From College Idea to $2M Sustainable Business

What we're trying to do is get everyone to, A, bring an awareness to it, 'cause I think that's what's really lacking. Every single thing I throw away in the trash, I think about, hey, this is not going away. This will exist on our planet forever unless it's biodegradable.

It's just being moved.

Yes, exactly. And I think we need to change the language around throwing things away because that gives us this concept that it goes away and it just doesn't. I really hope that people who are listening are just gonna bring a little more awareness to the things that they throw away and start thinking Hello and welcome to the Conscious Design Podcast.

I'm your host, Ian Peterman, and I help turn product ideas into sustainable 7-figure businesses. Join me for another episode where sustainability meets innovation and business savvy. Today, I'm excited to have Emma Rose Cohen. She is the founder of Final Straw, where they innovate products that replace single-use plastic. Welcome to the show.

Thanks, Ian. Appreciate you having me.

Absolutely. Well, what was— let's start with the origin of this. What got you to decide to take on quite a big thing in replacing single-use plastics, which is a huge problem? But how did we get here? How did you get started with this?

Well, it depends how far back you want to go, but I have been fascinated by efficiency and sustainability since I can remember. I think being raised in a household where, you know, waste was not an option was— got my brain thinking differently. And when I went to college in Santa Barbara, I couldn't help but notice the amount of waste that was going on, especially around single-use plastic, specifically red Solo cups. Back then, it was a very wild party school. I think it's tamed a little bit now, but people would, you know, use a cup for 5 minutes and then throw it away. And we're on the beach. And so, so often we would go down to the beach and just see all this plastic there. And then it's, you know, ending up in the ocean. And, and we all know what happens then. Uh, it's not, not so good for the marine ecosystems. So yeah, I think, you know, you said earlier, like, how did I decide to tackle such a big problem? And the concept was tackle a really big problem with something really small because what we have to do is start thinking differently about single-use waste. And why not start with something that's so simple and so easy to remove from your day-to-day habits, like a straw? And so yeah, we looked on the internet, couldn't find any reusable, collapsible, travel-friendly straws. Now you go, there's a bunch. Back then, you know, in 2018, there was literally zero. So yeah, just came up with a concept kind of based from a, a tent pole and put it in a case and put it on Kickstarter and prayed. I mean, we, we really were just doing kind of the bootstrapped, really minimal version of it all. And clearly, you know, hit a chord because we, we raised almost $2 million in a month.

That's a chord. As a cord.

Yeah.

Well, I love that, that principle of how do you solve something in a simple way and then validate it and then go, you know, go do, do the litmus test of, okay, well, I think it's a cool idea. It's simple, it's easy, but does everybody else actually think it's a good idea? Is somebody And not just think it's a good idea, is willing to put money down on that idea. And I think that, that, you know, so many people approach, they, they try to solve the problem and they make it too complicated and they make it, they start complex. And I think just think that there's, there's a beauty in split— in simplicity that makes it so you can, you can relate to it easier, right? If you tried to solve, I could only imagine how complicated it would be if you tried to solve All of it at once, getting, getting people to be on board. Now, when you launched, so you launched your Kickstarter, obviously it did really well, $2 million. What happened from there? Did you continue to see steady growth? Was it, did you have a lull? Like, how did things look, you know, from like that consumer feedback and you guys growing?

Well, from launching the Kickstarter, you know, the next 2 years were wild. It did not slow in the slightest. And we just kept creating new products. And we did a revision of the first design of Final Straw. So we have a V2. And it was just wild. I mean, it was really clear that people are looking for solutions, and that people really do care about sustainability, and that there just aren't enough products out there to make being sustainable easy and convenient, because ultimately that is the simplicity of it all. We have become accustomed to a lifestyle of convenience, and even still, sustainability is generally not convenient. It involves bringing your reusable water bottle with you, bringing your bags. Now, unless you are trained to do that and that is a habitual activity every day, It does take a bit of a learning curve. Even with our products, we make them keychains so you can bring them with you wherever you go. But still, you have to remember your keys or remember to wash it and put it back in the case. There are additional steps. So ultimately, we are just trying to make sustainability a little more convenient, a little bit easier, and something that you can start on a journey with step 1 and continue onwards, improving every day and becoming a little bit more aware and sustainable and sharing that with your community and friends.

How has the feedback been? Because obviously this is a little bit of a behavior change like you're talking about. And I'm with you. I was just at the grocery store and talking to the cashier about how many people, as soon as they're at the checkout, go, Oh, I forgot my bags. You get the first part where it's like in the car, but then you're getting the second part. How have you seen customers getting through that? Has it, has it been pretty easy? Is this something that you've seen has been simple enough, or is this something you're still— it's one of those behavior things that just takes a really long time training yourself with?

Yeah, I mean, ultimately any product that requires a behavior change, is gonna be a little more challenging. But ultimately, because we made our product so small and so compact that it can fit on your keys, and you don't leave your house without your keys, you know?

Right.

It's just something people always bring. And so it does make it a little bit easier if you put it on your keys. We're also kind of primarily popular with females. And so a lot of time, you know, you have your purse with you. And so the Final Straw just goes in your purse or the Final Spork or whatever it is. For me, like my final spork is just always in my car. And so sometimes I do have to leave the restaurant to go get it. And I think that is an instance of when it's not convenient. That is how you train habits by interrupting a behavior to introduce that new behavior. So it's like I could be in the checkout line and be like, oh, I forgot my bags. Or I could be like, oh shoot, I forgot my bags and put my stuff to the side, let someone go in front of me. Go get them. And then the next time I go to the store, the chance that I'm going to forget the bags is a lot lower because we're interrupting that behavior and not just saying to our brain, oh, it's okay to forget this thing. You know, you never go into the store without your wallet. Why would you go in without your bags if it's something you need?

That makes sense. So let's talk about your products. So you, you started with the straw. And now you have the fork. How have you decided what, what your next product is going to be? Talk about that process for you guys on how are you picking your next products?

Yeah, the straw as our first product was interesting. I mean, the timing was very aligned and it, it definitely made sense to launch a straw when we did, but I don't even use straws. So in terms of like being able to relate with my customers there, like I just don't really use straws. I'm, I'm not, they're not for me, but I wanted to make something that people who love straws would love. And I wanted to make the best straw out there. So figuring out the next product is relatively easy. It's like, okay, what do I need in my day-to-day life? And then also like listening to our customers. I mean, we got so many emails and comments on social media with what people would want next. And we do polls and we really do try and like engage our customer base. But it was very obvious for me, you know, I, I'd had the kind of like bamboo set of like fork, knife, spoon, and it's just like bulky and doesn't feel great in my hand. I want like something with a little more weight and, you know, the mouthfeel. I don't love eating with the wood as much. So anyways, I was just kind of like, what would I want? What would be the most convenient thing for me? And I made it.

Amazing. And, and from what I can tell, that is doing really, really well also. Like that's got a pretty good response. People are buying it. It's really getting some traction. You have a couple different straws, gotten into wipes as well, I saw. And so how did that one come about? Because that's a, you know, that's a very different— Yeah.

Well, you know, I think because when you're telling a brand story, it's really easy to say like, we focus on single-use plastic, but ultimately we focus on waste. And paper towels are one of the most wasted, you know, items in your kitchen. Think about how many the average family uses. And when I go over to friends' houses that they use paper towels, I mean, it's 10, 20 paper towels a night and it's just wild. Like that is, those are made from trees. Those are, you know, requires so much water. And so anyways, the paper towel thing is actually kind of a funny story. I was making an April Fool's spoof video during COVID And I was making a video for reusable toilet paper. And I showed it to a friend and he's like, well, why don't you actually make it? And so yeah, I kind of like pivoted with the video and made it into something that I actually use on a daily basis. I have a 1-year-old and we would be using a lot of paper towels if I didn't have the wipes. And so, yeah, it's just kind of like, I really try and look at areas of my life where I'm creating waste. And, you know, feeling like a relatively average American consumer, like, how can I create things that other people would also be able to incorporate into their daily lifestyle to reduce waste?

Look, you used bamboo, correct, as your fiber for that wipe, wipes you up.

Yeah.

Bamboo, the fabric is amazing. I think we have, my wife got us into bamboo towels actually, 'cause they work so well. I'm curious, what else did you look at in researching? Kind of what was your, I know all the pluses for it, but how did you end up arriving as, hey, this is, this is the material that's gonna make the most sense?

Honestly, choosing a material was the hardest part of the wipes. It's really, A, hard doing that like overseas, so sending fabric samples back and forth like a million times, and B, finding a sustainable material. Because like it's so easy to find a synthetic fiber washcloth that's going to be cheap and absorbent and all the things, but that's just not who we are as a brand. We're not going to use the cheap, easy synthetic thing. You know, additionally, we're seeing all this research around microplastics, and they're released en masse when you wash synthetic fibers. So we were looking at, you know, a variety of natural fibers, and ultimately it came down to what is, you know, affordable, what feels good, and what works.

So I've talked to people about fabrics, right? Sustainable options. Other ones that come up with is there are ways to grow cotton in a lower water usage. Did you run into— is that one of the things you looked at as well?

Yeah, yeah, we looked at, you know, all the fabrics, and ultimately whatever you choose is going to have some sort of drawback. If you choose— let's say you choose cotton, maybe it's farmed sustainably, but it's using a ton of water. Maybe you choose bamboo and then they have to use, you know, some sort of pesticide. Like ultimately there's like no option that is 100% sustainable. The only way to do that is go live in the mountains in a cave and like hunt everything and be zero waste, like truly. And so I think what we try and do as a company and what I encourage people to do is kind of weigh the options. And do something that feels like you can incorporate it into your life on a regular basis. Because my wipes have a much higher environmental impact than a single-use paper towel. So if I use the wipes once or twice and then never again, it's actually going to have a much worse impact on the environment. You have to hit that break-even point, which means using the wipes over and over and over Until that number of usages overcomes the impact of creating them. Does that make sense?

Yeah. And I think I'm really glad you pointed that out because people will make a purchase like that and they're not— they don't necessarily actually start using it. And that's where when I'm— when I talk to people that are wanting to develop new products, I go, well, how do we make sure that you actually use it enough. Let's say there was a material that was perfectly sustainable. If you put all the effort and time into it and no one bought it, or worse, everyone bought it but nobody used it, is it really sustainable? Like, that's, that's kind of the, the questioning in my head always is you got to actually use it. You have to integrate it into your life. It has to, even if it takes some time to relearn how to do something, You gotta actually get it into the hands of people and they have to then use it enough for it to really be as sustainable as we want, which is great. Are the goals great? But we gotta figure out how to make it easy. And just like what you did with the straw, make it so you can put it on your keychain, make it easy and accessible, and then people will use it enough. And then you make the impact. That you're wanting to. I think it's a really— I'm glad you pointed that out. That's something that's still not every brand thinks about these kinds of things.

Totally. I mean, I'm a realist. Like, I understand that we are all having busy lives, and especially now with a kid, like, I get it even more, you know, where the priorities lie. And I think you were acting about asking about our kind of how the growth of the brand has been, you know, during COVID We saw a much, you know, a very large decline in orders because people's focus was on personal health and hygiene and it wasn't on sustainability. And now I feel like the times have shifted again. We are back in a place of somewhat personal safety depending on where, you know, where you live. And but that people are able to focus on sustainability and need to more now than ever because of what's going on with our administration and the attacks on public lands and, you know, the devaluing of nature. Like, this is— our straw and our spork are one way to take a stand against corporations who are profiting off of creating pollution. Is it going to change the world, you know, with your one small impact? Like, it depends how you look at it. I look at it as a ripple effect. So me Pulling out my final spork in a restaurant, it's not just about, yeah, I reduced my impact by one plastic spork, but it's pretty likely gonna cause a conversation and someone's gonna be like, oh my gosh, what's that? And then the people around me are gonna be like, oh wow, she's not eating with a plastic straw. And so it's like, yes, our individual impacts, you know, have a directly measurable impact, but also there's such, such a larger ripple effect that is not measurable. And And I think is, is kind of the point of what we do.

Yeah, I think that's a, it's a really good point to bring up that it's easy to track the pounds of plastic or the carbon, right? Those are easy trackable. And we often forget what you just talked about, which is what is the impact? Are you, how are you impacting the people around you and what they're thinking, right? It's if you have enough people Bringing in their own reusable bags to a grocery store, bring— have their own straw, have their own sport. Like, you are, you are very much going to spark that question in somebody else's head of, oh, well, that's not— that looks fine. That's cool. That's interesting. That's easy. There, you know, if, if it's something that isn't, oh wow, they had to do a whole bunch of work. And it took, you know, you don't, you're not sitting there assembling your fork for 2 hours to be able to use it. You're just pulling it out and using it. It helps other people to realize, oh, that's not actually a change in behavior. I don't have to have this crazy change to be able to make this swap. I can, it's easier to do, which I think is also one of those benefits of products like Cures where it's, it's easy and people can see how easy it's not. overly complicated to make that change. It helps all of this more for people to realize, oh, I can do a change. It's easy. It's, it's not complicated for me. I'm doing something good, right? You also feel— can't eliminate the feel-good part of, oh, you're doing your little part. You are doing something. Yeah.

You get a little, a moral energy boost and, and it's easy. And, you know, I like to think about change. If you change 1% today, You know, think about an arrow, and maybe if you shift the degree of that arrow by 1%, it's not going to look that different. It would be just, you know, a tiny bit off of the target. But a year from now, that 1% looks really big. It's a really big change. And so that's just what we're trying to do is get everyone to, to A, bring an awareness to it, because I think that's What's really lacking. Every single thing I throw away in the trash, I think about. And I think like, hey, this is not going away. We are not throwing things away. This will exist on our planet forever unless it's, you know, biodegradable. And— Right.

It's just being moved.

Yes, exactly. And I think we need to change the language around throwing things away because that gives us this concept that that it goes away and it just doesn't. And so I really hope that people who are listening are just gonna bring a little more awareness to the things that they throw away and start thinking of creative solutions. Like before I started Final, I was a ski bum, and before that, you know, I was working at a, you know, nuclear laboratory. So it's like anyone could start a business if you are passionate and interested enough in the project. You don't need, you know, listen, listen to me. I had literally zero experience. And here I am, you know, running this company now. And I think that especially now with the access to tech and, you know, you can create just about anything, but you just need to start looking a little more carefully at daily behaviors.

Hey, it's your host, Ian. I'm really glad you're enjoying this episode. I absolutely love highlighting amazing brands and founders for the awesome things they are doing. I've helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and businesses like yours turn their boldest ideas into powerful purpose-driven brands. So if you're serious about building a brand people love like our guests and clients do, and one that you're proud to stand behind, I invite you to dive a bit deeper with our book Conscious Design. Inside, you'll discover the exact framework and steps we use to help entrepreneurs like you turn purpose into a powerful impact-driven brand, brand that stands out, attracts loyal customers, and drives Sustainable growth with social and environmental responsibility woven into its DNA. Grab your copy today. You can find it on our website, consciousdesignhouse.com, or just find the link below in the show notes. Enjoy the rest of the episode and don't forget to like, subscribe, and share. Yeah, I think it's, it's really important to think of those things. And, and it's funny you brought up like Right. The mentality behind it. It is, we talk about all this stuff like, oh, you need to recycle and you need to, we need to do this. But we do have this very ingrained idea of like, oh, throw away, it just disappears. And even in the name, right? It's throw away. It's like, go away. It, it doesn't, it doesn't really do that. It just gets around. And, um, it's funny, this is something that I spent a lot of time thinking about how this is even historically, like, we kind of have— if you look long-term before industrialization, there wasn't really the whole concept of waste. Yeah, there were some rubbish piles, right? There was waste, but it wasn't— it was all biodegradable. There was nothing permanent about those things, really. And so we have this very I think we still have that kind of mentality in our language, even though we've changed. And now things that we do throw away don't actually go away. But that's relatively recent, like that's in the last 100 years, and language hasn't caught up. And so how we think about it hasn't really caught up with the fact that if you throw plastic away, it's going to sit there for a really long time and is not going to just go back into a pile of dirt, even though that's what we think. That's what we think of when we're tossing something.

Totally. And, you know, there's also these companies out there that are profiting billions and billions of dollars off of making the consumer feel like they're the problem. Like, we invented— or the, the National Beverage Corporation, which is made up by Coca-Cola and Nestlé and Pepsi, created the word litterbug. Because they want people to feel bad about the littering and to focus on, oh, we're the problem. If you throw your plastic bottle out your window, you're the problem. But like, zoom out. The problem is the beverage corporations. The problem is that Coca-Cola can make millions and millions and billions of plastic bottles a year and pay $0 to clean them up, pay $0 for recycling. You know, who pays for recycling? If you even have recycling in your country. Like, we have it here in the United States in most places, not even— we don't even have it in every city.

Not all.

And yeah, and but the taxpayers are paying for it. So I think like beyond just using products to minimize waste, like support companies that minimize waste and boycott companies that don't because they are stealing and polluting our water. They are trashing our lands, they are poisoning the oceans with zero repercussions. And it's time to stop letting corporations get away with this stuff. And we really do have to vote with our dollars. And so every time you go to the grocery store, you're voting, you're voting for what kind of food you want to see on the shelves, you're voting for, you know, what is kind of allowable by companies and Yeah, I really try and do some digging on brands that I'm buying and see if they're owned by another company. And, and if so, like, I might have to switch. I'm so sad to not be able to buy Siete chips anymore because they just sold to Frito-Lay. And it's like, well, those are my favorite chips, but now they're owned by a really, like, terrible company. And I don't want to support that.

Right. And I think it's something that we, as the average consumer, right, we kind of forget sometimes that your dollar does really, really, really count because stores track which products get sold. And we have made changes, right? I mean, that's how there's more organic options and there's more sustainably sourced options, right? It's because people started buying that stuff more and more and more. And a store is in the business of providing people what they want. Whatever sells, that's what they want in their store. Without it, they don't have customers. Even though you're like, oh, how does this one purchase— you could literally be the one purchase between them pulling something off the shelf or buying more. And that's how— there's a number. There's— you'll never figure out exactly what it is unless you work in the store or the brand. But there's an exact number where if they sell this number or less, removed, contract's over, never going to be seen in the store again. And if they sell one over that, they stay. That is the line. There is a line. So you might be the one. You have no idea. So voting, you know, this kind of voting with your dollars, it very much does impact. And stores are tracking. They know, they have to know whether a product is selling or not. So yeah, that's a very, very good point.

100%. I think the impact of our buying habits, because we don't see it, you know, we don't see the cause and effect, right? But it is so powerful. And I think that if people truly understood the impact of their dollar, they would likely spend it differently.

That is probably the hardest part is you don't know. There's no, no, there's not like a ticker sitting above the product where you're like, You buy it and they go, oh yeah, it's going to stay now.

Here you go.

We fit the— like it's— none of that stuff is public. There's no way to do it outside of corporate espionage, which I don't recommend.

Right.

So that's a whole other thing to try. There's no way to know, but it is valuable. You're being a customer is being valuable. Let's jump back to your brand a little bit more. So you have a few products now. I would love to talk about any plans you can share, other products that you're looking at, you know, ones that Customers have come back and said, hey, could you do this too? Just anything that you could share on like what's the future of the brand and where you guys are going? Yeah.

I mean, I would love to do a to-go container. I find that that's kind of the number one thing that I need regularly. You know, I keep a— I really like the brand Porter and I have one of their to-go containers in my car and But I just would love something a little more compact, something I could put in my purse. I've been ideating on this for a while and, and it just kind of hasn't hit me yet. Yeah, stay tuned. Hopefully I get the inspiration soon and also find the materials, cuz ultimately like that has been kind of the biggest holdup is trying to find the right materials.

It's hard. My wife and I, we've, we've gone through so many different lunchboxes and containers for food. It is hard because it has to be able to handle temperatures. You got to be able to— it can't be too bulky either because then you ruin it. Like, if it's too bulky, especially for kids, you're like, that's annoying to deal with. It's got to be washable. It's got to— there's so much. There's so much that goes into it. So I'm excited to see what you come up with.

You understand my problem deeply. Yeah, I think. And also, like, I never want to make something that doesn't solve a problem. So like when we first launched and, you know, we have this like huge audience. Everyone's like, oh, you guys should sell reusable bags and you should sell, you know, just regular metal straws. And it's like, I don't know. I think I'm a bad capitalist because I'm not, I'm not just trying to maximize profit. Like I'm not just trying to like slap our name on a reusable bag and sell it, even though it would sell and we'd probably make a lot of money with it. But I think that like ultimately every product I put out there, I want it to be better than anything that exists. And that's a pretty high bar. And it's also why we haven't put out a potato container or lunchbox.

It's funny, in the webinar I was just doing, this came up, is people are asking the question, how do you come up with a new product? How do you be successful? And one of the things that I point out to everyone and some of the other panelists were pointing out is like, You have to actually solve a problem. Like, yeah, you might make a quick buck, right? Just what you're saying. Like, yeah, you can make a quick buck, you can make some money, but when you're trying to build a brand and you want people to still like your brand and pay attention when you launch something that's really important, you gotta actually solve the problem. And if you do it and it's sustainable, 2 boxes checked. But you gotta solve the problem. You gotta solve a problem for someone. To really have a product that you feel good about too, right? You should, you should be able to wake up in the morning and go, I'm super happy that we're selling this product. This product is great. It's solving a problem. I know people's lives are better because of it.

Right. Not just some like Amazon dropshipping, you know, Alibaba scheme to like that, like every TikTok influencer is like trying to get you to do. And it's just like, Yeah, it's just so not my vibe and so not what I think the world needs. And, you know, I think when people— because I get so many people that come to me with ideas and like, you know, they want me to sign an NDA and they're like really cagey about it. And, you know, maybe people are listening and they're like, oh my gosh, how could you talk about your to-go container idea? Why wouldn't you keep that secret? And it's like, Okay. First of all, no one owns ideas. Like, ideas belong in the collective ether. And if this podcast inspires you to create the best reusable to-go container ever, freaking great. Like, I'm so into that. Ultimately, what it really comes down to is execution. And so I think what people kind of don't realize, and when they're very cagey about their ideas, is like, I mean, I'm not gonna wanna execute on your, like, I don't even know, like whatever of the most recent, you know, coffee maker idea that I've been recently shown. Like, like you have to be so passionate about a concept to bring it to life. It takes so much work and dedication and sleepless nights and long hours and like this never-ending fire that you have to maintain for yourself and for your team and And so I think like, I would recommend that people share their ideas, talk to people about it. Like, unless you're talking to someone who's like already deeply in the niche of your product, like, you don't need to worry that someone's gonna steal your idea. And because if they do, they're gonna do it their way, which is not your way. And if it's better, well then the world got the better idea. So. Yeah.

Especially when you're talking about a general Idea. You are right. The execution part is if you get into the super technical detail of this is exactly how I would do it and this is the way and this is the formula of the material, like, okay, don't share that. Like, that's okay. That's your specialized thing. Like you're saying, like, oh, I'm inventing a new coffee maker. Okay, great. That tells me nothing. There's nothing I can copy. Any more than you could copy. There's nothing I could copy off of that. That's just sharing what you're planning on developing. Like, I love that you're— you have this attitude of, oh well, if I inspire somebody, because I think it's— people overly worry about, oh, there's competition. If it's a really good idea, you want to have competition. Actually, if you're the only one, well, either aren't that great, like it's not a great market to start with, Or somebody's gonna be competing with you very soon. Like, that's—

Yeah.

And that's the reality.

Like, if it's a big market for whatever you're creating, I mean, as soon as we launched our Kickstarter, I think within one week we had knockoffs, and within a month we had tens of thousands. We are still making money on lawsuits, litigating, you know, these knockoffs. Wow. And it's, um, Yeah. 6 years later, like, it's freaking crazy.

Wow. Still making money off of lawsuits from people. Just, yeah. Word for everyone, don't just copy somebody else's idea. It's bad.

Right. And that's the thing. Like, if you get inspired by someone's idea, great. Like, make it your own and go for it. Like, we do need more competition. We need competition in, in every aspect of the market. Because ultimately, like, that's going to create the best products.

Innovation. Innovation is a product of competition because you come up with one thing and somebody comes out with their own version, and then you go, okay, well, I can actually make something better than that. But otherwise, there's no— it's hard to be motivated to come up with something better if no one is pushing. You can get— it's easy to get complacent.

Best thing already exists, then like find something else. You know, I come up with ideas Every day for a stupid product. Half the time they already exist. I go and Google it and I'm like, oh, that's already a thing. And the other half of the time, you know, I'll build out a deck and I start talking to people and, and kind of like fleshing out the concept. And it becomes like this question of like, is this something the world really needs? Like, is there, you know, a real market for this? Would people actually use it? And kind of diving into those deeper questions. But the ideas are meaningless. It's like really just, can you execute?

Yeah. Right. Something like the last time I went through the research, it's like 93% of ideas actually make it into, and then only about 3% of the ones that make it to a product are actually successful. When you look at it, you got to understand like the idea level, most of them are going to go away, but it's okay. It's part of, I think people get attached. People become, you know, they don't want to let go of it. But the idea is if somebody has a better idea out there, Just move on. Go come up with something else. It's not the end of the road.

Totally.

You're just, I mean, taking a turn.

People get so attached to their ideas. And yeah, I think that from being in this business for this long, I kind of maybe have a little more of a cutthroat approach to it all. And if you, you know, come to me and you're like, hey, I wanna talk to you about this idea, will you sign an NDA? I go, no. Like, If you wanna talk to me about it, great. Like, I'm not gonna steal your idea because I work in a very, very specific niche and like, that's it. I'm not gonna just go create like a, you know, iPad holder because it works. Maybe it's the best iPad holder in the whole world, but like, I just don't care.

Right. It's not your mission, it's not your focus, it's not on brand. which I think people also, they're like, oh, well you have a company and you can just go steal this. And I'm like, well, can, but I just put all this time and effort building a brand over here. Why would I not do something over here? Like, why, why would I need to go do something else? You can do that.

Totally. And granted, like, I am, you know, thinking about concepts now that I have a kid. Like, I am definitely thinking about other aspects where I'm interested in business, specifically around food. I just see such a huge gap in the market when it comes to like healthy food for kids that's like easy and—

Yeah. Convenient, healthy kid food.

Yeah. Like I—

That's hard.

So I, I'm like a little like homemaker over here. I'm, I'm out here making my own granola, but like when I go and travel and really see like what the options are at like high-end healthy food stores and there's nothing I wanna feed my kid, it's kind of like, whoa, this is a big issue. So yeah, who knows what's next? I definitely am working on a few concepts and yeah, just passionate about the health of people and our planet.

Yeah. I think if you keep those things in focus, it will— you'll only come up with new good ideas. So love that. That's the focus there. This has been, this has been a blast talking to you. It's great to get to dive into your head a little bit and how you think about things. Obviously come up with some amazing products that are doing very well, are helping people make an impact as conveniently as possible, which I want to just give you space to say, where should people reach out to? What's the best way to find you guys? Where can people find you the easiest? Best way to reach out to you? Maybe not to pitch a, uh, coffee maker idea to, but yeah, just that. And then anything else you wanna say to wrap up? Sure.

So you can reach out to us on Instagram @FinalStraw or through our website at finalstraw.com. You can reach out to me personally on my Instagram @EmmaSirena. And yeah, you can pitch me your coffee maker ideas. I, Love chatting with people about their ideas. Just don't ask me to sign it. There you go.

Perfect. Well, for everyone watching and listening, we'll make sure there's links for everything in the description. And Emma, this has been, this has been great. Love being able to chat with you and thanks for being on.

Yeah, thanks, Ian. It's great chatting with you.

And that wraps up another episode of the Conscious Design Podcast. If today's episode inspired you to bring your product idea to life and turn it into a sustainable 7-figure business, Visit petermanfirm.com or click the link below. Your ideas have the power to change the world, and we're here to help make that happen. Thank you for joining us, and I'll see you on the next episode.