, you know, a few hundred sales? Are you talking a few thousand sales? Yeah. So I had my, it was like, I think my first year in 2020.
• 12:50
  like the whole year was like $6,000 in sales, which for me, I was like, that's amazing. You know, totally. Yeah. And so it was and it was all through word of mouth. And then what happened is that through that word of mouth, we ended up having a video on Facebook go viral, which then just
• 13:12
  rocketed the company. It had over 2 million views in about two days. We did over 200,000, which I know is like two to two, but over $200,000 in sales from just the first few days of this. And I was like,
• 13:29
  okay, I was still making this in my living room. So I was like, I need business insurance. I was like, I need business insurance. You're like, so how do I fulfill these orders? I was like, I need a manufacturer. I was like, I need everything. And so that's really what propelled our company into a totally different thing. It shows the power of social media, but then also the
• 13:48
  fact that so many people wanted an alternative and they just needed to be exposed to it. And so I think that was the beginning of like that trajectory. And there's a lot of companies that go viral and then kind of go away, you know? So the next thing is we went viral. We got to get the product out to people and I've got to like really figure out how to actually run a business. And we do this like yesterday.
• 14:10
  you know, totally. So that was in 2018. So I started this in 2017, but that was the year that I did like $6,000 when it was in my living room and I was still working full time too. So. And was the video something that you published and put out there or was this the video that was
• 14:26
  by Women's Health Magazine. Yeah. And they published it. How did that come about? So at that point, we had been featured by a good amount of zero waste and vegan bloggers. So we had made some of their gift lists. We were actually in some gift sets that they were wanting to sell of like plastic free Christmas gift sets in 2017. And so we were starting to really find our footing in that zero waste world. And so it was...
• 14:51
  So basically, you know, from there, I had made some videos, I had done some content about, you know, how to how to live this lifestyle and why it's important and everything. And from that, we had like a producer was like, Hey, we're looking for, you know, women's businesses that are making a difference. Can you send me some? And it was like, literally iPhone footage that I shot at six in the morning before I left for a shoot. So like, I wasn't really even wearing makeup. Like my hair was a disaster. Like I had no idea that this was gonna go off over the internet. Yeah.
• 15:21
  Um, and then, yeah, that's kind of how it all started. And so obviously that's the tipping point where you're like, holy moly, this is a real thing now. Like, as you said, I've got to find a manufacturer. I've got to like figure this actually out. What are the steps then? You know, how did you find your manufacturer? What was the kind of manufacturer you wanted to work with? Yeah. And that's a great question too. So it's,
• 15:45
  You know, there's like the beginning of the business when you're doing it all of yourself in your living room, which I'm sure so many people are in. And that's such a great space. Like when I look back on those times, I was just like so happy and it felt like I was making art, you know, and I was playing around with these different powders and I was just really in love with the process and I didn't feel rushed. I wasn't trying to compete with anybody. You know, it was just like little things.
• 16:10
  art project. Then once that happened, we now have customers and expectations and we need consistency and we need to get it out and it needs to become a business. So the first thing I did was honestly, like what's always been important to me is being, you know,
• 16:26
  We're in the process right now of becoming a B Corp. And so I want business to make things better for people. So I was like, I want to stay in the LA area. I want to support the community that I'm in. So, you know, that meant finding manufacturers that I could go in and meet and know and support other small businesses. So that really significantly cut down who I could work with.
• 16:47
  But it also made things really easy and simple, right? Because that means I'm just finding someone in my own neighborhood. So it was Google going on Google, going on Thomas net, just searching it myself and making phone calls and finding that at this point, my co-founder, who's my boyfriend had jumped in and now he had a business background. He had run a few tech startups. So not in CPG, but at least like the idea of business.
• 17:15
  And so he really he had done all of the design that like that was now known for bite, like anything that was kind of like green and hippie, you could tell was mine. And then as soon as he came in, he really took it to the next level. He likes backgrounds design and business. And so he was kind of managing that side. And then I was managing the how do we get product out the door.
