12 - An Inside Look at the Launch of Our Startup, Asklé

Join Stephanie and Will for a raw and honest insight into the rapid transition from concept to launch of their health-tech startup, Asklé. From discussing gender dynamics in business decisions to the emotional rollercoaster of launching a startup, this episode is a genuine portrayal of the ups and downs faced by modern entrepreneurs. Tune in for a behind-the-scenes look at launch week, how it went down and what it was really like as a founder. 

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Transcript

Will Slater: 0:00

then we went and had a drink about a week later. And you after Edrick tried to lay a big sloppy kiss right on me and I pulled away I said What's this got to do with dry night moving that quick? Good morning. Hello, friends. Episode 12

Stephanie Slater: 0:25

I don't have a living what's Well, cloud merry 12 Days of Christmas. Good job. Oxygen supply Chris I read this thing that said, why you'd be really pissed off if all you got were birds for Christmas. Because you know how like, the first day they get a few journal and they get something and then there's like bird birds birds. Anyway, welcome to the b&b.

Will Slater: 0:55

Anyone else? This is going, Jesus. What are you talking about?

Stephanie Slater: 0:58

Baby podcast?

Will Slater: 0:59

Well, we we did our first Elf on the Shelf this morning. Yes, it's first of December when we were recording anyone else out there doing Elf on the Shelf.

Stephanie Slater: 1:09

I know. I was so excited for it. And everything I read though is like don't do it. Don't do it yourself. Don't introduce Elf on the Shelf. Because it's a friggin hassle. But I can't I am such a Christmas lover.

Will Slater: 1:23

You do love it.

Stephanie Slater: 1:24

I love it. So you know, I'm all about it.

Will Slater: 1:26

I'm a bit more of a Grinch, but I'm coming around

Stephanie Slater: 1:28

you're getting a lot better. Where was well, so our alphas called ru shortfall. Rudolph isn't what it is. That's what he that's why he Well, that's what he says. Yeah, so he's rude. So rude came last night. We will made a little it was cute problem. The window came down the stairs,

Will Slater: 1:46

sitting on the train on the

Stephanie Slater: 1:47

train that goes around our tree. He was so excited. So that was really sweet and did

Will Slater: 1:51

love it. Arabella hated it.

Stephanie Slater: 1:53

She didn't hate it. She just didn't understand why she couldn't touch it. And then through the letter that he wrote, as in through the alphabet,

Will Slater: 2:01

anyway, Kelis maybe she's a Grinch like me. God.

Stephanie Slater: 2:04

But Merry Christmas month. Yay. I do love Christmas. I love it. Love it. Love it. It's such a magical time of the year. That's very cliche. As I said, I thought that but it really is. There's nothing quite like the magic of Christmas. Anyway, that's my little thing.

Will Slater: 2:20

But you happy? You are happy. Yeah, it's uh, how's your week been?

Stephanie Slater: 2:25

How has your week been? Buddy? How where to start? Where to start?

Will Slater: 2:29

We signed off at the end of last week saying, Oh, we might give you a little bit of an update on the business happening. Well, last week, though. Crazy has been a bit happened. Gosh, so I ended up with

Stephanie Slater: 2:40

gastro, which then you ended up with gastro because our darling daughter two weeks ago had gastro and we all thought we'd escaped it. But it was awful. So anyway, in in our recovery phase, we decided to launch the business.

Will Slater: 2:58

So we are officially live. Aska is live escalade.co is live. See

Stephanie Slater: 3:05

Mr. escalade.co A es que le.co. CO is

Will Slater: 3:10

live. Go and check it out. So it's been some sort of week. We originally weren't planning on launching until Feb March next year. Even probably later, literally. When we recorded our last episode. Friday. Last week. We're intending on launching in February in March next year. Yeah, a week lag away live.

Stephanie Slater: 3:30

It's really funny because you can talk to like the meeting and what sort of, you know, created this, kick up the momentum. But you and I are both very much like once we make a decision. That's it. And sometimes people don't even know that we've been thinking about that decision. So it looks very impulsive from the outside. But we're very, we just, if we feel that it's right.

Will Slater: 3:53

We go for it. So we did that. Like you're not to look back and now you don't judge it or think do we make the right decision? Or did we not? Like fuck it? That's what we're doing. Yeah, yeah.

Stephanie Slater: 4:03

So I have always been that way. Like the girls always laugh. Like, I bought a house and I was 24. And like, you bought a house? What when? And I was like, oh, yeah, well, you know, or just, I don't know, just like random things like sounds silly. But my laptop and then I just went and bought this laptop. And I was like 20. And so to spend 1200 on a laptop wasn't just but that was like you just go and do things. And then I met you and you were exactly the same. So when we move to the maximum ranges

Will Slater: 4:29

well, even before that, oh, the women got engaged. No, well even

Stephanie Slater: 4:36

go up your percentage Because apparently, in this podcast, I'm always in the 60 percents, and it was always in the 30. Or

Will Slater: 4:43

when we first met, we met we met at the Pran Hotel. Frequency paren hotel. I gave Stephanie a little Soviet with my number on it as I was heading out the door, and very suave the door and had the hit me on the gas and Stephanie was texting me and then yeah We caught up the first time like, a few, like maybe a week after that.

