YouSaid · the spoken record

Susan Griffin-Black

lines on the record: 107
first: 2019-07-15
most recent: 2019-07-15
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

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“That's Leah Hyphitz. She and her two partners, Matt and Max, are the founders of Barnacle Foods. If you want to find out more about the company or hear previous episodes, head to our podcast page, how Ibuildis.npr.org. And of course, if you want to tell us your story, go to build.npr.org. And thanks for listening to the show this week. You can subscribe at Apple Podcast.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“But since they went into business three years ago, Leah, Matt, and their other partner have been able to steadily grow the business. They're now harvesting, canning, and cooking bulk full-time. They sell it online, and in about 150 stores, and guess what? Last year, they made $350,000 in revenue, selling bulk help.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And I can report that some people on our team have tried the salsa, and they say it tastes pretty good with just a slight aftertaste of the ocean. Anyway, soon after they launched, Leah and Matt won $40,000 in a startup competition and used that money to get their products into some regional grocery stores on the West Coast. But doing all of this from Juno, Alaska, it's pretty tough.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Like other types of seaweed, kelp is full of nutrition, and it can be made into all kinds of things like pasta and jerky, even butter. So anyway, up in Juneau, Leon Matt started to sell their bulk help salsa and pickles at farmers markets, and people kind of took to it.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And it turns out Bulkelp can also be pickled or cooked into salsa. So whenever Leah and Matt brought one of those five gallon buckets home,”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Leah describes bulk help as bounty because it is totally edible. Bite into it raw and it has a consistency of a bell pepper.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“This is Leah Hyphitz, and for years she and her partner Matt would get into an aluminum skiff and go fishing out in the Pacific.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That Susan Griffin Black and Brad Black, founders and CEOs of EO Products. The company now employs more than 140 people at their headquarters in San Rafael, California, which, by the way, used to be a special effect studio owned by George Lucas, even filmed a few scenes for Star Wars Inside. Today, the company churns out more than 50 products, including their signature, lavender oil. Susan recommends a few drops of it in the bath before bedtime for restful sleep. Hey, thanks for sticking around because it's time now for how you built that. And today, our story starts in the cold northern waters of Juno, Alaska.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“We've been really privileged to be able to live our lives and meet that in our work with shared values. It's exceptional and it's a beacon to show that it's very possible if we can do it. You can do it.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Brett, what is it about Susan that allowed for this to happen? There was a And to be able to be there. What do you attribute your success to? The success of this business to all the hard work you put into it and the blood, sweat, and tears or your intelligence or luck? Susan, how about”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I'm going to ask both you the same question. Susan, first to you What do you think it is about Brad that enabled this torque? Like what is it about him that allowed you guys to stay friends and business partners and to work through the pain and stuff? What do you think?”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You know, the other part of this is the business is part of our life. It never was separate. And so You can look at the success of the business and you can also look at the success of our relationship, our family. So it really has enabled us.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I have to imagine that certainly in the last few years you've been approached by all kinds of bigger companies who want to buy you.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“We use many of the same ingredients, however, instead of using a rose, essential oils we may keep it to citrus. or instead of putting in a lot of extracts, which are expensive as well, we would do a much smaller amount. So we simplified formulas. In addition, our margin is less.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And how are you making it less expensive? Because you're buying expensive ingredients. So, how are you able to make a more budget-friendly product?”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yet it was a larger format product. And our son's in a band, and the band came home, and they had all these really awful products in the bathroom when I went in. And I was like, have we taught you nothing? Like, you know, what are these products? And they'd be like, EO is too expensive. And We needed big soap, and then at the same time, Brad was hearing from a lot of Whole Foods buyers that we, you know, we needed a large size value sort of proposition. So we started a second line called everyone. And that really just took off.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah. When you started to get into places like Walgreens and Walmart and Target, what did that mean for I don't just like could you meet the demand? I mean, even with your small little place?”