Yve-Car Momperousse: How Shark Tank Catapulted this Brand to Millions (#24)
One of the key things the producers told us when we were going on, and at first, I thought they were being a little crazy, but I think it's stuck in my my psyche. They said when you get in there, fight. Don't take no for an answer. And that's, like, the worst thing to tell me I'm very coachable.
Speaker 2:I'm Jim Hoffman, this is if I was starting today, a collection of conversations about half baked startup ideas, growth tactics, and stories from founders, including my own journey as a business owner. All of the content is centered around one question. What would you do if you were starting today?
Speaker 3:Alright. Today's a fun one. I get to speak with a friend of mine, Meev Carr, who's the CEO of Crayola Essence. And this is a DTC brand that started off on the idea of her hair was actually falling out. From that, she was able to make a product that has gone on to make high seven figures.
Speaker 3:She's been featured on Shark Tank and done some really amazing things. And then we talk about, you know, how she came up with the idea, how she was able to get traction by doing some scrappy offline things, and then the inflection point of going to that next level and getting on Shark Tank. Talks about working with her spouse as her business partner and some of the struggles she's had along the way and kind of how she's had a competitive advantage by focusing on her community to actually do product development. So if anybody out there that's looking to launch a consumer product, hopefully you'll get some good things out of today. But enjoy this episode and let me know what you think.
Speaker 3:I'm on Twitter at Jim W. Huffman. Okay, Eve Carr, can you remind me, do you remember how we met?
Speaker 1:Oh god. That's such a good question. Oh, I know. Sephora Accelerator. Oh, wow.
Speaker 1:You gave a presentation on digital marketing and ads, and you did such a good job. And I spoke to the team over at Sephora, Lilly, and I said, all right, I think I want to work with this guy. He sounds like he knows what he's talking about.
Speaker 3:Gotcha. Okay. I was trying to remember. I thought it was through Sephora or something. Okay.
Speaker 3:And so I have been lucky enough to work with Yves Carr and Criolescence. And if I could define you in three words, I have the three words. Are you ready for it?
Speaker 1:I am ready. I'm scared.
Speaker 3:Say force of nature. And I think that is a high compliment because to take an idea from an idea to like a 8 figure business, you have to be able to make shit happen. You have to be a magnet for talent, get people to help you and just turn the impossible into something. So you and another founder who I'm dying to get on here that I've worked with, I've been so impressed with that. So hopefully you see that as compliment.
Speaker 1:I do. I do. It's an amazing compliment, and I appreciate that because I think people underestimate what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Folks often see the glitz and the glam awards or what have you, but the day to day grind and the challenges that you are faced with daily, it's something that I probably couldn't even imagine.
Speaker 3:You and this other founder that I'm excited to go on, you're like a a smiley assassin because you're so fun and delightful to work with. Nothing slides by you, whether it's the numbers or brand. It's funny, right? You're the CEO where you have to be able to go 30,000 foot level, but then dive in and be like, wait a minute, that font's off. Or we're not doing that promo till noon.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I often say being an entrepreneur or being a CEO, you really do feel like you're on emotional roller coaster all the time because there's probably the normal you, the day to day you. There's the family you, there's a friend you, but then there's you who has to be, like, in the numbers. And then but you also have to be the janitor, but you also have to, like, deal with mister wonderful folks. So half the time, I'm like, who am I today?
Speaker 3:Oh my god. I have, Okay. I have so many questions I want to ask just off of that statement, but I should probably have you talk about, okay, well, let's kind of go back to square one. You are the CEO of Crayolaissance. Will you tell people what is Crayolaissance and how did you even come up with the idea to make that happen?
Speaker 1:Sure. So Crayola Essence, we bring natural and ethical beauty products from Haiti to the world. We focus on creating hair, skin, and body products for those with dry and damaged hair, as well as dry and damaged skin. I started Crayola Essence after having what I call a hair catastrophe. I was going to an event.
Speaker 1:I wanted to look my best because I was in the market for a husband. And I asked my hairdresser to straighten my hair and give me this sleek look. And she did such a great job. I found the husband. That's Stephane, my COO.
Speaker 1:But the bad news is when I washed my hair the next day, it all fell out.
Speaker 3:Oh my god.
Speaker 1:Yes. So after crying like any good millennial, I called my mom, and I said, what's that oil you used to use when I was growing up that solved all of our problems? And she told me, lil mascuti, which in English means Haitian castor oil. I lived in Philadelphia at the time. I ran to the grocery store.
Speaker 1:I thought, of course, I'm gonna be able to find authentic castor oil on shelves. But I went to CVS, I went to Walmart, I went to Walgreens, I went to Target, could not find it there. So I called my mom up and I said, could you send me some from your immigrant stash? And, you know, anyone who works remotely outside of The US knows that there are certain delicacies and products that you only get in your native country. And if it's not readily available, no one wants to share it.
Speaker 1:So I guilted her and reminded her that I was her first daughter. And she sent it to me and it came in a rum bottle, Jim, with, like, tape all over
Speaker 3:it. Amazing.
Speaker 1:And I said, you know, how is something that is so precious in in my culture and community? Everyone has a bottle of Haitian castor oil. Why is it being, like, sent in a rum bottle and you're praying that TSA does not discard a bit?
Speaker 3:You're basically smuggling it in. I love it.
Speaker 1:Exactly. It that's a it's a smuggling operation. So I jokingly said to my mom, what if I started a business out of it so that none of us have to go through this in order to get Haitian castor oil? And I was joking because I was in the school of government and my job was essentially to save the world, but marry a rich businessman who would fund all of my social ventures. But my mom in wisdom said, you know what?
Speaker 1:That's actually a great idea. When she thought about the fact that in order for us to make Haitian castor oil to help with hair growth, damaged hair, eczema, we would have to work with farmers because it's a natural plant. So the idea that we could work with thousands of farmers and help to employ them, and that by the way, by planting the seeds, it helps to curtail soil erosion, deforestation, and greenhouse gas emission, which is a huge issue in Haiti and around the world, that piqued my interest. We also thought about the fact that one of my core beliefs is that to deal with most of the world's issues, we have to deal with poverty and find poverty alleviating mechanisms that are sustainable versus donations. And we employ over 500 women in our actuallieu or factory as they call it.
Speaker 1:And we're employing women not just because it's a nice thing to put on a brochure, but because women are the ones with the skill set and the patience to go through the process of hand making this oil. And then lastly, kind of nerdy, one of the things that helps with a country's economy is exports and making sure that the GDP is balanced. And Haiti has an unbalanced GDP because we import most things, most things don't go out. So the idea that we can actually put a dent into something happening in the entire country by exporting a product that people could use in their day to day life was super, super fascinating. And then lastly, I'm a beauty junkie.
Speaker 1:I love beauty products. So that became the convergence of two worlds for us. That's when we decided to really take a go at starting Crayola Essence.
Speaker 3:What's amazing is you have this true problem you're trying to solve, but then from the onset, you're like, Okay, this is a cool idea. And then you can pair it with something that's mission driven and is truly aligned with where you came from. It's almost just the perfect combination. So what's interesting, I love thinking about companies through three lenses, idea, traction and growth. So you're at this idea phase, you're trying to solve a problem of one just for you, and then you're kind of mulling on like, wow, if this becomes real, this could be very mission focused.
Speaker 3:When did this idea become something where you started getting traction? Who were the first customers? How did you get it to people to be like, wow, people actually want this?
Speaker 1:That's a really good question. One that I just wish I had asked myself earlier or that I acted on earlier. So after having this idea, Stephane and I go into action. And I go to Haiti, I'm doing my research and development because I don't know how to make this oil. Right?
Speaker 1:I love it, but I have no idea what the process is. And I have to win trust of women who are looking at me like, Haitian American, what are you doing here? Why are you asking us all these questions? Are you here to take away our knowledge and secrets and just profit off of it? So going through that whole process of winning trust, we essentially started small, which is what I tell most founders is just keep it simple.
Speaker 1:Don't overthink it. Once I won some trust, I brought in a few gallons of oil in my suitcase and prayed like hell, TSA didn't stop me.
Speaker 3:Oh my God.
Speaker 1:And he created the labels, we bought some bottles and we literally went to a conference and just started handing out the product to see what would people's reaction be and to get feedback. So that was our first customer discovery.
Speaker 3:What conference? You're not going to white guys in banking conference. Like, what do you think of?
Speaker 1:No. Thank god. We are a little smarter than that. We know our audience. We say low hanging fruit, go to the folks who at least have an idea around the product.
Speaker 1:So we went to an HRA conference, Haiti Renewal Alliance. So these were a number of Haitian Americans who are either born here in The States or have lived here for the past fifteen, twenty years. And we just wanted to see, just based on their knowledge of the product, is this something that would resonate and would this also be a solution for the challenges? Now mind you, I was at the University of Pennsylvania, so I am prone to research. While though we tested with a known community, I looked at the research overall, and it showed that seventy percent of women, their top two beauty complaints was dry and damaged hair followed by dry and unhealthy looking skin.
Speaker 1:There were stats around women having trouble in their marriages if their hair was not right that day. So I was in general. Stats, but then started with those who would have some familiarity with the product. So we go to this conference and the first thing I noticed, even though I was fearful and thought him and I were crazy, is that there was a bit of a nostalgia that would come from everyone. Everyone told me a story, and everyone wanted to buy right away.
Speaker 1:But I noticed the stories that they were telling me around, oh, my grandmother used to make sure that I drank the castor oil before I went to school. My grandmother used it on my hair every Saturday. You know, my mom and I, we had a ritual around x, y, and z. And I think seeing the nostalgia was what really prompted us to really try to scale the business. Fast forward, there's an earthquake in Haiti.
Speaker 1:We decide to put the business on hold. We go into immediate relief efforts. And a friend of mine said, aren't you starting a business that's supposed to help with many of the issues that we're trying to alleviate? And my mom, in her wisdom a year later, also said, it's really great that we have celebrities. We have Anderson Cooper.
Speaker 1:We have all these people focused on Haiti. When the lights dim down and no one cares anymore, it's those jobs that you are going to create for these women that is going to last and that's really going to be life changing. Simultaneously, my friend was just like, because Stephane and I are perfectionists, we wanted to build like the perfect website and have the perfect label. And she said to us, guys, your 80% is probably somebody's 80%. Just get the website live.
Speaker 1:And I think that was the best advice we could have gotten. We turned the website on. I had an email list because I was very active in the community. So we had at least a decent list of about 5,000 people. We sent the email out and held our breath.
Speaker 1:And you know, the first few purchases, it's your family, it's people you know, and that feels great. It's kind of like, alright. They're gonna support our crazy dream. But then when you start to see purchases of people you don't know and you start to see people forwarding things, and we're like, oh my god. It's real.
Speaker 1:Like, this is a real business because other people that we do not know have now purchased it.
Speaker 3:Oh my god. That's so exciting. And just to kind of take a step back, what you did really well is you didn't just start by thinking of scalable ideas. You're like, let's see if we have traction if this works. And you literally go to a conference, hand to hand combat, you're throwing it at people.
Speaker 3:And then that feedback, that has to change your mindset to make you pretty energized, like, Wow, we're onto something. And the other thing that's interesting, I think a lot of founders struggle with this idea of, Oh, it's not ready. I got to keep working on it. I'm not ready to show everybody. It's got to be perfect.
Speaker 3:And that can be a crutch. And as you know, speed and timing is everything. So you have this traction and you start to get these sales. What does that do for your mindset to be like, Hey, this is something we should go all in on?
Speaker 1:It's mind blowing because all of this inner doubt, all of this inner dialogue, especially for those of us who suffer from perfectionism, have, it starts to throw it out the window and it helps you to focus on what about product, the service, the atmosphere, what's important to the community or the tribe as we call our customer base because it really is a family. And I honed in on the stories. And, also, I received invaluable feedback about what the product would do in terms of social impact. So now I'm able to rattle off things like deforestation and greenhouse gas emission. I knew none of that before.
Speaker 1:It's because I spoke to someone and they would say, hey, did you know that when you, you know, plant caster seeds, this is the amount of greenhouse gas emission that it can, you know, suck up, and this is how it does it. Because in a conference of the sort, I'm talking to engineers, I'm talking to environmentalists, I'm talking to all types of folks who are going to see the business from a different vantage point than even I do. So I'd like to say Creole Essence is built by the community because there are things I'm learning every single day based on our customers.
Speaker 3:Your community, and I've seen it firsthand, is amazing just with how passionate they are and how you listen to them to get feedback. What advice would you give to people? They're like, Okay, I want to build a community. I want to do community as marketing. What would you tell them if they were trying to approach that?
Speaker 1:I would say, honestly, listen. And when you get feedback, you can't see it as an attack on you personally or on what you've created. Adaptability is going to be key to really be able to take in the information. And then I think the most important thing is to actually do something right away with it. So if you hear over and over again a resounding message around, I don't know, something as simple as a cent of a product that someone doesn't like or the it's not as ease.
Speaker 1:I take information, and I still personally still till today look at all of the reviews. If someone's like, you know, this bottle is really hard to squeeze things out of. These are not small things. This goes to the experience that your tribe member is having. And then often, when if we hear something several times, we will email it out, put it on social media.
Speaker 1:We heard you guys. We did this wrong. Here's what we're doing to try to change it. Keep the feedback coming. That builds trust.
Speaker 1:Right? It's these little micro communications and keeping promises to your customer and them seeing you try over and over again that keeps you there. And often I tell my team, pretend that we are just like the iPhone. There will be several iterations, and we're we're just gonna keep improving. And as long as you're talking to your customer, they're gonna be right there because we all have iPhones.
Speaker 3:That's awesome. Yeah, you can't just send an update, unfortunately, to all your bottles to be a little bit softer. That's really cool. And I think that's so smart taking the feedback from customers and iterating on it because the community wants to feel like they're heard and along for the journey. When you do that, you just empower them to be that much more excited.
Speaker 3:So, you've had some insane inflection points with the business from influencers you've partnered with. So, one of the biggest ones, I believe it was last February last year, was being on Shark Tank. Can you talk through that experience from even trying to get on it to actually having the bright lights in front of you and what that did for the business?
