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If you are seeking new ways to increase your ROI on marketing with your commerce platform, or you may be an entrepreneur who wants to grow your team and be more efficient with your online business.
Talk Commerce with Brent W. Peterson draws stories from merchants, marketers, and entrepreneurs who share their experiences in the trenches to help you learn what works and what may not in your business.
Keep up with the current news on commerce platforms, marketing trends, and what is new in the entrepreneurial world. Episodes drop every Tuesday with the occasional bonus episodes.
You can check out our daily blog post and signup for our newsletter here https://talk-commerce.com
Brent Peterson (00:01.301)
Welcome to this episode of Talk Commerce. Today we have Bryn Snyder. She is the founder of Slate Flossers. Bryn, go ahead, do an introduction for yourself. Tell us your day-to-day role and something exciting you have going in business this year.
Brynn Snyder (00:17.166)
Hey, so my name is Bryn Snyder. We're based out of Spokane, Washington. I have five kids and my co-founder is Danny Snyder and he is a dentist. So we're very passionate about dentistry. My day-to-day, I work a lot, way too many hours. I'm trying to figure out how to not work so much, but I work a lot on marketing because we're mainly a DTC company that focuses on our website and Amazon currently.
We are strategizing how to do retail, how to do different things, and then we do lots of meetings because we have a lot of people that work for us. So we're either strategizing or trying to figure out how to accomplish our different tasks.
Brynn Snyder (01:07.832)
no, I can't hear you now.
Brent Peterson (01:13.239)
Somehow I hit mute. There we go. Sorry about that. All right, so before we get started, we'll talking about flossing and things like that. I'm gonna tell you a joke. This is the free joke project. All you have to do is give me a rating eight through 13. So here we go. I was at the dentist and said, okay, I'll start over again and now you probably already know that you've heard this one. All right, all right.
Brynn Snyder (01:35.054)
No, I don't know this one. I haven't heard it yet.
Brent Peterson (01:42.071)
So when I was at the dentist, he asked me when the last time I flossed I told him the last time dude you were there
Brynn Snyder (01:50.71)
Okay, I have that. I have heard that one. So I'm going to give it an eight. Let's try for the other one.
Brent Peterson (01:56.247)
Alright, here's the other one. This one is not a dentist one. Archaeologists are holding a party to celebrate unearthing the largest ever dinosaur tibia. It's going to be quite the shindig.
Brynn Snyder (02:11.63)
give that one a 10 or 11. I like that.
Brent Peterson (02:13.855)
All right, well thank you. Good, thanks.
Brynn Snyder (02:17.934)
I'm gonna tell my son that tonight. He's gonna laugh really hard.
Brent Peterson (02:20.831)
Yeah. All right. Good. Yeah. And I do have free. This is all the all these free jokes go on to go on to tick tock and they are all family friendly. So anyways.
Brynn Snyder (02:30.392)
I love that. Thank you for making them family friendly.
Brent Peterson (02:33.641)
You're welcome. All right. So Brent, tell us a little bit about slate flossing and how you get started.
Brynn Snyder (02:39.054)
Okay, so a little bit about me is I went to product design school, which is called Industrial Design Inn at BYU. I'm originally Canadian and I just knew I was passionate about designing things. And I thought I was passionate about designing shoes, but in the middle of my schooling, I did an internship with Johnson & Johnson. And I was like, wait, I can design products that change people's lives. And I was like, this is really cool.
Then I got married and my husband decided to go to dental school. And while he did that, you know, we did what whatever we needed to do to get by. I started a few companies and I was a graphic designer for a lot of the time. And then we had five kids. And so he started being a dentist in 2015 and he started feeling the anxiety of patients that were super anxious.
I don't, are you anxious at the dentist?
Brent Peterson (03:39.893)
only when they say I'm not going to use Novakane.
Brynn Snyder (03:43.726)
So yeah, like 80 % of people get anxious at the dentist and you know, there's a wide scale of those. I'm a weirdo. I love going to the dentist. I thought everyone did. But I found out that is not the case. And so my husband was like, why are people so anxious? Like, okay, we're going to train all of the staff to help with anxiety. So he helped that they were amazing, but people still would be anxious. And he was like, what if
people had good experiences at the dentist. Maybe they wouldn't be so anxious. Like every time you go, they tell you, you did such a good job, Brent. Well, that can only happen if people are flossing because cavities between the teeth are caused from not flossing and then gum disease is caused from not flossing. He was like, I just need to make it easier. So he thought about it and then...
One day he was like, an electric flosser, there has to be one. I'm going to go look for it. There was no electric flosser. So he was like, okay, well, why, what do I need to do? And that took us down a long road of innovation and building a product from scratch is really hard. So we did that. And in 2020, we applied for our patent. And in 2021, we did a Kickstarter.
And then 2022, November 22 is when we had our product for purchase and we've been off to the races since then.
Brent Peterson (05:18.987)
Well, that is an awesome story. So tell us, you contributed to building the Flosser and designing it, I should say. And did you have some engineering help in the process?
