Tips and Tricks For CEOs: Getting Free Media Exposure and Discounted Manufacturing with Claire Coder

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Yes, definitely. So my name is Claire and I am the 20 year old founder and CEO of Aunt Flow. Aunt Flow is a buy one, give one subscription box for 100% cotton tampons and pads. And I actually met Kwame in the startup scene here in Columbus, Ohio. I was really trying to figure out how to navigate this business area and business space. I was looking for somebody to guide me, and Kwame kind of came into my life. He had an awesome energy about him, and I was like, this guy needs to help me. And we call our people that identify as male that want to be involved Flo Bros. And Kwame is like the best Flow bro. He's like all about menstruation and like negotiating for menstruation and all of that. So, Kwame, you're an awesome Flowbro friend.

Thank you. I've never been described as somebody who is all about menstruation, but from you, I take that as a compliment. That's cool.

Yeah. Well, you know, I think there's different degrees of all about menstruation. And I mean, for somebody that has never menstruated before, I feel like you're pretty open to it and pretty excited about it.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Now, audience, now you can see why I love Claire. The energy she brings is awesome. And just she has an infectious personality. And now we're going to see how this infectious personality has been so beneficial to her business because she's doing some really cool things. So can you tell us a little bit about the TLC opportunity?

Yeah. So really excited. Aunt Flo has had the opportunity, or I have had the opportunity to be on a new television show called Girl Starter. And it is going to be premiering on TLC April 28, and it'll be on TLC every Friday night starting April 28 at 7pm Eastern. And the show is awesome. It is eight girls that are all competing to win $100,000 for their new business ideas. The show is sponsored by Staples and it is really amazing, an amazing opportunity to encourage young women and young girls to dream and act on those dreams and really get the job done.

That is so cool. And were you able to use any negotiation or persuasion techniques to move forward in the business? In the competition, Are there any that we should keep our eye out for?

When we're watching, you know, first episode, you will see how persuasive I am. I can't share too much about it, but we were selling something and I was using a lot of persuasive techniques to sell and to encourage or also really just get people to buy something that I'm not allowed to share yet. But definitely keep your eye out. The whole show is all about negotiating and persuasion. There's an undertone of negotiation and persuasion, I think, everywhere in everything that we do as entrepreneurs.

I love it. That is so cool. So everybody check it out. It's going to be really awesome to see Claire wheeling and dealing on this show. I could only imagine. I'm pumped for that.

I am, too. I can't wait to see it.

Cool. So one of the things I wanted us to talk about was your media strategy because you, my friend, are everywhere. And now tlc, for example, it's really cool. But when we were speaking about a month ago, I was really fascinated and impressed with how you were able to strategically get free publicity using some of these persuasion techniques. So can you tell us a little bit about that?

Yeah, definitely. So just a little bit of background. So we launched sales in November of 2016. And that being said, right now we've been in business for around five months. And in five months, we've been featured in over 50 local and national news pieces, news publications. We haven't spent $1 on marketing. It's all just been earned media. And that earned media has been able to elevate us as a company and elevate us as a brand and a primary educator in the industry. So the way that we were able to do this is of course through negotiation. And of course, like, people think, okay, pr, like, what are you negotiating? And PR is something that a lot of businesses kind of just hire somebody else to do, like hire a PR company or hire like an intern or something. But There are a lot of tricks that I kind of created and learned that can really work well, and I'm happy to share those too. Is this a good time?

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah. Okay. So regarding the negotiation and persuasion kind of stuff, so the strategy that I use is basically the stalker strategy. And it sounds kind of bad, but basically what I did for Aunt Flow is we kind of identified the publications that we wanted to be featured in. So our target market is menstruating women ages 25 to around 45. So what are they reading? They're reading Buzzfeed, they're reading Bustle, they're reading Refinery 29, InStyle, Teen Vogue, and Cosmopolitan. So we made our list of huge features that we want to be in and then we started the stocking strategy. So we found bloggers that would write about something similar to our industry. So maybe the tax on tampons. We would find that blogger and you could typically find the author. And then you can find them on Twitter, find them on Instagram, find them on LinkedIn. And once you find them on LinkedIn, you can then get their email address. And so there's like this six step approach. And Kwame, I think we've talked about it before. It typically takes six pings or six hits to get somebody to respond to you. So that might be emailing them, tweeting at them, following them on Instagram, like do something to them six times for them to notice. And so basically that was the strategy. So we found them. We would find them on Twitter, tweet at them, comment about their blog, and then kind of do a small pitch like, hey, have you heard about this really cool company doing xyz? And we would find something that would engage them. So each of our bloggers or each of the people that would write about us, we would send them basically like a period pack. So we'd send them like a free box of tampons, A free, like, badge pack. Like we have some really cool, outrageous badges with ovaries on them is awesome. And then like a poster or something to them, that's a lot. That's amazing. And to us, free publicity getting blasted out to hundreds of thousands of people is remarkable. And it pays for the like $20 that we put into making a period pack for them. So it's really just figuring out what they want and what we want and figuring out how we can play to their wants and to our wants. So, oh, you want a free box of tampons? Great. We'll send you a free box of tampons. And Here is something that you can share. Another quick tip that I learned. So, first of all, press releases are so out. Like, I don't know, we've never used a press release. We always just kind of cater our story in a two paragraph part of an email. And then in addition to that, we also learned that a lot of writers are actually freelance writers that write for a variety of different places and they get paid per story. So they could get paid between 25 to $150 for each story they submit. But me, as a person that has never written for that blog before, it might be really hard to get my story published. So if we write a story and give it to that author, then she can not spend any time writing for us. We write exactly what we want to be said and we like, we have it in our language and everything and then they just put their name on it and it's blasted out. Now, efficacy might be a little bit low on who actually wrote it, but for us, we want our story blasted. And for her or for him, for the writer, they want $125 for the story. So it's really understanding what they want and what we want and how can we make both of the worlds collide.

This is incredible. And this is really cool. Go ahead.

Well, I'm just saying these are the things that if you Google it, nobody talks about it or nobody shares about it because PR companies don't want people to know. And so they don't share these hacks. But then like entrepreneurs don't know and so you have to create your own way. Like that's entrepreneurship. And so I really just kind of had to figure it out as I went along. And it's not a hard process. I mean, some people have already figured it out, but once you figure it out, it's just like a plug and chug kind of thing.

Absolutely. Man, this is so cool. Okay, so there are three nerd things I want to pull out of this. So the first two are based on psychology. The last one is pure negotiation strategy. So the first one I want to point out is the mere exposure effect, which is a social psychological principle where simply being exposed to something multiple times makes you like it more. And so the fact that you are being strategic about pinging people at least six times on different social media platforms is really smart. Because simply exposing yourself to them, allowing them to know you, makes them like you more and like your story more and like your product more simply because they see you more often. So that's really, really smart. And then Also, you're triggering the norm of reciprocity, which is another social psychological principle where you give something to somebody and then they feel a sense of psychological debt to you. And so even if you know what the purpose of the gift was, we are humans, we just, it is still persuasive. And so you are coupling the mere exposure effect with the norm of reciprocity. They feel more obligated to give you something in return. And then lastly, you take the time, and this is a negotiation strategy to know your audience. You do the research. And so I really smiled to myself when you said you stalk them, because I do the same thing in negotiation. The listeners might remember me talking about the dating test. You need to learn as much about the person with whom you're negotiating as if you were trying to date them. You use the stalking test and I use the dating test. So we're, we're kindred spirits in that way.

Yes, definitely.

This is so smart. So what are, what are the biggest publications you've been in?

So to listeners, like we've been in Forbes and teen Vogue and InStyle, and those are big names. But the biggest return for us was actually being featured in hello Giggles. And hello Giggles is kind of like think of like Refinery29 BuzzFeed, like that style. But what was wild about the hello Giggles article is the writer took a very different approach to our story. And so instead of focusing on the buy one, give one or the 20 year old founder or the high quality products, they actually took part of our story that I really speak loudly about, that hasn't really been published. But that's the fact that we don't use the term feminine hygiene. We use the term menstrual products. It's more inclusive. It doesn't continue the taboo that menstruation is dirty. Because hygiene dirty, like yuck. Because menstruation isn't dirty, it's natural. And then of course, feminine is not really inclusive. So all of that combined, she really focused on that portion. And from that article alone, more people started to write about us because they were like, wow, this is something that we haven't heard of. Like people have heard of the buy one give one. People have heard that like typical tampons have chlorine and bleach and whatever and people have heard about 20 year old founders. But this, we are the only company that identifies as a menstrual product company. So this story was then shared by Zooey Deschanel and picked up by other writers as well and actually got us a Decent amount of new subscribers to our company as well. So it was just really interesting to be able to share a new story that really grabs the attention of new readers. One thing that I will also note, too, is once you start to share these stories through writers, you create a connection with those writers, and you can foster that connection. So the writer that wrote about us in hello Giggles, we can now go back to her and be like, oh, we're also launching this new thing. Here is a story that we wrote. Would you be interested in sharing it? And since we already sent her a gift and it's like that debt thing that you were talking about, since we already sent her a gift, since we already showed her that our articles are shareable and unique and exciting, she's like, oh, my God, of course I'll write about you again. And then we just created a super valuable connection for her repertoire and for our opportunity as a company to continue to grow.

I love it. This is really deep. It's so funny that this point that you made about the difference between a feminine hygiene product and using the term menstrual product, this was even over my head. And I did your trademarks. And what's funny is, like, I now remember because when I did the trademarks, we had to do it within the category of feminine hygiene products. But now that you say that, it makes sense. Why do we use the term hygiene and why does it need to be feminine? Because some girls might not identify with the term feminine.

And also, like, what does feminine hygiene even mean? Like, that could really be anything. If you think about it, it's not really descriptive at all. So that's really why we needed to make that movement as well.

Absolutely. You should make a pitch to the USPTO and see if they'll change the category.

Yes, I should do that. That'd be great. And then we can negotiate there.

That would be cool. Okay, good deal. And now one of the things that you're working on is figuring out the manufacturing side side. Can you tell the audience a few of the considerations you have there with regard to making sure you're getting the best deal and negotiating with potential manufacturers?

Yeah, definitely. So I'm sure there's listeners that are listening that have tried to start a product company or something other than software, where you actually have to get something made. And a lot of people don't. They're in the tech world. They don't think about this, or they disregard how difficult it is to get the attention of a large manufacturer because you're asking for Minimum order quantities. You're asking all of these very simplistic questions. Then they have like people that are ordering like 30 million pieces. And so of course they're going to respond to them first. So you're constantly put on the back burner. So we have really had struggled to get the attention of manufacturers that could make our 100% cotton, FDA regulated biodegradable tampons. Tampons and pads. So when doing this I would go online and I would research manufacturers and there's actually really only two large manufacturers that have all of the, all of the qualifications that we're looking for in a product. And so of course I'm reaching out to these manufacturers and there's a language barrier so I'm typing things in Google Translate and like translating in and sending it via email and all of that is going on. But there are a few things that's really stood out to figure out how to get the attention of these manufacturers. And Kwame, you actually brought this to light and it's the leverage that you have to have. So how can you really demonstrate that you are a company and not just like for me, not just like a 20 year old girl that dropped out of college to talk about tampons for a living. Like how can you show to the manufacturer that you are legitimate and that you are going to be able to provide them business for years to come. And so the leverage that we've had is of course our media. So we really leaned heavily on being featured in over 50 local news, local and national news publications. And now we're really leaning on this new TLC television show. And right now maybe we still are asking for the minimum order quantities, but at least we have something to show that we are legitimate. And I think the other really difficult part about communicating with these manufacturers that are overseas is of course they're trying to get the best bang for their buck. And we are too. And Kwame, I think you also mentioned like the first pricing sheets are always just suggestions and this I really took to heart. And you also talked about how these suggestions can be put against other suggestions. And you can say like, oh well, manufacturer X is offering me the price of $0.10 per piece, while manufacturer Y is offering me at $0.08 per piece. And whether or not they're actually offering that you can kind of like play them and see like will they actually drop and how much can you push. And so I think that those are a lot of different things to consider when discovering manufacturing opportunities.

Exactly. Yeah. Because the thing is everybody in the manufacturing game, they know each other, you know, so they are. They're familiar. And so it's like, if you go to their rivals, they are going to be incentivized to try and beat their rivals. And so if you show them the pricing sheet saying, hey, Company X did this. What can you do for me? They understand that this is a business decision. And like I said, the. The first term sheets that they give you are kind of just suggestions. That's where we're starting it off. But the thing is, a lot of people don't realize that, and they think prices are set in stone, so they just go with the cheapest one off the bat. But if you play them off of each other, you can save some serious dollars.

Right. And that, Kwame, that's what we're actually working on right now, too. You and I together. So I really do appreciate your insight and guidance on that and really helping understand how we can use our leverage and use the other manufacturers as a way to get more leverage and more opportunity to lower our final cost.

Exactly. And another thing that we spoke about last time we talked was the fact that the bigger the number, the more important the small numbers become. So I know day to day at my house, sometimes I find pennies, and I'm like, what am I going to do with this? I throw the pennies away. I'm like, I'm not. I'm not going to save this penny. It would cost me at least 2 cents of stress to guard this penny, so I'm going to throw it away.

Wait, timeout. Did you just say you throw away pennies? Like, you literally throw them in the trash can?

I throw. Yeah. If I'm cleaning, my goal is to clean, and pennies get in the way, so I throw them away. I'm like, whatever, go away penny. And so, so. But if I were a company, though, and we're talking about pennies, that is significant because over the course of time, those pennies add up to, at the end of the year, thousands, tens of thousands of dollars if you're not paying attention. And so there is a lot of value in paying close attention to these small numbers in big negotiations.

Definitely. I mean, like, right now, our cost per piece is between 8 to 15 cents. And like, if you're just throwing away pennies, like that difference of $0.07, like, whatever, here and there. But since we're selling like 100,000 tampons at a time, that can easily change. That can change our business model, and we can be profiting between a range now between another two to $5,000. And so that does really, really add up.

Exactly. This is cool. Well, I am happy for you because this is just the start. You've been at this for what, a year and a half now or something like that.

Yeah, I first pitched the idea in October of 2015, and then we launched sales just about one year later in November of 2017. And so now, yeah, now we've been in business, full sales for about five months. So still very, very young and working out a lot of different things, but we are flowing forward rapidly.

That is awesome. Okay, so before you go, let's give one piece of parting advice. What advice would you have for fellow entrepreneurs?

You know, honestly, it's one of those things where, like, you just gotta Google it. Right now we have so many different learning opportunities and people always ask me, you know, like, how did you figure out this? Or how did you learn how to do this and who did you talk to for this? And I'm like, you know what, Just Google it. Like, nobody is going to give you all the answers. And right now, more than ever, we have this huge search engine that can go through all of these databases and explore all of these different things that's basically doing the work for you. So. So just Google it. That's my advice.

I love it. Okay. And how can listeners stay in touch with you?

Yeah, definitely. So, of course, if you are interested in getting involved with Aunt Flo, menstruating or not, you can subscribe, get a box of tampons and pads delivered. You can buy some Aunt Flo swag. We have some really cool badges. You can also donate as well to support menstruators in need in the United States. If you want to connect with me and Aunt Flo, you can tweet at us @GountFlo. We're on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and then of course, you can always shoot me an email@clairauntflo.org that is Flo with a W and Claire with an aire.

Perfect. Oh, and before you go too, explain to the give one model too, because I know when you told me about the passion and reason behind giving away a tampon before, I didn't understand why that was such a big deal. So I think that would be cool if you could educate the audience on that point too, before you go.

Yeah, definitely. So, you know, tampons and pads are not covered by WIC. They aren't covered by food stamps. I mean, in 38 states right now, they're taxed with a luxury tax. And so if you are an individual that menstruates that's living at or below the poverty line, you're having to choose between food and tampons and pads. Because right now the average cost for a monthly supply is around $7. And like, that is like four meals for somebody that's living at or below the poverty line. And if they aren't covered by WIC or any government assistance programs, it's really, really hard to get access to these basic need products. Just imagine, like, if you are running and you fall down and you scrape your knee and you're gushing out blood and can't get a band aid, like that is basically menstruation, but for seven days a month. So that's why it's so important to be able to offer these products. And, you know, it's one of those things that people don't talk about, and so they don't think about making those donations and they don't think about offering them and providing them. And so that's why I founded On Flow, so we can not only just offer products, but start the conversation so that we can really make the change.

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