Latest / Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast) / Inventions, Patents & SharkTank with SubSafe Inventor and Co-Founder Desiree Haller

Transcript

Inventions, Patents & SharkTank with SubSafe Inventor and Co-Founder Desiree Haller · Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast)

• 0:00
  This is Desiree Hauler for Female Startup Club. Hey everyone, it's Dune here, your host and hype girl. Today I'm joined by Desiree Hauler, the founder and inventor of Subsafe.
• 0:22
  Subsafe is what I like to call a simple stroke of genius. And it truly is so genius that I just couldn't believe it didn't exist already. Subsafe is exactly what it sounds like. It's the first product designed to protect a sub sandwich in a cooler, and they've since expanded into an entire line of products all intended for outdoor use.
• 0:43
  In this conversation, we're talking through the patent and trademarking process, how they sold their beloved boat to fund the business, and how they got the word out there on a $0 marketing budget. As with every episode, I do have a quick favor to ask you, and I'm giving you my major thanks in advance. Reviews on the Apple Podcast app help new ears find us. So if you've been loving the show, please do head over there and leave us a quick review.
• 1:10
  And a million bonus points if you want to send me a screenshot on Instagram and I will share it on my page. I would absolutely love to give you and your brand a shout out and a little love there too. You can find me at Doon Roisin, which is D-O-O-N-E-R-O-I-S-I-N, or just pop into my DMs to say a quick hello. I'd love to meet you and get to know what you're up to. Let's jump into this episode. This is Desiree for Female Startup Club.
• 1:37
  Desiree, hi, welcome to the Female Startup Club podcast. Hi, thanks for having me. I'm so excited. Me too. I'm so excited to jump in. Do you want to start by introducing yourself and telling us what your business is? Absolutely. My name is Desiree. I live in Port Orange, Florida, and the business is Subsafe. Amazing. Do you want to elaborate a little bit on what Subsafe is for anyone who might not know what your products are?
• 2:06
  Absolutely. So initially, our product was the first waterproof and crush-proof container for a sub-sandwich. So there were lots of products out there for square sandwiches and different types of food and soup and pretty much everything else. But until us, nobody had created a container to transport a good old traditional sub-sandwich. So that was it. We recognized that there was a need and
• 2:33
  You know, one thing we love to do is go boating and be outside and pack the cooler. And we would always get sub sandwiches and we could never find anything to put them in. You know, the reseal bags, they leaked and it was just always an issue for us.
• 2:49
  Once we realized that there was nothing on the market, we decided to do it ourselves. It's so crazy. It actually blows my mind because when you talk about it, I'm like, oh yeah, like I get it. I totally see the problem. But I also would 100% assume there was already something filling that need. Like it's crazy. I know. And likewise, in the beginning, I'm sort of a realistic,
• 3:14
  kind of a pessimist and my husband is an internal optimist. So I was like, when we were doing the patent process, I was like, there's no way Rubbermaid or Tupperware or one of these companies already has something. We just don't know about it or it's already patented. So when we figured out that there was truly nothing out there and we could protect it and file the patents, I personally was blown away. I was, I just kept waiting for someone to come across it already.
• 3:40
  Yeah. Oh my gosh. I want to go back to that initial phase of coming up with the light bulb moment and having these kind of early discussions around what this could be and what the vision would be for the business. Can you take us back to that time and what you guys were talking about and how it kind of unfolded? Absolutely. It was initially my husband's idea and my execution is what we always say.
• 4:07
  But he, you know, sometimes not to be sexist, but men can be a little bit creatures of habit. So he would always do the same thing that he would get the sub every time we were going on the boat and every time he was going fishing. So and it would always end up soggy. And I fathom that there had to be another solution. It's like we're just standing over the cooler like, oh, well, yes, we're not eating today. Like, you know, soggy bread is just absolutely disgusting.
• 4:35
  But that's just how it started. And there was a lot of conversations. Like I mentioned, I was kind of determined to find something for him. This seems like a lot of work to start it. But we made a lot of sacrifices and a lot of hard decisions in the beginning. But ultimately, through the entire process, my husband always said, even if I only get one for myself, and this is a total flop,
• 5:04
  it will be worth it. This journey will be worth it to me. So, you know, he has a lot more than one of them now, but here we are. That's amazing. I'm curious about when you were kind of having the realization moment to the point where you thought, oh, maybe we could start a business. How long was that? And when you had that moment of clarity, I guess you could say of, oh, we're actually going to do this. What happens next?
• 5:31
  Well, it was a longer process for us than it probably is for some people because we didn't have the capital and the means to move full speed ahead. Everything that we did had to be done in stages because we were using our savings and we were skipping family vacations and we even sold our boat to place our first order, which has kind of become our storyline with Shark Tank and everything.
• 5:55
  But, you know, we were not able to just say like, oh, here's $25,000 for the patents and here's $10,000 for the mold and the manufacturing. And it just took us a lot longer. We had to kind of move in a more humble way initially. And is that how much it actually did cost in the beginning in terms of what you needed to invest? Was it $10,000 for the mold and $25,000 for the patent process? I kind of just threw up those numbers, but
• 6:22
  I would say we definitely have at least $25,000 now into attorney's fees for the patents and trademarking and everything. And then I believe our mold was $7,500. I believe that's what we paid for our first injection mold. And then you consider the, you know, they won't just make, we manufacture in China and they're not just going to make us a hundred of them to see if it works, you know. I think our first order was,
• 6:52
  7,000 units. And that was as low as they were willing to, you know, that was the MOQ. That was the middle mortar quantity. So then we had to pay for that. So that's actually when we sold the boat and we really took the plunge. Right. Right.
• 7:06
  I have so many questions about this early phase, but I'm going to start with this one. What was the people around you saying? Like, what did your friends and family and, you know, potential customers, like what was everyone's reaction when you told them like, Hey, we're going to start essentially a Tupperware company for sub sandwiches? We had mixed reactions. I mean,
• 7:28
  We both come from very supportive families. So there wasn't a lot of negativity directly from our family. But, you know, some of the friends just didn't get it. And I'm just the type of person where, and I've just learned this from other family members and people I admire. I like to get a lot of opinions before I make a decision.
• 7:48
  Doesn't mean I'm going to take them. Doesn't mean I'm going to take any of them, but I just like to really weigh in. So I was that person who was asking anybody and everybody, hey, would you buy this? How much would you pay for this? Do you see a need for this? And especially living in Florida, where we're surrounded by water and lakes and rivers and everything, so many people said yes and said, absolutely. It would be so easy and so nice to just get a sub sandwich and be on the boat all day and
• 8:15
  know that it's not going to get soggy and have something that I can trust. And I would actually eat more sub sandwiches if that were the key. So it was kind of in that moment where I started to gain some confidence in the whole concept and made those decisions of sacrifice easier moving forward.
• 8:32
  And I think it's a really important one to note because for anyone listening who might be experiencing some kind of pushback or some kind of reaction that isn't the dream ideal reaction, it's important to keep going and keep talking to people who would be your potential customers, not just your friends and family, and try and find people who would be, you know, in the pool of initial customers and get your confidence that way. I think it's a good point that you make about being able to build that confidence from those positive reactions.
• 9:02
  Yeah, absolutely. I always tell people, do you think this is a good idea? And I'm like, well, my opinion is only one opinion. Speak to strangers. Talk to strangers. Ask complete strangers what they think. And that's because everyone's going to tell you. I think it was Damon John who said, everyone's going to tell you your baby's cute. Nobody's going to tell you you have an ugly baby. That's kind of the same way as with people who care about you in business. Everyone's going to tell you your product's amazing. So you have to seek out some unbiased opinions.
• 9:33
  Totally. That's so true. I'm wondering about the patent process and how you kind of got started. And was that before the manufacturing piece of the puzzle? Or like, how did that work in terms of those two things coming together? Yes. I mean, if you have a product, I mean,
• 9:52
  Granted, if you were just going to launch a cup line and your cup line is going to be a little different, that may not necessarily be a patentable product. And you're not going to be infringing on anybody else's patents because you can't patent the cup. You can't patent a paper plate. There's a certain thing that are too common. But for something like Subsafe, it's so niche and we only wanted to move forward if we could patent it.
• 10:17
  But also we wanted to make sure that we wouldn't be infringing on anybody else's patent. So even though Tupperware, for instance, may have never made a container for subs or Rubbermaid or any of those companies, they might've owned patents for it. And it might be down the line that they had those plans. So we had to make sure that first and foremost, we weren't infringing on anybody else. So that's why we made sure we took that time initially and made that investment.
• 10:48
  And for you, like with your product, what is it about the product that's patentable? Is that even a word, patentable? You know what I mean. Yes, absolutely. So it's the shape. Like I mentioned earlier, there are lots of containers on the market that are made for square sandwiches, but there is nothing that is just round on the end, long cylinder for a sub sandwich. Got it. Got it, got it, got it.
• 11:16
  Okay, so you find out that you can patent the product, you've got an idea in your mind, and then you've got to go out and find the manufacturer. What were the key learnings for you in finding a manufacturer and choosing the partner that you were going to work with? That was probably the only easy part for us. I have family members who have been manufacturing in China for a long time, not the same type of products, but numerous products.
• 11:45
  So they were able to, and I'm talking about like 20 years worth of a relationship. So they just kind of took me under their umbrella and extended the same terms and conditions and pricing that they would to a 20 year long relationship. And that made the entire process just really smooth. And I know that that's a very rare thing. So I don't, I don't even really love to share that because
• 12:11
  I also hear so many horror stories and it just breaks your heart of it not working out well, but in our specific situation, they had millions of dollars worth of sales for my family, my cousin on the line. So they weren't going to send me a measly 7,000 units that were faulty, you know? So we just had an incredible experience at the end of the day. I would say to somebody who is just starting out,
• 12:39
  Don't just hop on a flight and go to China and try to source it yourself. Partner with somebody who already has a good relationship, even if you have to give them a little kickback or something because you just want to be able to trust. It's a big investment to get your first order of something, a product.
• 12:58
  And you said that you ordered, was it 7,500 of your first batch or first inventory order? Had you had any retail placements or retail orders at that time? Or that was kind of like, you're going to receive the stock and you're going to launch and go to market and see what happens? We had nothing figured out. So I remember sitting there when the truck arrived and we didn't even have a retail space or a warehouse or anything. So they're getting unloaded off of this truck and I'm just looking at them.
• 13:29
  I don't think I realized how many 7,500 was until that moment. But I just remember thinking, what have I done? How am I going to sell all of these? I couldn't even fathom it back then. And to kind of jump right into marketing in the beginning, as I'm sure you can imagine, we didn't have a budget for that. So we had to just kind of do everything organically. And one thing that I realized was,
• 13:56
  I didn't have the funding to run social media ads and take out ads and magazines and run a commercial on TV, but I had products. And in that moment, that is all that I had to give. So I would reach out to anyone and everyone in the industry, whether it was voters or fishermen or social media influencers. And I would say, Hey, you know, this doesn't exist yet. This is a brand new product. You've never seen it. I would love to send you one.
• 14:24
  And I started doing that and slowly but surely people were reposting and they were just sort of sharing our products. Sometimes they can, of course, that social influencing is a business and I understand that. And now we do pay social media influencers.
• 14:41
  But at that time, there were some people who were willing to do it just sort of as an investment in us and say, hey, I'll help you out now. But when you guys make it, you're going to have to pay for me. And, you know, that's kind of how a lot of our relationships started. But we also ended up getting some features and some fishing and voting magazines and TV shows. And it just kind of started happening where money was coming back in. And then we were able to start really advertising.
• 15:10
  Right. And how long did it take for you to sell that first 7,500 units? We received it the last day of February and we ordered our next container, I want to say October 1st. We were sold out. We were ready a long time before then, but we were still finalizing our Shark Tank deal. So we had to wait until the funding came through and the due diligence was done from the deal we made.
• 15:38
  Right. Got it. So maybe four months. It took us five, probably five to be safe. And that was including you being on Shark Tank or that was like pre the Shark Tank recording? What year are we talking about? Just to paint the picture here. We aired on Shark Tank in 2019. We filmed in 2018.
• 16:01
  Got it, got it, got it. Okay. And so you had sold out of the 7,500 before the Shark Tank or that was including the filming? No. So we sold out before we were on air. Right. Got it. Okay. So you'd fully like proven the concept. You were there. You realized like the demand. What was actually driving that growth? You know, if we actually break it down and think about like 7,500 is a lot, right? What was actually driving those sales?
• 16:30
  Well, we did a lot of things. A lot of it was coming through our website. We also did get on Amazon during that time. So we came to find out we weren't the only one searching for some Tupperware, and that was all very organic. So we saw a lot of sales there, not even from any advertising. There was just actually people out there looking for this product. And another thing that I did was I reached out to fishing tournaments,
• 16:57
  And I would say, hey, can I just send you some product to give to some of your captains, give to some of your fishermen, just because we're trying to get the word out. So what would happen was the fishermen would receive their sub safe for the tournament and they would use it. And then we would see a big influx of sales in whatever area that was. And a lot of times it was, we would give out like charcoal or gray to the
• 17:22
  most of the ones were predominantly male fishing tournaments. And then we would see a bunch of pink ones sold in the same area. And I'm like, they're going home and they're showing their significant others, this product and the wives and the girlfriends and the whoever's are saying, the daughters are going, I want one. I want, I know, I want a pink one. So that was just another way where it was almost like give away one, sell three type of situation. And we realized that that was working for us with the margins. So everything was just,
• 17:50
  reiterating that we weren't crazy to start this business. Yeah, gosh, absolutely. You touched on something there that I'm curious to dig more into and understand better, especially for anyone listening who might be currently in the process of dealing with a manufacturer and setting their pricing. How did you approach the pricing model when it came to what you were paying per unit versus what people were happy to pay and kind of finding that happy balance?
• 18:19
  Again, I asked a lot of opinions. I wanted to make sure that we didn't price out any demographic. And the way that we ultimately looked at it was we want our product to be equivalent of losing, having to throw away two sub sandwiches. So the average price of a sub sandwich, a large sub sandwich is anywhere from $7 to $9, $10 being the most I think I've ever seen.
• 18:47
  And so we said, okay, if you have to throw away two sandwiches in your life because it was not protected, then that's the price of our products. And that's just kind of what we do. Oh my God. I love that. That's so genius. There's also like part of your marketing language. That is so cool. I love that. I want to switch to talk about the Shark Tank experience. How did it come about? And do you want to just talk a little bit about that? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
• 19:17
  So I mentioned that we got our first product the last day in February of 2018. And two weeks later, we were at a, just a little pop-up thing where we set up a time we were selling products. And everyone who came up was just like, you guys need to go on Shark Tank. You guys need to go on Shark Tank. So I was like, you know what? I'm just going to apply. I'm just going to send the email. I'm just going to apply. And we did. And we heard back almost right away.
• 19:46
  And in the beginning, you know, there are a lot of applicants on Shark Tank and they let you know that. So I knew that there were like 37,000 applicants that year or something. And they only take 150 out to L.A. to shoot and film before the sharks. And then some were cut right then and there before they were able to film. And then they only air somewhere around 100. So...
• 20:14
  your chances, I mean, the entire time back to me being a little bit of a pessimist, I was like, there's no way, there's no way they're going to take us. There's no way we're going to choose us. We just have this silly food product and that's it. And it was a long process. I don't ever want to make it seem like it was easy or, um, you know, some quick decision. It was a lot of back and forth, a lot of interviews, a lot of submitting videos and,
• 20:41
  contracts that were hundreds of pages long and signing NDAs. And there was a lot to it. But ultimately, when we were told that we were chosen to go to LA and film, it was the absolute most amazing day. I mean, I'm sure you can imagine. It was a lot of emotions, but just humbled and grateful were at the top. We were so excited.
• 21:06
  Sounds super, super fun and super cool. You also came away with a really exciting deal with two sharks. How did it go like after you finished airing and what was the impact the next day or even that night kind of when the show went live? It was wild. A lot of sharks or a lot of entrepreneurs that go on Shark Tank handle the night of the airing very differently. Some of them decide to just stay home and stay on Twitter and social media all night and be responding to people.
• 21:35
  We wanted to have a party. So we had a party. We didn't stay out too late. And I think it was like 6 a.m. We got up the next morning and got to the warehouse to start filling orders. And it took us an entire week with help, with employees, with all hands on deck to get all of the orders fulfilled that we received from the show. The exposure is just there's no price that you can put on it. You're putting your product in front of millions of people.
• 22:05
  And, you know, of course, not every product is going to be for every person. But luckily for us, there were a lot of voters and beach goers and campers and people who understood our lifestyle and just understood our products. And it helps that we got the deal. You know, that alone, Mark and Charles putting their name and their money behind us. I mean, that was just so significant. Oh, my gosh. I bet. That's so cool. Yeah.
• 22:33
  Are you able to share like how many units you actually sold in that, you know, say week after you aired? Um, I honestly don't know the units, but I know that at one point I sent an email. I think it was within 24 hours to market trials and said, we've hit six figures. So for a $17 product.
• 22:57
  Oh, my God. So because some people, you know, it was 2000. Even back then, TiVo was a DVR recording your shows and watching them another night is a big thing. So our episode aired at 10 p.m. And that's less late for a lot of people. So what happened was around like six o'clock the next day, we saw another huge influx. People were sitting down and starting to watch the show that they missed the night before. So the entire week was very intense.
• 23:26
  And the orders continue to come in. And then, you know, sometimes people will go, I'm guilty of it all the time. I add something to my cart and then I get distracted. And so that's where our abandoned cart email campaign really came into play and reminded people like, hey, you still have something in your cart. So things were steady for that entire week.
• 23:48
  Gosh, how exciting. Something I've heard from other people who have been on Shark Tank is that things can obviously go wrong if you don't have your manufacturing set up and you aren't able to scale up when needed. And if you didn't have the right amount of inventory that was kind of expected to sell through, I guess you could say. Was there any challenges that came, you know, those bittersweet kind of challenges that come with that crazy amount of exposure
• 24:17
  Absolutely. For an entire year after airing on Shark Tank, we had an inventory shortage nightmare. I mean, in the best way possible, because it is such a blessing and a curse at the same time to not be able to keep up with the demand. But we were also in the process of rolling out to some major retailers and retailers.
• 24:39
  It was like we could just never, we were constantly having to tell either be sold out on our website or be sold out on Amazon or tell the retailer that we couldn't pull the PO. So it was a challenge for sure. I don't think anyone can properly forecast your inventory situation after something as significant as airing on Shark Tank or even just growing in those first couple of years because
• 25:05
  You just can't predict what's going to happen, what store is going to do really well with it, what store might not, might be a slower sell through, what your website's going to do. So it was a challenge, to say the least.
• 25:21
  After that kind of year of ironing out those kinks with the inventory, finding your new groove and that kind of thing, and the shark tank storm had kind of settled a little bit, what were the things you were doing to keep growing and keep that momentum going after that? At that point, we were able to start advertising, properly advertising. And we, of course, had the capital to do so. So we started social media campaigns.
• 25:50
  We did some advertising and some magazines. We continued to reach out to social media influencers. That was a big part of it. But the main thing that we did was we started going to trade shows. So not necessarily all true trade shows, but we went to, I call them cash shows. It's grab and go. Customers can actually buy them there. So boat shows and different things where you're selling your product right then and there.
• 26:19
  And then traditional trade shows too, where you're just talking to retail buyers and presenting your products there. Oh my gosh, amazing. And so when you think about the team and today, where is the business today? And what does say the next 12 months look like for you? Well, the business has grown quite a bit. But even more than that, we've continued to develop an entire product line. We started with a three-piece set that was just sub-save and now
• 26:49
  We have developed a six-piece set where all the pieces are interchangeable and it makes little snack sizes and has their drinking lids. And we also launched a product called WineSafe. So that is for transporting your wine, either in your luggage or in your car or in the cooler. So we've rebranded a little bit and now we say we're a cooler lifestyle. And the goal is just to continue building products and creating little niche categories where
• 27:17
  people who are like us and live out of a cooler all weekend and want to be outside as much as possible where we just make their lives easier. Ah, genius. I love that. So cool. It is a cooler lifestyle. What is your key piece of advice for women who have a big idea and want to start their own business? Well, I mean, just go for it. I mean, I didn't know
• 27:46
  anything about launching a product, bringing a product to market, patenting a product, manufacturing a product. I had to learn everything. I even joke and say that I did everything the wrong way first so that now I know how to do it the right way. Cause I just felt like there were so many hurdles and unforeseen circumstances, but it's such a growing process. And I am so much stronger and
• 28:13
  smarter at this point when it comes to business. So I wouldn't trade any of those failures for anything. So just go for it. I mean, you just don't, I can't tell you how many people I've met along the way who said, Oh, I have this idea. And then it came out to the market or, you know, they always say someone stole it, but they just didn't move fast enough. So get with an attorney, make some sacrifices and just do it.
• 28:42
  Totally. I love that. When you say hurdles and the challenges, are there any that come to mind, kind of the obvious ones that you can share for our listeners? I think it's great to hear all the success and the cool things that's going on and where the businesses are today. But it's also super important to acknowledge that it is a really tough journey and there are hard times. And so I'd love to hear of any challenges in particular that come to mind. Definitely. Well, first and foremost is definitely
• 29:12
  the inventory. I mean, that was significant and having to go back to a retailer or a buyer who had faith in you and with your tail between your legs and say, this isn't going to happen and apologize for that. But other than that, it's been a lot of little things, nothing really other big is coming to mind at this moment. But I mean, in the beginning, we didn't know about a certain patent and figuring that out and
• 29:42
  We thought we were applying for one thing and really we applied for another thing. So that cost us a lot of time and money. We had a trademark that faulty attorney never filed. So our trademark wasn't even done. But now I know how to check on all those things. I know how to get in the database and...
• 30:01
  I could probably write a patent at this point, you know, but in the beginning, you just don't know. You don't know what you're doing wrong. So you just have to do it first. You just have to fall down and pick yourself back up because there's really no other way to keep moving forward. Oh, my gosh. All of that sounds so crazy. The faulty trademark attorney. Holy moly. What the devil?
• 30:24
  That's crazy. I know. I know. I've got to do your research on people. That's for sure. Yeah. Key learning. Key learning there. At the end of every episode, I always ask a series of the same six quick questions to everyone I speak to. And some of the questions we might have already covered, but I asked them all the same at the end. So question number one is, what's your why? Why do you do what you do? My why is definitely my children. I have two boys.
• 30:52
  not even so much to have something to pass on to them, but I want them to grow up knowing that women can do anything that men can do. And I want them to respect any future woman that's in their life, the way that they respect their mama. So that's my wife. That's incredible. I love that. Question number two is what's been the number one marketing moment that made the business pop outside of Shark Tank?
• 31:22
  Outside of Shark Tank, we had a little surf shop carrier product. I think they ordered like 24 units and they posted their own picture of the product with a sub in it and just was announcing to their customers. I think they have like a thousand people who liked their page, customers who followed them. And it went,
• 31:46
  viral. It went absolutely crazy. We couldn't have paid for that to happen. It was completely organic and natural. And as a result, they ended up ordering thousands and thousands and thousands of subsets from us. It was every day they were calling for more. Their website couldn't keep up. I mean, it was absolutely incredible. Oh my God. Yeah. This goes to show that sometimes you can't control what's going to happen, but the best things that could happen can be organic. Hmm. That's wild. Oh my goodness. Love that for you.
• 32:16
  question number three is where do you hang out to get smarter what are you reading or listening to or subscribing to that others would benefit from knowing about i listened to a lot of podcasts before covid i attended some business conferences rachel hollis her business conference was actually the last one that i went to it's really easy when everyone's pulling on you and you have employees and you still have a family it's really easy for
• 32:45
  you to get burnt out. That's something that I definitely struggle with. So taking time, making sure that I am in the gym and I'm eating properly and filling my mind and my body is very important for me to stay sane. 100%. Question number four is how do you win the day? What are your AM or PM rituals and habits that keep you feeling happy and successful and motivated?
• 33:11
  Um, AM is definitely different. Well, I'm always in my emails. There's no way around that. That's how I start and end every day is just making sure that there are no emergencies or fires that I need to put out. But...
• 33:24
  The exercise, like I said, is very, very important to me in the morning as well. And then PM is just making sure that I spend some time with my kids, some good quality time, because otherwise that mommy guilt comes on strong when you least expect it. And I try to avoid that like the plague. Good one. Question number five is if you were given a $1,000 no strings attached grant, where would you spend it?
• 33:55
  I would spend it. That's such a good question. I would donate it. We have a children's organization that we give a portion of our proceeds to and they feed local children in need and I don't need it so it would go to them. I love that. What's it called, the charity? It's called Provision Packs and they put a bag of food
• 34:24
  every Friday into the kids' backpacks so that they are fed over the weekend when usually they would have, you know, food insecurity at home. Oh gosh, love that. Thanks for sharing. And last question, question number six is how do you deal with failure? What's your mindset and approach when things don't go to plan? If I'm being honest, I take it hard initially. It's,
• 34:50
  you know, I'm human at the end of the day. So I'm definitely somebody who will stay awake at night and replay it. But what I always tell myself is that any and every time a door has closed, a better one has opened. So it's always part of the plan. And I have to name up a few times to myself and just remind myself, remember when you wanted this and this came better, this better opportunity came about. So yeah, just reminding yourself all the other times.
• 35:16
  everything's worked out. Amazing. Everything will work out. Desiree, thank you so much for taking the time to be on the show today and share your incredible story with Subsafe. I love it. Thank you. Thank you for having me. This was a lot of fun.
• 35:35
  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.
• 36:00
  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.
• 36:22
  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.
• 36:39
  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.
• 37:03
  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.
• 37:26
  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.