#083: From Dorm Room to Shark Tank: NightCap’s Viral Rise with Shirah Benarde

At an intimate event, like at a pregame, uh, in a room where, you know, mostly you think you know everyone. That's the craziest part is you think that the most common place is like at a club, which it is, but don't be fooled of like walking into rooms where you're— maybe you're in college, you're at a pregame or a frat house and you think, you know, these are your, these are your friends. What, like, I'll just leave my drink unattended. Like, those are the places. The work happy hours, the conferences are a huge one.

Oh, interesting.

Huge one. Like the summits and the, you know, even if they have like a good, a brand name, like I would say even be careful of, um, like high net worth events where you're like, these people are so successful. Like I'm in a room with, you know, so-and-so, like we're safe. Wrong.

Welcome back to Season 4, Episode 6 of the Turning Pro Podcast. Today we have Shira Benard, who is the co-founder and CEO of Nightcap It. Thanks for joining today.

Thanks for having me.

Came all the way from Florida just for this episode, just for the podcast.

I was actually thinking about making a video of like, I'm just going to New York for the day to make a podcast, but I didn't want to lie.

So get ready with me for my one-day trip to go on the Turning Pro Podcast.

It would go viral.

I like that. I mean, you know a thing or two about virality. I can't really speak to it.

I I feel like I was definitely doing a lot of viral content within the last few years, but recently, not as much.

What does that mean? That's actually a great place to start.

Yeah, I would love to start there.

Are you starting with the idea— Do you approach a concept through the lens of, like, will this go viral and hence is it worth putting time into making it?

No, I think I approach it as—

For context, for those listening, she started her company at 16 years old. And dropped out of school and is a Gen Z, so she should know more about viral content than anyone.

Yeah, that's true.

Dropout consumer brand Shark Tank, like, that is viral content in a nutshell.

I feel like it is. I feel like also—

The viral content starter pack.

I am the starter pack for a Gen Z viral social media queen. I feel like we should give context, though. Should I say what I do?

Yeah, of course.

Well, sitting right here. So, this thing that's on my drink right now, Uh, if I guess if you're watching this, it's a, it's a scrunchie that also has a drink cover inside of it so you can cover your drink. But a little backstory is when I was 16, uh, which was 6 years ago, I had a college friend that was roofied at the bar. And a few weeks later I went to bed one night and thought of this idea of like a scrunchie that doubles as a drink cover. And I woke up and realized like, okay. This is a really good idea. This could save someone's life. So I sat down with my dad and I, instead of trying to explain it to him, I kind of just wanted to visualize it for him. So I ran around my house. I ended up in my mom's closet and I grabbed her stockings and an old scrunchie from my room, taped them up together and created the first prototype. And it was, it was really cool because at 16 I didn't realize the impact or like what drink-spaking really was, how big it was. But I knew like I wanted something for college when I went to college to protect myself. So that was kind of just the idea behind it. And, you know, now I feel like it's, it's bigger than anything I could have imagined. Yeah.

And you ended up building it or are building it with your brother?

Mm-hmm. Yeah. So my dad and I were just sitting at the table like, okay, what do we do with this thing? And he immediately said it's either nightcap or top hat. And obviously we didn't go top hat and went with nightcap. My dad was a really friendly guy throughout his career, so he was never an entrepreneur. My parents are not business savvy, but my dad was just like friendly, so he knew a lot of people and he was, he would like make some phone calls. Like he was like, I know a graphic designer, or like, I know someone who knows a seamstress. And so We were just figuring out like the first few things to get this product off the ground. And we called some people, found a patent attorney, sat down with him, and I was like going to high school and doing this on the side. And it was like, this is really like a cool passion project for me, but I had no idea what I was doing. And, uh, my dad didn't either. We were just going about it. And my brother ended up coming home from Florida State. He was like, this is a huge problem on college campuses. Like, I want to help you. And, you know, he really started working on it as I was just like going to class and yeah.

But there eventually came a day where you were like, I can't go to class anymore.

Yeah, there did come that day. I am— so I was a junior in high school when this was all happening and then filmed Shark Tank probably like my senior year of high school and I ended up filming like during COVID I never really graduated high school because it was COVID and never had a real graduation. So filmed Shark Tank instead, I guess. And then, uh, I couldn't tell anyone, but I went to University of Tampa and like I was making all these friends, but I couldn't, I couldn't say anything and I really wanted to. But eventually the show aired. My brother and I filmed it in Las Vegas during COVID and we we tripled our sales that night. And, uh, we can go into that more, but we, um, I, I mean, I just pretty much looked at like the pros and cons and I was like, I'm not learning anything in school. I'm just partying. And my parents want me to start paying for it. I'm not gonna pay. I wanna go make money. I wanna protect people from this problem. So I just, I, everyone told me not to, like my parents were like, you're insane. My brother said, you're crazy. All my friends were like, are you kidding? Like, and I just, I felt like a gut thing. I was just I was just like, this is not for me. I can't do this for another 3 years. So that day came and I was like, yeah, I'm not coming back.

