Deodorant, Entrepreneurship and Love

I recently went one on one with Kyle Bardouche, Founder of Jack Henry. Inspired by their son, Jack Henry, Kyle and his wife Erin, noticed many of the products on the market were made with 33 ingredients and 98% of which were synthetics. Erin went on a mission to research natural alternatives and created their first formula, OG Pomade, on their stovetop with only three clean ingredients. All their formulas are created with non-toxic, pure certified organic ingredients that perform and deliver instant results. NBA star Kevin Love is among their biggest supporters.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth personally and professionally?

Kyle: Thank you for having me! I didn’t take the typical road to the entrepreneurial life as my background is in computer technologies. I thought I wanted to do something in the tech space, but my true calling was really using technology to communicate and distribute products that I’m super passionate about it. I self-taught myself marketing and business skills by following mentors, reading books, learning from experience and connecting with others in the space. It’s really important to connect with people who share the same beliefs and passions as you. No one can do everything themselves and that’s one of the biggest things I’ve learned along this journey. It’s all about the people you surround yourself with, the team you build, delegating responsibilities and being open to growth, both personally and professionally. 

Adam: What are the pros and cons of working with your spouse? What advice do you have for other spouses in business together or thinking about going into business together?

Kyle: Great questions! Working together definitely has more pros than cons. It’s incredible to be able to work with my best friend and wife on a day-to-day basis. It does have its challenges for example, figuring out who is going to watch the kids, balancing our schedules and switching from work to family mode. Our brand is an extension of our family, but it is vital to turn off and be in the moment and present with the family. Family is always priority number one. There’s no one else I’d rather be a partner with.

Adam: How did you come up with your business idea? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with great ideas?

Kyle: It really came from a need. When our son, Jack Henry, who the brand is named after, turned two, his hair was really long and we were looking at products to use to style it. I gave my wife, Erin, a product I was using at the time. She turned it over and couldn’t believe how many ingredients there were and most of them she couldn’t pronounce. There were 33 ingredients, almost all synthetic. She said, "I’m not putting this on our son and you shouldn’t be using it either." We got on the clean organic eating train about 5-6 years ago, but I never thought twice about what I was actually putting on my body. She said she was going to make something at home and made our OG Pomade on our stovetop with literally three ingredients that were all organic. I used it for 2 months and it was not only the best hair product from an ingredient perspective – 3 total ingredients compared to 33, but the performance, hold and style outperformed anything I'd ever used. From there I knew had something special and that we needed to build a brand and educate consumers.

How did Kevin Love get involved and what role does he play? What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs on recruiting star athletes or celebrities to help their early-stage companies?

It's funny and crazy how some things happen, but I believe if you do good and surround yourself with good people than good things will happen. We were introduced to Kevin through our mutual friend Ben Rawtiz, who is Tom Brady's manager and a partner in JH. Ben is not only a great friend, but he is very well connected and he's helping us seed product to athletes and celebrities. We're a big fan of Kevin and noticed we share similiar passions and beliefs on wellness. We sent him product a few months ago and he loved them all including our Clay Pomade and face oils. As I was developing our Deodorant I thought it'd be great to get his feedback. As a  top-level professional athlete, who sweats a lot, I thought if he liked it and if it worked for him than it should work for everyone. He used it for about a week and told us it was the only natural deodorant he's tried that works. 

My best advice is to make sure you have a really solid product that you believe in. I think it is great to collaborate with an athlete or celeb that shares your ethos and can be an extension of the brand. Don't just pick the most popular person or someone with a big following. Lastly always have patience. These things take time, but are worth it. Our partnership with Ben took a year before we made it official. 

Adam: How did you know your business idea was worth pursuing? What advice do you have on how to best test a business idea?

Kyle: It was something we wanted to pursue because we looked everywhere for clean and natural hair products, and realized there was a whole in the market for guys. There are some great options in the clean beauty space for women, but nothing for guys. We also knew that the product had to perform, it couldn't only have minimal ingredients. The best advice I can offer on new business ideas is to try to solve a problem that exists either by improving a current product on the market or creating something new. After you create the product give it to your family and friends to test, tweak and optimize.

Adam: What are the key steps you have taken to grow your business? What advice do you have for others on how to take their businesses to the next level?

Kyle: We’ve really put a focus on staying true to ourselves, our beliefs and brand ethos. We’re still fully self-funded with no outside venture capital and we take pride in that. Everything is done in-house from product formulations and testing to marketing, sales, distribution, the website and order fulfillment. I believe in building out a team with talented people that share the same beliefs. Building a brand takes time to do it right. I’ve also learned no one thing will make you successful - you need to work hard and hustle daily!

Adam: What are your best sales and marketing tips specific to e-commerce businesses? 

Kyle: Go where your audience is. Social media is very important, particularly Instagram. Ads are still fairly cheap and the reach is limitless. You can literally be in a billion people’s pockets. It will take a good 60-90 days to dial in the social advertising, but you’ll be able to find a few good viewers that you can scale from there. Don't give up - test, tweak and optimize. Also I think texting marketing or SMS marketing is the next big thing. We started our SMS marketing about 4 months ago, and have already seen it outperform emails from a sales perspective. Always try to drive as much quality traffic as possible while maintaining a healthy conversion rate. 

Adam: What are your best sales and marketing tips in general?

Kyle: I would say create and deliver purposeful and meaningful content that connects with your audience. Try to be proactive and teach them something they may not have been aware of to inspire them. I have an 80/20 rule: that 80% of our marketing is content and education driven while 20% is sales/product related. Consumers are so overwhelmed and fatigued by all the brands and advertising these days. There are so many sponsored posts on Instagram or posts where an influencer is pushing a product and it's important to find a way to stand out.

Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Kyle: I think great leaders lead and delegate rather than manage and micromanage. They believe in their people and support them in every way. Everyone has different skills and different ways of doing things, and it is important to have a leader who knows and believes that is valuable. 

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders? 

People first! It all comes down to the team and relationships you have. I’m always learning and constantly surrounding myself with people who I admire and who make me better. It’s an old saying, but one that I live by: treat people the way you want to be treated and good things will happen.

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Kyle: You can’t win ‘em all.

Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Kyle: I’d love to invite you to check out our brand. We just launched our Deodorant and it’s already our number one seller. It was in development for 8 months and we tested it with professional athletes including Kevin Love. We knew it had to outperform anything out there and that’s why we developed it to last 48 hours+. All of our products are created from scratch, developed and tested by us, in-house. Most brands will go do a private label manufacturer and select one of their formulas and just change the scent or something minimal. Ours are all unique and created from a need. We source all our ingredients from family farms across the globe and never use synthetics or toxins. We believe less is more.