EPISODE 091
Pt 1: A Shark Tank Success Story: From Stained Teeth to a Well Funded Company. Best Friends Join Forces with a Shark
With Sonia Hounsell and Joelle Flynn
Today on The Business of You, we’re sharing a Shark Tank success story! These two Founders combined their strengths to turn the seeds of a great idea into a best-selling product.
Childhood best friends turned powerhouse entrepreneurs Joelle Flynn and Sonia Hounsell are changing the oral care landscape with their revolutionary on-the-go oral care brand, FunkkOFF!®. Designed with women in mind, FunkkOFF!® TeethRefreshers® are the only 2-in-1 toothbrush-toothpaste beauty essential that’s reusable 30x to keep your smile fresh & white. TeethRefreshers® come in multiple colors and easily fit into a purse, backpack or jacket pocket for an on-the-go refresh. Containing no fluoride, BPA’s, sulfates, or dyes, you can use the easy gel formula without concern over harsh chemicals.
Sonia and Joelle recently appeared in an episode of Shark Tank, and sharks bit – recognizing the incredible value of their product offering. FunkkOFF!® has been featured in Travel + Leisure, the LA Times, NBC, Real Simple and ABC.
At FunkkOFF!®, Sonia and Joelle believe in giving back. They are proud supporters of the Smiles for Everyone Foundation, providing free dental care to those in need, both at home in the U.S. and around the world. They also helped establish an Orange County chapter of Girls on the Run, encouraging girls to pursue their dreams.
Currently, Sonia and Joelle are rapidly scaling up operations at FunkkOFF!® with their flagship product and working behind the scenes on new product offerings to release in the future.
An idea starts with a problem solved
Joelle Flynn loves red wine. But she does not love what red wine does to her white teeth!
During a day of busy wine tasting, she packed a toothbrush and toothpaste in her purse to go from tasting to tasting. After a quick brush, she was applying her lipstick when she had the ultimate aha moment – realizing that there is no product for brushing your teeth on the go that is environmentally sustainable and reusable, all-natural and easy to use.
Working around the bulky and wasteful limitations of the current products on the market, Joelle stuck a toothbrush head on a chapstick tube and started taking it to product designers. With her first prototype created, Joelle partnered with her friend Sonia and they began methodically filing and receiving patents.
Now, Joelle and Sonia are glad they did everything by the book. Filing patents took years and tons of time and energy, but set them up to compete with other dental and personal care brands in the world market.
Combining strengths, combining forces
Joelle conceived the idea for FunkkOFF!® TeethRefreshers®, and she knew who to call – her childhood friend Sonia Hounsell.
WIth 30+ years in business, Sonia knew how to launch and market a product successfully. With Joelle’s ideas and Sonia’s eye for business, they believed they could become successful entrepreneurs. Despite their excitement, they played the long game, never losing sight of their overall goals.
As business partners, Sonia and Joelle work to complement each others’ strengths and combine their visions to grow their company. They are a shining example of knowing one another’s capabilities and highlighting their best talents in business.
A Shark Tank success story
When Sonia and Joelle were invited to apply for Shark Tank, they didn’t know what to expect.
Walking in with radiant smiles and glasses of red wine, they proudly proclaimed: “We all have funk…and we all need it off.” But the sharks did not bite right away!
Sonia and Joelle’s biggest obstacle had been money – to finance enough inventory to gain notoriety and market their product in the right places. But they never let the struggle get them down.
The entrepreneurs and friends endured an hour-long questioning session on Shark Tank about everything from their gross income to their investment to their product design. It was brutal and lengthy, but ultimately a shark bit at the last second. Investor Robert Herjavec decided to invest $250,000 to help them increase their inventory and successfully market their business.
Now, they have sold out multiple times and are working to scale their company. Enjoy this Shark Tank success story on The Business of You!
Quotes
Sonia
“At the end of the day, it is a lifestyle business to help people look and feel good no matter where they are.”
Joelle
“I was loving my red wine – and my red wine loved my white teeth! It would turn them a funky shade of purple. I started to carry around a toothbrush and toothpaste in my little purse from winery to winery, brushing the purple funk off my teeth and heading to the next tasting. I was in the bathroom putting my lipstick on and I was like, why is there nothing quick, compact, and reusable to make it easy to use on the go?”
Joelle
“I actually stuck a round spinning toothbrush head on a chapstick container and took it to product designers. Over about 8 years I filed 8 patents – to make it reusable and all-in-one.”
Sonia
“I loved the name FunkkOff because it’s very memorable and ownable. There’s a lot we can do with it as far as building out the current product in addition to launching future products. We are currently working on more products to release down the road! People love to say it, and when they say it, they smile.”
Joelle
“We actually walked in [to Shark Tank] with two glasses of red wine! You walk in and you want to be confident. There are a gazillion cameras, and they are really far away. Halfway through we just started answering questions. It was nerve-wracking and exhilarating. But it worked.”
Joelle
“The sharks were really nice. They were intimidating but they’re real people – who wanted to learn about and understand our business.”
Sonia
“With the airing of the Shark Tank episode, our business has taken on a new level of growth. We’re working through that. It’s opened up opportunities in the United States, Internationally and in different markets and distribution channels. We need to focus on scaling up that business first, then we’ll start adding new products to grow further.”
Links mentioned in this episode:
Podcast Resources
Visit the website for Funkkoff at https://funkkoff.com/
Follow Funkkoff Leadership on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/funkkoff
Follow Funkkoff on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/funkkoff/
Find Funkkoff on Twitter at https://twitter.com/FunkkOFF_
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