Thank you! I won't go into much detail here just yet, but I've been working on something for biom for nearly a year now. R&D is a laborious, long process.
The barriers to entry are different but similar - certain skincare claims/products are regulated by the FDA, not unlike how only products with fluoride can claim to prevent cavities even though nano hydroxyapatitite has been proven to be just as effective.
Further, it can be be harder to formulate a good skincare product at a reasonable cost when you're trying to do it right. Good ingredients and delivery systems are not cheap, so it can take some iterating to make something profitable that the customer will love.
I'd also say that there's more testing to be done for the "end result" as well. Skincare products tend to be liquid, so unlike our toothpaste tablets, they need more preservatives and to undergo different testing (ex. stability).
Love to see it, as an early and repeat purchaser of Nobs (kids also enjoy the dino toothpaste). Super impressed with what you've built.
The branding got a significant upgrade since the first version (first version had a very DIY feel, now it has a premium/quality design). Learning about nano hydroxyapatite from Gator's Twitter really sold me on it.
I could see TikTok/TikTok Shop being huge for you (as someone who has made hundreds of TikToks/Reels for large CPG brands). You could try TikTok Shop's affiliate program, which might get you better results.
Awesome post thank you! I am curious to know if you ever considered white labelling an existing product instead of formulating your own product from scratch? Do you think you would have had success if you went down the white label path (marketing/copy/ads most important or the unique product itself?)
No, we never considered white labeling a product. Before we even started biom, we connected on a foundation of our niche knowledge, cosmetic science and dentistry, and we were equally dissatisfied at the quality of products within our niches. Thus, biom was born. While we may have had success given the sheer level of trust of our baked-in audience, it would not have been ethical to white label any old formula considering we built our respective platforms on transparency and authenticity. That being said, if we didn't already have audiences, there's no reason the right marketing strategies couldn't have made a white-labelled product take off.
I'm very interested to hear how the equity is split for the business. From what it looks like most of the value comes from Gator (R&D + marketing) and Fawn is adding very little value. Would make an interesting post for those exploring partnership (obviously there's no 50:50 partnership)
Hi Bop, you have asked a perfectly reasonable question and one which can be useful to consider ahead of time, rather than finding yourself in this situation having never thought or learned why this is important.
If you're trying to raise capital, negotiate partnerships, or make deals, knowing your internal equity structure could give potential partners, investors, or competitors insights that could be used against you in negotiations. The public, including potential investors and partners, might make judgements about the founders based on the equity split. For instance, a 50/50 split might be seen as a lack of decisiveness, or a heavily skewed split (say 80/20) might be interpreted as one founder not valuing the other's contribution, or being taken advantage of.
You also have to think about competition. Competitors might glean insights into the roles, importance, and decision-making dynamics of the founders, which could be used strategically. Outsiders might infer the value and contribution of each founder based on the equity distribution. This might give the wrong idea, as equity splits might have been decided based on various factors, including risk taken, previous investments, or negotiations at the time of founding, rather than just the present value each founder brings.
In short, the cons of disclosure outweigh the pros (of which there aren't many). You can read plenty of case studies of prevoius startups and how they arranged their equity distributions amongst founders if you're curious.
Start a biz and find out for yourself. Before you come back and say we should spell it out, simply no. You either start and find out why or you never learn. Some things in life (anything significant) need to be experienced to learn
"We’re also interested in expanding in the beauty space - I am the skincare person after all."
There used to be a dumb meme about guys not getting married because "why marry a depreciating asset." Very short sighted, not realizing value added came later such as in motherhood, etc
Didn't broseidon hired a chemist to formulate his product for a fixed fee? All the stuffs you listed sounds like a what a Filipino VA would do, a salaried employee, not an equity position. Would never give out equity for that.
You guys are crushing it.
In another year, $5M valuation
Thank you Swan!
Congratulations Fawn and Gator.
Thanks for this great post.
Fawn, Have you considered (since you have an audience) selling your own brand of cosmetic products?
Is the barrier to entry for skincare and anti-aging cosmetics products more difficult than oral care (regulations? MOQ more expensive? ...)
Wishing you the best
Merci
Thank you! I won't go into much detail here just yet, but I've been working on something for biom for nearly a year now. R&D is a laborious, long process.
The barriers to entry are different but similar - certain skincare claims/products are regulated by the FDA, not unlike how only products with fluoride can claim to prevent cavities even though nano hydroxyapatitite has been proven to be just as effective.
Further, it can be be harder to formulate a good skincare product at a reasonable cost when you're trying to do it right. Good ingredients and delivery systems are not cheap, so it can take some iterating to make something profitable that the customer will love.
I'd also say that there's more testing to be done for the "end result" as well. Skincare products tend to be liquid, so unlike our toothpaste tablets, they need more preservatives and to undergo different testing (ex. stability).
Hoping to share with y'all soon enough. Cheers!
Love to see it, as an early and repeat purchaser of Nobs (kids also enjoy the dino toothpaste). Super impressed with what you've built.
The branding got a significant upgrade since the first version (first version had a very DIY feel, now it has a premium/quality design). Learning about nano hydroxyapatite from Gator's Twitter really sold me on it.
I could see TikTok/TikTok Shop being huge for you (as someone who has made hundreds of TikToks/Reels for large CPG brands). You could try TikTok Shop's affiliate program, which might get you better results.
Thank you! We just got set up with TikTok Shop at the end of September - will be testing there and include findings in a later update. Cheers!
(and yes . . . we did the very first NOBS label in Photoshop in the dead of the night lmao)
Awesome post thank you! I am curious to know if you ever considered white labelling an existing product instead of formulating your own product from scratch? Do you think you would have had success if you went down the white label path (marketing/copy/ads most important or the unique product itself?)
No, we never considered white labeling a product. Before we even started biom, we connected on a foundation of our niche knowledge, cosmetic science and dentistry, and we were equally dissatisfied at the quality of products within our niches. Thus, biom was born. While we may have had success given the sheer level of trust of our baked-in audience, it would not have been ethical to white label any old formula considering we built our respective platforms on transparency and authenticity. That being said, if we didn't already have audiences, there's no reason the right marketing strategies couldn't have made a white-labelled product take off.
Thanks!
Awesome, congrats guys
Thank you!
Fantastic job guys!
Looking forward to seeing many more jungle members rocket to success
Congrats!
Congrats :)
FIRE!
Let’s go!!! 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼
Amazing post and product line. Gonna be referring back to this one! Congrats Fawn + Gator.
Awesome stuff
Thank you!
WOw what a story guys!
Thank you!
Fawn and Gator, big congrats to you, really inspiring story to get going for anyone still not acting.
Again BTB, loving those guest posts, great value.
Keep them coming!
I'm very interested to hear how the equity is split for the business. From what it looks like most of the value comes from Gator (R&D + marketing) and Fawn is adding very little value. Would make an interesting post for those exploring partnership (obviously there's no 50:50 partnership)
Yeah they would be insane to ever disclose that
Hi Bop, you have asked a perfectly reasonable question and one which can be useful to consider ahead of time, rather than finding yourself in this situation having never thought or learned why this is important.
If you're trying to raise capital, negotiate partnerships, or make deals, knowing your internal equity structure could give potential partners, investors, or competitors insights that could be used against you in negotiations. The public, including potential investors and partners, might make judgements about the founders based on the equity split. For instance, a 50/50 split might be seen as a lack of decisiveness, or a heavily skewed split (say 80/20) might be interpreted as one founder not valuing the other's contribution, or being taken advantage of.
You also have to think about competition. Competitors might glean insights into the roles, importance, and decision-making dynamics of the founders, which could be used strategically. Outsiders might infer the value and contribution of each founder based on the equity distribution. This might give the wrong idea, as equity splits might have been decided based on various factors, including risk taken, previous investments, or negotiations at the time of founding, rather than just the present value each founder brings.
In short, the cons of disclosure outweigh the pros (of which there aren't many). You can read plenty of case studies of prevoius startups and how they arranged their equity distributions amongst founders if you're curious.
Hahaha can't believe you wrote this out! Amazing
Start a biz and find out for yourself. Before you come back and say we should spell it out, simply no. You either start and find out why or you never learn. Some things in life (anything significant) need to be experienced to learn
Sometimes the value comes later...
"We’re also interested in expanding in the beauty space - I am the skincare person after all."
There used to be a dumb meme about guys not getting married because "why marry a depreciating asset." Very short sighted, not realizing value added came later such as in motherhood, etc
Zing!
Didn't broseidon hired a chemist to formulate his product for a fixed fee? All the stuffs you listed sounds like a what a Filipino VA would do, a salaried employee, not an equity position. Would never give out equity for that.
Once again no one smart is going to say the equity split. Also pretty obvious they doxxed to each other