Brynn Snyder (05:32.876)
Yeah, so for me, I'm sorry, I might sneeze. Okay, of course, the second come now. So a industrial designer is like an artist and an engineer. Of course. Sorry. Okay. So I did and didn't have help with our first one. Dr. Snyder was really the brains behind most of it. He designed the floss head. He thought about everything to do with that, but.
We did use engineers to help us make sure the internal components were correct. when you work as an industrial designer, you usually work with an engineer to help make sure everything is running correctly.
Brent Peterson (06:17.457)
Tell us about your team and you mentioned now you're in marketing. How is the ramp up been? Well, actually, you know, let's back up to the Kickstarter because I did a Kickstarter at about the same time. didn't do it. I bought something from Kickstarter and actually got delivered. So tell us how that worked and how you were able to get enough funding to get off the ground.
Brynn Snyder (06:38.732)
Yeah. So, you know, we just had no clue. One of the things that really mattered to us was being backed by the dental professionals. So we actually made 500 of our flossers before we did our Kickstarter to make sure that they would approve that. And then I said, okay, so we had molds made, we had the product made. But I said, if we don't, you can make a product, but if no one wants it, it doesn't matter. So.
That's when we said, okay, Kickstarter is going to prove to us that people want this product. So we did a minimum. think it was, our goal might've been 20, but I think it was $10,000. And we did that in like the first half day. So we were like, okay, this is exciting. And we ended up doing almost $200,000 in 30 days. We learned so much. Also learned that Kickstarter people
They're either hands off, never ask you a question, or they ask you questions like every single day. So I know like 20 of the Kickstarter people are ingrained in my brain. I wouldn't do a Kickstarter again, but it was nice to have $200,000.
Brent Peterson (07:56.631)
Yeah, I bet. So you were able to leverage that and then tell us about how you went to market and how you developed your marketing campaign and how you went to market. And I'm assuming then the Kickstarter was a great place to kick things off and get things rolling with some customers and a product.
Brynn Snyder (08:18.136)
So the one thing that is so valuable about Kickstarter is you get to have people who are great and want to give you feedback. So we sent off our product to them, and then I asked them questions like, how much did you floss before? How much do you floss now? Do you feel like this product benefits you? And they're very engaged, so I got a lot of feedback back, which I loved. And the great news is we got people flossing.
So 85 % of people from our Kickstarter campaign responded that they floss five to seven days a week.
Brynn Snyder (08:56.94)
Yeah, that's That's mind blowing. Most people really don't floss that much.
Brent Peterson (09:02.635)
Yeah, I'm one of those that doesn't floss that much. So outside of your product, what recommendations do you give to people then to get into the habit of flossing?
Brynn Snyder (09:13.762)
Yes, so when you get our product, have four habits, four things that help you. So one is leave your flosser out beside your toothbrush. If you brush your teeth, you then will floss. The second is, is you could put a reminder in your phone. We know that people form habits better when they get feedback. Well, typically flossing is like painful or intense. So it's not positive feedback, but with our product, because of the sonic vibrations,
it leaves your mouth feeling tingly and clean. So making sure that you get positive feedback on a regular basis. And then the last one is like set an alarm in your phone or something that helps you. And once you've done it for a few days, the positive feedback is going to have you continue to floss.
Brent Peterson (10:03.135)
And tell us about your product and what makes it different from just a regular, I guess you said that there isn't another product to compete against it right now. So tell us what it is.
Brynn Snyder (10:11.874)
Well, now there is, we have a lot of knockoffs on Amazon because we started doing good. But our product is different than any other product because we have an amazing patent. So most electric flossers now are just floss and they, we studied a lot about where the motor needs to be and to translate the sonic vibrations correctly. So ours is the only product that's motor is higher in the net.
Right now, RLR knockoffs are mostly electric toothbrushes with almost like a head like ours on top. Also, ours is a three in one. So Dr. Snyder was like, I want to make people not have to use any other tool than their toothbrush. So it's their toothbrush and the slate flosser. So most people don't do the correct flossing technique. Did you know that there's a technique to flossing?
Brent Peterson (11:11.402)
I did not, no, tell me.
Brynn Snyder (11:12.802)
Yeah. Okay. So if you're using string floss, you need to do what's called the C shape. Do people watch this or I need to verbally show like I can show. Okay. So what you want to do is wrap each side of the tooth. So you're going to go up, up the gum line and wrap all the way. you hit the root and then you're going to come back down because the point of flossing is to disrupt the bacteria underneath the gums. Well,
Brent Peterson (11:21.323)
No, but I would do both, yeah.
Brynn Snyder (11:40.29)
That's very hard for people who have big fingers or who are little or who old. So we designed these little triangles on either side of the floss to go into what Dennis called the embrasure area, which is where your gums and teeth touch. And we have little tiny bristles and then ribs. So you actually can see the plaque that you're pulling out of the area. It's really, really rewarding. So it's a whole new way to floss. So instead of...
just doing it that way, we made it easy. you roll it in and you put these into the little triangle. So you go side to side and then you come out. But once you've disrupted all that plaque and bacteria, it goes on your tongue. So on the back of our product is a tongue scraper.