• 17:35
  type situation. So anyone who's in that position, it's Googling, it's trying to figure it out, and making phone calls. And then, you know, a lot of no's, oh my gosh, no one wanted to work with me. Like, even though I had, you know, I had this weird product that hadn't been made before, that, you know, I had orders out, you know, so many orders that I need to get out the door. And they were just like,
• 17:57
  we don't want to take this on. You know, like this is, we're not, you know. Why though? Because a lot of manufacturers just want to do exactly what they already know how to do. And this was something new. And it was like for them to be like, I have to like learn how to make this new formula. And then of course, like it worked on my presses, but they need to use it for their like $100,000 presses that are pressing out, you know, thousands in a minute. So it's like, they have to figure out like, how are we going to make this work for us? You know, and the formula work for us.
• 18:26
  Um, so it was a lot of no's, a lot of, a lot of things where I thought it was going to work out and at the very end it didn't, you know, and then just being like, okay, I just got to keep, I got to keep getting this, I got to keep going. And so, yeah, that was the, that was, um, at that time.
• 18:42
  And then once we locked in with a manufacturer, we also got like, like, we were still hand stamping our boxes, like our boxes that had the branding, like my boyfriend and I, like we rented a U-Haul and we were in the back of a U-Haul trying to hand stamp these boxes. We didn't have room in where we live to do this. And so it was like, you know, it was so crazy. But then once you get one thing in place, you like stop drowning. Right. And then you can get the next thing in place and the next thing in place.
• 19:09
  How long was that process of finding the manufacturer and getting them, you know, to see your vision and to commit to changing their equipment and using your formula instead of their formula and that kind of thing? It was a month and a half. Yeah. Oh, okay. Quite quick turnaround. Yeah. But that was like,
• 19:28
  my full time, this is what I'm doing, you know, but actually that's not even true. Cause I still was working full time at that time. Cause I hadn't quit my job until. Oh my gosh. So yeah. And I was like head of my department at a, at a, we're making TV. So like, I didn't want to just leave them in, you know, I didn't want to be like, peace out guys. Like I really liked working there and I liked who I worked with and I wasn't going to leave them in a bad spot. And so I had to train the new girl. Like I had to bring the person in and train them and get them all up.
• 19:58
  up to date on my episodes. And then I finally left. And then did the peace out. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Crazy. Wow. That sounds like a really interesting time. So much fun. So many challenges. When you had that kind of, you know, exponential growth, overnight growth, overnight
• 20:14
  change, step change in your business, I imagine you also needed to keep that momentum going and capitalize on that. So how did your marketing evolve and what were you doing to keep acquiring new customers and keep that kind of momentum going? Yeah. So that's the biggest thing, right? Because there's companies that go viral and then God, they're done, you know? And so for us, I knew
• 20:37
  We, in terms of marketing, you know, I knew we had to have a good product. That was the first thing, because if we got the product out to everybody and it was bad, that's a gigantic problem. So I knew that that was going to be incredibly important. I also knew they also then became a game of how do we keep momentum going? So at that point, we...
• 20:58
  we had gotten really lucky because once that video went viral, all these other outlets wanted to get a piece of that as well. So we ended up doing, you know, we were one of Business Insider's 22 inventions that are saving the world. We were, you know, became attentions like most cared about video in 2019. So basically what happened is once we had that video go viral, I had all this inbounds.
• 21:22
  And they were like, hey, can we come tour your factory? Can we do this? Can we do that? Can we do all this stuff? So it was kind of like managing that and being like on top of, you know, trying to find a manufacturer and getting everything in place was then like, yes, I can do that interview. Yes, I can. We can do this. Yes, you can do that. Because we knew that like when things are going, you need to go with it, you know? And so it was kind of like, just do whatever we do to keep that momentum going. And then in the meantime, you know, we had a Facebook pixel set up.
• 21:50
  So it had been, you know, we were gathering information on our, you know, customers. And I have like, I'm still, you know, to this day in the DMs of our Instagram. Like I'm not the only one responding, but like I'm on there. I'm seeing it because I want to know what our customers think. I want to know where they are. And I also want to know where they're, you know, where they're going and what new media they're on. So for us, it's, you know.
