$120K/Month – Starting A Natural Hair and Skincare Products Brand for Babies – Rebecca (Becky) Bavli of T is for Tame

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Hey there entrepreneurs. My name is Sushant and welcome to Treptalks. This is a show where I interview successful e commerce entrepreneurs, business executives, and thought leaders. And ask them questions about their business story and also dive deep into some of the strategies and tactics that they have used to start and grow their businesses.

And today, I’m really excited to welcome Becky Bavli to the show. Becky is the CEO and founder of Tea is for Tame. Tea is for Tame is an inclusive hair and skincare brand for kids. And they are the first company to create a dry shampoo for kids as well. And today I’m going to ask Becky a few questions about her entrepreneurial journey and some of the strategies and tactics that she has used to start and grow her business.

So Becky, thank you so much for joining me today at Trep Talks. We really, really appreciate your time.

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: Of course. Thanks so much for asking me to be here. I appreciate it.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: So really excited to hear about your story. I [00:01:00] mean, the little bit of research that I did, I read that you used to be an ad executive and you were already working on like hair and baby care products kind of, um, with brands and, and you had some experience.

So I, you know, I became really curious and I was thinking, how do you get the idea? Was the idea really, you know, you’re working on those products, uh, the brands. And you kind of identified an opportunity through that experience, or was it really, you know, you had your kid, you know, the story that you’ve written on your company page, you know, you had the kid, you encountered a problem, and then you created this company and product to really solve your own problem.

And then, of course, you know, other people are having a similar kind of problem. So, can you share a little bit about your own background and how you came up with the idea for this?

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: Yeah, I so my background is in advertising and marketing, but I worked for really large companies, large brands. [00:02:00] Um, I worked on Gerber, for example, and, um, I worked on several different hair care brands.

So, um, but my experience is really in, you know, on the strategy side, which was helping us come up with a Um, an idea in a campaign that would help res that would resonate with a very specific target audience. Um, so that’s the part of the job that I really liked. And then I also work with clients on understanding their business and their needs, which I think definitely helped me in where I, where I’m at, but the actual idea for the product.

Um, I have twins. They were, um, born with hair. And, you know, I basically, as a mom, you’re, especially, you know, when they were born, everyone was essentially asking for photos, post them on Instagram and send them to me and all of the photos, their hair looked You know, very messy. Um, and my final [00:03:00] straw was really my husband licking his hands essentially and using his spit to fix the hair.

I, you know, I thought, okay, we can do something better than this. So that’s kind of how the genesis, the idea started. I worked with a chemist. I came up with the formula, um, which I now own for our first product, which was the taming cream. Okay. Um, and then, you know, from there, all of the ideas for the business are based on either consumer feedback or needs that I’ve seen in the marketplace or needs that I’ve found with my own kids that I, you know, wanted to develop something for.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Did you have any other entrepreneurial experience previously? Because, I mean, you know, I’ve heard a similar kind of a story in the past where, uh, an entrepreneur encounters, uh, a problem and then goes about solving that, but. I’m sure, you know, so many people every day encounter problem and they try to either, you know, figure out some other way to solve it, you know, uh, [00:04:00] that maybe not solve it completely, but, you know, they figure out a solution, but.

To go forward and create a business or actually a product to solve that problem, that definitely requires a little bit more of an initiative or a business mind. So, for you, was it, did you think when you were trying to solve this problem that, you know, there could be a business idea here or was it really just, you know, let, let me see if I can create something and, you know, we’ll figure it out.

I can make some money outta

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: No, it, it’s kind of a combination. So I, I, I would describe myself as an idea person. Um, you know, I’m that person at every event, uh, over the years would have a different product idea, different business idea. Um, I just, I think my mind works in a very different way where I see opportunities.

Um, and I’m an [00:05:00] optimist, so, uh, you know, it’s, When you see a ton of opportunity places and you are an optimist, you think that you can solve it. I think that thing that held me back in the past is, you know, I had a great career in advertising and marketing and, um, you know, I didn’t want to necessarily leave that career and that lifestyle to.

What would essentially be completely starting over again. Um, I always knew that I could figure it out. I’m just that kind of person. Like I’ll, I’ll, you know, roll up my sleeves, I’ll do whatever it takes to get something done. So I wasn’t super concerned about, you know, if that, if I’d be able to figure it out.

Um, and then on the, um, sorry, I lost my train of thought there. Um, Yeah. So, so anyway, so I basically kind of came up with the idea. It had dogs barking [00:06:00] in the background and it’s like, you know, it’s my life, the twins running around and the dogs crazy around here. Yeah. So, um, anyway, that’s, you know, that’s kind of, uh, you know, I always knew that I would come up with an idea.