Brent Peterson (12:25.611)
Wow, amazing. That's all in one. But you still have to have a toothbrush.
Brynn Snyder (12:31.074)
Yes. But did you know if you ask most dentists, what's more important, flossing or brushing? Guess who? They're going to say flossing.
Brent Peterson (12:40.727)
did not know that and that is very good. Thank you for that. Okay, so you're live now and tell us about the process or tell us about your team and what's working for marketing and things like that.
Brynn Snyder (12:57.25)
Yeah. So we are two years and three months old. So we're still pretty young. In 2023, we were able to do a million dollars. And, and at that point we were a very small team. was me and like a meta ads Google team. And we just, we just started Amazon in September, that September and a customer service person pretty much.
And then in February of 2024, I was like, I can't do all this. If I don't hire someone, I'm going to die. So I hired Caroline to be over our marketing and strategy. Cause what I was finding is even though we had a brand guideline, this one team would do one thing and it wouldn't look like what the other team was doing. And so we started ramping up. have, so we have meta ads.
Google Ads, we used to have a Pinterest team, but we didn't find that to be great. We tried TikTok too, and we don't see great conversions on that. And then we have email and SMS, and we use Klaviyo for that, and Attentive for SMS. And then we have customer service fulfillment. We actually do the fulfillment. I'm really passionate about helping our community. And in Spokane, we have a large refugee community.
So our fulfillment team is refugees. And then we have PR and we have like website. So just the typical DTC things, but our main, our team is very small. There's six of us that are employees and then about 20 contractors.
Brent Peterson (14:45.451)
That's awesome. And so what, have you had any particular challenges in your, I mean, you're growing really fast. If you had some challenges that you've been able to, to overcome and, challenges that you still have questions about.
Brynn Snyder (14:58.956)
Yes, so we used to run out of my house. then in June, was like, front porch is always covered and United States Postal Service is... I also got a note from an anonymous neighbor that reported me to the city. So even though I followed all the rules, I decided it was time to get a new warehouse. So that was a challenge.
Q4 of last year, not only were we experiencing Q4, but we were having to move. And then I think the hardest thing with growth is new hires because I hire these people and I'm so excited about it and only 50 % of them really work out. And that's really hard.
Brent Peterson (15:44.139)
Yeah. So I'm in entrepreneurs organization and I know a big thing with our group is EOS, Entrepreneurs Operating System, and that there's like a GW, there's all kinds of different little acronyms, but it's like a framework of running a business. And we found that very successful. And one of the things that there's a book called Traction and they say slow. Okay, great. Yeah. So slow to hire, quick to fire is one of their monikers.
Brynn Snyder (16:02.958)
Yeah, I was going to say I read traction.
Brent Peterson (16:11.959)
And then traction, know, traction is sort of a precursor or a layout of what EOS is. So for me, anyways, I can only share my own experience, but it really set us up in our business. We sold our business, but it set us up to be able to both function well, but also, you know, put us into place for sale, which I think was, you know, the ultimate goal.
Brynn Snyder (16:38.616)
That's a good advice. Maybe I need to start doing that.
Brent Peterson (16:43.031)
So Bryn, tell us a little bit about how we can find you and what, if you have new innovations coming or tell us what's in the future.
Brynn Snyder (16:55.362)
Yeah. So what I learned is, is if you want a successful product goods company, you pretty much have to come out with new, new innovation on a regular basis. So we are working on new innovation, but I can't tell you where I'd have to kill you. so I'm excited. Hopefully we have some new products coming out, but also something you learn is products that don't come out fast. If they're new, if they're a new innovation, takes usually a year to get it done.
Brent Peterson (17:09.546)
Yeah
Brynn Snyder (17:24.61)
But something really exciting is that we're just really focused on helping people have better oral health. And so we try to educate people. Like people don't know that 50 % of Americans have gum disease. And if you have gum disease for more than five years, you're 70 % more likely to get dementia. So like I am on a mission to help the average person understand dentistry.
Brent Peterson (17:41.986)
wow, okay.
Brent Peterson (17:49.813)
Yeah, that's great. Perfect. So Bryn, we have a few minutes left. As I close out the podcast, I give everybody a chance to do a shameless plug about anything they want. What would you like to plug today?
Brynn Snyder (18:02.324)
I would love to tell you, I don't care how you floss. I just want you to floss because of the health benefits. So we have, we know that it affects heart disease, dementia. We know that the blood brain barrier can be crossed with the germs in your mouth. And so we want to disrupt that every day. So string floss, water floss.
The reason we like the slate flosser is because it solves all of your problems. If you water floss, you still have to string floss. If you do string floss and you don't do the right technique, then you're not getting under the gums. So we invented a way to make it easier. If you buy it on Amazon, please leave us a review. But we, I think I'm just so passionate about oral health and like the oral microbiome. People, we care about our guts. Everything that goes into our mouth goes to our guts.
Brent Peterson (18:57.727)
Yeah, that's that's perfect. Bryn Snyder, the founder of Slate Flosser. And you can find her at SlateFlosser.com. Thank you so much for being here.
Brynn Snyder (19:07.682)
Thank you. Thanks so much, Brett.