Meet Our Founders - The Story Behind Fresh Patch

A condo with no backyard, a dog who missed the grass, and a soon-to-be new parent looking for a fix—sometimes a company starts with a very real, very personal need. We sit down with Andrew and Karina, the founders of Fresh Patch, to unpack how a simple idea—delivering real, hydroponically grown grass to pet parents—became a nationally recognized brand and a staple for training, convenience, and enrichment.

You’ll hear the full origin story, from that first Prius loaded with 20 patches to the early goal of 100 subscribers. We get into the Shark Tank saga: three seasons of auditions, a relentless prep bootcamp led by family, and the curveball of a broken foot just before filming. The pitch aired, momentum exploded, and the reruns kept the flywheel spinning—but the real backbone was years of hands-on work, honest customer conversations, and a product that solved accidents, stress, and schedule gaps for urban pet owners.

We also dig into impact. Fresh Patch now supports shelters and rescues with donated grass to help dogs succeed in new homes, tackling the number one reason for returns: potty accidents. The team has grown the vision beyond dogs, with cat condos, cat grass, and enrichment for bunnies and even raptors—because scent, texture, and drainage matter across species. Inside the company, we talk culture, resilience, and the costly mistakes that taught them to test, iterate, and keep moving. The aim is clear: become the trusted name people think of when they want to bring the outdoors in for their pets, while staying good to customers, employees, suppliers, and the planet.

If you care about pet training, startup grit, or how mission and product meet real-world outcomes, this conversation delivers practical insight and heart. Subscribe, share with a fellow pet parent, and leave a review to tell us what part of the journey inspired you most.

Thanks for listening to the Fresh Patch podcast brought to you by Fresh Patch. We hope you enjoyed the show. Give us a like or a follow, or shop all of our real grass supplies at freshpatch.com. Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Youtube, Reddit

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Intros

SPEAKER_05 0:00

Welcome to the Fresh Pack Podcast, where we talk about everything from dog training to potty talk. It's time to save your products and get real. This episode is brought to you by Fresh Pack, featured on Shark Tech, Oprah, and the Tape Show. And here are your hosts, Drew and Gabe.

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Welcome everybody to the Potty Talk Podcast. My name is Drew with my amazing co-host, Mr. Gabe, over there, and we have two very, very special guests on the show today. Might be familiar to some viewers, but if you guys wouldn't mind introducing yourself and tell the people who you are.

SPEAKER_02 0:37

I'm Andrew.

SPEAKER_04 0:39

And I'm Karina.

SPEAKER_02 0:40

And we're the founders and owners of Fresh Patch.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Woohoo! So this has been a long time coming for this episode. We've been wanting to sit you guys down for a while, and um I know you're not here in the area, so it's been kind of a struggle. We want to do it on Zoom, but thank you for for being here. And we're gonna go through a lot of questions, get to know you guys. Good. Let the viewers get to know you guys.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

So thank you guys so much for coming today. I think it's gonna be really fun. Give the give our viewers an opportunity to get you get to know you guys a little better. So really excited.

SPEAKER_02 1:10

Yeah, I know we're not always here, so it's always nice to to pop in and see everybody here at the office. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:15

And in the new studio. Yes. I mean, hello. This wasn't here last, so gotta give it up for you guys.

SPEAKER_02 1:20

Yeah, this was not here.

SPEAKER_04 1:21

This is not this was an office. Yes, yes.

Origin Story Of Fresh Patch

SPEAKER_00 1:25

This was Gabe's and Adriana behind the camera's office. So it was always nice, but not like it's very green now, which is you know, we're always on brand here. So um, but yeah, this is great. And just want to take a second to for all the viewers, listeners, hit that subscribe button if you're watching on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify Podcast, follow Fresh Patch on all socials, and check out Freshpatch.com for real grass potty needs. And let's dive into it.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

Andrew, take us back to the beginning, like before Shark Tank, before anything, like what was happening in your life when the idea of Fresh Patch came to you?

SPEAKER_02 1:58

Okay, we'll go way back. Yeah, let's start off the top. Yeah. I mean, uh I guess this goes all the way back to 2010, which was fifteen years ago. Uh Karina and I had moved from uh Los Angeles to the Miami area, and uh we had a place with uh with a backyard for our dog Chloe, and when we moved into this uh condo in Miami, we didn't have that kind of space for her, and that was part of the idea, and then simultaneously we found out we were gonna have Claudia as a baby, and and I was unemployed at the time, and so it all kind of just came together into this like let's this is a great idea we should run with this. And yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:41

No, I was gonna say that it was actually kind of funny because I got pregnant, and then you kind of got a little scared, like anything you know, new daddy was like, Oh, I need I need to get something.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

It's time to buckle up, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:52

Yeah, it's time to do this. So he came up with the idea. I was actually at work, right? And I came home and he had all this grass, and I'm like, what is going on? It was just I had no idea. But our dog was miserable, she didn't like it because she missed her backyard in in the Hollywood Hills, and um and you made her one.

SPEAKER_02 3:11

Yeah, it was just like a lightning in a bottle type of idea that just came to me, and then I just remember I hit the ground running with it like the next day. I was filing a trademark, I was working on the logo, I was doing all these things and starting to build a website that week, so it just kind of was came real quickly. I mean, it took a long time to get where we are today, but yeah, um I I just knew it we had something there and I just ran with it.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

It's super cool, it's super inspiring. Like everyone has those ideas where they're like, dang, like, you know, I could turn this into something, but only a small amount of people asked.

SPEAKER_02 3:43

I can't tell you how many people have come up to me and said that this is my idea.

SPEAKER_04 3:49

Last week something and said, This was my idea, and I'm like, okay, I'm great.

SPEAKER_02 3:54

No, no, this was my I did it.

SPEAKER_00 3:56

I did it. Yeah, I got the trademarks. That's great. I have people here all the time that's the opposite. They're like, this is genius. Why didn't I think of that? Like, you know, like how shout out to Andrew, you know, for thinking of it. It's it really is an incredible product and stuff.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

So and it's it's so like like almost like simple, but at the same time, like it really solves a big problem for people, which is which is really cool.

SPEAKER_00 4:19

Exactly. And I love that story too, like the whole you're becoming a dad, you're kind of scared. Yeah, it was a catalyst.

SPEAKER_02 4:27

It was a catalyst because I we could have gone a completely different path. I could have I was at the same time I was looking for like nine to five jobs, like like, okay, I need to get a career, or do I just roll the dice and run with this?

SPEAKER_01 4:39

So yeah, very, very inspiring for sure. Were you like planning on like making it something bigger, or was it just something to like kind of sustain yourself for a little bit?

SPEAKER_02 4:49

I mean, yeah, that it was just to sustain like in my head, uh I ran the numbers and I said if I could get a hundred subscribers, maybe a hundred and fifty subscribers, I would have an income and this would be fine. And that's all I that's kind of what I had in my head. Now I remember that.

Early Grind And First Customers

SPEAKER_04 5:03

He talked about those hundred subscribers for a long time because it took a while to get from you know we had what like 10, 20 customers. It seemed like forever. And there were times where I was like, Are you sure? You know, is I didn't he saw the big picture from the beginning. And I I think with everybody else, it took us a while to come around and see the potential in it because it's something new that really nobody knows has never seen before. So yeah, it's totally off the wall.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Yeah, it's like, wow, there's 20 people. That Prius is gonna hold up, you know. I mean we could talk about that too. So that's how it, you know, right?

SPEAKER_02 5:37

Yeah, I mean, it wasn't that much grass even, but it was like 20 pieces of grass in my trunk. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:41

Prius is perfect. Don't do anything bigger. That's great. No, and that's incredible too. I mean, and how do people take to it like at first?

SPEAKER_02 5:50

Was that just uh that's kind of how I knew to keep going because back then I was doing every I was answering the phones, I was delivering it. I would so I would drop it off and talk to a customer, and they would be like, tell the owner this is amazing, it's changed my dog's life, and I love it. And I was like, Okay, I'll let him know. And and like, yeah, I mean it's gotta fake it till you make it.

SPEAKER_04 6:10

We did all that stuff, okay. We did everything. That's something I think that we should talk about. Like, we really we did it all. Like we set it all. So for a while, like we had no social life.

SPEAKER_02 6:23

I feel like that was a big sacrifice.

SPEAKER_04 6:25

It was a huge sacrifice, but obviously it worked out in the end.

SPEAKER_02 6:27

But uh but it's nice it's much better to be uh on this end of it now when we have a team of it.

SPEAKER_00 6:35

Yeah, say the best businesses come from you know hard work and like ever that's all I hear. I mean, we heard it on Shark Tank and stuff too. It's just like you gotta grind, maybe it's a lot of ramen meals, you know what I mean? Maybe sometimes you're not eating or whatever, you know, and maybe not in your case, but it takes a lot to build something like this, you know, it's not just gonna happen overnight.

SPEAKER_02 6:54

People see that, yeah, but there was a lot of grind early on for sure.

SPEAKER_00 6:58

Very cool, very cool. And you kind of answered this, but was it maybe after that 20 subscribers that you thought this could be a real business? Like, what was that turning point where it's like, okay, we're gonna really take this to the next level? I'm like, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 7:15

I mean, I did always have the like the idea like I want this to be I we need I need to go on Shark Tank and do this every year. And but it took three years for that to happen. So uh we just kind of just slowly grew and grew and grew, and then we got that opportunity on Shark Tank, and then it really kind of just blew up from that.

The Shark Tank Journey Begins

SPEAKER_04 7:33

Yeah, you were right, you saw it. I mean, that's it. You saw it.

SPEAKER_00 7:36

Yeah, very cool. Well, that kind of leads us right into the next topic of questions.

SPEAKER_01 7:40

Yeah, absolutely. Onto the Shark Tank portion of the podcast. Um so what was it like preparing for Shark Tank?

SPEAKER_02 7:49

I I did my homework for sure, thanks to Karina and and my sister Lori. They they grilled me. Like I was very prepared.

SPEAKER_04 7:57

We really put him through the ringer. We we made him watch.

SPEAKER_00 8:01

Shark Tank Bootcamp, like he was, like we made him watch everything.

SPEAKER_04 8:05

We would ask him. I mean, Lori was great about this too, asking questions that he would get like we would just talk about it, and he would give us the answers that he would know and not say the wrong.

SPEAKER_02 8:16

I am like a last minute show up and do it type of person, so but I wasn't like that for Shark Tank.

SPEAKER_04 8:22

Yeah, no, you really prepared any show because you got on the show and you did great and you knew your show.

SPEAKER_01 8:27

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I see a lot of times like somebody misspeaks or something and they're like, we're done. Like, you know, so it it's a big accomplishment to kind of go in there and yeah, have everything go great. Yeah, you never know what they're gonna throw at you. Yeah, no, I mean it could have been a good thing.

SPEAKER_02 8:40

You can prepare as much as you can, yeah. Exactly. Oh yeah, I auditioned three years for three seasons, and and they every the first season they said they liked me, but it didn't work out, you know, and they get kept getting moved to the following season, and then it took three to finally get it out there.

SPEAKER_04 9:05

He was so upset, like after the first two. So the third one, I felt so bad. So I was like, Do you really want to do this to yourself again? Because it was a big letdown, you know, because he'd been talking about this and like building it up. And then I remember I drove, remember I got home and you were doing the video, and he was like, Hey, I'm Andrew from Fresh Found. And I was like, this is not gonna work. I literally I swung up in the car. Remember this? I got out in the driveway and I was like, run to the barn because we had this thing. I wanted to get his energy up, right? So I was like, remember, you need to be like, Welcome to Fresh Fountain, and he did it on the show. I was like, Yeah, I was like, oh I was, because he was just like, it was great, but I was like, they want that energy. Yeah, yeah, you need to have that energy. So he got it.

SPEAKER_00 9:52

Somebody got a lower your monotone show, but I was thinking about the energy motion.

SPEAKER_03 9:59

It was so funny.

SPEAKER_00 10:00

That's great. That is so great. Oh my gosh. So any other memorable behind the scenes moments once you did make it after that three years? I mean, any I know one, I don't know if you want to say it again. I remember from our last podcast. The foot thing. The foot thing, yeah.

Prep, Setbacks, And The Broken Foot

SPEAKER_02 10:16

Talk about it real quickly. Like, I just I had finally made it. I was out there, I was gonna shoot the next day. Oh no, no, and uh it was a week before we were gonna shoot.

SPEAKER_04 10:24

Yeah, we were in Arizona.

SPEAKER_02 10:26

And I broke my foot. And I was getting you a drink at the pool. Oh my god. I don't know, it's all your phone. And I just rolled my ankle like and I had to go they I broke it, and uh we were we didn't tell anyone from Shark Tank because uh they wouldn't have put me out there. So we just taped it up.

SPEAKER_04 10:48

No, but the icing. Remember Claudia and I were going to the ice machine, like you and Claudia 20 minutes, like we had to have ice on this at all times.

SPEAKER_02 10:56

So I hobbled I hobbled out onto the tank, but it doesn't look like it. It doesn't look like it.

SPEAKER_04 11:02

So I was like, we're gonna go to the mall, and we just had these like lace ups that are really cool looking, but they really were holding his foot in place to keep him walking.

SPEAKER_02 11:10

No, but I swear, if I had told the producer Oh, yeah, they wouldn't have your liability. They had 50 other people on standby to come and take my spot. Yeah, they really did. So I wasn't gonna give it up.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

Yeah, that's wild. So in that photo right there, you got a broken foot. Broken foot. Wow. Right foot, yep.

SPEAKER_00 11:25

That's incredible for all the for this camera angle.

SPEAKER_04 11:29

You have no idea.

unknown 11:30

You never know.

SPEAKER_00 11:30

That's so cool. Wow. That's a great behind the scenes story. I think that's like very memorable. And I mean, you held it together. Yeah, so clutch. Yeah, you you got some clutch jeans in you to bring it together. Fold together when it comes to game time. Yeah, for sure. Job not finished, you know what I mean? Gotta get out there. That's great. Um, wanted to take this time too to uh a little pause and uh hear a message from Karina herself. Um, she also has a podcast. We'll give a small break to throw that in there.

SPEAKER_04 12:02

I didn't know this was coming. Okay, we're switching. All right. Yes, coffee with Karina, entertainment unfiltered. Check it out. We had we actually have an episode on there with FreshPodge. When did we do that? Two years ago. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:14

Isn't that crazy?

SPEAKER_03 12:15

Yeah, that is wild.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

That's where I first heard about the foot thing. So yeah. And you randomly pulled me on that show too, but it's behind the scenes. I was like, I made it. Yeah, do you come in and doesn't have to be a good one?

SPEAKER_04 12:25

Which is the intro to this.

SPEAKER_00 12:26

I'm like, let me get my voice ready.

SPEAKER_04 12:30

I'm so proud of you guys, honestly. Yeah, right? All grown up. All grown up. Yeah, it's crazy. Yeah, yeah, because you didn't want to come. You were I was I'm just thrown off guard. I was fine.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

Like, I was like, I'll do it, but I was just not expecting to be, but it was great. It was fun.

SPEAKER_04 12:45

No, I saw it, I saw it in you. I was like, he's good, okay, he can do this. But no, this is really great.

SPEAKER_00 12:50

Keeping on the Shark Tank experience, looking back now, what's one thing you learned that still sticks with you today from the whole experience? I guess just maybe just the pitch itself.

SPEAKER_02 13:04

I mean, when I think back on it on it, it still gives me the shivers, and the anxiety comes back. I'm just ten years ago. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:12

You were so calm, like even from the show or just the experience.

SPEAKER_02 13:16

The experience, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:17

I mean, you know what was crazy though is when we came in and you were waiting to film, we didn't even know. I know we talked about that before, but I remember being at the hotel we didn't know like we didn't know what was happening.

SPEAKER_02 13:28

Yeah. Yeah, they don't tell you until like the day before. Even after we filmed it, we didn't know if it was gonna air. There's a lot of uncertainty.

SPEAKER_04 13:37

Yeah, all the other people that may go.

After-Air Growth And Lasting Impact

SPEAKER_02 13:39

I mean, yeah. But I mean, I mean, just for the lesson is if you really want something and you believe in it, you gotta just go for it. Go give it a hundred percent.

SPEAKER_00 13:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:50

And prepare, right?

SPEAKER_01 13:52

Prepare. Practice makes perfect, right?

SPEAKER_04 13:54

Yeah, preparation is key.

SPEAKER_01 13:55

So I'm assuming that by the time you guys made it on the Shark Tank, you already had that a hundred subscriber thing going on.

SPEAKER_02 14:02

Yeah. I don't know the exact numbers. I think I talked about it on the show, but it's been a decade ago. But uh yeah, we had already we had a successful business. We had reached a million what was it, a million in sales? I think it was a million in the sale. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, million in sales. And uh so we were we were pretty successful at that point. And we were five years into the company.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

So was the impact from Shark Tank was it like immediately noticeable or like oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:29

Shark Tank really was just like a rocket ship after that aired, and then and then it's we've been hitting the ground running ever since.

SPEAKER_04 14:36

So they aired too once a month.

SPEAKER_02 14:39

Oh yeah, it's on I think every m month or two on CNBC. That's yeah that's crazy. And it's on Hulu.

SPEAKER_00 14:46

Every Shark Tank's episode on Hulu.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

15 years ago, we still to this day say, hey, we saw you on Shark Tank. And we're like, Yep.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

Yep. Yep. So I get so many questions, especially the name, too. They're like, was that you? Like it's your your I'm like, no, it's not mine. Sometimes, especially at events like this, like congratulations, or like best of I think it's like a total startup. They're like best of luck. You know, I'm like, you have no clue. I'm like, you have no idea. Like thanks, but good luck, buddy. Yeah, literally. That's what the attitude sometimes are like, yeah, you know, this is cool, not for me. Good luck, you know. Trust me, I heard it. I heard it at the time. I bet. And so when we when you were already established here in California, right, when you went on Shark Tank, like James was already took over and stuff, right? We're in the okay.

SPEAKER_02 15:29

That's so James came on about a year after we were doing Miami.

SPEAKER_00 15:33

2011 12. Gotcha. I love that story.

SPEAKER_02 15:37

We were working out of his garage. I love that story.

SPEAKER_00 15:41

Yeah. He still reposts like Facebook pictures, and it's just like the white boxes in his driveway stacked up. I'm like, wow, first off, white boxes was crazy. Like I can't believe white, butt, and then just yeah, like 50 boxes in his in his driveway. I'm like, wow, that's just incredible.

SPEAKER_01 16:00

James is awesome. Yeah, how did how did you guys meet James?

Team Building And The Garage Days

SPEAKER_04 16:03

I found, yeah, I did all the hiring back in the day. Yeah, and still some, I guess, yeah. Some of the people here. Some of the other people in this room.

SPEAKER_00 16:12

Some yeah, he might be he might have been on the podcast before, I don't care.

SPEAKER_04 16:16

But um, yeah, I don't know. I just got a good vibe from him right away. I was like, he's the one. And he's still here.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

Yeah, yeah, here we are 14 years later. Yeah, no, James is amazing. We've been partnering with brands like PawWorks and Perlandia, shelters, things that help animals who need it. Um so for you guys like on a personal level, like why is that important for your business to be involved in things like that?

SPEAKER_02 16:38

It's really important to to us, and especially more so now than ever, that I feel like in a we're in a place more financially where we can do stu more stuff like that. So I always whenever shelters you need our grass, I love to donate to all of them and uh because it's for such a good cause and you're tr it helps these dogs get adopted because they're training on real grass. They're not gonna make accidents in these people's homes when they get adopted. It's the number one reason people return their p their pets to the to the shelters is because of potty accidents in the home. So if we can get these dogs adopted and they're not and they're not gonna cause those issues in the home, then they're gonna stay in those homes and not end up back in the shelters. So I'm always I'm always happy to help for those causes. And it makes me makes me feel great. That's a big part of the reason I do uh enjoy doing this.

SPEAKER_01 17:32

Absolutely. I mean I always constantly am hearing like positive feedback, like, oh my gosh, like the grass helps so much, and you know, all that sort of stuff. So even from our end, like it's pretty rewarding, like finding and working with these companies. So yeah, I mean firsthand, yeah.

Giving Back To Shelters And Rescues

SPEAKER_04 17:46

That's that's really cool. So we don't see that like so much, you know, but hearing it is great. And I think like what you were saying about in the beginning, we didn't have too much, you know. We were a really small company and then we didn't have too many resources, I guess. But now it's different, so it's it's nice to be able to, you know, do that.

SPEAKER_00 18:04

Absolutely. Yeah, it's a it's fun to see their reactions too, and especially if they've like heard about us and they're like, Yeah, like we have turf or you know, we have like dog runs and stuff, we don't really need it, and then we present them the product and they're like, Okay, this is actually really cool, and we could use this and stuff. So then they you know, we work with them and stuff to certain areas, whatever. A lot of places have cats too now, so as we're getting more into the cat space with things and cats.

SPEAKER_03 18:32

Yeah, but I know, I know.

SPEAKER_00 18:39

Look at us 15 years later, and cats, you know. Always offer the cat stuff, but really leaning into it more is is incredible. Bunnies too, all our all our rabbits, listeners, yeah, it's enrichment, it's we get so much feedback on that.

SPEAKER_01 18:54

Like you guys need to focus on bunnies and cats more because they absolutely love the grass. We're working on it.

SPEAKER_00 19:00

We got a cat logo, we're we'll work on a bunny logo, you know.

SPEAKER_05 19:03

Do they have funny shelters in LA too?

SPEAKER_00 19:05

We need one, they do, okay. Ventura County, too.

SPEAKER_04 19:09

So many great shelters. I mean, it's amazing in L can't be able to do that.

SPEAKER_00 19:12

I was gonna say we are in contact with the bunny shelter. Oh, I can't believe it. One of our goals, I know. There's we had a photo shoot here uh with oh my gosh, it was so fun. Those things are adorable, and they're just running around and hopping off the grass and stuff.

SPEAKER_01 19:28

I would love to have an office bunny, but an office bunny would be cool. The dogs I don't know how ugly we'd take to that. I was thinking quew up all the cords, you know. So they do, they eat everything.

SPEAKER_03 19:39

I've had a few office bunnies.

SPEAKER_01 19:41

Yeah. There we go.

SPEAKER_00 19:44

It's like no the man himself gave a bunny bunnies, right?

SPEAKER_04 19:49

No, we've had a few bunnies. You guys always hate my bunny.

unknown 19:52

I love a lot.

SPEAKER_00 19:53

Don't tell the girls that you want a bunny. Do they like bunnies?

unknown 19:56

They do.

SPEAKER_02 19:56

They do. I think um an office bunny.

SPEAKER_00 19:58

An office bunny. Funny. Cool. Yeah, and it's like, I mean, you guys saw that video that the one hopping off the grass and stuff recently. That is it's just so cool to see. He was so excited. So excited. The pets and the pet parents. Like, I mean, the stories we've gotten from cat owners and bunny owners and stuff is just incredible. So check it out. Freshmash.com, cat condos, cat grass, bunny grass, of course, our dogs.

SPEAKER_01 20:22

So if you got an animal, odds are they would love some grass, so we got that for you.

SPEAKER_00 20:27

Birds, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:28

Birds.

SPEAKER_00 20:29

Yeah, we squirrels, mice, snakes. We've had it all. Okay. We've had it all. Yeah, we we don't. I don't know if you guys remember, we donated to the OHI Raptor Center. Um, they do uh like you know, hawks and falcons and owls and and stuff like that. And yeah, the owls took to the grass. They we gave them larkers, which is incredible.

SPEAKER_02 20:48

It just makes sense. Here we are, uh, these humans bringing all these animals into our homes, you know. Exactly.

Expanding To Cats, Bunnies, And Beyond

SPEAKER_00 20:54

We also had a very cool collab this year with G-Fuel, so all you gamers, um, energy drink drinkers, check it out, freshpatch.com. We have a G-Fuel collab as well. But go touch some grass, people. I mean like real, it is real hydroponically grown grass right here, California. Don't get me started, Gabe, on this pitch right now, right? I've never heard this before. I've never heard it. Oh, so it's grown locally sourced, uh delivered in a box. It comes in four convenience sizes. And you can subscribe, one-time purchase, uh, a five percent discount if you subscribe. Check it out, freshpress.com. Great customer service. You know, call anytime, cancel anytime. All right, going to a little more personal questions um for the dogs at home. Uh-oh. Who's more likely to spoil the dogs between the two of you? Andrew or Karina?

SPEAKER_04 21:41

I'll let Karina answer that one. I don't even know where to start. Yeah, he's a big pushover with our dogs, let me just say that. They're like climbing all over. I'm like, we need to have some rules. There are no rules. Like, I'm usually that person, right? It's like we need to give it a cheat, give them a cheat, and they do that. No, they just I don't even know. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_03 22:07

No, I love our dogs, but he he really.

SPEAKER_02 22:11

Oh, yeah, I love our dogs. Yeah, I love I love animals. I love our dogs. I take care of them. They're like they walk all over me. You can't let them walk, they stand on him. They literally and physically walk all over me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:24

That's so good. That's so funny. I love it during our calls sometimes too. It's like hold on one second. I got the dogs coming. Or they're just under the desk. You just looked at her like, hey, get knocked it up! Pops her head up.

SPEAKER_01 22:34

She finally hurts. So funny.

SPEAKER_00 22:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 22:37

I have to move over because she's looking at me like, you better, you better go here and space made for me on that chair.

SPEAKER_00 22:42

Back off my man, you know?

SPEAKER_01 22:46

My man too. Like, yeah, it gets weird now. As a fellow dog spoiler, I you know, I think that's an admirable trait.

SPEAKER_02 22:54

I love the videos of the dad that never wanted the dog, and then that's where my head went when you're yes.

SPEAKER_04 23:00

I really wanted Coco. Oh, and I did it. And we got Coco at the thing.

SPEAKER_02 23:04

But um rescued her from global pet.

SPEAKER_04 23:07

Yeah, Global Pet. I was like, I want this dog, and she's adorable. But he was like, We do not need another dog. This is the last thing we need, right? And now it's like he is all about Coco. Like in the morning, Coco goes in the car with him. They take the girls to square. It's just it's very cute. Yeah, he loves dogs. I mean, that's why he started this company, and he wanted to be a vet, like Yeah, I wanted to be a veterinarian until I found out how hard it is.

SPEAKER_02 23:34

Yeah. And it's also, yeah, it's like emotionally tough. It's emotionally tough. All the everything. So I at some point in my life I said, maybe I don't want to be a veterinarian. This is better. But this is way better.

SPEAKER_01 23:50

So, what's one thing that your dog has maybe taught one of you guys like about like business or just life in general?

SPEAKER_00 24:00

Have to be the first dog, right?

Playful Detour: Office Pets And Stories

SPEAKER_02 24:02

Like Oh, we're gonna talk about Chloe? That's what I would think, right?

SPEAKER_04 24:05

I mean, taught me, oh, well, she taught me that you were good, remember in the beginning. This is a great style. When I was single, it's okay to hang out. So I would go on dates with guys, and she would just be like, No, you just cringe. I think people go on dates, okay. It's okay. Pre-Andrew, okay. And she would just be like, She'll be barking, you know, get this guy out. I'm like, okay, but with Andrew, she really likes Andrew, and she came up, remember? I don't remember exactly what she was doing, but she liked you, she came up. She was your best friend. Yeah, she chose me. She chose you. I had no idea.

SPEAKER_02 24:45

And then you had to choose. I'm just kidding.

SPEAKER_04 24:48

I did, but yeah, but she was so yeah, she went with her gut instinct, and I think we're both big on that intuition. She knew you were the one. Or maybe she just wanted Fresh Patch down the rest of the room. Yeah, that's what I was gonna say.

SPEAKER_00 25:00

She saw the future.

SPEAKER_01 25:01

Yeah. She's like, ooh, I'm gonna she's like, I'm gonna change your life. Yeah. Yeah, she's like, trust me, mama.

SPEAKER_00 25:07

Yeah. You kind of answered it, but if you weren't running Fresh Patch, what do you think you each would be doing today? Well, I know you have your stuff, but what do you think life would have taken you if Fresh Patch was never thought of?

SPEAKER_02 25:21

I mean I I know it's kind of a daunting question, but struggling in corporate America somewhere. Although I'm not good, I get fired at every I got fired at all my other jobs.

SPEAKER_04 25:35

I mean, I'm not telling you, like, this is there were some red flags, guys. Like when I first met him, I was like, oh, he's like, I work there. I'm like, do you still work there? No, I got fired. I was like, oh. And he was there like a week. I'm like, and he's so easygoing. Like, I don't know. So I feel like he's just made for this position, and he's still very easygoing and a great, but yeah, I don't know. I don't know where I would have. You told me when you met me, you're like, yeah, I'm an actor now, but I'm gonna be an investment banker. And I was like, perfect. I just I don't want to be of another actor. I thought this is a good plan. This is a great, you know.

Personal Lessons From Dogs And Careers

SPEAKER_02 26:11

I mean, I was almost I was almost the old spice guy.

SPEAKER_03 26:14

He was almost the old spice guy.

SPEAKER_02 26:16

Do you remember that? Yeah, that was that was my big audition callback. It was between me and one other guy, and they went with the other guy.

SPEAKER_00 26:22

I've told you he's from Oxford, right? No.

SPEAKER_02 26:24

Isaiah Mustafa.

SPEAKER_00 26:26

My dad taught him in uh middle school. Yeah, yeah. He's right here from he went to Santa Clara High School right down the street. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:34

So it was between me, him, and one other guy at the callbacks, and they went with him. And I read it was the funniest commercial I'd ever auditioned before. I showed her the script. I spent I got it down cold. They loved me, and then at the last minute he got it, and I and then it was a Super Bowl commercial, and like and then he still does it.

SPEAKER_00 26:51

Yeah, he still does it. He's trained. Have you seen the new ones? He's like teaching younger guys, like NFL players are on it too. And he's like, no, you gotta talk like this. And he and they like all lower their voice.

SPEAKER_02 27:00

It hurts, man. Sorry. Because that's that if I wasn't doing this, I wouldn't want to do that. I think I would have loved it. I think you're the better, it's okay.

unknown 27:12

You have to do your own commercial.

SPEAKER_00 27:13

I love what I'm doing, but I'm jealous of that.

SPEAKER_02 27:15

I'm a little jealous.

SPEAKER_00 27:16

Old Spice, if you're listening, it'd be really cool if we got a commercial going like uh No.

SPEAKER_02 27:21

Old Spice, if you're listening, release the tapes.

SPEAKER_04 27:26

Release my audition, because it was good.

SPEAKER_00 27:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:30

That is on the fan design.

SPEAKER_00 27:32

Oh, that's cool. Old Spice, if you ever need real grass for the set, we got you covered. Yeah. We can put, you know, don't we?

SPEAKER_01 27:39

We we actually use your deodorant here. Yes. We have we have some in the I use it. I mean, who doesn't use Old Spice here? I got it. Yeah. So bringing it back to Fresh Patch, um, are there any sort of like innovations or collaborations that in the near future that you guys are excited about?

SPEAKER_02 27:58

I mean, we're really excited about all the cat stuff we're doing right now. The cat condo and just catering more towards towards the cats and other animals.

SPEAKER_04 28:07

You guys have just really just taken it to that next level that I always hoped it would be, you know, and you're just you're doing so many of them right now. And you're doing it well.

SPEAKER_02 28:16

And with the f the fun content you guys are working on and the creative stuff. That's I love it. Yes. And we're gonna keep doing that stuff. Awesome.

unknown 28:25

Yeah, we're gonna do more of that.

SPEAKER_00 28:26

Definitely. Definitely. So follow at Fresh Patch if you're not following us already. Give us a follow on social media. You could go back and give yourselves advice from year one, what would you say? 2010.

Advice To Year-One Selves

SPEAKER_02 28:39

You're seeing I it's funny because I was just thinking I I was preparing for another interview I'm gonna be doing later uh this week. And yeah, they had a similar question. And if what my answer is not to it's tough. My answer is to not take put so much pressure on myself because I really just was all or nothing like head to the ground and just made made this work. But at the same time, if I didn't put so much pressure on myself, then I don't know if we would be here today. So for sure. I don't know. Top I don't have a good answer then.

SPEAKER_04 29:14

No, I think that's that's true. Um I think it's easy to get caught up in like the present moment, right? When you have a big dream and every day is just the same and you're doing right, you're doing the things every day. But I always feel like it's those the things that you do every day, those habits, right, that shape the future and keep the end in mind. So and I think that's what we did. We did those whether it was social media or whatever it was, you know, doing those things every day consistently for like a couple of years, that's what built the company. I just agree.

SPEAKER_02 29:48

And not taking the setbacks so personally or partially when things would go wrong, I just think.

SPEAKER_04 29:53

Oh my god. Yeah, okay, no, it's true, it's true. Like the box thing, that's still good. No, I don't even remember what happened, but he he ordered a ton of boxes. And I remember him asking me, can we keep these in the garage? And I was like, sure, you know. I didn't know how many boxes. And the problem was there was a problem with the boxes. So we had these boxes in like two garages for how long did we have them? Mice had taken up their helmets.

SPEAKER_02 30:21

I mean, it was a bad I ordered a bad box, a bad uh order of boxes.

SPEAKER_04 30:25

Oh, because they slid, it was something with uh coding.

SPEAKER_02 30:30

So we couldn't use any of them.

SPEAKER_04 30:31

And I was like, We spent how much on these boxes? But it was things happened.

SPEAKER_02 30:36

Yeah, yeah, things happen. But that and it happened any business, you can have these big setbacks. Uh-huh. And like that for me, taking years I I just it really knocked me off my feet. But now when things happen, I'm just like, okay. It happened, right?

Brand Vision And Company Culture

SPEAKER_04 30:52

And you should just go into it knowing that even with the other businesses, you know, that we've been involved or other stuff that I do, I've taken that into those, you know, into the same concept, I guess, that things are gonna go wrong, you know. The same idea. So yeah. It's being resilient. That's what it is. It's that resilience that comes in and you're like, just let it go and you gotta move it on.

SPEAKER_01 31:15

Absolutely. Yeah, no, I definitely struggle with like being too hard on myself sometimes too. Yeah. Um but like you were saying, it's also that balance of like having a high standard for yourself, being ambitious and like wanting to get to that next level, but also like learning from the mistakes and letting the bad things like kind of roll off your shoulder and like move forward. So that's definitely a valuable, valuable lesson.

SPEAKER_00 31:36

What do you hope people think of when they hear the name Fresh Patch? Final question. We'll start wrapping it up. This is a this is a big one.

SPEAKER_03 31:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:46

Um Yeah, I mean, I want to be the Kleenex of you know the brand that people think of when they think of getting grass delivered to your home, and I think we are. I mean, I think when I came up I I mean, I had the idea and I came up with the name, I think, like an hour later. Like that this was my name. I looked on the domain, I think Fresh Patch is just it just sums up what the product is, it is what it is. And I wanted to just when people hear that it's like bringing the outdoors inside for my pet with a fresh patch.

SPEAKER_04 32:24

Yeah. And I think just being known as the company that does the good in the world, you know, to help with it, you know.

SPEAKER_02 32:31

Eco-friendly, we're good to our customers, we're good, we're good to our employees, we're good to our suppliers. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 32:37

Yeah, that's important to us. And I hope that you know other people see that in the work that we do.

SPEAKER_00 32:43

Yeah. I can I would say yes.

SPEAKER_01 32:45

Yeah, yeah, definitely. I feel like that kind of like falls down to the rest of the company because you know, like when we're working with other people, like we want to make sure they're having a positive experience. When we're working with the warehouse, like we're super community and like, you know, take each other's uh feelings into account and all that sort of stuff. So it's a really cool kind of culture.

SPEAKER_02 33:05

We want people here that want to be here and they don't go into work. A lot of people are like, it's work, we get it.

SPEAKER_04 33:11

Yeah, but let's make it a little fun, right? Definitely have a good time of it.

SPEAKER_00 33:22

Definitely. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 33:24

And as as much as Fresh Patch has achieved, like there's still so much potential to go to even higher. So it's exciting.

Closing Thanks And Calls To Subscribe

SPEAKER_02 33:30

I mean, like people like, well, we've been doing this for 15 years, but like, where are we gonna be in 15 years from now? That's crazy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:37

The fact that you thought of this name in an hour, yeah, it's kind of mind-blowing. Uh I didn't know that. That's pretty impressive because I always trip out on the name too. I'm like, how did you like this is like perfect?

SPEAKER_02 33:47

No, no, I'm like an idea. I've got other people. Oh, you got a bag of trips.

SPEAKER_04 33:52

I'm like a little somewhere like that's no, you have a lot of great ideas. I do. Maybe you should start.

SPEAKER_02 34:00

But no, this was this is my original baby idea that it's become what it is.

SPEAKER_00 34:08

Yeah. That about wraps it up for our questions. Thank you guys very much. This has been a long time coming. So thank you guys.

SPEAKER_02 34:14

This was awesome. It had a lot of fun being here today.

SPEAKER_00 34:18

We got a lot more content to film, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:20

I'm happy you guys had the chance to kind of see it and take part in all that. Yeah. This is great.

SPEAKER_00 34:25

So, once again, hit that subscribe button, everybody watching on YouTube. If you're listening on Apple or Spotify, hit that subscribe buzz sprout. Um, and then check us out at Fresh Patch on all socials and give us a follow. Check out Freshpatch.com for all your grass needs. And we will catch you on the next episode of the Potty Talk Podcast. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_05 34:48

Thanks for listening to the Potty Time Podcast. From TV by Fresh Packs. We hope you enjoyed the show. Give us a like or a follow, or show us a follow up our real fruit like at freshpacks.com.