On this episode, Indie chats with Co-Founder and CEO of Fresh Sends Ty Hiss. Fresh Sends is committed to providing curated floral selections in five clicks or less with the least amount of waste. Indie picks Ty's brain about how she accidentally fell into the world of florals and turned that plot twist into a modern gifting company that's focused on floral delivery.
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On this episode, Indie chats with Co-Founder and CEO of Fresh Sends Ty Hiss. Fresh Sends is committed to providing curated floral selections in five clicks or less with the least amount of waste. Indie picks Ty's brain about how she accidentally fell into the world of florals and turned that plot twist into a modern gifting company that's focused on floral delivery.
Links:
Welcome back to another episode of coming clean with Andy Lee. I'm your host and delete. In today's episode, I sit down with Ty hiss. Now Ty is the founder of fresh sense, a modern gifting company that's focused on floral delivery. And their mission is really to be able to enable you to buy flowers or send flowers in five clicks or less. But what's fascinating is they really are Hello, everybody, and we're back with Ty. I really am looking forward to digging into this. I don't think anybody knows this. When I was younger. I wanted to be a florist. True story. Like that's what I love. By the way, I can grow flowers like to nobodies. And like, you know I have I have a very large greenhouse in my backyard. But I don't know how to arrange them. So I cannot wait to talk about
Unknown:I am scope off
Indie Lee:us. Yes, I know. My son's a senior there now and loves it loves it. And I have a feeling that he's not coming back.
Unknown:You know, it does that to people. If you have a chance to live in Boulder, Colorado for four years. You take it right.
Indie Lee:Yeah. I mean, and you're still in. You're still in Colorado, correct?
Unknown:Yes. Yes. We're headquartered in Denver, Colorado. And CU Boulder is actually where I met my husband, who is a founder at fresh sons as well. And my college roommate, Kirby, who's our chief creative officer and also a founder so together.
Indie Lee:I know Anna, who is the Head of International she's also from CU Boulder. So I'm a big fan. Big fan.
Unknown:That is I'm so glad your son is there. What a fun experience. Oh my God, he will have to be or something. Oh
Indie Lee:my god, right? Yes. Yes, I know. Now I've got two rivals. My daughter's at Penn State. So we've got two div ones going at it. Like
Unknown:you should hear the talk. That's I'm sure. Oh, split house.
Indie Lee:Absolutely. You know, it's I think it's all fun. Okay. So really fun. Before we go into the like, what makes fresh scents so unique. And the business itself? I always start with why? Because I feel that everybody's Genesis story is very different. But it's usually like this pivotal moment, or it's either, like something that becomes like truly ingrained as a passion or a pain
Unknown:I fell into the world of florals, I guess, if you will. I was a senior at CU Boulder. My sister was getting married. And I studied advertising in school I was and am pretty particular about the way that I think things should look and love product and love the way something's presented. So I was obviously probably too high. He was too opinionated when it came to her wedding. And so when
Indie Lee:Yeah, that was crazy. Saying that is probably one of the fastest big leaps I ever heard
Unknown:of. Yes.
Indie Lee:Did you know anything about flowers?
Unknown:I knew nothing. I knew nothing. I knew that I loved flowers. I knew that I loved the way I like having fresh flowers around and the way that it made an impact on someone's wedding day. I loved that. And just figured that I would learn on the job and really did it obviously was I was very afraid I was even afraid to walk into the wholesale for the wholesaler to pick out product the the heart behind sending someone a gift and meeting someone at a moment in their life where it's either one of the best moments, a new baby a new job promotion, maybe they bought a house and maybe some of the hardest moments in their life our product gets to meet people at which is really, really special. And we take it seriously. And that really is the heart and the mission behind the company
Indie Lee:I love that. I love that because you're right, you become a part of that special moment, whether it's something really exciting and happy, or whether it's not that gift will change the way that person feels at that moment, and also the connection they have with the person who's sending it.
Unknown:Totally, totally Yeah, and and that's really the thought behind fresh scents and why we only offer one type of arrangement and how we focus a lot on the gifting experience of the moment that you open up the box that it's a photo worthy moment. It's a shareable moment, but really makes you feel special and hopefully encouraged and uplifted in whatever you're walking through.
Indie Lee:Well, listen, as someone who has received I completely agree. Now what I did when I was doing some research, and what I think also sets you apart is exactly what you said, you're really offering one bouquet. But the reasoning was something that really called to me because the industry, as you were saying is very outdated. And I read that the average brick and mortar florists is
Unknown:Yeah, and you're exactly right. In a traditional floral model, you might need to have something on hand for eight different arrangements or 16 different arrangements. If you're offering a serenity bouquet that's all white or the harvest bouquet that has some flowers in that makes the buying process really tricky. Especially because flowers are so seasonal. And if you don't, if you
Indie Lee:I love that I love that I've read that there's this new group, it's a nonprofit that actually takes that way. So now brings them to hospitals. offices, which I thought was just another fantastic idea, because you know, same thing with you know, restaurants and waste and you know, obviously feeding start the starving. But with flowers, if they're just sitting there and going to waste
Unknown:Yes. Oh my gosh, this the floral industry in general, not only are you completely at the whim of Mother Nature, you deal with tons of supply chain issues just trying to get the product to wherever you're at. So obviously, we're headquartered in Denver, Colorado, all of the product comes into our warehouse on Sundays. and on Wednesdays, we also get more product in. But that means that
Indie Lee:No, I love that it's very much like the farm to table movement. Right? Your brilliance is seasonality. This is what's in season. Peonies don't grow naturally in October. If and if I'm going to have to ship it from somewhere, or etc, maybe it's not grown optimally, etc. And so you're guaranteeing that someone is getting the freshest send.
Unknown:Right? Exactly. Yep. And so we and you know, there's, I guess that business model of AAA, you give people options, but not too many options where they're overwhelmed, we sort of take that same approach. That's why we offer the custom cards for any occasion. So and that's really where you get to choose and you get to write a personal message on the back that we handwrite for you. So you
Indie Lee:Right? Absolutely. Because let's face it, it's the flowers plus the card. I mean, what you're writing and that, that connection that hey, I see you I feel you I'm here for you all those things or happy birthday and in writing. I was like, Oh, my gosh, these flowers. I've never had a bouquet last that long they've ever had good flowers is impressive. And I started to do a lot of the
Unknown:Yeah, so we're always looking to expand our relationship with farms just because different farms will will focus on a certain type of business variety. So we're always looking to expand. We have a couple great relationships down in Ecuador, where we get our staples, so like roses and chrysanthemums and redonkulous items like that, that we love to use over and over again, oh, they're the
Indie Lee:the pandemic, it had an impact on everybody? Certainly. Certainly. I mean, but seriously, people are saying just shipments alone. I mean, there was a time when you just didn't know and products were going to arrive because people could not be, you know, workers could not be there because of everything going on, etc. And it really upset and turned the supply chain for everybody, you
Unknown:we launched fresh sens in November of 2019. And I think that the very first case that was ever documented was on the day that we launched the business. So November, end of November,
Indie Lee:I asked, I believe it was in Seattle, I was in the airport. Airport, I was
Unknown:like wild a while. So we were truly a COVID business. And on one hand, the pandemic has been great for us just for growth, because people can't get together in real life, or couldn't get together in real life. So they wanted to celebrate and touch people's lives with a gift. So that worked out really well for us, but of course, mostly with the flower supply industry and just being
Indie Lee:the adversity. It's so true. I've never, you know, I don't think people realize the amount of time it takes between seed and bloom, and then harvest. Yes. And when an unknown you don't want to go ahead and plant an entire harvest and cultivate and take care of it. When you just don't know what's going to be happening in the world. So I never thought about that supply that part of the
Unknown:Yes, of course, like with shipping we have we face challenges every day. Because we ship everything with Priority overnight shipping. And ideally the flowers should only be in their box for around 24 hours. It makes it really tricky if a plane is delayed, or if a vehicle turns out that vehicle is stuck on the side of the road and there's a fresh sand on there and that it's not going to
Indie Lee:Yeah, I mean hats off to those I mean for me they they were also part of and still are part of essential workers, are ya have been keeping the world going when we couldn't go to things they brought it to us. Yeah, and ended a lot of risks to their own health to do it. But sometimes when you get consumers I also know they like what they want what they want when they want it. I can't drive
Unknown:Yes, you're like you better get it here tomorrow.