Do you remember that day?

Yeah. Yeah. I just, I mean, it was like the day where you get your classes and you, you're supposed to like register and, and you know, the first come first serve kind of thing where, um, people start signing up and I just didn't. I was like, this kind of feels nice.

I think there's a lot to unpack there. And I think we can get into the Shark Tank experience in a second, but I think something I'm very curious to hear about from your lens is just around the concept of how fast you're growing up, right? Like, you're a 22-year-old who— you've lived more to this point than most people do until they're like 40.

Yeah, I feel that. I feel—

do you ever have moments where you're like, are curious or wonder what it would have been like to kind of be a kid, if you will, for a little bit longer? Not to say you regret it, but is there a curiosity that ever comes by?

It depends on like your definition of kid, because I feel like I created this product because I was in that environment. Like, if you're talking about like the party culture, not really, because I did it. Like, where I was growing up, you would go out at like 14, 15. Like, you were going out underage. It was no secret. Like, we were safe, um, but it was definitely like something that I have already— I've already done that stuff. And like, when I went to college, I was like, this isn't fun, you know? Like, this is like boring. And I don't really drink now anyway. So that whole thing, no. But I do think that it is hard to relate to people my age, and I wish that I could. I wish that like, you know, my friends from high school and I were like kind of on the same page, but it's different. Like, it just is. And I do feel like I've lived 100 lives. Because I'm 22 and I don't feel like I'm 22, but I also wouldn't change that for anything. So I feel like if I could do anything with it, like, it's inspire other 16, 17, you know, even people my age and older, hopefully.

So how do you feel like your age plays a factor into your everyday life, both in ways where you can use it to your advantage and then maybe other ways where there's maybe limiting beliefs or you've feel like you've run into blockers if someone's just like, why should I listen to this 22-year-old?

Yeah, I mean, most people don't know my age. Obviously not. It's not written on our forehead. So like, thank God, because if they— if it was like, it would be really difficult. I think it was really a struggle when I was starting the business. I mean, I don't even think that— that was like my biggest thing was when I was 16, even like up to the last like Within the last 2 years, I think I've really like grown out of the mindset of being so young. But when you're 16, you have no idea what's going on. And it was really hard to realize that you don't have to know what's going on. And I think even like when I met you, that was, I don't know, 3, maybe 3 years ago. I was like 19-ish, 20, I don't know. But that era of my life, I was still kind of like, pretending like I knew what was going on in the entrepreneurship world, especially because it's really hard, um, as a young founder when you don't have other founders around you that are your age to really understand like what you're going through. Like you feel like you have to know everything and the business is, it's running, like you're getting sales, you kind of have to figure all these things out. Um, and balance your own life at the same time. I think like the biggest thing that got in the way for me was myself. And it still is. It's totally still is. And, um, I would love to talk more about that. I have like a coach now, like she's the best, but she, um, she's really helped me through like literally every single aspect of my life. And I think if you let yourself get like if you let yourself almost, if you give yourself, if you let yourself think that your age is going to determine how you show up, like it will. And that was definitely clear to me when I started Nightcap and I led it for a long, long time.

I can tell you that one of the biggest misconceptions that I realized after starting my company because this was like a huge insecurity for me as well early on where you would go into a room with someone and all because they were older than you or had a bigger title than you, you just assumed they knew more than you.

Oh my God.

A huge, huge issue for me in the early days where I would almost feel like if I tried to explain something to someone who again had a big title, was super successful, I didn't want to like offend them by saying something that felt obvious in my mind. But when you realize that people are 10 times less logical than you are, and simplification is actually a superpower. It's okay to like say something with confidence and conviction, even if the person across the table knows it. And until I could get out of my own way with that, where I can meet, you know, the owner of this thing or the founder of this thing and feel comfortable saying something that might feel obvious to me, but not to them. I feel like that was like a whole change in like how I framed relationships and conversations with people.

Do you know when that was for you?

Like, was there a moment or a time where you're like, oh, actually I am just like, we're all the same and Yeah, it was actually when I was still working at GoPuff before I left and started my company, and I was like in these conversations about these big deals that were being worked on, and I would just hear some of the shit that people were saying, and I'm like, what? Yeah, like, I don't— like, I would, I would keep my mouth shut because I was like the lower person on the totem pole, but I'm like, that doesn't feel logical, it doesn't make sense to me. Yeah, but when you're younger or feel less experienced, it can be more uncomfortable to try to push back on someone's ideas. And in that moment I was like, I think it's really just a confidence and conviction thing, because then what you also start to realize is there are so many people who are actually full of shit, but they walk with their chest up high and they're so confident that you just believe what they say.