It was just a matter of which one I was going to actually invest in and spend the money on and go forward with. So, yeah. Um, you know, this one happened to fit my lifestyle at the time. I was an entrepreneur in the past. Um, I did it at the same time as having a job, though I started an underground restaurant and we basically traveled around to different, um, people’s homes and set up shop for, uh, the day.

And would basically, uh, create an entire dinner in different homes. So it was fun. It was an experience. And we, I learned a lot about budget and finance and all that kind of stuff from it.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Can you talk a little bit about your product? So you said that, you know, your main product or the first product that you [00:07:00] started out with is this dry shampoo or, um, I think the word you use is taming shampoo?

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: Taming cream. Taming cream was our first

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: product. Can you talk a little bit about, you know, uh, that product and also all the other products that you have, uh, your product line right now?

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: Sure, um, so With, uh, you know, the original genesis of the idea was my own kids. Right. So my daughter has, well, she did as a baby, really like wavy hair, some curls.

My son had straight hair. So, you know, I wanted to use only natural and organic ingredients. So that was like a must for me because I wanted it to be safe. So we started there with, okay, what ingredients can you use that are good for hair? I didn’t want it to just work. I wanted to actually be beneficial to the hair.

So coconut oil was one of the main ingredients we started with. And we, I created, I worked with the chemist. [00:08:00] Um, I basically gave him my ideas and we iterated back and forth. And now I own this. formula. But, you know, I gave him my requirements. I wanted it to, you know, be safe for kids and tame hair, not to be too greasy, et cetera.

So that’s kind of how the product started. The other thing that’s like a, a bit of a blessing in disguise was that it actually, depending on how much of the taming cream you use. It can work for kids that have like really fine hair, but it also could work for kids to have thicker, curly or even coily hair.

So even though I developed the product for my own kids, I only need a little bit for us. And maybe if your hair is a little bit thicker, baby’s hair is a little thicker, you could use it. And then I’ve heard of like moms buy it for kids and then they use it for themselves. And so it’s kind of expanded, but that was our first product.

And then you mentioned the dry shampoo. recently launched that about a month and a half, two months ago. Um, and again, my products always are going to come from a need. So, [00:09:00] you know, it’s not only my own child, but I’ve heard this in different communities where kids do not like to wash their hair every day.

They don’t like this. Sensation of the water falling, dripping into their face, getting in their eyes, going down the back of their head. And, you know, some kids with maybe sensory issues don’t like it at all. And then you have the other middle of the spectrum where it’s okay, but they fight you on it. And then, um, which is my daughter and then my son who’s into sports now and he goes and plays a, you know, soccer game or baseball or whatever it is.

And then he comes home and he’s sweaty. And then we’re onto the, you know, grandma’s house or we’re running out for a play date or whatever we’re doing. And it’s a nice little refresher to use in between where he doesn’t need to go in and take a full shower, full bath. Um, but I can just kind of freshen up his hair.

So, and it’s great because it’s [00:10:00] same kind of thing where you can use it on a baby. Um, if you don’t want to give your baby a bath every night and you just want to eat, cause it’s a powder based non aerosol. Um, you know, of course, all natural ingredients. Um, I’ve never worked with powders before this was our first time.

So there’s something called food grade, which means it’s safe, obviously safe enough to eat. And that’s, we spent and, and all of our products are food grade. So, yeah, it’s, um, it’s fun coming up with that. It’s fun solving problems and, you know, that one, I’m really excited for more moms to find out about, especially moms that have kids with more sensory issues.

Um, those seem to be the most excited about it. Um, I mean, for me, I personally like the idea of throwing it in my purse or even a mom with a diaper bag and using it when I don’t feel like washing, giving them a bath, but you know, every mom is different. Definitely.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: So the value proposition of your company is really [00:11:00] that these products are safe for kids, like really little kids.

And when you started, like, there weren’t any products in the market that were kind of, you know, I’m sure, you know, there’s so many products out there that solve this problem for adults. But basically, what you’re solving for is the safety for kids. Correct.

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: Yeah. And even to this day, I mean, I challenge, um, moms, uh, anyone basically that’s, that’s, you know, uses hair products to take that product and turn it around and look on the back.

I think so many times moms get really caught up in safety for their kids. Um, you know. My generation, the generation after me, and even, you know, the latest generation, I feel like we’re very conscious of what we eat, what we put in our bodies, et cetera. But a lot of times we’re not really looking, [00:12:00] um, on the back of the bottle, uh, for even us.

So when I did that, when I went down my path, like, you know, four or five, five years ago, I guess now, and saw the ingredients that were in styling products and in my hair products, you know, I was pretty surprised. Um, that and I definitely didn’t want to use it on my kids. So it changed, you know, the type of products I use for myself.

