September 8, 2025 โข 39 mins
Emma Rose Cohen, founder of FinalStraw, turned a simple idea into a $2M Kickstarter and a movement against single-use plastics. In this episode of the Conscious Design Podcast, she shares how small changes spark massive environmental impact.
Emma Rose Cohen is the CEO and founder of Final, the company behind FinalStraw and other sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics. What started as an idea during college parties turned into a viral Kickstarter campaign that raised nearly $2 millionย and has since kept over 300 million straws out of the ocean. ๐
In this episode, Emma opens up about:
How to turn passion for sustainability into a thriving business
Why simplicity beats complexity in product design
The power of voting with your dollars and influencing others
Whatโs next for Final and the fight against waste
โจ If you care about sustainability, startups, or how to bring a product idea to life, this episode is a must-watch.
โฉ ๐๐๐บ๐ฝ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐:
00:00 - Guest Intro
00:18 - The Birth of Final Straw
00:46 - The Journey to Sustainability
02:17 - From Kickstarter to Sustainable Living Innovations
05:34 - From Feedback to Innovation: Growing the Product Line
10:49 - Material Choices and Environmental Impact
15:57 - The Ripple Effect of Sustainable Choices
18:48 - Encouraging Awareness and Action
21:17 - The Historical Perspective on Waste
22:27 - Corporate Responsibility and Consumer Power
24:39 - Consumer Impact and the Future of Sustainability
27:43 - Product Development Challenges and How to Tackle Them
30:12 - Sharing Ideas and Execution
36:14 - Exploring New Business Concepts
๐๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐บ๐บ๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐
Emma Rose Cohen, CEO and founder of Final, found her passion in sustainability on a Sunday morning during college. While walking around campus in Santa Barbara, she felt as though she was drowning in a sea of single-use plasticsโ โsolo cups, straws, and water bottles.
That day would stick with her. Emma went on to earn her masterโs degree in environmental management and sustainability at Harvard and spent four years working at Los Alamos National Laboratory. As she watched different materials being wasted day in and day out, Emma couldnโt help but wonder if there was a better way. So she quit her job to work on her dream: to create fun alternatives to single-use plastics.
FinalStraw launched on Kickstarter in April 2018 with a goal of raising $12,500. The product struck a chord. In a matter of weeks, the campaign raised $1.89 million. The momentum hasnโt stopped. Since launching, FinalStraw has prevented approximately 300 million single-use straws from entering the environment.
๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐บ๐บ๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐
Website : https://finalstraw.com/
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmarosecohen/
ย ย https://www.linkedin.com/company/finalstraw/
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Learn more: https://www.consciousdesignhaus.com/
Want to turn visionary ideas into market-ready, sustainable products? ๐ https://www.petermanfirm.com/
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๐ If you could ban ONE single-use plastic item forever, which would it be?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
What we're trying to do is get everyone to a bring an awareness
to it, because I think that's what's really lacking.
Every single thing I throw away in the trash, I think about,
hey, this is not going away. This will exist on our planet
forever, unless it's biodegradable.
It's just being moved. Yes, exactly.
And I think we need to change the language around throwing
(00:21):
things away because that gives us this concept that it goes
away and it just doesn't. I really hope that people who
are listening are just going to bring a little more awareness
are the things that they throw away and start thinking of
creative solution. Hello and welcome to the
Conscious Design podcast. I'm your host, Ian Pierman and I
(00:42):
help turn product ideas to sustainable 7 figure businesses.
Join me for another episode where sustainability meets
innovation and business savvy. Today I'm excited to have Emma
Rose Cohen. She's the founder of Final
Straw, where they innovate products that replace single use
plastic. End of the show.
Thanks Ian, appreciate having me.
(01:03):
Absolutely. Well, what was let's start with
the origin of this. What got you decided to take on
quite a big thing and replacing single use plastics, which is a
huge problem of how did we get here?
How did you get started that this?
Well, it depends how far back you want to go, but I have been
(01:24):
fascinated by efficiency and sustainability since I can
remember. I think being raised in a
household where, you know, wastewas not an option was got my
brain thinking differently. And when I went to College in
Santa Barbara, I couldn't help but notice the amount of waste
that was going on, especially around single use plastic,
(01:45):
specifically red Solo cups. Back then it was a very wild
party school. I think it's tamed a little bit
now, but people would, you know,use a cup for 5 minutes and then
throw it away. And we're on the beach.
And so, so often we would go down to the beach and just see
all this plastic there and then it's, you know, ending up in the
(02:07):
ocean and, and we all know what happens then.
It's not not so good for the Marina ecosystems.
So yeah, I think, you know, you said earlier like how did I
decide to tackle such a big problem?
And the concept was tackle a really big problem with
something really small because what we have to do is start
thinking differently about single use waste.
(02:29):
And why not start with somethingthat's so simple and so easy to
remove from your day-to-day habits like a straw.
And so, yeah, we looked on the Internet, couldn't find any
reusable collapsible travel friendly straws.
Now you go, there's a bunch. Back then, you know, in 2018
there was literally 0. So yeah, just came up with a
(02:53):
concept kind of based from a, a tent pole and put it in a case
and put it on Kickstarter and prayed.
I mean, we, we really were just doing kind of the bootstraps,
really minimal version of it all.
And clearly, you know, hit a chord because we we raised
almost $2,000,000 in a month. That's a chord.
(03:16):
That's a chord. Yeah.
Well, I love that that principleof how do you solve something in
a simple way and then validate it and then go, you know, go do
do the litmus test of OK, well, I think it's a cool idea.
It's simple, it's easy. But does everybody else actually
(03:39):
think it's a good idea? Is somebody and I just think
it's a good idea is willing to put money down on that idea and
I think that that, you know so many people approach they they
try to solve the problem and they make it too complicated and
they make it they start complex and I think just think that
there's there's a beauty and split in simplicity that makes
(04:01):
it so you can you can relate to it easier right.
If you tried to solve I could only imagine how complicated
would be if you tried to set up all of it at once getting
getting people to be on board now when you launch so you
launch your Kickstarter, obviously it did really well
$2,000,000 what happened from there?
Did you continue to see steady growth was it did you have a
(04:26):
Lola? How did things look, you know
from like that consumer feedbackand you guys growing?
Well, from launching the Kickstarter, you know, the next
two years, we're wild. It did not slow in the slightest
and we just kept creating new products and we did a revision
of the first design of Final Straw.
(04:48):
So we have AV 2 and it was just wild.
I mean, it was really clear thatpeople are looking for solutions
and that people really do care about sustainability and that
there just aren't enough products out there to make being
sustainable easy and convenient because ultimately that is the
(05:09):
simplicity of it all. We have become accustomed to a
lifestyle of convenience and even still, sustainability is
generally not convenient. It involves bringing your
reasonable water bottle with youbringing your bags.
Now, unless you are trained to do that and that is a habitual
activity every day, it is does take a bit of a learning curve.
(05:32):
Even with our products, you know, we make them key chains so
you can bring them with you wherever you go, but still you
have to remember your keys and or remember to wash it and put
it back in the case. There are additional steps.
So ultimately we are just tryingto make sustainability a little
more convenient, a little bit easier, and something that you
(05:54):
can start on a journey with stepone and continue onwards,
improving every day and becominga little bit more aware and
sustainable and sharing that with your community and and
friends. How has the feedback been?
Because obviously this is a little bit of a behavior change
like your time and with you. I was just at the grocery store
(06:16):
and talking to the cashier abouthow many people as soon as
they're at the checkout, go oh, I forgot my bags.
You get the first part where it's like in the car, but then
you getting the second part. How have you seen customers
getting through that? Has it, has it been pretty easy?
Is this something that's you've seen has been simple enough or
(06:38):
is this something you're still? It's one of those behavior
things that just takes a really long time.
Train yourself with. Yeah.
I mean, ultimately any product that requires a behavior change
is going to be a little more challenging.
But ultimately, because we made our products so small and so
compact that it can fit on your keys and you don't leave your
(07:00):
house without your keys, you know, it's just something that
people always bring. And so it does make it a little
bit easier if you put it on yourkeys.
We're also kind of primarily popular with females.
And so a lot of times, you know,you have your purse with you.
And so the final straw just goesin your purse or the final spork
or whatever it is for me, like my final spork is just always in
(07:23):
my car. And so sometimes I do have to
leave the restaurant to go get it.
And I think that is an instance of when it's not convenient.
That is how you train habits, byinterrupting a behavior to
introduce that new behavior. So it's like, I could be in the
checkout line and be like, oh, Iforgot my bags.
Or I could be like, oh, shoot, Iforgot my bags and put my stuff
(07:46):
to the side, let someone go in front of me, go get them.
And then the next time I go to the store, the chance that I'm
going to forget the bags is a lot lower because we're
interrupting that behavior and not just saying to our brain,
oh, it's OK to forget this thing.
You know, you never go into the store without your wallet.
Why would you go in without yourbags if it's something you need?
(08:07):
That makes sense. So let's talk about your
products. So you you started with the
straw and now you have the four.How have you decided with what
your next product is? Be talk about that process for
you guys on how are you picking your next products?
Yeah, the straws, our first product was interesting.
(08:28):
I mean, the timing was very aligned and it, it definitely
made sense to launch a straw when we did.
But I don't even use straws. So in terms of like being able
to relate with my customers there, like I just don't really
use straws. I'm I'm not, they're not for me.
But I wanted to make something that people who love straws
would love and I wanted to make the best straw out there.
(08:50):
So figuring out the next productis relatively easy.
It's like, OK, what do I need inmy day-to-day life?
And then also like listening to our customers.
I mean, we got so many emails and comments on social media
with what people would want next.
And we do polls and we really dotry and like engage our customer
base. But it was very obvious for me,
(09:10):
you know, I, I'd had the kind oflike bamboo set of like fork,
knife, spoon, and it's just likebulky and doesn't feel great in
my hand. I want like something with a
little more weight and you know,the mouth feel.
I don't love eating with the wood as much.
So anyways, I was just kind of like, what would I want?
What would be the most convenient thing for me?
(09:32):
And I made it. Amazing.
And as from what I can tell thatis doing really, really well.
Also like that's got a pretty good response.
People are buying it. It's really getting some
traction. You have a couple different
straws gotten into wipes as well.
(09:52):
I saw it. And so how did that one come
about? Because that's a, you know,
that's a very different. Yeah, well, you know, I think
because when you're telling a brand story, it's really easy to
say like we focus on single use plastic, but ultimately we focus
on waste and paper towels are one of the most wasted, you
know, items in your kitchen. Think about how many the average
(10:15):
family uses. And when I go over to friends
houses that they use paper towels.
I mean, it's 1020 paper towels anight and it's just wild like
that is those are made from trees.
Those are, you know, require so much water.
And so anyways, the paper towel thing is actually kind of a
funny story. I was making a April Fool's
spoof video during COVID and I was making a video for reusable
(10:39):
toilet paper. And I showed it to a friend and
he's like, well, why don't you actually make it?
And so yeah, I, I kind of like pivoted with the video and made
it into something that I actually use on a daily basis.
I have a one year old and we would be using a lot of paper
towels if I didn't have the wipes.
And so yeah, it's, it's just kind of like I really try and
(11:03):
look at areas of my life where I'm creating waste and, you
know, feeling like a relatively average American consumer.
Like how can I create things that other people would also be
able to incorporate into their daily lifestyle to reduce waste?
Look, you used bamboo, correct as your fiber for that wipe
(11:27):
wipes you out bamboo. The fabric is amazing.
I think we have my wife got us into bamboo towels actually
because they work so well. I'm curious, what else did you
look at in researching kind of what was your, I know all the
pluses for it, but how did you end up arriving as, hey, this is
this is the material that's going to make the most sense?
(11:49):
Honestly, choosing a material was the hardest part of the
wipes. It's really a, hard doing that
like overseas, so sending fabricsamples back and forth like a
million times and B, finding a sustainable material because
like it's so easy to find a synthetic fiber washcloth that's
(12:10):
going to be cheap and absorbent and all the things.
But that's just not who we are as a brand.
We're not going to use the cheap, easy synthetic thing.
You know, additionally, we're seeing all this research around
microplastics and they're released in mass when you wash
synthetic fibers. So we were looking at, you know,
(12:31):
a variety of, of natural fibers and ultimately it came down to
what is, you know, affordable, what feels good and what works.
So. So I've talked to people about
fabrics, right, sustainable options.
Other ones that come up with is there are ways to grow cotton
and a lower water use. Did you run into?
(12:54):
Is that one of the things you looked at as well?
Yeah, yeah. We looked at, you know, all the
fabrics, and ultimately whateveryou choose is going to have some
sort of drawback. You choose.
Let's say you choose cotton. Maybe it's farmed sustainably,
but it's using a ton of water. Maybe you choose bamboo and then
they have to use, you know, somesort of pesticide.
(13:15):
Like ultimately there's like no option that is 100% sustainable.
The only way to do that is go live in the mountains in a cave
and like hunt everything and go 0 waste like truly.
And so I think what we try and do as a company and what I
encourage people to do is kind of weigh the options and do
(13:36):
something that feels like you can incorporate it into your
life on a regular basis. Because my wipes have a much
higher environmental impact thana single use paper towel.
So if I use the wipes once or twice and then never again, it's
actually going to have a much worse impact on the environment.
You have to hit that break even point, which means using the
(13:59):
wipes over and over and over until that number of usages
overcomes the impact of creatingthem.
Does that make sense? Yeah.
And I, I think I'm really glad you pointed that out because
people will make a purchase likethat and they're not, they don't
necessarily actually start usingit.
(14:20):
And that's where when I'm, when I talk to people that are
wanting to develop new products,they go, well, how do we make
sure that you actually use it enough?
Let's say there was a material that was perfectly sustainable
if you put all the effort and time into it and no one bought
it. Or worse, everyone bought it but
nobody used it. Is it really sustainable?
(14:40):
Like that's that's kind of the, the questioning in my head
always is you got to actually use it.
You have to integrate it into your life.
It has to, even if you take sometime to relearn how to do
something, you got to actually get it into the hands of people
and they have to then use it enough for it to really be as
(15:02):
sustainable as we want, which isgreat.
Are the goals great? But we got to figure out how to
make it easy. And just like what you do with a
straw, make it so you can put iton your key chain, make it easy
and accessible and then people will use it enough and then you
make the impact that you're wanting.
I think it's a really, I'm glad you pointed that out.
(15:24):
That's something that's still not every brand thinks about
these kinds of things. Totally.
I mean, I'm a realist. Like I understand that we are
all having busy lives and especially now with a kid, like
I get it even more, you know, where the priorities lie.
And I think you were acting about asking about our kind of
how the growth of the brand has been.
(15:45):
You know, during COVID, we saw amuch, you know, a very large
decline in orders because people's focus was on personal
health and hygiene and it wasn'ton sustainability.
And now I feel like the times have shifted again.
We are back in a place of somewhat personal safety,
depending on where, you know, where you live.
(16:07):
And but that people are able to focus on sustainability and need
to more now than ever because ofwhat's going on with our
administration and the attacks on public lands.
And, you know, the devaluing of nature, like this is our straw
and our spork are one way to take a stand against
corporations who are profiting off of creating pollution.
(16:30):
Is it going to change the world,you know, with your one small
impact, Like, depends how you look at it.
I look at it as a ripple effect.So me pulling out my final spork
in a restaurant, it's not just about, yeah, I reduced my impact
by one plastic spork, but it's pretty likely going to cause a
(16:50):
conversation and someone's goingto be like, Oh my gosh, what's
that? And then the people around me
are going to be like, oh, wow, she's not eating with a plastic
straw. And so it's like, yes, our
individual impacts, you know, have a directly measurable
impact, but also there's such a larger ripple effect that is not
measurable. And, and I think is is kind of
the point of what we do. Yeah, I think that's a.
(17:12):
It's a really good point to bring up that it's easy to track
the pounds of plastic or the carburetor.
Those are easy, trackable and weoften forget what you just
talked about, which is what is the impact?
Are you, how are you impacting the people around you and what
they're thinking, right? It's if you have enough people
(17:35):
bringing in their own reusable bags to a grocery store, bring
have their own straw, have theirown spark.
You are you are very much going to spark that question and
somebody else's head of oh, well, that's not that looks
fine. That's cool.
That's interesting. That's easy there.
(17:55):
You know, if it's something thatisn't, oh, wow, they had to do a
whole bunch of work and it took,you know, you don't, you're not
sitting there assembling your fork for two hours to be able to
use it. You're just pulling it out,
using it. It helps other people to
realize, oh, that's not actuallya change in behave.
I don't have to have this crazy change to be able to make this
(18:19):
swap. I can it's easier to do, which I
think is also one of those benefits of products like yours
where it's it's easy and people can see how easy it's not overly
complicated to make that change.It helps all of this more for
people to realize, oh, I can do a change.
It's easy. It's it's not complicated for
me. I'm doing something good, right?
(18:40):
You also can't eliminate the feel good part of oh you're
doing your little part, you're are doing something.
Yeah, you get a little a moral energy boost and and it's easy
and you know, I like to think about change.
If you change 1% today, you know, think about an arrow and
maybe if you shift the degree ofthat arrow by 1%, it's not going
(19:04):
to look that different. It would be just, you know, a
tiny bit off of the target. But a year from now that 1%
looks really big. It it's a really big change.
And so that's just what we're trying to do is get everyone to
to aid bring an awareness to it,because I think that's what's
really lacking. Every single thing I throw away
(19:25):
in the trash, I think about and I think like, hey, this is not
going away. We're not throwing things away.
This will exist on our planet forever, unless it's, you know,
biodegradable and it's. Just being moved.
Yes, exactly. And I think we need to change
the language around throwing things away because that gives
(19:46):
us this concept that that it goes away and it just doesn't.
And so I really hope that peoplewho are listening are just going
to bring a little more awarenessto the things that they throw
away and start thinking of creative solutions.
Like before I started final, I was a ski bum.
And before that, you know, I wasworking at a, you know, nuclear
laboratory. So it's like anyone could start
(20:07):
a business. If you are passionate and
interested enough in the project, you don't need, you
know, listen. Listen to me.
I have literally 0 experience. And here I am, you know, running
this company now. And I think that especially now
with the access to tech and you know, you can create just about
anything, but you just need to start looking a little more
(20:28):
carefully at daily behaviors. Hey, it's your host, Ian.
I'm really glad you're enjoying this episode.
I absolutely love highlighting amazing brands and founders for
the awesome things they are doing.
I've helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and businesses
like yours turn their boldest ideas into powerful, purpose
driven brands. So if you're serious about
(20:48):
building a brand people love, like our guests and clients too,
and one that you're proud to stand behind, I invite you to
dive a bit deeper with our book Conscious Design.
Inside, you'll discover the exact framework and steps we use
to help entrepreneurs like you turn purpose into a powerful,
impact driven brand. Brand that stands out, tracks
loyal customers and drive sustainable growth with social
(21:11):
and environmental responsibilitywoven into its DNA.
Grab your copy today. You can find it on our website
consciousdesignhouse.com or justfind the link below in the show
notes. Enjoy the rest of the episode
and don't forget to like, subscribe and share.
Yeah, I think it's it's really important thing of those things.
(21:34):
And and it's funny you brought up like, right, the mentality
behind it. It is we talked about all this
stuff like, oh, you need to recycle and you need to we need
to do this. But we do have this very
ingrained idea of like, oh, the throw away, it just disappears.
And then even in the name, rightis throw away.
It's like go away. It, it doesn't, it's doesn't
(21:55):
really do that. It just gets round and it's
funny with this is something that I spent a lot of time
thinking about, of how this is even historically like we kind
of have, if you look long term before industrialization, it
wasn't really the whole concept of waste.
(22:15):
Yeah, there were some rubbish piles, right?
There was waste, but it wasn't, it was all biodegrade.
There was nothing permanent about those things really.
And so we have this very, I think we still have that kind of
mentality in our language even though we've changed.
And now things that we do throw away don't actually go away.
(22:36):
But that's relatively recent, like that's in the last 100
years and language hasn't caughtup.
And so how we think about it hasn't really caught up with the
fact that you throw plastic away, going to sit there for a
really long time and is not going to just go back into a
pile of dirt, even though that'swhat we think.
(22:56):
That's what we think of when we're tossing something.
Totally. And you know, there's also these
companies out there that are profiting billions and billions
of dollars off of making the consumer feel like they're the
problem. Like we invented or the the
National Beverage Corporation, which is made-up by Coca-Cola
and Nestle and Pepsi created theword litterbug because they want
(23:21):
people to feel bad about the littering and to focus on a were
the problem. If you throw your plastic bottle
out your window, you're the problem.
But like, zoom out, the problem is the beverage corporation.
The problem is that Coca-Cola can make millions and millions
and billions of plastic bottles a year and pay $0.00 to clean
(23:44):
them up, pays $0.00 for recycling.
You know who pays for recycling?If you even have recycling in
your country. Like we have it here in the
United States in most places, not even.
We don't even have it in every city.
And yeah, and but the taxpayers are paying for it.
So I think like beyond just using products to minimize
(24:05):
waste, like support companies that minimize waste and boycott
companies that don't because they are stealing and polluting
our water. They are trashing our lands,
they are poisoning the oceans with 0 repercussions.
And it's time to stop letting corporations get away with this
(24:26):
stuff. And we really do have to vote
with our dollars. And so every time you go to the
grocery store, you're voting. You're voting for what kind of
food you want to see on the shelves.
You're voting for, you know, what is kind of allowable by
companies. And yeah, I really try and do
some digging on brands that I'm buying and see you if they're
(24:49):
owned by another company. And and if so, like I might have
to switch. I'm so sad to not be able to buy
Siete trips anymore because theyjust sold to Frito Lay and it's
like, well, those are my favorite trips, but now they're
owned by a really like terrible company and, and I don't want to
(25:10):
support that. Right.
I think it's something that we as the average consumer rate, we
kind of forget sometimes that your dollar does really, really,
really count because stores track which products get sold
and we have made changes, right.I mean, that's how there's more
organic option when there's moresustainably sourced options,
(25:32):
right, is because people startedbuying that stuff more and more
and more. And a store is in the business
of providing people what they want, whatever sells.
That's what they want in their store.
It without it, they don't have customers, even though you like,
oh, how does this one purchase? You could literally be the one
purchase between them pulling something off the shelf or
(25:54):
buying more. And that's how there's a number.
There's you'll never figure out exactly what it is unless you
work in the store or the brand, But there's an exact number
where if they sell this number or less removed, the contracts
never going to be seen in the store again.
And if they sell one over that, they stay.
(26:16):
That is the line. There is a line.
So you might be the one you haveno idea.
So voting, you know, this kind of voting with your dollars, it
very much does impact and the stores are tracked.
They know they have to know whether a product is selling or
not. So yeah, it's a very, very good
point. 100% I think the impact of our buying habits because we
(26:38):
don't see it, you know, we don'tsee the cause and effect, but it
is so powerful and I think that if people truly understood the
impact of their dollar, they would likely spend it
differently. That is probably the hardest
part is you don't know there's no either not like a ticker
sitting above the product. We're like, you buy and they go,
(26:59):
Oh yeah, it's going to stay now here you go.
You we fit the like it's then none of that stuff is public.
There's no a way to do it outside of corporate espionage,
which I don't recommend. So that's a whole other thing to
try. There's no way to know, but it
is valuable. You're being a customer is being
valuable. Let's jump.
You go back to your brand a little bit more.
(27:20):
So you have a few products now. I would love to talk about any
plans you can share, other products that you're looking at,
you know, ones that customers have come back and said, hey,
could you do this to just anything that you could share on
like what's what's the future ofthe brand and where you guys are
going? Yeah, I mean, I, I would love to
do A to go container. I find that that's kind of the
(27:44):
the number one thing that I needregularly.
You know, I keep AI really like the brand Porter and I have one
of their to go containers in my car and but I just would love
something a little more compact,something I could put in my
purse. I've been ideating on this for a
while and and it just kind of hasn't hit me yet.
Yeah, stay tuned. Hopefully I get the inspiration
(28:07):
soon and also find the materialsbecause ultimately like that has
been kind of the biggest hold upis trying to find the right
materials. It's hard.
My wife and I, we've, we've gonethrough so many different lunch
boxes and containers for food. It is hard 'cause it has to be
able to handle temperatures. You got to be all that.
You can't be too bulky either 'cause then you ruin like if
(28:29):
it's too bulky, especially for kids, you're like, that's
annoying to deal with. It's got to be washable.
It's got to, there's so much, there's so much that goes into
it. So I'm excited to see what.
You understand my problem deeply.
Yeah, I think. And also like, I never want to
make something that doesn't solve a problem.
So like when we first launched and, you know, we have this,
(28:52):
like, huge audience. Everyone's like, oh, you guys
should sell reusable bags and you should sell, you know, just
regular metal straws. And it's like, I don't know, I
think I'm a bad capitalist because I'm not like, I'm not
just trying to maximize profit. Like, I'm not just trying to,
like, slap our name on a reusable bag and sell it, even
though it would sell and we'd probably make a lot of money
with it. But I think that like ultimately
(29:13):
every product I put out there, Iwant it to be better than
anything that exists. And that's a pretty high bar and
it's also why we haven't put outA to go container or lunch box.
It's funny, in the webinar I wasjust doing this came up.
This is people are asking a question of how do you come up
with a new product? Like how do you be successful?
(29:36):
And one of the things that that I point out to everyone and and
some of the other panelists werepointing out was like, you have
to actually solve a problem. Like, yeah, you might make a
quick buck, right? Just what you're saying, yeah,
you can make a quick buck. You can make some money.
But when you're trying to build a brand and you want people to
still like your brand and pay attention when you launch
(30:00):
something that's really important, you got to actually
solve the problem. And if you do it and it's
sustainable, 2 boxes checked, but you got to solve the
problem. You got to solve a problem for
someone to really have a productthat you feel good about too,
right? You should, you should be able
to wake up in the morning and go, I'm super happy that we're
selling this product. This product is great.
(30:21):
It's solving a problem. I know people's lives are
better. Right, not just some like Amazon
drop shipping, you know, Alibabascheme to like that like every
talk to influencers like trying to get you to do.
And it's just like, yeah, it's just so not my vibe and so not
(30:43):
what I think the world needs. And you know, I think when
people 'cause I get so many people that come to me with
ideas and like, you know, they want me to sign an NDA and
they're like really taty about it.
And, you know, maybe people are listening and they're like, Oh
my gosh, how could you talk about your to go container idea?
Why would you keep that secret? And it's like, OK, first of all,
(31:04):
no one owns ideas. Like ideas belong in the
collective ether. And if this podcast inspires you
to create the best reasonable togo container ever, freaking
great. Like I'm so into that.
Ultimately what it really comes down to is execution.
And so I think what people kind of don't realize and when
(31:29):
they're very cagey about their ideas is like, I mean, I'm not
going to want to execute on yourlike, I don't even know, like
whatever of the most recent, youknow, coffee maker idea that
I've been recently shown. Like, like you have to be so
passionate about a concept to bring it to life.
It takes so much work and dedication and sleepless nights
(31:53):
and long hours and like this never ending fire that you have
to maintain for yourself and foryour team.
And, and so I think like I wouldrecommend that people share
their ideas, talk to people about it.
Like, unless you're talking to someone who's like already
deeply in the niche of your product, like you don't need to
worry that someone's going to steal your idea.
(32:15):
And because if they do, they're going to do it their way, which
is not your way. And if it's better, well, then
the world got the better idea, so.
Yeah, especially when you're talking about a general idea.
You are right. The execution part is if you get
into the Super technical detail of this is exactly how I would
do it and this is the way and this is a the formula of the
(32:37):
like, OK, don't don't share that.
Like that's OK. That's your that's your special
thing. Like you're saying, like, oh,
I'm inventing a new coffee maker.
OK, great. That tells me nothing.
There's nothing I can copy any more than you can copy.
There's nothing I can copy off of that.
That's just sharing what you're planning on developing.
(32:59):
Like I love that you're have this attitude of well, as if I
inspire somebody because I thinkit's people overly worry about,
oh, there's competition. If it's a really good idea, you
want to have competition. Actually, if you're the only one
who either aren't that great, like it's not a great market to
start with or somebody's going to be competing with you very
(33:22):
soon, like that's. Yeah.
And that's like if it's a big market for whatever you're
creating. I mean, as soon as we launched
our Kickstarter, I think within one week we had knockoffs and
within a month we had 10s of thousands.
We are still making money on lawsuits litigating, you know,
(33:44):
these knockoffs. And it's.
Yeah, six years later, like it'sfreaking crazy.
Wow, still making money off of lawsuits from people.
Just word for everyone, don't just copy somebody else's idea.
It's bad. Right.
And that's the thing like if youget inspired by someone's idea,
(34:05):
great. Like make it your own and go for
it. Like we do need more
competition. We need competition in in every
aspect of the market because ultimately like that's going to
create the best products. Innovation.
Innovation is a product of competition because you come up
with one thing and somebody comes out with their own version
and then you go, OK, well, I canactually make something better
(34:27):
than that. But otherwise, there's no It's
hard to be motivated to come up with something better if no one
is pushing you can get. It's easy to get.
Complacent. Best thing already exists, then
like find something else. You know, I come up with ideas
every day for a stupid product. Half the time they already
exist. I go and Google it and I'm like,
oh, that's already a thing. And the other half of the time,
(34:49):
you know, I'll build out a deck and I start talking to people
and, and kind of like fleshing out the concept and it becomes
like this question of like, is this something the world really
needs? Like, is there, you know, a real
market for this? Would people actually use it?
And kind of diving into those deeper question, But the ideas
are meaningless. It's like really just can you
(35:10):
execute? Right, something like the last
time I, I went through the research, it's like 93% of ideas
actually make it into and then only about 3% of the ones that
make it to a product are actually successful.
When you look at it, you got to understand like that idea level,
most of them are going to go away, but it's OK.
It's part of I think people get attached, people become, you
(35:34):
know, they don't want to let go of it, but the idea is if
somebody has a better idea out there, just move on, go come up
with something else. It's not the end of the road.
I. Mean taking attached to their
ideas. And yeah, I think that from
being in this business for this long, I've kind of maybe have a
little more of a cutthroat approach to it all.
(35:56):
And if you, you know, come to meand you're like, hey, I want to
talk to you about this idea. Will you sign an NDAI go no.
Like if you want to talk to me about it, great.
Like I'm not going to steal youridea because I work in a very,
very specific niche and like, that's it.
I'm not going to just go create like a, you know, iPad holder
(36:19):
because it works. Maybe it's the best iPad holder
in the whole world, but like, I just don't care.
Right. It's not your mission, it's not
your focus, it's not on brand, which I think people also
they're like, Oh well, you have a company, you can just go steal
this like can. But I just put all this time and
effort building a brand over here.
(36:40):
Why would I not do something over here?
Like why? Why would I need to go do
something else? You can do that.
Totally. And granted, like I am, you
know, thinking about concepts now that I have a kid, like I am
definitely thinking about other aspects where I'm interested in
business, specifically around food.
I just see such a huge gap in the market when it comes to like
(37:03):
healthy food for kids. That's like easy and.
Yeah, convenient healthy kid food.
Yeah, like I, so I, I'm like a little like homemaker over here.
I'm, I'm out here making my own granola.
But like when I go and travel and really see like what the
options are at like high end healthy food stores and there's
(37:27):
nothing I want to feed my kid. It's kind of like, whoa, this is
a big issue. So yeah, who knows what's next?
I definitely am working on a fewconcepts and yeah, just
passionate about the health of people and our planet.
Yeah, I think if you keep those things in focus, it will you
(37:49):
only come up with new good ideas.
So love that's the focus there. This has been a little bit of
blast talking to you. It's great to get to dive into
your head a little bit and how you think about things obviously
come up. So amazing products are doing
very well, are helping people make an impact as conveniently
as possible, which I want to just give you a space to say
(38:12):
where should people reach out to?
What's the best way to find you guys?
Where can people find you the easiest, best way to reach out
to you? Maybe not to pick a coffee maker
idea too, but yeah, just that. And then anything else you want
to say to wrap up? Sure.
So you can reach out to us on Instagram at
(38:32):
finalstraworthroughourwebsite@finalstraw.com.You can reach out to me
personally on my Instagram at Emma Sirena.
And yeah, you can pitch me your coffee, make your ideas.
I love chatting with people about their ideas.
Just don't ask me to sign in. There you go.
Perfect well for everyone watching and listening, we'll
(38:55):
make sure there's links for everything in the description.
And Emma, this has been this is great.
Love being able to chat with youand thanks for being on.
Thanks Ian, it's great chatting with you.
And that wraps up another episode of the Conscious Design
Podcast. If today's episode inspired you
to bring your product idea to life and turn it into a
sustainable 7 figure business, visit petermanfirm.com or click
(39:19):
the link below. Your ideas how the power to
change the world. And we're here to help make that
happen. Thank you for joining us, and
I'll see you on the next episode.
What we're trying to do is get everyone to a bring an awareness
to it, because I think that's what's really lacking.
Every single thing I throw away in the trash, I think about,
hey, this is not going away. This will exist on our planet
forever, unless it's biodegradable.
It's just being moved. Yes, exactly.
And I think we need to change the language around throwing
(00:21):
things away because that gives us this concept that it goes
away and it just doesn't. I really hope that people who
are listening are just going to bring a little more awareness
are the things that they throw away and start thinking of
creative solution. Hello and welcome to the
Conscious Design podcast. I'm your host, Ian Pierman and I
(00:42):
help turn product ideas to sustainable 7 figure businesses.
Join me for another episode where sustainability meets
innovation and business savvy. Today I'm excited to have Emma
Rose Cohen. She's the founder of Final
Straw, where they innovate products that replace single use
plastic. End of the show.
Thanks Ian, appreciate having me.
(01:03):
Absolutely. Well, what was let's start with
the origin of this. What got you decided to take on
quite a big thing and replacing single use plastics, which is a
huge problem of how did we get here?
How did you get started that this?
Well, it depends how far back you want to go, but I have been
(01:24):
fascinated by efficiency and sustainability since I can
remember. I think being raised in a
household where, you know, wastewas not an option was got my
brain thinking differently. And when I went to College in
Santa Barbara, I couldn't help but notice the amount of waste
that was going on, especially around single use plastic,
(01:45):
specifically red Solo cups. Back then it was a very wild
party school. I think it's tamed a little bit
now, but people would, you know,use a cup for 5 minutes and then
throw it away. And we're on the beach.
And so, so often we would go down to the beach and just see
all this plastic there and then it's, you know, ending up in the
(02:07):
ocean and, and we all know what happens then.
It's not not so good for the Marina ecosystems.
So yeah, I think, you know, you said earlier like how did I
decide to tackle such a big problem?
And the concept was tackle a really big problem with
something really small because what we have to do is start
thinking differently about single use waste.
(02:29):
And why not start with somethingthat's so simple and so easy to
remove from your day-to-day habits like a straw.
And so, yeah, we looked on the Internet, couldn't find any
reusable collapsible travel friendly straws.
Now you go, there's a bunch. Back then, you know, in 2018
there was literally 0. So yeah, just came up with a
(02:53):
concept kind of based from a, a tent pole and put it in a case
and put it on Kickstarter and prayed.
I mean, we, we really were just doing kind of the bootstraps,
really minimal version of it all.
And clearly, you know, hit a chord because we we raised
almost $2,000,000 in a month. That's a chord.
(03:16):
That's a chord. Yeah.
Well, I love that that principleof how do you solve something in
a simple way and then validate it and then go, you know, go do
do the litmus test of OK, well, I think it's a cool idea.
It's simple, it's easy. But does everybody else actually
(03:39):
think it's a good idea? Is somebody and I just think
it's a good idea is willing to put money down on that idea and
I think that that, you know so many people approach they they
try to solve the problem and they make it too complicated and
they make it they start complex and I think just think that
there's there's a beauty and split in simplicity that makes
(04:01):
it so you can you can relate to it easier right.
If you tried to solve I could only imagine how complicated
would be if you tried to set up all of it at once getting
getting people to be on board now when you launch so you
launch your Kickstarter, obviously it did really well
$2,000,000 what happened from there?
Did you continue to see steady growth was it did you have a
(04:26):
Lola? How did things look, you know
from like that consumer feedbackand you guys growing?
Well, from launching the Kickstarter, you know, the next
two years, we're wild. It did not slow in the slightest
and we just kept creating new products and we did a revision
of the first design of Final Straw.
(04:48):
So we have AV 2 and it was just wild.
I mean, it was really clear thatpeople are looking for solutions
and that people really do care about sustainability and that
there just aren't enough products out there to make being
sustainable easy and convenient because ultimately that is the
(05:09):
simplicity of it all. We have become accustomed to a
lifestyle of convenience and even still, sustainability is
generally not convenient. It involves bringing your
reasonable water bottle with youbringing your bags.
Now, unless you are trained to do that and that is a habitual
activity every day, it is does take a bit of a learning curve.
(05:32):
Even with our products, you know, we make them key chains so
you can bring them with you wherever you go, but still you
have to remember your keys and or remember to wash it and put
it back in the case. There are additional steps.
So ultimately we are just tryingto make sustainability a little
more convenient, a little bit easier, and something that you
(05:54):
can start on a journey with stepone and continue onwards,
improving every day and becominga little bit more aware and
sustainable and sharing that with your community and and
friends. How has the feedback been?
Because obviously this is a little bit of a behavior change
like your time and with you. I was just at the grocery store
(06:16):
and talking to the cashier abouthow many people as soon as
they're at the checkout, go oh, I forgot my bags.
You get the first part where it's like in the car, but then
you getting the second part. How have you seen customers
getting through that? Has it, has it been pretty easy?
Is this something that's you've seen has been simple enough or
(06:38):
is this something you're still? It's one of those behavior
things that just takes a really long time.
Train yourself with. Yeah.
I mean, ultimately any product that requires a behavior change
is going to be a little more challenging.
But ultimately, because we made our products so small and so
compact that it can fit on your keys and you don't leave your
(07:00):
house without your keys, you know, it's just something that
people always bring. And so it does make it a little
bit easier if you put it on yourkeys.
We're also kind of primarily popular with females.
And so a lot of times, you know,you have your purse with you.
And so the final straw just goesin your purse or the final spork
or whatever it is for me, like my final spork is just always in
(07:23):
my car. And so sometimes I do have to
leave the restaurant to go get it.
And I think that is an instance of when it's not convenient.
That is how you train habits, byinterrupting a behavior to
introduce that new behavior. So it's like, I could be in the
checkout line and be like, oh, Iforgot my bags.
Or I could be like, oh, shoot, Iforgot my bags and put my stuff
(07:46):
to the side, let someone go in front of me, go get them.
And then the next time I go to the store, the chance that I'm
going to forget the bags is a lot lower because we're
interrupting that behavior and not just saying to our brain,
oh, it's OK to forget this thing.
You know, you never go into the store without your wallet.
Why would you go in without yourbags if it's something you need?
(08:07):
That makes sense. So let's talk about your
products. So you you started with the
straw and now you have the four.How have you decided with what
your next product is? Be talk about that process for
you guys on how are you picking your next products?
Yeah, the straws, our first product was interesting.
(08:28):
I mean, the timing was very aligned and it, it definitely
made sense to launch a straw when we did.
But I don't even use straws. So in terms of like being able
to relate with my customers there, like I just don't really
use straws. I'm I'm not, they're not for me.
But I wanted to make something that people who love straws
would love and I wanted to make the best straw out there.
(08:50):
So figuring out the next productis relatively easy.
It's like, OK, what do I need inmy day-to-day life?
And then also like listening to our customers.
I mean, we got so many emails and comments on social media
with what people would want next.
And we do polls and we really dotry and like engage our customer
base. But it was very obvious for me,
(09:10):
you know, I, I'd had the kind oflike bamboo set of like fork,
knife, spoon, and it's just likebulky and doesn't feel great in
my hand. I want like something with a
little more weight and you know,the mouth feel.
I don't love eating with the wood as much.
So anyways, I was just kind of like, what would I want?
What would be the most convenient thing for me?
(09:32):
And I made it. Amazing.
And as from what I can tell thatis doing really, really well.
Also like that's got a pretty good response.
People are buying it. It's really getting some
traction. You have a couple different
straws gotten into wipes as well.
(09:52):
I saw it. And so how did that one come
about? Because that's a, you know,
that's a very different. Yeah, well, you know, I think
because when you're telling a brand story, it's really easy to
say like we focus on single use plastic, but ultimately we focus
on waste and paper towels are one of the most wasted, you
know, items in your kitchen. Think about how many the average
(10:15):
family uses. And when I go over to friends
houses that they use paper towels.
I mean, it's 1020 paper towels anight and it's just wild like
that is those are made from trees.
Those are, you know, require so much water.
And so anyways, the paper towel thing is actually kind of a
funny story. I was making a April Fool's
spoof video during COVID and I was making a video for reusable
(10:39):
toilet paper. And I showed it to a friend and
he's like, well, why don't you actually make it?
And so yeah, I, I kind of like pivoted with the video and made
it into something that I actually use on a daily basis.
I have a one year old and we would be using a lot of paper
towels if I didn't have the wipes.
And so yeah, it's, it's just kind of like I really try and
(11:03):
look at areas of my life where I'm creating waste and, you
know, feeling like a relatively average American consumer.
Like how can I create things that other people would also be
able to incorporate into their daily lifestyle to reduce waste?
Look, you used bamboo, correct as your fiber for that wipe
(11:27):
wipes you out bamboo. The fabric is amazing.
I think we have my wife got us into bamboo towels actually
because they work so well. I'm curious, what else did you
look at in researching kind of what was your, I know all the
pluses for it, but how did you end up arriving as, hey, this is
this is the material that's going to make the most sense?
(11:49):
Honestly, choosing a material was the hardest part of the
wipes. It's really a, hard doing that
like overseas, so sending fabricsamples back and forth like a
million times and B, finding a sustainable material because
like it's so easy to find a synthetic fiber washcloth that's
(12:10):
going to be cheap and absorbent and all the things.
But that's just not who we are as a brand.
We're not going to use the cheap, easy synthetic thing.
You know, additionally, we're seeing all this research around
microplastics and they're released in mass when you wash
synthetic fibers. So we were looking at, you know,
(12:31):
a variety of, of natural fibers and ultimately it came down to
what is, you know, affordable, what feels good and what works.
So. So I've talked to people about
fabrics, right, sustainable options.
Other ones that come up with is there are ways to grow cotton
and a lower water use. Did you run into?
(12:54):
Is that one of the things you looked at as well?
Yeah, yeah. We looked at, you know, all the
fabrics, and ultimately whateveryou choose is going to have some
sort of drawback. You choose.
Let's say you choose cotton. Maybe it's farmed sustainably,
but it's using a ton of water. Maybe you choose bamboo and then
they have to use, you know, somesort of pesticide.
(13:15):
Like ultimately there's like no option that is 100% sustainable.
The only way to do that is go live in the mountains in a cave
and like hunt everything and go 0 waste like truly.
And so I think what we try and do as a company and what I
encourage people to do is kind of weigh the options and do
(13:36):
something that feels like you can incorporate it into your
life on a regular basis. Because my wipes have a much
higher environmental impact thana single use paper towel.
So if I use the wipes once or twice and then never again, it's
actually going to have a much worse impact on the environment.
You have to hit that break even point, which means using the
(13:59):
wipes over and over and over until that number of usages
overcomes the impact of creatingthem.
Does that make sense? Yeah.
And I, I think I'm really glad you pointed that out because
people will make a purchase likethat and they're not, they don't
necessarily actually start usingit.
(14:20):
And that's where when I'm, when I talk to people that are
wanting to develop new products,they go, well, how do we make
sure that you actually use it enough?
Let's say there was a material that was perfectly sustainable
if you put all the effort and time into it and no one bought
it. Or worse, everyone bought it but
nobody used it. Is it really sustainable?
(14:40):
Like that's that's kind of the, the questioning in my head
always is you got to actually use it.
You have to integrate it into your life.
It has to, even if you take sometime to relearn how to do
something, you got to actually get it into the hands of people
and they have to then use it enough for it to really be as
(15:02):
sustainable as we want, which isgreat.
Are the goals great? But we got to figure out how to
make it easy. And just like what you do with a
straw, make it so you can put iton your key chain, make it easy
and accessible and then people will use it enough and then you
make the impact that you're wanting.
I think it's a really, I'm glad you pointed that out.
(15:24):
That's something that's still not every brand thinks about
these kinds of things. Totally.
I mean, I'm a realist. Like I understand that we are
all having busy lives and especially now with a kid, like
I get it even more, you know, where the priorities lie.
And I think you were acting about asking about our kind of
how the growth of the brand has been.
(15:45):
You know, during COVID, we saw amuch, you know, a very large
decline in orders because people's focus was on personal
health and hygiene and it wasn'ton sustainability.
And now I feel like the times have shifted again.
We are back in a place of somewhat personal safety,
depending on where, you know, where you live.
(16:07):
And but that people are able to focus on sustainability and need
to more now than ever because ofwhat's going on with our
administration and the attacks on public lands.
And, you know, the devaluing of nature, like this is our straw
and our spork are one way to take a stand against
corporations who are profiting off of creating pollution.
(16:30):
Is it going to change the world,you know, with your one small
impact, Like, depends how you look at it.
I look at it as a ripple effect.So me pulling out my final spork
in a restaurant, it's not just about, yeah, I reduced my impact
by one plastic spork, but it's pretty likely going to cause a
(16:50):
conversation and someone's goingto be like, Oh my gosh, what's
that? And then the people around me
are going to be like, oh, wow, she's not eating with a plastic
straw. And so it's like, yes, our
individual impacts, you know, have a directly measurable
impact, but also there's such a larger ripple effect that is not
measurable. And, and I think is is kind of
the point of what we do. Yeah, I think that's a.
(17:12):
It's a really good point to bring up that it's easy to track
the pounds of plastic or the carburetor.
Those are easy, trackable and weoften forget what you just
talked about, which is what is the impact?
Are you, how are you impacting the people around you and what
they're thinking, right? It's if you have enough people
(17:35):
bringing in their own reusable bags to a grocery store, bring
have their own straw, have theirown spark.
You are you are very much going to spark that question and
somebody else's head of oh, well, that's not that looks
fine. That's cool.
That's interesting. That's easy there.
(17:55):
You know, if it's something thatisn't, oh, wow, they had to do a
whole bunch of work and it took,you know, you don't, you're not
sitting there assembling your fork for two hours to be able to
use it. You're just pulling it out,
using it. It helps other people to
realize, oh, that's not actuallya change in behave.
I don't have to have this crazy change to be able to make this
(18:19):
swap. I can it's easier to do, which I
think is also one of those benefits of products like yours
where it's it's easy and people can see how easy it's not overly
complicated to make that change.It helps all of this more for
people to realize, oh, I can do a change.
It's easy. It's it's not complicated for
me. I'm doing something good, right?
(18:40):
You also can't eliminate the feel good part of oh you're
doing your little part, you're are doing something.
Yeah, you get a little a moral energy boost and and it's easy
and you know, I like to think about change.
If you change 1% today, you know, think about an arrow and
maybe if you shift the degree ofthat arrow by 1%, it's not going
(19:04):
to look that different. It would be just, you know, a
tiny bit off of the target. But a year from now that 1%
looks really big. It it's a really big change.
And so that's just what we're trying to do is get everyone to
to aid bring an awareness to it,because I think that's what's
really lacking. Every single thing I throw away
(19:25):
in the trash, I think about and I think like, hey, this is not
going away. We're not throwing things away.
This will exist on our planet forever, unless it's, you know,
biodegradable and it's. Just being moved.
Yes, exactly. And I think we need to change
the language around throwing things away because that gives
(19:46):
us this concept that that it goes away and it just doesn't.
And so I really hope that peoplewho are listening are just going
to bring a little more awarenessto the things that they throw
away and start thinking of creative solutions.
Like before I started final, I was a ski bum.
And before that, you know, I wasworking at a, you know, nuclear
laboratory. So it's like anyone could start
(20:07):
a business. If you are passionate and
interested enough in the project, you don't need, you
know, listen. Listen to me.
I have literally 0 experience. And here I am, you know, running
this company now. And I think that especially now
with the access to tech and you know, you can create just about
anything, but you just need to start looking a little more
(20:28):
carefully at daily behaviors. Hey, it's your host, Ian.
I'm really glad you're enjoying this episode.
I absolutely love highlighting amazing brands and founders for
the awesome things they are doing.
I've helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and businesses
like yours turn their boldest ideas into powerful, purpose
driven brands. So if you're serious about
(20:48):
building a brand people love, like our guests and clients too,
and one that you're proud to stand behind, I invite you to
dive a bit deeper with our book Conscious Design.
Inside, you'll discover the exact framework and steps we use
to help entrepreneurs like you turn purpose into a powerful,
impact driven brand. Brand that stands out, tracks
loyal customers and drive sustainable growth with social
(21:11):
and environmental responsibilitywoven into its DNA.
Grab your copy today. You can find it on our website
consciousdesignhouse.com or justfind the link below in the show
notes. Enjoy the rest of the episode
and don't forget to like, subscribe and share.
Yeah, I think it's it's really important thing of those things.
(21:34):
And and it's funny you brought up like, right, the mentality
behind it. It is we talked about all this
stuff like, oh, you need to recycle and you need to we need
to do this. But we do have this very
ingrained idea of like, oh, the throw away, it just disappears.
And then even in the name, rightis throw away.
It's like go away. It, it doesn't, it's doesn't
(21:55):
really do that. It just gets round and it's
funny with this is something that I spent a lot of time
thinking about, of how this is even historically like we kind
of have, if you look long term before industrialization, it
wasn't really the whole concept of waste.
(22:15):
Yeah, there were some rubbish piles, right?
There was waste, but it wasn't, it was all biodegrade.
There was nothing permanent about those things really.
And so we have this very, I think we still have that kind of
mentality in our language even though we've changed.
And now things that we do throw away don't actually go away.
(22:36):
But that's relatively recent, like that's in the last 100
years and language hasn't caughtup.
And so how we think about it hasn't really caught up with the
fact that you throw plastic away, going to sit there for a
really long time and is not going to just go back into a
pile of dirt, even though that'swhat we think.
(22:56):
That's what we think of when we're tossing something.
Totally. And you know, there's also these
companies out there that are profiting billions and billions
of dollars off of making the consumer feel like they're the
problem. Like we invented or the the
National Beverage Corporation, which is made-up by Coca-Cola
and Nestle and Pepsi created theword litterbug because they want
(23:21):
people to feel bad about the littering and to focus on a were
the problem. If you throw your plastic bottle
out your window, you're the problem.
But like, zoom out, the problem is the beverage corporation.
The problem is that Coca-Cola can make millions and millions
and billions of plastic bottles a year and pay $0.00 to clean
(23:44):
them up, pays $0.00 for recycling.
You know who pays for recycling?If you even have recycling in
your country. Like we have it here in the
United States in most places, not even.
We don't even have it in every city.
And yeah, and but the taxpayers are paying for it.
So I think like beyond just using products to minimize
(24:05):
waste, like support companies that minimize waste and boycott
companies that don't because they are stealing and polluting
our water. They are trashing our lands,
they are poisoning the oceans with 0 repercussions.
And it's time to stop letting corporations get away with this
(24:26):
stuff. And we really do have to vote
with our dollars. And so every time you go to the
grocery store, you're voting. You're voting for what kind of
food you want to see on the shelves.
You're voting for, you know, what is kind of allowable by
companies. And yeah, I really try and do
some digging on brands that I'm buying and see you if they're
(24:49):
owned by another company. And and if so, like I might have
to switch. I'm so sad to not be able to buy
Siete trips anymore because theyjust sold to Frito Lay and it's
like, well, those are my favorite trips, but now they're
owned by a really like terrible company and, and I don't want to
(25:10):
support that. Right.
I think it's something that we as the average consumer rate, we
kind of forget sometimes that your dollar does really, really,
really count because stores track which products get sold
and we have made changes, right.I mean, that's how there's more
organic option when there's moresustainably sourced options,
(25:32):
right, is because people startedbuying that stuff more and more
and more. And a store is in the business
of providing people what they want, whatever sells.
That's what they want in their store.
It without it, they don't have customers, even though you like,
oh, how does this one purchase? You could literally be the one
purchase between them pulling something off the shelf or
(25:54):
buying more. And that's how there's a number.
There's you'll never figure out exactly what it is unless you
work in the store or the brand, But there's an exact number
where if they sell this number or less removed, the contracts
never going to be seen in the store again.
And if they sell one over that, they stay.
(26:16):
That is the line. There is a line.
So you might be the one you haveno idea.
So voting, you know, this kind of voting with your dollars, it
very much does impact and the stores are tracked.
They know they have to know whether a product is selling or
not. So yeah, it's a very, very good
point. 100% I think the impact of our buying habits because we
(26:38):
don't see it, you know, we don'tsee the cause and effect, but it
is so powerful and I think that if people truly understood the
impact of their dollar, they would likely spend it
differently. That is probably the hardest
part is you don't know there's no either not like a ticker
sitting above the product. We're like, you buy and they go,
(26:59):
Oh yeah, it's going to stay now here you go.
You we fit the like it's then none of that stuff is public.
There's no a way to do it outside of corporate espionage,
which I don't recommend. So that's a whole other thing to
try. There's no way to know, but it
is valuable. You're being a customer is being
valuable. Let's jump.
You go back to your brand a little bit more.
(27:20):
So you have a few products now. I would love to talk about any
plans you can share, other products that you're looking at,
you know, ones that customers have come back and said, hey,
could you do this to just anything that you could share on
like what's what's the future ofthe brand and where you guys are
going? Yeah, I mean, I, I would love to
do A to go container. I find that that's kind of the
(27:44):
the number one thing that I needregularly.
You know, I keep AI really like the brand Porter and I have one
of their to go containers in my car and but I just would love
something a little more compact,something I could put in my
purse. I've been ideating on this for a
while and and it just kind of hasn't hit me yet.
Yeah, stay tuned. Hopefully I get the inspiration
(28:07):
soon and also find the materialsbecause ultimately like that has
been kind of the biggest hold upis trying to find the right
materials. It's hard.
My wife and I, we've, we've gonethrough so many different lunch
boxes and containers for food. It is hard 'cause it has to be
able to handle temperatures. You got to be all that.
You can't be too bulky either 'cause then you ruin like if
(28:29):
it's too bulky, especially for kids, you're like, that's
annoying to deal with. It's got to be washable.
It's got to, there's so much, there's so much that goes into
it. So I'm excited to see what.
You understand my problem deeply.
Yeah, I think. And also like, I never want to
make something that doesn't solve a problem.
So like when we first launched and, you know, we have this,
(28:52):
like, huge audience. Everyone's like, oh, you guys
should sell reusable bags and you should sell, you know, just
regular metal straws. And it's like, I don't know, I
think I'm a bad capitalist because I'm not like, I'm not
just trying to maximize profit. Like, I'm not just trying to,
like, slap our name on a reusable bag and sell it, even
though it would sell and we'd probably make a lot of money
with it. But I think that like ultimately
(29:13):
every product I put out there, Iwant it to be better than
anything that exists. And that's a pretty high bar and
it's also why we haven't put outA to go container or lunch box.
It's funny, in the webinar I wasjust doing this came up.
This is people are asking a question of how do you come up
with a new product? Like how do you be successful?
(29:36):
And one of the things that that I point out to everyone and and
some of the other panelists werepointing out was like, you have
to actually solve a problem. Like, yeah, you might make a
quick buck, right? Just what you're saying, yeah,
you can make a quick buck. You can make some money.
But when you're trying to build a brand and you want people to
still like your brand and pay attention when you launch
(30:00):
something that's really important, you got to actually
solve the problem. And if you do it and it's
sustainable, 2 boxes checked, but you got to solve the
problem. You got to solve a problem for
someone to really have a productthat you feel good about too,
right? You should, you should be able
to wake up in the morning and go, I'm super happy that we're
selling this product. This product is great.
(30:21):
It's solving a problem. I know people's lives are
better. Right, not just some like Amazon
drop shipping, you know, Alibabascheme to like that like every
talk to influencers like trying to get you to do.
And it's just like, yeah, it's just so not my vibe and so not
(30:43):
what I think the world needs. And you know, I think when
people 'cause I get so many people that come to me with
ideas and like, you know, they want me to sign an NDA and
they're like really taty about it.
And, you know, maybe people are listening and they're like, Oh
my gosh, how could you talk about your to go container idea?
Why would you keep that secret? And it's like, OK, first of all,
(31:04):
no one owns ideas. Like ideas belong in the
collective ether. And if this podcast inspires you
to create the best reasonable togo container ever, freaking
great. Like I'm so into that.
Ultimately what it really comes down to is execution.
And so I think what people kind of don't realize and when
(31:29):
they're very cagey about their ideas is like, I mean, I'm not
going to want to execute on yourlike, I don't even know, like
whatever of the most recent, youknow, coffee maker idea that
I've been recently shown. Like, like you have to be so
passionate about a concept to bring it to life.
It takes so much work and dedication and sleepless nights
(31:53):
and long hours and like this never ending fire that you have
to maintain for yourself and foryour team.
And, and so I think like I wouldrecommend that people share
their ideas, talk to people about it.
Like, unless you're talking to someone who's like already
deeply in the niche of your product, like you don't need to
worry that someone's going to steal your idea.
(32:15):
And because if they do, they're going to do it their way, which
is not your way. And if it's better, well, then
the world got the better idea, so.
Yeah, especially when you're talking about a general idea.
You are right. The execution part is if you get
into the Super technical detail of this is exactly how I would
do it and this is the way and this is a the formula of the
(32:37):
like, OK, don't don't share that.
Like that's OK. That's your that's your special
thing. Like you're saying, like, oh,
I'm inventing a new coffee maker.
OK, great. That tells me nothing.
There's nothing I can copy any more than you can copy.
There's nothing I can copy off of that.
That's just sharing what you're planning on developing.
(32:59):
Like I love that you're have this attitude of well, as if I
inspire somebody because I thinkit's people overly worry about,
oh, there's competition. If it's a really good idea, you
want to have competition. Actually, if you're the only one
who either aren't that great, like it's not a great market to
start with or somebody's going to be competing with you very
(33:22):
soon, like that's. Yeah.
And that's like if it's a big market for whatever you're
creating. I mean, as soon as we launched
our Kickstarter, I think within one week we had knockoffs and
within a month we had 10s of thousands.
We are still making money on lawsuits litigating, you know,
(33:44):
these knockoffs. And it's.
Yeah, six years later, like it'sfreaking crazy.
Wow, still making money off of lawsuits from people.
Just word for everyone, don't just copy somebody else's idea.
It's bad. Right.
And that's the thing like if youget inspired by someone's idea,
(34:05):
great. Like make it your own and go for
it. Like we do need more
competition. We need competition in in every
aspect of the market because ultimately like that's going to
create the best products. Innovation.
Innovation is a product of competition because you come up
with one thing and somebody comes out with their own version
and then you go, OK, well, I canactually make something better
(34:27):
than that. But otherwise, there's no It's
hard to be motivated to come up with something better if no one
is pushing you can get. It's easy to get.
Complacent. Best thing already exists, then
like find something else. You know, I come up with ideas
every day for a stupid product. Half the time they already
exist. I go and Google it and I'm like,
oh, that's already a thing. And the other half of the time,
(34:49):
you know, I'll build out a deck and I start talking to people
and, and kind of like fleshing out the concept and it becomes
like this question of like, is this something the world really
needs? Like, is there, you know, a real
market for this? Would people actually use it?
And kind of diving into those deeper question, But the ideas
are meaningless. It's like really just can you
(35:10):
execute? Right, something like the last
time I, I went through the research, it's like 93% of ideas
actually make it into and then only about 3% of the ones that
make it to a product are actually successful.
When you look at it, you got to understand like that idea level,
most of them are going to go away, but it's OK.
It's part of I think people get attached, people become, you
(35:34):
know, they don't want to let go of it, but the idea is if
somebody has a better idea out there, just move on, go come up
with something else. It's not the end of the road.
I. Mean taking attached to their
ideas. And yeah, I think that from
being in this business for this long, I've kind of maybe have a
little more of a cutthroat approach to it all.
(35:56):
And if you, you know, come to meand you're like, hey, I want to
talk to you about this idea. Will you sign an NDAI go no.
Like if you want to talk to me about it, great.
Like I'm not going to steal youridea because I work in a very,
very specific niche and like, that's it.
I'm not going to just go create like a, you know, iPad holder
(36:19):
because it works. Maybe it's the best iPad holder
in the whole world, but like, I just don't care.
Right. It's not your mission, it's not
your focus, it's not on brand, which I think people also
they're like, Oh well, you have a company, you can just go steal
this like can. But I just put all this time and
effort building a brand over here.
(36:40):
Why would I not do something over here?
Like why? Why would I need to go do
something else? You can do that.
Totally. And granted, like I am, you
know, thinking about concepts now that I have a kid, like I am
definitely thinking about other aspects where I'm interested in
business, specifically around food.
I just see such a huge gap in the market when it comes to like
(37:03):
healthy food for kids. That's like easy and.
Yeah, convenient healthy kid food.
Yeah, like I, so I, I'm like a little like homemaker over here.
I'm, I'm out here making my own granola.
But like when I go and travel and really see like what the
options are at like high end healthy food stores and there's
(37:27):
nothing I want to feed my kid. It's kind of like, whoa, this is
a big issue. So yeah, who knows what's next?
I definitely am working on a fewconcepts and yeah, just
passionate about the health of people and our planet.
Yeah, I think if you keep those things in focus, it will you
(37:49):
only come up with new good ideas.
So love that's the focus there. This has been a little bit of
blast talking to you. It's great to get to dive into
your head a little bit and how you think about things obviously
come up. So amazing products are doing
very well, are helping people make an impact as conveniently
as possible, which I want to just give you a space to say
(38:12):
where should people reach out to?
What's the best way to find you guys?
Where can people find you the easiest, best way to reach out
to you? Maybe not to pick a coffee maker
idea too, but yeah, just that. And then anything else you want
to say to wrap up? Sure.
So you can reach out to us on Instagram at
(38:32):
finalstraworthroughourwebsite@finalstraw.com.You can reach out to me
personally on my Instagram at Emma Sirena.
And yeah, you can pitch me your coffee, make your ideas.
I love chatting with people about their ideas.
Just don't ask me to sign in. There you go.
Perfect well for everyone watching and listening, we'll
(38:55):
make sure there's links for everything in the description.
And Emma, this has been this is great.
Love being able to chat with youand thanks for being on.
Thanks Ian, it's great chatting with you.
And that wraps up another episode of the Conscious Design
Podcast. If today's episode inspired you
to bring your product idea to life and turn it into a
sustainable 7 figure business, visit petermanfirm.com or click
(39:19):
the link below. Your ideas how the power to
change the world. And we're here to help make that
happen. Thank you for joining us, and
I'll see you on the next episode.
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