Brook & Rema - Co-Founders of Cup O' Sugar

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Welcome everyone to the Tacos and Talk podcast. I'm your host Neal Bloom and I am joined with a co host today, Amy Chang, entrepreneur and angel investor.

Hello.

Awesome to have you.

Thank you.

You were previously a co host and we did an episode with you and now you're co hosting again. We love it.

I love it. It's so much fun.

And we are excited to have with us two entrepreneurs, Brooke and Rima, co founders of Cup O Sugar. Thanks for being here.

Thank you for having us.

Brooke, you want to give us an overview of what you guys are up to?

Absolutely. Cup oh Sugar is a mobile app that allows neighbors to connect over sharing and requesting food ingredients. So essentially we are taking a old school philosophy and bringing it into the technological world that we live in using mobile technology and soon to have a web based version as well.

That's exciting and especially in these Corona times, very, very poignant to helping our neighbors and making sure everyone's fed. So we're excited to dive into that.

Yes.

So why don't we dive in and get to know both of you a little bit, I guess. One, how long have you both been working on this?

We've been working this since 2017. The app actually launched in the Apple App Store 2018, Earth Day, so April 22nd. So we've been going at it for the last few years and really building up a really strong following up in the San Francisco Bay area where I used to reside before moving back to San Diego.

And Rima, do you have, were you working on tech products before this?

No, actually I'm a founder of a clothing line company, so I was in manufacturing and we manufacture here in San Diego, so we do not have a tech background at all.

Interesting. How long have you been in clothing?

About seven years now.

How'd you get into it?

Necessity. Yeah, I started wearing hijab and there wasn't, there weren't many options out there for, you know, stylish, modest clothing on the market and I just decided to start my own.

You also sound like a serial entrepreneur.

We're trying.

Yeah, I mean, to speak to that. Were you doing, what were you doing before clothing? Were you also working on a company?

No, actually I, I was a sociology major and at the time I was a stay at home mom, so. But I come from a long family line of business owners, so I kind of grew up around that. And you know, having a business is not really a big deal in my family is like, well, everybody else is doing it. It's not really big of a deal. So. So yeah.

And Brooke, it sounds like you have a technology background a little bit. Where did you kind of come up or maybe not. Where were you working on previous to this?

Yeah, so I was actually in chiropractic school and that's why I moved to the Bay Area. So I, too, don't have a tech background. This whole thing kind of spun out of necessity. We both found ourselves in need. And I'm a super huge, like, food waste warrior. I hate food waste. I'm working on, you know, doing my part to reduce it. Rima, on the other hand, is really big into, like, you know, connecting community and having, you know, getting to know our neighbors. So when we found ourselves in a situation where we were missing a vital ingredient for a recipe we were making, you know, we. She ended up texting a neighbor she knew the only one person and was able to get the ingredients. So it kind of, you know, begun the wheel spinning. Like, if we had a tech offering, you know, then it wouldn't be as awkward to go knock on somebody's door or. Or so inconvenient to have to leave your house, load up all your kids, head to the grocery store and whatnot. So that's kind of where Cupo Sugar came from. We've learned a lot along the way in terms of just dealing with developers and the whole span of investors and pitching and doing all sorts of things.

So how'd you guys meet?

We met about nine years ago. Almost holistic moms meeting, and our kids were babies at the time, and we've been friends ever since.

Oh, wow, that's really cool. And obviously you met way before you had this idea. You each had your own pieces that you wanted that you were experts at when you brought this together. But, like, who approached who with the idea itself?

He approached me one summer when I was on vacation, and she's like, I have this great idea. And she told me briefly about it, and I was like, yeah, I'm in. Like, I had no idea that it would actually become reality. And here we are.

Hey, I'm just curious. What was the first, like, trade that you guys either made with each other or with somebody else on the platform? Like, what ingredient were you out. Out of? And, like, what did. What did you trade or ask for?

Okay, so we. The first ingredient on there was actually flour, which is kind of funny nowadays that we live in. I'm seeing a lot of Facebook posts, people looking for flour because it's the one thing in the store or in the grocery stores that they're lacking. So I'm like, wow, that is so interesting, because that's kind of like, what, you know, was. Was our first initial beginning.

So it was a need then, and it's still in need now. Yeah, we need more flour.

It wasn't as big of a At that point. But it was definitely more of a convenience factor then I think. Yeah.

It's taken me two and a half weeks to get flour on Instacart through a variety of places. So I absolutely can relate.

Right.

Jumped up the first 50 pound bag that I could.

Yes.

Which is a lot of flour.

That is. I think a lot of people are baking and doing all kinds of things in the kitchen.

So I should be able to put some of that on cup of sugar and offer it to my neighbors now, right?

Yep, you definitely can.

So I'm sorry, I have another question. How does this app work? Like do people pay a monthly fee.

To be on it?

Or I'm just. Or is it free or. I'm just curious.

So it's a free app to utilize. We use advertising to cover the cost of running the app and yeah, free to utilize, free to connect with your community.

I guess Instacart can advertise on there since people are clearly out of some items and that.

Actually, speaking of which, maybe I'm jumping a little bit ahead, but that is a bigger vision of ours as well, is building up these really tight knit communities and this good feeling of hospitality with one another that eventually Instacart can come to, you know, let's say like an apartment complex like one day a week and they're delivering to all of those people at one time versus going to your house and then the other person's house and you know, miles away where they're being able to like impact more.

So let's fast forward to now a little bit. Well, no, maybe take us through growth, I guess take us through initial launch who were originally using it to kind of. So today, like what have you seen in growth of who are the users?

Okay, so initially we started out with a target market of apartment complexes, college dorm rooms and like 55 plus, you know, like not like so far senior that they don't use technology, but enough to where they, you know, utilize it. And so we were working with a lot of property managers up in the Bay Area to do like community events and get their users on the platform. And we're able to grow or get 25 complexes on board with it. These are like big names like Equity Residential, a lot of Avalon properties, like ones that have properties all across the United States. So we're in the San Francisco Bay area. Well, with COVID 19 happening, we since have expanded more to offer it into more like suburb kind of communities, people that live in houses and that kind of stuff versus just, or just allowing People in hyperlocal areas to utilize it.

Got it. And so still being obviously used in the Bay Area, but now with you coming back to San Diego, you kind of launched locally to San Diego recently then.

Yes, yes.

And what are you seeing from just a new community, second community perspective, any difference in trends compared to the Bay Area?

No difference in trends. You know, people are still utilizing it for what it's designed to do. So no difference in that. Just people are not like three to four doors down. They're more like, you know, maybe a tenth of a mile or, you know, like for six houses down.

So I think the change that's happened since she's came over here was with COVID 19, it's been a lot easier to. We're not selling, but sell our product per se. People see more value in it now with, you know, things being closed down, with products not being available on the shelves all the time. So in that, in that way, we feel like it's kind of. We've been able to show more value to the app.

Got it. I'm just curious, so between the two of you, like, what are your two individual superpowers now with working on this day to day? Like, how are you splitting up, you know, what each are working on.

So Brooke has kind of taken over the technical management side and I kind of do more of the creative just because those are both of our strong suits at the moment.

And just the two of you are in it. But it sounds like you have some outsourced development of some sort.

Yes.

And it sounds like you may have a story there or two.

That was a process. So having no technical background, obviously finding a tech team to build out a product vision that you have, knowing nobody in the industry, knowing nothing about the lingo, the jargon, like all of that was quite the challenge. It took us about four to five months. After doing multiple different interviews, you know, we had like leads from friends like, oh, my friend can develop this or do that. So we interviewed quite a lot of people before we, you know, set foot on somebody. And they did a great job getting the initial app out in the Apple App Store, like I said. But they started dropping the ball probably about a year into it, and it felt like we were not a priority. Like it kind of just kind of things would happen and it would take weeks to fix. So we would have the tech up and then it would go down and then we'd have weeks of like, nothing. So that became an issue because obviously when you have a group of users on a platform and you're up and running and you're working and then you're not. You lose a lot of momentum. People are just like, well, this is not great. So we transitioned to another person who ended up not working out well. And now we're on our third and hopefully our last one. We're finding really great. This one is really great. You know, they're just really on top of it. They know what they're doing and, you know, very confident in what they're doing.

That's a great story, because it does seem like founders really struggle with finding the right tech support for them to, you know, build what they're doing. I was curious, how did you bootstrap this? Are you funding it yourself? Did you have to raise any investor money or, you know, friends and family? Because it's pretty impressive for, you know, two co founders or a company to actually, you know, have a working technology and app that's being used, you know, without raising money. So did you bootstrap it? I was just curious.

So we definitely bootstrapped. We also raised a friends and family round. So a good chiropractic friend of mine actually came in as the initial lead investor, which ended up an even greater story. Actually is the first development house that we used, there was a pay per week. Like, there was a weekly amount that we had to pay each week in order to get the app built. And honestly, like, Rima, do you want to jump in? I feel like you tell a better version of this story.

So the thing about me and Brooke is, like, she's a big risk taker. I'm not as big of a risk taker. And when we initially signed up for this development house, I believe it was about. Was it $1,000 a week?

Per week. Per week.