Stephanie Slater: 5:05

Hang on, just to explain, I did text you straight away, not out of desperation, I was so

Will Slater: 5:11

desperate. I nearly was like, Oh, Ah, she's going to let don't

Stephanie Slater: 5:16

know, I was so sick of playing games and like the run around with guys. I was like, if he's keen, then he's keen. And if he's not eff off, I don't want to have anything to do with like, drainers. So I was like, hi, you send me like shaman and get to actually talk to you. Thanks for giving me a number kind of thing, because we had been like eyeing each other. Or since the guy who waited like four hours to come and talk to me.

Will Slater: 5:39

Then we went and had a drink about a week later. And you after our drink, tried to lay a big sloppy kiss right on me. And I pulled away I said What's this got to do with this dry night moving that clicker? All rejected, you rejected that case? Real hard. And now if this is going to be something

Stephanie Slater: 6:04

have touch with you look, well, the one

Will Slater: 6:07

I pushed it. Wow. I'm not going to if this is going to be a relationship that's gonna last this ain't happening on night one. So I pushed us at night. Sorry, young lady. Thank you. So the first day, a bit of places debate sent you back?

Stephanie Slater: 6:24

How does this relate to well, and

Will Slater: 6:26

then I'm saying we're moving quickly, you were moving super quick, that knot. And then, within about three months, we've moved in together. Within 12 months, we were engaged. And within 18 months, we bought a house. And in Woodland, we were living in direct together. And then we went and bought a house and in Woodland, the first house that we second house that we looked at. Yeah. And

Stephanie Slater: 6:51

I think also, though, because we're both really about just grabbing life by the balls. And then we had a kid. But you know, we don't we don't like to play it safe. And clearly, we're gonna start creating a business, you know. So with what end, we'll have the thought that he always wants to move back to the country being a bit of a country boy himself. And I was like, Master Rangers, what? Where are they? I don't understand is that in Melbourne? So I had no idea. And then I actually went on a camping trip out to the bathroom range, I think it was to those to Mount Macedon. And I remember saying to my teacher, friend, oh, I think this is where we'll and I are going to look to possibly live. And she's like, Oh, my God, it's beautiful. Wow, I don't think I know, I don't know, I had no idea what this area was. And then we went to a couple of areas. And we went to one end and saw this house. Then we saw this other house that the first house was too small. And then around the corner was the house that we bought, which was under offer, but we just loved it. And we were sitting at a cafe didn't encourage it, called them and said we want to keep us in mind like in case finances fall through. And then therefore on the finances of those. She

Will Slater: 8:02

said that day she said the finances are falling like knocking suspicious. She said they're looking like they might fall through. So if you're interested, make an offer. And we said well, yeah, here's the

Stephanie Slater: 8:12

offer. Now we must have looked at it, though. We do. And

Will Slater: 8:15

then she said and then she said she called back a day or two later on. She said I think the finances have fallen through. Do you want to come and have a look at them? We bought?

Stephanie Slater: 8:25

Yeah, so we so we don't I don't know where we're talking about it. Neither.

Will Slater: 8:29

Talking about not walking around. Because last Friday, we'll go into launching this Friday. We're good

Stephanie Slater: 8:35

loop around we launched. Yes. Yeah. So we are very, if we feel it's right. And also once we get something in our head, we go for it. Because as you said, we never looked back. We don't want

Will Slater: 8:45

to have regrets. That being said, in this instance, we didn't need a nudge. We did

Stephanie Slater: 8:49

Sorry. Yeah. So what happened on Friday? Besides me getting gastro, we get

Will Slater: 8:53

a bit of a kick up the backside to say, we're mucking around.

Stephanie Slater: 8:57

I plan my gastro meal. Well, so we'll we had our business advisory meeting, which we have every Friday. And I just could not make it. We did our podcast. And then I came home and I was like, I wouldn't add a facial didn't. Well, you know, I did because that was that beautiful facial you booked and it was funny. I started to feel a bit funny. But when I was laying down, I'm like, oh, no, I'm good. Like, I must just be. And then when I got out of it. I was like water feel great. And then walking down the street to meet you. I was like, I'm not feeling right. Then we came home. I was like, I think I just need to lay down and then it's sort of the wave here. And then it was all over. You bailed on me. So then you had to go to the business meeting on your own. And then

Will Slater: 9:31

taking out the backside to say, hurry up, you're wasting time by not even that you're wasting time. It was it was that we were we were just sort of fabricating problems and you know,

Stephanie Slater: 9:44

fabricating, I think we were just hypothesizing about what we believe could go wrong.

Will Slater: 9:49

baselining and strategizing. And we'll do this and then maybe we'll do that and then hold it this might happen. So maybe we'll do that. So we're just sort of, yeah, yeah. hypothesizing all of these different things that could happen and how and what we do about it. And advisors basically said, what do we need to do to launch? Let's launch before the end of next week? What do we need to do? What are the steps? If if we're going to be launched by Friday, next week, what are the steps?

Stephanie Slater: 10:14

He essentially said, Imagine that you have running out of money, your money in your account will be gone by Friday, what would you do? So how are we going to launch this business

Will Slater: 10:23

and he made a really good point, one of them said, a great quote that you can't steer a parked car, we're a parked car, we will try to steer it and we're just gonna go in and we're gonna go anyway. So we need to get moving. And so literally one of them picked up a whiteboard marker, got on the whiteboard and said, right, what are the steps? Like, step number one, step number two, step number three, step number four, did it. And then we looked at it, we said, Can we do that in a week? It was like 100%. So what's stopping us? Yeah, I know, that was like Rado. That's what we're doing.

