The Rework Podcast: The Myth of The Overnight Sensation
What is a squatty potty? The squatty potty is just a simple stool that is ergonomic and designed to fit around the toilet that helps you achieve a natural squat without actually squatting. (1:55)
How he got the idea: My mom had a stool for years. I did some research and found out people were looking for a product like this but nothing was out there. So we said let’s try it and set up a website. (2:40)
There wasn’t a lot of competition on Google AdWords: For a few hundred dollars Bobby was able to get squatty potty to the top of Google search results. (4:06)
How Bobby refined his marketing message: We went to this expo that was organized around products people think women want. We were forced to talk to potential customers one on one. I listened to these people and it allowed to me construct my message to be something more palatable. [People were embarrassed to talk about bathroom problems] (5:43)
Your company has to have a story: Otherwise, you are just another company. There’s nothing that people connect to emotionally. (8:27)
Initial attempts to grow: We created an animated graphic video that talks about the concepts of squatting. I sent the link to the video to health influencers and the squatty potty. I said: If this helps you, write about it. (9:12)
Their first big break: Getting featured on Dr. Oz...Then they got featured on Howard Stern and Shark Tank. (10:00)
What were you looking to get out of Shark Tank? Publicity. It’s 8 minutes in front of America. It’s worth millions. Plus all other follow up media opportunities because you were on shark tank. (10:53)
Even bigger than shark tank: The unicorn video that went viral. (35+ million views) The video was made by the Harmon Brothers and cost $250,000. They make funny videos that sell. (14:53)
We bootstrapped everything: We started out buying $35 banner ads on weird alternative health blogs. You don’t have to have hundreds of thousands to start a business. With $35,000 we started a business that does over $30 million a year. (17:34)
If you do make a video make sure there is a strong call to action- not just funny: We have made videos that are funny but didn’t move the needle. People need to be asked to buy. (20:17)