We're both single moms. We are, you know, so it's not like we have a bunch of cash that we're sitting on to just put into development. So Brooke was like, yeah, let's do it. And I was like, we don't have the money to do this. Like, how are we gonna do. She's like, let's just do it. We'll figure it out. And I was like, okay, we'll figure it out. So we go into development and maybe we were able to pay, like, a few weeks. And then at that point, like, we had no idea where we were going to get the money from. So they had some technical issue on their back end with their processing for their basic. Their processing platform had a problem. We didn't have to pay A dollar. Until the app was actually on the apple store on iOS. They were not able to figure it out. It kind of, like, was bypassed, and we paid everything at the end when our app was completely finished. So it was a lot easier for us to ask an investor, like, hey, we actually have this app. Would you like to be an investor? As opposed to, hey, we have this idea that is, like, up in the air that, you know, so it's. It's a pretty. It's a pretty interesting story. You know, kind of like Brooke is, you know, she's always kind of like that person. Like, it'll work out. It'll work out. And it definitely did.

So that's pretty awesome because sometimes the universe just, like, works in your favor. So it's, you know, it's great to hear that. Thank you for the answer. Oh, and I love the fact that you guys are single moms, because it's. I think sometimes, like, you know, when you're single mom, it's just even harder to feel like you want to take a risk. And there's a lot of single moms out there who are entrepreneurs, and, you know, it's not that easy. So. What a great story. Thank you.

And you easily could have said, oh, a thousand a week, let's not start. And you never even gotten into that. Right. And then never started getting built.

I would have said no. Like, I said, like, Brooke is a big risk taker, which is, like, something that I appreciate and love about her. And we're always able to, like, push through these blocks because of that.

So that's awesome. So what do you see with Coronavirus now? Like, what do you see kind of the rest of the year looking like, anything different you guys are doing from development? Raising new funds, building a team. Like, what does the company look like now going forward?

Going forward, yes. We're definitely raising more funds. We're building out a stronger, you know, executive team and really just working on taking the, you know, the next. Over the next 90 days, building a lot of momentum. This is such a prime time for Cupo sugar to shine. And, you know, where there's, you know, problems, there's obstacles, and we're. I mean, there's. Where there's obstacles, there's opportunities, and this is an opportunity for us to really, you know, make a. Make a huge impact, connect more people and reduce food waste all in one shot.

That's awesome. So, Brooke, you're back in San Diego, quarantining here in town, which we hope ends soon so that we can. The Co founders can get together and work more, I'm sure.

Right.

But while you're here, I mean, do you have some favorites that you were missing before? Like favorite taco place or anything like that that you're now like, yes, I got it. I'm back in San Diego. Can get them.

So I was laughing because your intro said both of my favorites, which is taco stand and puesto. So kudos to you on getting those. But yes, those are my faves.

Awesome. When you say it in that order, I immediately hear the rest of the line. Taco Stan and puesta, lucha libre and sombrero.

There you go.

How about rima? Do you have some local taco favorites?

Those are my favorites as well. We always go there together. We go to the location down here. When we're up in Encinitas, we go there.

So yeah, that's great.

What else are during quarantine times? What else are you missing? What are you guys gonna go do as soon as we're back out at it? Besides, maybe these two taco stands. Oh, doesn't have to be tacos. Can be anything you're missing. Coffee. Any other kind of local favorites?

Phil's Coffee.

Phil's Coffee is definitely a good one. Better buzz. Yeah, I don't know.

Yeah, those are good. Phil's in Encinitas, I'm sure. Sounds like another place you guys meet up.

Yes.

Well, where can people find Cupo Sugar? Is it just directly from the App Store right now or where else can people find out more information about it.

So they can go? Yes, it's in the App store only the iOS app store. Android, hopefully soon. Like I said, we're building the web version so that will be out before Android. So any Android users can use the web version. In terms of social media, we're on Instagram. It's CupoSugarApp on Instagram. Same on Facebook, Twitter. Our website is CupoSugarApp.com they can find more information there and connect with us.

Awesome. Thank you guys both so much for being here. Thanks for creating an invaluable resource, not just during quarantine times, but really for reducing waste and building community. We're really excited to watch it grow and help in any way. So thanks for being on.

Thank you for having us.

Thanks for joining us on the Tacos and Tech podcast with Neil Bloom. Thanks again to Cox Business for helping make this possible by expanding the reach of the San Diego tech ecosystem. Big shout out to School of Rap for our rad intro music. And thanks as well to Nest Podcast network where we are recording live inside their studio at Nest Co working in Bankers Hill. You can find Neil Blum on Twitter eealbloom as well as fresh brewed tech and tacos and Tech Pod on Twitter too.

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