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“We were on, you know, sort of a parallel path with all the natural food stores, Whole Foods was growing at a really hefty clip. That was such a natural venue for us because people were buying into the same beliefs about health and well-being.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You're officially divorced, and presumably it's still not easy. But the business really starts to take off. I guess around this time, Walgreens and CVS and Walmart start to express interest in carrying your products. And what explains that?”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“The other thing I think that's important is that there was no other person involved. So we didn't have to navigate that sort of betrayal. So I think that because we were parents, that it didn't alter life, daily life, that much.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“The first two years were tough. And certainly the first six months were the hardest. And absolutely they said that. For me, it just never got that bad. Like there was a lot of demand on me to make it that bad, be it family or culture or, you know, or what have you. Oh my gosh, you got divorced. This is the path that you go down yet. If all you're doing is you're looking to get through this day as best you can, it does shift the perspective a little bit.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It's just a remarkably adult and mature decision. Like, it speaks to the kind of people both of you are. I'm just wondering, what are the people in the office feel? What was the atmosphere? Was it tense? Were people like, this is weird? How did your employees respond?”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I think we decided there's no reason to take down the house. I mean, our personal relationship wasn't thriving. Our business... Is our kids are so what is the best way, you know? And we understood our options. We could have sold. We could have bought each other out. We could, you know, we had options. Yeah.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I think people are hearing that are going to just be shocked. You guys are sitting there together talking so wonderfully and fondly about each other, and you're divorced. Two thousand seven, you guys split up, you divorce. I've never heard of a story like this in my life. Not only are you Business, so you divorce and you guys decide what you say, this business is going well, let's just keep it going, is that what happened?”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Sure yes and it was helpful at times and I think it was definitely helpful long term because we can still refer back to how to work things out and how to smooth out our differences. We also, I think, individually did a lot of personal work. And got to a place where we couldn't make it work. And so we separated and then divorced.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So, you guys have this really cool business that you started together. You're raising two kids, you're growing, you got 35 products, yeah, you're still small, but you can see where this is heading. And how did you guys do as a couple? How was your relationship going?”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, because everything I saw and that we saw of companies that took private equity money, and especially if they sold the majority, they didn't have control anymore. And we always joked that the first thing they would do is take that rose essential oil that costs $850 a kilo that we use very, very sparingly, but very beautifully. And they would take that out right away. And we've watched the consolidation in personal care and in natural personal care over the years. Been a consistent thing of changing the product slightly or not really taking care of the brand and its original intention. And there were a lot of unhappy people and not a lot of success stories.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I mean, first of all, we've had companies on the show that have gone to VC because they want to scale fast and they want to be first out the gate and they need the money to really grow fast. And I have to assume then and maybe even now you could pretty easily get that money. Was there a reason why you didn't want to do that?”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And you never really raised massive amounts of money. You always kind of hundred thousand, two, three, four hundred thousand there, I think a million dollars at one point, but you never went for series A, Series B, Series C.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And you were still pretty small, right? I think in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, you were probably doing, what, a million dollars, two million dollars in gross sales?”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So the way that it was working for, I don't know, maybe it was years is that I would get up at the crack of dawn and get to work between five and six. And Susan would take care of the kids in the home in the morning and she would come in at nine or ten. And then I would pick up at three or four and Susan would stay until six or seven. And that's really what the routine was.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Wow. So at this point, you have the factory how many products around 2,000? How many products, different products were you making?”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And you're in Whole Foods. Like, if you were to walk into a Whole Foods in 2000, And you saw a couple of EO products available. When people walked into grocery stores and they see a product available, I think most people assume, oh, that's a big company or the people involved in that company must be doing really well. In 1999-2000, were you guys able to pay yourselves really good salaries? No.