Connie Lo and Laura Burget believe beauty products should be 100% natural and affordable. The rockstar duo co-founded Three Ships almost four years ago. Frustrated by not being to find affordable and clean skincare options, they decided to create their own. Three Ships represents a line of all-natural certified cruelty-free skincare products.
#paid 0:01
Welcome to the DTC Growth Show.
AJ 0:03
Hello and welcome to the DTC growth show by #paid. My name is AJ in every episode I sit down with founders and leaders and some of the most exciting direct to consumer brands on the planet. We talk about how they started, how they launched, and what they're doing to grow. Today, we're talking with Connie Lowe. And Laura Burget Co-founders of Three Ships, all natural beauty and skincare, who believes beauty products should be 100% natural and 100%. affordable. Connie Laura, thanks for joining us.
Connie and Laura 0:31
Thanks for having us.
AJ 0:35
It's a pleasure. Thank you so much. So to start off, tell us what is three ships.
Connie 0:41
So this is Connie here, three ships as a line of all natural certified cruelty free and vegan skincare. And we're actually also based in Toronto, similarly to #paid. Lauren, I started the brand almost four years ago now, which is pretty insane to look back at. At the time, we were about 23 recent University grads, I went to Queen's University for Commerce and Laura went to the University of Toronto with a Chemical Engineering Degree. And at the time, we were just so frustrated with not being able to find affordable, really clean skincare like brands were either like $80 for a cleanser, or they were brands that were just greenwashing brands that you find at Shoppers Drug Mart or Walmart that were just like cheap and ineffective. So that was really the idea behind why we started three ships. So our products will forever be under $40 us certified cruelty free and vegan and truly effective.
#paid 1:32
Wow, that's Yes, I I took a look at the website to go look some of the products, you know, I'm gonna have to make make a few purchases and hit the checkout on on the website there. So you touched on being vegan, my brother is vegan. And he always tells me to be wary of the natural labels that I see on food products. And you talk about being not being quote unquote, natural but being 100% natural. So what's the difference between quote unquote, natural and 100%? Natural?
Laura 2:00
Yeah, that's actually a great question. So this is Laura here, I run our back end of the business. So all of our product and packaging, design websites, all of our sourcing and supply chain as well. So I can take this one. Your brother's definitely right that within the beauty as well as the natural food space, there are definitely large issues with what we call greenwashing, which is where brands will use terms like green, sustainable or natural or better for you to promote these ideals aren't necessarily true and can often be misleading to consumers. So within the skincare space, specifically, there's actually no singular definition or legal definition of what natural means. Unlike organic where there is a legal or a singular definition. So this can lead to a lot of consumer confusion, since how each company defines natural varies from company to company. So what this means to us and what we believe 100% natural means is when all of your ingredients are sourced from plants. So every raw material that we use within our skincare products has its derivation within a plant, oftentimes, it will go through some sort of form of processing, which we deem as being acceptable within natural and there's a number of other organizations that we work with that would agree with us. So for example, ew G has a certification board around protecting consumers and being a third party about what defines natural we're in the process right now of getting set up with them and certified through them. And there's a number of other organizations that we work with as well to help consumers feel comfortable about the claims that we're making. So your brother and being vegan We also offer vegan skincare, all of our products are vegan, they're all also cruelty free, and we're certified on this front by Leaping Bunny standards.
#paid 3:40
Amazing Dominic, if you're listening vegan,
Laura 3:42
they're not just for beginners. I think this is a common misconception that we get is that vegan skincare is only for people who are vegan in their diet. It's actually two very, very different things. Vegan skincare is much more about being cruelty free than it is about following like a vegan or raw or plant based lifestyle. So anyone who cares about the well being of animals and doesn't want to see their products being tested on animals, they should be looking out for vegan or cruelty free skincare products.
#paid 4:10
Thank you so much for that distinction. So there's been a real shift towards all natural products, especially in skincare over the last you know six to seven years. I remember when I would buy cleanser like as a as a as a guy. I would just buy a blue gel that kind of just smelt like Irish spring and you can see the little micro beads in a tub like lingering actually get out of the shower. And versus today where you can almost like eat your face wash. It's the ingredients are all natural, like like you touched on and and there's been like a real rise in what Connie what you call the skin chill skin to electrical Is that how you say? So, with the rise in skincare electrical, can you tell us you know who the skincare actual is?
Connie 4:59
Yeah, for sure. So intellectuals are people who really empower themselves with information about what they're putting on their skin. And so that the phrase comes from skin intellectual. So they'll go above and beyond and researching exactly what they're putting on their skin, where it's coming from, you know, they'll even go as far to ask friends questions, like, you know, is your vitamin E coming from soybean or like, Where does your squalene come from? Because squalane usually comes from well, fat, like, they really, really focus on all this education. And it works for us, because like I said earlier, like our focus really is being transparent. So we share all this information with our consumer base. And I believe that As the years passed, more and more people will be calling themselves skin to actuals. Because I think the days of brands hiding behind like, really crazy ingredient labels where people can't understand the things in them are past us. Like nowadays, if a brand's launching, they really do you need to show consumers exactly why they should be using their products and what's in them.
#paid 6:00
Totally. So with the rise in this, this new consumer, you know, you guys had to do some serious pivoting from what was then new body to the brand that we know and love today have three shifts. So what does three shifts mean? And how does that play into your current approach?
Laura 6:19
Yeah, that's actually a great question. So we wanted to have a brand name that really represented our values when it comes to formulations. So the story behind three shifts is based off of the mythical discovery of the fountain of youth, which, of course, we know is not a real place. But there's many legends about how this fountain was discovered, the most popular being that it was discovered by fleet of just three ships, versus dozens that were more common in the stories of that time. So this aligns with our philosophy that we believe that less is actually more especially when it comes to the formulation of natural skincare products. So we use minimal ingredients, very, very simple ingredients. And we also believe that you don't need to have a 12 step skincare routine in order to achieve beautiful results.
#paid 6:58
I love it. I love it. I love when you know the brand name directly relates to your brand's approach and what you value most so great, great rebrand there.
Unknown Speaker 7:09
Thank you. Yeah, it was a lot of work. But we're so happy with how it all came together.
AJ 7:14
So three shifts is a real community like I, I go on the website, I look at your social. There's tons of UGC, on the website, on on Twitter, and everything like that. I look on your blog, the hashtag her hustle blog, which highlights female entrepreneurs and offers beauty advice from experts in this space. I was also reading about your development process for your current product line, and how you turn to your customers For expert advice. So can you walk us through that process of developing new products and why you think it's important to have customers involved?
Unknown Speaker 7:49
Yeah, so for us, we view having customers involved as being super critical to our growth, it's a way that we're able to differentiate ourselves from the larger big multinational consumer brands that really can't form those close relationships with their consumers. So for us, getting them involved means having a constant line of communication with them. So whether this is through social, we post a lot of polls and questionnaires and feedback forums on our Instagram stories. Same with through email, we're constantly sending out quizzes and updates, and wanting to get feedback from our consumers. And something that we do that's super unique is that when it comes to developing our products, this is something that we involve our customers with as well. So instead of us pushing out products that are just trendy or cool or that our retailers are asking for, we want to focus at what were on the consumer and make sure that what we're creating is something that they're actually excited about, and that they would use and buy. So to start off this process, we would pull our existing audience and ask them, okay, what are some products you're looking for us to develop next. And then we gathered together all of this data, look at what's currently on the market, as well as our current selection. And then based off of that feedback, that's how we pick which product we're going to be developing next into our lineup. And then Connie, and I work with our manufacturer, our chemist, and I go back and forth on several different iterations, looking at different hero ingredients or active ingredients to us come up with usually a couple different iterations here at that process. And then as a final step, we actually send out pre production samples to some of our top consumers who are part of our customer community that we call the fleet. And this fleet then allows us to have actual customers try out the products before they've gone to market. And then they tried the product for two weeks fill out an extensive feedback form that we then use to take back to our lab for one more time before we go into final production. So it definitely draws out our development process more than it would for other brands. But we see this as being really worthwhile because it ensures that we're creating quality products or great quality and that actually work for people.
#paid 9:51
Wow. Yes, that's, I love that approach. It's it really keeps the customers wants and needs in mind and it gives you the feedback and the You need to when you are developing new products down the line?
Unknown Speaker 10:04
Exactly, yeah, it's so important. And we can even get feedback from them on things like packaging format, packaging size, price point sense. The key benefits they're looking for if it's a mask, how long do they want to keep the mask on for what are some other brands that they use? What's a product that they've been looking for for a long time that they haven't been able to find? And all this information is so valuable for us when it comes to developing the products, because it ensures that we're not just developing products that work for us, but work for our larger community.
Unknown Speaker 10:31
And it also helps on the front end, because when I'm pitching to buyers, being able to tell them like we've created this with the end consumer, such a hit, because the buyers are like, Wow, well, I mean, it's clear that you already know this probably going to be a successful product.
#paid 10:47
Make sense? Smart, very smart approach. So I wanted to dive in to Connie and Laura specifically. Many co founders start off as just founders, and they bring on partners along the way. But you two have been partners from the very beginning. So how did you meet? And what were those early founding days like?
Connie 11:07
Yeah, so Laura was actually the one who had the initial idea for this natural makeup remover. And she was chatting with one of our mutual friends about the idea and saying, like, she wanted to find someone just run the idea by and get their opinion. And our mutual friend was like, okay, you have to talk to my friend Connie. She's the natural beauty guru of my friend group, like he went to middle school with me. So he remembered like, even back then, I would run home from school and like mix up like banana and like green tea and oatmeal and like lathered all over my face. So I was just like, I want to try all the natural things. And he was like, yeah, definitely chat with her. And so Laura reached out, it was meant to be this 30 minute really quick dinner. And it turned to this, like over three hour like brainstorming, meeting of the minds, where we just vibes, like you know how you meet someone, you're like, Oh, I feel like we're gonna know each other for a while. That's exactly what happened with Laura and me. So initially, even though she was just trying to meet someone to just get their opinion of the product, we actually ended up getting along so well. And we realized that we had very, very aligned values in life, like in terms of where we want to be, and like what we want to do with our lives. But we actually had completely opposite personality types and skill sets. So that's worked really well as a co founder, Joe. And so like Laura mentioned earlier, she manages the backend, she's very analytical, process driven person. And for me, I manage the front end, which is marketing and sales. I'm like very people driven extroverted. And I love the branding side. So by the end of that conversation, and Laura always jokes that I had placed a lot of hits here and there in the conversation saying, like, you know, I've always wanted to start a business and, you know, just never had an idea that resonated with me enough. So by the end, Laura asked, you know, do you want to see my co founder on this? And I said, Yes, right away, and we just got started literally the day after.
#paid 12:57
Amazing, amazing. And, and looking back almost early days, were there moments or obstacles that either you may recall, where you may not overcome those moments or obstacles without a co founder.
Connie 13:09
Yeah, I mean, I can speak maybe first about this. But I don't even know if we could do this as a solo founder. And Laura, maybe you can tell your thoughts there. But I don't think that it would be impossible, because we had so much on our plates at the time, like we're both side hustling this business, too. So we only had that $4,000 in savings between the two of us. So there's no way we're going full time right away. So we had to only work in the evenings and on weekends together. And so being that we had the two of us, you know, I was managing the front end, and she was mentioned the back end, I can't foresee how someone would be able to take it all on and do as good of a job and scale as quickly. So some of the times where it was really helpful just to have like each other's companionship was I remember, one of the times that traumatize me and Laura in a way, but also we looked back at Finally, is when we got our first large order of 7000 units of our makeup remover, which is funny, because in looking back 7000 units doesn't really mean that much to us now. But back then it was such a large order, and we were still making everything by hand. So for a period of three weeks, she would come over to my apartment, we'd eat dinner really quick. And we would hand make these makeup wipes until like midnight, and then go back to work or work at our full time jobs the next day from nine to five. And then she'd come back and you know, hand presses, makeup wipes that three week period. It was insane. And by the end of it, our wrists were hurting our backs were hurting. And I don't think I could have done that without someone there with me to like, encourage me and you know, I think over the past four years, there's been so many times Laura and I have looked at each other and been like as if this is our lives. Life. Yeah, this is life. Yeah, it's like it's so incredible.
Unknown Speaker 14:54
Yeah, we're really lucky to have met each other Honestly, it was a true like, just stars aligning kind of moment and That first meeting very much felt like a first date. Like, I guess from my perspective, I knew that I wanted to co founder for this business. I'd been to companies while I was in school, in my undergrad degree and love those experiences, and really got hooked on entrepreneurship and on starting my own company after I graduated. But it was also extremely isolating, it's very hard to be a solo entrepreneur, you know, your friends and family can only support you so far. And they can only really understand what you're going through to a certain level. So regardless of the support that you have at home, if you don't have that co founder going through the journey with you, I found it really, really lonely. So when Connie and I met for that initial meeting, I became really obvious, very early on to me that was like, Okay, I think that this is going to be my co founder. And I was just really happy that she accepted and we got hit the ground running so quickly.
#paid 15:52
That's quite the story sounds like a very organic, organic and natural progression in this relationship.
Laura 15:59
It was Yes. That's great.
#paid 16:02
So you talked about having a huge order. And you know, he had to kind of put life on hold and stay up, stay up till midnight, you know, cramps in your wrists. So when did you know that this is no longer a side hustle, but a full time effort for you too.
Unknown Speaker 16:18
So for us, it came down to the traction that we were seeing. So at the time that we launched, I think we ran the business as a side hustle outside of our nine to fivers for around a year and a half before we went full time. We went full time, a little over two years ago, in September of 2018, one of the big indicators for us was that we our time in the business was starting to become a limiting factor. So there were so many things going on within the company, but we weren't able to keep up with emails or meetings, or we're having to sneak around that our nine to five. And our time was starting to become a limitation for how quickly we could grow. So that was Thing number one, we'd found product market fit. And we're starting to see like great traction. The second thing as well was that we knew what we were going to be doing once we went full time. So something that was really smart that Connie and I did for that transition period, which can be very, it can like throw you also have your course as founders if you're going full time for the first time, because it just feels like you're like okay, now what is we actually created a 30 6090 day plan. So we knew exactly what each of us be working on for those first three months. And that allowed us to feel like okay, yeah, making this leap now makes sense. Because we actually have things we'll be working on, we're not just sitting there thinking, Okay, what now. And then the third piece was having enough personal savings to know that we didn't need to pay ourselves from the business. So Connie and I both had six months of savings saved up that would allow us to flow our own personal lives and pay for our own bills and rent and expenses, without feeling the pressure to start withdrawing money out of the company. And that was actually a great thing for us ended up being 12 months before we paid ourselves anything. So that was a very scholarly kind of first year and being a full time. And I think that her and I lived very, very modest lives at that point in time. I remember eating a lot of past a point in my life. So having those three things rounded out, I would definitely recommend for making that transition and that switch. So you're not just like jumping into it and not having any sense of what you're going to be doing next.
#paid 18:16
30 6090 Yeah, that's definitely a plan for success. And yeah, and it helps if you didn't have to dip into into the company at all, you guys had it all planned out in terms of your finances. But I do want to touch on the finance piece a little bit. You know, how, in those early days when it became a full time effort? What was fundraising, like? What were the marketing efforts like?
Unknown Speaker 18:38
So I can touch on the fundraising bit. So like Connie mentioned, we started the business, which is $4,000. So her and I each put in two grand to get the business off the ground. So it was very, very scrappy in those first couple of years. Like, we were literally having to use credit cards to float us for the next 30 days before we got paid from some of our retailers. We were very focused on going to different local craft fairs and markets. And we would be able to make like maybe 1400 to 15 $100 per day going and selling our goods at those markets. But it was a grind. So every penny that we earned from the business, we just reinvested back into it for those first two and a half years. And then a year ago is when we raised our first pre seed. So this was a very, very small round, around $135,000. Just from a few strategic angels and some friends and family. Just to get our initial, I guess, chops formed around how to fundraise. It was a very, very tiring, grueling process going through that fun first fundraise, Connie and I honestly had no idea what we were doing. We met this group of advisors and investors at a conference in March of 2019. And they told us, oh, you're already two years old. You need to fundraise as soon as possible or else you're going to be too old and boring of a company and no one will invest in you because you didn't raise or grow fast enough. So then we were like, oh, shoot, okay, let's start fundraising now. And then it was like six beating our heads against the wall that it was just we probably between the two of us had at least 200 to 300 different calls over the span of a few months, many of which were with large VC funds that we honestly had no business talking to. But we just were so naive that we're like, oh, yeah, like, for a runner, we can talk to them, like we're $90 million in sales lifetime. But yeah, they need to know about us. So we are getting on calls with literally anyone that would listen. And with NBC, and something that we learned is that when someone says, Oh, I love the two of you, and I believe in what you're doing, but it's just a little early like, or I want to keep posted on your journey. That's them saying no, but just in a very, very nice way. Whereas Connie, and I, at that time, naively thought, wow, yeah, they're impressed with us they want to keep up to date, like this means that like, they're gonna invest in us. But of course, it never ended up being the case. And then this past year, we raised a seed round of 1.4 million, and that one was so much easier to process so many great learnings from the first round of fundraising that we were able to correct on. So we're able to close that round within just two weeks, which is phenomenal.
#paid 21:08
Congratulations. That's, that's huge. Thank
Unknown Speaker 21:11
you, and then our first infusion of cash. So that's also been a really cool process to go through. And also something that has been just incredible to people that we've been able to be connected to, and are now on our cap table. Yeah, for sure.
Unknown Speaker 21:26
And then in terms of, you know, the marketing side, when we were getting our brand off the ground, since we had, you know, nothing really to work with in terms of budget, a lot of it was a grind. Like for example, on Instagram, it was me in my cubicle at work. While we were side hustling on Instagram for like three hours a day liking and commenting and dming people who were following competitor accounts, people who are skincare enthusiasts, skin intellectuals. So there's a lot of like, just like, you know, being on the ground, like talking directly with people doing a lot of Giveaways also with other similar brands on Instagram helped raise our awareness. So finding brands that were in non competitive spaces like haircare, cosmetics, and things like that, and then partnering with them to grow our following. And then another way that we found was interesting in terms of marketing was working with subscription box partners, like fab fit fun, like it's see. And this was great, because we were able to figure out a way to be profitable from the subscription box partnerships, whereas most brands that work with them actually end up losing money or barely breakeven. So for us, it was like a no brainer, because it was free. It was paid marketing on our end, and we were getting our product into hundreds of 1000s of households of our target demographic. So that was a really, really great way for marketing in the beginning days. And then the final thing I would say in terms of the beginning days marketing, we did a lot of our own PR. So the first thing that we did was we thought about, you know, where could we find free PR, just based off of, you know, maybe where we went to school. And so then Laura and I both reached out to our alumni schools, and then we were able to get full page spreads in the alumni magazine. And then from there, then we thought, okay, so which magazines do we want to get into, then we started following them on Instagram, and dming, the editors. And that's actually how we got our first Elle magazine feature. And we just deemed an editor who is talking about looking for a natural makeup remover and split into our DNA center some products. And then she ended up actually including us, and then printed print edition, which was super cool for Laura and me, because we were like, wow, like this brand still be made being made in my kitchen. But it's, you know, in a full print, like Elle magazine. And I remember when we got that magazine, Laura and I were meeting up at my place in the evening that day. And we were hand making that product that was featured in the magazine in like a stainless steel mixing bowl. And I have a video of Laura where I was like, Well, how do you feel, and she was like, as if this is the product that's in the magazine right now. So you know, I was gonna start that way. I mean, if people saw what our apartments looked like back then, like Laura's apartment was full of shipping boxes, and packing material and packing tape and like, you know, crinkle paper and things like that. And my apartment was full of the manufacturing materials like coconut oil and essential oils and like jars. I mean, it's fun to look back at now. But back then it was definitely a grind.
#paid 24:24
Yes, grinding is definitely the the common theme with you too. You really are building these pieces from the ground up. And those values are still true today. Like if I logged out, like I checked out your Instagram and there's Connie, giving her own, you know, with a bit of face to face the customer video just talking about the products talking about what it means to their customers what it means to you, too. So you guys are still keeping that grind alive. And I love to see founders who are taking a hands on approach.
Unknown Speaker 24:52
Wow. Actually, it's something that we're also doing is something called founder Fridays. So we do Instagram Stories weekly. We take turns between the two of us. And we also do monthly founder Friday. igtv is where we shed more light into what it's like to build a business similar to this podcast for you guys. And we talk about different angles of starting the business. So you know what it was like to start with a limited budget? Or how do you get your first retail account. And this, again, ties into our angle transparency, because for Laura and me, it's not just about transparency about the products, we know that people want to know, like, who is building the brand, like who's behind the scenes. And that's why it's really, you know, intentional for us to get ourselves in front of our followers in front of our consumers. And I think that's another thing that makes us stand out from, you know, the list of other brands out there.
#paid 25:45
Totally, totally, yep, I, I appreciate it deeply. So, I want to just stop fast forward a bit to 2020, you know, COVID, hits, and commerce, ecommerce, everything is kind of flipped upside down for a little bit. So, in those first initial months, you know, on our end, we were watching consumer trends like hawks, you know, of course, there were the obvious spikes in hand sanitizer and toilet paper. But there were significant spikes in athleisure, DIY, home improvement. workout equipment was a big one. And there were some ups and downs in skincare. So how did COVID impact business for three ships? And what kind of changes did your team have to make? Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 26:28
so when COVID first hit, I'm not gonna lie, we were really nervous, because, you know, we had a lot of retail partners, it was actually intentional for us to partner with a lot of retailers to get our brand in front of more consumers. But that being said, when COVID hit and our wholesale brick and mortar partners, partners shut down, we were freaking out. But what happened, you know, like you alluded to, is that skincare, online sales picked up like crazy, I think it was a combination of two things. One was people are trying to support local and support small business. And that was incredible. But the other thing was also skincare is very associated with self care. And we noticed that the first product of ours is sellout during that time was our face masks, and which makes total sense, like people are spending more time at home, they're trying to find an activity do to do to relax and unwind. And using a face mask is something that you know, forces you to be mindful and intentional with your time and relax. So it was great for us as a skincare company, because our sales skyrocketed at the start of COVID. And then what we also noticed was, even though our wholesale partners, sales declined, after a few months, it actually went back to normal because our brick and mortar wholesale partners were opening up their own online shops. For the ones who didn't previously have an online location, or the ones that did have an online presence, people were supporting them, again, trying to support small business, and then that in turn supported us. So I would say at a high level COVID didn't actually end up having a huge negative impact on our business. Another thing that we are also aware of during this time is that that was a time where we're going to be launching our rebrand from the body to three ships. So Lauren, I already knew that during like the spring and summer of 2020, things were going to be a little bit slower. So we anticipated that. So I think overall, it actually ended up working out better for us than what we originally thought. And then on the back end, the changes that we had to make for our team, you know, at the time of COVID it was actually just Laura me on the team of three ships, which people always find really interesting to hear, because then they see what we've grown. A lot of people assume it's a team of like 40 Plus, and we're like, nope, it was just the two of us in March. So actually, during the period of COVID, we grew our team. So now we have four full time members, and then a bunch of contractors and agencies that we work with because of this growth that we've experienced during COVID. So that's been really awesome to see, at the start of COVID. We did have some delays with manufacturing because raw ingredients were coming over from around the world and because of COVID that led to some issues. But overall I think you know, I would say we had a pretty good compared to a lot of other brands.
#paid 29:08
Totally. So preparation, one being ready for for some changes and anticipating to slow down and to to pivot to e commerce and DTC. So those are some of the big pieces that allowed us to be successful during this time.
Laura 29:25
Yeah, for sure.
#paid 29:26
All right.
So the two of you are pretty much celebrities now. I recently saw your episode of Dragon's Den, and you absolutely crushed it. Congratulations on the investment by the way. Yes, yes. So, you know, entrepreneurs and just regular people, we all binge watch that show. It's the Canadian version of shark tank for our US listeners. So what's what's the preparation like for that show? Because if your pitch isn't perfect, and your numbers don't add up, you know that dragons will pick you apart.
Unknown Speaker 30:00
We will tear you apart. And that was something that we were so scared of like. So we audition to the whole process was we audition back in March. And during that time, you basically fill out an online application, I think we had to include like a one or two minute video, basically just talking about the brands. But you can also just walk in for the audition off the street ahead of time. So we did that first thing in the morning, you go in, it's in the lobby of the CBC, building downtown Toronto ads, just across from the Roger center. And then you do like basically like a two minute pitch in front of two producers. So the dragons aren't there during the auditions. It's just producers. They ask you a bunch of questions like, you know, why are you going to go on the show? Why aren't you going getting funding from banks, they asked you about the product line and about what you'd be using the money for, and like what your growth intentions are. And then after like that 10 minutes, you leave, and then they got back to us in I think probably around mid June, maybe early July, telling us that we had been selected to be one of the teams that would film for the show. So that was super exciting. There were over 2000 teams that hide auditioned, only 80 of them make it to that stage where they actually go into the, into the studio to film. So our filming date was set for the first week of September. It's actually a bit of like an ordeal to prep for it. Because like you mentioned, the dragons will tear you apart if you don't know your numbers. So Connie and I probably rehearsed for like a total of maybe 20 to 30 hours of just going through our pitch over and over and over again coming up with ideas for the different prompts that we use, how we'd explain our product, prepping different answers to questions that we knew that the dragons would ask. We watch a bunch of old episodes, especially for products that are within our same category to see what issues that those brands face when they were pitching to the dragons. I think we got on probably around six different calls with other founder friends who had been on the show in the past to hear about their experience on the day of as well as following the show and how they're able to capitalize off of the huge amount of press you get from Dragon's Den. So that was the prep that we did. And then on the day of we were supposed to be booked, actually for later on in the afternoon for filming. And then so we had booked our hair and hair and makeup to be done ahead of time because they don't do that on site. You have to come prepared with that as the pictures. And we hear literally the night before at 7pm that they're like oh no, we need you first thing here first thing in the morning at 10am which is when our hair and makeup was scheduled for so she knew and Connie and I are practicing our like TV hair and makeup at her house like in her bathroom at like 9pm the night before pitch and we're just like we hope this is okay had to go to shoppers to buy some like bronzer and eyeliner, I think. Last minute scramble. So it's one of those lessons that even though we spent so many hours rehearsing ahead of time confirming with them multiple times. Okay, so we'll be there in the afternoon because we're getting hair and makeup done in the morning, getting the first appointment slot with this salon as well. And even then life will throw you curveballs so you just kind of have to roll with it. So God says three to 10 and then kept getting delayed for when we're supposed to go on. So once you're there, they keep you in this holding room, where it was like literally just this little curtain cubicle that was set up in the middle of like their studio area was freezing, like probably 15 degrees Celsius or something and they're so cold. And you're just kind of in this Limbo where they keep telling you Okay, you'll be up next, and then they delay things and delay things more. So Connie and I just we're sitting in this little box and cubicle super cold hungry, because we couldn't leave to go get food because of COVID. Once you go in, you're not allowed to leave. And like so nervous and just like compulsively practicing our pitch over and over again, or playing with our props or like retouching our makeup. And then finally was our turn to go on. I think at like three in the afternoon, they call you back, walk you onto the set. And then you like they probably gave maybe two minutes of instructions before going on. And then the doors open and you're walking in. And then you're like wow, these dragons that we've been watching for, you know, a decade ever since we were in high school are actually real people. And it's a very weird kind of moment. Everything is actually taken in just pretty much one cut. So the only thing that they allow you to retake is that first walk in where you say hello dragons, they have you go and do that stop and then redo the whole thing and then you're right in there. We're actually in there for around 40 to 45 minutes, which they then edit down to seven. So it was a bit of a whirlwind of a day and Connie and I probably don't actually remember too much what we said when we are done with how they decided to edit it when it went live. And our makeup makeup looked fine,
Unknown Speaker 34:37
Okay, it turned out people thought that we had gotten it professionally done. So everything turned out okay. second career.
#paid 34:44
Yeah, no, you definitely can't tell you guys you guys absolutely killed it. Congratulations on the investment in your time there on Dragon's Den.
Connie and Laura 34:52
Thanks. It was fun. Yeah. So
#paid 34:54
you know you guys started from the ground up bootstrapped. You know, using personal savings. Eating strictly pasta? Why did you choose to, you know, start off completely bootstrapped and then turn to investors like the angel investors? You mentioned, Dragon's Den, you know, later on almost four years into your business versus in the very beginning?
Unknown Speaker 35:18
Yeah, it's a great question. So when Laura and I started the brand, we knew that we didn't want to raise outside capital right away. Because if you raise when your company isn't worth a lot, you'll be totally diluted. So for that reason, we knew that we wanted to keep as much as we could of our company between the two of us. And so Laura and I are 5050 partners. But as the business grew, we knew that we didn't want to be a company that grew very, very slowly, we wanted to definitely hit that hockey stick growth, everyone always lust after. And we had already proven our product market fit, we had an amazing customer base. And then we also landed target, which was an incredible retail partner. So we knew that we'd be launching into target we're actually launching next month in January. So for that reason, we're like, well, if we're going to be launching into over 500 Target stores across the US, we're also launching to Whole Foods, like there's a lot on the line here. And I think what helped us is, as we grew the business, we realized that launching into a retailer is just the first step, the really difficult part is maintaining that partnership and growing with them. And if you don't perform at shelf, you're getting kicked out. So Lauren, I knew that we would need a huge amount of capital to work with to do like marketing efforts, influencer partnerships, you know, in store displays, like podcast ads, like etc, etc, which we just couldn't fund ourselves. And at the time, because you know, Lauren, I had already gone through that pre seed round discussion with a bunch of different VCs and angels, we knew the right people that we want to bring on to our cap table. So we knew like we had the right people on our side. And so that just made sense in terms of timing. And like Laura mentioned, it only took us two weeks, which I think is a really good indicator of the fact that our brand was ready to raise. But I would say the first time that we tried to raise that pre seed, it took so long because we weren't at the stage yet. Whereas this time around, when we talked with people, they immediately understood why we needed to raise, they understood our valuation, they felt like it was really fair, and they want to be involved in the growth of our company. Like we were having conversations with people where they were saying, like, if you'll take me like here have my money. And like I would love to be on this journey with you, which Laura and I were like, oh, we'd never heard things like that before. So I think for all those reasons, it made sense for us to raise this time round.
#paid 37:40
So with almost four years in a full line of skincare products, tremendous success. What's next for three ships?
Unknown Speaker 37:50
Yeah, 2021 is going to be a huge year for us. So we have some really exciting product launches and, and product developments that are in the works right now. So next year, we're going to be launching six new products, which is really exciting. We're also going to be expanding into body haircare men's care down the road. So this is more of a long term two to five years out kind of thing. So we're excited to go into those spaces. And like Connie mentioned, retail expansion is going to be huge for us this coming year. We definitely believe in direct consumer and online and, but really want to take an omni channel approach to our distribution because we see these things as feeding into each other and creating more of a flywheel effect. So launching into 500 targets in January. All of the whole foods in Northern California and February rolling out across Canada and Hudson's Bay, Holt, Renfrew and also Indigo online. And then we recently landed Urban Outfitters as well. So that's going to be our core focus is just on executing and delivering great value to those retailers and to our customers.
#paid 38:50
Wow, sounds very exciting. And before I let you guys go, I have some quick, rapid fire either or questions not related to three ships not related to to just just about life in general. You guys ready? Oh, yeah. Good. All right. Feel free to just shout out your answers. All right. Chocolate or candy.
Cats or dogs?
Connie and Laura 39:15
Dogs Yes.
#paid 39:17
Totally breakfast or dinner?
Connie and Laura 39:19
Dinner.
Oh, I love
#paid 39:26
reading or writing.
Connie and Laura 39:28
Reading. I'm a terrible writer or I don't
#paid 39:32
enjoy it takes a lot of effort. Well, the copy on your website looks amazing. So if you were to picture your perfect vacation in your head, is it a five star resort all inclusive hotel beach vibe or backpack and hostel vibes, five star resort.
Connie and Laura 39:52
I look Can I combine them
your backpacking but then like I have at some hotels
#paid 40:00
It could be bad guys
Unknown Speaker 40:05
resort. Yeah. With excursions to go in the day. Yeah.
AJ 40:10
It could be arranged. So, to our listeners, if you're looking for your next skincare purchase, use the promo code paid 20 that's paid to zero for 20% off your next purchase on three ships. beauty.com. Laura. Connie, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been great.
Connie and Laura 40:29
It was so great to speak with you so much. Thanks for having us.
#paid 40:33
Thanks for listening because it DDC gross show. A hashtag pay
Transcribed by https://otter.ai