And then obviously for my children, I wanted to create something that was even safer that even babies could use.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Now, you did mention that, you know, when you started out or even you had the idea, you started working with a chemist to, to create the formula for this product. Um, I’m assuming that, you know, you hired the chemist or, you know, there was some cost involved with that.

Um, so when you started out, like Before, even before doing that, did you kind of use your previous experience working with those bigger brands to kind of know that this, you know, if you create this [00:13:00] product, there will be demand for it? Or did you do some sort of a market validation? Um, or did you just go to the chemist and say, you know, it wasn’t a significant investment for, so for, for you to, so you said, you know, let’s just create the item.

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: You know, you’re like really tapping into something because that was kind of the breaking point for me. Right? Actually spending that money because I can sit at home and do research and see that there’s a market for it and not be able to find anything. Um, but making that decision to hire that chemist and spend the money was like the first real investment, because like I said, I’ve had a lot of ideas along the way, but none, um, up until that point, I hadn’t put my money where my mouth is, I guess, and actually spend the money.

So no, I hadn’t done any market validation when I originally spent the money and had him develop the [00:14:00] first round of formula. But I put aside a bucket of money to kind of say, all right, I’m going to put this money aside and I’m going to try this. And if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, but at least I tried.

Um, and I, you know, I was fortunate enough to head work for a while and had some savings. So I was able to do that. My validation came after that. So after, um, I had a formula that I felt really good about, um, then I went out and validated and. You know, being a mom myself and a twin mom, I, I was involved in many, you know, um, mom groups at the time.

And I really just, you know, tapped into friends at first. And then from there, I really expanded into the mom community and I still do to this day. I always. joke around that. One of my favorite stats is if I pull my numbers from Amazon to see where our greatest amount of sales are, they’re almost [00:15:00] always in, in and around my hometown where I live right now.

Which is hilarious. It’s not that big. And then New York, New York city. Cause that’s, I lived there for a really long time. So I know a lot of people there, but it’s still, you know, because we launched there and they have such a great base of moms that tried our products in the beginning and that love our brand and tell everybody about it, it’s still really, um, popular, you know, here in, around this area, even though we’ve obviously grown.

a lot since then, but yeah, it’s, it’s interesting, but yeah, that’s really, you know, I think once you spend that first dollar, obviously it was more than a dollar, then you’re, you, you have to decide if you’re committed. And, and I was at that point,

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: did you have to, um, was there anything involved in finding that chemist or did you have to like, did you get them to sign an NDA or something to that?

I am not sure.

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: You know, that’s [00:16:00] again because of my marketing background. I knew that that type of stuff where, uh, NDA and I knew I really wanted to own the formula. I had heard, you know, that that would be something really important. Um, uh, yeah, it wasn’t actually, it’s funny. That was actually not as difficult as you would have thought.

Um, like any community chemists, Kind of congregate in their own communities to and share thoughts on formulas and ideas and stuff that they have. So that’s kind of how my search began looking for a chemist. Um, I landed on a, you know, kind of a chat area where different chemists were talking about natural products and I just went from there.

I talked to a few different ones and I picked one that, um, knew the most about children. So,

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: uh, so, so now, so, so, you know, you created this, uh, prototype product, you were, you know, sharing it with your family and friends, you know, your, your [00:17:00] neighbors in New York and, you know, you were getting good feedback.

At what point did you actually start charging or, you know, uh, how did you get your first customers?

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: Um, my first customers. Were on Amazon. So I’m just remembering it was, this is like a very short, but funny story. I was on vacation. I remember, and I had just finished the website and I had put that we had product in Stockton and we didn’t at that point, I was still kind of like waiting.

And, um, I remember somebody emailing the website and asking, you know, if now, of course, there’s a million different apps that you can do pre orders and stuff like that. But at the time, I didn’t use anything like that, but that was my like first official sale when I was on vacation. But, you know, I always knew that I wanted this to be Amazon first.

Um, because while the twins were young, I. [00:18:00] Absorbed podcasts. I would listen, drive around in the car and listen to podcasts after podcast on how to launch a business, how to launch a business on Amazon. I knew like the marketing side of things. Some of, well, this much really now it’s, you know, it’s a whole new world, but, um, yeah, so I knew it was going to be Amazon first.

So that’s kind of where I did it. I launched on Amazon and, um, I, I had, I already had a really great. Base of people that had already tried the product and knew it and had been asking about it. So I just sent everybody there, which I think was, you know, key to our growth because Amazon immediately recognized that it was a product that people were interested in.