Stephanie Slater: 10:54

And I think for both will and I, we are such perfectionists that that does not go hand in hand with being an entrepreneur, because to be an entrepreneur to actually do something that hasn't been done, you have to be okay with, I love the quote of failing fast. So go out, do it, let it fall apart so that you iterate and fix it and do the next thing, because then the next part will fall apart and then did a little bit you learn and better, better, better, but rather than

Will Slater: 11:22

drive the car crash the car? Well,

Stephanie Slater: 11:24

the other court that the Parker, you know, one of our advisors talked about, you know, you can't steer a parked car was that then the road? Less Traveled is more bumpy. So be okay with the fact that you're going to hit these bumps constantly. And so yeah, so I think, though we will, because we're both also very much into our aesthetics and you know, the the feeling the experience, and it becomes your baby, and it's your story, and you're selling this and if it's got my name on it, that it has to look a certain way and feel a certain way, because we, we have this grand vision of ask Les, but you guys don't know what that looks like. So we will like the website as it is and the colors and the and the font and the typography, which is something and you know, all these kinds of things, I think

Will Slater: 12:07

as well one of them made a very good point to the fee that you have of putting something out there that's yours. And I think, for both of us ask that is in a lot of ways I surcharge, Sebastian Arabella and now we've got Ascot and we we almost nurture it in the same way that we do to children. It's almost as

Stephanie Slater: 12:26

well, we want to protect it. We want to like cotton wallet so that people don't turn around and go, Oh, that's a bit shit.

Will Slater: 12:31

And so the fear of you know, it's very safe when we say, Oh, we're going to do this and we're going to do that. And people are like, Oh, that's amazing. without actually knowing what it looks like and having a tangible thing out there. That's very easy, safe, comfortable, like, Oh, we're gonna do this. And oh, that sounds great that you just bullshitting we were just bullshitting. That's what we were bullshitting, we weren't actually doing the thing. And so it was, it was really nice for the guys to sort of you recognize that fact that it is scary when you put something out there. And these guys are both incredibly accomplished. And they said, they still feel that, you know, one of them's launching a new brand right now. And it's like, I'm putting this thing out. I don't know if people are gonna like it. You know, you go down to Kohl's, and you can see it on the shelves. And it's like that people know that. That's my thing. What are they going to think about that? Then what are they going to think about me? And I think for both of us, if we're really honest, that was a big part of it is like, if we put this thing out before we're totally 100% ready to put it out, and people look at it and go, that's ugly. That doesn't work. I don't like it. We would then take that on personally and be like shit, you know, we've spent all this time building this thing, and then you put it out there and everyone hates it. That's awfully scary.

Stephanie Slater: 13:48

Yeah, yeah. And especially I think, because it's born out of our lived experience and my personal experience, or someone says they hate it, or they saying that they hate or don't even hate but that my story is not worthy enough or what drove this doesn't no one cares about it. So it's my I feel a little bit like it's my vulnerability on the line. Because my diagnosis, my experience, my emotional turmoil, birthed, asked lay, and therefore if asked isn't successful, then all that that journey was worthless, in a way, but I really love actually that one of them advisors said to us today because we had our advisory meeting before this podcast, but he was saying that story is intertwined in asks a story because it's the same thing. So the vulnerability that we share with my story and my experience of, you know, diagnosis of postnatal depression and feeling like there's nothing out there to support me and that just vulnerability is the same thing that asker is going through. Ask they has to be vulnerable. You have to say what's it all If you have to you, meaning the customers are on this journey with us, if you believe in us, you're going to be on this journey with us. And when your order doesn't come to you in the 24 hours that we said it would all the three days or whatever, and you get an email saying, you know, my toddler like you joke saying, Oh, my toddler at your formula, let's pray that doesn't. Although there might be real children if it's got lots of magnesium in it, but you know, you're going to have this connection with Yeah, because it's these parents with young children who are building this business from the ground up, and it's suddenly has this really beautiful story. That's not even attached to it. That is it. That makes sense? Totally,

Will Slater: 15:39

I think we, we probably underestimate that. But Jeff, they've, they've encouraged us or reminded us that, you know, people want to feel connected to something, and a great way for them to do that is to feel like they're part of it from day one. And, you know, I guess that's a big part of why we wanted to do this podcast as well. So we want to bring people on the journey of what it's like building something that we intend to be very big one day, from day one, before it was even a thing before it even existed. Well, it was just an idea in our mind, so that people can see what that journey is like, and the challenges that we have along the way, and our interpersonal challenges and our business challenges, because they're all they're all related at all relevant, the same thing. And so, we are trying to bring everyone who's listened to this podcast on the journey, and everyone who's following us right now on the journey and our, our first customers, and they were, you know, they were reminding us of that as well, our first customers will probably be our most loyal customers, because they'll have seen it in its infancy, you know, you'll receive your product and you know, won't have beautiful Escalade not gonna look branding and logos now that it will totally packaging is not going to be there, it's not going to have all these beautiful steps, everything's not going to be perfect. There's not going to be, you know, perfect user experience through the whole process. It'll be a bit clunky. And, like one of our first customers that signed up the other day and scheduled a consult, and we were like, sorry. push that back a little bit. Yeah. Because that's just the reality of it. Yeah.