Believe what they say.

And then you start to learn that sales is everything in your life. You're always selling, whether it's yourself, your product, your brand, your relationships, whatever it is. Like, you always have to be storytelling.

Yeah.

And I think when I was able to shift that mental model for myself, life just, at least entrepreneurship, just felt like it became a whole lot easier.

Yeah, there have been a lot of times where I've faken it till you fake it till you make it, and it's worked. And I think repetition of that, it almost like evolves you into this person that is confident. I watched a podcast of Emma Greed, and I think it was Diary of a CEO, but could be a different one.

Love that podcast.

Yeah, so good.

I'm pretty sure it was that one. I aspire to be at that dude's talent level of interviewing people.

You are him.

I wish.

You are him. No, Emma Greed, she's like behind all the Kardashian brands. She was on Shark Tank. She said on his podcast, like, you are no better than anyone else and no one else is better than you. And when I heard her say that, I was like, wait, she thinks that? Like, she doesn't— have like this ego and she thinks that we're all on the same playing field. I'm like, that's, that's cool. That really click. I don't know, something in my brain was just like, this is, this is the mindset. Like, you can't, you can't act better than anyone else. And like, it's true. Like, no, we're all literally the same. We're all going through our own shit. And it's, uh, it's cool to hear it from some people like that. It's really special.

Yeah, because sometimes you just assume that they're different because they got to where they got to. But I think there's two points that I have on that. One is you increase your surface area of luck by just putting yourself in different places, right? Like you meet one person who knows one person who knows one person and they make an introduction and that might change the trajectory of your life, right? So continuing to put yourself in the right situations. And the other thing is to recognize that shit takes time. That's like the most underestimated— like, can you imagine if we filmed this another podcast episode in 30 years from now? Oh, like where if you just continue on whatever course it is that you're on or I'm on with like doing, operating with integrity, working hard, doing the right thing, like understanding opportunities and executing against them, like you're probably going to be happy with where you end up 30 years from now.

That is a really cool way to think about it. And I haven't— I would love to. Can we put on our Google Calendar?

We should. 30 years from now.

Yeah, we're doing that. I love that. No, but also I think about it in the past, like I thought you're going to say like if we recorded 2 years ago, that would be a whole different podcast for me, at least, you know, probably for you too.

But when you're in it every single day, you, you forget to think about like, where was I 2 years ago? Where am I? You know, where will I be in a couple years? And I think the inability to do that is actually the part that makes entrepreneurs successful, but also the part that makes them crazy. It's like you're never satisfied and you always want more. And so when you get it, it's like finding the time and space to actually sit and be grateful for it is really challenging. Because for me, it's like, and I just talked about this in the last episode, it's like you always come through the lens of like, what could be better? Which is not necessarily a healthy thing.

Yeah.

But you also don't wanna be complacent.

Yeah. I think it's what can be better and you're always chasing the next thing, but then you're not celebrating your wins. And I find it more like, I, I celebrate my wins by myself. Like I find that to be the most satisfying thing of like going for a walk and just like thinking about how far I've come. Like, is that relatable to you? Like, how do you feel like you celebrate your own wins?

I would say actually, as of lately, yeah, it's been something that's relatable to me.

Yeah.

Uh, I think gratitude is something that I've really been trying to work on over the last couple months.

Yeah.

Uh, to force myself to pause and think and have a little bit of grace. But to be honest, like, celebrating wins is not something that I'm good at.

Really?

No, because I'm always like, I want to get to the next rung on the ladder, and it's the most dangerous game that you can play, which I'm guilty of, is always just looking around you.

Mhm.

Yeah, there's always going to be a founder who made more money than you, sold their company for more than you, who got more likes on their post, who got bigger opportunities, who got whatever it is. Like, there's, there's just levels to this game. And even because a lot of it is also self-perception, like, even the people that you perceive to be at the top of whatever this ladder is that you're trying to get to they look at it the same way you do, but there's other people that they put in front of themselves, right? So it's just like a perpetual cycle.

I think—

I don't know what it is, but like getting to a point where you just feel grace about— I think it's trust, honestly, if I think about it. Like having grace with what you're doing and knowing you're doing the right things and you're working hard and you trust yourself.

Yeah.

You won't have so much like angst or desire to compare elsewhere because you know that if you stay the course, you will be successful. I just think the challenge is that the target always moves in terms of how you quantify success. And that's like a personal problem.

That is a personal—

because when you make $1,000 and you want to make $10,000, then you want to make $100,000, then $1 million, then $2 million, and it just keeps going. So it's like, where is the point in that journey where you can be okay with it? But that's why I'm so fascinated by you, because you're 22 years old and you've already experienced so many of these things. Like, who, who do you learn from? Uh, like, in the— you're 16 years old, like, were you listening to podcasts, reading books, like mentors? I think You have a crazy ability to network at your age that I've like not seen before.

I love that.

So I'm just like curious how you think about it.

I think I honestly, I don't have a mentor. My dad is the best person ever. He taught me a lot about being able to just ride the waves that life brings you. And I feel like that is what you're talking about. In a different version because you can celebrate your wins. Or I mean, for me, like, like I celebrate the— this is going to sound so cliché, but like celebrating the journey and like the, the dark times and realizing that like in order to get to like the high points, you have to have the really, really low points. So when, when there's like minor inconveniences in my day or like stuff's going downhill with the business, I think of what's on the other side as opposed to like, this sucks. You know, I'm like, oh my God, there's something really, really good coming. And I think I got that from my dad, which is really cool. I guess I could call him a mentor, but like business mentor. I listened to, when I was just starting out, I listened to a lot of Allison from Poppy. I listened to Mel Robbins now. Diary of a CEO is like my jam and I mean, I love, uh, School of Greatness, all those podcasts. I think I used the time of dropping outta college to just figure out how to self-teach. I also love like consuming myself in other founder stories. Um, meeting people like you and everyone else that was at, you know, that founder's dinner table. Like those are the types of people where I just wanna know everything and hearing everyone else's mess-ups. Like I wanna know what you did wrong. Um, I think like surrounding myself with those people constantly is really helpful for me because they, they're really grounding. Like I have, I recently met some of the best like women ever that are my age, really successful businesses. Like, um, some are in Founders Club, some aren't, but they like keep me in check and they, they are friends that you can look at where they They're like, no, sure, I'm not gonna hang out with you on the weekday. Like, I have a business to run. And it's like, oh, okay. Like, they, they really like have boundaries. And it's, it's inspiring to me because sometimes I do, like how you said earlier, like, do you wanna be a kid again? Yeah, I, I, I wanna hang out with my, my friends and my neighbors on the weekdays, but then I have these friends that are like, girl, what are you doing? Like, you have stuff to do. And so I have, uh, I have found a really good— actually, no, I haven't. That's a lie. I actually haven't found a balance. I was going to say I have, probably will never. But I think having those friends, it makes you feel a little more normal to be like, no, I can't hang out. I'm running a company and there's a lot going on. But yeah, I think— I don't know. I have lived 100 million lives. And I think a lot of— I think a lot of my— I don't know, maturity, if you want to say, comes from just like having customers that have been through like dark, dark, dark times. And that has been something that I've had to realize over the years that like I didn't create a product that's just like a product. It's like people can't live without this thing. Like they— people that have literally had their drinks spiked by someone that they didn't ask for it, you know, and it's affected them in, in ways not only that night, but like walking into a bar, trusting people after, like, these people have real trauma. And like being a 16-year-old, 17-year-old founder, you're like, wait, what? Like, what, what is going on in this world? And you, you just wake up really quickly to like the, the dark side of things. And yeah, I think that's, that's definitely part of why I'm the way I am.

You said something so interesting that I want to go back to, which was just about this concept of like you would text a friend and they say, no, like I have a business to run or other friends that are available. And I was thinking about myself when you said that, like, I don't remember the last time I ever like texted a friend to hang out and like off like work hours, like 2 PM on a Tuesday to be like, hey, do you want to like hang out? Yeah. So I want to like understand, do you have like boundaries or routine or like how do you think about that?

Now I do. Like now after having those friends, I realized that I shouldn't be just like grabbing lunch with people because it puts like a distraction in your day. Like unless it's a business conversation or it's pushing you forward, which It sounds bad, but at the end of the day, this is my life and this is what I care about. And it's also— it's either making you feel— like these conversations that you're having or these lunch dates or these hangouts with your friends, they're either waking you up or you want to go lay on the couch and take a nap after. They're draining you or they're accelerating you. And so you have to pick who are you going to surround yourself with. And yeah, I definitely probably within, I mean, last year, I live in West Palm Beach, Florida, and it's always sunny, it's always warm, people wanna hang. Like it's different in Florida, I can't lie. So I have a lot of friends like in my building or like just nearby that can, you know, hang out 5 o'clock every single day or grab lunch. It became like a routine where I was, you know, you think you're an entrepreneur, you have all this freedom, and it's like, actually, no, you don't. And also this past year, like, so much, so much more responsibility has come. Like, like, I've, I've just taken on so much more responsibility than I ever have before because, I mean, I don't know, with it, at 20 years old, I don't know what the heck I'm doing. Like, now I just feel like I've learned so much that I feel like I can actually make decisions and take on more of the business. And it's just my brother and I now, so I mean, it's always kind of been like that, but we're trying to figure out ways to grow this thing and put people under us. So I feel that I have to learn more about my own company, um, so when those people do show up, I know how to teach them what to do and have them make those decisions for me because I feel like we're just scratching the surface right now. And people, you know, in order for us to grow, we like have to make that happen. Like, we have to hire people. And my brother Michael, he— we don't like come from any of this. Like, we have no— we had no idea. Um, our parents aren't entrepreneurs. Like, our friends really, you know, like his friends don't really have businesses. So our mindset has always been we're just gonna like run this thing. We're gonna be like in the, in the the nitty-gritty of things, you know, like my brother still like processes invoices and all like little like things. And I'm like, I'm the one who has to be like, you have to get out of this stuff.

