YouSaid · the spoken record

Monique Rodriguez

lines on the record: 87
first: 2023-05-15
most recent: 2023-05-15
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“I can believe that he's going to give me all the necessary tools, the resources, the people, the access. It's not for me to know how all of this is going to work, but it's for me to just trust the process and allow him to guide me along the way. And then I know that I can't just expect for things to just fall on my lap. You have to go out here and you have to work for it. So a combination of me going out there and going to these networking events, meeting people, challenging myself, stepping out of my comfort zone. I feel that God sees that and he sees me putting the effort forth and he's going to match the effort. You are creating your life. You are co-creators with God. And if he sees you putting one foot in front, he's going to help you put the other foot in front of the other. And that's how I like to live.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You know, honestly, I think it's 50% faith and 50% hard work. I don't think you can have one without the other. Like, you have to be able to step out and believe in yourself, believe in God, and know that, you know, if God gave me this vision,”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Access to more, you know, with the advanced technology, the access to the unlimited resources, like you said, the marketing, the media, the innovation, that's something that we wanted to unlock. You know, the whole goal is to create legacy. And I felt that partnering with PNG, the name Mael, the brand, the heart and soul of the brand, the legacy will continue on for generations after generation. So my great grandkids will go in the store and they will still see Mayo there because of the unlock of resources and access that we now have with working with a major global company like PNG.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, and I think the path is still to become a massive independent company because, you know, with our partnership with P&G, we are operating as an independent subsidiary under PNG. So we are operating as a standalone. So the company still in Indiana, PNG has not came in and hired a new CEO. It seems like nothing has changed. Now we just have”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And we wanted to like help shift mindsets and change that narrative so even if they didn't invest in us when they sit down with the next Monique and Melvin Rodriguez, it's not a shock factor. It's more normalized and they'll believe in that company that much more because of like what Monique and Melvin have done with Mayel. So all in all, we narrowed it down after speaking to all of those people to partner with Berkshire because they were the firm that was really aligned with our vision. They had an amazing track record. They really helped us scale and grow and get to our ultimate dream. And that was to partner with a conglomerate like P&G.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Do I deserve to sit here? Like, am I saying the right things? And, you know, but again, it was a challenge. I pushed myself. The other reason why we talk to all of these firms was because it was so exciting to these firms to see a black owned company that was very profitable, that had such growth. And they had never seen it before. And that's like the sad part about it.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Exactly determine the terms. Exactly. And so that always stuck with me. So when we started seeing all of this growth in 2020, I told my husband, I think we should raise another round. And so once the firm has found out that we were looking to go out and raise, like they were chomping at the bits to like get to us. I mean, we spoke to over like 60 different private equity firms that were all interested in speaking with us. And when I tell you like, I was so exhausted. I was so drained because I'm like, I have to tell the story again. I was so nervous. Because, you know, I also, I suffer from imposter syndrome.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, we were there because we waited and we were there because we also went through the rejection and not having money and looking for people to invest in us. What I did, I failed to mention is that in 2018, before we received the investment from Rich Lou, when we were upside down, we were in talks with an investment group for almost about a year. And this investment group, like they were going to invest in us and waited until like the last hour to pull out and not invest. And I remember previous CFO when we were going through our challenges in 2018. I remember like a word of wisdom that he told us and he said, you know, the best time to raise money, you know, is when you don't need it. And so that always stuck with me.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And when he told me that, I was like, okay, it's go time. So I kept my foot on the gas pedal and I understood that I needed to pivot. And so I said, okay, what are people doing? They're going to be at home. They're going to be on their phones watching TV, but mostly they're going to be on their phones. So I told my team, I said, we need to be the brand that shows up every time they're on their phones. So we increased our content and let's focus on you still need to be beautiful just because you're at home doesn't mean that you don't take a shower and you don't comb your hair. You still get up. You still beautify yourself because you still want to feel good and confident even when you're at home because that's going to make you feel better.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“We experience for its growth during the pandemic. So when I tell you we close with Richelieu with new voices in the February, the pandemic happened like a couple of weeks later and I was scared. I'm like, okay, we just took all this money. Now we can't like what do we do? We had this like 200 and something page marketing plan. We can't do any of the things that we said we were going to do on this marketing plan. Like how are we going to continue to sell product? The stores are closed. And I remember reaching out to Rich and I said, what do you recommend? And he was like, keep your foot on the gas pedal.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yep. On the outside, looking in, like, you know, it looked amazing. But when you lift up the hood and you looked underneath the hood, everything was jacked up. We had to learn the hard way, and it really humbled us. And so we appreciate and understand the importance of having a good CFO, a good accountant, because it makes a world of a difference. So when we got to the point of having new voices invest in us, that's how horrible our books were looking. So we needed that to stay afloat.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“We ended up spending a lot in marketing and retail. And this is where, like, you know, understanding your balance sheet, profit and loss statements, like even though my husband, like he's overfinanced now, but when we first started, like we didn't really have a good understanding of like how to run a business. So we were literally spending and not monitoring like what was going out and making sure that we were profitable. Top line was great. The company was growing. Like you said, we were in a hundred thousand stores. So on the outside looking in.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Because we were not Because it was a healthy enough profit margin where we were able to do good things. Once we got into retail, our profit margins were like slash in half because remember we went into retail with the steel, the high cost of goods. And all of the other fees that are attached were like retail.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Shea Moisture. And then, of course, one of my mentors is my sales broker. Like we still have a relationship to this day. So, you know, recommendations from people that have been in this beauty space, I would make a lot of connections there as well”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, it's hard to find people now, honestly. Yeah, so I think that the challenge in the very beginning was not knowing what to hire. I mean, we kind of just started with like where we knew that we were drowning. Customer service was like one of the first positions that we hired for because I was doing customer service in addition to marketing. And then once we started to grow and get bigger, again, it's like, you know, meeting people going to events, finding people on social media. And then, you know, I started growing more. I started meeting like mentors. So like Richard Ludennis is like one of my mentors, founder of.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Exactly. Like Walmart is the biggest retailer in the world. And if you mess up, you don't get a second chance. That's why I say being self-aware is so important and being aware of like where you are in your business. And we knew at that moment we were not able to afford to like keep up with their demands. You know, I tell a lot of entrepreneurs, it's okay to say no. It's about timing, and sometimes it's not the right time for you to say yes to what may look enticing, but it may very well not be what you need at that moment. And if we are the brand that we say we are and we know that we're going to grow how we say we're going to grow, then Walmart will come back the next year and they came back the next year.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Oh, yeah. So honestly, all the retailers that we're in, like we never approached them. They all came to seek after us. So once Target got whim of what was going on in Sally's, we get the call from Target like, hey, we want to meet with you all. We got the call from Walmart, and funny story like the call that we got from Walmart, we turned them down the first year. We didn't go into Walmart until like the second time that they reached out to us”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“At that point, so he quit his job in like 2016 because I quit six months after starting. He quit like a year later, so he really tried to hold on because he just knew that he was going to keep his corporate job and help build his brand. And it was to the point where the brand told him like, no, you're not going to have time to do this. You're going to focus on this brand and leave that job.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, so the first year we did about 300, I think it was 360 or 70,000. That was the first year. Year two, we did 2.7 million.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, there are 3,000 stores. So they went to every store and it got to the point where our customers were harassing the store managers. They were calling corporate. They were angry because they were saying that she announced that she was going to be in Sally's on social media and we can't find our products. And so it got all the way up to like Sally's corporate office where they called the same broker that initiated all of this and they asked her, they said, can you please call the Mayo team? Please tell them to stop their efforts on social media because it is really causing chaos in our stores and we can't keep up. So, long story short, we went from 95 stores to 3,000 chain-wide in less than six months, and that has never happened to a new brand”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“This is why you Absolutely, it does not. People think it's nice and pretty to say I'm on shelf, but listen, you are a small fish and a big pond. And you're competing against people that have way larger budgets that can pay to be on those shows and can kick you off of those shows if they want to. So we launched in 95 stores and we listed every store on our website. We communicated that on social media. And I remember we were preparing to go to a trade shows February 19th, 2016. The reason why that date never leaves my head because that was a day that like It was like crazy in the stores.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So we don't know if we actually knew how much we needed. I think that we just knew we needed a lot of money. So my husband, when he worked at UPS, He built a relationship with one of the contractors that provided services for UPS, and they became friends. And this was like, you know, well off guy. And so when we needed the money, my husband's like, I know the perfect person to call. And so he called his friend and basically like showed him the same type of analytics or website and his friend was also blown away. He was like, wow, you guys are growing like this. And you just started. And we were like, yeah, but here's the dilemma. We're about to go into retail. We have this offer on the table. We're launching in the 95 stores, but we need the money to support it. And so his friend gave us a loan for $250 grand.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So it was like timing is everything because the previous manufacturer that we were working with in Chicago that was very small, they could not keep up with our supply and demand just with our online orders. And then connecting us with a manufacturer that allowed us payment terms. We started off with like 30-day terms. And so that allowed us more flexibility with like, you know, our money. But then we knew that like we needed to support the retail shelf because it's very expensive to go in retail. You have to pay them for like there's a percentage of like their marketing and what they're going to do to support your brand. So you're paying for that. So there are like a lot of different factors and numbers that were coming off top. And looking at our numbers and our balance sheet, we're like, okay, we're not going to be able to afford all of this. Now we need a loan.