Stephanie Slater: 17:09

Because we're saying that like your, your quote, I keep using all these different quotes, but is, you know, build the plane as we jump off the cliff, like, we were trying to build this beautiful plane, but now it's like, we're just like, let's just see what happens. You know, when the wings start falling off and the whatever the engine starts running out of gas, like well, let's build that as we're going. And the first thing was, we had this we went all live like well did. Honestly, you need to be so proud of yourself because as a non tech person, you have just smashed it like you really have I was sick Friday, Saturday

Will Slater: 17:42

calling myself a tech person now.

Stephanie Slater: 17:44

You said the other day, oh my gosh, I have a side hustle of like building people's websites. I'm like, oh, relax me. But you Friday and Friday, I was really sick. That was like day one of gastro for me day two. I wasn't I didn't have any more symptoms. But gosh, I was weak. I didn't eat for probably three days. So it was that sort of feeling. So my brain was Oh, no. And then will buzzing is like, Oh, I'm because he hadn't been hit yet. And I'm like, don't talk to me. I never know what you're saying. And he's like, we're gonna launch we're gonna launch. And I'm like, You're You're delusional. I wasn't in the meeting. I don't know where I'm at. Well, we're not we're not launching. We don't have anything in place. No, no, no, not that. We don't have any place but we blew all weekend about Wow, no, no, we didn't. I was just like, don't talk to me about it. I don't want to we actually didn't blue don't like always all the respite. Blow it all tied to blue with you. But anyway, all

Will Slater: 18:30

the runners photo of that Jordan Peterson quote that? What does he say? Marriage is like most? Yeah, marriages, I can very small moments of joy interspersed between chaos and turmoil.

Stephanie Slater: 18:46

And your views on joy. That's a conversation for another day. But so finally, when I was a hey, talk to me what like, what, what? And you're like, Okay, right. And you had built an entire website, you had integrated stripe, which is like the payment processing, you had integrated Calendly, which is the booking process. You had done the wellness profile integrated into the website, so someone could jump on. And I was just like, Sorry, what, like, how are you like, I just focused, I just went laser focus. I've done it all digitally. And you'd produce this thing that I like, honestly, you just deserve so much kudos for that. Because it's not an easy feat. You did it and you just didn't allow your fear to be this barrier of well, I can't do it. I'm not tech. I don't know how to you like, right. Well, I have to I just have to learn and I just have to do it. And I think that that was

Will Slater: 19:32

probably what happens when you say I just have like a yeah, not figuring this out is not an option. Yeah. So just sit at the laptop. Because I remember you like Friday and Saturday night. I put the kids to bed because you were sick. And then just sat down at the laptop was right. No distraction, no distraction. I put on put on Deep House instrumental music that was good to hear that. Now, sir, out of the apartment through the stairs. I was making me laser focus, and just sat there. It was like, put my phone away. Don't open any tabs other than the ones that I need to and just figure it out. Yeah. And I think that like, I think it's an important, I learned an important lesson that most things are figured out double. Figure A box flat dictionary, figure out double.

Stephanie Slater: 20:26

What was. What did you say the other day? demonstratable. demonstrable anyway? Yeah, yes,

Will Slater: 20:32

it's like most things are figured out. You just sit down, take the time, take away distractions, and most reasonably capable people can figure most things out. And I know for me, like I, the tech part of our business was enormous stress of mine, a stressor of mine, because obviously, I didn't know what to do, or how to do it. And I also felt incredibly vulnerable, because I didn't even know what I didn't know. So I would be talking to other people about it, having no idea what the fuck we were talking about, and kind of being so reliant on them, as the expert, telling me what needed to be done, and how can it be done, I had no way of judging whether it was good or bad, whether their advice was good or bad, because for the most part, I didn't know what the hell they were talking about. And

Stephanie Slater: 21:23

they were wanting to like the quotes that we'd been getting. We just thought, well, that's what we have to do is we're not capable of doing it ourselves and use

Will Slater: 21:31

an enormous credit goes to two jewels, who I had lunch with, it was a good friend of ours, who's in the tech world, product development product design world. And I showed him what we'd basically spent like three months with another company designing some stuff for us. And he goes, like, you could literally get that for$20 a month. I was like, yeah, that totally saved us.

Stephanie Slater: 21:58

He was like, nothing about that is overly complex. No at all, if, like, nothing about that is complex, but I

Will Slater: 22:03

kept in my mind, because I didn't understand all that shit. I'm never gonna get to do this. And then. So when it came to fraud, and I was like, I just have to figure this out. And I'm gonna do it myself. Because I don't have any other choice. And you just do it. Yeah. And I think that's true of most things in life, I think most things you can just do if you avoid any other alternative.

Stephanie Slater: 22:22

And that's what we were saying about, though the calendar booking. So we, you did all this work? And then we're like, okay, we and then actually, I had an event at some of our studio Pilates studio with our mums from our childcare ran that and then we had a whole discount for them. We're gonna send them email. And we're like, well, we can't give them anything because we didn't website like, what are they going to go on? And we will, we'll set will do we just hit like, no, sorry, we did have this goal that yes, we will going live by the end of the week now this week. But we're like, that was Wednesday. Do we just do it? And we hit launch and go and, and so we did. And then we were like, Okay, now we're just kind of

Will Slater: 22:59

just sitting there with the the mouse hovering over the publish button. Do we publish this thing right now? Like, publish on

Stephanie Slater: 23:07

I was like, Just do it. And I walked away. I was like, Just do it. So we had someone book amazing, like, whoa, and then we were like, oh, shit they booked tomorrow at one o'clock. Like tomorrow hanging revenue respect to the practitioner, we need to make sure she's got availability, because the calendar we realized for lunch yesterday with it, well, the calendar wasn't even synced. So we've got people booking, but the calendar wasn't synced with the practitioners availability. So we just had all these times. And then we were like, Oh, my gosh, we need to make sure that our practitioner can actually see you at that time. Because it was so funny. And you know, what every issued challenge hurdle in quotation marks in inverted commas has been so easy to solve. It's like, Oh, I get no, we'll just do that. And then we'll do that. And then we'll do that. But they're things that unless you're doing it, unless it's out there, and someone else is playing with it, and coming back to us and saying, Oh, that was weird, or that. But what was the best news?

Will Slater: 23:56

We're not solving hypothetical problems and solving real problems.

Stephanie Slater: 23:59

What was the best news? Nothing fell apart of it like that was on our end, we noticed that but from the customer's point of view, that the first customer who's a friend, because we hustled which we'll talk about that in a minute, but jumped on didn't even tell me jumped on, did the wellness profile Bookshare console. And then I was like, Oh my gosh, you bought like amazing. Thank you so much. Oh my How was it? Like, please tell me the web face that like, you know, experience the profile itself. And then she said, Oh, my gosh, so easy, really quick, but enough information for you to get what I need. Easy to book. I loved it. Like I couldn't believe how intuitive it was. And we were like, what? Really? Are you sure? We're using the same website that we put up? So it does it works? And then that's been just like this hallelujah moment of Yeah. Wow. Wow. Something is out there that we've built. I mean, you've built but let's be honest, I wouldn't have asked it without me. Anyway, you've built up then

Will Slater: 25:00

that first email, that first email that we got, that was like from stripe, our payment processor isn't like x y Zed has paid in you like they did what? Paid. So we went from last fall, I have plans to launch in Feb march to then, like in less than a week having custom paying customers. I was like, holy shit. Are we doing this whole time?

Stephanie Slater: 25:28

I know, I know. It's yeah, you learn

Will Slater: 25:31

because you, you obviously weren't in the meeting. And that was tricky. Yeah. And we also it's worth mentioning me knowledge today that we don't make strategic decisions without all of us at the table. That was a good lesson. Yeah. But you sort of you found that quite hard when I was coming home going. We're launching, we're doing this and we're doing it right now. And you're going Holy shit, but no, we're not doing that.

Stephanie Slater: 25:53

I think for me, well, it's, it's, it's layered. Like it's very, very low, as is everything with me.

Will Slater: 26:00

On the podcast, where we go deep, and

Stephanie Slater: 26:03

yeah, buckle up, I've taken off the first layer. Now we're moving to the second layer. I think that one thing is that at the moment where we stand as a as a team, including advisors, I'm the only female with three men. And that will sort of recognize our business advisors, our business advisors,

Will Slater: 26:21

we've got a Medical Advisory Board, which is two

Stephanie Slater: 26:23

women, which are who are incredible as well, but so get our business advisor, which is where we make quite intense strategic decisions. Definitely since product called and moving forward. They're these now, you know, direction of the business and that kind of thing. So. So that's the first thing. The second part was that I wasn't even there. So then I felt like, I'm just gonna speak really openly and honestly, because I don't feel this anymore. I really, truly don't. But when you came home that Friday, I was like, these three men have gone and made this decision about something that affects me and my story. And now you're telling me how it should be done. It was really, I felt really taken aback. And almost. Yeah, I just it just didn't feel nice. And then I felt like you were telling me what had to be done. And I no longer felt like an equal. I felt like a worker. And that, that just sucked. But what made it worse was my own internal narrative of the you and I will have many confrontation about if you suggest something or say something, I will take it so personally around my inferiority because even in the meeting this morning, I set it to bed when he was like, so how are you anyway, when you went off to the bathroom? And I said, I just there's still so much I don't understand, like, you know, I always go back to you know, be are you as business as usual? Did everyone else No, freaking, like, just it's just another jargony thing. It's like, you know, in the Bau business as usual mate, like, just say it. But when you're in that world and you've used that terminology for so long, yeah, it comes really naturally to net like, Okay, I know you do, like, which I'm saying, I can't

Will Slater: 28:02

wait until the fees Tom and you and I'm talking we've been around with jargon and acronyms and OB GYN Hey, remember, remember the day when you didn't? Oh, no, but now it's just

Stephanie Slater: 28:12

and that's what I mean. So I recognize my naivety ignorance, what are we going to call it within this world that I've now entered? And I think I've come so far from April as Mrs. Slater, the school teacher to Stephanie Slater, the entrepreneur, if I can say that, that sounds wonky. So it's a journey for me it's such a journey, but I still have such moments of insecurity and insignificant where honestly, when you're, you know, and you're so financially

Will Slater: 28:41

insignificant. Yeah.

Stephanie Slater: 28:44

Yeah, absolutely. And, and and feeling a little bit tokenistic? Is it just Am I Am I really just here for my story? Okay, we've got that, you know, we'll learn to tell our story, then we'll are out to talk about business. That's how I feel a lot of the time, not because anyone makes me feel that way. Honestly, you never like, you truly don't do that. I interpret it that way. You don't do that. Jason and Ben, our business advisors do not like categorically do not in fact, they do the opposite to raise me up and to say to me, stop lessening your impact stop talking yourself down, stop, you know, diminishing your value. Just stop doing all those things. Like that's you doing that so it's me. Absolutely. It's me. But Friday thing it was that it was insignificant it was and then because you went did the tech and all that and I was sick, and then I'm coming in and going not only we're being told what's happening, but you've actually done it and you've done a friggin incredible job at it. So what the hell am I doing? And so sometimes I do, I'm like, What am I doing? Like, what what is my role in this business? I feel you know, and then I'm like, No, you know, it's it's just yeah, it was tricky. It was really tricky. Mind you. I'm like the happiest we've been in it's been bloody incredible and hard and whatever. But yeah, and and I think that again, it does bring in and the female thing as well. I think I just often feel inferior and yeah, and you can run a conversation like you did in this morning's meeting. And I often look to you, like I really do. I'm like, I don't know what that means. A financial stuff and you're going cogs in Dunbar and 20% growth on growth on something. And I'm like, I don't know what. Yeah, and I'm just like smiling and nodding. And like, ya know, I

Will Slater: 30:28

can always tell good strategy. Because normally, if you get something you like a little memo said, it's in the forecast for you the right way that you like it or not. And this is what I think, like you, you have a say. So when you tell him that you're silent for a little while, and you're nodding, and you're doing this really? Like, this is a wonderful, lovely. You have no idea what we're talking about. And that's

Stephanie Slater: 30:52

hard, though. Because yes, then the inferiority comes in, then I think, what's your place? Yeah, you have no place here. You really don't you? And I don't want to look like an idiot by trying to contribute into something I don't know. So I sit there passively. And I think I didn't understand the last 20 minutes. What did that mean? I don't know. I'm just gonna work out. That's all I know. And so that's why sometimes I do go into defense with you. And I say, just tell me what to do. And I'll do it. I'll be the work. I just, I know I can do it. But you need to tell me what to do. And then I hate that. Because then I think, Oh, my God, you should know you've got initiative, and you've always and blah, blah, blah. Anyway,

Will Slater: 31:28

there's two ways to to gain that knowledge. There's one way which is, I would argue probably the way that the majority go. I was watching a video the other day, there was a guy doing a PhD in entrepreneurship.

Stephanie Slater: 31:42

This was luck. That is the opposite way to

Will Slater: 31:45

be an entrepreneur ship is an oxymoron if I've ever, like what are you

Stephanie Slater: 31:49

doing? He's an academic trying to understand the entrepreneurship break? Surely, no,

Will Slater: 31:53

he wants to be a business be an entrepreneur. Yeah, he's doing a PhD in entrepreneurship, because he wants to be an entrepreneur. It was like,

Stephanie Slater: 32:00

who even has a course on being an entrepreneur laugh? I don't know. But anyway, yeah, that's stupid.

Will Slater: 32:07

I just thought it was absurd. Most people will go down the path of trying to learn about it, read books, watch videos, do courses, do an MBA, I've got an MBA, but I said it after I've run a couple of years. But anyway, most people will try and learn the information first, and get themselves to a point where they feel comfortable enough that they've got enough information, and then they can go out and do the thing. It's

Stephanie Slater: 32:32

almost what we were doing with the business. We were trying to get all the information. Or

Will Slater: 32:38

what you've done is just throw yourself in. And

Stephanie Slater: 32:42

I thought you're saying I was the former? Oh, that's nice. Cool. Not

Will Slater: 32:46

more when it comes to business, what have you you've done? You know, this has not been Rudy, we've studied nothing. As it comes to business. No, you got master's in education and studies in business, it comes to business and entrepreneurship. You've never done anything. You've never read a book. You've only ever watched a video of of cemetery. And you've probably haven't even done that. Maybe you've listened to a podcast here or there. I've sat you down. forced you to pray for Yeah. Yeah, pretty. I feel I mean, you probably don't watch as much as I don't really watch that information. As much as I do. I love it. It's all it's all I do. So you've gone from like, zero understanding? You haven't even tried to to get a percent of understanding, you've just gone yeah, let's see what happens. You became you went from having no understanding of visits to becoming a business owner overnight. And you are, as a result of that on an enormously steep learning curve as like, as I am, this is a different thing to anything I've ever done. So I'm equally on a steep learning curve. But I had, I had a base foundation, you've got no base foundation. So you're learning it all. But as I said to you, you have by doing what you're doing, and just doing it, rather than learning about it, and being in the room with these two guys who were so incredibly fortunate to have supporting us and being part of our business, who have grown, scaled and sold massive businesses, to sit there and listen to what they have to say and share that and you learn from it, you know, in 12 months time, you're you're 10 years ahead of any MBA grown out of anywhere, an MBA in entrepreneurship and 100% that you'd like us ahead of them. So I think we're on a steep learning curve, but yeah, don't diminish your value or the fact that, that that is a steep.