• 22:15
  We started as viral. We wanted to keep the megaphone up as long as we could. And then after that, just have a good understanding of our customer and be able to meet them where they are anywhere, whether it's on the Internet or in real life. Like, where are they and how do we have that relationship with them?
• 22:34
  And where are they today? Like, what's the kind of biggest growth drivers for you now with, you know, your own channels? So we're still, you know, we're experimenting, right? I think things are changing so much. And I think that the best thing any brand could be doing right now is...
• 22:52
  finding new things and trying to be different and not following who everyone is. You know, obviously Facebook and Instagram were huge for us. We were made on Facebook. But, you know, I think TikTok is so cool and so interesting. And I love like how it really focuses on...
• 23:09
  you know, the non polished and like the like humor and learning, which is just things that, you know, the backbone of bite and something that I've always wanted was like, we're here to like save the world. But like, we want to have like a fun time doing it. And we want to be able to be self deprecating. And we want to be able to, you know, be real. And so I love TikTok. I think it's great. I think YouTube is great. I think it's been around for forever. We've had success on that as well. And so I think it's,
• 23:38
  you know, so many people have, um, it's really easy to get caught in the pay to play of Facebook and Instagram, where it's like, you put money in and get money out, you know? But I think that experimenting and trying to do new things, even though sometimes at first they don't pan out, like you look at something and you're like, uh, this does not look like it's working, but you, if you keep going, if you're like, no, I have faith that our customers there, we're just not doing this right. You know, it's,
• 24:07
  you can find new channels that other brands maybe haven't at that time. Yeah, totally. Gosh, that's so true. TikTok is just... I also love TikTok. It's so much fun, so creative. Their editing suite is just fab, I think, in comparison to what Instagram has done with Reels. And even I find when a video doesn't necessarily perform well, for myself, I just love it so much to be able to look at that video and be like, huh, really happy with that. Yeah.
• 24:34
  It's a fun, creative process. It is. And from, you know, as a brand, like it's so cool to be able to make that kind of content, you know, where it's just kind of like silly. And, you know, we like to jump on trends and, and that's the thing too, like understanding that.
• 24:51
  if everyone's doing something, you probably want to start looking somewhere else. And so for TikTok, it's like no one really hadn't become a thing when we hopped on it. Like at the beginning of this year, it was everyone was like, oh my God, everyone on TikTok is like, you know, 12 years old or something. And we're like, we don't care. Like, it's a cool platform. Like, it'll be fun. And I think that really paid off because, you know, now it's like we have a good amount of what is it called on TikTok? Subscribers, followers. Is it like we have followers and there's a good impact. And like direct sales are definitely come from TikTok.
• 25:20
  Amazing. And at some point you go on Shark Tank. I'm super excited to talk about that, talk about what happened and how that all came about. Yeah. So Shark Tank is so fun. I never thought we'd go on Shark Tank. So that was definitely a first one. By first went viral, we were reached out to by the casting producers, which is a very normal thing where they're, if your business is kind of getting attention, they'll be like, hey, do you want to apply? And you go through the same casting process as everybody else. You have no better chance
• 25:49
  if you're reached out than if you apply, but it's just like they're, you know, that's something that they do. And it was 2018. And I was like, absolutely not. Like my company is like, I cannot even fathom this whole thing right now. So I was like, we cannot, but let's, you know, maybe next time. So then the following season is the one that we ended up auditioning for. And it is,
• 26:14
  it's like an intense process. And I think what people what I didn't even think about the fact is that everybody who's going on Shark Tank is literally running their business at the same time. So it's not like, you know, you're existing in Shark Tank in a void. It's like, we're figuring out how to like make the set while we're also making sure that like our orders are getting out on time and like writing, you know, and so it was, it's so intense. And at the time we were at
• 26:38
  Well, we are still, we were like a team of three, right? And so, and we're still super small. So when Asher and I are focusing on stuff for Shark Tank, it meant that it's not like we're not focusing on the business. It just means we're now focusing on Shark Tank and the business, you know, and so, and for every single person who goes up there, and it gave me even so much more respect for the entrepreneurs who go on there when their businesses are struggling, right?
• 27:02
  Because it's like we went on there in best case scenario, like our business was going, you know, crazy. And so we're out there being like, we want a shark to make this even better, you know, not to save our business. But like, man, I think about those entrepreneurs who go on there while they're running this business that maybe is, you know, having a hard time. And like, that's so gutsy.
• 27:21
  and so cool of them to, or like not cool, but like just so inspiring of them to be like, I'm still going to take on this beast and get up there and do this. Um, so yeah, it gave me a whole new respect for the show. Uh, but also like, it was crazy. It was, um, quite the experience. We're lucky because we live in LA and it shoots here in LA. And so for us, it wasn't this huge lifestyle thing.
• 27:45
  disruption as it could have been for some people if you had to fly in from you know milwaukee or something like i think that would be way more um stressful but we you know we went on there with our mission like we've forever been a mission-driven brand and i had watched every single shark tank episode by the time we went on like we i sat and took notes i had whiteboards in our place because i was like there's no way that i'm going to be caught
• 28:09
  like not know something for these sharks. And it was really great because as soon as the lights went on, like my lights went out, like I like basically blacked out, like everything that happened on stage. I don't remember. It was like total fight or flight, you know, just like automatic response type situation. And I went, we went on there with, we wanted to start a partnership. So we didn't go on there to like negotiate or low ball. Like we went on there with what we thought was fair. And I really wasn't going to move far from that. Like, I think
• 28:38
  Looking back, probably if we wanted to really push to make a deal, we would want to start it off low. So there was room to negotiate. But like we didn't I didn't want to do that. That's not how I want to start a partnership. I want to be fair. Like this is what's fair. And so we ended up getting offers from both Mark Cuban and Kevin O'Leary. But more than what we were what we would be willing to go for. So we turned them down. And looking back, it was the right move because it's.
• 29:07
  for doing well. So I'm glad that we didn't end up giving away a lot more than, you know, what we, what we were being asked to. Yeah, totally. Gosh, how exciting. And what was the impact of that on your business? You know, after it aired, what happened? Mm-hmm.
• 29:23
  So there's the Shark Tank bump is definitely real. So anybody who goes on Shark Tank, as soon as your episode airs, it's just like, you know, you can it it's real. And then there's like a halo. Right. Because there's reruns and it's like sometimes it will rerun another country. So, you know, there's definitely the bump and then small little spurts.
• 29:45
  But for us, we were totally prepared because we had gotten our butt kicked so bad when we went viral that like there is no way, you know, already I was like, we need we're going to double up on like there's just I was very, very, very prepared. So the bump that happened was great, but totally expected.
• 30:05
  You know, and like nothing that really threw us for a loop. We had everything ready. And so that was that was good. And then once it bumps, it's gone. You know, like we get we get pressed from it, which is cool. But it's not like that's going to make your business really. I mean, unless you get a deal with like an amazing shark and then they make your business. But it's not like it's going to make your business or anything, but it is a nice little nice little bump.
• 30:26
  And it sounds like such a fun experience to have been part of it and to see yourself up there, you know, hustling for your business. Love it. Just real quick too. I think a good practice for anybody who's starting a business is imagine that you're going to be on Shark Tank because that was such a helpful process.
• 30:42
  thing where I had to look at my business and be like, why would someone want to invest in this? Because we're bootstrapped. I've never had to do an investor meeting. So it's like, when you look at it, and you take a step back, it's like, what is cool about my business? What is good about my business? What are my numbers? Like, why would someone want to invest? And so I think and like, and how do I make this into a like, six minute presentation, you know, which is what you need to do for Shark Tank. So it's kind of like,
• 31:04
  It's a really good practice, whether you're going to be on the show or not, to think if you're standing up there in front of the sharks, what are you going to say? Because that's kind of what you need to do to go to today. Totally. That's a really good piece of advice, I guess, like really honing in and nailing your pitch essentially for anyone who could potentially invest in you, especially.
• 31:26
  When you look back over the last few years, you've obviously had incredible success, incredible growth. What do you think you attribute that success to and what is your superpower? I think our success is 100% attributed to success.
• 31:41
  the changing ideas of our customer base. So our business could have never existed 10 years ago. And I don't, you know, and I don't think that it's 100% because people like customers, our customers have been like, I want to make this change. We are, we make, so we started off with our like zero waste toothpaste tablets. It's a little tiny tablet. It comes in a glass jar with an aluminum lid. And then refills are sent to you in compostable pouches. Every single thing about this is more expensive than conventional toothpaste.
• 32:10
  Right. Like we have glass, we have aluminum, we have high quality ingredients, like everything. And so for someone to be like, I'm going to make this choice because I care what I'm putting my body. I care about what it's doing to the planet. That is consumer dictated. Right. It's them, you know, wanting and caring about these things. And there's nothing that I could do as a business person.
• 32:32
  to make them care or not care, right? I can tell them the story, I can tell them the problem, I can, you know, explain it to them. But then ultimately, it's up to them is, do I want to do this or not, you know, so I think like the fact that we exist is just a gigantic and inspiring testament to how different things are. And I think that also is why none of the big guys like we call big pace, like, you know, the big toothpaste companies, none of them did this, right? Like when you look at toothpaste, it's one of the most competitive industries, like,
• 33:01
  on the planet. There's so many, it's like literally used toothpaste is used in business books. I didn't know until after this as showing like, there's so many different types of toothpaste and none of them matter. Right. You know, like this is the whole thing about like, it's just, there's so many and they don't,
• 33:17
  didn't think to make something that was, you know, a higher quality or in a more sustainable way, because they didn't think people would care. And they didn't see kind of that working out for their bottom line. And I think like, for me to be able to start this in my living room with $6,000, and for it to explode the way that it did is just shows like, okay, not only do they care, but they care a whole lot, they care enough to share it with their family and their friends and post about it. And so I think that's totally why I've been able to do what I've been able to do.
• 33:47
  um and I forgot the rest of your question what your superpower is what do you think your superpower is um man I think maybe grit like grittiness like it's to start a business and to keep doing a business you need to be pretty relentless and like kind of
• 34:11
  Teflon, you know, like at the beginning and just the amount of, you know, at the very beginning, when I was making this in my living room, it was like really hard. I don't know chemistry, I had to learn chemistry, you know what I'm saying? Like, it was really like, and that's what I did instead of going out with my friends. And like, that's what you know, and this whole idea of being like, this is what I want to do. And so I'm going to do it.
• 34:33
  I think is, is that and like, everything goes wrong, still goes wrong. I mean, even when things are going so right, there's still things that are going so wrong. And you know, and it's like the ability to be like, I'm going to beast through this, I think is is just like so important. And I think something that and it wasn't my superpower at first, you know, I'm honing the skill. But I think that's what what I'm at right now.
• 35:00
  Love that. Love that. Are you able to share a little bit about where the business is today in terms of, you know, how many customers or subscribers, if that's public information and what's coming, what's next? Yeah. So like this year alone, it we've like over 200% growth and like our subscribers have
• 35:20
  3X or 4X at this point. I need to do my numbers. So it's been, it's real and it's numbers. It's significant. Yeah. But I think, you know, for us, it's more about being able to continue to be the leader in this part of the industry and our like little tiny, you know, toothpaste of the industry and continuing to push things in a more sustainable direction. So it's, you know, what we've really focused in on is kind of making, you know,
• 35:49
  every single iteration of our product, just better and better and better and getting that word of mouth. So even though, of course, we're buying Facebook ads and Instagram ads and everything, but we still have an insane word of mouth. When you look at like what our customer acquisition cost is versus what other companies our size is, it's so low. It doesn't make sense.
• 36:06
  And it's because we're able to do that because we have a product that people are like, I love this and I want to talk about this. And so that's kind of something, you know, for us. And like another thing, too, about, you know, numbers and digging in. We don't want growth. We want sustainable growth. And not just like in the earth friendly way, but also in the we want to make sure that everything we're doing is still putting our customer first.
• 36:29
  and making sure that like, they still are getting like the best, like, we're still making our product better and better and better instead of going after more and more and more customers, you know, and like taking care of the ones that we have. And, you know, we are like continuing to have, well, higher retention rates, declining attrition rates, and those kind of things. And so I think for me, and for us, like our plan for 2021, it's always changing, right? So our plan in 2020
• 36:59
  gearing up to go retail in a little bit more of a way. And then COVID happened. And we were like, okay, that's not going to happen anymore, you know, and it's being able to improvise. And so we're, you know, looking into 2021, we're looking at new products, and not just, you know, out of the oral care space, but making sure that every single thing that we do, and that we make is incredibly intentional, and not just adding more stuff.
• 37:26
  Right. And I think that a lot of like in the pursuit of unsustainable growth, a lot of companies will just start adding products because they're like, our customers will buy it. We're just going to add it. And you're like, but the world does the world really need it? You know, and I think that for us, it's definitely just adding things that like,
• 37:43
  Yes, it's a need. Yes, customers want it. It's something that the world needs. Like it's a more sustainable alternative to what's out there. And it's something that we can do the best. Because if we can't like check all those three boxes, we don't have any business doing that. And so we've been very, very, very intentional about our growth and how we go about it, both in 2020 and looking into 2021. Amazing.
• 38:08
  what advice do you have for women who have a big idea and want to launch their own company? Do it and don't wait. So I think one of the biggest things that I get from people is that they're waiting for, they want to get an investor or they want to get a business partner or they want to get, you know, all these different things. And I think, you know, it's,
• 38:30
  you're going to be waiting a long time. And I don't know if it's something, you know, if there's something that you want to do, you know, and I can only speak for consumer product goods, right? Because I, what I make is a physical product. So we make it, I sell it on Shopify and the money's in my account two days later, right? So it's an immediately, once you get your startup costs out, it's a cashflow positive business, as long as you're, you know,
• 38:53
  running it correctly. And it's one of those things that if you want to start, know that it's going to be really, really hard, but it's like, it's worth doing that. I think, you know, if that's really what you want to do and something that I try to tell people too, is to see their nine to five as an investor in their company. Because like, when I look at my, my job in TV, I would work at that, you know, all day and all night, it's a pretty demanding job, but then I would come home and I would work on bike.
• 39:21
  every night. And it's like, there was no like, Oh, I get to quit my day job and do bite full time. And I think until like, I had already gone viral. And I think that that really helped, like looking back in two very important ways. Like one is that you're kind of building like when your company is young, it's this little baby bird, and you're just trying to feed it and protect it and keep it safe and grow.
• 39:44
  And if you're making money from your day job, you're able to just do that in a very pure way. And I think as soon as you quit your day job and you now need to feed yourself from this baby bird, it becomes totally upside down. And it's like I can't put myself in that position because I can't imagine that. I would be so stressed. The magic of bite would have been.
• 40:04
  lost. I would have like accidentally killed the baby bird, you know? And so it was this whole, it's like being able to, you know, nurture this little company and then work your day job while you're doing it. And then that also is super helpful for the work ethic that you're going to need once the company takes off, you know, because it's not like,
• 40:27
  Best case scenario, your company goes really well. Like that just is more work for you, you know, because now you're managing a team and you're managing a company and, you know, it's no longer some nine to five. Like this is now you're all consuming life, you know, especially at the beginning of your company when it's a true startup.
• 40:45
  Um, and you have to be, you have to be okay with that, you know? So I think that whole idea of sticking with your day job as much as you don't want to hear that, um, you know, and appreciating it as the investor in your business, every dollar I made at my day job was the only money I had for my business for the first year. And then just really appreciating that. And then when things start taking off, like you've really flexed that work muscle and, um,
• 41:09
  Yeah, I think that that's it. It worked for me. Absolutely. Great point of view. Great point of view. I also wanted to ask you, I forgot to ask earlier, how did you secure your Instagram handle, B-I-T-E? Did you get lucky just being the right time or did you have to buy it or something? We did not buy it. So it was vacant. No way. Wow. Yeah. So I think someone had it.
• 41:36
  So Instagram periodically does this, by the way, if there is a handle that someone is just sitting on and not using it at all, Instagram will, I guess they'll send whoever owns that like a few messages and being like, why are you sending this vacant handle? And then they'll release it into the wild. And so because we had like we had Byte toothpaste bits and we then have the trademark for Byte,
• 42:01
  we trademarked bite in toothpaste and oral care. So then it was like, we asked Instagram, like, Hey, like no one literally like no one had posted to this thing ever. And so we were like, can you look into who owns this? And if we could, whatever. And I don't even know who we even talked to in Instagram with that. But then, so they started that process. And that's something that, I mean, you can see like celebrities do that and brands do that, but
• 42:25
  you know, it's in Instagram's best interest to have active domains. And so if you know, and to anybody who is just sitting on domains, it's really good to know that like, if you're not using it and contributing to the community, it's part of their community guidelines, they'll basically release that back into the wild.
• 42:40
  That's so good to know. Really interesting. Cool. Thanks. Yeah, of course. We are up to the six quick questions. I'm aware that our time is creeping up on us, so I will be speedy. Question number one is what's your why? My why is...
• 42:58
  wanting to protect the planet. It was the beginning of everything. So when I first started, I would watch the documentary Plastic Ocean whenever I felt really discouraged, which is so sad because it's a really sad documentary. But I would watch it and then I'd cry my eyes out and I'd be like, okay, back to work. And it's the idea that we really do need to make some changes and it really will be the outsiders, the girls who are learning chemistry in their living room who are...
• 43:27
  the ones who will take on these problems. And I think that for me, that's it. It's trying to protect the planet and proving that you can do business good, right? You can do good choices and make good choices and still be successful. And I think that that's what inspires me every day. Totally, 100% agree. Number two is what has been the number one marketing moment that made your business pop?
• 43:55
  Uh, so ours would have been going viral, but I will say, um, you know, cause going viral is so uncontrollable, right? So it's not really helpful for me to say like going viral, make my business because if you're at home, you're like, well, that doesn't help me. And so what I would say is getting is.
• 44:12
  ferreting out those new acquisition channels, because that is where you are going to succeed. You are not going to be able to go up against the big guys on Facebook or Instagram. We can't, right? Like we can't, we're bigger now, you know? And so you've got to figure out where can I tell my story that's new, right? So like Twitch, right? Twitch has been on my radar. That's
• 44:33
  super new thing and brands are not doing that really. And so for you, it's like at home, like we went viral on Facebook because that was like the beginning of, not the beginning of viral videos on Facebook, but that was kind of like other brands weren't really respecting that the same way that we did, where we were like, hell yeah, we're gonna get this to that girl and we're gonna like hope is and like make it work.
• 44:52
  And so I think for you, for us and for us now, it's trying to recapture that. It's figuring out where the new acquisition channels, like what's going on with Twitch, what's going on with this live shopping situation, what's going on with, you know, TikTok and being really on top of it. Totally. Question number three is where do you hang out to get smarter? What are you reading? What do you listen to? What newsletters do you subscribe to?
• 45:17
  I spend so much time not necessarily reading, but listening to audio books. I listen to an obnoxious amount of audio books and I get the recommendations from friends in the space. So I am kind of new to entrepreneurship. Before this, I was a TV producer and a surfers.
• 45:35
  snowboard instructor. So that doesn't really help with the business world. But I, anytime I meet people out, you know, building businesses, I will ask them what I should be reading and what would they recommend. And then from those books, typically those authors will also recommend like in the book. So I spend a lot of time doing that. And then I also try to just keep in touch with my other friends that I'm making who are running businesses and kind of bounce ideas off
• 46:04
  Do you have any top book recommendations? Oh, so a lot of good ones. There's, so I just read right now, it's called
• 46:16
  the who of hiring, I think it is, if you type in who hiring, and that's a great book on interviewing, like interviewing to hire, which is something that we're doing a decent amount of these days. And so I think, you know, for me, it's figuring out where you are and reading those books. So if you're just starting out, oh, man, Atomic Habits, great book.
• 46:39
  And then there's the startup CEO. That's kind of helpful once you're out of your living room. But then when you're trying to figure out how you actually like the formation of this company has been really helpful. But I think when you're just building it and you're starting, I would say Atomic Habits and then Anti-Fragile. Anti-Fragile. Yeah, it's great. Perfect. I will link them in the show notes for anyone who wants to have a listen. Okay.
• 47:07
  Question number four is how do you win the day? And that's around your AM and PM rituals that keep you feeling happy and productive and successful.
• 47:15
  Yeah, my happiness is entirely, I feel like connected to my ability to do my morning routine, which is so like if I don't have that, my day just feels discombobulated. So I wake up, I try to wake up early, like around seven, which is very early for me. And I meditate and I like do some sort of activity just for like 10 minutes, whether it's like a walk or even just take my dog out.
• 47:38
  And then I do like my journal planning for the day. And that really, really helps me feel centered. And then at night, I'm trying to get a better like sleep hygiene schedule, I guess is what it's called, you know, where you actually decompress. I'm.
• 47:54
  Not so good at that one. I'm way better at the morning one. But I would say like at night, I'm trying to get away from even touching my cell phone in bed, which has made a huge difference in like my, you know, my ability to sleep tonight, even when things are stressful. And then instead, just like reading a few pages at night, but the morning routine is pretty on lock.
• 48:16
  Love that for you. Morning routine. Question number five is if you only had $1,000 left in your business bank account, where would you spend it? Oh my God. I would be so stressed. If I only had $1,000, well, I mean, I kind of started with that at one point. I would, I mean, it would definitely be ads.
• 48:44
  because it then puts more money in your bank account. So I would say probably $2.
• 48:58
  book, there's been a lot, especially with the election and everything. You know, our ads were being taken down as political because apparently plastic is political, which doesn't make any sense to me. But you know, we had to really like figure that out. There's actually quite a few other brands that are in our space that I've been talking to their founders and the same thing happened to them. So I mean, that's another don't mean to go too off tangent, but you want to make sure that you're really building a solid foundation of the
• 49:24
  Facebook, Instagram, Google ads, TikTok, YouTube, you know, like influencers, everything, because you never know when all of a sudden plastic is considered political. Right. And then you just, that's like, that is so crazy. Yeah. So I would probably probably Google ads. Nice. Great. Nice answer. And last question, question number six is how do you deal with failure? And it can be around a personal experience or just your general mindset and approach to it. Um,
• 49:52
  I have been trying to tell myself and believe in my heart, like failure is great, right? Like that's what's going to get you to where you want to go. It doesn't feel good at the time. But every single time you fail, you can look back and you've learned a lesson. And it might be, it's still probably super annoying and like really terrible and like tragic and like whatever. But in the end, like there's all those sayings, you know, like a
• 50:15
  Basically, failure makes you stronger. And that's 100% true. So you want to fail a lot. You want to fail fast. You want to learn from your failures and embrace it as part of the process. Because if you don't, you are going to drive yourself crazy and like really hard on yourself because I used to be like that. And so, you know, it's been a learning process for me too of, you know,
• 50:34
  you know, as a new CEO and figuring this thing out, being like, I'm going to make mistakes. And it's crazy because you read all of these books of CEOs. I told you, I read all the time and they all talk about the mistakes they made. I made so many mistakes and I've made so many failures and you read it and you're like, Oh, that's cool. Like they've overcome that. But then when you're actually experiencing it, it sucks. It's terrible. It doesn't feel like that mistake feels so stupid and so obvious. And you're so angry. Why'd you do that? And then you're like, Oh, wait,
• 51:00
  hey, no, this is what we all do. We all make mistakes. And so I think it's just being able to be like, everyone's going to make mistakes. We're all trying to figure this out. And failure will make you stronger if you learn from it and appreciate it. Totally. Lindsay, thank you so much for taking the time to be on Female Startup Club. I've loved chatting with you and learning about what you're building and creating for the world. Thanks. It's so nice. Thanks for having me on.
• 51:28
  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.
• 51:52
  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.
• 52:15
  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. Thank you.
• 52:31
  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.
• 52:56
  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.
• 53:18
  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.