Speaker 1:So we're coming up on our five year anniversary. We had been through some things. Inflection points on if we should close down the business or not, to deciding that we need to really pivot and focus on our customers because we started going the wholesale route, to sunsetting products, and to really just making sure that digital was our focus. When our five year anniversary came up, I made a promise to myself that I was not going to allow, again, perfection, fear. I'm not ready enough to do things to stop us from kind of going at least going after some of the goals we had.
Speaker 1:For years, people had told us, you guys should be on Shark Tank. You guys should be on Shark Tank. And we're like, yes. We know. But I never felt ready enough.
Speaker 1:So it was our five year anniversary, so I said, ready or not, here we come. At least I know we tried. So I had just come back from a litany of sales visits to different retailers. I was fatigued. I came back home to Florida, and I had just missed the casting conference that they were having here in Miami.
Speaker 1:So I said, oh, Stephane, we missed it. It's just too late. And then I got an email that said casting call for Shark Tank in Brooklyn, New York. And then I said, well, that's crazy. That's my hometown.
Speaker 1:That's where I'm from. And then I looked at the location, and it was at the Gentleman's Factory, which is also Haitian owned. And I was just like, god, is that you? Is that a sign? As any good Christian Haitian child is taught to do, look for signs and miracles that Jesus is talking to you.
Speaker 1:So I say to Stephan, would it be crazy if I just jumped on a plane and went to New York to try out for Shark Tank? Now, personally, I was hoping he said, no, honey. Stay home with me. You've been out on the road. Go ahead and rest.
Speaker 1:But, no, he said, I think you should do it. If your gut is telling you to do it, just get on the plane and go. I was like, crap. I guess I'm going to New York. So I jumped on a plane, missed a plane, still got on another plane.
Speaker 1:And I was supposed to stay at a mentor's house because you're saving money as an entrepreneur. But it was so late, I rented some cheap motel in New York, and I spent the night just, you know, going over my numbers, practicing my pitch. And I was just like, I'm just gonna give it all I've got. And if nothing else, if they don't call me back, I know I did this. So get up in front of the producers, I give my pitch, and the producer's really into it.
Speaker 1:And I'm really ready to go home and say, well, good job. You tried it. And I got a call, I think, before I even jumped on the next plane that said, we're super interested. We'd like you to submit a video. And, of course, I thought, well, didn't I just pitch?
Speaker 1:There's more videos.
Speaker 3:Like Like, record that. Come on.
Speaker 1:Record it. Hello? Little did I know I'd be doing lots of recording after that, and I like to say that getting onto Shark Tank is a year's commitment and job because at every step of the way, it is not guaranteed that you will get on. You are pitching to the producers. They wanna see you with high energy.
Speaker 1:They are asking you 50,000,000 questions. They are vetting you, and they really wanna make sure that by the time you get in front of the bright lights that you are prepared. They do not tell you what questions you will be asked. The only thing that they work with you on is your opening pitch. After that, it is up to you to be prepared for the 700 questions that may come your way.
Speaker 1:And that was a process as well. But when we got in front of the bright lights, what was most interesting to me is that after you do, you know, your opening monologue, I forgot there were cameras there. And apparently, did Stephane because we both ended up crying on National Guardians three and fighting with sharks, and it was just so dramatic. But but I think that's what happens when you have tenacity and you're fighting for something that matters for you. And to us, getting onto Shark Tank was not a publicity stunt.
Speaker 1:We actually needed investment in order to launch with our biggest retail partner, Ulta. And we also really wanted to make our community proud because it's not often you get black owned, female run, Caribbean country that most people are not fully aware of. You don't get, your business in front of mainstream audiences. And here we had this amazing opportunity to share our story as well as get Haitian castor oil and our derivative products on the national stage. So it really meant a lot to us.
Speaker 1:And one of the key things the producers told us when we were going on, and at first I thought they were being a little crazy, but I think it's stuck in my psyche, they said, When you get in there, fight. Don't take no for an answer. And that's like the worst thing to tell me. I'm very coachable. So once I got in there, you know, when one or two sharks are out, I was like, We've got to save this.
Speaker 1:We've got to turn this around. But it really was very similar to, I think if anyone has pitched at conferences, and I do credit the number of pitching that Stephane and I have done at the Cornell Business Incubator, at Sephora Business Incubator, for retailers, all of that, by the time we got in front of the sharks, it's just a culmination of getting 50 questions thrown at you all at once and having to manage the room and be very calm as you answer, you know, some tough questions about the business and ourselves.
Speaker 3:Wow. Yeah. It it's like everything you were doing was leading up to that moment to be able to be on your toes, just because the types of questions you get hit all facets of the business model and the value prop. So you got a deal with Mr. Wonderful, right?
Speaker 1:Mr. Wonderful, my favorite
Speaker 3:What's the aftermath of that? You're like, okay. We record it. We got a deal. It then airs.
Speaker 3:What happens next?
Speaker 1:So what happens next is first, we cry again because because you don't get to see what the world gets to see. So literally when we are being aired on January 12, which was very meaningful for us because that was the tenth year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti where over three hundred thousand people died. So our community was also we needed hope. Everybody needed something positive and to see our airing. And I am thankful that the show really depicted all facets of us.
Speaker 1:It it talked about our hard times as entrepreneurs. It talked about our stats and numbers and how much we had grown, our retail partnerships, and there were laughs and there was a lot happening there. But I think it allowed people to understand who we were as individuals as well as the company by seeing the before and afters and seeing our little monologue around Haiti. So it was amazing because then our tribe tripled. And if any company is fortunate to have such a spike but we were getting sales like crazy on our website and immediately trying to prepare for it.
Speaker 1:We had just come from being out of stock for the holidays. And we were supposed to be given three weeks notice. We got a week and a half notice that we were going to air. So we're trying to restock. We're trying to up customer service, make sure that we're able to man the phones.
Speaker 1:So it was insane, but I'm thankful for it. We ended up having to switch warehouses three times, and that was in 2020. So two months later, the height of COVID hit, and then they did a re air. So even though the world is supposed to be closed, luckily we are considered an essential business because we have shampoos, conditioners, soaps. So we were working the whole time during the height of the pandemic and people are also home.
Speaker 1:So we grew phenomenally. We're adding team members. We had to add a warehouse because our 3PL, and 3PLs are companies that brands usually hire to fulfill their orders, could not keep up with our demand. So we had to bring it back in house. So during the week, we were doing the administrative, side of the business.
Speaker 1:And during weekends, we actually partnered with Uber to hire drivers to help man our warehouse so that we can send products out to customers. So 2020 was quite a year for us to say the least, but we're still very grateful for it.
Speaker 3:That's insane. I didn't really partner with Uber. So you get this just flood of traffic. You're 3x ing your customer base and your community. It's so cool to see this go from idea to traction, and now you're in this kind of growth phase.
Speaker 3:For D2C founders that are growing, what are you thinking of next, whether it's growing harder online and what that means, or also what you're doing with wholesale because you have the wind at your back. And so as a CEO, how do you navigate where to go next?
Speaker 1:It's a really good question. Something I ask my life coach every day. But I think it's about really understanding what's your value set after a few years and what are your non negotiables. I think there are a few areas that became very clear to me where we made hard decisions, but I'm really thankful we did because it ended up being good for us in the long run. And I'm very much a founder who's thinking about what the company looks like in two years, in five years, in ten years.
Speaker 1:So I don't want to make decisions out of temporary situations that are not going to impact our long term bottom line. So one of those decisions with that mindset is profitability. So even though we are growing like crazy, it's important to me that we are a profitable company because I remember the days when we were scraping together every dollar that we had in order to make it and the fear around that. And I remember the days of not paying myself and Stephane and living off our savings so that we could pay our staff and we could pay our partners. And I remember at the Cornell Business Incubator, anytime I would complain and I would say, you know, we need to raise money.
Speaker 1:And they would say, Yves, sales cures all. And I think that's one of the resounding statements that was told to me that is actually true. Because when I look at it now, the fact that we do have a cushion and that even when things go wrong right now, I'm not panicking that we can't pay the bills, but that's because we really focused on profitability. And we focused on building, I think, at a moderate pace, but not building so quickly where it was in the absence of making sure that there was profitability. The second thing that's true for us or is a truism that I learned, and I think any D2C founder has to think about, or any founder overall, is don't lose sight of your core customers.
Speaker 1:We have many customer bases. We have our wholesalers. We have our prospect investors, you have our core customers who are buying. But what I have found is as long as I focus on my direct to consumer business, everything else works well. Once I allow wholesale retailers or other things to veer me away from that, the business does not do well, which is a testament to us that our community is truly the lifeblood of this company.
Speaker 1:And she or he will go with us anywhere we go as long as we are putting them first and as long as we never forget our social mission. I mean, I think going into social mission lastly is to not forget that. There was an inflection point for us as a social business where I really wanted to make sure people respected us as a business first, because often there is this misconception that a social business doesn't care about their ROI and that they don't think about all the same metrics that any tech founder or any other founder would. And I argue that we actually think about it more than that because we have to think about those metrics plus social impact. So I have to care about what's a living wage and what's my impact on the environment.
Speaker 1:And my consumer, are they protected? Are they getting the best skin, hair, and body products so that it's not causing cancer or any other challenges? These are all things that I think as a socially driven business that we have to think about on top of the magnitude of numbers, like your balance sheets and your P and L, that a founder has to think about. So I think as long as I keep those things in mind, it helps to steer what direction we should go. So while we have amazing retail partners, I am fully focused again on our D2C and our core business with our customer base to make sure that we don't lose touch with her.
Speaker 1:And then to really put dollars behind that thought process, scaling our team is not just to be able to handle our retail growth. It's also to be able to make sure that there's enough people being there to take care of the tribe and give her the answers he or she needs in order to continue this relationship and journey.
Speaker 3:It sounds so simple to do, but it's really hard sometimes to keep that as the core focus. It's like, at the end of the day, it's the customers and owning that relationship and making sure they're heard. That's really good advice. I feel like I need to put that as a bulletin board on my wall. So, talked about going through these ups and downs.
Speaker 3:You've got these highs of being on Shark Tank. You got lows where you're having to not pay yourself for a month or two. And you're doing this with Stefan, who, by the way, is a phenomenal human being, who is also your partner.
Speaker 1:You love him. I know. He's a favorite part of the reason.
Speaker 3:I love to talk. He's been avoiding me lately, but that's fine. But you're doing this with your significant other. So first with companies in general, it's hard to find an amazing team. Not to mention when you're done with work, you go home and hey, that person's still there.
Speaker 3:From my perspective, it looks like it's going pretty well. How have you been able to make it work so well doing this business with your spouse?
Speaker 1:That's a great question. So one, I often refer to Stefan as my better half, but I truly believe it. I think that's also what's helpful. I always say he is thoughtful, he is kind, and the amount of support that I think a founder needs from their COO or their number two has to be genuine because there are lots of ups and downs. So you need someone with a particular mindset in order to work with you.
Speaker 1:And I think similar to me, he's done every job in the company. I think we have this shared focus of there's no job too big or too small, and that we are here to quarterback each other no matter what. But that said, it hasn't been easy. I think at different inflection points of the company, one person has had a challenge around the relationship, and I think we're fortunate where the other one might be doing a little bit better. But what we've learned over the years is to really systematize a few things.
Speaker 1:One, we have clarity around roles in the business. It is not ambiguous who's the CEO, who makes the final decisions on many items when it comes down to it. But also, I am very thoughtful around making sure that I am listening to him and that I give as much leeway as possible until I absolutely feel the need to step in to do things. So I think from the onset of our relationship, we had a founder's agreement. I hear of founders who are together not having agreements.
Speaker 1:I think that's absolutely insane. You need an agreement, whether it's your spouse or whether it's someone else to just have clarity around roles, equity, pay, all of that. I think we did a really good job of talking about it in the beginning. Second, I would say that when things are tough, we slow it down. And we have hard conversations around how we're doing in our relationship and how we're doing in our other partnership of the business.
Speaker 1:And we liken the business to being our baby. We're raising a child together. So there are going to be things we disagree on and things that we have to take our emotions out of in order to make decisions on. And then I make sure that we do things like pray together, dance and have fun together, it's really easy to forget play and just talk work, work, work. So scheduling dates at least once a month is something that I'm very intentional about and something that he's now picked up on being very intentional about.
Speaker 1:And making sure that we work on our relationship in terms of learning things together and making sure that because I'm leading a lot at work in our household, there are a lot of things he leads and I defer to him to make those decisions so that we are balanced and we're both respecting each other's zone of genius. And that requires intention every single day. But I'm really thankful for it because I can't say I ever have a day where I feel like I don't know if I can trust my co founder or I don't think they have my best interests at heart. I feel like I'm in it with someone who has the same goal as me, and we both wanna see each other win. And to me, that's the best feeling in the world.
Speaker 1:So having to put in extra work to make sure that our relationship is healthy to me is worth that time.
Speaker 3:What I'm hearing is some really good advice. First, before you start with the founder, even if it's your spouse or significant other or someone, it's from the start, be aligned on the roles and responsibilities, because if not, tension can manifest, that there's overlap and you can't communicate. Another good thing that you said was when things get really tough, to slow down and address things. I think it's so easy to, SERPs move so fast to do the opposite. So that's really good insight.
Speaker 3:And if you are working with your spouse, I'm sure it's very easy for the pillow talk to be about customer acquisition costs and lifetime value. And actually like setting up times to go on dates or to go dancing is really smart. And I've seen your Instagram stories of you all dancing it up and you definitely practice what you preach. That's really good stuff. One other thing I wanted to ask about you and Stephan, after Shark Tank, were you jealous or angry that he overshadowed your red power suit with this, crying scene?
Speaker 1:You know, for a minute I was, if I am to be candid and honest. But then after that, I said, you know what? If anyone deserves to overshadow me right now, it's him. And we joke because he would complain. He's like, oh, everybody talks about is Yves Car Yves Car with the company.
Speaker 1:All of a sudden the conversation changed and I was like, How does it feel to be a star, Stefan? He's like, Yeah, I wanted to be a star, but not for crying on TV. But that actually brought about lots of discussion around what the rules are by gender and what we expect from females and males and to see how we're supposed to be in this very enlightened time in society, but there were interesting conversations around why was I the one who was negotiating the deal, and why was he the one who gave the heartfelt story about who we are. And to see how the women stood up for Stephane, and then the men tried to, you know, say, like, should there be crying and emotions and business? It was actually rather fascinating and brought lots of conversations around the Instagram and Twitter sphere.
Speaker 1:So go check out episode 12, season 11 on TrekTake. I'm always happy to hear what people think, but I think that's another great byproduct of folks knowing who we are as challenging roles and gender norms in our society.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I mean, knowing both of you, I feel like both of you can play both roles because you're pretty versatile in like the analytics and the creative side. But I think Stefan saw you with the power suit, knew he had to bring the pain, and so he went with that.
Speaker 1:He usually says he has to make sure he humanizes and folks understands us, and I think that's a unique gift that he has. My Haitian upbringing is you don't cry. Don't talk about what the challenge is. You know? Just suck it up.
Speaker 1:But you are correct that we both can play that role. And it's like it's an hour long conversation that people get to see for ten minutes, so they're cutting up a lot.
Speaker 3:I know. Other people I've talked to on Shark Tank, they're like, You're only seeing the drama. Like, I was in there for ninety minutes.
Speaker 1:Yes. We were in there for quite some time in heels.
Speaker 3:One last thing just on Crayola essence is you launch on the back of a flagship product that is Haitian black castor oil that just, it's so great because they're such an amazing value prop. It's truly solving a problem, but you've also branched out to other products like shout out to Haitian Coffee and Coconut Body Cream, which I think is fantastic. Talk to the importance of launching a brand on the back of a flagship product versus also wanting to land and expand and introduce new products.
Speaker 1:I think it's really important to make sure that you have your home run and you have your signature product. I think it defines the brand. I think it helps to create a true relationship with your customers. And when we first began, we thought we needed like 50 products. We saw all these other brands and they had these huge launches and us curating actually helped our customers trust us and allowed us to have a deeper conversation around what's important to them.
Speaker 1:And then we gradually built off of that because now she was talking to us, okay, I have the oil, but she would say to us, where's your shampoo and conditioner? And by the way, my husband is using this too, so I need, you know, a scalp pomade for him. Oh, and by the way, I also use this for my kids who have eczema. I need something that's large enough that the entire family can use. So we branched off carefully based on what we heard the concerns were.
Speaker 1:And because the dominant consumer for us, they are women, and they are buying for the entire family, then she would be the ones who tell who would tell us what her husband needs, hence having a coconut coffee cream that is unisex and something that everyone can use. Or our black soap face wash going into the Moringa collection when we started to hear about some of the skin challenges that folks were having. So I think it's step by step one has to expand their product selection. And I think one has to, again, think about iteration and not being fearful of some products not making the cut. It's hard as founders when we come out with a new product, they're like our kids, but sometimes you have to let them go.
Speaker 1:You know, the tribe is not responding, or you have to be comfortable to tweak and iterate and change either the product formulation or the name, because sometimes it's not the product. Sometimes your tribe just doesn't understand what you're saying, so you have to test some different ways to communicate about the product in order for it to be a home run. So we try to be very judicious around what we launch because education around something that is new also takes a lot of time. So you wanna be mindful of your marketing budget. You wanna be mindful of the energy that you and your team have to expand and explain a new product.
Speaker 1:So we just launched a new product collection after, I think, six or seven years. We just launched it with Ulta around Haitian Moringa Oil, and we were in some new verticals. So now we're in ingestibles where there's, you know, a health powder. There's wellness seeds that help with sexual wellness and making sure that we expand our skincare line along with for the haircare, whereas the Haitian black castor oil was more treatment based, the Haitian Moringa line is more about styling. So making sure that each of the product collections have a clear purpose and it's differentiated, I think is super important.
Speaker 1:But that took us after seven years to do that and really lots of discussion with our customer base around where they are in their wellness journey.
Speaker 3:Yeah, leveraging the community for product development is kind of a secret weapon to be able to have them as your research group. That's really smart. Well, Cole, I've got two more questions. I'll let you get on with your life. The first one is, you're pretty creative.
Speaker 3:You started this from scratch. What are some half baked startup ideas you had that maybe you'd want to start them if you were doing Crayola lessons? Or you're like, I don't want to start that, but man, I wish that existed. Anything that comes to mind.
Speaker 1:God, there's been so many through the years. So when we first started Crayola Essence, it's kind of funny, Stephane jokes about it, but we also had a line of eggnog I love that, but it actually makes lots of sense in my head. It did anyway. Because it's a we make a Haitian eggnog in Haiti that we have not seen on the market, and it's delicious. So I my thought was, hey, we're doing, you know, Haitian castor oil.
Speaker 1:We're bringing authentic products from Haiti. We should throw eggnog in there. Yeah. Needless to say that didn't happen. We cut that out really quickly.
Speaker 3:I no. Let let's do this. I love eggnog. Granted, 90% of our sales will come within a two week window of the year, but that's all good. We'll just maximize the spend there.
Speaker 3:You know what's interesting though, is what you've done with Haitian white castor oil, what other countries have the equivalent of that that people don't know about? And not to mention that communities that ripple through The US or other countries, whether it's a specific product or service, it just kind of opens your mind to essentially taking that export model of something you take for granted in your country that other countries, if they're exposed to it, it's basically magic.
Speaker 1:That's exactly it. That's exactly the rabbit hole that sometimes we're just like, We cannot get into this right now, but we see the opportunity and we now see the layout plan to make it actually happen and make it bigger. I mean, Haitian mangoes are a thing. I'm very much into right now, I have a fascination with lights and what you do with light, LED lights, how lights are being used to solve all types of issues, stem cell research. So that's a big fascination of mine in order to continue to bring more science into beauty.
Speaker 1:So I'd love to see that.
Speaker 3:Yeah. There's a whole movement around kind of like biotech and beauty and D2C. I think you're onto something there and like keeping your finger on the pulse. I'm more excited about eggnog, but that's a good one.
Speaker 1:Stefan will love you forever because he just wants to bring food items into the world so that he can. That's really his thing.
Speaker 3:That's amazing. Okay. Those are those are good ones. Alright. So last thing, what's the nicest thing anyone's done for you in your professional career?
Speaker 1:Such a hard question to answer. It should not be because there are lots of nice people. But I don't know if it's just because I'm a glutton for punishment, but I find that the nicest things that someone could have done for me is actually when they kind of hurt my feelings or told me the raw truth, which didn't feel great at the time. But I have such an appreciation for someone who's also willing to put themselves out there to say something that they feel is really necessary, but that they're taking the chance that I might take it wrong. So one of them is I had a mentor.
Speaker 1:I was working at Cornell University, and that was my dream job as director of diversity in the institution. And he said to me, is this creole essence thing a hobby? Is it anything serious? Because I don't see how you're gonna run this department and do this at the same time. And at the first time, I was super offended by that.
Speaker 1:I was like, How dare he call what I'm putting my sweat and tears into at night and on weekends? A hobby. But it was another impetus for us to go all in full time, which ended up with me quitting my job, finishing my master's, and making creole essence my thesis. So I actually value that and thought of it as something super nice because he did not have to take his time to have this candid conversation with me. But I guess on a more traditional positive note, the nicest thing one has done for me actually comes from our friends and family when we were at the precipice, either closing the business or scaling, them just calling us over to come home and just feeding us and just having a meal with us or making us babysit their kids.
Speaker 1:I have friends who babysit their kids. And there's something around about being around kids and around family that just makes everything seem not that it's not important, but it puts it into perspective and it helps to calm you. So I think the nicest thing our friends and family could do is just feed us, love us, and give us a place to sleep when we were touring the country trying to find retail partners and marketing the company and just telling us that they're proud of us no matter what. That's the nicest thing that could ever happen to us. And as we grow, we look back at those times.
Speaker 1:When Facebook gives you those memories, where I ran out of gas, borrowing someone's car to go to Whole Foods and they had to come bail me out. Those are some of the things that we laugh at now, but it truly makes us grateful for those who love and trust us.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's so true because you can get so in the weeds and get high stressed about what's going on with the business. That's so important. But I do love the point of getting that tough feedback or the raw truth, because sometimes people don't do that. And it's like that's how you actually grow and get better. But Yveskar, this was awesome.
Speaker 3:I can't thank you enough for taking the time. Where can people get more Yveskar? Where can people learn more about Crayola lessons? Where should you point them?
Speaker 1:People can go to Karp, y v e c a r, if they wanna get more of me. They can also get more of Crayola Essence goodness wellness tips for hair, skin, and body at k r e y o l e s s e n c e, Crayola Essence. Crayola is spelled with a K because that's how we spell Crayola in Haiti. And also our number one partner, Ulta, they are amazing. You can find our products there.
Speaker 1:We're also with Coop, JCPenney, Whole Foods, Urban Outfitters, and Wegmans.
Speaker 3:That's right. And maybe a conference near you if you guys want to get scrappy again.
Speaker 1:There you go.
Speaker 3:Well, you, Karth, thank you so much. I hope
Speaker 1:you have
Speaker 3:a great rest of day.
Speaker 1:Thank you, Jen.
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