Stephanie Slater: 34:38

Yes. And I think also, it's just what is a more natural tendency of ours, you know, like, we had a moment just about a costing thing and whatever. No, it wasn't even the audit. I can't even remember what it was. Oh, actually, no, this is quite a funny story. So again, this is like, what it's like starting a business and, and just where my mind goes. So one of my friends who Who started in the family and friends launch, she we've received her we've moved to a powder supplement, which we're so much more excited about because powders are far more absorbable better, higher potency and just get through to the gut better, and you don't have to try and absorb the capsule that it's in. And you don't get the indigestion. 1,000,001 reasons why we think powder is better and always wanted it didn't think we could have it. And now we can super excited. So we get this powder in a tub for one of our friends. And I noticed that instead of her surname, starting with the letter, it should, it starts with a different letter. And I was like, Oh my gosh, this is so bad. No, they can't do that. I'm like, like, legally, just like,

Will Slater: 35:42

legally, we can't do this.

Stephanie Slater: 35:45

Like, it's a medication that has the wrong name technically on it. And then I got really upset cuz I'm like, we're a personal

Will Slater: 35:51

business is going to

Stephanie Slater: 35:52

run away. But I did so much. So I think we just have straight and I know that sounds like not a strength. But I just think it's like attention to detail things that I pick up or emotional kind of connection things. And so I think my strengths will play out far more in different avenues. And when we get more customer not customer centric as we are customer centric, but just more customer facing where we have far more customers coming in. And I think that's where all thrive. But all the business sort of elements, and I just it's it just doesn't get me off. Like, you know, it's not really separated

Will Slater: 36:23

our responsibility in the business. Because we're, I mean, there's no one else in the business. But so we don't really have a title. But, you know, if we were co CEOs as example, I am, up and out, meaning I take care of everything above us, you know, investors, finances, etc, etc. And out meaning like sales and marketing and everything to do with that side of the business where you are down and in. Meaning you look after everything that's below us, all of our people, staff, product, customers, everything that's to do with internal and, you know, and people,

Stephanie Slater: 37:01

which because I am a people, person, and you're, you don't want to deal with people.

Will Slater: 37:08

But you're also maternal and nurturing and supportive. And you're going to, like when we've got a big business, you're going to bring all those people and parts together and nurture them and cuddle them and make sure that they're all okay,

Stephanie Slater: 37:20

and now just know my prime, all right, in the business setup. Now he's not my prime. So I do I have like struggle. And then I have the whole imposter syndrome and all that kind of nonsense, and even to the point where, like, another really uncomfortable part of, of starting a business is trying to get word of mouth out there and therefore hustling. And you're okay with that, because you've always been in sales, trying to get you know, trying to get sales like yeah, you do love it, you so weird. And Will's like, we're gonna go into our contacts list. And we've had this whole Excel spreadsheet of all of our Instagram, Facebook contacts in our phone, LinkedIn, and we just were messaging every single person one by one. And I just feel so uncomfortable that so

Will Slater: 38:02

if you're listening to this, and you know us personally, you will have received a message. If you haven't yet, you will, you will

Stephanie Slater: 38:07

totally and you know, but I am also flipping the way I'm looking at them. Because at first I'm like, I don't want to be a bother. I don't want to, I don't want them to think I'm trying to sell them. Or you know, I didn't I really was struggling with that. I was like I don't I don't want this obligation on my friends and family to think that they must, because it's not what what we're doing by hustling by messaging and contacting every person is just trying to get our name out there. So if you know someone, or if you can think of or if you don't find but you might find in three months time you are talking to a friend who's about to have a baby. And you're like, oh, actually you should there was yes, like escalate. So and also just to like, share the journey and hey, this is what we're doing. And we have worked it ourselves and we're not going to stop now. We're not going to launch a business and then go okay, now now we're gonna go Hey, guys, hear about this is what we're doing. We believe in it. Whether you do or don't, maybe someone else will share our name put us out there like what's the worst that can happen? You say? No, I'm not really interested. Cool. That's totally fine. We we don't have any expectation in the sense that sales is going to come from it or something that we're just hoping that people will talk about it and know it's an option. And since I flipped that and got you know, it's not it's not a bad thing I'm doing I'm not cold calling people and trying to sell an insurance. Yeah. And I think I just get that dirty salesman image in my head. And I hate that. So that's another thing I'm working so apologies

Will Slater: 39:32

if you're an insurance salesman. I think I saw something the other day that was talking about the difference between people who do things for like entrepreneurs or do things for people versus profit. There's there's people out there who start businesses with profit in mind, they've seen an opportunity, they think there's a good financial opportunity that exists and they go in and try and create something that's purely to drive profit, opportunity, opportunity, opportunity or All those people out there that, you know the category that I would put us in where it's like, you know what we're actually trying to solve a problem that we've had personal experience with we've had we've had lived experience of, we're focused exclusively on that trying to solve the problem in the best way that we know how, for the people that are going through it in the same way that we did, or a vote or their version of that. Now, it's not exactly the same as us. That's not to say that profit is not important to us, we tend to make profit, otherwise, we're not going to make profit, we're going to make a lot of profit. But that's not our driving force. And so we approach it in a different way. It's okay. So hopefully, when you hear from us, which you will, it's not, you know, we're not coming to you like, hey, buy this thing, it's, you know, 10% off, it's about saying, we're trying to solve this problem. If you're dealing with that, or you know, someone who is then, you know, let them know about us, that's all we ask, and if we can help them solve a problem. Wonderful. That's what we're trying to do. And yes, that means making a profit at the same time. But it's a totally different approach. And I think, you know, what, what have we got to lose? Like, we, you know, we've done all this with bet the farm, we've put our life on the line for this to work. You know, as you said, we're not going to sit back now and go, hopefully, people will find us because they won't