Like, have you ever read the book Buy Back Your Time by Dan Sharf?

I'm in the process, I'm in the process, I'm going to start. But I've heard—

you haven't read it?

No, no, I'm like in the process, I'm like going to read it, it's my next book. That's, that's part of the process. Cuz I, I've talked to so many people about this book and, um, CEO of Cheers, he like swears by it. And, uh, he was talking about it for the Shark Tank reunion and everyone just keeps—

damn, ready? We'll do it. We'll do one. I'll do one thought exercise with you in real time that will help you like understand the— well, no, it's— it'll— you'll understand the crux of the book in like a short conversation.

So many people break this book down for me, so I'm excited.

Well, this is just one anecdote that I think helps kind of get the point across.

Yeah.

What would you say is something you do in your day-to-day or your week-to-week where you think for all intents and purposes is below your pay grade? Like a, like a task.

Oh God, there's so many. Um, um, responding to Instagram DMs.

Okay, so let's actually, let's take a step back. Like, okay, the easiest way that you quantify this, it's, it's kind of a unique, it's a unique lens for a founder because what your time is actually worth in terms of the literal amount of dollars you're taking home from the business is not necessarily the case because you're trying to grow something exponentially. But for the sake of this conversation, let's just assume you're worth like $100 an hour.

Right?

Right. And then you go through all the things that you do and you audit your time. So responding to Instagram DMs, how many hours would you say you spend doing something like that? Like, I know, any cadence?

An hour a day.

An hour a day?

Yeah.

Okay. So that's $500 a week that you are spending responding to Instagram DMs. You could probably pay someone $100 a week to do that job for you.

1000%. I could. I just hired an intern to respond to comments.

Okay.

Proud of me.

So, but like, take that notion and extrapolate that across the entire business.

Yeah.

Like the only way that you end up leveling up is by removing yourself from certain things that you can delegate and then solving the next problem that no one else can solve.

Yeah.

Like you need to pave the way, solve the problem, and then find someone else who can help, like, execute against it for a longer period of time.

Yeah, yes, I agree. And something I recently realized, like, I love editing. Like, it's my— it's one of my favorite things to do, like, edit my own videos. I think it's fun, but it is the most time-consuming. So I found an editor and I hired an editor, and I'm very, very proud of myself for doing this. Because even though you like something, also, like, it doesn't mean you need to be doing it, which I feel like could be controversial, but like, it's true. Like, I— there's a lot more stuff to to be worried about, or not worried about, but like focused on. Um, and you know, editing is, is very, very time consuming. So that is step number one. But I, I also like, I feel like that outsourcing things too, like not necessarily hiring like a full-time employee, especially cuz we are a small business. Like you can't always afford to hire people like that. Um, and a lot of times, like I've been meeting a lot of people who just like want to help. Which is really interesting. But like, you can't always afford to hire people full-time. So like part-time is always an option and like hiring people for specific things, but like outsourcing for them. So for example, we recently helped to pass a bill in California and—

Congrats.

Thank you.

Pretty badass.

Thank you. So, and you can talk, we could, we could go back on, onto this topic of like imposter syndrome and thinking you're too young because that conversation was me and a bunch of old men. And I thought I was like so not qualified for, for that meeting, but it worked. So, uh, you know, you surprise yourself sometimes.

Do you wanna give information on what that bill is for people listening?

Yes, I should, I should, I should. So we, uh, we helped pass this bill in California. The bill is basically mandating every single bar in the state of California to drink covers at the bar, um, starting July 1st. So if I go to the bar in California, I ask for a vodka soda and I'm like, I want a drink cover on that, they have to give me one, which is really cool. The bars can upcharge, but we're trying not to do that. So I basically found someone, someone to like go out and figure that whole thing out with for me, cuz I was like messaging people on LinkedIn, like having someone else message on LinkedIn. I'm like, no, no, no, we gotta like start from scratch here.

Sales reps in the field.

Yeah. Like, like hire a sales team. Like, you know, so outsourcing things that you just don't have the time to do. Like that's really important. And that, I mean, someone could, a bar could buy a knockoff, right? And that could destroy like our reputation cuz they think it's Nightcap or something. And you know, we have patents, so don't do that. But, but they could. So it's important for us to like get on top of that and be able to go out and, you know, build on what we already have. Like we literally helped pass that bill. Like we're not going to let someone else.

Is that something you have confidence that you can get across more than one state?

Yes. Yes. Yes. Actually, it was something we're trying to do already. So I, because we helped pass this bill, I, I just was like, Honestly, I got on a call with this woman and she's like 40 maybe years old and she was super high up in her company. She's like, Shira, I was at a work conference at a happy hour with my coworkers. And she's like, my coworker spiked my drink and turned around and said that I like assaulted him. And she ended up getting fired from her job. And lost her entire career. She's unemployed. She—

Wait, what?

Insane.

This guy spiked her drink and then said she assaulted him?

Turned around, yeah. And the whole company obviously believed her. And I was sitting on the phone like—

Wait, believed her or him?

Sorry. Whole company believed him.

That she assaulted him.

Yeah, so she was let go. She was super high up. And I was just sitting on the phone like, is this for real right now? Are we really— Are people really experiencing stuff like this because the most common person to spike your drink is actually someone that you know. So I'm not— I wasn't— so yeah, I was not surprised that she said it was at a happy hour because that stuff happens all the time because you think you know everyone but you really don't. They're like— these are like— this is what we talk about all the time is like, uh, intimate events, pre-games, all that stuff. Don't leave your drink unattended anyway. I was on the phone. I was like, there is no way this is happening. And people are losing, not only are they like experiencing the trauma, but they're losing their careers now. So like, this is insane. Anyway, that call inspired me to pull in like all of our safety partners. So, you know, Invisiwear, um, Invisiwear, we have like pepper spray friends. Like we got like the running safety. Like I, I emailed everyone. I was like, guys, we're all hopping on a call. Like we are, meeting monthly now, and we have legislators that come on the call and they like, we actively talk to them about like the gaps in the legislation and what needs to be fixed. And they are literally there listening to us, helping pass this stuff along because it takes years and we're calling them out too. Like, I'll literally make videos and be like, this bill is sitting on someone's desk collecting dust right now. No one's doing anything about it. And then you got, you know, everyone in Massachusetts like rallied up. So, so we have these calls like once a month now. And the goal of the call is to take the California blueprint and copy and paste it, especially because if you have one, like it's just showing that someone else could do it too. So I feel like putting your business cap on for a second.

How do you guys become the default second part of that conversation where someone's like, hey, Bar Owner X, there's a new law starting July 1st. By the way, if you need a supplier, we know someone.

Yes. So luckily this is coming out in 2 months. Okay. So we, so the government, like they can't endorse products for this. Unfortunately they can't be like, you need to use a nightcap. That would be cool, but they can't. So what we are doing is we have a disposable product. It's a sticker and the sticker is super cheap, like bars. Anyone could, if they really wanted to, they could afford it. It's a few cents. This scrunchie, the reusable products that we have are $4 or $5 wholesale, which is a lot. Universities buy them because they have the budget, but that's literally how much it costs for us to also make money on it. Yeah. It just is what it is. But the stickers, we can brand them with logos and QR codes on them. Basically, I mean, the goal here is to get like a Tito's or you call out these brands like the Ubers of the world and the— I don't want to name too many because we'll see what happens.

You don't have to.

But for example, Tito's, right? You have Tito's come in, customize the stickers, put their logo, put their QR codes. They say meet customers where they are, right? That is for me.

Oh, so the Tito's of the world would be the one that would go to the bar and say, we'll pay for this.

Yes.

Ah, that's really interesting.

Yeah. So it's real estate at the end of the day.

Yeah, of course.

It's not necessarily saying Nightcap all over it, which it doesn't have to. That's not the point. These brands are also brands that surprisingly want to talk about Drake. Drinking responsibly. Like, I know there are multiple, like, spirit companies that have these, these campaigns that you probably don't even know about, but like, they're handing out the waters at the music festivals and then also serving you alcohol. So like, they want to promote responsible drinking, and it's hard for them to do that when they're selling alcohol too. So this is a really good way for someone like that to be able to share a message, especially with like QR code aspect. Like, you could put ticket links or like, you know, any landing pages. We can, we can change landing pages, we can collect the data on landing pages. Like, all that's, all this stuff is really—

yeah, wow, there's a lot, there's a lot to be done here.

So that's why I hired someone.

How much did you guys raise? Well, because you took a, you took a deal on Shark Tank.

Yeah, so we took a deal on Shark Tank, $60,000 for 25%, and then after that we took another deal from someone who's a singer-songwriter, Julia Michaels. She has— she gave us $100,000 for 10%. Yeah, that's it.

Yeah, I want to talk about the Shark Tank experience a little bit.

Let's do it.

Uh, how old were you when that happened? And then just like walk me through— I want to— the only thing I'm really actually curious about is the experience that people view on TV versus the reality of it, because I've been told it's not what you see online.

What have you been told? Let's start.

Well, I've had, I've had some Shark Tank folks on the show. Yeah. But just like the amount of time you actually spend pitching, conversations relative to like the, what, 10-minute spot that's on TV.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a lot of time. It's like a year. Like literally the process is a year. Yeah. I mean, we applied in 2020. We got a callback. There's like 40,000 people that apply. We ended up flying to Las Vegas. And I think, I mean, for us it was probably the most time, biggest time commitment because it was during COVID So we actually had to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days and could not leave. Like if we opened the door, they would send you home. So they would every single, this is the best, every single morning they would like knock.

Were you and your brother stuck in the same room for 10 days?

Yeah.

Oh my God. There's no way my sister listens to my podcast, but if she heard this, Both of my sisters. I don't think we would be alive at the end of 10 days to pitch our company.

It was tough. It was tough.

Wow.

Yeah. So it was actually, I was a minor, so I was 17. So because I was a minor, our dad got to come with us and it was my brother, me, and then our dad had like a connecting room. So we were like, we had a bigger space. It was at the Venetian. Like we were fine. So we got there, they like tested you for COVID, whatever. Went upstairs, and every morning they would wheel a cart of like the most amazing breakfast ever you've ever seen. Um, so we would wake up, order coffee, like have breakfast, and then we would like work out. We made it like that, you know, we, we made the experience really fun. Um, we would pitch for a few hours a day. Our dad would like ask us questions. We watched every single episode possible to know what they were going to ask us and the 10th day they like come and they bring you out of your room. They're like, let's go, let's do this thing. And you're just like, you're like, whoa, that's okay. So we're standing or we're like, we sit in this like waiting room for a few hours. And I mean, they just, they, they just bring you out. You're like standing in front of the double doors and then one door opens and then you see Mr. Wonderful's bald head after the second one opens. You're like, oh my God, I'm here. You're like, what? You're like in the TV screen. And then when you're walking down the aisle, whatever you want to call it, there's no music playing, dead silent. And you just stand there and you just stare at them so they get all the shots. It's like really weird. And then you just pitch like you do. I think the pitch is like 90 seconds. And then we were in there for so long. I mean, we blacked out. Like we forgot everything that happened. We were in there for like 32, 33 minutes. But most people, I think it's like an hour, 2 hours. Because you're negotiating and all that stuff and they're asking you questions. Um, we got a deal with Lori really quickly. Like, I'm pretty sure the— it was one of the fastest deals ever, actually, which is crazy. Um, and I manifested. I don't know if you're into that stuff, but I wrote down in my journal, I wrote down in my journal, we will get deal with Lori Greiner. Yeah. Wow.

What was the process like with her I mean, from the moment she said that on the show versus the actual like post-filming diligence process.

I mean, when she said that on the show, like, I don't know if you watched this episode, but it was wild. Like the way she hyped us up was crazy. She was like, this is— this— I've never seen a product— I can recite it. I've never seen a product come to the Shark Tank that's resonated to me more deeply in a social mission way as this. And when she said that, I was like, are you kidding me? Like, I did not believe— it was like 1 year after I had started this thing. Like, I was not expecting that. And I had been watching the show since I was like 8. Like, Michael and I would watch it on the couch and it was just crazy because you're like in the screen, it's happening. Like, you literally think you're dreaming at that point. So she said that and I acted cool. You know, didn't want to get too excited, but it was fun. Like, we got the deal. We signed the deal. A lot of people don't. We did. And then, I mean, she, she would take a lot of her time with us. Like, I remember the first few calls we had with her were like 2, 3 hours long. And I thought she would like— I thought it was over, like, you know, within 10 minutes. She's like, still going. And then you look at the phone, it's like 2 hours. And it's crazy. Like, you're like, this— she's actually taking so much time. to like teach, teach us and stuff. And I would say now it's more of a, like a mentorship, you know, you like, you let them know if you need them kind of thing. And yeah, I think that it's great. Like, you know, there's no one necessarily telling you what to do or anything like that, but it is not scripted. And I mean, you get one shot. So yeah, it was life, life-changing, I would say, for us, especially like when people don't think the product is like— they're like, what is that? And then someone's like, she was on Shark Tank. They're like, oh, Shark Tank, you know? Like, it's like a—

it's a validation.

It is a validation thing that takes you far.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, between Shark Tank and Forbes, and you do a lot of public speaking type stuff. Yeah, like building the resume and compounding.

Yeah, we do public speaking because universities are our biggest clients, so We're able to go into a classroom and be like, this is what you should look out for. Like, you guys are the most vulnerable of this crime. So we try to like educate students in like a fun way, being like, we were on Shark Tank, but like, don't get your drinks spilled, like stay safe.

Yeah.

So it's, it's like a fun, we call it a fun solution to a serious problem, but like all of our marketing and our speaking, all of that embodies it. And especially coming from like young people who are their age, like, I think it resonates and people are like, oh, I do need to protect myself. So the speaking is really, really impactful, I would say, for them and for us.

Where are the top 3 places that getting roofied occurs? Top 3 most frequent.

Top 3 Boston?

No, no, not, not states. Sorry. Like, is it bars, college campuses, music festivals? I mean, actually, you could do both.

Boston, Austin, and LA.

Okay.

Like California, West Hollywood. And then—

I have someone very close to me who I'll tell you off record, happened to them in Boston.

It's happening to everyone in Boston. That's why I'm going there next week to film a documentary. Yeah. Um, and then most common would be like at an intimate event, like at a pregame, uh, in a room where you know mostly— you think you know everyone. That's the craziest part, is you think that the most common place is like at a club, which it is, but don't be fooled of like walking into rooms where you're— maybe you're in college, you're at a pregame or a frat house, and you think, you know, These are your friends. Like, I'll just leave my drink unattended. Like, those are the places. The work happy hours, the conferences are a huge one.

Oh, interesting.

Huge one. Like the summits and the, you know, even if they have like a good, a brand name, like I would say even be careful of, um, like high net worth events where you're like, these people are so successful. Like I'm in a room with, you know, so-and-so, like we're safe. Wrong.

You're not.

Yeah, you're not. No. Be careful everywhere.

Fast forward 10 years. Like, what do you want? Where do you see this business?

Oh my God. That's a good question. I really, really hope that we can mandate this in every state. It'll, it'll be hard, but I think 1000% will get it in at least more than just California. So mandating drink covers in every state. And just giving people the tools when and where they need them. We have customers every single day being like, "I'm leaving for this trip in the morning. How do I get this in Nashville right now?" And it's like the bars in Nashville actually don't want to carry them because they don't want to show you that there's a problem at their bar. So we have to be extremely loud for them to do that. We just got our first Nashville bar. This week, which is so sad. It should have happened a long time ago. But just being able to have these resources, they should be available in any big city, on every 6th Street of Austin or the Broadways. Why aren't they around? It's really weird. So just making them accessible to people is That's the ultimate goal, having them in every freshman bag when someone steps onto a college campus. Military bases are a huge, huge client for us, and nonprofits. And, you know, we unfortunately have like a huge— I don't like— I feel so bad, like I don't want to make this a dark podcast, but like, no, no, it's great. We have a huge, huge human trafficking problem in America. Like, it is one of the biggest markets in our country. It is one of the biggest money makers in our country, and we don't realize it. So it's happening everywhere. Um, so yeah, just like awareness and like making people safe, safe again. I had to throw that in.

Over the last 6 years of this journey, what would you say has been your biggest turning pro moment?

That's a tough one. My biggest turn— ooh, can I tell a quick story? Yeah. Okay. My biggest turning pro moment, because this moment gave me so much confidence and it was within like 5 to 10 seconds of a conversation, but a few years ago, 2 years ago, I was at a conference in Las Vegas and the CEO of Forever 21 was on a panel and she was speaking about women empowerment and I really resonated with everything she said. So at the end I saw her just like standing there and I walked up to her and I was, I just gave her one of my products. I was like, you did amazing. Like, this is a nightcap. And she said, let's get this in the stores. Like she resonated with it really fast. She has a daughter, like, let's get this in stores. And normally I'm like, okay, people don't really, you know, like they say things and they don't do them. So I was like, great, let's get this in the stores. And then 6 months later, we were in all 400 Forever 21 stores. And I think Forever 21 has filed for bankruptcy. They're done. But the point of the story is the point of the story is you never know where one conversation will take you. And I think about that moment all of the time because if you if you have an urge to talk to someone, there's someone in the room that you really want to speak to, it feels so much better just getting it out than leaving with regret. And in those moments, it's so easy to convince yourself to just not do it. But think about my story the next time. Try to convince yourself out of talking to someone or opening a door for yourself. Just think about that story. I hope that you can and like let yourself open doors. Like don't let your— don't let yourself get in the way.

Closed mouths don't get fed.

Period.

Period. Mic drop. Thanks for coming on today. I appreciate it. Can you look at that camera and let everyone know where they can find you and what you're working on?

I am working on passing bills. Just kidding. Um, I— you can find me @nightcapit, Instagram, TikTok. I'm trying to be better on LinkedIn, so go follow me there, Shira Benard, and nightcapit.com. Love you. Bye.

Awesome. That was fantastic.

I'm yapping.