So, um, you know, that, so that’s basically what I’ve done from that point on. I always. Test the product ahead of time, get people really excited about it. And then when I launch, I usually send to Amazon, we’re now really pushing our brand into retail. Um, so, you know, we kind of [00:19:00] have a couple of different channels, uh, that are important to us when we run ads, I run them so that they’re awareness based in that, you know, they drive to our retail channels as well as, um, you know, an easy, convenient solution is always going to be Amazon.

Yeah. I want

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: to talk more about retail. Um, I mean, I didn’t find any mention of retail on your website, I think, but is, is Amazon your, your biggest channel right now? Or has it always been

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: your biggest? Amazon has always been our biggest channel. Um, we recently launched into, uh, 600, uh, Walmart stores with our value brand.

Um, literally with it last two weeks ago that happened. So we have four SKUs that are at Walmart. Um, and we’re on target. com as well. Obviously walmart. com and then, uh, thrive market. It’s a online [00:20:00] natural grocery store. Um, we started with them last year as well. Um, and we’re on a few different. Um, you know, natural grocery stores, uh, either in person or online.

And then we have a whole, you know, specialty retail that we work with. So we’re sending, you know, product out across the whole globe, really to, you know, small boutiques, kids salons, that kind of stuff. Um, so that’s kind of been our wholesale business, but we’re really You know, pushing hard within the next year to expand that and have a relationship with, um, drug, um, a relationship on the grocery side.

Um, whether that’s a larger natural grocery store, um, or even a few smaller ones. And then, um, you know, deep in our relationship with big box, um, you know, we, like I said, we’re in 600 Walmarts and, you know, we’re really hoping to be successful there so we can expand [00:21:00] the relationship on the value side. And, and, you know, hopefully somebody from target is watching and I will get our brand from, uh, the target plus.

Side up into the stores too, because I think it’s a really good fit for us from day one. The two questions I always get are, when am I going to see you in Target? Number one. And number two, um, have I seen you on shark tank or have you applied for shark tank? So. Um, you know, if one of those works out for me, I’d be happy.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Well, I mean, first of all, congratulations for being in Walmart. I think that’s a pretty big

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: achievement. Oh, yeah, we’re so excited. They’re an amazing partner for us.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Can you share a little bit about how that came about? Like, was it really you reaching out to them and pitching you the product? Or was it, you know, some third party making the introduction?

Can you share a little bit about how that happened? And you mentioned a value brand. So is that like a different branding than, [00:22:00] uh, what you have on your website?

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: Yeah, it’s a little bit, uh, this, the, you know, the SKUs are a little bit smaller in size from a quantity perspective. Um, and so we’re able to offer them at a price that meets, um, you know, the, Everyday low value that Walmart is asking for.

So the brand is a little bit different. It’s all of our still high quality ingredients. We didn’t sacrifice anything there because we wanted to be able to deliver the brand itself of what people expect from us, but just more in line with the, what the consumer is looking for from a price point. Um, so yeah, we, there is an application.

Um, it’s called range me. And you can have your products basically listed on there. And they have submissions, um, for, uh, you know, uh, multicultural businesses and businesses that are female owned, uh, woman owned and a whole host of different, [00:23:00] uh, submissions that you can apply for. Um, our products are also made in the USA.

So. Walmart was one of the submissions that we applied for. Um, and then you, you know, they, they narrow it down from, I can’t even imagine how many people, like tens of thousands. And then they, they narrow it down to about a thousand people that they give interviews to. And then you meet with A buyer, um, for your category.

Well, the day that I was supposed to meet with my buyer, I went to find out information about her. I got her name and she’s actually the multicultural buyer for Walmart. So although my products do work for all ethnicities, I didn’t necessarily think that that was the right fit for us. I had always seen us either in baby or potentially haircare.

Depending on the level of Walmart store, because some of the hair care brands are a very low [00:24:00] price point, you know, 599, et cetera. So it was great. We had, I ended up meeting with her and I had a fantastic meeting. Her little daughter, you know, it was like. I mean, everyone’s obviously still on zoom, but it was, her daughter was like running around in the background and she had our products in her hand and she told me that she had used it on her daughter and, you know, like that alone to me was a huge win, but she’s, you know, my pitch was, it was honestly, like I’ve worked, I had worked in advertising for like, you know, 10 plus years.

I had pitched a million products to a million clients. I’d even pitched my own brand a million times. This was far and away the best pitch I had ever made. Like by far. Um, I kind of already went into it knowing that she liked it. Cause you know, she was positive and happy and smiling and her daughter was there and I just told her my story and we went from there.