Stephanie Slater: 41:17

know. And I think that, my hope is that our sincerity, and our genuine desire to help people will shine through above all of the other stuff, all the selling all the hustling all the whatever. In the end, it's, as you said, it's a couple who experienced a tough time and recognize that mums need more support. So

Will Slater: 41:41

if you don't know what I suppose we are a totally bespoke supplement supporting mums, mental health, and mums, meaning no matter what stage of that journey you are, whether you're thinking about having a baby, whether you're pregnant, whether you've just had a baby, whether you've got toddlers or preschool kids, it's tough. And it's made even tougher. When you have nutrient deficiencies. In certain areas, you're not getting the vitamins and minerals that you need. So we are making something that's totally custom made and tailored to your specific needs. So if you jump on our website, you can complete a wellness profile, you can consult with one of our expert practitioners, naturopaths, nutritionists, Chinese medicine, doctors, integrative doctors, and they will write a specific script for you so that you get the exact product that you need. Yep. And I hate to plug on the podcast because that's not the point of the podcast. But this is our official, this is what launch party podcast

Stephanie Slater: 42:37

to regulate. b&b podcast is all about we have been trying to build a business and we are finally at the point where we can share that business and it's live

Will Slater: 42:44

totally, but I do think you know, anyone who could benefit from that, please let them know about us. And,

Stephanie Slater: 42:49

and I do think though, like, let's just bring it back to mums. You know, there is nothing out there for mums. You're alone in so much of the journey. We don't have our village. If you're lucky enough to have a supportive partner, literally lucky enough to have a supporting aid laws and extended family, you know, that just doesn't exist that much anymore. And so, we expect to just survive, we no longer even want to thrive, like just please let me get through the day. Let me get through the night Let me and that's not what's what I'm looking for, like, attached to just newborn parenting or first six months like toddlers, toddlers can be horrific, you know, sleepless nights regressions happen, the tantrums, the emotional drainage that it has on you there. And then you probably don't eat or you're living off your coffee or whatever. And it's just it's just reality. So we don't want to pigeonhole. So even though we've always had postnatal but when I think of postnatal I think of post baby. So your post baby, you know, I mean, postnatal depression can occur up to seven to 10 years post birth. So it's not just something that's like, oh, no, my baby's one. I'm good. Like, let's be real, you know, really no one. None of us in these Western worlds world, Western countries are actually eating a whole nutrient rich diet because our food just isn't made that way. We don't spend the money on that kind of thing. We don't understand it well enough. We don't we just, it's just lacking in a lot of areas. So yeah, and we're

Will Slater: 44:21

initially going to only do postnatal but the reality is and the latest research is indicating as much that issues or challenges like postnatal depression, postnatal anxiety, postnatal stress, you know, recovery from a traumatic birth experience. A lot of a lot of these challenges actually start during pregnancy. And due to the the nutrient deficiencies that a mom has, because she's trying to support a baby in her stomach, and

Stephanie Slater: 44:49

because most of the things off the shelf do not work. They're either you can't absorb them, or they're just standard dosages. So they they'll have you know, 2% impact or five per same path not It's not saying they don't work they just minimally because it's not taking into account your needs. So that's where it's just this is a step above anything that you can get. Well, a step a world a world apart from like, and he got off the shelf and then practitioner grade supplements they're really really good but again, they're their standard so they're not titling this is made just for you know that tagline. Anyway, we're

Will Slater: 45:27

not we're not sorry to plug this is our business. It is our business. But I mean, this podcast is not intended to be a sales

Stephanie Slater: 45:33

babies and boardrooms plug away. We're not selling we're just saying please support us please jump on our website. Let us know the bugs the you know, the full parts the what's not working, as well as Oh looks pretty and that kind of thing. Because we want warts and all, you know, the warts and all parties actually, not the fun part. But it's like, oh, we have a problem. Let's fix this problem. Because again, as we said earlier, we didn't know those problems existed beforehand. Now that it's in your hands. Yeah, we want to know,

Will Slater: 46:02

Escalade Dotco is life.

Stephanie Slater: 46:07

Super exciting, super exciting. Who would have thought? Who

Will Slater: 46:11

would have thought,

Stephanie Slater: 46:11

Well wait. Can we still call ourselves young whippersnappers?

Will Slater: 46:17

Sure I am. All right.

Stephanie Slater: 46:18

Here we go. I look younger than you. So it doesn't matter. All the

Will Slater: 46:21

way from those days back on Charles Street when you tried to learn a big sloppy piece on me after the first time you met me.

Stephanie Slater: 46:28

And don't you wish I do that again? I would I wish

Will Slater: 46:31

that every day. Unfortunately, they're not as forthcoming as I would like. Shouldn't have rejected me on the first day today. Thanks for tuning in every morning. We got plenty of work to do. So you gotta go. Joe. All right. Bye.