SaaS Interviews with CEOs, Startups, Founders
1025 Expecting Mom Quits $150k+ Corporate, Launches Soap Line
15 May 2018
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is the Top Entrepreneurs Podcast, where founders share how they started their companies and got filthy rich or crash and burn. Each episode features revenue numbers, customer counts, and other insider information that creates business news headlines. We went from a couple of hundred thousand dollars to 2.7 million. I had no money when I started the company.
It was $160 million, which is the size of many IPOs. We're a bit strapped. We have like 22,000 customers. With over 5 million downloads in a very short amount of time, major outlets like Inc. are calling us the fastest growing business show on iTunes. I'm your host, Nathan Latka, and here's today's episode. Hello, everybody. My guest today is Stacey Hamalis.
She is the CEO and founder of a company called Velia Soap, which is a natural Greek inspired small batch skincare and candle line based in Chicago. Her products are made with high quality Greek olive oil and other natural and effective ingredients that have been used in Greek apothecary. Did I say that right?
Apothecary.
Boom. See, she's already teaching me. I love it. For thousands of years, every purchase helps support clean water projects. Stacey, are you ready to take us to the top?
Yes, I am.
Okay, very good. So it's obviously working. You have beautiful skin. Tell us the secret. What do you sell? And is it, I assume it's just a, it's just a, you come and you buy the soap. It's a, it's a typical retail model, right?
Yeah. So typically a good skincare base starts with good soap. And a lot of the soap in the market today is full of chemicals and it's full of, you know, animal fat, not, not things that you typically want to wash your skin and face with soap. I trained under a retired chemist, learned the secrets of traditional soap making in Greece.
And then I've just recently branched out into other natural skincare products that are very trendy in Europe and I'm bringing them to the States. So body oils, body balms. Can you grab, you have some behind you.
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Chapter 2: How did Stacey Hamalis transition from corporate consulting to launching a soap line?
This cost me about two bucks to make, and I retail it for nine.
Holy mackerel. Stacey, so my initial reaction is, oh my gosh, that seems really expensive, but tell me why I'm wrong.
The bar soap seems expensive or the cost to make?
No, no, no. Well, both, but you have to charge nine if you want to make money on the two, but obviously people are willing to pay this. Why am I wrong? Is this kind of a new niche that I don't know about?
So the ingredients are, first of all, they're mostly all organic. The Greek olive oil comes directly from Greece, from a family. So we're using better ingredients, which do cost more. A lot of the products in the market cut corners, and they use cheaper fillers. So this is why this is more of a premium and expensive product.
That's great. OK, and when did you launch the company?
This is the body oil.
Ooh.
Yes, very lugged, great for women, can be used for multiple things. I launched the company after in about a year ago, we were living in Greece. But before that, I was working for a large global consulting firm, got sick of the travel. And I always had this entrepreneurial spirit. It runs in the family. And I just saw that the natural skincare market's growing at 10% every year.
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Chapter 3: What unique ingredients are used in Velia Soap products?
And, and for other people stuck in a corporate job making, you know, North of one 50 that maybe want to do what you've done. I mean, what would you tell them? Did you save up a bunch? So you have a cushion before you left? How did you manage it? Do you have kids by the way, family?
Exactly. I'm, um, currently expecting our first child. Um, yeah, so it's, it's great. I, I think it's just ready to take the plunge. You just have to, there's a lot of my friends that are still stuck in that corporate consulting world that have ideas, but they just need to just rip off the bandaid and try it out.
And yes, I did save up money purposely to have that cushion and to be able to invest.
How much cushion did you save? So how, if you make no money on the new business, the soap line you came out with, how many months could you support your kind of fixed monthly expenses?
I can still support it for a few years.
Oh, you have years saved. Wow.
So you're really risk averse. Yeah. The company I worked for had great stock share. So that's my big cushion.
Okay. Back to soap. First year sales. How'd you do?
I did all right. We were in Greece. And then this year now, it's been about a year and a half. So I've almost increased sales 30 to 40%. I think it was because a lot of people didn't want products to be shipped from Greece and they still need that face-to-face contact.
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Chapter 4: What is the pricing strategy for Stacey's soap and body oil products?
You can go to nathanlatka.com forward slash hot jar. No credit card required. Again, use it as much as you want. nathanlatka.com forward slash hot jar. I'll see you there. How many customers have bought once and come back and bought again?
Oh, um, Many. I mean, I have probably about 100 and this is all over the globe as well. So London, Brussels, Greece, the U.S., Peru. So they keep coming back. A lot of them, a lot of them come back for the soap because it works. It it's. It's effective, and a lot of people are coming back. We only launched the body oil products in October. People are already coming back for them again.
I have people that are addicted.
What are the costs on that to make what you're holding now, the oil?
So these retail at about $25, so the math, about $6 to make.
Interesting, interesting. Can you take the top off? What is it, like a little turkey baster?
Yeah, sure. So this is made with antigen. Sorry.
It's like a turkey baster.
Yeah, it's it's this is perfect for this because it's you only use a little bit at a time. It's not like a lotion. So lotions, you know, they run the same price, but they're full of stuff that really doesn't help your skin. You only need a little bit, which is why we use a dropper.
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Chapter 5: What challenges did Stacey face in her transition to entrepreneurship?
Number four. How many hours of sleep do you get every night?
Well, between working and being pregnant, maybe five to six.
Five and a half. And what's your situation? Married, single. Do you have any kids yet or no?
Married and currently expecting our little girl who will also be a little entrepreneur as well.
That's your first one, right?
Yes.
How cool. OK, very good. And Stacey, do you mind me asking how old you are?
I'm 35.
Amazing. Okay. 35. I see the oil works people. If you're watching the video, this stuff works. Okay. So he's 35. Stacey, last question. Take us back 15 years. What do you wish that your 20 year old self knew?
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