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[00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:05.200] Like to say, we're the new gen Siete, fusing our Middle Eastern heritage into snacks.
[00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:11.280] We're in Erewhon, Coastal Farms, and we've gone viral because we've built in public basically since day one.
[00:00:11.280 --> 00:00:14.720] You sold about 10,000 people online, just AC.
[00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:16.240] How old are you guys when you start the business?
[00:00:16.240 --> 00:00:16.720] 23.
[00:00:16.720 --> 00:00:18.240] Also, I had no idea what we were doing.
[00:00:18.240 --> 00:00:23.920] By the way, we have so much social proof around the fact that people were obsessed with a snack, especially Gen Z.
[00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:25.520] How did you fund the business in the beginning?
[00:00:25.680 --> 00:00:28.000] We've been very scrappy with everything we do.
[00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:29.440] We don't have money.
[00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:30.880] How are we gonna get sales?
[00:00:30.880 --> 00:00:32.320] Okay, we're gonna have to post every day.
[00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:34.560] We have to do really weird stuff out in the public.
[00:00:34.800 --> 00:00:37.520] It just pushed us to be creative and think outside of the box.
[00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:39.520] Can you guys share what it costs to start the business?
[00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:41.920] It was just a lot more expensive than we thought it would be.
[00:00:42.160 --> 00:00:44.160] Production side was the most expensive.
[00:00:44.160 --> 00:00:49.840] The first really, really, really viral video was we launched our pre-orders.
[00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:52.400] We had people waiting on our website before we had even launched.
[00:00:52.400 --> 00:00:53.280] No one's tried the product.
[00:00:53.280 --> 00:00:54.400] No one knows who we are.
[00:00:54.400 --> 00:00:57.360] See us like reacting to us getting so many orders.
[00:01:00.480 --> 00:01:02.000] Oh my gosh, we keep coming.
[00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:03.280] Yes, he's like dying of laughter.
[00:01:03.440 --> 00:01:04.400] You just everywhere.
[00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:06.320] I talk about Coachella like maybe every day.
[00:01:06.320 --> 00:01:08.400] It was like one of the best things we've ever done.
[00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:11.280] If you're a small business and you don't have money, like this is how you do it.
[00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:13.120] We worked with RevolveFest.
[00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:16.400] We're dropping off pickles at all these influencer houses.
[00:01:16.400 --> 00:01:17.520] We barely paid anything.
[00:01:17.600 --> 00:01:23.920] The advice I always give people is: what is the weirdest thing you could do to get people to pull out their phone and take a photo or a video?
[00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:24.400] I love that.
[00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:26.080] Like go weird, not aesthetic.
[00:01:26.080 --> 00:01:26.400] Yeah.
[00:01:26.800 --> 00:01:29.840] Hey, business besties, welcome back to the Female Founder World podcast.
[00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:30.800] I'm Jasmine.
[00:01:30.800 --> 00:01:34.960] I'm the host of the show and the person behind all things Female Founder World.
[00:01:34.960 --> 00:01:39.120] Today I'm chatting with the founders of Good Girl Snacks, I've got Leia and Yasiman.
[00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:40.000] Welcome to the show.
[00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:40.560] Thanks for having me.
[00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:41.600] Thanks for having us.
[00:01:41.600 --> 00:01:45.040] So you guys are best friends and co-founders.
[00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:45.520] Yes.
[00:01:45.520 --> 00:01:50.240] For people that don't know Good Girl Snacks, how do you explain what it is that you're doing?
[00:01:50.240 --> 00:01:54.000] We've started to call it the internet's favorite pickle brand.
[00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:59.760] And that's kind of what it is right now, but we're hoping to be kind of like a new gen food and beverage company.
[00:01:59.960 --> 00:02:00.840] Okay, what's the vision?
[00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:05.640] You know, when you think about who you compare yourself with and who you want to be in like five or ten years, what's the vibe?
[00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:19.320] I feel like it's a very ambitious comparison, but we like to say we're the new gen siete, kind of infusing our Middle Eastern heritage into snacks that are just easy and you know, interesting to women and to our demographic.
[00:02:19.320 --> 00:02:22.280] And yeah, that's kind of how we like to think about it for now.
[00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:28.120] Yeah, always awakening sleepy aisles and keeping a nostalgic element to them as well.
[00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:35.480] So it'll always be a snack that you maybe used to eat when you were younger or you ate your whole life and no one's kind of been innovating in that space.
[00:02:35.480 --> 00:02:41.080] Can you let us know some milestones so we can kind of people can kind of like pinpoint where you guys are at in the story?
[00:02:41.080 --> 00:02:45.160] Yeah, so we launched the brand end of February 2024.
[00:02:45.480 --> 00:02:52.040] We were only selling online basically all of 2024 and then 2025 is very retail heavy.
[00:02:52.040 --> 00:03:00.600] So we're in Erewhon, Bristol Farms, GoPuff National, Central Market, and expanding into retail all over the U.S.
[00:03:00.920 --> 00:03:05.320] And we've gone viral because we've built in public basically since day one.
[00:03:05.320 --> 00:03:10.120] So we're going to talk about all of those things, especially the building and public piece of it.
[00:03:10.120 --> 00:03:14.760] I think like one thing to call up, people probably know you for one of your products, which is Hot Girl Girl Pickles.
[00:03:15.480 --> 00:03:20.920] I feel like that's like a really viral product that I can like visualize the bottle as I'm talking to you, you know?
[00:03:20.920 --> 00:03:23.400] So I think that once I say that, people be like, oh, I know who they are.
[00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:25.160] I've seen them on TikTok or whatever.
[00:03:25.160 --> 00:03:28.200] Yeah, Hot Girl Pickles was the first product we launched.
[00:03:28.200 --> 00:03:32.600] We have two flavors, original Dill with Turmeric, and then Honey Harissa.
[00:03:32.600 --> 00:03:36.280] And we just launched our new bread and butter flavor, which is sweetened with deeds.
[00:03:36.280 --> 00:03:40.120] So, the stuff that I want to talk to you about, we're going to talk about retail and how you've been expanding retail.
[00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:45.520] We're going to talk about how you attention hack events like these cultural moments like Coachella.
[00:03:44.920 --> 00:03:49.360] You guys do that so so well, especially for a mostly bootstrap brand.
[00:03:49.440 --> 00:03:53.440] You're not doing any paid, like you're really clever and really scrappy.
[00:03:53.440 --> 00:04:06.000] And I also want to talk about building in public and how you're thinking about organic content, what's working, because I've found you guys on TikTok, and I think that's where most people probably discover you is like TikTok and Instagram.
[00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:08.720] Yeah, so I just want to know what's working and how you're doing it.
[00:04:08.720 --> 00:04:11.680] But first, let's just go back to the early days, set the scene a little bit.
[00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:14.800] So, you quit your jobs, it was the summer of 2023.
[00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:16.320] What happens next?
[00:04:16.640 --> 00:04:28.400] So, we had this idea to start a pickle company, and we were so passionate about the idea that we were like, okay, we have to go in full throttle and just give it our all, and that's the only way it's going to work.
[00:04:28.400 --> 00:04:33.600] And yeah, we just spent the whole summer building the brand, envisioning what it would look like.
[00:04:33.600 --> 00:04:37.040] We started working with designers to create our brand book.
[00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:43.520] We were, you know, designing our logos, designing our jars at the same time, and simultaneously we were developing the product.
[00:04:43.520 --> 00:04:47.680] So, working with a food scientist to come up with our two flavors.
[00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:58.000] We had a very, I think, distinct vision for what we wanted the flavors to be, but we just needed some help developing them and then making sure the formulas were scalable as well.
[00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:04.960] And, yeah, by the end of the summer, I would say even by like October, September, we had two products formulated.
[00:05:04.960 --> 00:05:08.000] We had our branding, which was pretty much finished.
[00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:11.440] We had our packaging, which was close to done as well.
[00:05:11.440 --> 00:05:15.360] And we were kind of just on track to launch in the next few months.
[00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:22.800] And that's kind of when we started building in public and you know, showing the journey of what it's like to start a company with your best friend.
[00:05:23.440 --> 00:05:25.360] Also, had no idea what we were doing, by the way.
[00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:28.160] Like, we had just graduated college a year before.
[00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:30.600] Yas and I were best friends all through college.
[00:05:30.600 --> 00:05:33.800] And I was working in a tech startup, Yas was working in the art industry.
[00:05:29.840 --> 00:05:36.200] Like, we fully went into this blind.
[00:05:36.520 --> 00:05:43.160] And so, having consultants and people that were there to kind of hold our hand and help us figure it out is how we did things so quickly.
[00:05:43.160 --> 00:05:47.000] I think if we hadn't had those resources, we wouldn't have been able to launch.
[00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:50.600] So, you said do things so quickly, and I want to call out some of the milestones that you've hit.
[00:05:50.600 --> 00:06:00.120] So, you talked about a lot of the retailers, but what we haven't really spoken about is that you have sold about 10,000 pickle jars online, just D to C, which is a huge amount.
[00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:02.280] I think, well, that was last year, right?
[00:06:02.280 --> 00:06:03.400] Yeah, that was last year.
[00:06:03.400 --> 00:06:07.240] Yeah, so now that we're in 2025, it's quite a bit more.
[00:06:07.560 --> 00:06:08.280] That's amazing.
[00:06:08.280 --> 00:06:12.280] Yeah, and now that we're in retailers, also, obviously, we're counting kind of everything.
[00:06:12.280 --> 00:06:13.960] Yeah, yeah, massive growth.
[00:06:13.960 --> 00:06:23.640] And it's so crazy to think about the fact that these are literally 32-ounce glass jars of pickles, and people are paying for shipping online and then or going to a store.
[00:06:23.640 --> 00:06:28.920] Like, we're the number one pickle brand at Erewhon, and we're selling as quickly as an energy drink sells.
[00:06:29.160 --> 00:06:32.360] So, we have a pretty big velocity as well.
[00:06:32.360 --> 00:06:34.440] High velocity, that's the right way to say it.
[00:06:34.760 --> 00:06:41.320] You mentioned before, like, you're coming into this without any experience.
[00:06:41.320 --> 00:06:41.720] Yeah.
[00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:43.240] How old were you guys when you started the business?
[00:06:43.240 --> 00:06:43.720] 23.
[00:06:43.720 --> 00:06:44.120] 23.
[00:06:44.600 --> 00:06:45.320] I was 25.
[00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:46.200] No, you were 23.
[00:06:46.360 --> 00:06:47.160] I was 23, actually.
[00:06:47.160 --> 00:06:47.240] Yeah.
[00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:48.440] I was 23.
[00:06:48.440 --> 00:06:52.040] So, you're like super green, super fresh, but you've got this very clear vision.
[00:06:52.040 --> 00:06:52.360] Yeah.
[00:06:52.760 --> 00:06:57.000] We were also chronically online, so we saw the trend online.
[00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:58.120] That's why we wanted to start it.
[00:06:58.360 --> 00:06:59.320] What trend did you see?
[00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:03.240] Kind of similar to how everyone was eating avocado toast suddenly out of nowhere in 2014.
[00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:04.760] Same thing was happening with pickles.
[00:07:04.760 --> 00:07:08.920] There's 9.5 billion views on the hashtag pick one pickles combined on TikTok.
[00:07:08.920 --> 00:07:14.200] We were really bored on the job and scrolling, and every other video we were seeing was a pickle video.
[00:07:14.200 --> 00:07:16.560] So we were like, okay, there's definitely a trend here.
[00:07:16.880 --> 00:07:24.240] And then simultaneously at the same time, there was the hot girl walks, and hot girls have stomach issues, like verbiage going around.
[00:07:24.320 --> 00:07:34.240] So we're like, okay, we need to make the two kind of come together, build this brand, and then at the same time have branding that's super nostalgic and colorful.
[00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:40.480] That's not similar to the homogenous packaging that's like all 150 years old in the pickle aisle, you know.
[00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:47.040] Whereas like the beverage aisle or the popcorn snack aisle, there's a million different colors and a million different flavors.
[00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:49.760] So that's kind of how we came up with the idea.
[00:07:49.760 --> 00:08:03.040] And we had so much social proof around the fact that people were obsessed with a snack, especially Gen Z and like younger millennials, that we felt really confident going into it and having that knowledge, even though we knew nothing about the food and beverage industry.
[00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:06.480] How did you fund the business in the beginning and how are you funding it now?
[00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:19.360] So we were bootstrapped initially and then actually very recently we raised a small like pre-seed round which is mostly working capital to get us through the year and yeah that's just how we've been doing it so far.
[00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:22.400] We've been very scrappy with everything we do.
[00:08:22.400 --> 00:08:32.480] Yeah we we decided to it was good to be scrappy though and to be bootstrapped because it made us think in a very conservative way was like okay we don't have money.
[00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:34.160] How are we gonna get sales?
[00:08:34.160 --> 00:08:39.040] Okay we're gonna have to post every day or we have to do really weird stuff in out in the public.
[00:08:39.040 --> 00:08:52.920] Like there was a there was a huge line at Community Goods in LA when Rode was doing their pop-up and and we got in a car and basically wrote something on a card cardboard, a piece of cardboard because we were selling in community goods at the time.
[00:08:52.920 --> 00:08:55.720] And we were driving past the line with like this sign.
[00:08:55.720 --> 00:09:00.000] And we were like, if you're going to wait in that line, you may as well buy hot girl pickles inside.
[00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:11.640] And then we were just driving past, like doing really weird stuff like that that's going to get people's attention is really how we started thinking about building the brand because we had no money to pay for ads or no money to pay influences.
[00:09:11.800 --> 00:09:18.360] It just pushed us to be creative and to think of, like think outside of the box, like what can we do that will get people's attention.
[00:09:18.360 --> 00:09:19.560] You know what it makes me think of?
[00:09:19.560 --> 00:09:26.360] There was a quote from Addison Raid this week and she was saying that like, what was the quote that she said?
[00:09:26.360 --> 00:09:35.480] Taste and something is a privilege where it was basically like when she was in her, like, you know, in the creator house and just posting every day and doing all this crazy stuff.
[00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:37.480] Yeah, she was posting like 12 times a day.
[00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:39.000] Yeah, and she's like, there's no option.
[00:09:39.320 --> 00:09:43.240] I remember interviewing Nadia Okamoto, the co-founder of August.
[00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:49.240] And she said that she doesn't do this anymore, but she was posting 50 times a day on TikTok because she was getting her brand off the ground.
[00:09:49.240 --> 00:09:49.480] Yeah.
[00:09:49.640 --> 00:09:50.440] 50 times a day.
[00:09:50.520 --> 00:09:51.800] I can barely post once a day.
[00:09:51.800 --> 00:09:53.960] I'm just like, I can't even imagine having to.
[00:09:54.120 --> 00:09:57.240] I mean, posting every day just within itself is crazy.
[00:09:57.240 --> 00:09:57.640] 100%.
[00:09:57.880 --> 00:09:58.520] 50 videos?
[00:09:58.520 --> 00:09:59.560] Like, what are you filming?
[00:09:59.560 --> 00:10:00.440] That's insane.
[00:10:00.440 --> 00:10:01.720] But I think it's really interesting.
[00:10:01.720 --> 00:10:12.520] Like, I think a lot of us kind of get a little bit hung up or stuck around what to post or, oh, like, it feels, sometimes it can feel a little bit like, oh, no, I'm the founder and the CEO.
[00:10:12.520 --> 00:10:15.160] It feels beneath me to be spending all of my time doing content.
[00:10:15.160 --> 00:10:18.040] But I really liked that quote that came out from her.
[00:10:18.040 --> 00:10:22.440] Just to reiterate, like, you have to, you just have to do this shit to try and get attention.
[00:10:23.240 --> 00:10:24.360] What else are you going to do?
[00:10:24.520 --> 00:10:25.880] It's also a free tool.
[00:10:25.880 --> 00:10:26.600] Use it.
[00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:31.080] Like, it doesn't cost anything to pick your phone up and film a video.
[00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:36.680] And it's as important, if not more important, than raising money for your business to be posting on social media these days.
[00:10:36.680 --> 00:10:46.400] Yeah, and I think it's one of those skills that if you're good at it and you can do it, it can feel to people who are like very online, like you guys are, I am also very, very online.
[00:10:46.400 --> 00:10:51.200] You can really undervalue this skill because all you do is see other people creating content.
[00:10:44.840 --> 00:10:51.520] Totally.
[00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:59.360] But actually, this is something that bigger companies without a story that aren't founder-led, they would love to be able to do.
[00:10:59.760 --> 00:11:00.560] And they can't.
[00:11:00.560 --> 00:11:02.640] And so, why wouldn't you use this?
[00:11:02.640 --> 00:11:09.600] Yeah, and I think at the beginning, it was very clear to us that social media was going to be the biggest driver for sales.
[00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:16.720] We were like, you know, if we make it on social media, that's the only way we're going to get people to know us and get people to buy our product.
[00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:22.080] And especially being bootstrapped and very little resources, like that was very clear to us.
[00:11:22.400 --> 00:11:37.600] And we, I think, from the beginning, in the way we would structure our days, it was very like there was very much an emphasis on content creation and how we could, I guess, thread that through our everyday routine and through the work we were doing.
[00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:47.200] And even when bad things were happening or we were like going through some difficulties with the business, we were always thinking, okay, at least we can make content out of this.
[00:11:47.200 --> 00:12:01.600] And how can we capitalize off of like, you know, this hurdle that we're going through and how can we show that to people and you know, be part of you know this community that's more transparent and that's trying to be more authentic on social media.
[00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:08.560] I want to continue this conversation about building a public in a sec, but I have follow-up questions around like the bootstrapping and getting started.
[00:12:08.560 --> 00:12:10.720] Can you guys share what it costs to start the business?
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[00:12:53.240 --> 00:12:57.320] Well, honestly, it was just a lot more expensive than we thought it would be.
[00:12:57.640 --> 00:13:00.600] Like, we obviously, okay, we're organic.
[00:13:00.600 --> 00:13:04.120] We're one of the only organic pickle brands on the market.
[00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:12.440] And so, we didn't realize why there was no other organic, or there's a couple, but like, why the majority wasn't organic if that's something that the consumer cares about.
[00:13:12.440 --> 00:13:17.240] Because it's expensive, it's so expensive, and it's only in season a couple times a year.
[00:13:17.240 --> 00:13:34.040] So, everything is just you have to do these like really big productions once, twice, three, maybe four times a year if you're lucky, and kind of operate like a wine where you know you just have to project what this year is going to look like, which is really capital-heavy and intense upfront.
[00:13:34.040 --> 00:13:39.720] And so, we didn't realize that, and we kind of went into it thinking that it wouldn't cost as much as it did.
[00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:45.080] And then, we obviously got family and friends involved at first, and that's how we made it happen.
[00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:51.240] But yeah, the production side was the most expensive, and then everything else was pretty low lift.
[00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:53.000] Like, branding wasn't too bad.
[00:13:53.000 --> 00:14:01.240] We got it done overseas, so it wasn't American pricing on it, which is something we always tell people: like, go to Europe, go to Mexico, like, go anywhere else.
[00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:02.920] Go to Australia, the exchange rate's really good.
[00:14:02.920 --> 00:14:04.360] There's some amazing agencies.
[00:14:04.360 --> 00:14:08.120] And also, you're getting a completely different perspective on branding.
[00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:10.840] Everything in the US, branding-wise, hot take looks the same.
[00:14:10.840 --> 00:14:11.320] Totally.
[00:14:12.200 --> 00:14:14.680] I feel like it's the same agency doing this, like everyone's branding.
[00:14:14.800 --> 00:14:16.000] It is like the same free agency.
[00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:16.880] Yeah, right, doing it.
[00:14:17.440 --> 00:14:18.560] I mean, that's.
[00:14:18.560 --> 00:14:24.960] And we actually used an agency that had never really done CPG before, let alone food and beverage.
[00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:34.240] Like, I think when we were looking at their portfolio, it was mostly like, I don't know, concert posters and like event graphic design.
[00:14:34.560 --> 00:14:44.000] And so when we approached them, I think they were really excited about the idea because it was kind of like free reins for them to conjure what a pickle company could look like.
[00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:52.080] And I think that's what made our branding stand out so much is because it was really stemmed from like pure creativity.
[00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:55.920] I'm going to put the link to your socials and everything in the show notes.
[00:14:55.920 --> 00:14:59.760] So if people want an agency recommendation, are you okay for them to like do it?
[00:14:59.920 --> 00:15:00.720] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:01.360] DM us.
[00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:03.280] We have so many that we've worked with.
[00:15:03.760 --> 00:15:08.400] We're doing a like brand kind of like tighten-up refresh for Female Founder World now.
[00:15:08.400 --> 00:15:14.720] And we're working with an agency called Willow and Blake and they're in Australia and they just did this amazing launch for a haircare brand.
[00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:17.680] And I saw them and I was like, oh, I really want to work with them.
[00:15:17.680 --> 00:15:18.960] And so I'm very, very excited.
[00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:26.480] But just in terms of a recommendation for people who are listening to this, wanting someone specific, Willow and Blake, I'll link them in the show notes as well.
[00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:26.880] Okay.
[00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:40.000] I want to know about a maybe like your most viral moment or maybe the first time you guys went viral, how it happened, what the story was, when you realized what it did for the business.
[00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:41.440] Is there something that comes to mind?
[00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:42.880] Yeah, there's two.
[00:15:42.880 --> 00:15:55.760] So the first really, really, really viral video was the one where we launched our pre-orders and we had people waiting on our website to order the product before we had even launched.
[00:15:55.760 --> 00:15:57.920] No one's tried the product, no one knows who we are.
[00:15:57.920 --> 00:15:59.640] Like, like no one knows anything.
[00:15:59.640 --> 00:16:03.080] They've just been following us for like, I don't know, a couple months.
[00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:06.040] And it's a video of us, a vlog of the pre-launch.
[00:16:06.200 --> 00:16:14.200] And you see us like reacting to us getting so many orders before we even clicked on the post button on Instagram.
[00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:16.760] And it's just like me like jumping, freaking out.
[00:16:16.760 --> 00:16:21.560] And Yas is like, like dying of laughter because she doesn't know how to react and we're both just freaking out.
[00:16:21.960 --> 00:16:27.080] That video went viral and from that video we got even more sales obviously, which was awesome.
[00:16:27.080 --> 00:16:28.040] Wait, wait, hold on.
[00:16:35.080 --> 00:16:35.720] Look at how many.
[00:16:35.960 --> 00:16:37.160] Okay, okay, okay.
[00:16:37.800 --> 00:16:39.160] Oh my god, this is not real life.
[00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:56.360] And then our most viral video today is a video of us reacting to getting Forbes under 30 in December.
[00:16:56.360 --> 00:17:00.920] And I was in New York, so I got the news three hours before Yas.
[00:17:00.920 --> 00:17:07.320] And it was horrible because I had to react to it by myself and like live in that moment alone for a couple hours.
[00:17:07.320 --> 00:17:08.680] And all I wanted to do was wake her up.
[00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:11.880] In fact, I called her 200 times and she wasn't waking up.
[00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:13.320] Anyways, I have an ironclad.
[00:17:13.320 --> 00:17:14.040] Do not disturb.
[00:17:14.360 --> 00:17:16.440] If I'm sleeping, you're not disturbing me.
[00:17:16.440 --> 00:17:20.840] But so I saw the email pop up and I was like, oh my god, I have to film myself.
[00:17:20.840 --> 00:17:28.360] So I plopped up my phone and I was literally in pajamas in my bed, like shaking, freaking out, crying.
[00:17:28.360 --> 00:17:29.800] Like I couldn't believe it.
[00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:35.560] So I filmed the video and then after there's another clip where it's Yas and I finding out together.
[00:17:35.560 --> 00:17:41.000] Like I FaceTimed her and our friend filmed us like figuring out together that we got it.
[00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:50.640] And that video is so full of raw emotion that I think it went viral because people are like, oh my god, that's so crazy that you guys are so young and your best friends and you started a pickle company and now you got this.
[00:17:44.760 --> 00:17:51.200] That's crazy.
[00:17:51.600 --> 00:17:53.120] And so I think it went viral.
[00:17:53.120 --> 00:17:56.720] And from that, we also got a ton of sales and followers too.
[00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:58.240] It's also just like super endearing.
[00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:02.720] Like that's such a nice, like that's really heartwarming as such a nice thing to watch.
[00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:06.400] But that is also the video that's given us the most hate.
[00:18:06.800 --> 00:18:11.520] So one of the reasons it probably went viral is because half the comments were like, you're going to go to jail.
[00:18:11.520 --> 00:18:13.360] Like let me know when they end up in prison.
[00:18:13.360 --> 00:18:14.480] Like all the stuff.
[00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:17.680] And we got so many of those comments that ended up creating more engagement.
[00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:21.200] So people were like, what did you guys do to deserve this?
[00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:22.560] Or like, oh, it's not that deep.
[00:18:22.560 --> 00:18:24.880] Like, it's so pathetic that you're so excited about this.
[00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:26.160] It's like, who cares?
[00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:26.320] Yeah.
[00:18:26.560 --> 00:18:28.560] Or like you paid to get there anyway.
[00:18:28.560 --> 00:18:28.960] Yeah.
[00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:36.000] But, you know, I think at the end of the day, like you read these comments and then you just turn your phone off and nothing's changed in your personal life.
[00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:41.280] Like things are still the way they are and you're still building a cool business with your friend.
[00:18:41.280 --> 00:18:43.760] You're still seeing success in your own way.
[00:18:43.760 --> 00:18:45.680] And so it doesn't really matter.
[00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:48.720] What was the process for getting Forbes 30 under 30?
[00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:49.360] What's involved?
[00:18:49.360 --> 00:18:50.880] Do you have to apply?
[00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:52.240] Does someone reach out?
[00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:53.520] Do you know before it comes out?
[00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:55.280] We had really crazy.
[00:18:55.440 --> 00:18:56.320] Yeah, we had.
[00:18:56.320 --> 00:19:02.480] So the editor reached out to us on LinkedIn that summer, like so last summer, at the end of the summer.
[00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:06.080] Is it Alex York at Forbes who does the Forbes 30 under 30?
[00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:08.080] Yeah, so she reached out to us.
[00:19:08.080 --> 00:19:09.280] I believe she was the one who reached out.
[00:19:09.600 --> 00:19:10.480] Or it was someone else.
[00:19:10.800 --> 00:19:11.200] Yeah.
[00:19:11.520 --> 00:19:18.560] And they basically were like, hey, like, we're, you know, looking at potential, you know, candidates for third-party.
[00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:19.840] They had nominated 30.
[00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:21.360] Like no one, no one.
[00:19:21.760 --> 00:19:22.960] So there's two ways to do it.
[00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:30.920] Like, someone that you know or like an alum can nominate you, or Forbes themselves can nominate you.
[00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:33.960] And they nominated us and they sent us like a message on LinkedIn.
[00:19:33.960 --> 00:19:34.440] Yeah.
[00:19:29.840 --> 00:19:36.760] Which we were like, this is definitely a scam.
[00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:38.760] We were like, is this real?
[00:19:39.320 --> 00:19:43.880] So then we filled out the whole form and we kind of forgot about it because we were like, it's a scam.
[00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:51.720] And then I wake up one morning in New York and I'm like turning off my alarm to go to Pilates and I get an email, welcome to the Forbes Five Class.
[00:19:51.800 --> 00:19:52.520] I was like, what?
[00:19:52.840 --> 00:19:55.160] Yeah, it was like a college application almost.
[00:19:55.640 --> 00:19:56.440] It was crazy.
[00:19:57.080 --> 00:19:58.680] So then everyone's like, oh, you paid for it.
[00:19:58.680 --> 00:19:59.080] You did this.
[00:19:59.080 --> 00:20:02.440] I'm like, no, we literally, we didn't even believe it was real.
[00:20:02.440 --> 00:20:02.840] Yeah.
[00:20:02.840 --> 00:20:03.320] Yeah.
[00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:12.920] And then did anything, any opportunities and uptick in sales, like once you got that, has it changed the business or your lives at all?
[00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:19.080] I think in a networking sense, we've been connected to a ton more people.
[00:20:19.080 --> 00:20:22.840] And we actually met one of our investors through it.
[00:20:22.840 --> 00:20:25.240] He was in the same class as us, so it was cool.
[00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:32.840] But yeah, just meeting people in our industry and getting invited to events where we can network more is really cool on the professional and networking side.
[00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:33.320] Yes.
[00:20:33.960 --> 00:20:49.320] We're working together at the moment and I'm switching gears on a workshop where we're going to kind of teach how you both are so great at really just like hacking attention at these big cultural moments like Coachella because you just do it so, so well.
[00:20:49.880 --> 00:20:52.280] I'll put the link in the show notes if anyone wants to come to that workshop.
[00:20:52.280 --> 00:20:53.160] It's free to attend.
[00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:56.360] It's called Launch Lab presented by Adobe Express.
[00:20:56.360 --> 00:21:09.400] And the reason why we wanted to get you both to take this is because I was following along, and so was the rest of my team while you were doing these, while you were creating content and doing all this like guerrilla marketing at Coachella.
[00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:10.760] And you were just everywhere.
[00:21:10.760 --> 00:21:15.000] And it's not like you were this massive brand that had this big paid presence.
[00:21:15.600 --> 00:21:27.600] And I'd love to know what your strategy was, what the impact of that was, and like just what worked and what didn't work while you were trying to make this big moment for the brand at Coachella.
[00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:29.360] Kind of other events you've done too.
[00:21:29.360 --> 00:21:34.800] Yeah, I talk about Coachella like maybe every I, it was like one of the best things we've ever done.
[00:21:34.800 --> 00:21:37.600] So we worked with RevolveFest.
[00:21:37.600 --> 00:21:42.960] The team was kind enough to basically give us the space to have a booth completely for free.
[00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:44.800] Did you reach out to them or did they reach out to you?
[00:21:44.800 --> 00:21:51.440] It was kind of like a mutual situation, but they already knew about the brand and our team like reaching out all of them.
[00:21:51.600 --> 00:21:52.560] All of the content that you guys are doing.
[00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:54.720] Yeah, this is another reason why you should just make the content.
[00:21:55.040 --> 00:21:55.360] Exactly.
[00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:58.720] And they were so excited to have us at Revolve Fest.
[00:21:58.720 --> 00:22:00.960] And they were like, all you have to do is just bring a car and serve.
[00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:02.880] And we were like, say less.
[00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:03.600] We're there.
[00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:07.120] And we obviously knew that all these big brands were going to be there.
[00:22:07.120 --> 00:22:13.040] And we were like, okay, how do we make this a big moment for us on top of just being at Revolve Fest?
[00:22:13.360 --> 00:22:16.960] So we were like, okay, we don't have money to have one of these big content houses.
[00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:22.000] So we're just going to turn our little house that we're staying in with all of our friends into a content house.
[00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:28.240] And we got all of our friends our merch and we filled the fridge with everything and we took content of all of that.
[00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:32.480] And we were like, yeah, like if you're a small business and you don't have money, this is how you do it.
[00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:38.720] And then Yas and I literally for a whole entire day into like 11 p.m.
[00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:43.600] We're dropping off pickles at all these influencer houses like in a bag.
[00:22:43.600 --> 00:22:46.240] And we were just like, okay, these people are going to be there.
[00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:47.920] They're going to be hungover probably at one point.
[00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:49.600] We'll just bring them pickles.
[00:22:49.600 --> 00:22:50.480] We didn't pay anything.
[00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:51.360] We just like DM people.
[00:22:51.360 --> 00:22:53.840] We're like, hey, like, we're dropping off a bag for you.
[00:22:53.840 --> 00:22:56.080] We got so many story posts from that.
[00:22:56.080 --> 00:22:58.000] So that's another thing.
[00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:05.720] And then the next day was Revolve Fest, and we were trying to think about how we could have a big brand moment with just this little cart.
[00:23:05.880 --> 00:23:07.560] So obviously, the cart was really cute.
[00:23:07.560 --> 00:23:09.160] It was cooled down with hot girl pickles.
[00:23:09.160 --> 00:23:10.920] We were passing out pickles.
[00:23:10.920 --> 00:23:12.040] But then we were already there.
[00:23:12.040 --> 00:23:14.520] There was all these amazing influencers and celebrities there.
[00:23:14.520 --> 00:23:17.720] How do we make the most of the moment and just do really weird stuff there?
[00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:18.360] Perfect.
[00:23:18.360 --> 00:23:24.680] Let's get a see-through fanny pack and walk around with a fanny pack filled with pickles and catch people's reactions.
[00:23:24.680 --> 00:23:25.880] That went viral.
[00:23:25.880 --> 00:23:36.680] Let's catch, you know, Nikki Minaj, or no, Cardi B performing and like show our pickles and us like jumping around with pickles while she's performing.
[00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:38.440] That video did really well.
[00:23:38.440 --> 00:23:41.640] And then obviously we had like all these amazing people try the product.
[00:23:41.640 --> 00:23:48.200] And I think we created something like 26 pieces of content in like seven, eight hours, which is crazy.
[00:23:48.520 --> 00:23:53.240] And yeah, I mean, it just crushed it just from doing that.
[00:23:53.240 --> 00:23:55.320] And we barely paid anything.
[00:23:55.320 --> 00:24:00.600] When we got to the festival grounds, we were so impressed by the production that it was.
[00:24:00.600 --> 00:24:02.840] And there was like this huge Ferris wheel.
[00:24:02.840 --> 00:24:06.760] And then Sip Margs had like a really cool setup that was right next to us.
[00:24:06.760 --> 00:24:09.800] And all these amazing brands had such a cool setup.
[00:24:09.800 --> 00:24:11.160] And then we had our little cart.
[00:24:11.160 --> 00:24:15.400] And we were like, oh my God, are we going to look so pathetic next to everyone?
[00:24:15.400 --> 00:24:21.800] But it actually ended up being great because most of the food vendors were like, I think fast food.
[00:24:21.800 --> 00:24:26.920] It was like they had raising canes there and they had maybe like, oh, they had like Prince Street Pizza.
[00:24:26.920 --> 00:24:32.520] But no one, obviously it's so uncommon to just go to a music festival and see like a pickle stand.
[00:24:32.520 --> 00:24:37.560] And so I think just because of that, people would walk past and be like, oh my god, pickles, I love pickles.
[00:24:37.560 --> 00:24:40.120] And they would just walk up to us and try them.
[00:24:40.120 --> 00:24:43.160] And it was really hot that day, and ours were really cold.
[00:24:43.160 --> 00:24:46.000] So it was just very refreshing at the same time.
[00:24:44.920 --> 00:24:52.000] And it just like, I think, due to the nature of the product, we ended up standing out so much.
[00:24:52.320 --> 00:24:55.840] And that alone, you know, got us so many eyeballs.
[00:24:55.840 --> 00:24:57.280] You guys are so creative.
[00:24:57.280 --> 00:24:57.840] Thank you.
[00:24:57.840 --> 00:24:58.400] Thank you.
[00:24:58.720 --> 00:25:10.720] We just think of like, this is what I always tell people, and the advice I always give people is: what is the weirdest thing you could do, or what is something that you could do to get people to pull out their phone and take a photo or a video?
[00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:15.440] Not aesthetic, just weird, or like something relatable.
[00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:22.480] So we say, like, hawk girls eat pickles everywhere because if you relate to that statement, it's such like a niche thing that you'll post about it.
[00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:30.400] Or like, we just had a launch party for a new product in New York, and we had a shirtless guy pass around the product for people to try.
[00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:33.200] Everyone's pulling out their phone, and everyone's like, oh, where are you?
[00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:35.520] Like, why is there a shirtless guy, you know, passing around pickles?
[00:25:35.520 --> 00:25:37.360] And then they're like, oh, I'm at this party.
[00:25:37.360 --> 00:25:43.200] And so people are tagging us and talking about us because we're creating these weird viral moments all the time.
[00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:43.840] I love that.
[00:25:43.840 --> 00:25:45.600] Like, go weird, not aesthetic.
[00:25:45.600 --> 00:25:45.920] Yeah.
[00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:46.560] Yeah.
[00:25:46.560 --> 00:25:47.680] Or both.
[00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:48.560] Yeah.
[00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:54.160] We have one of our most viral photos on Instagram is a pickle in a condom.
[00:25:54.160 --> 00:25:56.640] And the caption is protect the pickle.
[00:25:56.640 --> 00:26:00.400] And like, it's super weird, but it's also kind of aesthetic.
[00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:01.760] And it went viral for that.
[00:26:01.760 --> 00:26:02.080] Yeah.
[00:26:02.080 --> 00:26:04.000] It's just like, why are you doing this?
[00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:04.480] Yeah.
[00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:05.360] But yeah.
[00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:07.920] I want to talk about retail.
[00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:09.600] So you've had a lot of success.
[00:26:09.600 --> 00:26:12.480] Like you said, number one pickle brand at Erwan.
[00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:14.560] You've been there since January this year.
[00:26:14.560 --> 00:26:14.960] Yeah.
[00:26:15.280 --> 00:26:16.560] Amazing.
[00:26:16.560 --> 00:26:20.120] How did your retail strategy kick off and how did these brands?
[00:26:20.120 --> 00:26:22.880] How did these retailers find you or how did you find them?
[00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:27.680] So we worked with brokers, which really helped us facilitate those conversations with a lot of those.
[00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:29.120] How'd you get a broker?
[00:26:29.120 --> 00:26:34.600] So they were recommended to us from friends of ours in the industry who had used them.
[00:26:35.080 --> 00:26:35.880] Sing networking.
[00:26:29.600 --> 00:26:36.520] Exactly.
[00:26:36.840 --> 00:26:45.160] And yeah, we started working with them and they have like a great network of retailers that they know the buyers from.
[00:26:45.160 --> 00:26:50.200] And that's kind of how we just started starting these conversations.
[00:26:50.200 --> 00:26:55.160] And our strategy was really looking at natural retailers first.
[00:26:55.160 --> 00:27:02.680] Just because we're organic, we obviously are aware that we have a slight premium on our product compared to most pickle products.
[00:27:02.680 --> 00:27:09.000] So looking at different stores and who are the shoppers there, do they care that we're organic or do they not care?
[00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:12.200] And just targeting those stores first.
[00:27:12.200 --> 00:27:15.320] And yeah, that's kind of been our strategy since.
[00:27:15.640 --> 00:27:19.080] What's the like, what's a dream retailer that you want to get into?
[00:27:20.200 --> 00:27:20.680] Yeah.
[00:27:20.680 --> 00:27:21.240] We.
[00:27:21.560 --> 00:27:22.440] Whole foods.
[00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:22.920] Yeah.
[00:27:22.920 --> 00:27:23.480] Yeah.
[00:27:24.600 --> 00:27:27.640] What's the strategy of how to get into Whole Foods?
[00:27:28.280 --> 00:27:46.040] I think having, first of all, a really great product, having great ingredients, and they really care about brands that are organic or non-GMO or, you know, do like practice regenerative farming practices.
[00:27:46.040 --> 00:27:54.600] And then I think just standing out on the shelf and proving that you have social proof, people like your product, people would want to buy it there.
[00:27:54.600 --> 00:28:01.720] And they're really great, I think, at working with smaller brands and bringing smaller brands on and giving you a chance.
[00:28:01.720 --> 00:28:04.760] They have different programs for smaller brands as well.
[00:28:05.080 --> 00:28:08.120] So I think that's kind of, you know, the key.
[00:28:08.120 --> 00:28:09.800] And there's a Whole Foods really everywhere.
[00:28:09.960 --> 00:28:12.280] And we're trying to make this like a household product.
[00:28:12.280 --> 00:28:15.120] Like, we want everyone to have these in their fridge.
[00:28:14.440 --> 00:28:17.440] So, you know, Whole Foods just makes sense.
[00:28:17.760 --> 00:28:20.960] After Pickles, what do you think the next product is that you'll launch?
[00:28:20.960 --> 00:28:21.520] Do you know?
[00:28:21.520 --> 00:28:34.720] We have so many ideas, but it'll always be like, again, like a nostalgic, sleepy product that no one's touched before, but that's also convenient, healthy, high-protein, always with women at the forefront.
[00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:39.440] Yeah, we're chronically online, so we're just, you know, watching the trends, seeing how they evolve.
[00:28:39.440 --> 00:28:52.960] And things happen so quickly in this industry, so I feel like it's not so much about tapping into only trends, but it's just more like learning about consumer behavior and what draws people to certain trends and kind of learning from that.
[00:28:52.960 --> 00:28:56.400] The last thing I want to ask you both is for a resource recommendation.
[00:28:56.400 --> 00:29:00.480] Something that's been helping you as you've been building the business that you think other people should check out.
[00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:04.560] Talk Repost is literally the best app on planet Earth.
[00:29:04.560 --> 00:29:05.520] I've never heard of it.
[00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:12.800] We post every single day, but we don't have time to create one piece of content on TikTok and one piece of content for Reels.
[00:29:12.800 --> 00:29:16.480] So we use the same piece of content we post on TikTok to Reels.
[00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:25.200] And so this app basically allows you to copy-paste your TikTok and save it in HD without having the TikTok logo bounce around.
[00:29:25.520 --> 00:29:31.840] And that way it's really easy to just post the same content in a high-quality format through all platforms.
[00:29:31.840 --> 00:29:35.280] So do you make your videos natively in TikTok?
[00:29:35.280 --> 00:29:36.080] It depends.
[00:29:36.080 --> 00:29:40.000] We usually post it on TikTok first and then post it on Reels.
[00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:46.160] Just because the sounds, trending sounds are different, and usually anything that works on TikTok works on Reels.
[00:29:46.160 --> 00:29:48.880] So we kind of just use that logic.
[00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:55.360] But we found that the videos we edit on TikTok do better because the more TikTok tools you use, the more the platform rewards you for it.
[00:29:55.920 --> 00:29:56.560] Interesting.
[00:29:56.560 --> 00:29:56.880] Yeah.
[00:29:56.880 --> 00:29:58.320] And do you have a recommendation?
[00:29:58.320 --> 00:30:00.760] Aside from ChatGPT, which I use.
[00:29:58.800 --> 00:30:02.600] Right, what do you guys use ChatGPT for?
[00:30:02.600 --> 00:30:03.240] I'm always curious.
[00:29:59.600 --> 00:30:04.360] Like literally everything.
[00:30:05.080 --> 00:30:24.760] Like, if I, you know, I'm trying to optimize something on the operational side, I'll just ask ChatGPT to think of, you know, I'll usually think of it myself and then I just kind of double-check with ChatGPT and kind of see if the reasoning that I'm using checks out.
[00:30:24.760 --> 00:30:31.080] But yeah, we use it for so many different things, whether it's like, you know, sometimes we're blanking on copy.
[00:30:31.080 --> 00:30:39.560] We're like, okay, can you write me like three bullet points about why this pickle product is better than others or whatever, something like that.
[00:30:39.560 --> 00:30:45.000] And then, yeah, we just kind of use, like, pick and choose what we use.
[00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:47.800] And I use it a lot for email marketing.
[00:30:47.800 --> 00:30:51.720] I suck at email marketing, but like, still got to do it.
[00:30:51.720 --> 00:30:57.240] So, yeah, copy with that or just CTA or subjects, titles for emails.
[00:30:57.560 --> 00:30:57.880] Yeah.
[00:30:57.880 --> 00:30:58.360] Yeah.
[00:30:58.440 --> 00:31:36.560] And sorry, what was the other resource that you the other resource we recently onboarded with Settle and I've been really liking them for bill pay like I really like their platform they basically categorize all your invoices and help you kind of come up with like your cost of goods sold through there and it categorizes like your freights freight charges in and out of the business as well and I don't know it's just like a very easy to use platform is it expensive no it's not too expensive I don't remember what our tier is but I think it's like not that expensive at all, and it's really easy to use, which I love such a good I don't think that's ever been recommended on the show before.
[00:31:36.560 --> 00:31:38.560] So, I love that ops Queen.
[00:31:38.520 --> 00:31:42.680] I have one one last question, and feel free not to answer it it.
[00:31:42.560 --> 00:31:48.960] It's totally up to you guys, but I do try and ask everyone who comes on the show, and that's whether you are paying yourself from your business yet.
[00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:51.120] And I have to say, most people that I talk to are not.
[00:31:51.120 --> 00:31:52.160] Yeah, we're not.
[00:31:52.160 --> 00:31:53.840] Yeah, we're not there yet.
[00:31:53.840 --> 00:32:07.840] And I think, yeah, it's obviously difficult to not, but it's just we're so in machine mode right now of like building this business that it's like any resource we can just pump back in to build it and have it be successful.
[00:32:07.840 --> 00:32:09.760] Like, that's you know, what we do.
[00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:13.120] Do you do any like consulting work or anything else?
[00:32:13.120 --> 00:32:15.360] Are you guys fully focused on the business?
[00:32:15.360 --> 00:32:17.280] Yeah, we're 100% on the business.
[00:32:17.280 --> 00:32:24.480] It's just the two of us, and the business has gotten so big that honestly, we don't even know how we're doing it, just the two of us right now.
[00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:25.280] But, yeah.
[00:32:25.280 --> 00:32:26.880] And are you guys going to fundraise again?
[00:32:26.880 --> 00:32:27.760] Is that the plan?
[00:32:27.760 --> 00:32:29.520] Probably, yeah, soon.
[00:32:29.520 --> 00:32:30.960] Yeah, probably soon.
[00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:34.720] Our last raise was mostly just working capital.
[00:32:34.720 --> 00:32:41.680] And so, now that we're entering more stores, I think we're starting to think about the different marketing levers that we can start to pull.
[00:32:41.680 --> 00:32:44.480] And, you know, we've been very scrappy with marketing so far.
[00:32:44.480 --> 00:32:51.440] And so now we're kind of thinking about refining our strategy a little bit more and having a more sophisticated approach and introducing ads.
[00:32:51.440 --> 00:32:54.240] Maybe that's just some things that we're thinking about.
[00:32:54.240 --> 00:32:56.080] Yeah, I mean, there's so much that you can do.
[00:32:56.080 --> 00:32:57.600] You've been growing completely organically.
[00:32:57.600 --> 00:33:02.720] You've got this whole ads channel that's available to you as well, which will be really interesting when you can turn that on.
[00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:11.280] Yeah, we're also entering so many retailers, and we didn't know that, you know, when you walk into a grocery store and you see someone doing a demo, like sampling their product, you have to pay for that.
[00:33:11.280 --> 00:33:11.680] Totally.
[00:33:11.680 --> 00:33:15.360] And if we're in, you know, hundreds of stores across the nation, that adds up.
[00:33:15.360 --> 00:33:18.400] So, yeah, marketing budget is needed for sure.
[00:33:18.400 --> 00:33:19.840] Thank you so much for coming on the show.
[00:33:19.840 --> 00:33:25.600] I'm so impressed by what you have built, and I look forward to watching everything that you guys do over the next few years.
[00:33:25.600 --> 00:33:26.800] Thank you so much for having us.
[00:33:27.680 --> 00:33:35.320] And I'm going to put a link in the show note if anyone wants to come and watch the Good Girl Snacks Launch Lab workshop presented by Adobe Express.
[00:33:35.560 --> 00:33:41.160] It's happening this week, but we will also have a replay if you're listening to this episode a little bit late.
[00:33:41.160 --> 00:33:48.840] I just wanted to jump in and end the show with a quick thank you and shout out to all of our paid Business Bestie subscribers.
[00:33:48.840 --> 00:33:57.400] Business Besties bypass literally years of networking by getting access to all of the people that you need to build your dream business.
[00:33:57.400 --> 00:34:07.560] You also get invited to exclusive monthly group business coaching call sessions where you can speak to experts and founders and ask them all of those questions that you just can't Google.
[00:34:07.720 --> 00:34:09.160] You can cancel anytime.
[00:34:09.160 --> 00:34:14.200] Head to bestie.femarfounderworld.com or click the link in the show notes for more.

Prompt 2: Key Takeaways

Now please extract the key takeaways from the transcript content I provided.

Extract the most important key takeaways from this part of the conversation. Use a single sentence statement (the key takeaway) rather than milquetoast descriptions like "the hosts discuss...". 

Limit the key takeaways to a maximum of 3. The key takeaways should be insightful and knowledge-additive. 

IMPORTANT: Return ONLY valid JSON, no explanations or markdown. Ensure:
- All strings are properly quoted and escaped
- No trailing commas
- All braces and brackets are balanced
Format: {"key_takeaways": ["takeaway 1", "takeaway 2"]}

Prompt 3: Segments

Now identify 2-4 distinct topical segments from this part of the conversation.

For each segment, identify:
- Descriptive title (3-6 words)  
- START timestamp when this topic begins (HH:MM:SS format)
- Double check that the timestamp is accurate - a timestamp will NEVER be greater than the total length of the audio
- Most important Key takeaway from that segment. Key takeaway must be specific and knowledge-additive.
- Brief summary of the discussion

IMPORTANT: The timestamp should mark when the topic/segment STARTS, not a range. Look for topic transitions and conversation shifts.

Return ONLY valid JSON. Ensure all strings are properly quoted, no trailing commas:
{
  "segments": [
    {
      "segment_title": "Topic Discussion", 
      "timestamp": "01:15:30",
      "key_takeaway": "main point from this segment",
      "segment_summary": "brief description of what was discussed"
    }
  ]
}

Timestamp format: HH:MM:SS (e.g., 00:05:30, 01:22:45) marking the START of each segment.

Prompt 4: Media Mentions

Now scan the transcript content I provided for ACTUAL mentions of specific media titles:

Find explicit mentions of:
- Books (with specific titles)
- Movies (with specific titles)  
- TV Shows (with specific titles)
- Music/Songs (with specific titles)

DO NOT include:
- Websites, URLs, or web services
- Other podcasts or podcast names

IMPORTANT: 
- Only include items explicitly mentioned by name. Do not invent titles.
- Valid categories are: "Book", "Movie", "TV Show", "Music"
- Include the exact phrase where each item was mentioned
- Find the nearest proximate timestamp where it appears in the conversation
- THE TIMESTAMP OF THE MEDIA MENTION IS IMPORTANT - DO NOT INVENT TIMESTAMPS AND DO NOT MISATTRIBUTE TIMESTAMPS
- Double check that the timestamp is accurate - a timestamp will NEVER be greater than the total length of the audio
- Timestamps are given as ranges, e.g. 01:13:42.520 --> 01:13:46.720. Use the EARLIER of the 2 timestamps in the range.

Return ONLY valid JSON. Ensure all strings are properly quoted and escaped, no trailing commas:
{
  "media_mentions": [
    {
      "title": "Exact Title as Mentioned",
      "category": "Book",
      "author_artist": "N/A",
      "context": "Brief context of why it was mentioned",
      "context_phrase": "The exact sentence or phrase where it was mentioned",
      "timestamp": "estimated time like 01:15:30"
    }
  ]
}

If no media is mentioned, return: {"media_mentions": []}

Full Transcript

[00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:05.200] Like to say, we're the new gen Siete, fusing our Middle Eastern heritage into snacks.
[00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:11.280] We're in Erewhon, Coastal Farms, and we've gone viral because we've built in public basically since day one.
[00:00:11.280 --> 00:00:14.720] You sold about 10,000 people online, just AC.
[00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:16.240] How old are you guys when you start the business?
[00:00:16.240 --> 00:00:16.720] 23.
[00:00:16.720 --> 00:00:18.240] Also, I had no idea what we were doing.
[00:00:18.240 --> 00:00:23.920] By the way, we have so much social proof around the fact that people were obsessed with a snack, especially Gen Z.
[00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:25.520] How did you fund the business in the beginning?
[00:00:25.680 --> 00:00:28.000] We've been very scrappy with everything we do.
[00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:29.440] We don't have money.
[00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:30.880] How are we gonna get sales?
[00:00:30.880 --> 00:00:32.320] Okay, we're gonna have to post every day.
[00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:34.560] We have to do really weird stuff out in the public.
[00:00:34.800 --> 00:00:37.520] It just pushed us to be creative and think outside of the box.
[00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:39.520] Can you guys share what it costs to start the business?
[00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:41.920] It was just a lot more expensive than we thought it would be.
[00:00:42.160 --> 00:00:44.160] Production side was the most expensive.
[00:00:44.160 --> 00:00:49.840] The first really, really, really viral video was we launched our pre-orders.
[00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:52.400] We had people waiting on our website before we had even launched.
[00:00:52.400 --> 00:00:53.280] No one's tried the product.
[00:00:53.280 --> 00:00:54.400] No one knows who we are.
[00:00:54.400 --> 00:00:57.360] See us like reacting to us getting so many orders.
[00:01:00.480 --> 00:01:02.000] Oh my gosh, we keep coming.
[00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:03.280] Yes, he's like dying of laughter.
[00:01:03.440 --> 00:01:04.400] You just everywhere.
[00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:06.320] I talk about Coachella like maybe every day.
[00:01:06.320 --> 00:01:08.400] It was like one of the best things we've ever done.
[00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:11.280] If you're a small business and you don't have money, like this is how you do it.
[00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:13.120] We worked with RevolveFest.
[00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:16.400] We're dropping off pickles at all these influencer houses.
[00:01:16.400 --> 00:01:17.520] We barely paid anything.
[00:01:17.600 --> 00:01:23.920] The advice I always give people is: what is the weirdest thing you could do to get people to pull out their phone and take a photo or a video?
[00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:24.400] I love that.
[00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:26.080] Like go weird, not aesthetic.
[00:01:26.080 --> 00:01:26.400] Yeah.
[00:01:26.800 --> 00:01:29.840] Hey, business besties, welcome back to the Female Founder World podcast.
[00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:30.800] I'm Jasmine.
[00:01:30.800 --> 00:01:34.960] I'm the host of the show and the person behind all things Female Founder World.
[00:01:34.960 --> 00:01:39.120] Today I'm chatting with the founders of Good Girl Snacks, I've got Leia and Yasiman.
[00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:40.000] Welcome to the show.
[00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:40.560] Thanks for having me.
[00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:41.600] Thanks for having us.
[00:01:41.600 --> 00:01:45.040] So you guys are best friends and co-founders.
[00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:45.520] Yes.
[00:01:45.520 --> 00:01:50.240] For people that don't know Good Girl Snacks, how do you explain what it is that you're doing?
[00:01:50.240 --> 00:01:54.000] We've started to call it the internet's favorite pickle brand.
[00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:59.760] And that's kind of what it is right now, but we're hoping to be kind of like a new gen food and beverage company.
[00:01:59.960 --> 00:02:00.840] Okay, what's the vision?
[00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:05.640] You know, when you think about who you compare yourself with and who you want to be in like five or ten years, what's the vibe?
[00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:19.320] I feel like it's a very ambitious comparison, but we like to say we're the new gen siete, kind of infusing our Middle Eastern heritage into snacks that are just easy and you know, interesting to women and to our demographic.
[00:02:19.320 --> 00:02:22.280] And yeah, that's kind of how we like to think about it for now.
[00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:28.120] Yeah, always awakening sleepy aisles and keeping a nostalgic element to them as well.
[00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:35.480] So it'll always be a snack that you maybe used to eat when you were younger or you ate your whole life and no one's kind of been innovating in that space.
[00:02:35.480 --> 00:02:41.080] Can you let us know some milestones so we can kind of people can kind of like pinpoint where you guys are at in the story?
[00:02:41.080 --> 00:02:45.160] Yeah, so we launched the brand end of February 2024.
[00:02:45.480 --> 00:02:52.040] We were only selling online basically all of 2024 and then 2025 is very retail heavy.
[00:02:52.040 --> 00:03:00.600] So we're in Erewhon, Bristol Farms, GoPuff National, Central Market, and expanding into retail all over the U.S.
[00:03:00.920 --> 00:03:05.320] And we've gone viral because we've built in public basically since day one.
[00:03:05.320 --> 00:03:10.120] So we're going to talk about all of those things, especially the building and public piece of it.
[00:03:10.120 --> 00:03:14.760] I think like one thing to call up, people probably know you for one of your products, which is Hot Girl Girl Pickles.
[00:03:15.480 --> 00:03:20.920] I feel like that's like a really viral product that I can like visualize the bottle as I'm talking to you, you know?
[00:03:20.920 --> 00:03:23.400] So I think that once I say that, people be like, oh, I know who they are.
[00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:25.160] I've seen them on TikTok or whatever.
[00:03:25.160 --> 00:03:28.200] Yeah, Hot Girl Pickles was the first product we launched.
[00:03:28.200 --> 00:03:32.600] We have two flavors, original Dill with Turmeric, and then Honey Harissa.
[00:03:32.600 --> 00:03:36.280] And we just launched our new bread and butter flavor, which is sweetened with deeds.
[00:03:36.280 --> 00:03:40.120] So, the stuff that I want to talk to you about, we're going to talk about retail and how you've been expanding retail.
[00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:45.520] We're going to talk about how you attention hack events like these cultural moments like Coachella.
[00:03:44.920 --> 00:03:49.360] You guys do that so so well, especially for a mostly bootstrap brand.
[00:03:49.440 --> 00:03:53.440] You're not doing any paid, like you're really clever and really scrappy.
[00:03:53.440 --> 00:04:06.000] And I also want to talk about building in public and how you're thinking about organic content, what's working, because I've found you guys on TikTok, and I think that's where most people probably discover you is like TikTok and Instagram.
[00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:08.720] Yeah, so I just want to know what's working and how you're doing it.
[00:04:08.720 --> 00:04:11.680] But first, let's just go back to the early days, set the scene a little bit.
[00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:14.800] So, you quit your jobs, it was the summer of 2023.
[00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:16.320] What happens next?
[00:04:16.640 --> 00:04:28.400] So, we had this idea to start a pickle company, and we were so passionate about the idea that we were like, okay, we have to go in full throttle and just give it our all, and that's the only way it's going to work.
[00:04:28.400 --> 00:04:33.600] And yeah, we just spent the whole summer building the brand, envisioning what it would look like.
[00:04:33.600 --> 00:04:37.040] We started working with designers to create our brand book.
[00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:43.520] We were, you know, designing our logos, designing our jars at the same time, and simultaneously we were developing the product.
[00:04:43.520 --> 00:04:47.680] So, working with a food scientist to come up with our two flavors.
[00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:58.000] We had a very, I think, distinct vision for what we wanted the flavors to be, but we just needed some help developing them and then making sure the formulas were scalable as well.
[00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:04.960] And, yeah, by the end of the summer, I would say even by like October, September, we had two products formulated.
[00:05:04.960 --> 00:05:08.000] We had our branding, which was pretty much finished.
[00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:11.440] We had our packaging, which was close to done as well.
[00:05:11.440 --> 00:05:15.360] And we were kind of just on track to launch in the next few months.
[00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:22.800] And that's kind of when we started building in public and you know, showing the journey of what it's like to start a company with your best friend.
[00:05:23.440 --> 00:05:25.360] Also, had no idea what we were doing, by the way.
[00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:28.160] Like, we had just graduated college a year before.
[00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:30.600] Yas and I were best friends all through college.
[00:05:30.600 --> 00:05:33.800] And I was working in a tech startup, Yas was working in the art industry.
[00:05:29.840 --> 00:05:36.200] Like, we fully went into this blind.
[00:05:36.520 --> 00:05:43.160] And so, having consultants and people that were there to kind of hold our hand and help us figure it out is how we did things so quickly.
[00:05:43.160 --> 00:05:47.000] I think if we hadn't had those resources, we wouldn't have been able to launch.
[00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:50.600] So, you said do things so quickly, and I want to call out some of the milestones that you've hit.
[00:05:50.600 --> 00:06:00.120] So, you talked about a lot of the retailers, but what we haven't really spoken about is that you have sold about 10,000 pickle jars online, just D to C, which is a huge amount.
[00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:02.280] I think, well, that was last year, right?
[00:06:02.280 --> 00:06:03.400] Yeah, that was last year.
[00:06:03.400 --> 00:06:07.240] Yeah, so now that we're in 2025, it's quite a bit more.
[00:06:07.560 --> 00:06:08.280] That's amazing.
[00:06:08.280 --> 00:06:12.280] Yeah, and now that we're in retailers, also, obviously, we're counting kind of everything.
[00:06:12.280 --> 00:06:13.960] Yeah, yeah, massive growth.
[00:06:13.960 --> 00:06:23.640] And it's so crazy to think about the fact that these are literally 32-ounce glass jars of pickles, and people are paying for shipping online and then or going to a store.
[00:06:23.640 --> 00:06:28.920] Like, we're the number one pickle brand at Erewhon, and we're selling as quickly as an energy drink sells.
[00:06:29.160 --> 00:06:32.360] So, we have a pretty big velocity as well.
[00:06:32.360 --> 00:06:34.440] High velocity, that's the right way to say it.
[00:06:34.760 --> 00:06:41.320] You mentioned before, like, you're coming into this without any experience.
[00:06:41.320 --> 00:06:41.720] Yeah.
[00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:43.240] How old were you guys when you started the business?
[00:06:43.240 --> 00:06:43.720] 23.
[00:06:43.720 --> 00:06:44.120] 23.
[00:06:44.600 --> 00:06:45.320] I was 25.
[00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:46.200] No, you were 23.
[00:06:46.360 --> 00:06:47.160] I was 23, actually.
[00:06:47.160 --> 00:06:47.240] Yeah.
[00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:48.440] I was 23.
[00:06:48.440 --> 00:06:52.040] So, you're like super green, super fresh, but you've got this very clear vision.
[00:06:52.040 --> 00:06:52.360] Yeah.
[00:06:52.760 --> 00:06:57.000] We were also chronically online, so we saw the trend online.
[00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:58.120] That's why we wanted to start it.
[00:06:58.360 --> 00:06:59.320] What trend did you see?
[00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:03.240] Kind of similar to how everyone was eating avocado toast suddenly out of nowhere in 2014.
[00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:04.760] Same thing was happening with pickles.
[00:07:04.760 --> 00:07:08.920] There's 9.5 billion views on the hashtag pick one pickles combined on TikTok.
[00:07:08.920 --> 00:07:14.200] We were really bored on the job and scrolling, and every other video we were seeing was a pickle video.
[00:07:14.200 --> 00:07:16.560] So we were like, okay, there's definitely a trend here.
[00:07:16.880 --> 00:07:24.240] And then simultaneously at the same time, there was the hot girl walks, and hot girls have stomach issues, like verbiage going around.
[00:07:24.320 --> 00:07:34.240] So we're like, okay, we need to make the two kind of come together, build this brand, and then at the same time have branding that's super nostalgic and colorful.
[00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:40.480] That's not similar to the homogenous packaging that's like all 150 years old in the pickle aisle, you know.
[00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:47.040] Whereas like the beverage aisle or the popcorn snack aisle, there's a million different colors and a million different flavors.
[00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:49.760] So that's kind of how we came up with the idea.
[00:07:49.760 --> 00:08:03.040] And we had so much social proof around the fact that people were obsessed with a snack, especially Gen Z and like younger millennials, that we felt really confident going into it and having that knowledge, even though we knew nothing about the food and beverage industry.
[00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:06.480] How did you fund the business in the beginning and how are you funding it now?
[00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:19.360] So we were bootstrapped initially and then actually very recently we raised a small like pre-seed round which is mostly working capital to get us through the year and yeah that's just how we've been doing it so far.
[00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:22.400] We've been very scrappy with everything we do.
[00:08:22.400 --> 00:08:32.480] Yeah we we decided to it was good to be scrappy though and to be bootstrapped because it made us think in a very conservative way was like okay we don't have money.
[00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:34.160] How are we gonna get sales?
[00:08:34.160 --> 00:08:39.040] Okay we're gonna have to post every day or we have to do really weird stuff in out in the public.
[00:08:39.040 --> 00:08:52.920] Like there was a there was a huge line at Community Goods in LA when Rode was doing their pop-up and and we got in a car and basically wrote something on a card cardboard, a piece of cardboard because we were selling in community goods at the time.
[00:08:52.920 --> 00:08:55.720] And we were driving past the line with like this sign.
[00:08:55.720 --> 00:09:00.000] And we were like, if you're going to wait in that line, you may as well buy hot girl pickles inside.
[00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:11.640] And then we were just driving past, like doing really weird stuff like that that's going to get people's attention is really how we started thinking about building the brand because we had no money to pay for ads or no money to pay influences.
[00:09:11.800 --> 00:09:18.360] It just pushed us to be creative and to think of, like think outside of the box, like what can we do that will get people's attention.
[00:09:18.360 --> 00:09:19.560] You know what it makes me think of?
[00:09:19.560 --> 00:09:26.360] There was a quote from Addison Raid this week and she was saying that like, what was the quote that she said?
[00:09:26.360 --> 00:09:35.480] Taste and something is a privilege where it was basically like when she was in her, like, you know, in the creator house and just posting every day and doing all this crazy stuff.
[00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:37.480] Yeah, she was posting like 12 times a day.
[00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:39.000] Yeah, and she's like, there's no option.
[00:09:39.320 --> 00:09:43.240] I remember interviewing Nadia Okamoto, the co-founder of August.
[00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:49.240] And she said that she doesn't do this anymore, but she was posting 50 times a day on TikTok because she was getting her brand off the ground.
[00:09:49.240 --> 00:09:49.480] Yeah.
[00:09:49.640 --> 00:09:50.440] 50 times a day.
[00:09:50.520 --> 00:09:51.800] I can barely post once a day.
[00:09:51.800 --> 00:09:53.960] I'm just like, I can't even imagine having to.
[00:09:54.120 --> 00:09:57.240] I mean, posting every day just within itself is crazy.
[00:09:57.240 --> 00:09:57.640] 100%.
[00:09:57.880 --> 00:09:58.520] 50 videos?
[00:09:58.520 --> 00:09:59.560] Like, what are you filming?
[00:09:59.560 --> 00:10:00.440] That's insane.
[00:10:00.440 --> 00:10:01.720] But I think it's really interesting.
[00:10:01.720 --> 00:10:12.520] Like, I think a lot of us kind of get a little bit hung up or stuck around what to post or, oh, like, it feels, sometimes it can feel a little bit like, oh, no, I'm the founder and the CEO.
[00:10:12.520 --> 00:10:15.160] It feels beneath me to be spending all of my time doing content.
[00:10:15.160 --> 00:10:18.040] But I really liked that quote that came out from her.
[00:10:18.040 --> 00:10:22.440] Just to reiterate, like, you have to, you just have to do this shit to try and get attention.
[00:10:23.240 --> 00:10:24.360] What else are you going to do?
[00:10:24.520 --> 00:10:25.880] It's also a free tool.
[00:10:25.880 --> 00:10:26.600] Use it.
[00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:31.080] Like, it doesn't cost anything to pick your phone up and film a video.
[00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:36.680] And it's as important, if not more important, than raising money for your business to be posting on social media these days.
[00:10:36.680 --> 00:10:46.400] Yeah, and I think it's one of those skills that if you're good at it and you can do it, it can feel to people who are like very online, like you guys are, I am also very, very online.
[00:10:46.400 --> 00:10:51.200] You can really undervalue this skill because all you do is see other people creating content.
[00:10:44.840 --> 00:10:51.520] Totally.
[00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:59.360] But actually, this is something that bigger companies without a story that aren't founder-led, they would love to be able to do.
[00:10:59.760 --> 00:11:00.560] And they can't.
[00:11:00.560 --> 00:11:02.640] And so, why wouldn't you use this?
[00:11:02.640 --> 00:11:09.600] Yeah, and I think at the beginning, it was very clear to us that social media was going to be the biggest driver for sales.
[00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:16.720] We were like, you know, if we make it on social media, that's the only way we're going to get people to know us and get people to buy our product.
[00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:22.080] And especially being bootstrapped and very little resources, like that was very clear to us.
[00:11:22.400 --> 00:11:37.600] And we, I think, from the beginning, in the way we would structure our days, it was very like there was very much an emphasis on content creation and how we could, I guess, thread that through our everyday routine and through the work we were doing.
[00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:47.200] And even when bad things were happening or we were like going through some difficulties with the business, we were always thinking, okay, at least we can make content out of this.
[00:11:47.200 --> 00:12:01.600] And how can we capitalize off of like, you know, this hurdle that we're going through and how can we show that to people and you know, be part of you know this community that's more transparent and that's trying to be more authentic on social media.
[00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:08.560] I want to continue this conversation about building a public in a sec, but I have follow-up questions around like the bootstrapping and getting started.
[00:12:08.560 --> 00:12:10.720] Can you guys share what it costs to start the business?
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[00:12:53.240 --> 00:12:57.320] Well, honestly, it was just a lot more expensive than we thought it would be.
[00:12:57.640 --> 00:13:00.600] Like, we obviously, okay, we're organic.
[00:13:00.600 --> 00:13:04.120] We're one of the only organic pickle brands on the market.
[00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:12.440] And so, we didn't realize why there was no other organic, or there's a couple, but like, why the majority wasn't organic if that's something that the consumer cares about.
[00:13:12.440 --> 00:13:17.240] Because it's expensive, it's so expensive, and it's only in season a couple times a year.
[00:13:17.240 --> 00:13:34.040] So, everything is just you have to do these like really big productions once, twice, three, maybe four times a year if you're lucky, and kind of operate like a wine where you know you just have to project what this year is going to look like, which is really capital-heavy and intense upfront.
[00:13:34.040 --> 00:13:39.720] And so, we didn't realize that, and we kind of went into it thinking that it wouldn't cost as much as it did.
[00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:45.080] And then, we obviously got family and friends involved at first, and that's how we made it happen.
[00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:51.240] But yeah, the production side was the most expensive, and then everything else was pretty low lift.
[00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:53.000] Like, branding wasn't too bad.
[00:13:53.000 --> 00:14:01.240] We got it done overseas, so it wasn't American pricing on it, which is something we always tell people: like, go to Europe, go to Mexico, like, go anywhere else.
[00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:02.920] Go to Australia, the exchange rate's really good.
[00:14:02.920 --> 00:14:04.360] There's some amazing agencies.
[00:14:04.360 --> 00:14:08.120] And also, you're getting a completely different perspective on branding.
[00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:10.840] Everything in the US, branding-wise, hot take looks the same.
[00:14:10.840 --> 00:14:11.320] Totally.
[00:14:12.200 --> 00:14:14.680] I feel like it's the same agency doing this, like everyone's branding.
[00:14:14.800 --> 00:14:16.000] It is like the same free agency.
[00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:16.880] Yeah, right, doing it.
[00:14:17.440 --> 00:14:18.560] I mean, that's.
[00:14:18.560 --> 00:14:24.960] And we actually used an agency that had never really done CPG before, let alone food and beverage.
[00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:34.240] Like, I think when we were looking at their portfolio, it was mostly like, I don't know, concert posters and like event graphic design.
[00:14:34.560 --> 00:14:44.000] And so when we approached them, I think they were really excited about the idea because it was kind of like free reins for them to conjure what a pickle company could look like.
[00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:52.080] And I think that's what made our branding stand out so much is because it was really stemmed from like pure creativity.
[00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:55.920] I'm going to put the link to your socials and everything in the show notes.
[00:14:55.920 --> 00:14:59.760] So if people want an agency recommendation, are you okay for them to like do it?
[00:14:59.920 --> 00:15:00.720] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:01.360] DM us.
[00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:03.280] We have so many that we've worked with.
[00:15:03.760 --> 00:15:08.400] We're doing a like brand kind of like tighten-up refresh for Female Founder World now.
[00:15:08.400 --> 00:15:14.720] And we're working with an agency called Willow and Blake and they're in Australia and they just did this amazing launch for a haircare brand.
[00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:17.680] And I saw them and I was like, oh, I really want to work with them.
[00:15:17.680 --> 00:15:18.960] And so I'm very, very excited.
[00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:26.480] But just in terms of a recommendation for people who are listening to this, wanting someone specific, Willow and Blake, I'll link them in the show notes as well.
[00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:26.880] Okay.
[00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:40.000] I want to know about a maybe like your most viral moment or maybe the first time you guys went viral, how it happened, what the story was, when you realized what it did for the business.
[00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:41.440] Is there something that comes to mind?
[00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:42.880] Yeah, there's two.
[00:15:42.880 --> 00:15:55.760] So the first really, really, really viral video was the one where we launched our pre-orders and we had people waiting on our website to order the product before we had even launched.
[00:15:55.760 --> 00:15:57.920] No one's tried the product, no one knows who we are.
[00:15:57.920 --> 00:15:59.640] Like, like no one knows anything.
[00:15:59.640 --> 00:16:03.080] They've just been following us for like, I don't know, a couple months.
[00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:06.040] And it's a video of us, a vlog of the pre-launch.
[00:16:06.200 --> 00:16:14.200] And you see us like reacting to us getting so many orders before we even clicked on the post button on Instagram.
[00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:16.760] And it's just like me like jumping, freaking out.
[00:16:16.760 --> 00:16:21.560] And Yas is like, like dying of laughter because she doesn't know how to react and we're both just freaking out.
[00:16:21.960 --> 00:16:27.080] That video went viral and from that video we got even more sales obviously, which was awesome.
[00:16:27.080 --> 00:16:28.040] Wait, wait, hold on.
[00:16:35.080 --> 00:16:35.720] Look at how many.
[00:16:35.960 --> 00:16:37.160] Okay, okay, okay.
[00:16:37.800 --> 00:16:39.160] Oh my god, this is not real life.
[00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:56.360] And then our most viral video today is a video of us reacting to getting Forbes under 30 in December.
[00:16:56.360 --> 00:17:00.920] And I was in New York, so I got the news three hours before Yas.
[00:17:00.920 --> 00:17:07.320] And it was horrible because I had to react to it by myself and like live in that moment alone for a couple hours.
[00:17:07.320 --> 00:17:08.680] And all I wanted to do was wake her up.
[00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:11.880] In fact, I called her 200 times and she wasn't waking up.
[00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:13.320] Anyways, I have an ironclad.
[00:17:13.320 --> 00:17:14.040] Do not disturb.
[00:17:14.360 --> 00:17:16.440] If I'm sleeping, you're not disturbing me.
[00:17:16.440 --> 00:17:20.840] But so I saw the email pop up and I was like, oh my god, I have to film myself.
[00:17:20.840 --> 00:17:28.360] So I plopped up my phone and I was literally in pajamas in my bed, like shaking, freaking out, crying.
[00:17:28.360 --> 00:17:29.800] Like I couldn't believe it.
[00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:35.560] So I filmed the video and then after there's another clip where it's Yas and I finding out together.
[00:17:35.560 --> 00:17:41.000] Like I FaceTimed her and our friend filmed us like figuring out together that we got it.
[00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:50.640] And that video is so full of raw emotion that I think it went viral because people are like, oh my god, that's so crazy that you guys are so young and your best friends and you started a pickle company and now you got this.
[00:17:44.760 --> 00:17:51.200] That's crazy.
[00:17:51.600 --> 00:17:53.120] And so I think it went viral.
[00:17:53.120 --> 00:17:56.720] And from that, we also got a ton of sales and followers too.
[00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:58.240] It's also just like super endearing.
[00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:02.720] Like that's such a nice, like that's really heartwarming as such a nice thing to watch.
[00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:06.400] But that is also the video that's given us the most hate.
[00:18:06.800 --> 00:18:11.520] So one of the reasons it probably went viral is because half the comments were like, you're going to go to jail.
[00:18:11.520 --> 00:18:13.360] Like let me know when they end up in prison.
[00:18:13.360 --> 00:18:14.480] Like all the stuff.
[00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:17.680] And we got so many of those comments that ended up creating more engagement.
[00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:21.200] So people were like, what did you guys do to deserve this?
[00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:22.560] Or like, oh, it's not that deep.
[00:18:22.560 --> 00:18:24.880] Like, it's so pathetic that you're so excited about this.
[00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:26.160] It's like, who cares?
[00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:26.320] Yeah.
[00:18:26.560 --> 00:18:28.560] Or like you paid to get there anyway.
[00:18:28.560 --> 00:18:28.960] Yeah.
[00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:36.000] But, you know, I think at the end of the day, like you read these comments and then you just turn your phone off and nothing's changed in your personal life.
[00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:41.280] Like things are still the way they are and you're still building a cool business with your friend.
[00:18:41.280 --> 00:18:43.760] You're still seeing success in your own way.
[00:18:43.760 --> 00:18:45.680] And so it doesn't really matter.
[00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:48.720] What was the process for getting Forbes 30 under 30?
[00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:49.360] What's involved?
[00:18:49.360 --> 00:18:50.880] Do you have to apply?
[00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:52.240] Does someone reach out?
[00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:53.520] Do you know before it comes out?
[00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:55.280] We had really crazy.
[00:18:55.440 --> 00:18:56.320] Yeah, we had.
[00:18:56.320 --> 00:19:02.480] So the editor reached out to us on LinkedIn that summer, like so last summer, at the end of the summer.
[00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:06.080] Is it Alex York at Forbes who does the Forbes 30 under 30?
[00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:08.080] Yeah, so she reached out to us.
[00:19:08.080 --> 00:19:09.280] I believe she was the one who reached out.
[00:19:09.600 --> 00:19:10.480] Or it was someone else.
[00:19:10.800 --> 00:19:11.200] Yeah.
[00:19:11.520 --> 00:19:18.560] And they basically were like, hey, like, we're, you know, looking at potential, you know, candidates for third-party.
[00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:19.840] They had nominated 30.
[00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:21.360] Like no one, no one.
[00:19:21.760 --> 00:19:22.960] So there's two ways to do it.
[00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:30.920] Like, someone that you know or like an alum can nominate you, or Forbes themselves can nominate you.
[00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:33.960] And they nominated us and they sent us like a message on LinkedIn.
[00:19:33.960 --> 00:19:34.440] Yeah.
[00:19:29.840 --> 00:19:36.760] Which we were like, this is definitely a scam.
[00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:38.760] We were like, is this real?
[00:19:39.320 --> 00:19:43.880] So then we filled out the whole form and we kind of forgot about it because we were like, it's a scam.
[00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:51.720] And then I wake up one morning in New York and I'm like turning off my alarm to go to Pilates and I get an email, welcome to the Forbes Five Class.
[00:19:51.800 --> 00:19:52.520] I was like, what?
[00:19:52.840 --> 00:19:55.160] Yeah, it was like a college application almost.
[00:19:55.640 --> 00:19:56.440] It was crazy.
[00:19:57.080 --> 00:19:58.680] So then everyone's like, oh, you paid for it.
[00:19:58.680 --> 00:19:59.080] You did this.
[00:19:59.080 --> 00:20:02.440] I'm like, no, we literally, we didn't even believe it was real.
[00:20:02.440 --> 00:20:02.840] Yeah.
[00:20:02.840 --> 00:20:03.320] Yeah.
[00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:12.920] And then did anything, any opportunities and uptick in sales, like once you got that, has it changed the business or your lives at all?
[00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:19.080] I think in a networking sense, we've been connected to a ton more people.
[00:20:19.080 --> 00:20:22.840] And we actually met one of our investors through it.
[00:20:22.840 --> 00:20:25.240] He was in the same class as us, so it was cool.
[00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:32.840] But yeah, just meeting people in our industry and getting invited to events where we can network more is really cool on the professional and networking side.
[00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:33.320] Yes.
[00:20:33.960 --> 00:20:49.320] We're working together at the moment and I'm switching gears on a workshop where we're going to kind of teach how you both are so great at really just like hacking attention at these big cultural moments like Coachella because you just do it so, so well.
[00:20:49.880 --> 00:20:52.280] I'll put the link in the show notes if anyone wants to come to that workshop.
[00:20:52.280 --> 00:20:53.160] It's free to attend.
[00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:56.360] It's called Launch Lab presented by Adobe Express.
[00:20:56.360 --> 00:21:09.400] And the reason why we wanted to get you both to take this is because I was following along, and so was the rest of my team while you were doing these, while you were creating content and doing all this like guerrilla marketing at Coachella.
[00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:10.760] And you were just everywhere.
[00:21:10.760 --> 00:21:15.000] And it's not like you were this massive brand that had this big paid presence.
[00:21:15.600 --> 00:21:27.600] And I'd love to know what your strategy was, what the impact of that was, and like just what worked and what didn't work while you were trying to make this big moment for the brand at Coachella.
[00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:29.360] Kind of other events you've done too.
[00:21:29.360 --> 00:21:34.800] Yeah, I talk about Coachella like maybe every I, it was like one of the best things we've ever done.
[00:21:34.800 --> 00:21:37.600] So we worked with RevolveFest.
[00:21:37.600 --> 00:21:42.960] The team was kind enough to basically give us the space to have a booth completely for free.
[00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:44.800] Did you reach out to them or did they reach out to you?
[00:21:44.800 --> 00:21:51.440] It was kind of like a mutual situation, but they already knew about the brand and our team like reaching out all of them.
[00:21:51.600 --> 00:21:52.560] All of the content that you guys are doing.
[00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:54.720] Yeah, this is another reason why you should just make the content.
[00:21:55.040 --> 00:21:55.360] Exactly.
[00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:58.720] And they were so excited to have us at Revolve Fest.
[00:21:58.720 --> 00:22:00.960] And they were like, all you have to do is just bring a car and serve.
[00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:02.880] And we were like, say less.
[00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:03.600] We're there.
[00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:07.120] And we obviously knew that all these big brands were going to be there.
[00:22:07.120 --> 00:22:13.040] And we were like, okay, how do we make this a big moment for us on top of just being at Revolve Fest?
[00:22:13.360 --> 00:22:16.960] So we were like, okay, we don't have money to have one of these big content houses.
[00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:22.000] So we're just going to turn our little house that we're staying in with all of our friends into a content house.
[00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:28.240] And we got all of our friends our merch and we filled the fridge with everything and we took content of all of that.
[00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:32.480] And we were like, yeah, like if you're a small business and you don't have money, this is how you do it.
[00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:38.720] And then Yas and I literally for a whole entire day into like 11 p.m.
[00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:43.600] We're dropping off pickles at all these influencer houses like in a bag.
[00:22:43.600 --> 00:22:46.240] And we were just like, okay, these people are going to be there.
[00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:47.920] They're going to be hungover probably at one point.
[00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:49.600] We'll just bring them pickles.
[00:22:49.600 --> 00:22:50.480] We didn't pay anything.
[00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:51.360] We just like DM people.
[00:22:51.360 --> 00:22:53.840] We're like, hey, like, we're dropping off a bag for you.
[00:22:53.840 --> 00:22:56.080] We got so many story posts from that.
[00:22:56.080 --> 00:22:58.000] So that's another thing.
[00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:05.720] And then the next day was Revolve Fest, and we were trying to think about how we could have a big brand moment with just this little cart.
[00:23:05.880 --> 00:23:07.560] So obviously, the cart was really cute.
[00:23:07.560 --> 00:23:09.160] It was cooled down with hot girl pickles.
[00:23:09.160 --> 00:23:10.920] We were passing out pickles.
[00:23:10.920 --> 00:23:12.040] But then we were already there.
[00:23:12.040 --> 00:23:14.520] There was all these amazing influencers and celebrities there.
[00:23:14.520 --> 00:23:17.720] How do we make the most of the moment and just do really weird stuff there?
[00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:18.360] Perfect.
[00:23:18.360 --> 00:23:24.680] Let's get a see-through fanny pack and walk around with a fanny pack filled with pickles and catch people's reactions.
[00:23:24.680 --> 00:23:25.880] That went viral.
[00:23:25.880 --> 00:23:36.680] Let's catch, you know, Nikki Minaj, or no, Cardi B performing and like show our pickles and us like jumping around with pickles while she's performing.
[00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:38.440] That video did really well.
[00:23:38.440 --> 00:23:41.640] And then obviously we had like all these amazing people try the product.
[00:23:41.640 --> 00:23:48.200] And I think we created something like 26 pieces of content in like seven, eight hours, which is crazy.
[00:23:48.520 --> 00:23:53.240] And yeah, I mean, it just crushed it just from doing that.
[00:23:53.240 --> 00:23:55.320] And we barely paid anything.
[00:23:55.320 --> 00:24:00.600] When we got to the festival grounds, we were so impressed by the production that it was.
[00:24:00.600 --> 00:24:02.840] And there was like this huge Ferris wheel.
[00:24:02.840 --> 00:24:06.760] And then Sip Margs had like a really cool setup that was right next to us.
[00:24:06.760 --> 00:24:09.800] And all these amazing brands had such a cool setup.
[00:24:09.800 --> 00:24:11.160] And then we had our little cart.
[00:24:11.160 --> 00:24:15.400] And we were like, oh my God, are we going to look so pathetic next to everyone?
[00:24:15.400 --> 00:24:21.800] But it actually ended up being great because most of the food vendors were like, I think fast food.
[00:24:21.800 --> 00:24:26.920] It was like they had raising canes there and they had maybe like, oh, they had like Prince Street Pizza.
[00:24:26.920 --> 00:24:32.520] But no one, obviously it's so uncommon to just go to a music festival and see like a pickle stand.
[00:24:32.520 --> 00:24:37.560] And so I think just because of that, people would walk past and be like, oh my god, pickles, I love pickles.
[00:24:37.560 --> 00:24:40.120] And they would just walk up to us and try them.
[00:24:40.120 --> 00:24:43.160] And it was really hot that day, and ours were really cold.
[00:24:43.160 --> 00:24:46.000] So it was just very refreshing at the same time.
[00:24:44.920 --> 00:24:52.000] And it just like, I think, due to the nature of the product, we ended up standing out so much.
[00:24:52.320 --> 00:24:55.840] And that alone, you know, got us so many eyeballs.
[00:24:55.840 --> 00:24:57.280] You guys are so creative.
[00:24:57.280 --> 00:24:57.840] Thank you.
[00:24:57.840 --> 00:24:58.400] Thank you.
[00:24:58.720 --> 00:25:10.720] We just think of like, this is what I always tell people, and the advice I always give people is: what is the weirdest thing you could do, or what is something that you could do to get people to pull out their phone and take a photo or a video?
[00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:15.440] Not aesthetic, just weird, or like something relatable.
[00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:22.480] So we say, like, hawk girls eat pickles everywhere because if you relate to that statement, it's such like a niche thing that you'll post about it.
[00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:30.400] Or like, we just had a launch party for a new product in New York, and we had a shirtless guy pass around the product for people to try.
[00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:33.200] Everyone's pulling out their phone, and everyone's like, oh, where are you?
[00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:35.520] Like, why is there a shirtless guy, you know, passing around pickles?
[00:25:35.520 --> 00:25:37.360] And then they're like, oh, I'm at this party.
[00:25:37.360 --> 00:25:43.200] And so people are tagging us and talking about us because we're creating these weird viral moments all the time.
[00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:43.840] I love that.
[00:25:43.840 --> 00:25:45.600] Like, go weird, not aesthetic.
[00:25:45.600 --> 00:25:45.920] Yeah.
[00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:46.560] Yeah.
[00:25:46.560 --> 00:25:47.680] Or both.
[00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:48.560] Yeah.
[00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:54.160] We have one of our most viral photos on Instagram is a pickle in a condom.
[00:25:54.160 --> 00:25:56.640] And the caption is protect the pickle.
[00:25:56.640 --> 00:26:00.400] And like, it's super weird, but it's also kind of aesthetic.
[00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:01.760] And it went viral for that.
[00:26:01.760 --> 00:26:02.080] Yeah.
[00:26:02.080 --> 00:26:04.000] It's just like, why are you doing this?
[00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:04.480] Yeah.
[00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:05.360] But yeah.
[00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:07.920] I want to talk about retail.
[00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:09.600] So you've had a lot of success.
[00:26:09.600 --> 00:26:12.480] Like you said, number one pickle brand at Erwan.
[00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:14.560] You've been there since January this year.
[00:26:14.560 --> 00:26:14.960] Yeah.
[00:26:15.280 --> 00:26:16.560] Amazing.
[00:26:16.560 --> 00:26:20.120] How did your retail strategy kick off and how did these brands?
[00:26:20.120 --> 00:26:22.880] How did these retailers find you or how did you find them?
[00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:27.680] So we worked with brokers, which really helped us facilitate those conversations with a lot of those.
[00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:29.120] How'd you get a broker?
[00:26:29.120 --> 00:26:34.600] So they were recommended to us from friends of ours in the industry who had used them.
[00:26:35.080 --> 00:26:35.880] Sing networking.
[00:26:29.600 --> 00:26:36.520] Exactly.
[00:26:36.840 --> 00:26:45.160] And yeah, we started working with them and they have like a great network of retailers that they know the buyers from.
[00:26:45.160 --> 00:26:50.200] And that's kind of how we just started starting these conversations.
[00:26:50.200 --> 00:26:55.160] And our strategy was really looking at natural retailers first.
[00:26:55.160 --> 00:27:02.680] Just because we're organic, we obviously are aware that we have a slight premium on our product compared to most pickle products.
[00:27:02.680 --> 00:27:09.000] So looking at different stores and who are the shoppers there, do they care that we're organic or do they not care?
[00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:12.200] And just targeting those stores first.
[00:27:12.200 --> 00:27:15.320] And yeah, that's kind of been our strategy since.
[00:27:15.640 --> 00:27:19.080] What's the like, what's a dream retailer that you want to get into?
[00:27:20.200 --> 00:27:20.680] Yeah.
[00:27:20.680 --> 00:27:21.240] We.
[00:27:21.560 --> 00:27:22.440] Whole foods.
[00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:22.920] Yeah.
[00:27:22.920 --> 00:27:23.480] Yeah.
[00:27:24.600 --> 00:27:27.640] What's the strategy of how to get into Whole Foods?
[00:27:28.280 --> 00:27:46.040] I think having, first of all, a really great product, having great ingredients, and they really care about brands that are organic or non-GMO or, you know, do like practice regenerative farming practices.
[00:27:46.040 --> 00:27:54.600] And then I think just standing out on the shelf and proving that you have social proof, people like your product, people would want to buy it there.
[00:27:54.600 --> 00:28:01.720] And they're really great, I think, at working with smaller brands and bringing smaller brands on and giving you a chance.
[00:28:01.720 --> 00:28:04.760] They have different programs for smaller brands as well.
[00:28:05.080 --> 00:28:08.120] So I think that's kind of, you know, the key.
[00:28:08.120 --> 00:28:09.800] And there's a Whole Foods really everywhere.
[00:28:09.960 --> 00:28:12.280] And we're trying to make this like a household product.
[00:28:12.280 --> 00:28:15.120] Like, we want everyone to have these in their fridge.
[00:28:14.440 --> 00:28:17.440] So, you know, Whole Foods just makes sense.
[00:28:17.760 --> 00:28:20.960] After Pickles, what do you think the next product is that you'll launch?
[00:28:20.960 --> 00:28:21.520] Do you know?
[00:28:21.520 --> 00:28:34.720] We have so many ideas, but it'll always be like, again, like a nostalgic, sleepy product that no one's touched before, but that's also convenient, healthy, high-protein, always with women at the forefront.
[00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:39.440] Yeah, we're chronically online, so we're just, you know, watching the trends, seeing how they evolve.
[00:28:39.440 --> 00:28:52.960] And things happen so quickly in this industry, so I feel like it's not so much about tapping into only trends, but it's just more like learning about consumer behavior and what draws people to certain trends and kind of learning from that.
[00:28:52.960 --> 00:28:56.400] The last thing I want to ask you both is for a resource recommendation.
[00:28:56.400 --> 00:29:00.480] Something that's been helping you as you've been building the business that you think other people should check out.
[00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:04.560] Talk Repost is literally the best app on planet Earth.
[00:29:04.560 --> 00:29:05.520] I've never heard of it.
[00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:12.800] We post every single day, but we don't have time to create one piece of content on TikTok and one piece of content for Reels.
[00:29:12.800 --> 00:29:16.480] So we use the same piece of content we post on TikTok to Reels.
[00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:25.200] And so this app basically allows you to copy-paste your TikTok and save it in HD without having the TikTok logo bounce around.
[00:29:25.520 --> 00:29:31.840] And that way it's really easy to just post the same content in a high-quality format through all platforms.
[00:29:31.840 --> 00:29:35.280] So do you make your videos natively in TikTok?
[00:29:35.280 --> 00:29:36.080] It depends.
[00:29:36.080 --> 00:29:40.000] We usually post it on TikTok first and then post it on Reels.
[00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:46.160] Just because the sounds, trending sounds are different, and usually anything that works on TikTok works on Reels.
[00:29:46.160 --> 00:29:48.880] So we kind of just use that logic.
[00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:55.360] But we found that the videos we edit on TikTok do better because the more TikTok tools you use, the more the platform rewards you for it.
[00:29:55.920 --> 00:29:56.560] Interesting.
[00:29:56.560 --> 00:29:56.880] Yeah.
[00:29:56.880 --> 00:29:58.320] And do you have a recommendation?
[00:29:58.320 --> 00:30:00.760] Aside from ChatGPT, which I use.
[00:29:58.800 --> 00:30:02.600] Right, what do you guys use ChatGPT for?
[00:30:02.600 --> 00:30:03.240] I'm always curious.
[00:29:59.600 --> 00:30:04.360] Like literally everything.
[00:30:05.080 --> 00:30:24.760] Like, if I, you know, I'm trying to optimize something on the operational side, I'll just ask ChatGPT to think of, you know, I'll usually think of it myself and then I just kind of double-check with ChatGPT and kind of see if the reasoning that I'm using checks out.
[00:30:24.760 --> 00:30:31.080] But yeah, we use it for so many different things, whether it's like, you know, sometimes we're blanking on copy.
[00:30:31.080 --> 00:30:39.560] We're like, okay, can you write me like three bullet points about why this pickle product is better than others or whatever, something like that.
[00:30:39.560 --> 00:30:45.000] And then, yeah, we just kind of use, like, pick and choose what we use.
[00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:47.800] And I use it a lot for email marketing.
[00:30:47.800 --> 00:30:51.720] I suck at email marketing, but like, still got to do it.
[00:30:51.720 --> 00:30:57.240] So, yeah, copy with that or just CTA or subjects, titles for emails.
[00:30:57.560 --> 00:30:57.880] Yeah.
[00:30:57.880 --> 00:30:58.360] Yeah.
[00:30:58.440 --> 00:31:36.560] And sorry, what was the other resource that you the other resource we recently onboarded with Settle and I've been really liking them for bill pay like I really like their platform they basically categorize all your invoices and help you kind of come up with like your cost of goods sold through there and it categorizes like your freights freight charges in and out of the business as well and I don't know it's just like a very easy to use platform is it expensive no it's not too expensive I don't remember what our tier is but I think it's like not that expensive at all, and it's really easy to use, which I love such a good I don't think that's ever been recommended on the show before.
[00:31:36.560 --> 00:31:38.560] So, I love that ops Queen.
[00:31:38.520 --> 00:31:42.680] I have one one last question, and feel free not to answer it it.
[00:31:42.560 --> 00:31:48.960] It's totally up to you guys, but I do try and ask everyone who comes on the show, and that's whether you are paying yourself from your business yet.
[00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:51.120] And I have to say, most people that I talk to are not.
[00:31:51.120 --> 00:31:52.160] Yeah, we're not.
[00:31:52.160 --> 00:31:53.840] Yeah, we're not there yet.
[00:31:53.840 --> 00:32:07.840] And I think, yeah, it's obviously difficult to not, but it's just we're so in machine mode right now of like building this business that it's like any resource we can just pump back in to build it and have it be successful.
[00:32:07.840 --> 00:32:09.760] Like, that's you know, what we do.
[00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:13.120] Do you do any like consulting work or anything else?
[00:32:13.120 --> 00:32:15.360] Are you guys fully focused on the business?
[00:32:15.360 --> 00:32:17.280] Yeah, we're 100% on the business.
[00:32:17.280 --> 00:32:24.480] It's just the two of us, and the business has gotten so big that honestly, we don't even know how we're doing it, just the two of us right now.
[00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:25.280] But, yeah.
[00:32:25.280 --> 00:32:26.880] And are you guys going to fundraise again?
[00:32:26.880 --> 00:32:27.760] Is that the plan?
[00:32:27.760 --> 00:32:29.520] Probably, yeah, soon.
[00:32:29.520 --> 00:32:30.960] Yeah, probably soon.
[00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:34.720] Our last raise was mostly just working capital.
[00:32:34.720 --> 00:32:41.680] And so, now that we're entering more stores, I think we're starting to think about the different marketing levers that we can start to pull.
[00:32:41.680 --> 00:32:44.480] And, you know, we've been very scrappy with marketing so far.
[00:32:44.480 --> 00:32:51.440] And so now we're kind of thinking about refining our strategy a little bit more and having a more sophisticated approach and introducing ads.
[00:32:51.440 --> 00:32:54.240] Maybe that's just some things that we're thinking about.
[00:32:54.240 --> 00:32:56.080] Yeah, I mean, there's so much that you can do.
[00:32:56.080 --> 00:32:57.600] You've been growing completely organically.
[00:32:57.600 --> 00:33:02.720] You've got this whole ads channel that's available to you as well, which will be really interesting when you can turn that on.
[00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:11.280] Yeah, we're also entering so many retailers, and we didn't know that, you know, when you walk into a grocery store and you see someone doing a demo, like sampling their product, you have to pay for that.
[00:33:11.280 --> 00:33:11.680] Totally.
[00:33:11.680 --> 00:33:15.360] And if we're in, you know, hundreds of stores across the nation, that adds up.
[00:33:15.360 --> 00:33:18.400] So, yeah, marketing budget is needed for sure.
[00:33:18.400 --> 00:33:19.840] Thank you so much for coming on the show.
[00:33:19.840 --> 00:33:25.600] I'm so impressed by what you have built, and I look forward to watching everything that you guys do over the next few years.
[00:33:25.600 --> 00:33:26.800] Thank you so much for having us.
[00:33:27.680 --> 00:33:35.320] And I'm going to put a link in the show note if anyone wants to come and watch the Good Girl Snacks Launch Lab workshop presented by Adobe Express.
[00:33:35.560 --> 00:33:41.160] It's happening this week, but we will also have a replay if you're listening to this episode a little bit late.
[00:33:41.160 --> 00:33:48.840] I just wanted to jump in and end the show with a quick thank you and shout out to all of our paid Business Bestie subscribers.
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