So, but. Then I found out, you know, she was the wrong, that I knew she was the wrong person. So then I had to do it again [00:25:00] and again and again until I got to, um, the baby buyer. And, um, that seemed to be the right fit for the brand. So yeah, so it’s a, you know, roundabout way, but now I have a good partnership there with the, the buyer for baby and, you know, we’re both pretty hopeful that it can scale.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: What is, um, Is there a risk to being in a retail channel, especially, you know, a partner like Walmart, which is a high volume purchaser, but at the same time, I’m assuming that probably requires you to manage your profit margins to a certain extent, you know, um, so it’s, I think it’s, it’s kind of like high volume, but at the same time, lower profit margins, maybe even a little bit more risk there.

Um, how do you, how do you see this like retail partnership, like a Walmart or Target is this, is it worth it for you? Um, have you done like, you know, projections [00:26:00] and things like that? And, and what, like, what is it that, you know, a general person entrepreneur wouldn’t know about getting into this kind of relationship?

Um,

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: the thing that I did from the very beginning is I hired a retail strategist. And because I knew absolutely nothing about this, and I’ve heard horror stories of people that, you know, buy a bunch of inventory, do not have a purchase order yet, and then they’re stuck with all the inventory. You know, I always felt like I had my Amazon business to fall back on.

So say if I purchased the inventory, I can always list it on Amazon. I know I already have my consumer base there, and it would be okay. Not ideal, but okay. Um, but I, you know, I. Was coached, uh, by him. He has his own classes. Plus, you know, I did one on one coaching with him. And then when I ended up getting purchase orders or contracts in or anything, he [00:27:00] helped me work through a lot of that.

And I would highly recommend anyone that is doing this. There’s several people out there that, that do that, but, you know, you don’t know, you don’t. No, and I’m a big proponent of always asking stupid questions will be considered stupid and saying, I’m not sure how to do this. But when you’re working at the level of a target or a Walmart, a CBS, Walgreens.

You know, Kroger, um, it’s really difficult that you think about a buyer. Their job is to bring the best products possible into the store. Um, and they’re out there, they have, you know, a friend of mine told me she was, um, she met with a, a company just recently. She was actually a salesperson. She met with a company just recently, and she was trying to sell in water to the, to the, to the buyer.

And he had on his desk alone, about 35 different Waters of people that had sent to him for him to try. And that was just like in one month alone, you know? So you can imagine a [00:28:00] buyer’s really busy. The last thing that they’re going to want to do is, um, explain to you the things that you need to do in order to work with them, you know, once, once you’re already in their system and they love your product.

On the operational side, you’ve got to get up to speed really, really quickly so that, you know, you can deliver on time at the stores, um, be ready. Um, you know, on the, my retail coach has had a whole formula where you add in, in order to make sure you make your margins, you add in discounts, returns, participating in advertising.

So you have to be really, um, smart about your Pricing and your price point before you even go down that road. Um, and even, even with all of that, I’ve had surprises come back, um, or things that I, I didn’t necessarily prepare for. Um, you, you just, you, you don’t, you don’t know, I think until you’re in it, [00:29:00] but that’s why I think a lot of retailers start you out small.

to make sure that you can handle it. I mean, I don’t think they want it. They’re not in the business of bankrupting companies either, right? They want you to be successful, especially if you find the right partner. Um, but still they’re not there to teach you how to operational be operationally be ready for that kind of commitment.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Definitely. Um, no, that’s, that’s great. Um, I know you mentioned that your product is us made in us. Um, Was that decision really to keep the high quality of your product or, or were there, I mean, could it be, would you have some benefits of getting this product manufactured overseas, or were there like bigger challenges that you didn’t want to go through, as it was easier to just work in the US?

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: No, it was.[00:30:00]

It’s now it’s a very conscious decision. I think early on, um, I didn’t know. And I think my, you know, my first partnership was in the US. And then within a year, though, I had a pretty good understanding that I could expand. And obviously, there’s different, you know, online sites, you can go to and can work with people, etc.

But At that point, I already had relationships here in the U. S. and it was easier for me to go deeper with those relationships in terms of like bottle manufacturers, et cetera. Um, the component, some of the component parts. Um, we, you know, have to source from places they don’t even make them here in the U.

S. But, you know, my goal is to try to make as many things as possible from a prop product standpoint here in the U. S. Like the bottles, caps, all that kind of stuff from an ingredient standpoint. That’s 100% here. Many, you know, [00:31:00] Made here processed here. Um, I do say, you know, and I make note of this every once in a while where if let’s say the clay that we’re using only comes from mines that are in South Africa or something, there’s, you know, very little that I can do about that.

But, you know, we as high quality as possible and made here in the U. S. As much as possible.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Okay. Um, I mean, I’m I’m I’m hearing you talking about this. I mean, it seems like a business that’s growing. Um, can you share who is in your. Have you, um, are you still the single owner founder business running everything yourself, or do you have like a team of people helping you?

No,

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: I have a team of people that help me. Um, I maintain control of the business. A hundred percent of it is still owned by me, but yeah, I’ve been very fortunate. Um, I have somebody that helps me on the operation side and I have a team [00:32:00] of, um, You know, their admins essentially, but one handles social media.

One handles operations. And the third is kind of works directly with me. Um, and then I have somebody that helps me on marketing. So I have, um, people definitely in my wheelhouse that I work with now and. Um, and then, you know, it’s been great, like my suppliers and, and, um, 3PL contract manufacturer. These are people that I’ve worked with for years and years now.

So, um, I, I feel like, although they’re not on my team, they’re like an extension of the team. So I’m pretty fortunate.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: What, what does your day to day look like? What, what kind of things you are working on? Are you working mostly? On the business. Are you, you know, solving problems, challenges that come up daily?

Or do you kind of like divide your time, you know, every day you’re working 60% on the business versus 40% in the business? Or do you divide it like, you know, I’ll work [00:33:00] Monday, Tuesday, you know, I’ll just focus my time on the business and every day I’ll, you know, I’ll be solving problems and things like that.

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: Um, you know, it’s funny. I, I had the person that helps me on the operation side. She’s wonderful. She came in and she, um, immediately, you know, put me up on a, uh, project management system and help me with calendars and all this stuff. And it’s funny my, you know, in general, even before I had my own business, I kind of.

I keep a lot of things in my head, um, which is, you know, not necessarily a good thing. Um, but it’s kind of how I like to work where I know everything that’s going on across the business for the most part, obviously I have to delegate. A lot of things, but at least at a high level, I have an understanding and I kind of do base my days around what is the most urgent and I work on that in the morning.

And then I joke around and say in the afternoon, I [00:34:00] try to be see, you know, the CEO. And actually working on the things that are going to grow the business. Um, so, you know, growth for us happens where we sell the product in, um, to retailers. Uh, we, you know, expand into other countries, uh, for Amazon. Um, you know, we make partnerships with other.

Companies. Uh, so, you know, I try to spend my afternoons forward thinking and then in the morning, kind of just taking care of immediate tasks and what needs to happen. And then, you know, I try to fit the kids in here or there whenever, whenever

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: I think, um, I think a business, you know, a business that started out as e commerce, I mean, e commerce business by definition, kind of is easy to, I guess, you know, outsource.

Like if you’ve created, if you have the right product, the right margin, you know, the, you know, the right channel, I think, uh, it’s probably [00:35:00] easy to outsource. And then with the retail channel, once you’ve built the partnership and you’ve created the process, I think it’s easy to manage that also. So I guess, you know, from that perspective, to me, it seems like maybe most of your business is kind of.

Running on autopilot. Of course, you need help from people to manage it. But and then, you know, you probably get in in terms of, you know, bringing new partnerships or, you know, working on growing the business. But, but I guess that that makes it probably a little bit easier to manage a business like this.

Um, would you agree or

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: no? No, it’s, I think if I What wasn’t of the mindset of developing new products and finding new opportunities and places for the business to go, it could potentially be that, um, but I, um, you know, I like to talk to our consumers, understand more of the business, try to develop new products and developing new [00:36:00] products is everything from.

You know, working with the chemists testing the idea, um, you know, sourcing packaging. So there ends up being, um, a whole side of of the business that is, uh, future growth, um, stuff. And then, you know, uh, the other stuff is on the production are, I think, you know, In another life, maybe, you know, I would probably come up with a product that is one component.

You order it and then it arrives. I wish I had come up with an idea like that. Like, most of our products have at least four, three to four component parts that you work with different suppliers on each one. So you have to, you know, my team is wonderful, but every once in a while, I need to get involved in when things are arriving and making sure that we’re delivering on time to our retailers.

And, you know, I’m meeting deadlines and, and that kind of thing and working with, with those [00:37:00] partnerships. So, you know, I have to. I wish, I wish it’s funny. My, my older brother’s always like, come on, come down. He lives in Florida. He’s like, come on, spend the week down in Florida. You know, it’s on autopilot now.

I’m like, no, no, not exactly. Not exactly. Very interesting.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Um, can you talk a little bit, I mean, you’re coming from an advertising marketing background. Can you share a little bit around, you know, what kind of marketing advertising do you do, do you do, uh, Amazon advertising? Do you do. Google, Facebook and and what is working right now in terms of customer acquisition?

Customer retention, repeat business, um, and how has it changed over time?

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: Yeah, our, our Amazon business, our advertising there has always been successful and even more. So now I would say I have a partner that handles that for me, which has been amazing. Um, you know, I think the [00:38:00] closer that we can get to our selling story and showing, you know, Searching for this product.

We are the brand for them. So we just have to show up and have to be there and then they see our product, right? So, you know, we can close the loop. They’re much quicker when it comes to, you know, we do Facebook ads, Instagram. We played. We dabble a little bit with tick tock ads. I just don’t think that they’re there.

There yet. Not definitely not for us. Um, but, you know, for us, when we moved more to supporting our retailers and that being part of the relationship, you know, it’s less for me about an acquisition costs because if they’re coming to my website, that’s great, right? I have recharge. They can get into subscriptions with us.

That’s amazing, but that’s not really my focus with advertising because our acquisition cost is high. It’s going to cost me probably 18, 19 to bring [00:39:00] somebody to our website and close the loop and have them purchase from us. So unless I’m getting them to purchase a couple of products, it’s not necessarily profitable, but.

If I’m out there and I’m driving ads or awareness ads and they don’t buy my website and then they go to Amazon and buy it or they go to Walmart or Target or any of these other potential partners that we sign with, that’s a win for me too. I just, you know, there’s not a really great way for me to necessarily track it, but our goal at the end of the day is to become, you know, a brand that’s a household name and people know about.

So if my ads are helping drive that, you know. Trust in value long term than great. Um, so that’s kind of, um, you know, our theory on ads right now. I think, you know, we need to run them. We need to be close to our consumer, but you know, where we’re really closing the deal is going to be like on walmart. com target.

com amazon. com. And then the rest we see as awareness ads that hopefully drive traffic other [00:40:00] places or to our site.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Have there been any competitors who have come up with similar kind of products? I mean, you usually see, you know, when somebody comes with a new idea, then I mean, of course, from China, you see, you know, duplicate or copycat products.

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: We’re fortunate with that. I think, you know, I belong to a group of other entrepreneurs that have, you know, products that are made for kids and they’re, you know, they have patents on their products. We, you know, we don’t have a patent cause it’s a formula and it’s not something that really can be, you can patent.

Um, so they get copied a lot. Um, no, we’ve been, we’ve been really fortunate. Um, there, you know, certainly there are other me too brands that have come along, but. We were, you know, the first to market. Um, so we have a really strong following already with our brands. So it hasn’t been something that we’ve really thought much about or worried about, we’re just doing our thing.

We’re doing it better. I think the other thing [00:41:00] too, is because I’m so heavily involved in the business and we ideate and we come up with brands that are products that really resonate. And that are create space. Like, you know, we’re the first kids try shampoo. We were the first. You know, product for taming kids hair.

We were the first brand that came out with an on the go wand that you could throw in your diaper bag or your purse and you can go. You know, we were their first hair taming spray. Like, so, you know, we are constantly innovating. So even if somebody comes out with another product after ours, it takes them so long to catch up.

You know, because I know how long it took me to develop that idea. So even if they want to copy it, it’s going to take them enough, another year or two. And already I’m on the market for a year or two. It’s not like, Oh, you know, I made a screwdriver and you know, somebody can just remake a screwdriver in a couple of weeks and come out with it and put their name on it.

It’s a, it’s a bit of a long process. Definitely.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Um, in every [00:42:00] entrepreneur journey, there’s always some mistakes, failures, lessons learned. Um, what has been, you know, like, uh, One or two mistakes or failures that you learned from as an, as an entrepreneur that you wish you hadn’t made and what can other entrepreneurs learn from it?

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: Oh, I have a huge one. Uh, it was like our first year and, um, The spray product is made with coconut oil. Most of our products have an element of coconut oil in it, but our spray product had coconut oil in it. It still does, but different coconut oil is a product that changes its density based on temperature.

So we were getting complaints, um, about the sprayer when they go to use the product, not working. And it was because of the density of the coconut oil that was within the product. So it was working in Florida and not working in Canada. So, [00:43:00] um, yeah, you know, We had to basically reformulate and re and look at an entire different package for it in a sprayer that actually could use the actuator.

I know, probably way too much information, but be able to spray an oil based product better for us. So we’ve been Ideating and iterating with that for a really long time because people love the product if they can actually use it. Um, so yeah, we, I think it’s been about a year, six months since we’ve knock on wood, figured that out.

Um, so before we started with Walmart, we really wanted to make sure we solved that cause I didn’t want to have anything in retail that wasn’t a hundred percent.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Well, I mean, those, those are, those are the kind of thing that you, you know, you like, you can’t think of before. You know, un unless people start using it and, uh, yeah.

You know, run into issue. Uh, now I’m gonna move on to my rapid fire segment. In this segment I’m going to [00:44:00] ask you a few quick questions and you have to answer them maybe in a word or a sentence or so. So one book recommendation for entrepreneurs, uh,

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: and why. The Exitpreneur is a fantastic book. Um, I think as an entrepreneur, you know, my, I’m an idea person.

I have a lot of ideas. I have to try to keep focused in order to stay on, on TS4TAME. But the beauty is that I can come up with a lot of ideas within it. But I think as an entrepreneur, oh, it was supposed to be rapid fire. Exit, Exitpreneur. That’s it. It’s a great book and you should go out there and get it.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: No, no, finish your talk. Finish your talk. I

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: just was saying, you know, Exprpreneur is about the end game. It’s a really good book for you to figure out your future and where you want your brand to be and to go and what your exit strategy is. An

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: innovative product or idea in the current e commerce, retail, or tech [00:45:00] landscape that you feel excited about?

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: Oh, I didn’t hear, say it again about innovative product.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Any innovative product or idea that you feel excited about? That I get

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: excited about?

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Anything, any product or idea that you think is really great?

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: Oh, um, it’s called, I just bought it. So I got served a Facebook ad and I, I thought I would try it. It’s called blame.

I think it’s the name of it. And it’s awesome. It’s basically like a shaver that you don’t need shaving for. You just rub it and the hair goes away. And I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, sure. Sure. It actually works. So I now like a, you know, I basically posted about it, tell all my friends about it, I’m going to buy it as Christmas presents.

It’s awesome. Um, but you know, they got me straight up from marketing and I’m, I’m as, uh, as what’s that word that they use? Uh, I don’t really. Skeptical. I’m skeptical as they come.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Okay. Um, a business or productivity tool or [00:46:00] software that you would recommend or a productivity tool.

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: Um, I would, for, for us, we use Canva all day, every day.

I think it’s an amazing tool. Um, branding is something that’s super important for our business. Uh, and it kind of keeps everything in one spot. Uh, so anyone that touches our business, you know, has the tools that they need to make sure it’s on brand. Yeah,

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Canva is such a great tool. It made graphic design accessible to everybody, basically.

Another startup or business that you think is currently doing a great thing? Besides the one that you already mentioned. Um,

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: Hmm.

So. I don’t know very much about them at all, but I, um, [00:47:00] I screen grabbed their ad because I thought what their messaging was, was interesting. It’s Carpe, I think is the name of it. I’m terrible with this stuff, but it’s a. I think it started as a like natural deodorant or like deodorant for the whole body, maybe.

No, I’m kidding. Lume. L U M E. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So anyway, I, you know, I think their strategy is really smart. I think they’re, you know, pretty much any, where I turn now that I clicked on the one ad, I kind of see it everywhere. Um, so yeah. I think that they’re going to do well. If they’re not already, they probably are like way larger than than I even know.

But I know I’m so focused on the business and family that I don’t have a ton of time to, you know, absorb what’s going on out there in the world. A peer

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: entrepreneur or business person whom you look up to or someone who inspired you?

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: Oh, yeah, it’s, um, [00:48:00] One of my, you know, favorite people that I’ve seen, you know, along her journey was Barbara Corcoran, who obviously is on, on Shark Tank, but, you know, living in New York, um, and just hearing her story.

I’ve heard her. I had heard her story on podcasts. Along the years. I just think it’s, I don’t know. It’s really inspirational going from, you know, basically having a couple of, uh, you know, rentals to a huge empire and real estate. And now she’s, you know, inspires other women and, you know, obviously as a judge, et cetera on shark tank.

But yeah, I just, it’s, I think it’s amazing to see her journey.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Yeah. I mean, she’s, she’s such a sharp entrepreneur, pretty sharp. I mean, I watch her. Videos on social media and stuff every time I learn something final question Best business advice you ever received or you would give to other entrepreneurs.[00:49:00]

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: Sure. Um, I when I was starting out Especially coming into an area that I knew absolutely nothing about which was, you know chemistry manufacturing getting products made Um, I would always ask this question when I finish these conversations. Um, because, you know, like I go into a meeting and I have three or four questions that are important to me.

Um, but then the question I would always ask is, is there something I didn’t ask you that I should have? Um, because that’s when you get the other person on the other side to think for a minute and think about, you know, all of the other things that are going on that are equally as important that you haven’t even thought about.

So that’s kind of helped me along the way to like really learn from, from other people.

Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Awesome. Well, uh, Becky, those were all the questions that I had. Um, I really thank you so much for sharing your story. Very inspirational, [00:50:00] uh, for sharing, you know, your successes and failures and your business advice. Um, so yeah, thank you so much again for joining me today at uh, wish you, um, All the best in your entrepreneurial journey.

Rebecca Bavli of T is for Tame: Thank you so much. Great to meet you. Likewise.