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, they came to our place of business and at that time we had a 3,000 square foot space and they came to visit and they just couldn't really believe that we were manufacturing everything there because it was 3,000 square feet, right? Yeah.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I mean, that's when your accountant is telling you that, the person who knows your finance is better than anyone else. Really bad”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, no, I think that this was a close one. This was should I get a job? Should one of us get a job to just smooth out whatever was coming, you know? I mean, our accountant was like, you know, he did advise us to maybe fold and get a job.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I mean, when you say you were sunk, you lose Mervyn's. You lose this account. What does that mean? How close were you to the business just like crumbling?”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“With the first meeting, I think I was nursing. Lucy, I remember being in that room presenting, having a baby. This woman was, I don't know, in her late twenties, and she was not responding to anything that we were saying in a positive manner.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Alright, so 1997, you get into Whole Foods kind of a big deal. Seems like you guys are really turning a corner, but I guess later that year or around that time, like your biggest account, which was Mervin's, they kind of were like, yeah, we think we're going to stop buying from you. Is that true? Is that what happened?”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, or why aren't you carrying EO products? And they finally started carrying our products. And then one Whole Foods led to the next. So I think maybe the buyer changed at Whole Foods and, you know, it was very sort of buyer-centric if they liked you and they wanted to carry you. That was their decision. And that's how Whole Foods ran.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“We went to our local Whole Foods in Mill Valley and they turned us down and then we did some gorilla marketing. We would like whole foods and say, hi, do you have EO? They'd be like, no. We're like, oh, you should carry it. It's such a good product. You would just go.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Hey, welcome back to How I Built This from NPR. I'm Guy Ross. So it's 1996, and EO Products is, to say the least, having some money problems. But around that time, they get a lucky break. A big order from a West Coast department store called Mervins, and that order is enough to help them keep the lights on, and also take on a new challenge to try and get their products into Whole Foods”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Oh, and one more thing, if you love how I built this, check out my new podcast, Wisdom from the Top. It's a show about how some of the greatest leaders in business and politics managed some of the biggest corporate and professional crises you can ever imagine. You can find wisdom exclusively on luminary. It's a new app that allows you to listen to all your favorite podcasts plus a bunch of amazing exclusive shows just for subscribers. Shows from people like Lena Dunham, Trevor Noah, Russell Brand, Leon Nefok, the creator of Slow Burn, and many, many others. Download the luminary app at your app store or go to luminary dot link slash guy for a free no strings attached trial.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“We come back in just a moment. Susan and Brad navigate the stress of growing a business and how that stress took a toll on their marriage. Stay with us. I'm Guy Ros and you're listening to how I built this from NPR.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And I knew a lot of really rich, unhappy people. And I know that money in and of itself for me wasn't the key motivator. And I already knew that that was not like my path to happiness. However, paying our rent was important and our bills and surviving a little bit past survival was important because otherwise it was a lot of pressure. So the question wasn't when are we going to get rich? The question was when are we going to make payroll”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You guys interested in becoming rich? I mean, was that important to you to make a lot of money? Was that not even top of mind? Be honest with me. Was part of you thinking we've got to make this work, got to make a lot of money.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Was a springboard, okay? And just Just to add something here, 1996, Susan, you had a 10-year-old. You guys were married, and you just had another baby. You guys had your first child together, Lucy. So you're a 10 year old, a newborn baby, you're launching a business to get together. Was that crazy? Was it just like insane?”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“By the way, how did this like line of essential oil sell at Bloomingdale's? How did it do? Did it crush it? Did they sell out?”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And I guess at this point, Brad, you are working with Susan, you are two feet in. After a couple years of dating and working closely, you really are in love, and you guys get married in 1995, in sort of the midst of all this, right?”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“In the products had to smell exceptional, and then they also had to perform, which was a little bit of a hurdle. And our idea was that if we're using these expensive, very beautiful essential oils, we're not going to ruin it with harsh chemicals. And so there was a high bar that we set right off the bat.”
2019-07-15 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · EO Products: Susan Griffin-Black & Brad Black · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT