November 19, 2018 • 51 mins
FYI!!! Carla Marie is no longer the host of a morning show in Seattle but she is still supporting small businesses in every way possible. She’s even started her own small business with her radio cohost and best friend, Anthony. All of the links below will help you stay up to date!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Carla Murray. You're listening to episode number thirty three
of my Side Hustlers podcast. On December seven, I will
be doing an event at a Layer in West Seattle
to shopping event. There's gonna be a sore wide discount.
It's happening from seven to nine pm. Just a good
way to shop before the holidays, hang out, and there's
gonna be boozy hot apple cider, So that's gonna be
a lot of fun. Today's episode is about the girls
(00:24):
behind Happy Box. Happy Box is something that I have
sent two girlfriends in my life. It's really cool why
they started it. But the thing that interests me the
most is that they're not just two friends or two
random girls who found each other their sisters. And I
don't know about you, but I could not work with
my sister, especially the way that these two do. So
it's very interesting to hear their story and how well
(00:46):
they work together. I think you're gonna learn a lot
from them, and you're gonna be obsessed with a brand
new company for a lot of people. You know, why
are you? What? Do you know? What you want to do?
And this is something you want to do it. I'm
a hustle shot shot hust slow do it. I'm a
hush do it. I'm a hustle slow, I'm a hustle
(01:07):
just slow. I'm a hustles side hulow. Come on, ask
about yo yo. It's the side Hustless podcast we call
The Route. So this is the first time I've had
sisters on a podcast, and I'm excited to talk to
Himnah and Ariel coming from my old stomping grounds of Hoboken,
New Jersey. Hi lady, Hi, So this is this is
(01:30):
gonna be fun. I love it. We've got a Rutgers
grad so I'm clearly super happy about that. So many
things to talk about. I don't even know where to start.
I mean, you reached out to me on Instagram when
first of all, which one of you was that was
at Hannah or Ariel? I think it was me initially
Hannah Um. I think I was telling Ariel. I was like,
you know, like, I don't know. We just have so
many things in common with her. We're like we've grown
(01:51):
and grew up one hundred line right like Jersey, Rutgers,
all these things. And we had been kind of talking
about reaching out to some people who might you be
interesting to support with us. And yeah, I think Ariel
physically wrote the message, and I think I mean it's
kind of telling them how we work. She's like, I
have this great idea and I'm like, let's do it.
So then we just did it, and you know, you're
so nice and I couldn't believe we've got a response.
(02:13):
So so let's talk about what the hell you guys
actually do. We're just talking about that we know each other.
But so Happy Box do you see Happy box? Do
you see happy box store? The products is Happy Box
of products, Happy Boxes, but we have happy box store
dot com, which is why we talk about Happy box store.
So yeah, let's go back to what Happy Boxes, why
it was created. Then we're gonna get into how crazy
(02:33):
your lives are now. Yeah, so it started about maybe
how long or few years ago, I think one of
the well, i'll tell you what it is quickly. Um,
it's basically a modern day gift basket to build your
own care package company that is centered on customization inconvenience.
We know that people, especially millennial women who's our target,
really care about custom They want to personalize everything, but
(02:56):
they also really want convenience, Like we're all spoiled by
Amazon Prime. None of us want shipping. Um, So we
were really looking to create a product or a gift
product that was convenient and custom And it all started,
um in college when I got dumped by an idiot.
But you know, my sister was going to school at
the time in Maryland, and I called her, and you know,
(03:19):
she wanted to be there for me, and I didn't
know it at the time. She was trying to send
me a care package. Yeah, So what happened was I decided, Okay,
I don't want like I went online. I was okay,
there's like edible arrangements. There's flowers for like eighty dollars,
there's like all these traditional things, flowers die. It wasn't
what she needed. She needed like a stuffed animal, her
favorite movie, her favorite candy, like you know, a Boodoo doll,
(03:41):
like all these things that I was like, this, I
need to make the perfect gift. And so I ran
around to seven stores in Maryland, waited a line in
the post office, and created this care package that she
ultimately loved that called me crying. But how long did
it take you to go through that? Oh my god, Yeah,
it took me. I remember seven stores because I was
very specific. I wanted to think forgetting Seer Marshal the
DUV the time, it was crucial, crucial piece of that
(04:02):
that care package and then her favorite candy, etcetera. So
it took a while, and I remember thinking and my
kind of kind of telling to where I went in
my career anyway, I was always kind of interested in
strategy and marketing and consumer behavior, and I was thinking, like,
how does this like has some simpler way to do
this not exist online? Or it doesn't right? And you
can do so many things online. I mean you can
get things on demand and again look at what Amazon
(04:25):
is doing. Um, but this didn't exist. And so years
later I presented the idea to Ariels, like, you know,
I still haven't seen anything like that, and you loved that,
and we've talked about how much that kind of like
meant to her in that moment, that like handwritten no
in the specific custom things that I wrote about in
the card. So yeah, so a few years ago, I
want to see, like three and a half years ago
we started talking about it. Oh yeah, maybe you started
talking about it, and it's like that is not when
(04:47):
we started. I said you called that guy an idiot
who dumped you, but really you should be thanking him.
At this point, I will never recover Marie. Okay, you're right.
I mean I think about that a lot, like it
had it like this all started, you know, from a
pretty bad breakup, which is great. So many people talk
about how their their side, household, their passion, or whatever
(05:07):
their next step is comes from something bad. A lot
of time it's being fired. But hey, why not random breakup?
You know, if we all started companies after breakups, we'd
be in much better positions right now. It's true. So
what was that first step to creating Happy Box? Like,
what is the first thing that you do to even start? Yeah?
(05:27):
I think we had to name it. Yeah, that's literally
the first thing we did was like we we we
knew the general idea of what we wanted to do,
you know, like bringing like kind of bringing customized care
packages like to millennial women in a super easy way.
So we knew that the concept was kind of there,
we just didn't really know what to call it. And
ultimately when we started really talking about it, we were like,
(05:48):
we just really want to deliver for happiness. That's really
what we want to do. We want to just make
people happy and make it easier to spread a little
bit of joy, like two millennial women. Yeah, and I think,
uh kind of where we went with our day jobs
and our careers. I ended up being in a marketing strategy,
getting my m B. A Aria went on to be
a creative director, so creative side, and I was the
strategy of business side. And it was from the start
(06:11):
it was really interesting because I was like, Okay, okay,
I did all this research and like, actually, you know,
sustained happiness last longer when you give a gift then
you receive a gift. And I'm starting to find all
these insights that like why we should do this, and
then she's like okay, and she's like pulling from these
insights and figuring out like what we should name it.
And really it was kind of simple with happy bocks,
and I mean both of us being in kind of
marketing advertising. We immediately were like is this trademark and
(06:33):
then looked it up and figured out it wasn't. And
we literally I think trademark DA got the dot com
and that was probably one of the first things we did. Yeah,
So Hannah, what is your day job? So I am
a marketing strategist at an ad agency in Manhattan. So
a lot of what I do is research consumer behavior
for brands, helping them understand where to go next when
it comes to marketing and technology. Damn. So that explains
a lot that really is awesome that you can take
(06:55):
that home with you and use it for your side out.
So it's amazing. What is your day job? Great that
we started with um Hannah because I actually take her
strategy and I deliver on it and I kind of
make commercials and just all kinds of creative campaigns for
huge agencies in New York. Well, I was gonna say,
like when you go to your Instagram and I love
this when I talk to people about their side hustle
(07:16):
and like, your Instagram is beautiful. I love it. And
you do get that. You go to your Instagram and
it is bright and happy and fun, and I look
at it and I'm like, I like following you guys,
just for ins both throughout the day. Whatever I'm working on,
it really is. You know, I don't have to be
shopping you guys too at that moment to benefit from
what you guys are doing. So whatever you're putting into Instagram.
(07:38):
It's super smart. I was going to say, is that
all you do? You work at all together on posts
like how does that work? Content wise? It's sometimes the collab,
but really a majority of it is me pulling my
hair out and you know, finding the right filters right,
and I'll tell her, Okay, this is like a white
space moment where we should talk about like what we're doing,
(07:59):
or this is this aspect we should use, But really
it's Arial's vision creatively. Well, it's smart because everyone I
talked to, not everyone. I don't want to say everyone.
Most people I talk to it's just them, and then
they hire people under them sometimes when they branch out
and grow more. But the fact that you two, obviously
your sisters, are gonna work well most of the time,
work well together, and you do have two completely different sides,
(08:23):
it just it makes so much sense. And so many
people will ask Anthony and I, how who does what
for your show? And he will come up with like, well,
I want to do X, Y Z and all these
crazy ideas and I'm like, okay, well, let me sit
down and figure out what's feasible and how to do it.
And I'm often I feel like I'm the arial of
making it happen and you come with all these these
(08:44):
crazy ideas. So Hannah, I'm not I'm not liking what
you're doing here because I know the stress that you're
putting on her. I get it, but it's it's true
that two people like that can work together so well,
and I fully relate and understand what that. It's amazing.
And I think also we're very lucky and that what
we do really does complement each other. And then I think,
on top of that, like our mom is an independent filmmaker,
(09:07):
so she has always been creative, and she started a
production company like not even knowing English, right, so she's
done these crazy so I think she's been a big
inspiration for us. And then on top of that, we
have supportive like you know, significant others. Like my husband's
a video editor literally so and you can edit audio, right,
So he does a lot of the stuff for us too.
That's why he set up your Mind. Yeah, the first
(09:29):
month of Happy Box, we really needed all hands on deck.
I mean, those guys really brung it home. Okay, so
what is that process? Like people are ordering, so you're
not a subscription box at all, where you can say, okay,
we're shipping every three weeks and that's it. You're just
as these orders come in, you're packing them, closing them
and bring him to the post office. So that's got
(09:49):
to be a lot of work. Definitely. It's definitely on
demand gift service, so there's no subscription. It's as someone
wants to send a gift, whether it's for birthday, a
break up, a new job, and engagement. Um, they go
ahead in an order and it's totally hand packed and
we write a handwritten note. So every single order is unique.
So you're coming home from work basically and just sitting
(10:10):
there packing boxes every night. Well, we would not survive
if that were We really couldn't. That's definitely how it started.
So I started. So when you guys launched, that's what
you were doing. You were sitting there packing. So I
know you have interns. Is this where they come in? Yes,
so we actually and when we talk about pitfalls and
and things that have gone wrong, we do actually outsourced
(10:33):
fulfillment at one point, but um, but right now currently, yeah,
we do have interns who are really like brilliant and
great and we've been really smart about hiring engineering interns
who also can help us with data to help us
understand where we should be going to. But that packing
and shipping, I mean, it was probably a good year
of us doing it. Oh yeah, it was tough. And
we you know, we got to a point where we
were doing well and selling a lot, and we just
(10:55):
we couldn't keep up, and we actually had to pull
ads because we just we really couldn't keep up with
the demand. So we pulled ads and we strategized and
we found a solution that we thought would work, and
it did not. That was but why didn't that work?
You know? I think we are just such a totally
(11:16):
customized solution, right like every part. You get to pick
the box, you pick every single item that goes in it,
and and we hand right a card and you know,
we usually allow people to schedule when they want things, um,
you know, to to deliver on a certain day. We advise,
and so it is just totally customized. And there's really
nothing kind of out there, no fulfillment center that can
(11:38):
can really do that. So we did it probably. I
mean I did a lot of research. I remember trying
to figure out what fulfillment center would work for us
in the us, and I think, I mean maybe too,
we're kind of open to talking to us to do
something this custom. And it's funny because we always joke
we're like, well, our next business is going to be
a fulfillment center because that's definitely needed, especially given e
commerce and how it's grown. So it's true. There you go,
(11:59):
so hustle to your side, hustle. So now where do
these interns, like, where are they packing this stuff? How
does it work? So we have, again very lucky. We
have to say we're lucky because we have parents that
live close by and have a spare room which right
now is literally our fulfillment center and this will change
over time. But unfortunately this fulfillment center kind of hiccup
(12:19):
we had happened pretty recently, so I had whole stuff
pretty quickly and find a solution that would work instantly.
Really and that mom, Dad, I'm sure it's like one
of your old bedrooms. So it's only fair. Yeah, yeah,
this fair room and it actually works out really nice
by our dad. I mean, we're again, I can't stress
how lucky and fortunate we are. Our dad like was
(12:41):
super excited, built every like the whole room is shelving,
Like the entire every wall is shelving. Um, and it
works out really great for us. So our mom is
currently the head of the warehouse. So but it's great,
you know, like it's it's kind of weird how well
it's working right now. But um, you know, we're we're
looking for another solution. I think the clear next step
is to create our own warehouse, which we're going to
(13:03):
look into really well. If I know any warehouse connections,
I will. I'm not sure that I do. But it's
cool and I'm sure it's also fun for I mean,
you guys did it for a whole year, so maybe
it's a little stressful for you guys at this point.
But if you told me, hey, do you want to
come over, drink wine and pack some boxes? I would
(13:24):
literally love that. Yeah. That's how we started. You know,
it was at first, like the reason we love happy Boxes.
It started as like a really a sister company. We'd
go over each other's apartments. We would drink wine, like
talk about our days and listen to music and pack boxes.
It's really what we did. So we definitely still have
an appreciation for that, and there is still you know,
there's still times where we pack boxes, but it's just
(13:46):
it's we can't keep up with you know, we needed
the outside help. But but yeah, it's it's still pretty
fulfilling to pack them. Honestly. It definitely as if you
think about companies like PepsiCo, you have to like ride
the truck, like the delivery truck when you first start,
just to understand what it's like. For Zappos, you have
to be on the customer service line first. I think
that's so I understand completely why now because we understand
and we get to see the whole process. And I'm
(14:07):
so fortunate that we've done that too. And as much
as the fulfillment center didn't work out for us, um
and it was such an amazing experience to have that time.
We had about three months where we weren't patting boxes
and to have that time to really grow and we
really did. We almost doubled our size and yeah, so
to have that time was super beneficial and to see
(14:28):
how they set things up was I mean, it was
just valuable. It was invaluable for us. And I think
that's one thing that I would I talk about a lot.
I think when people ask how we're doing and how
we've grown is that you have to be focused on
growth driving activity, and if you're to focus in the
maintenance in the day to day, then you'll never grow.
And so that was a really good kind of learning
experience for us. And by the way, I didn't tell
anyone how to find you guys, it's at Happy box
(14:50):
Store on Instagram or happy box store dot com to
see what we're talking about, because I don't know that
we've even fully expressed. So we're just saying, like boxes
that are basically modern day gift baskets, but you had
me build them for the girls who work for Elvista
and in the Morning Show where I used to work,
and I, being on that side of it of doing
it for someone else, had so much fun picking things
(15:13):
off of your website. So when you go to happy
box store dot com, you'll see they've got all kinds
of things from lip gloss, two pins, to chocolates to
stuff that you would go to a store and love
and want to buy. All of those things, it's all
on your website and then you can kind of pick
and choose what you want to put in the box
that your friends then received. And I had so much
fun doing it, which, by the way, that was a
(15:35):
great marketing thing of having me do it for those
girls and then of course they all I saw. I'm
assuming that was arial, that was you, because you know,
I don't know, I think that strategic. Let's just do
it best. But it was very smart. But it is
super super fun to be on that side of it,
(15:57):
like you were saying, Hannah about people are more happy
when they're giving gifts and receiving and I did enjoy
doing that part of it. But you guys mentioned something
about pulling ads and ads. I loved that when I
googled happy box or I could see the Google results,
it's ad ad. So and I haven't noticed that for
many people that I've worked with. I'm not saying that
(16:17):
they don't do it or many people have had in
the podcast. So you guys actually pay for Google ads.
So when people literally google happy or happy box, you're
what comes up. Yeah. So, um, we have like a
Google search strategy right now. And that's a gun where
the day job comes in because it's something that I
have to do in my day job to sund degree.
But yeah, so we basically bid on keywords as people
search and to be very honest, Like, we're not bidding
(16:39):
that much because we can't afford it. Right, We're a
startup and we're putting every penny we make back into
the business at this point. So we've been on things
like birthday delivery gifts and stuff like that, right, stuff
like that where we know people are searching for a
solution that that is like ours. One of the really
interesting things about search though, is no one really you
notice search for happy Box because we told you, but
no one knows who we are, right, Like, we're not
a household name. So the challenges how do you come
(17:02):
up when you know people are searching for things relevant
but aren't necessarily saying your name. So, yeah, but we
are paying for Google ads. That's pretty much the only advertising.
Are you seeing a lot of return from that ad
specifically or doing that? Yeah, so it's a variety of
different keyword ads, but yeah, that's pretty much where most
of our revenue comes from right now. A lot of
word of mouth though, surprisingly. Yeah, we're lucky that within
(17:24):
every box it's a little marketing kit because like Instagram,
it's cute, but you know, you get one, you like it,
you want to give it to someone else. We do
see a lot of that, which is really great for us.
Sure we do see a lot of return customers or
people who have received a box to then buy a box.
That's cool. I'm sure if you actually like, look, there's
got to be this person got it from this person
and got it from this person who saw it at
(17:45):
their desk. It's it's probably a crazy web that would
be mind blowing if you could actually track that. But
word of mouth really is it's the best. It is
the best advertising marketing you can have. And we've also
seen like because I just I look at resingle order
that comes in just because I'm just fascinated by what
people pick and the customer behavior. And I love reading
(18:06):
the notes. So I'm really involved in just like, even
if we're not packing boxes, I know it's in every box.
So it's lovely to like see the names that I've
seen so many times before. I mean, we've actually, like
you know, we try and do some sort of customer
reach out and we've reached out to customers before and
they end up being like Olympic skiers. This most recent
one was a rockehead, and I was like, Okay, first
(18:26):
of all, hello, love you like it's just so interesting,
like bloggers are buying. It's it's the weirdest thing, and
so it's happening. I know, it's so cool. It's really flattering,
like to hear, like to see people who have a
lot of following or like we've seen I don't know,
I guess say names, but we've seen like actresses get
them and we're like, oh my god, so good. Okay, okay,
(18:50):
I like little things like that. You just are like,
oh my god, they know about us, even you to
be fair, like I mean, we were like, oh my god,
she like knows about us. So you told me about you.
That's why. Like, but I like you guys, so yeah,
I love I really do love what you're doing. So
when you first reached out, I ended up putting you
guys on King five out here in Seattle when I
do what's trending with them, and we had just so
(19:10):
much fun talking about it because it is what you're saying.
We are lacking this cool way to gift to the
people we care about. And obviously with you guys, it
started as sisters. You wanted to send your sister a
care package. My mom would send me care packages in
college and it would literally just be food and like
fun lotion, Like I don't know what you know, but
when you want a gift to your peers, it is tough.
(19:33):
Like you know, you can send wine, but then it's like,
well are they going to be home to sign for it?
Do I even know what they like? Our same thing
edible arrangements, which really is over priced fruit that's going
to go back unless they want to sponsor this podcast someday,
just something different. And flowers too, they die and normally
are over priced and aren't the best value. So the
(19:54):
fact that you guys thought of this is just like damn,
that is such a good idea, but it's needed. It
really is one thing too that we were again centered
on the customization convenience and I should add affordability like
we were very much like I don't want to spend
a hundred eighty dollars for buk, Like that's not something
I want to do for like a friend who gets
a new job. That's just too much. Right, And Millennia
women again back to the strategy, like they actually buy
(20:16):
over twenty five gifts a year, and less than half
of them are for the holidays. It's for your friend
who gets engaged, it's your friend who gets pregnant. It's
like there's these micro gifting moments that like just do
you want to send a little more than a card,
you know, um and so so that's a big part
of it um as well. And I think one thing
that we used to use a lot with Etsy and
we still use that it has its place for sure
for gifting, right, I mean, the problem is you can't
(20:38):
get it fast. A lot of the customer orders it's
like three to six weeks or something, and we're we
shipped pretty much um within a day or so often.
And I think also something we bring to the table
that maybe some of our competitors don't is our personality.
We're really about like snarky gifting, Like that voodoo doll
that Hannah gave me back when I was in college,
Like that's still in our boxes because it's really representative of,
(21:00):
you know, how we want to approach every problem, right,
like with a little bit of humor, a smile, a
little snark. So no, it's true. I love that you
guys do have a variety of different things, even from
the cards and the fact that I can say what
message I want and you guys will handwriting and not
print it and some ugly font and what happened, And
(21:23):
it brings me back to my mom went reach out
to a local restaurant here in Seattle for my birthday
and called them. It was like, can you put this
message on there? And they hand wrote my mom's message
on the back of the gift card and I saved it.
But I thought it was so cool that they hand
wrote it. And that's because they probably don't have some
sort of system which is just a little restaurant she knows.
I love. But you guys are doing it because it
(21:45):
means something to you and you understand. And I think
once you you know if that I'm not saying you guys,
when companies get past that point of Okay, it doesn't matter,
let's just print it, that's where they lose a lot
of that. We totally agree. Actually, that was a huge
factor and why a lot of fulfilment centers wouldn't even
talk to us, because we wouldn't give up the handwritten note.
We just wouldn't. We know, being millennials ourselves, like we
(22:06):
get emails every day, we get typed messages like Amazon
does that We're not Amazon. We want to be personalized.
Handwritten notes have a certain quality that we just we
want and we want to offer to a mass majority
of people. Yeah, for sure, and I think free free shipping.
Having a free shipping option to us was extremely important.
We do have rush options, but we like the things
(22:26):
we won't sacrifice for the handwritten card and free shipping option.
The best part about us is like we're literally the target,
so we know exactly what we're looking for, which is
exactly what how to set it's free shipping customization. Those
are like non negotiables. It's so funny when you bring
up the free shipping thing because Amazon really has like
screwed other companies with that. There are so many times
when I go to order something and I'm like, twelve
(22:48):
dollars for shipping, hell no, and then totally and then
even with if I want to buy something from a
store here, and then by the time I remember to
get it to the post office because now for me,
I have to mail everything for everyone in my family
because I literally live on the opposite side of the country.
So still to this day, I've been far away from
(23:08):
them for two and a half years. More than that,
I never sent anyone gifts on time because I'm always like, oh,
I gotta get to the post office. Oh man, I
gotta I gotta go, And it's like two weeks after
their birthday and I'm like, wow, I gotta get a
belated card or pretend like I just never mailed it
in whatever. But it is that you take out all
of that, the picking out, going store to store and
then actually getting to the post office, which is the
(23:30):
hardest part for me. And then I get there and
I'm like, fifteen dollars to mail this to any living
Are you kidding me? So crazy? Because the post the
post office is probably the most annoying thing that people
go through, I think, I mean, the customization is great,
but I think like being able to remove going to
the post office is like crucial, Like you said, absolutely,
(23:53):
do you guys, um, how do you pick the things
that are on the website that people can put in
the boxes. It's definitely a mix of a few things.
I think one thing we're always looking for is like
what's trending, um, which obviously you know a lot about
and we so we do see trends. And again, the
benefit of our day jobs, and like my day job
is analyzing those things for my brands that I work
on by day. So we do that. I think also,
(24:14):
like Ariel said, a lot of what we do is
look at something and say, hey, would I like to
receive this. I think some of the best gifts are
the things that you're like, oh, that's so cute, but
you are not going to buy it for yourself, but
if someone else bought it for me, I would want it, yeah, totally.
Like we have this one there. It's like a two
part heart necklace and it says best Bitches and it's
just like, that's just if I got half of the
(24:34):
best Bitches necklace or got to give that to side.
You know, it's just it's more fun than the typical
thing that you think you may have seen. Yeah, I
think everything. You know, we listen to our customers all
the time. We're always kind of whenever people chat us,
it's us you're talking too, and so they give us
suggestions all the time, which is great. You know, sometimes
you listen, sometimes you don't, but overall we really try
and listen and hear what they want to see. And
(24:57):
you know, usually it's chocolate and spok gifts, which is
great for us, which is why we were constantly changing
things up and we're always We have a great kind
of business model where we can test the product, we
can buy a small quantity tested out, and if it
goes really quickly, we can then buy larger quantities. So
there's kind of low overhead for us. So there's really
no downside to like trying out a bunch of things
(25:17):
too and seeing what sells. And we really do look
at every item and say like if I got this,
would I be happy? Like? Would this make me happy?
Would this look great in the boxes? It's something yeah,
like we ultimately want to be Instagram bull. We want
to be Happy box Like, that's what we want. So
we want to make sure every single item is happy
and brings joy to everybody. And definitely stressing the data.
I think, especially as a startup, it's really hard to
(25:39):
one do everything and then analyze all the data. But
I think the data is so important, Like seeing what
actually has been selling and actually listening to the customer
is just so important. Yeah, what is the number one
item that people have put in a happy Box? It
changes every month. It's really interesting, so I would say
our pumpkin chi candle, but it is seasonal, but it is,
i mean number one for the past two months. So
(26:01):
that has been like our craziest bestseller, so much so
that we keep reordering and I don't even care if
we have leftovers because they smell so good. Literally, my
fiance the other day, like we were in quote unquote
Happy Box headquarters and he was smelling the candles. He's like,
can we just take some of these? I'm like, no,
this is a business. Do you not know how this works.
(26:21):
I'm like, okay, we can't do this. I'm like, please
provide cash when we take credit card? We take really
but I think I think that Okay, I'll give categories
spa and chocolate. I would say spat candy like face mask, lotion,
that kind of thing. I think our face mask though,
those like sheet face masks are super popular. And well
we also we just recently partnered with Dylan's Candy Bar. Yeah,
(26:42):
they have been amazing. We absolutely love working with them,
and it's just it's been great. You know, people love
their candy and we love giving it to them. How
did that partnership happen? Okay, so my so a lot
of this. We're lucky that we're in New York. Right,
We're lucky that we're in New York, that we have
these networks at we have you know, a lot. On
his point is just it's just great, right, like our
(27:04):
networks and everything. So, my boyfriend's actually a real estate agent.
It's very new by the way. I'm like, is there
a boyfriend and a fiance that day? Don't tell them.
But so he's a real estate agent in the city
of New York City and one of his co workers
is actually Dylan's cousin, and so it gets even better.
(27:26):
So we were meeting up with his so my boy
my fiance's PR person just because he was like, I
love what you guys are doing. I'd love to just
help in any way, which I mean, it was so sweet.
And I was like, you know, we really need like
a big brand, like a big candy brand, like I
don't know if Dylan's candy bar would be amazing. And
he was like, oh, you should just talk to like
have Josh talk to Brad. And I'm like, who's Brad.
(27:47):
He's like, that's Dylan's cousin and I was like, no way.
So of course, like on the spot, I'm like texting
Josh like get me Brad's email now and so you
know that's where it started. And within a day we
were buying from Dylan's Candy Bar. I have to say
they were extremely responsive and super nice, like so nice,
and I mean shout out to Olivia. She's great. They're awesome.
(28:09):
They used to send um like when we would have
guests at el Us round in the morning show, they
would send like a full blown candy bar to the
studio and we would set it up and it was
so much fun and we all loved it, like we're
just sitting there in candy all day. But they really
are a very smart company and they are fun too.
(28:29):
They're not they can be total jerks that they wanted
to be their Dylan's Candy Bar, but they're not, which
is awesome to hear and and know that they're still
totally they're amazing, and they're branding is really in line
with ours, which is awesome. It's all happy and rainbow
and fun totally. And I will say, like we do
hustle right, like we reach out to people were like
like for different products, like we definitely will message them,
(28:49):
will email them. Well it's a bit wholesale, like request
forms like we we definitely hustle and try and when
we see something we like, we go after it to
so and my brain is going a million miles an
hour trying to think of all that them, like what
can they put in there? What kind of who can
I do? It's so fun, And we do get a
lot of requests, like people reach out us all the time,
like wanting to be in the box, and we you know,
we're trying and keep up, but you know, we do.
We have a pretty high like standard for what goes
(29:13):
in and we really want to make sure everything is
really happy, really branded. I mean, I'm as the creatives,
the one you know, like taking all the pictures and everything.
I have to make sure that every picture is going
to be adorable. So kind of my bar and we
we always joke to that like it kind of has
satisfied our It's to shop, Like I definitely online shop
less for myself and waste my own money because I'm like, oh,
(29:33):
like this is so key for happy backs, and we
end up shopping for happy backs more than ourselves, which
they're so smart. So I need to start a company
very similar, So I stop online shopping. However, you guys,
give me whatever log in you use, and I understand
getting boxes of random things and do you like what's
happening Carl Mane everything? So what are like your future steps?
(29:54):
Do you have like these crazy huge goals that you're like,
one day we want this? What is that big? I
think right now we're really looking to grow in scale
at a like larger or faster rate than we have been.
I think again that moment where we were in the
fulfillment center and we had those a few months to
really concentrate on growth, We're like, wow, we need more
(30:14):
of that. Um So, ultimately, I mean personally, I want
to be a serial entrepreneur. I think working with my
sister has been amazing and I can't wait to see
kind of what else we come up with, Like I
think this will grow and grow and we'll do more.
I mean I would say the same thing. I think.
What's great about what we're doing is we're kind of
we're growing at a pace that is manageable right now,
and I almost want to which is it's great. I
think the next step, the next logical step for us,
(30:36):
I think, is to set us up for like crazy growth,
Like I just want to be ready for when it
happens because I feel like we're really on the brink
of something, and I feel like at any moment, it
could kind of go in a great direction and one
buzzbeat article and you're like, uh, you've got boxes out
of your ears. But it's gonna be yeah exactly. So
(30:56):
we just I want to just make sure that we're
set up so really looking at that at warehouse and
that's like that's on my mind right now. And I
think our day jobs are so good about having a
side hustle. It's very It's interesting I think at this time,
like people respect the entrepreneurial spirit and they're like, you know,
they they're okay with having, you know, employees with a
side hustle and so um. And I've been pretty kind
(31:17):
of open with what my company is, like, Hey, if
I like an investment of a million dollars tomorrow, goodbye everyone,
you know, So like, is that what the plan is?
Like hopefully that you won't have to have quote unquote
day jobs. Is that what the plan is? Or yeah?
I think that's yeah. I mean I'm gonna speak for
both of us and say, if we could be our
own bosses full time and really keep that sustainably going
(31:37):
and grow, grow, grow. Absolutely, that's a dream and we
have built this from the ground up. It's it's our child.
When people talk about their babies, I'm like, I know,
because I have one. It's just a business. So we
like really get it, like it's it's totally you know,
it's our it's our child. And I think, yeah, totally,
and I think it's an entrepreneur it's there's something about
(31:59):
obviously building it up, but like making money for yourself,
Like you're not making money for other people when you
work at a job, you're making money for everyone else
and your client or your company, and there's something about
like this is all ours and we created it from scratch.
I'd say that all the time about like working for
Elvis and that show was amazing, and everything I was
doing I loved and I and I learned so much.
(32:20):
But it wasn't until I got my own show where
I was like, oh, this work is for me and
me and I'm not that I'm still making money both ways.
You know, it was still the same thing, but it
was just that what I'm putting in now is it's
got my name on it, so we can't mess up
whereas when you're you know, one of nineteen people working
on a show, it's different. So I totally relate to
(32:41):
that in a completely different way, but totally understand what
you guys are talking about. Have you ever thought of
doing a some sort of a storefront. We've dabbled with
the idea of it, but yeah, we've been in a
few gift shops, kind of local like well if you
know Hoboken, Hudson Papery. Um so when some of then
if if I go to gift shop and you're there,
am I buying that box that's made? Or am I
(33:04):
getting to pick and choose some things that's exactly where
we don't want? So like we have so we have
these curated boxes and that's what we had sold in
the past, and people can, sorry, people can log on
and buy boxes that are already quote unquote made. Yeah,
so we have our curated boxes and then our build
your own boxes. So our curated boxes have a ton
(33:26):
of different occasions too, but they're a little bit more standards.
We have your you know, you got your engagement box,
your birthday box, your breakup box, which we will always
sell because it's how we started exactly that's the foundation
all from a breakup. Um, we have a cheer up box,
we have like these and a baby bump box. We
have a bunch of different like normal life events. But
on the site, it gives us so much more freedom
(33:47):
to just like let people and the occasions people come
up with are amazing, Like I just love it. Yeah,
and I think, just like to put it in perspective,
like ninety plus percent of our sales are people building
their own boxes, so it's kind of yeah, and so
I think the retail front, our storefront issue is too
that people don't People aren't buying happy boxes to like
bring home to someone or to give in person. They're
doing it to surprise them at work. A lot of
(34:09):
deliveries at work, UM, a lot of deliveries you know
obviously at home. So it's more of like a bundle
that you get and you're super surprised that it's even coming.
So it really is like the care package, and we've
designed it as such too. I think if we were
to be in a storefront, we'd have to rethink the
packaging because we have mailers right now and they're really
fun and we ship every box with a plastic cover.
That is super brightly colored with watermelons and limbs. So
(34:31):
it's it's all about mailing right now. And I think
that's kind of we found like a really good sweet spot.
So I don't know that we're willing to like go
in store, No, it totally makes sense. I was just
picturing store where I could walk around and put things
in a box. I just my own, like physically do
it because I'm being selfish and I want to come play.
But I do love that. Okay, next time I'm back
(34:53):
on the East coast. But you do have different designed boxes.
So when you guys launched originally, has that changed from them? Well, boy,
there's a story here I can tell. Yeah. I mean
we talked about more pitfalls like the beginning. So at
the beginning, I mean there's something a lot of startups
do where you create your minimum viable products. You create
(35:15):
that like baseline, what could this possibly be? You learn
about what's going to happen to it by testing and experimenting,
and the point is to not get it perfect, but
get it out there just to get some research and
insight right and customer response. So we started, I mean
originally it was like, is this a basket. Do we
need to make baskets? Do we need boxes? I mean, ultimately,
(35:36):
long story short, we ended up with these like cake boxes,
like these like thin cake box like bakery, yes, and
with tissue paper, which just none of it worked. All
of it was so I mean from a like I
won't even I can't even look back because remember as
the creative person, as a person who's designing the packaging,
it is embarrassing looking back on it, but it is
(35:59):
also a testament to how far we've come. Really, I
will never forget. Actually, the way we started was hunting
into me with this idea for a basket idea, and
I was like, oh, I can do this. So I
immediately went to like home Depot or Michael's or something
and I got chicken wire because I was like, I
can make a basket. I can do this. And I
put my finger probably thirty five times. I didn't even
make one. And the next day I was like, you
(36:20):
know what, we're boxes and boxes there you go, that's
how you choose. So it's been a journey, but we
got to a really good mailer that is designed beautifully
and I'm sure we'll iterate later to like we'll figure
it out and as we go. But this is working
right now, so so no more kick boxes here. So
how does it work for interns? Being like, I know
how it works for a corporation, there's so many rules.
(36:41):
But if you guys are just to the two of you,
how does it work with the intern process? Because I
know a lot of people want to have interns work
for them because today, So how does that happen? We
are lucky and Hoboken. We have Steven's the smartest kids. Yeah,
sevens University. Yeah, so it's engineering schooll very like highly
regarded engineering school and um, so we reached out I
(37:04):
think through a contact for Area from Area and we
got these a couple of interns who are just they're
interested in data. They like Excel, they were super interested
in the product. They're young girls, right like their millennial
women from a younger perspective, but it was they're super interested, um,
and we basically, I mean it is managing people, right,
like you have to come up with things for them
to do and think about how to best use their
time and then also make sure they're actually learning something
(37:26):
um at the same time. So it's a really interesting balance,
you know because like to hunt this point. They you know,
they're majoring in something, and ironically, these girls, they're so
great and so smart, and they have interests beyond what
they're doing. So they're actually really interested in the marketing
and they're really interested in the creative. So so we
actually have a lot of fun with it because we're
learning from them. And I know everyone says that, but
we really really are because they are these data people.
(37:49):
And I think it's a testament to like, don't hire
people who know exactly what you know. Hire people who
you you don't like, who do what you don't know
what to do with, you know what I mean. So's
we really have strengths now and fruit places, which is great.
I mean, and just the way the younger I mean,
the the way the young ones social media. I mean,
apparently they called us they are indurance phone calls old,
(38:11):
but apparently teenagers call like millennials and above old like
old plural. Anyway, Yeah, so I found that out. That's
why you're calling them mutes. I like it. We're fighting back.
So but they they'll tell us stuff. They'll be like, hey,
I would never share that, or I would post this,
or this is the kind of thing that they're very
protective of what they post and share from a brand,
(38:33):
So like we've we've actually learned a lot from them
too about even pricing strategy. It's interesting to hear what
they would actually pay for a specific item because it's different,
Like sometimes we're priced too low and they're like, oh,
I would spend more for that, And it's I know,
it's different from a from a college kid's mouth, because
I'm like, really, if you would, then like we definitely should. Yeah,
let's do it. So cool. Um, do you guys do
(38:56):
Instagram ads at all? Because I know that I get
ads for everything and I wonder how that works for
your target. Yeah, so we do, but we not much.
We do it kind of like we call it like
tent poles, like major moments, like so maybe seasonal when
we launched, Um, we have a pumpkin curated box for
the season. Um that's pretty popular. And actually we don't
actually do regular Instagram ads. We do retargeting. So that
(39:17):
means if you've been to our website, you may get
an Instagram ad like retargeted to you to save money.
I didn't even know that was a thing, so now
I know. Now I know why I'm getting all of
these ads actually, so that's what that is when I'm
being stocked. That makes sense. Yeah, now we all know
you solve that meme of all of us breaking out.
So one thing that I ask everyone is a favorite
(39:39):
app that they use or an app that gets them
through their crazy schedule, being a side hustler that's not Instagram,
that helps you with your business or just your life,
and you each have to answer with a different app. Okay,
then I'm going first. Okay, well mine's Shopify. Yeah mine, Literally,
were you going to say that that was my first?
(40:00):
If I figured you'd say that, I definitely say, well,
I mean I so, like I said, I'm literally like everybody.
If you guys don't order, I'm gonna stop you because
I want to know everything that you buy, everything you write.
Like I just I'm really interested in customer behavior and
reaching out is really easy, you know, once I know
exactly what you're going to reach out about. So I
really try and like study every order. So it's a
(40:20):
great app for me to just like, I'm just so
proud of you because I real always jokes that she
got her happy MBA because like in the beginning, it
was very like we just were so experienced in different
things and now she's like looking at the data and
like super obsessed with it and I'm just so proud.
So she's a little bit of background just to contextualize
that she has her m b A and be like
(40:40):
going from art school to you know, happy MBA has
been just very interesting. I knew nothing about business at all.
I just picked things that were pretty to put in
boxes and I thought it was cool, and I branded
us apparently pretty well, and I'd be like, olef's too expensive,
like it's really cute, and she's like, but the prophets,
I'm like, what, who cares? But now you know, I
(41:03):
like it. The happy NBA. I'm gonna come get my
own happy NBA. Think anytime mine would be post after
Shopify would definitely be. This is gonna sound so basic,
but Google Keep. I'm a Google person and Google obviously
my entire life is on Google Calendar, Like that's just
my life. But Google Keep is a sharable basically to
do list, so you can write, you can snap a
picture of something to remember, you can write lists, all
(41:25):
that kind of stuff. So we have our ongoing evergreen
to do list will share our important links with each
other on that Google Keep. Google keep is actually awesome,
especially if you're sharing with people. Definitely, I wish that
Apple notes were way more. I guess the problem is
are just so plain Like Google Keep. You really can
do a lot with the notes. And I am a
(41:46):
very big fan of Google Keep, and I'm very surprised
that no one else has said that yet this podcast.
So yeah, she does love it. I lost mine is
so basic, but I am like inch off of my
She does literal, like literal happy dances when we get
a sale. She hears shitching, and it's like it's the best,
(42:06):
It's the best. I mean, that's when there's that like
that meme that's when you buy from a small business,
a literal person does a happy dance and it's I'm
telling you it is true. I get so happy. It's
like the best feeling, you know. It's just it's validation.
It's really like people like what we're doing, and that's
really that's the best part. When people buy what we
have hand selected and you know, just the concept of
(42:28):
our business. It doesn't get better than that, It really
really doesn't. That's like heaven on Earth makes the no
sleep worth it. I was gonna say, so when you
come home from working out that you're not packing box boxes,
what is your day to day like, Um, I mean
it changes all the time. We do have that ongoing
Google keep to do list, so we'll focus We'll try
to focus on like one to three things that we
have to accomplish either per day or per week, depending
(42:51):
on how demanding they are. But um, like I said,
really focus on growth driving. So hiring those interns was
a big push and that took a lot of time,
different ways to advertise. We're always looking ahead to the
next season. So Gallantine's Day is a really big moment
for us. So yeah, so people like to send friends
gifts for the day before Valentine's Day. So a lot
of planning, a lot of looking at the data, a
(43:14):
lot of checking inventory, making sure we're okay because you know,
if we're down to fifty something, I know that we
need to buy immediately. That's kind of worst case scenario
because things go really fast. So inventory like management is
kind of really hard. We have I think we have
something like seventy plus items on our on our site
right now, and that's a lot of upkeep you know,
(43:35):
you do have a lot of stuff on there. We
have a lot of stuff, and we have a lot
of different vendors, which we see as a super positive
because we are always trying to refresh and always trying
to find the next big thing. We're not afraid to
test out products. Um and really something we're looking towards
is we really want to work with women owned businesses
as well, and we've been doing that. You know. Yeah,
our tease are from a little women owned company in Illinois,
(44:00):
which is great, and then our our our lotions are
from I just went to Charleston and I met these
girls and they were selling lotions and bath moms and
I was like, I'm in and they had I'm sure
they had no idea. They're like, yeah, okay, she's in
and literally an order at the place. Remember the next day,
I was like, let's do it, and you know, we
bought a ton on the spot. Yeah. So, you know,
(44:22):
that's the best part about what we do is we
actually are in a position where we can pick and
choose who gets business. And so we're Happy Boxing your
own company basically. Yeah, Happy Box is your giant happy
box really exactly totally. So I think one thing that's
taking a lot of time right now, it's holidays are coming,
and well, it's not necessarily that we're the biggest holiday
(44:43):
gift for friends, because I think holidays interesting. People want
to buy, they have an item they have in mind
to buy their friend. But from a corporate giving per
seconve um, we've had a lot of inquiries about you know,
small companies, big companies asking us saying, hey, you know,
can you make a hundred boxes for us for my
employees or can you create this for my holiday party
or something like that. So that's something that was kind
of um organic, I guess that we didn't necessarily plan on,
(45:07):
but with a lot of inquiry, were like, interesting, this
is a new revenue stream. So that's really smart for
a company because it's custom enough. But you're not sitting
there buying each person person that works under you something
individual because that's just literally impossible. So that's really cool.
So will you in that case where you do like
a bulk order for a company where it's all right,
buy a hundred boxes and they get a discount or yep.
(45:29):
So we have, luckily we have as a real side,
we have so many wholesale partners. So we actually have
a lot of variety. Like even if we bought a
bath bomb from this one company, they also make a
ton of other things. We have these sheets and sheets
of all the types of inventory that we have relationships
to buy, even if it's not on our site. We
can buy based on kind of demand that a company has.
Um and then again that in house design from ariel Um.
(45:50):
She can customize even a card and while we'll still
handwrite the note, and oftentimes because they like that touch,
she can design a branded note for example. So but yeah,
we do do custom and we do do discount spoke discounts.
And you're asking what we do now that we're not
packing boxes designing and part of it just to go
back to that, I forgot about all that. Do you
(46:11):
design the actual boxes or is that you just work
with a company that has boxes and you picked them. No,
I designed them, like the physical box. That's so cool. Yeah,
it took a really long time to find our supplier,
and you know, and we don't really reveal our secrets,
but we didn't have but but yeah, we you know,
(46:31):
I am a designer by trade. That was when I
went to school for us, So using all my you know,
shout out to Parsons better than paying someone else to
do it, which why not if you can do it? Definitely,
And like we said before, our mom's a filmmakers. She
has a ton of great camera so I actually shoot
all of our photography too, So it's a lot of
(46:52):
there's a lot that goes into it that we wouldn't
even I just have so much appreciation appreciation for small
businesses because we really do at all. And we are
extremely lucky. And we say this probably once every every
time one of us goes on vacation. I think we're like,
oh my god, we're so lucky there are two of us,
because you really feel the weight of the entire company
when it's only on one of us. It's tough, but
(47:14):
you know, we get through it and it gets better. Well,
have you guys ever gotten into an argument over anything us? Never? What? No,
I'm just kidding, Yeah, we do. I couldn't do it.
I don't really don't think I can work with my sister.
My sister actually works with my brother and my niece
and they're like, dude, she's crazy. Like I'm like, I
(47:35):
know she's crazy. I could not work with her. There's
just no way we'd punch each other in the face.
So I'm very intrigued by this. I mean, yes, I
think you answered this one. We're very lucky that we
we get along very well, and we've always been close.
I mean, I think I've like every I think a
pair of siblings or a group of siblings, like you
(47:56):
have your ups and downs, right, even periods of time,
probably in high school. I don't like be like like
to each other. I don't think I taught my sister
for a whole like six months, but whatever. Yeah, yeah,
so yeah, But I think, um, I guess I'll say
two things. One, I think we have a mother who
showed us kind of what forever she's been saying, you
guys have such unique talents, you need to work together.
(48:16):
It's kind of been weirdly seated by her, like she's
always been like, oh my, Like she's like, you guys
are gonna work together. Guys are gonna work together, and
we're like, okay, whatever. And then we when we first
we got our first jobs. I remember she told me
the agency she was working for, because I was technically
an agency life before her, because she was getting her
m b A and It was just really funny because
I was like, oh my god, we actually might work together,
and then started coming together. We you know, really just
(48:38):
waiting for it. Yeah, like weirdly seated by our mom.
And I think the one thing we've learned. I think
the best thing that we've learned, and we've been really
good at this, especially recently and probably the past year,
is Ariel Notice one time, she's like, there's a there's
a point because as a startup, right, you use your
everyday Saturday and every full day Sunday you're working. I
mean you're talking to me. It's a Friday night. Yeah,
(49:00):
this is our life, right, So and I think you know,
by we'll notice, by like I don't know, seven pm
on Saturday, we'll we'll just get crabby. Like both of
us will just be like like kind of pissy at
each other and we're just like snapping each other and
like we'll just call it. We'll be like, we're not
going to get into a fight. We're just gonna go
home and have someone or have some wine together. But
we're not going to do happy backs right now. We're
gonna like put on friends and drink something and just
(49:21):
have fun stuff alcohol is really how we get you
get your most family gathering right. But I think that
I think calling it has been very helpful. Yeah, like
we'll like, no, we're getting tired, you have to stop.
And we also we recognize I mean, okay, the first
thing I'll say is like being a sister, we are
(49:41):
going to get into those fights and that's totally fine.
But the best part about those fights is like there's
nowhere to go. There's no like ending the relationship. There's
no like ending with there's no we're sisters. So like, regardless,
this would never work with some I personally, I don't
know how people do it with friends. I actually really don't,
because like we've screamed at each other and then we'll
(50:02):
be like, okay, we'll see you at dinner, you know
what I mean. Like we're just like that's like what happens, Like, yeah,
I guess I'll see you there. It is true, you
can't just break up. It's not like something like that.
Your parents will kill you if you're not. And I
guess there are businesses that ruined Danley's, but I don't
even think that's remotely an option for our family. I mean,
(50:24):
it would never it would just never ever happen. So
how left up would it be that the Happy Box
and a family. You can't let that happen, so that
would be the biggest goss. Oh you know what happened.
They got to happen so much Happy Box hit the
fan over there, you guys, I have absolutely loved talking
to you and hearing this whole story and how it's
(50:46):
how it's gone. I'm like, I can't, there's not even
anything else I can ask you, guys. You've told me everything,
and I love the whole data side of it and
how you really like built a company that was actually needed.
It wasn't just it wasn't just something you loved. I mean,
yes you did, and it amount of love or sadness
arial and yours, but yeah, you actually built it off
(51:06):
of something we needed in our lives. And it's so
cool and I love your story so much. And by
the way, everyone listening, if use code Carla Marie at
Happy Box store dot com, they're gonna hook you up,
so do that. Awesome. Yeah, thank you for having us.
So we're gonna need to get a drinking hellboken next
time you're around. Yes, please and go enjoy your Friday night,
(51:28):
so thanks for spending with me
It's Carla Murray. You're listening to episode number thirty three
of my Side Hustlers podcast. On December seven, I will
be doing an event at a Layer in West Seattle
to shopping event. There's gonna be a sore wide discount.
It's happening from seven to nine pm. Just a good
way to shop before the holidays, hang out, and there's
gonna be boozy hot apple cider, So that's gonna be
a lot of fun. Today's episode is about the girls
(00:24):
behind Happy Box. Happy Box is something that I have
sent two girlfriends in my life. It's really cool why
they started it. But the thing that interests me the
most is that they're not just two friends or two
random girls who found each other their sisters. And I
don't know about you, but I could not work with
my sister, especially the way that these two do. So
it's very interesting to hear their story and how well
(00:46):
they work together. I think you're gonna learn a lot
from them, and you're gonna be obsessed with a brand
new company for a lot of people. You know, why
are you? What? Do you know? What you want to do?
And this is something you want to do it. I'm
a hustle shot shot hust slow do it. I'm a
hush do it. I'm a hustle slow, I'm a hustle
(01:07):
just slow. I'm a hustles side hulow. Come on, ask
about yo yo. It's the side Hustless podcast we call
The Route. So this is the first time I've had
sisters on a podcast, and I'm excited to talk to
Himnah and Ariel coming from my old stomping grounds of Hoboken,
New Jersey. Hi lady, Hi, So this is this is
(01:30):
gonna be fun. I love it. We've got a Rutgers
grad so I'm clearly super happy about that. So many
things to talk about. I don't even know where to start.
I mean, you reached out to me on Instagram when
first of all, which one of you was that was
at Hannah or Ariel? I think it was me initially
Hannah Um. I think I was telling Ariel. I was like,
you know, like, I don't know. We just have so
many things in common with her. We're like we've grown
(01:51):
and grew up one hundred line right like Jersey, Rutgers,
all these things. And we had been kind of talking
about reaching out to some people who might you be
interesting to support with us. And yeah, I think Ariel
physically wrote the message, and I think I mean it's
kind of telling them how we work. She's like, I
have this great idea and I'm like, let's do it.
So then we just did it, and you know, you're
so nice and I couldn't believe we've got a response.
(02:13):
So so let's talk about what the hell you guys
actually do. We're just talking about that we know each other.
But so Happy Box do you see Happy box? Do
you see happy box store? The products is Happy Box
of products, Happy Boxes, but we have happy box store
dot com, which is why we talk about Happy box store.
So yeah, let's go back to what Happy Boxes, why
it was created. Then we're gonna get into how crazy
(02:33):
your lives are now. Yeah, so it started about maybe
how long or few years ago, I think one of
the well, i'll tell you what it is quickly. Um,
it's basically a modern day gift basket to build your
own care package company that is centered on customization inconvenience.
We know that people, especially millennial women who's our target,
really care about custom They want to personalize everything, but
(02:56):
they also really want convenience, Like we're all spoiled by
Amazon Prime. None of us want shipping. Um, So we
were really looking to create a product or a gift
product that was convenient and custom And it all started,
um in college when I got dumped by an idiot.
But you know, my sister was going to school at
the time in Maryland, and I called her, and you know,
(03:19):
she wanted to be there for me, and I didn't
know it at the time. She was trying to send
me a care package. Yeah, So what happened was I decided, Okay,
I don't want like I went online. I was okay,
there's like edible arrangements. There's flowers for like eighty dollars,
there's like all these traditional things, flowers die. It wasn't
what she needed. She needed like a stuffed animal, her
favorite movie, her favorite candy, like you know, a Boodoo doll,
(03:41):
like all these things that I was like, this, I
need to make the perfect gift. And so I ran
around to seven stores in Maryland, waited a line in
the post office, and created this care package that she
ultimately loved that called me crying. But how long did
it take you to go through that? Oh my god, Yeah,
it took me. I remember seven stores because I was
very specific. I wanted to think forgetting Seer Marshal the
DUV the time, it was crucial, crucial piece of that
(04:02):
that care package and then her favorite candy, etcetera. So
it took a while, and I remember thinking and my
kind of kind of telling to where I went in
my career anyway, I was always kind of interested in
strategy and marketing and consumer behavior, and I was thinking, like,
how does this like has some simpler way to do
this not exist online? Or it doesn't right? And you
can do so many things online. I mean you can
get things on demand and again look at what Amazon
(04:25):
is doing. Um, but this didn't exist. And so years
later I presented the idea to Ariels, like, you know,
I still haven't seen anything like that, and you loved that,
and we've talked about how much that kind of like
meant to her in that moment, that like handwritten no
in the specific custom things that I wrote about in
the card. So yeah, so a few years ago, I
want to see, like three and a half years ago
we started talking about it. Oh yeah, maybe you started
talking about it, and it's like that is not when
(04:47):
we started. I said you called that guy an idiot
who dumped you, but really you should be thanking him.
At this point, I will never recover Marie. Okay, you're right.
I mean I think about that a lot, like it
had it like this all started, you know, from a
pretty bad breakup, which is great. So many people talk
about how their their side, household, their passion, or whatever
(05:07):
their next step is comes from something bad. A lot
of time it's being fired. But hey, why not random breakup?
You know, if we all started companies after breakups, we'd
be in much better positions right now. It's true. So
what was that first step to creating Happy Box? Like,
what is the first thing that you do to even start? Yeah?
(05:27):
I think we had to name it. Yeah, that's literally
the first thing we did was like we we we
knew the general idea of what we wanted to do,
you know, like bringing like kind of bringing customized care
packages like to millennial women in a super easy way.
So we knew that the concept was kind of there,
we just didn't really know what to call it. And
ultimately when we started really talking about it, we were like,
(05:48):
we just really want to deliver for happiness. That's really
what we want to do. We want to just make
people happy and make it easier to spread a little
bit of joy, like two millennial women. Yeah, and I think,
uh kind of where we went with our day jobs
and our careers. I ended up being in a marketing strategy,
getting my m B. A Aria went on to be
a creative director, so creative side, and I was the
strategy of business side. And it was from the start
(06:11):
it was really interesting because I was like, Okay, okay,
I did all this research and like, actually, you know,
sustained happiness last longer when you give a gift then
you receive a gift. And I'm starting to find all
these insights that like why we should do this, and
then she's like okay, and she's like pulling from these
insights and figuring out like what we should name it.
And really it was kind of simple with happy bocks,
and I mean both of us being in kind of
marketing advertising. We immediately were like is this trademark and
(06:33):
then looked it up and figured out it wasn't. And
we literally I think trademark DA got the dot com
and that was probably one of the first things we did. Yeah,
So Hannah, what is your day job? So I am
a marketing strategist at an ad agency in Manhattan. So
a lot of what I do is research consumer behavior
for brands, helping them understand where to go next when
it comes to marketing and technology. Damn. So that explains
a lot that really is awesome that you can take
(06:55):
that home with you and use it for your side out.
So it's amazing. What is your day job? Great that
we started with um Hannah because I actually take her
strategy and I deliver on it and I kind of
make commercials and just all kinds of creative campaigns for
huge agencies in New York. Well, I was gonna say,
like when you go to your Instagram and I love
this when I talk to people about their side hustle
(07:16):
and like, your Instagram is beautiful. I love it. And
you do get that. You go to your Instagram and
it is bright and happy and fun, and I look
at it and I'm like, I like following you guys,
just for ins both throughout the day. Whatever I'm working on,
it really is. You know, I don't have to be
shopping you guys too at that moment to benefit from
what you guys are doing. So whatever you're putting into Instagram.
(07:38):
It's super smart. I was going to say, is that
all you do? You work at all together on posts
like how does that work? Content wise? It's sometimes the collab,
but really a majority of it is me pulling my
hair out and you know, finding the right filters right,
and I'll tell her, Okay, this is like a white
space moment where we should talk about like what we're doing,
(07:59):
or this is this aspect we should use, But really
it's Arial's vision creatively. Well, it's smart because everyone I
talked to, not everyone. I don't want to say everyone.
Most people I talk to it's just them, and then
they hire people under them sometimes when they branch out
and grow more. But the fact that you two, obviously
your sisters, are gonna work well most of the time,
work well together, and you do have two completely different sides,
(08:23):
it just it makes so much sense. And so many
people will ask Anthony and I, how who does what
for your show? And he will come up with like, well,
I want to do X, Y Z and all these
crazy ideas and I'm like, okay, well, let me sit
down and figure out what's feasible and how to do it.
And I'm often I feel like I'm the arial of
making it happen and you come with all these these
(08:44):
crazy ideas. So Hannah, I'm not I'm not liking what
you're doing here because I know the stress that you're
putting on her. I get it, but it's it's true
that two people like that can work together so well,
and I fully relate and understand what that. It's amazing.
And I think also we're very lucky and that what
we do really does complement each other. And then I think,
on top of that, like our mom is an independent filmmaker,
(09:07):
so she has always been creative, and she started a
production company like not even knowing English, right, so she's
done these crazy so I think she's been a big
inspiration for us. And then on top of that, we
have supportive like you know, significant others. Like my husband's
a video editor literally so and you can edit audio, right,
So he does a lot of the stuff for us too.
That's why he set up your Mind. Yeah, the first
(09:29):
month of Happy Box, we really needed all hands on deck.
I mean, those guys really brung it home. Okay, so
what is that process? Like people are ordering, so you're
not a subscription box at all, where you can say, okay,
we're shipping every three weeks and that's it. You're just
as these orders come in, you're packing them, closing them
and bring him to the post office. So that's got
(09:49):
to be a lot of work. Definitely. It's definitely on
demand gift service, so there's no subscription. It's as someone
wants to send a gift, whether it's for birthday, a
break up, a new job, and engagement. Um, they go
ahead in an order and it's totally hand packed and
we write a handwritten note. So every single order is unique.
So you're coming home from work basically and just sitting
(10:10):
there packing boxes every night. Well, we would not survive
if that were We really couldn't. That's definitely how it started.
So I started. So when you guys launched, that's what
you were doing. You were sitting there packing. So I
know you have interns. Is this where they come in? Yes,
so we actually and when we talk about pitfalls and
and things that have gone wrong, we do actually outsourced
(10:33):
fulfillment at one point, but um, but right now currently, yeah,
we do have interns who are really like brilliant and
great and we've been really smart about hiring engineering interns
who also can help us with data to help us
understand where we should be going to. But that packing
and shipping, I mean, it was probably a good year
of us doing it. Oh yeah, it was tough. And
we you know, we got to a point where we
were doing well and selling a lot, and we just
(10:55):
we couldn't keep up, and we actually had to pull
ads because we just we really couldn't keep up with
the demand. So we pulled ads and we strategized and
we found a solution that we thought would work, and
it did not. That was but why didn't that work?
You know? I think we are just such a totally
(11:16):
customized solution, right like every part. You get to pick
the box, you pick every single item that goes in it,
and and we hand right a card and you know,
we usually allow people to schedule when they want things, um,
you know, to to deliver on a certain day. We advise,
and so it is just totally customized. And there's really
nothing kind of out there, no fulfillment center that can
(11:38):
can really do that. So we did it probably. I
mean I did a lot of research. I remember trying
to figure out what fulfillment center would work for us
in the us, and I think, I mean maybe too,
we're kind of open to talking to us to do
something this custom. And it's funny because we always joke
we're like, well, our next business is going to be
a fulfillment center because that's definitely needed, especially given e
commerce and how it's grown. So it's true. There you go,
(11:59):
so hustle to your side, hustle. So now where do
these interns, like, where are they packing this stuff? How
does it work? So we have, again very lucky. We
have to say we're lucky because we have parents that
live close by and have a spare room which right
now is literally our fulfillment center and this will change
over time. But unfortunately this fulfillment center kind of hiccup
(12:19):
we had happened pretty recently, so I had whole stuff
pretty quickly and find a solution that would work instantly.
Really and that mom, Dad, I'm sure it's like one
of your old bedrooms. So it's only fair. Yeah, yeah,
this fair room and it actually works out really nice
by our dad. I mean, we're again, I can't stress
how lucky and fortunate we are. Our dad like was
(12:41):
super excited, built every like the whole room is shelving,
Like the entire every wall is shelving. Um, and it
works out really great for us. So our mom is
currently the head of the warehouse. So but it's great,
you know, like it's it's kind of weird how well
it's working right now. But um, you know, we're we're
looking for another solution. I think the clear next step
is to create our own warehouse, which we're going to
(13:03):
look into really well. If I know any warehouse connections,
I will. I'm not sure that I do. But it's
cool and I'm sure it's also fun for I mean,
you guys did it for a whole year, so maybe
it's a little stressful for you guys at this point.
But if you told me, hey, do you want to
come over, drink wine and pack some boxes? I would
(13:24):
literally love that. Yeah. That's how we started. You know,
it was at first, like the reason we love happy Boxes.
It started as like a really a sister company. We'd
go over each other's apartments. We would drink wine, like
talk about our days and listen to music and pack boxes.
It's really what we did. So we definitely still have
an appreciation for that, and there is still you know,
there's still times where we pack boxes, but it's just
(13:46):
it's we can't keep up with you know, we needed
the outside help. But but yeah, it's it's still pretty
fulfilling to pack them. Honestly. It definitely as if you
think about companies like PepsiCo, you have to like ride
the truck, like the delivery truck when you first start,
just to understand what it's like. For Zappos, you have
to be on the customer service line first. I think
that's so I understand completely why now because we understand
and we get to see the whole process. And I'm
(14:07):
so fortunate that we've done that too. And as much
as the fulfillment center didn't work out for us, um
and it was such an amazing experience to have that time.
We had about three months where we weren't patting boxes
and to have that time to really grow and we
really did. We almost doubled our size and yeah, so
to have that time was super beneficial and to see
(14:28):
how they set things up was I mean, it was
just valuable. It was invaluable for us. And I think
that's one thing that I would I talk about a lot.
I think when people ask how we're doing and how
we've grown is that you have to be focused on
growth driving activity, and if you're to focus in the
maintenance in the day to day, then you'll never grow.
And so that was a really good kind of learning
experience for us. And by the way, I didn't tell
anyone how to find you guys, it's at Happy box
(14:50):
Store on Instagram or happy box store dot com to
see what we're talking about, because I don't know that
we've even fully expressed. So we're just saying, like boxes
that are basically modern day gift baskets, but you had
me build them for the girls who work for Elvista
and in the Morning Show where I used to work,
and I, being on that side of it of doing
it for someone else, had so much fun picking things
(15:13):
off of your website. So when you go to happy
box store dot com, you'll see they've got all kinds
of things from lip gloss, two pins, to chocolates to
stuff that you would go to a store and love
and want to buy. All of those things, it's all
on your website and then you can kind of pick
and choose what you want to put in the box
that your friends then received. And I had so much
fun doing it, which, by the way, that was a
(15:35):
great marketing thing of having me do it for those
girls and then of course they all I saw. I'm
assuming that was arial, that was you, because you know,
I don't know, I think that strategic. Let's just do
it best. But it was very smart. But it is
super super fun to be on that side of it,
(15:57):
like you were saying, Hannah about people are more happy
when they're giving gifts and receiving and I did enjoy
doing that part of it. But you guys mentioned something
about pulling ads and ads. I loved that when I
googled happy box or I could see the Google results,
it's ad ad. So and I haven't noticed that for
many people that I've worked with. I'm not saying that
(16:17):
they don't do it or many people have had in
the podcast. So you guys actually pay for Google ads.
So when people literally google happy or happy box, you're
what comes up. Yeah. So, um, we have like a
Google search strategy right now. And that's a gun where
the day job comes in because it's something that I
have to do in my day job to sund degree.
But yeah, so we basically bid on keywords as people
search and to be very honest, Like, we're not bidding
(16:39):
that much because we can't afford it. Right, We're a
startup and we're putting every penny we make back into
the business at this point. So we've been on things
like birthday delivery gifts and stuff like that, right, stuff
like that where we know people are searching for a
solution that that is like ours. One of the really
interesting things about search though, is no one really you
notice search for happy Box because we told you, but
no one knows who we are, right, Like, we're not
a household name. So the challenges how do you come
(17:02):
up when you know people are searching for things relevant
but aren't necessarily saying your name. So, yeah, but we
are paying for Google ads. That's pretty much the only advertising.
Are you seeing a lot of return from that ad
specifically or doing that? Yeah, so it's a variety of
different keyword ads, but yeah, that's pretty much where most
of our revenue comes from right now. A lot of
word of mouth though, surprisingly. Yeah, we're lucky that within
(17:24):
every box it's a little marketing kit because like Instagram,
it's cute, but you know, you get one, you like it,
you want to give it to someone else. We do
see a lot of that, which is really great for us.
Sure we do see a lot of return customers or
people who have received a box to then buy a box.
That's cool. I'm sure if you actually like, look, there's
got to be this person got it from this person
and got it from this person who saw it at
(17:45):
their desk. It's it's probably a crazy web that would
be mind blowing if you could actually track that. But
word of mouth really is it's the best. It is
the best advertising marketing you can have. And we've also
seen like because I just I look at resingle order
that comes in just because I'm just fascinated by what
people pick and the customer behavior. And I love reading
(18:06):
the notes. So I'm really involved in just like, even
if we're not packing boxes, I know it's in every box.
So it's lovely to like see the names that I've
seen so many times before. I mean, we've actually, like
you know, we try and do some sort of customer
reach out and we've reached out to customers before and
they end up being like Olympic skiers. This most recent
one was a rockehead, and I was like, Okay, first
(18:26):
of all, hello, love you like it's just so interesting,
like bloggers are buying. It's it's the weirdest thing, and
so it's happening. I know, it's so cool. It's really flattering,
like to hear, like to see people who have a
lot of following or like we've seen I don't know,
I guess say names, but we've seen like actresses get
them and we're like, oh my god, so good. Okay, okay,
(18:50):
I like little things like that. You just are like,
oh my god, they know about us, even you to
be fair, like I mean, we were like, oh my god,
she like knows about us. So you told me about you.
That's why. Like, but I like you guys, so yeah,
I love I really do love what you're doing. So
when you first reached out, I ended up putting you
guys on King five out here in Seattle when I
do what's trending with them, and we had just so
(19:10):
much fun talking about it because it is what you're saying.
We are lacking this cool way to gift to the
people we care about. And obviously with you guys, it
started as sisters. You wanted to send your sister a
care package. My mom would send me care packages in
college and it would literally just be food and like
fun lotion, Like I don't know what you know, but
when you want a gift to your peers, it is tough.
(19:33):
Like you know, you can send wine, but then it's like,
well are they going to be home to sign for it?
Do I even know what they like? Our same thing
edible arrangements, which really is over priced fruit that's going
to go back unless they want to sponsor this podcast someday,
just something different. And flowers too, they die and normally
are over priced and aren't the best value. So the
(19:54):
fact that you guys thought of this is just like damn,
that is such a good idea, but it's needed. It
really is one thing too that we were again centered
on the customization convenience and I should add affordability like
we were very much like I don't want to spend
a hundred eighty dollars for buk, Like that's not something
I want to do for like a friend who gets
a new job. That's just too much. Right, And Millennia
women again back to the strategy, like they actually buy
(20:16):
over twenty five gifts a year, and less than half
of them are for the holidays. It's for your friend
who gets engaged, it's your friend who gets pregnant. It's
like there's these micro gifting moments that like just do
you want to send a little more than a card,
you know, um and so so that's a big part
of it um as well. And I think one thing
that we used to use a lot with Etsy and
we still use that it has its place for sure
for gifting, right, I mean, the problem is you can't
(20:38):
get it fast. A lot of the customer orders it's
like three to six weeks or something, and we're we
shipped pretty much um within a day or so often.
And I think also something we bring to the table
that maybe some of our competitors don't is our personality.
We're really about like snarky gifting, Like that voodoo doll
that Hannah gave me back when I was in college,
Like that's still in our boxes because it's really representative of,
(21:00):
you know, how we want to approach every problem, right,
like with a little bit of humor, a smile, a
little snark. So no, it's true. I love that you
guys do have a variety of different things, even from
the cards and the fact that I can say what
message I want and you guys will handwriting and not
print it and some ugly font and what happened, And
(21:23):
it brings me back to my mom went reach out
to a local restaurant here in Seattle for my birthday
and called them. It was like, can you put this
message on there? And they hand wrote my mom's message
on the back of the gift card and I saved it.
But I thought it was so cool that they hand
wrote it. And that's because they probably don't have some
sort of system which is just a little restaurant she knows.
I love. But you guys are doing it because it
(21:45):
means something to you and you understand. And I think
once you you know if that I'm not saying you guys,
when companies get past that point of Okay, it doesn't matter,
let's just print it, that's where they lose a lot
of that. We totally agree. Actually, that was a huge
factor and why a lot of fulfilment centers wouldn't even
talk to us, because we wouldn't give up the handwritten note.
We just wouldn't. We know, being millennials ourselves, like we
(22:06):
get emails every day, we get typed messages like Amazon
does that We're not Amazon. We want to be personalized.
Handwritten notes have a certain quality that we just we
want and we want to offer to a mass majority
of people. Yeah, for sure, and I think free free shipping.
Having a free shipping option to us was extremely important.
We do have rush options, but we like the things
(22:26):
we won't sacrifice for the handwritten card and free shipping option.
The best part about us is like we're literally the target,
so we know exactly what we're looking for, which is
exactly what how to set it's free shipping customization. Those
are like non negotiables. It's so funny when you bring
up the free shipping thing because Amazon really has like
screwed other companies with that. There are so many times
when I go to order something and I'm like, twelve
(22:48):
dollars for shipping, hell no, and then totally and then
even with if I want to buy something from a
store here, and then by the time I remember to
get it to the post office because now for me,
I have to mail everything for everyone in my family
because I literally live on the opposite side of the country.
So still to this day, I've been far away from
(23:08):
them for two and a half years. More than that,
I never sent anyone gifts on time because I'm always like, oh,
I gotta get to the post office. Oh man, I
gotta I gotta go, And it's like two weeks after
their birthday and I'm like, wow, I gotta get a
belated card or pretend like I just never mailed it
in whatever. But it is that you take out all
of that, the picking out, going store to store and
then actually getting to the post office, which is the
(23:30):
hardest part for me. And then I get there and
I'm like, fifteen dollars to mail this to any living
Are you kidding me? So crazy? Because the post the
post office is probably the most annoying thing that people
go through, I think, I mean, the customization is great,
but I think like being able to remove going to
the post office is like crucial, Like you said, absolutely,
(23:53):
do you guys, um, how do you pick the things
that are on the website that people can put in
the boxes. It's definitely a mix of a few things.
I think one thing we're always looking for is like
what's trending, um, which obviously you know a lot about
and we so we do see trends. And again, the
benefit of our day jobs, and like my day job
is analyzing those things for my brands that I work
on by day. So we do that. I think also,
(24:14):
like Ariel said, a lot of what we do is
look at something and say, hey, would I like to
receive this. I think some of the best gifts are
the things that you're like, oh, that's so cute, but
you are not going to buy it for yourself, but
if someone else bought it for me, I would want it, yeah, totally.
Like we have this one there. It's like a two
part heart necklace and it says best Bitches and it's
just like, that's just if I got half of the
(24:34):
best Bitches necklace or got to give that to side.
You know, it's just it's more fun than the typical
thing that you think you may have seen. Yeah, I
think everything. You know, we listen to our customers all
the time. We're always kind of whenever people chat us,
it's us you're talking too, and so they give us
suggestions all the time, which is great. You know, sometimes
you listen, sometimes you don't, but overall we really try
and listen and hear what they want to see. And
(24:57):
you know, usually it's chocolate and spok gifts, which is
great for us, which is why we were constantly changing
things up and we're always We have a great kind
of business model where we can test the product, we
can buy a small quantity tested out, and if it
goes really quickly, we can then buy larger quantities. So
there's kind of low overhead for us. So there's really
no downside to like trying out a bunch of things
(25:17):
too and seeing what sells. And we really do look
at every item and say like if I got this,
would I be happy? Like? Would this make me happy?
Would this look great in the boxes? It's something yeah,
like we ultimately want to be Instagram bull. We want
to be Happy box Like, that's what we want. So
we want to make sure every single item is happy
and brings joy to everybody. And definitely stressing the data.
I think, especially as a startup, it's really hard to
(25:39):
one do everything and then analyze all the data. But
I think the data is so important, Like seeing what
actually has been selling and actually listening to the customer
is just so important. Yeah, what is the number one
item that people have put in a happy Box? It
changes every month. It's really interesting, so I would say
our pumpkin chi candle, but it is seasonal, but it is,
i mean number one for the past two months. So
(26:01):
that has been like our craziest bestseller, so much so
that we keep reordering and I don't even care if
we have leftovers because they smell so good. Literally, my
fiance the other day, like we were in quote unquote
Happy Box headquarters and he was smelling the candles. He's like,
can we just take some of these? I'm like, no,
this is a business. Do you not know how this works.
(26:21):
I'm like, okay, we can't do this. I'm like, please
provide cash when we take credit card? We take really
but I think I think that Okay, I'll give categories
spa and chocolate. I would say spat candy like face mask, lotion,
that kind of thing. I think our face mask though,
those like sheet face masks are super popular. And well
we also we just recently partnered with Dylan's Candy Bar. Yeah,
(26:42):
they have been amazing. We absolutely love working with them,
and it's just it's been great. You know, people love
their candy and we love giving it to them. How
did that partnership happen? Okay, so my so a lot
of this. We're lucky that we're in New York. Right,
We're lucky that we're in New York, that we have
these networks at we have you know, a lot. On
his point is just it's just great, right, like our
(27:04):
networks and everything. So, my boyfriend's actually a real estate agent.
It's very new by the way. I'm like, is there
a boyfriend and a fiance that day? Don't tell them.
But so he's a real estate agent in the city
of New York City and one of his co workers
is actually Dylan's cousin, and so it gets even better.
(27:26):
So we were meeting up with his so my boy
my fiance's PR person just because he was like, I
love what you guys are doing. I'd love to just
help in any way, which I mean, it was so sweet.
And I was like, you know, we really need like
a big brand, like a big candy brand, like I
don't know if Dylan's candy bar would be amazing. And
he was like, oh, you should just talk to like
have Josh talk to Brad. And I'm like, who's Brad.
(27:47):
He's like, that's Dylan's cousin and I was like, no way.
So of course, like on the spot, I'm like texting
Josh like get me Brad's email now and so you
know that's where it started. And within a day we
were buying from Dylan's Candy Bar. I have to say
they were extremely responsive and super nice, like so nice,
and I mean shout out to Olivia. She's great. They're awesome.
(28:09):
They used to send um like when we would have
guests at el Us round in the morning show, they
would send like a full blown candy bar to the
studio and we would set it up and it was
so much fun and we all loved it, like we're
just sitting there in candy all day. But they really
are a very smart company and they are fun too.
(28:29):
They're not they can be total jerks that they wanted
to be their Dylan's Candy Bar, but they're not, which
is awesome to hear and and know that they're still
totally they're amazing, and they're branding is really in line
with ours, which is awesome. It's all happy and rainbow
and fun totally. And I will say, like we do
hustle right, like we reach out to people were like
like for different products, like we definitely will message them,
(28:49):
will email them. Well it's a bit wholesale, like request
forms like we we definitely hustle and try and when
we see something we like, we go after it to
so and my brain is going a million miles an
hour trying to think of all that them, like what
can they put in there? What kind of who can
I do? It's so fun, And we do get a
lot of requests, like people reach out us all the time,
like wanting to be in the box, and we you know,
we're trying and keep up, but you know, we do.
We have a pretty high like standard for what goes
(29:13):
in and we really want to make sure everything is
really happy, really branded. I mean, I'm as the creatives,
the one you know, like taking all the pictures and everything.
I have to make sure that every picture is going
to be adorable. So kind of my bar and we
we always joke to that like it kind of has
satisfied our It's to shop, Like I definitely online shop
less for myself and waste my own money because I'm like, oh,
(29:33):
like this is so key for happy backs, and we
end up shopping for happy backs more than ourselves, which
they're so smart. So I need to start a company
very similar, So I stop online shopping. However, you guys,
give me whatever log in you use, and I understand
getting boxes of random things and do you like what's
happening Carl Mane everything? So what are like your future steps?
(29:54):
Do you have like these crazy huge goals that you're like,
one day we want this? What is that big? I
think right now we're really looking to grow in scale
at a like larger or faster rate than we have been.
I think again that moment where we were in the
fulfillment center and we had those a few months to
really concentrate on growth, We're like, wow, we need more
(30:14):
of that. Um So, ultimately, I mean personally, I want
to be a serial entrepreneur. I think working with my
sister has been amazing and I can't wait to see
kind of what else we come up with, Like I
think this will grow and grow and we'll do more.
I mean I would say the same thing. I think.
What's great about what we're doing is we're kind of
we're growing at a pace that is manageable right now,
and I almost want to which is it's great. I
think the next step, the next logical step for us,
(30:36):
I think, is to set us up for like crazy growth,
Like I just want to be ready for when it
happens because I feel like we're really on the brink
of something, and I feel like at any moment, it
could kind of go in a great direction and one
buzzbeat article and you're like, uh, you've got boxes out
of your ears. But it's gonna be yeah exactly. So
(30:56):
we just I want to just make sure that we're
set up so really looking at that at warehouse and
that's like that's on my mind right now. And I
think our day jobs are so good about having a
side hustle. It's very It's interesting I think at this time,
like people respect the entrepreneurial spirit and they're like, you know,
they they're okay with having, you know, employees with a
side hustle and so um. And I've been pretty kind
(31:17):
of open with what my company is, like, Hey, if
I like an investment of a million dollars tomorrow, goodbye everyone,
you know, So like, is that what the plan is?
Like hopefully that you won't have to have quote unquote
day jobs. Is that what the plan is? Or yeah?
I think that's yeah. I mean I'm gonna speak for
both of us and say, if we could be our
own bosses full time and really keep that sustainably going
(31:37):
and grow, grow, grow. Absolutely, that's a dream and we
have built this from the ground up. It's it's our child.
When people talk about their babies, I'm like, I know,
because I have one. It's just a business. So we
like really get it, like it's it's totally you know,
it's our it's our child. And I think, yeah, totally,
and I think it's an entrepreneur it's there's something about
(31:59):
obviously building it up, but like making money for yourself,
Like you're not making money for other people when you
work at a job, you're making money for everyone else
and your client or your company, and there's something about
like this is all ours and we created it from scratch.
I'd say that all the time about like working for
Elvis and that show was amazing, and everything I was
doing I loved and I and I learned so much.
(32:20):
But it wasn't until I got my own show where
I was like, oh, this work is for me and
me and I'm not that I'm still making money both ways.
You know, it was still the same thing, but it
was just that what I'm putting in now is it's
got my name on it, so we can't mess up
whereas when you're you know, one of nineteen people working
on a show, it's different. So I totally relate to
(32:41):
that in a completely different way, but totally understand what
you guys are talking about. Have you ever thought of
doing a some sort of a storefront. We've dabbled with
the idea of it, but yeah, we've been in a
few gift shops, kind of local like well if you
know Hoboken, Hudson Papery. Um so when some of then
if if I go to gift shop and you're there,
am I buying that box that's made? Or am I
(33:04):
getting to pick and choose some things that's exactly where
we don't want? So like we have so we have
these curated boxes and that's what we had sold in
the past, and people can, sorry, people can log on
and buy boxes that are already quote unquote made. Yeah,
so we have our curated boxes and then our build
your own boxes. So our curated boxes have a ton
(33:26):
of different occasions too, but they're a little bit more standards.
We have your you know, you got your engagement box,
your birthday box, your breakup box, which we will always
sell because it's how we started exactly that's the foundation
all from a breakup. Um, we have a cheer up box,
we have like these and a baby bump box. We
have a bunch of different like normal life events. But
on the site, it gives us so much more freedom
(33:47):
to just like let people and the occasions people come
up with are amazing, Like I just love it. Yeah,
and I think, just like to put it in perspective,
like ninety plus percent of our sales are people building
their own boxes, so it's kind of yeah, and so
I think the retail front, our storefront issue is too
that people don't People aren't buying happy boxes to like
bring home to someone or to give in person. They're
doing it to surprise them at work. A lot of
(34:09):
deliveries at work, UM, a lot of deliveries you know
obviously at home. So it's more of like a bundle
that you get and you're super surprised that it's even coming.
So it really is like the care package, and we've
designed it as such too. I think if we were
to be in a storefront, we'd have to rethink the
packaging because we have mailers right now and they're really
fun and we ship every box with a plastic cover.
That is super brightly colored with watermelons and limbs. So
(34:31):
it's it's all about mailing right now. And I think
that's kind of we found like a really good sweet spot.
So I don't know that we're willing to like go
in store, No, it totally makes sense. I was just
picturing store where I could walk around and put things
in a box. I just my own, like physically do
it because I'm being selfish and I want to come play.
But I do love that. Okay, next time I'm back
(34:53):
on the East coast. But you do have different designed boxes.
So when you guys launched originally, has that changed from them? Well, boy,
there's a story here I can tell. Yeah. I mean
we talked about more pitfalls like the beginning. So at
the beginning, I mean there's something a lot of startups
do where you create your minimum viable products. You create
(35:15):
that like baseline, what could this possibly be? You learn
about what's going to happen to it by testing and experimenting,
and the point is to not get it perfect, but
get it out there just to get some research and
insight right and customer response. So we started, I mean
originally it was like, is this a basket. Do we
need to make baskets? Do we need boxes? I mean, ultimately,
(35:36):
long story short, we ended up with these like cake boxes,
like these like thin cake box like bakery, yes, and
with tissue paper, which just none of it worked. All
of it was so I mean from a like I
won't even I can't even look back because remember as
the creative person, as a person who's designing the packaging,
it is embarrassing looking back on it, but it is
(35:59):
also a testament to how far we've come. Really, I
will never forget. Actually, the way we started was hunting
into me with this idea for a basket idea, and
I was like, oh, I can do this. So I
immediately went to like home Depot or Michael's or something
and I got chicken wire because I was like, I
can make a basket. I can do this. And I
put my finger probably thirty five times. I didn't even
make one. And the next day I was like, you
(36:20):
know what, we're boxes and boxes there you go, that's
how you choose. So it's been a journey, but we
got to a really good mailer that is designed beautifully
and I'm sure we'll iterate later to like we'll figure
it out and as we go. But this is working
right now, so so no more kick boxes here. So
how does it work for interns? Being like, I know
how it works for a corporation, there's so many rules.
(36:41):
But if you guys are just to the two of you,
how does it work with the intern process? Because I
know a lot of people want to have interns work
for them because today, So how does that happen? We
are lucky and Hoboken. We have Steven's the smartest kids. Yeah,
sevens University. Yeah, so it's engineering schooll very like highly
regarded engineering school and um, so we reached out I
(37:04):
think through a contact for Area from Area and we
got these a couple of interns who are just they're
interested in data. They like Excel, they were super interested
in the product. They're young girls, right like their millennial
women from a younger perspective, but it was they're super interested, um,
and we basically, I mean it is managing people, right,
like you have to come up with things for them
to do and think about how to best use their
time and then also make sure they're actually learning something
(37:26):
um at the same time. So it's a really interesting balance,
you know because like to hunt this point. They you know,
they're majoring in something, and ironically, these girls, they're so
great and so smart, and they have interests beyond what
they're doing. So they're actually really interested in the marketing
and they're really interested in the creative. So so we
actually have a lot of fun with it because we're
learning from them. And I know everyone says that, but
we really really are because they are these data people.
(37:49):
And I think it's a testament to like, don't hire
people who know exactly what you know. Hire people who
you you don't like, who do what you don't know
what to do with, you know what I mean. So's
we really have strengths now and fruit places, which is great.
I mean, and just the way the younger I mean,
the the way the young ones social media. I mean,
apparently they called us they are indurance phone calls old,
(38:11):
but apparently teenagers call like millennials and above old like
old plural. Anyway, Yeah, so I found that out. That's
why you're calling them mutes. I like it. We're fighting back.
So but they they'll tell us stuff. They'll be like, hey,
I would never share that, or I would post this,
or this is the kind of thing that they're very
protective of what they post and share from a brand,
(38:33):
So like we've we've actually learned a lot from them
too about even pricing strategy. It's interesting to hear what
they would actually pay for a specific item because it's different,
Like sometimes we're priced too low and they're like, oh,
I would spend more for that, And it's I know,
it's different from a from a college kid's mouth, because
I'm like, really, if you would, then like we definitely should. Yeah,
let's do it. So cool. Um, do you guys do
(38:56):
Instagram ads at all? Because I know that I get
ads for everything and I wonder how that works for
your target. Yeah, so we do, but we not much.
We do it kind of like we call it like
tent poles, like major moments, like so maybe seasonal when
we launched, Um, we have a pumpkin curated box for
the season. Um that's pretty popular. And actually we don't
actually do regular Instagram ads. We do retargeting. So that
(39:17):
means if you've been to our website, you may get
an Instagram ad like retargeted to you to save money.
I didn't even know that was a thing, so now
I know. Now I know why I'm getting all of
these ads actually, so that's what that is when I'm
being stocked. That makes sense. Yeah, now we all know
you solve that meme of all of us breaking out.
So one thing that I ask everyone is a favorite
(39:39):
app that they use or an app that gets them
through their crazy schedule, being a side hustler that's not Instagram,
that helps you with your business or just your life,
and you each have to answer with a different app. Okay,
then I'm going first. Okay, well mine's Shopify. Yeah mine, Literally,
were you going to say that that was my first?
(40:00):
If I figured you'd say that, I definitely say, well,
I mean I so, like I said, I'm literally like everybody.
If you guys don't order, I'm gonna stop you because
I want to know everything that you buy, everything you write.
Like I just I'm really interested in customer behavior and
reaching out is really easy, you know, once I know
exactly what you're going to reach out about. So I
really try and like study every order. So it's a
(40:20):
great app for me to just like, I'm just so
proud of you because I real always jokes that she
got her happy MBA because like in the beginning, it
was very like we just were so experienced in different
things and now she's like looking at the data and
like super obsessed with it and I'm just so proud.
So she's a little bit of background just to contextualize
that she has her m b A and be like
(40:40):
going from art school to you know, happy MBA has
been just very interesting. I knew nothing about business at all.
I just picked things that were pretty to put in
boxes and I thought it was cool, and I branded
us apparently pretty well, and I'd be like, olef's too expensive,
like it's really cute, and she's like, but the prophets,
I'm like, what, who cares? But now you know, I
(41:03):
like it. The happy NBA. I'm gonna come get my
own happy NBA. Think anytime mine would be post after
Shopify would definitely be. This is gonna sound so basic,
but Google Keep. I'm a Google person and Google obviously
my entire life is on Google Calendar, Like that's just
my life. But Google Keep is a sharable basically to
do list, so you can write, you can snap a
picture of something to remember, you can write lists, all
(41:25):
that kind of stuff. So we have our ongoing evergreen
to do list will share our important links with each
other on that Google Keep. Google keep is actually awesome,
especially if you're sharing with people. Definitely, I wish that
Apple notes were way more. I guess the problem is
are just so plain Like Google Keep. You really can
do a lot with the notes. And I am a
(41:46):
very big fan of Google Keep, and I'm very surprised
that no one else has said that yet this podcast.
So yeah, she does love it. I lost mine is
so basic, but I am like inch off of my
She does literal, like literal happy dances when we get
a sale. She hears shitching, and it's like it's the best,
(42:06):
It's the best. I mean, that's when there's that like
that meme that's when you buy from a small business,
a literal person does a happy dance and it's I'm
telling you it is true. I get so happy. It's
like the best feeling, you know. It's just it's validation.
It's really like people like what we're doing, and that's
really that's the best part. When people buy what we
have hand selected and you know, just the concept of
(42:28):
our business. It doesn't get better than that, It really
really doesn't. That's like heaven on Earth makes the no
sleep worth it. I was gonna say, so when you
come home from working out that you're not packing box boxes,
what is your day to day like, Um, I mean
it changes all the time. We do have that ongoing
Google keep to do list, so we'll focus We'll try
to focus on like one to three things that we
have to accomplish either per day or per week, depending
(42:51):
on how demanding they are. But um, like I said,
really focus on growth driving. So hiring those interns was
a big push and that took a lot of time,
different ways to advertise. We're always looking ahead to the
next season. So Gallantine's Day is a really big moment
for us. So yeah, so people like to send friends
gifts for the day before Valentine's Day. So a lot
of planning, a lot of looking at the data, a
(43:14):
lot of checking inventory, making sure we're okay because you know,
if we're down to fifty something, I know that we
need to buy immediately. That's kind of worst case scenario
because things go really fast. So inventory like management is
kind of really hard. We have I think we have
something like seventy plus items on our on our site
right now, and that's a lot of upkeep you know,
(43:35):
you do have a lot of stuff on there. We
have a lot of stuff, and we have a lot
of different vendors, which we see as a super positive
because we are always trying to refresh and always trying
to find the next big thing. We're not afraid to
test out products. Um and really something we're looking towards
is we really want to work with women owned businesses
as well, and we've been doing that. You know. Yeah,
our tease are from a little women owned company in Illinois,
(44:00):
which is great, and then our our our lotions are
from I just went to Charleston and I met these
girls and they were selling lotions and bath moms and
I was like, I'm in and they had I'm sure
they had no idea. They're like, yeah, okay, she's in
and literally an order at the place. Remember the next day,
I was like, let's do it, and you know, we
bought a ton on the spot. Yeah. So, you know,
(44:22):
that's the best part about what we do is we
actually are in a position where we can pick and
choose who gets business. And so we're Happy Boxing your
own company basically. Yeah, Happy Box is your giant happy
box really exactly totally. So I think one thing that's
taking a lot of time right now, it's holidays are coming,
and well, it's not necessarily that we're the biggest holiday
(44:43):
gift for friends, because I think holidays interesting. People want
to buy, they have an item they have in mind
to buy their friend. But from a corporate giving per
seconve um, we've had a lot of inquiries about you know,
small companies, big companies asking us saying, hey, you know,
can you make a hundred boxes for us for my
employees or can you create this for my holiday party
or something like that. So that's something that was kind
of um organic, I guess that we didn't necessarily plan on,
(45:07):
but with a lot of inquiry, were like, interesting, this
is a new revenue stream. So that's really smart for
a company because it's custom enough. But you're not sitting
there buying each person person that works under you something
individual because that's just literally impossible. So that's really cool.
So will you in that case where you do like
a bulk order for a company where it's all right,
buy a hundred boxes and they get a discount or yep.
(45:29):
So we have, luckily we have as a real side,
we have so many wholesale partners. So we actually have
a lot of variety. Like even if we bought a
bath bomb from this one company, they also make a
ton of other things. We have these sheets and sheets
of all the types of inventory that we have relationships
to buy, even if it's not on our site. We
can buy based on kind of demand that a company has.
Um and then again that in house design from ariel Um.
(45:50):
She can customize even a card and while we'll still
handwrite the note, and oftentimes because they like that touch,
she can design a branded note for example. So but yeah,
we do do custom and we do do discount spoke discounts.
And you're asking what we do now that we're not
packing boxes designing and part of it just to go
back to that, I forgot about all that. Do you
(46:11):
design the actual boxes or is that you just work
with a company that has boxes and you picked them. No,
I designed them, like the physical box. That's so cool. Yeah,
it took a really long time to find our supplier,
and you know, and we don't really reveal our secrets,
but we didn't have but but yeah, we you know,
(46:31):
I am a designer by trade. That was when I
went to school for us, So using all my you know,
shout out to Parsons better than paying someone else to
do it, which why not if you can do it? Definitely,
And like we said before, our mom's a filmmakers. She
has a ton of great camera so I actually shoot
all of our photography too, So it's a lot of
(46:52):
there's a lot that goes into it that we wouldn't
even I just have so much appreciation appreciation for small
businesses because we really do at all. And we are
extremely lucky. And we say this probably once every every
time one of us goes on vacation. I think we're like,
oh my god, we're so lucky there are two of us,
because you really feel the weight of the entire company
when it's only on one of us. It's tough, but
(47:14):
you know, we get through it and it gets better. Well,
have you guys ever gotten into an argument over anything us? Never? What? No,
I'm just kidding, Yeah, we do. I couldn't do it.
I don't really don't think I can work with my sister.
My sister actually works with my brother and my niece
and they're like, dude, she's crazy. Like I'm like, I
(47:35):
know she's crazy. I could not work with her. There's
just no way we'd punch each other in the face.
So I'm very intrigued by this. I mean, yes, I
think you answered this one. We're very lucky that we
we get along very well, and we've always been close.
I mean, I think I've like every I think a
pair of siblings or a group of siblings, like you
(47:56):
have your ups and downs, right, even periods of time,
probably in high school. I don't like be like like
to each other. I don't think I taught my sister
for a whole like six months, but whatever. Yeah, yeah,
so yeah, But I think, um, I guess I'll say
two things. One, I think we have a mother who
showed us kind of what forever she's been saying, you
guys have such unique talents, you need to work together.
(48:16):
It's kind of been weirdly seated by her, like she's
always been like, oh my, Like she's like, you guys
are gonna work together. Guys are gonna work together, and
we're like, okay, whatever. And then we when we first
we got our first jobs. I remember she told me
the agency she was working for, because I was technically
an agency life before her, because she was getting her
m b A and It was just really funny because
I was like, oh my god, we actually might work together,
and then started coming together. We you know, really just
(48:38):
waiting for it. Yeah, like weirdly seated by our mom.
And I think the one thing we've learned. I think
the best thing that we've learned, and we've been really
good at this, especially recently and probably the past year,
is Ariel Notice one time, she's like, there's a there's
a point because as a startup, right, you use your
everyday Saturday and every full day Sunday you're working. I
mean you're talking to me. It's a Friday night. Yeah,
(49:00):
this is our life, right, So and I think you know,
by we'll notice, by like I don't know, seven pm
on Saturday, we'll we'll just get crabby. Like both of
us will just be like like kind of pissy at
each other and we're just like snapping each other and
like we'll just call it. We'll be like, we're not
going to get into a fight. We're just gonna go
home and have someone or have some wine together. But
we're not going to do happy backs right now. We're
gonna like put on friends and drink something and just
(49:21):
have fun stuff alcohol is really how we get you
get your most family gathering right. But I think that
I think calling it has been very helpful. Yeah, like
we'll like, no, we're getting tired, you have to stop.
And we also we recognize I mean, okay, the first
thing I'll say is like being a sister, we are
(49:41):
going to get into those fights and that's totally fine.
But the best part about those fights is like there's
nowhere to go. There's no like ending the relationship. There's
no like ending with there's no we're sisters. So like, regardless,
this would never work with some I personally, I don't
know how people do it with friends. I actually really don't,
because like we've screamed at each other and then we'll
(50:02):
be like, okay, we'll see you at dinner, you know
what I mean. Like we're just like that's like what happens, Like, yeah,
I guess I'll see you there. It is true, you
can't just break up. It's not like something like that.
Your parents will kill you if you're not. And I
guess there are businesses that ruined Danley's, but I don't
even think that's remotely an option for our family. I mean,
(50:24):
it would never it would just never ever happen. So
how left up would it be that the Happy Box
and a family. You can't let that happen, so that
would be the biggest goss. Oh you know what happened.
They got to happen so much Happy Box hit the
fan over there, you guys, I have absolutely loved talking
to you and hearing this whole story and how it's
(50:46):
how it's gone. I'm like, I can't, there's not even
anything else I can ask you, guys. You've told me everything,
and I love the whole data side of it and
how you really like built a company that was actually needed.
It wasn't just it wasn't just something you loved. I mean,
yes you did, and it amount of love or sadness
arial and yours, but yeah, you actually built it off
(51:06):
of something we needed in our lives. And it's so
cool and I love your story so much. And by
the way, everyone listening, if use code Carla Marie at
Happy Box store dot com, they're gonna hook you up,
so do that. Awesome. Yeah, thank you for having us.
So we're gonna need to get a drinking hellboken next
time you're around. Yes, please and go enjoy your Friday night,
(51:28):
so thanks for spending with me
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