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, and I knew that was the next question because when we knew that we were going into Sally, so that was in the summer of 2015. Remember the trade show that I mentioned that I was at. That I met someone that connected me to the manufacturer that we currently work with today.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“But Sally's were like, you know, we're gonna test you guys in about 95 stores because you guys are new. And I'm like, hey, I'm just happy to be in 95 stores.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes. So, what's so special about that moment is because like now they're teenagers and they were a part of like the beginning to see their mom following their dreams”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And so we're like, hey, we're just gonna make it happen. And so we ended up bringing our kids to this meeting and we sat in Sally's corporate boardroom. And I remember telling my kids, I'm like, this is a very important meeting. Just sit in the corner, keep your hands crossed. Don't say a word. Hope you had a lot of crazy.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So we get a call from a this broker and she goes, Hey, Sally's, they're very interested. They heard about what you guys are doing on social media. They are very excited about this brand. They want to meet you guys. And, you know, we were like, oh, okay, well, we're already in Dallas, but, you know, we're here with our kids. And, you know, we don't have a babysitter and we don't have anything to wear. And she was like, they're like, bring your kids to this meeting. They really want to meet with you guys. And I'm like, how do we go to this corporate meeting and we're bringing our kids? They're like, you know, five and nine. I'm like, they're not going to sit still.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And so my husband was like, Oh, well, give me her number, I'll call her. Because again, like my fear was like the fear of rejection. Like, I didn't know what to say to her. So I kind of just let like my own fear and doubt keep me from calling her or keep, you know, I was procrastinating. My husband, like, he is extroverted, and he's very persistent. So I'm gonna call this lady. I'm gonna see what she's talking about. He calls her, she flies out to Chicago, and she comes to see like, we put together like this little mini presentation. And it was really just like our analytics of like how we were selling online. And the chart that we showed her like literally blew her mind. And she was like, this is just unbelievable. Wait, you guys started and you started this year? Yeah, we were like, yeah, we started in May. And she was like,”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So, the beauty supply owner calls me again. She's like, Did you call her? Like, I told her that she was expecting your call. And, you know, I probably got distracted, busy. I still didn't call the lady. So the third time she gets on a call with my husband and I, like, we happened to be on a call together. So she puts me on blast in front of my husband. She was like, yeah, I've been telling Monique to call this lady. You know, she has a great connections with retails. And the way your products are moving in my store, like, you guys should really just entertain her and give her a call.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Extremely hard to get into retail, like, and the funny thing is, I didn't even realize how hard it was because it kind of like fell into our laps. We had built up so much great momentum. We were selling product like hotcakes and we had a lot of social media buzz and this was only year one. And we were also selling in like, you know, your mom and pop beauty supply stores. And so it was a black owned beauty supply store that had called me and she was like, you know, your products are just selling crazy in this store. I need to introduce you to this lady and she has like all the retail connections and she can help get you into like the major stores. And so I kind of just like blew her off, and I was like, okay, yeah, just give me her number. And I took her number, never called the lady.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And I said, okay, Monique, here's your chance. Don't blow it. Just say it. And so I raised my hand. When I tell you, like, I was probably sweating under my arms. I was so nervous, but I forgot what question I asked. But the last thing I said to her was, and I just started a product line. It's called MyLow Organics. And it's for natural hair. And I see that you have natural hair. And she was like, yes, I have natural hair. Just meet me on the side. And let me try your product. So then I followed up a week later and, you know, we ended up doing a contract together. And so she became the first influencer. But it happened because of me getting out of my way and not being afraid to say something.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“She was neither. She was just, she was on a reality show. And she just had really beautiful hair. I knew that I'm like, she has beautiful hair. She starts talking about what she's doing with her hair. And she starts talking about it with my product. People are going to buy my product because of her. And so my friends, they were game. They were like, okay, we'll drive to Detroit with you. And so I had set up a table. It was a booth display. And she was speaking and then they opened.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, so honestly, I had to learn how to get out of my own way. That's number one. So I'll just use this as an example. So the first influencer that we worked with was, I guess she was a celebrity influencer at the time. And I saw that she was going to be at this beauty event. And it was in Detroit. You know, I'm in Chicago. So I called my friends and I'm like, we're going to drive to Detroit. I want to go to this event because I want to talk to this influencer and I want to just give her my products and just see if she likes it.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Mean, you know, at that time, it was a lot of money to me when I look back, I'm like, no, that wasn't a lot of money. But I would say I probably, I think my first influencer was like $3,000 per post”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, off of Instagram, and I found her at about six months, and I knew that influencers was a huge part of my strategy of like bringing on people and, you know, finding brand ambassadors and micro influencers that we can work with. And she helped me secure like one of the big influencers that I had worked with at that time.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“For the first year, it was yeah, it was me and Melvin, and then we had brought on, we started working with like an outside contractor that was like doing marketing for us. Because all of the marketing that was like me just doing it just.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Some of our marketing that we did early on was a connection made at a trade show. So, you know, it's just getting out there and networking and, you know, just showing up every show that we did, you know, even though we didn't have a lot of money. You can tell that we put a lot of love and effort into our displays and how everything looked. People would just come over and talk to us and want to learn more and figure out how they can help us scale. And they also found out that we were actually real cool people and very humble people that, you know, they wanted to work with. And so a lot of the connections came from consumer trade shows and also B2B trade shows.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“We did a lot of trade shows in the beginning. So, as I mentioned, I would go online and find different workshops that I could attend. I would also, you know, join these like natural hair communities and all of these natural hair sites. And so I was able to meet and connect with a lot of great people just by going to trade shows. One of the manufacturers that I work with today, I met someone that introduced me to them at a trade show.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Oh, yeah, our ingredients and our packaging was very expensive. But we were able to do okay because there was no middleman. So we were able to generate a decent amount of profit in the beginning. But, you know, everything that we generated, you know, we bootstrapped our company for so long until we got into retail. But as long as we were like online selling direct to consumer, we were doing okay, but we just invested that right back into more product and marketing.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Maybe all the people that supported and bought from me, they were probably all my followers. And they don't need to buy any more oil, so now we got to like wait till they come back to be repeat customers the next day more oil sold the next day more oil sold And I will tell you from the day that we launched May 23rd, 2014, we have not gone a day without having sales on our website.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yep, so yeah, it was just me and him. And I remember he had said in the car because we were driving home as the orders were coming in. And he's like, what is in this oil? Like, what did you do? I was like, I don't know, but we're on to something. So let's go home and pack these orders. And so that was the first day that we launch. And I was not expecting orders to come the second day because I'm like, okay.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, not a lot at all. And I just didn't let that discourage me because I felt that like if I can just grow and sell a great product, the best way of marketing is word of mouth. If they like the product, they're going to come back and buy more and they're going to tell their friends about it. So I really focus on like the benefits of the product and show the results. So the day that we launch, even though I started with one product, which was an oil, it sold out.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yep. And I would take Everyone, whoever was following me, I would take them on the journey of me creating this product. So I made people feel like they were apart. And people tell me to this day, like, I remember when you were testing samples in the lab because they felt like they were apart. Which product looks the most enticing to you? Like, I would ask questions, and that's how I became curious to know, like, you know, what does my audience want? Like, what are they looking for? Like, what are some of the problems and the issues that they're facing? Because if I can understand their problems, then I know that when I launch a product, the product is going to be a solution to their problem”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I like to say that it was like on Lailway. So every time I got paid, I would probably take the majority of my paycheck and pay for something. So if this week I needed to get my website done, okay, I would tell the web designer, well, I get paid on Friday. If I owe my website designer 500, I will budget to pay him or her $500. And if I needed to order some more inventory or products, that would probably cost me like another, like, let's just say $500. So I knew that by Friday, when I got paid, I'm going to be left with whatever and I'm going to divvy that up on something else that I need and then pay my bills and take care of my kids. So that's kind of how, like, up until I was able to gather everything that I needed to have in order to launch when I launched in May.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, so at that point, I knew that I needed to find a chemist because, of course, I have a science background, but I'm not a chemist. So I knew that I needed to find a chemist that can help me actually to create formulas that work for the hair. And that's how I started. So I found a local manufacturer to bottle it, package it. And I think I started with like silk print at the time because I think it was cheaper.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“The base cake got it. Got it, got it. So sometimes if you put essential oils directly on the scalp, it can burn and irritate the scalp. So, you kind of have to dilute it with something, almond oil has a lot of protein in it, and I decided to mix it with like peppermint oil because peppermint is an essential oil and I wanted to use the almond oil as a carrier oil. And so with my first product, the almond oil, like I would show how my hair would be so shiny. Like I would show how I would use it in my hair regimen, how I would use it as like a hot oil treatment. I would literally everything that I did on my hair using it, I would post. Like everything”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, so my first product was an oil because as black women, we're always oil in our And so one of the oils that I started with really focused on scalp. And I knew that like the foundation of healthy hair is having a healthy scalp. So I decided to, one of the carrier oils was almond oil.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes. Right? Yep. Yep. So I have my first daughter is Mia Gabrielle. My second daughter is Mackenzie Ariel. So they both have L at the end of their middle names. And I like to say that they're mines. They're my L's. But in actuality, like, it's really a combination of all my kids' names. My son name was Milan.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Just focus on the product. And the thought was well, if I can create products, I can just do that in my home, just make it and sell it, and it'll be a happy day. And I don't have to deal with anybody.”
2023-05-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Mielle Organics: Monique Rodriguez · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT