- 3 months ago
ThatsSmooth offers shaving and beard grooming products that leave the skin hydrated, while Venus Dreams Blends offer an array of plant-based skincare products.
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00:00welcome to go fund yourself watch up-and-coming entrepreneurs step into the spotlight to pitch
00:12their businesses to you this is interactive tv like what you see scan the on-screen qr code
00:20with your mobile device and invest in these businesses in real time all right here we go
00:25let's go another round you decide whether to help these entrepreneurs dreams come true
00:30or tell them to go fund yourself i can see this thing being a worldwide hit meet the titans
00:39ready to ask the questions you the investors want answered how do you make money creator of go fund
00:46yourself rory kataya it makes sense to crowdfund something like this and get in now jason waller
00:52can't tell you what to do but this is a lottery ticket david melzer things will go viral very
00:57quickly this isn't just entertainment because there is a huge opportunity with the money that
01:02you've raised what will you do with it i love this this may be one of the best deals i've seen and now
01:07it's time to go fund yourself
01:09joining our titans our best-selling author podcaster and managing partner at dragon x capital dan lock
01:21as well as renowned talent manager entrepreneurista and founder and ceo of society 18
01:27pamela zapata and here with a revolutionary new hair and skin product is miguel martinez founder of that
01:35smooth i'm miguel martinez aka senior smooth baby we have combined skin care and grooming into one
01:43we're talking about serving a grossly underserved market five billion strong we're the next best thing
01:50my name is miguel martinez and i'm the founder and creator of the next big thing in men's grooming
02:03a little bit about my background i'm an afro-latino from harlem new york city
02:09proud for decades i suffered when shaving have combination sensitive skin with a thick beard
02:17and actually i could never shave super close because the products in the general market were
02:23not made for men who look like me or even myself so after decades of suffering from irritation
02:29my skin began to hyper pigment meaning turn dark my sons two sons one was battling bumps
02:36the other was artist curator always in the public his beard wouldn't hold up his skin flaky skin
02:43so i set out not to start a business i set out to create something that was very effective that was
02:51all natural and that would solve the issues that faced all three of us well mason's unique is that
02:58we're the first brand to combine skin care and grooming into one and let me give you a couple of
03:04examples the shaving cream is actually doubles as a mass so for example you put it on when you shave
03:11and you put it all over your face it's infused with dead sea mud baobab oil argon oil rebuilds
03:18the skin from the inside removes impurities and women love the product too and that's our next growth
03:23opportunity the last thing a woman wants to do who shaves her underarms is to raise her arm and now the
03:29skin underneath the arm is darkened that's one example the second example is even aftershave facial
03:35balm it's light non-greasy it actually hydrates the skin around the clock and our competitors
03:42they're very monolithic in their approach one product one solution one product a number of solutions
03:50and that's what makes us great in the marketplace how did you know how to how to make it fortunately
03:56we're in the information age i use the art of shaving kind of like as a model because it's a
04:01prestige product and i just kept going after and going after it so for about a year and a half i went
04:06around and held events at cigar lounges and barbershops in the new york metropolitan area and that's kind
04:12how i came up with the name and also with the branding so the name my latino brothers would say
04:21you know and my african-american brothers go yo man my face is smooth that's smooth so for skin so
04:28smooth we had to add three o's so that's literally how we came up with our name because it personified
04:34you know uh our people's experience with it i love it i think that i think that's great this is a five
04:40billion dollar opportunity with a b right now men of color they have a five billion dollar spend
04:46and one and a half billion are luxury buyers how much does it cost to make each one and how much
04:52you sell it for right now cost of goods sold is averaging about 25 but we know with the right
04:59investment with the right volume we could reduce that by 20 which would increase margins the other
05:04thing we've done with 12 products you see we've bundled them so we have shaving bundles
05:10skin and beard products set bundles which one is the best seller the shaving cream mask and this
05:16puppy right here because beards are in and how long does it last on average lasts about three months
05:23okay we didn't just come out yesterday we've been selling literally for seven years we were fortunate
05:30enough to have a trial run at three major retailers whole foods market macy's as well as belk department
05:37stores over the last six years we've moved about 8 000 units so we've proven product market fit we've
05:45also proven that there is a retailer intent out there you said you sold 8 000 products what was your
05:53revenue last year our revenue for the last two years in candor we flatlined so
06:01the other thing i wanted to mention is for the last two years we are basically relaunching we're
06:08looking to significantly multiply our company by focusing direct to consumer why online sales is
06:15experiencing a 12.6 compound average growth rate so we have a tremendous opportunity to significantly
06:23multiply uh any investment what have you learned in those two years our demographic when you look
06:31at it over indexes and social media viewing social media participation television viewing right entertainment
06:39is huge in communities of color so we know that we can get to them and we know for the 50 cents on the
06:46dollar that we would give up to a retailer just for starters right and this is before you put the end of
06:53aisle displays on and you spend for marketing we know that with that 50 cents on the dollar that we can
06:59connect with our our avatar customer what what is the issue of getting that rolling is it cash yes it's
07:05investment dollars because we know it's about testing and testing a lot of things so the very limited
07:12budget you can only test but so much so even with our limited budget you know i'm operating a return on
07:17ad spend right now of like one and a half but we know we can get it to three and we know what to do
07:22we're looking to raise three million dollars because three million dollars will really allow us to
07:29capitalize on the market we're going to commit 40 percent toward marketing 25 for inventory or cost of
07:36goods sold and the balance will be basically working capital can i provide some feedback sure first of all
07:43the pitch is very smooth oh thank you very smooth three o's sales is one-on-one marketing is one too
07:50many right and i'm a marketing guy and marketing it's testing but it's not just testing you see a number
07:57of influencers online they have their own brand and they've built an audience on social media on youtube
08:03channel and it's much easier to do that than to just get into the store i think it's not testing it's
08:10i don't think you even need that much capital what you need is an audience now something to consider
08:15since it's a consumable if i was you i would turn this into a subscription model well and i'm glad you
08:22mentioned that because we have set up a subscription model so our goal is to convert at least 25 percent
08:29of our new customers on the subscription because research has shown me that men in particular are more
08:35prone to subscribe to things than even women what's your ability to to manufacture and
08:40distribute good question we do have a a very well-established contract manufacturer in long
08:47island new york could they handle 5 000 orders next week yeah all right so you have manufacturing and
08:51distribution ready to go yes um you just need to put some dollars on it yes you don't need three
08:57million dollars for that to get 5 000 units what is that going to cost you maybe five dollars to make
09:09look what he needs to do is to prove that somebody wants to buy this stuff and they buy it again
09:14right so all he needs to do is is get enough inventory that he could run a spot that somebody
09:18like you can create yeah and and see how people respond to it so you need 25 000 for inventory then you
09:25need another few thousand dollars to get a spot running on tick tock and every place else and then
09:30you'll see what you've got if you're asking people to give you three million dollars for the for a
09:35product that you sold 8 000 units over six years and you're not selling anything in the past two
09:40years because you're trying to figure out marketing nobody's going to do that so you just need a small
09:44amount of dough to get this thing off the ground and prove that there's a market for it and that
09:49people are actually coming to buy it again then you go out and say okay i've got this it's proven
09:55here's my here's my metrics now i'm going to go here that's what you need i really think that in
10:0260 to 90 days you could be out there driving sales right you just need a small amount of money and i
10:07really want to see you focus on that and we could maybe help him figure out how to design a campaign
10:12just to raise that small amount of money yeah or we could give him the small amount of money for some
10:18equity and take care of doing this stuff together so i could do the influencer jason could do marketing
10:23you could do the advisory yeah and it'd be worth putting the money i would do that to you and if these
10:28guys want to join us i'm in you had me a latino from the east coast pam's in well well thank you
10:33very much i just want to say that my i don't have an ego above getting it right that's awesome and as
10:39a former team ball player and a point guard you don't win chips by yourself you do with a squad you
10:45do it with coaches with mentors and anything and any support that i would get from you go fund yourself
10:52the titans it would be a thousand percent welcome and i'm blessed to be here our staff will reach out
10:58to you and we'll and we'll see if we can set something up to figure out how we can best help
11:01you get this product out there because it deserves to get out there yeah the biggest thing i walked away
11:05with is knowledge and very effective knowledge that we can apply immediately to begin moving the needle
11:14the titans they see the opportunity they see the story but the feedback that i was getting
11:21the acknowledgement that they see the vision they've acknowledged the vision and they're willing
11:27to help me to get there i couldn't ask for more i think there's a market for the product i think uh
11:33there's not like i said a ton of uh male grooming products that specifically focus on men of color
11:39because obviously their skin texture and hair is a little bit more force and i think there's a lot
11:43of money that can be made here we always talk about betting on the jockey he can pitch he's
11:48a hell of a salesperson he's got a great product he's got a great story around it i think with the
11:52right help the right videos the right advertising throwing those fishing lines out there to start
11:56getting those sales even if he breaks even it starts to scale word of mouth things start to blow up
12:01as long as he's got the inventory i think he could kill it because that's the type of product you can put
12:05some wild ads together that will really drive some business yeah i i think this is a great example of how
12:11all of us could apply our respective skills and talents and experience and relationships
12:18and create something meaningful valuable from what he's already done
12:25i'm happy with that smooth because it's a product that caters to all ethnicity it brings like good
12:30quality and all these products you know that smooth makes me happy because it's the first product to
12:35to to to cater to black people's skin and and facial hairs and all that once my beard grows out
12:41i would definitely use that it is a good product check it out scan that qr code don't forget to scan
12:47that qr code scan that code returning to our panel of titans dan long and pamela zapata and here to
12:56introduce a line of handcrafted bath and body products is certified energy health practitioner joy steindler
13:04what inspired me to create my product was the ability to help people venus streams blends was created
13:11out of earth magic and helps people with their red flicking skin dry patches and move forward with
13:20these and make it a great life thank you for having me here my name is joy steindler i'm a certified
13:30energy health practitioner and have been a healer for over 28 years i work with dr and master shaw
13:38he's a world-renowned healer i am a dow hands practitioner and a compassion messenger what does that
13:44mean what tell me what that means so we take energy intention and matter and bring it into one just like
13:51we would with these products you're taking energy intention matter and you're putting it into a product
13:56so in the quantum physics world it is something that would create a loving and kind environment
14:03in your words your thoughts and your actions that's just extraordinary how do you do that so we do that
14:09through our thoughts words and actions in every intention that we do and we come into the world
14:15bringing our hearts and our souls and uh creating miracles in everyday life and no matter what we do
14:22amazing and you infuse that energy into your products i do okay so that's really interesting so
14:27tell us about the products my product is venus dreams blends it's a natural bath and body product
14:34that is here to help and enhance people's lives started with the rosemary lavender salve and then i came
14:42into having over 30 unique products i'm a highly spiritual being and so i have a lot of spiritual experiences
14:50and i kept walking by the rosemary bush in my yard for six months and i kept hearing make a salve with
14:56me make a salve with me and finally the rosemary lavender salve was created out of that with laborious
15:02hours of research on the right properties that can heal and help people the company was started in 2008
15:10but what happened is i took a time period off and i did have a stroke and a brain bleed and was in the
15:16icu for 17 days uh 2021 i moved to utah went through a divorce and now i'm restarting my company
15:25in utah have you sold any what's the revenue yes so basically it's word of mouth right now
15:31and i do have a website up do you have revenue in utah are you putting them out at stores right now you
15:36create distribution and going places and selling while you're there or how does that work yes i do have
15:42word of mouth that i have constant sales with but i have not done any marketing at all i'm very familiar
15:51with master shaw with quantum healing and the aspects of intentionality not just with the products
15:58but with the ingredients of the products just in a practical matter what type of investment are you
16:04looking for and what would it be used for so i'm looking for operational cost i do have the opportunity
16:10right now with people that could manufacture for me i've done all my manufacturing in the past
16:17and had employees how much money do you need for that operational expense with operations probably
16:22five hundred thousand dollars or more i have the opportunity to go into a hotel chain over in dubai
16:29in europe right now so that is in motion and it's with a worldwide company i've always filled my own
16:34products so this is a huge step for me to go into manufacturing versus uh you know with somebody
16:41else versus myself and having control over a small batches so this would be exponentially elevating to
16:48the next level and i've never done that um i'm curious what differentiates your products from others
16:53within the market we are here as an opportunity for a natural product that most people do not have the
17:01opportunity to have so they're natural organic and they're based in spirit and love so when they are
17:07produced they're handcrafted with so much love each one is hand poured hand labeled but they're also
17:15blessed with uh the dow and the source in every product that i create can you can you heal jason with
17:24your healing hands i may need healing after i say what i'm gonna say so um look joyce i
17:31i i appreciate that you've made them with love and all of that that's not gonna sell
17:37people watching they're like i don't care if it's made with love we need to find out what really
17:40separates it it's got to be something more important than it was made with love and energy
17:45because coca-cola can make coca-cola and they could say it's made with love and energy it's probably not
17:49so we have to find a way or something in your product that really makes it separate from other
17:54people's products what is that this is your chance to talk to the millions out there and say this is what
18:00makes my product different and i just don't think saying it's made with love is going to cut it
18:07it is all natural it's all organic and it does help heal people from the inside out when you put
18:14the moisturizer on i've got people that have had redness flaking dry skin and it completely heals and
18:21you know i've had people that worked with dermatologists for two three years and they could not have
18:27anything that helped them that's exactly what we need to say the inside out healing inside out
18:31healing is awesome yeah so let me let me say this um i really like you okay and i think people watching
18:38this are going to really like you because you have a genuineness about you and and it's clear to me and
18:47i think anyone that's going to be watching this and listening to you is going to realize you bring that
18:51right into your products and and that's important to you and and i think if you could figure out how
18:56to leverage that you'll do even better however all that being said you really need a little bit more
19:05time here you you've got to work on your pitch explaining what the business is you got to be able
19:10to respond like that to the questions that you've heard people asking you here on the panel you really
19:16understand the metrics the fundamentals behind the business like how much money do you need it's not
19:23well five or six hundred thousand or about it's no it's a number and you and when if we asked you how
19:29do you break down that number you're going to know exactly how that breaks down this is what we're going to
19:33spend this on this is what we're going to do this we talk about distribution the the answer can't be
19:38it's word of mouth today it's word of mouth but with x dollars we're going to do this this and this
19:46and now you've got an opportunity in dubai well how are you going to respond to that opportunity
19:49well we've got a company that you know upon funding they're going to be able to manufacture
19:54x number of units we project to be able to sell x number of units those are the kinds of responses
20:00you need to have like that on the tip of your tongue i would love to have you come back after you've
20:06got your feet under you and you know how to respond to the questions you know exactly what you're
20:10looking for then take that that genuineness about you layer that on top now you got a winner yeah
20:17thank you i'm here to do a really big job to support and empower and inspire people with their skin and
20:25their needs if you'd like more information about our company please scan our qr code we are so excited
20:32to serve you my name is joy steinler go fund yourself looking at the products um they are really quite
20:41exquisite the packaging the thought that went into it the thoughtfulness um they look quite amazing i'm
20:49really looking forward to trying it the products themselves are exceptional and i understand quantum
20:56healing and healing hands that she studied but that's hard to communicate to the market like jason
21:01said i just think there's a lot of organic natural handmade products in the market so i think she needs
21:06to lean in on what makes her products different who's her target demographic i like what she said about
21:12how the products are made and there's like an energy and a prayer think lean into that because i've never
21:17really heard about that being part of like uh the creation of a product or the packaging of the
21:21product so i think she just needs to lean in on what makes her product different inside out inside
21:26i think she's very passionate about her products she's got a good story but she lacks some of the
21:31business skills i think she still needs to work on that and narrow down the avatar she's serving like
21:37pam said it's a very crowded marketplace and she started this 2008 so by now that's been a long many years
21:46she should have gotten more traction than what she's gotten so far so because she mentioned i have
21:50no marketing she needs to find a way to get marketing going right no matter who or what
21:56and how she does it she's got to get marketing whether it be through influencers whether it be
22:00through testimonials whatever it is to put these on display and have someone testify that this is so
22:06great because it smells amazing looks fantastic that will help her and then she can scale you try the
22:13hand cream what'd you think i think it's great actually now that i'm like putting it in it absorbs
22:17really well there's like a nice glow on the skin after so i think the product is great she did that
22:22so good she made me want to do it i saw her over there rubbing her hands i'm like i gotta get me some
22:26of that so she's got something here she really has something here she just needs to work on how she
22:31communicates that to her customer base because she's got something here that's that's worth pursuing agreed
22:38i think venus dreams is great i love that it's all natural it's clean products because you don't
22:47want to be putting all the toxic things that you find in most beauty products on your skin and body
22:51i would buy venus dreams because the products are all natural and organic don't forget to scan the qr
22:57code go fund yourself go fund yourself
23:10so
23:27you
23:28you
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