00:00This has been like the sensation. Anybody who's walked past your location down there,
00:04it always seems to be a line down there. Great location because you're right by a university
00:08there. So you get a lot of the younger folks who are going for this. But the demand for this,
00:13I mean, really goes beyond just Mimi's. We've seen a real revival of interest in frozen yogurt
00:17and the numbers that Bloomberg has crunched really backs it up. I think 26% growth just
00:21industry-wide overall. Give me a sense here of what you were trying to go for because what you're
00:27doing, it's a lot of different ingredients, more natural ingredients, a lot more creative
00:31toppings and things like that. What was your general mindset of what you were trying to
00:36establish? You know, it's funny because when I first moved here, which was two years ago from
00:41Australia, I looked around and I think I saw what everyone sees now with these crazy lines outside,
00:46you know, the photo booth or outside clothing shops, whatever it was. And I was fascinated with
00:50the concept of that. You know, what are they doing and waiting in line? And I remember going to this
00:54viral photo booth in Lower East Side at the time. And I would ask, you know, the young people in
00:59the
00:59line sort of, what are you waiting for? And they turned to me and they sort of were just like,
01:04oh, I don't know. I saw it on TikTok. And it made me realize they were looking for an activity,
01:09an experience, something to do, somewhere to go, somewhere to hang, something to talk about,
01:13something to laugh at. You know, it was less about the photo booth or less about, in our case,
01:18technically the frozen yogurt. It's the third space. It's the concept of going somewhere with
01:22friends, having a laugh, catching up. That is what I wanted to create more than anything.
01:27Fun fact, I get my hair cut across from that photo booth. And I remember when I first started
01:30people saying, I kept asking people, what are they lining up for? But I do get it. And it gets
01:34to
01:34this idea how people are looking for more than just the meal or the treat itself. It is really
01:39the experience. And you tapped into that. And I am curious, I mean, Bloomberg did a big feature on
01:44you. They mentioned how Howard Schultz, who led Starbucks for years, has been an advisor of yours.
01:49And I thought that was interesting because, you know, for the most part, I mean, frozen yogurt is a bit
01:52of a
01:52commodity, just like coffee was. But he was able to take coffee and really elevate it and make it
01:57into something that was a lot more desirable. I mean, what did he tell you? What advice did he give
02:01you? I mean, he, you know, puts the customer at the forefront of everything. And really, his biggest
02:10piece of advice for me was, you know, go slow to go fast. And I think it's the biggest message
02:14that I
02:15can share with anyone looking to build a new company, which is, you know, we have to put the customer,
02:20we do put the customer at the center of everything. And it's all about that. So everything we do in
02:26trying to make the line fun and entertaining in the store and generosity and hospitality,
02:30everything we're doing is that. And I think, you know, he does better than anyone.
02:34You have two locations in New York City. You're opening a third. Is that correct?
02:39Does it do you worry, though, that as you try to scale up and expand that maybe some of the
02:44mystique
02:45and the fun and the exclusivity of it gets lost? Yes and no. We're not going to try to put
02:51one on
02:52every corner for that exact reason. But I think there's so much demand, particularly in a city
02:56like New York. You know, people are constantly asking us to come to their neighborhoods so they
03:01don't have to trek all the way down to us, let's say, downtown. So I think that there's a way
03:05of doing
03:06it where we don't diminish what makes it so special, but still can, like, sort of be everywhere forever
03:11on. In addition to not putting on every corner, there's also the issue of copycats, right? And
03:15many times something goes viral, if something gets big, then everybody's going to try to find a way
03:19to knock off. How do you sort of protect yourself or protect your brand in a way where it will
03:23stand
03:24out once, you know, inevitably everyone else decides to try to do exactly what Amberlynn's did?
03:29To be honest, I know it sounds cliche, but I'm not too worried about what everyone else is doing.
03:34I think so many of the brands have so much merit, like obviously the beautiful product and experience.
03:39We're really, really focused on what we're doing, which is how can we deliver that experience
03:44that's incredible every day and fun. Like, it's meant to be fun. How do we make the line fun? We've
03:49got DJs, we've got live music, we've got poets, we've got artists. Like, it's an enjoyable experience.
03:55That's what really, really what we're focusing on. And then at the product level, how do we make it a
03:59consistently super high quality product? Not just follow what's trendy of today, but actually focus
04:03on the ingredients, locally sourced, where's the best produce, that sort of stuff. So we're really
04:08focused internally. All right. And I am curious, as you expand, is the ambition to go beyond New York?
04:14Yeah, of course.
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