Indie Lee:But you gotta love that they want it so badly. And I always like Oh, I see. I see that cleanser is really important to you. Like I feel For I know, and we're like that as well. Yeah. And you know, we are part of this immediate gratification society. And so when you place an order such as flowers you want it like okay, well is it's gonna be there tomorrow. Same thing with food. Same
Unknown:that. You're like, actually just take it back. Just
Indie Lee:want to know, what I'm gonna open
Unknown:up to, I can't imagine this smell right,
Indie Lee:like, gosh, but you know what, it's just this is this is the point we're into. So I just I thought it was so interesting. And to hear how you guys are managing it. Okay, so I truly believe that it's our ability to learn through our mishaps, right, our successes, our successes. So how much are you going to learn from it? What would you say is one of your biggest missteps? And what did
Unknown:Yeah, it's such an interesting question.
Indie Lee:I know, I was like, I want to go deep on this one. Yeah, I
Unknown:love it. You know, we have fresh sons. We make missteps on a regular basis, I make missteps on a regular basis. If I had to pinpoint maybe a major, maybe not even a misstep. It's just your as you're building the business, you're trying to figure out what is the right next step to take. So this was kind of more of an on an operational side. So we started the business in my husband and I's back. And it's a huge part of the story. Now it makes us laugh. But I think it's just maybe being able to slow down and trying to see just past what is the immediate hurdle
Indie Lee:and advice.
Unknown:It's always like the immediate and the urgent kind of those two things that are your way, what do I what do I tackle first, every day,
Indie Lee:every day? I totally, I totally can relate. And the reason why I asked the question is because I know so many people, there's so many founders like to listen to this or you know, budding entrepreneurs. And I want them to know, it's not always sunshine and lollipops. Like we go through these times when we're questioning what we're doing. But you get through it, you get to the other
Unknown:Totally, totally. I
Indie Lee:love to ask the question.
Unknown:I think that's such a good question. I was listening to a podcast the other day I don't remember who said it. And I'll probably remember by the end, but these are the entrepreneurship is like boxing. It's how hard you can get hit without getting knocked out. And I was like, That is so true. It is so
Indie Lee:true. It's so true. I was like what am I glutton for punishment? I keep getting up. It's like, you know, we used to like, Well, I'm gonna hate myself. There used to be this clown punching bag and I would go back down and then it would pop back up. Yes, yes, that is exactly it. No matter how hard you get hit, you're gonna pop back up, and you're going to make it happen because you know,
Unknown:I think the advice that has kept us going is just being committed to the day by day progress. So it's been amazing to see, we're coming up on our two year anniversary birthday, a fresh sense. And I was thinking about how our work has changed over time. And if I look back, a lot of our days look really similar. And some days feel like you're making no progress at all. And then there will
Indie Lee:That's beautiful. And you know what it was? I don't think that just applies to entrepreneurialship. I think it's just life. Sometimes we don't realize it, you know, having the I had this conversation with my best friend last night. Because, you know, I am I'm turning 50 I can't help you. Thank you. Thank you
Unknown:another fresh send?
Indie Lee:I'm not gonna say no. So. So, listeners out there who's gonna send this to me? So I was saying, My gosh, you know, like, what's next? And when she goes, Look at where you keep 10 years ago, when you hit 40, you would just survive surgery. You were starting this company. And now look at you and you know, you don't see it. But when Yeah, and take a step back. And I'm like, oh, yeah, we're
Unknown:Yeah. Oh, wow, that's such a good question. I get to work with some of the best people around it is the biggest blessing in my life that I get to work alongside my husband and one of my best friends every day and build a business alongside them. So honestly, I'm so fortunate that coming to work feels like recharging, oftentimes, to me, and I'm so grateful for that. And the obviously work
Indie Lee:affirmations and I'm a big proponent of that somebody who's been meditating for six years, every morning and every night I've been a practicing Buddhist for over 21 years, those affirmations and those things that you speak to yourself and to the universe, their herd the herd by yourself. There's so much chatter in our heads. Yeah, that's a wake up and and say those words to
Unknown:Oh, yeah. So fresh sens is on Instagram and Tiktok. Just fresh sens give us a follow freshens.com is where you can place an order. We say you can easily send flowers in five clicks or less. So it should take about five minutes. My Instagram is Tiger hiss. People always asked me if my full name is Thai. It is in fact Thai. But I joke that my middle name is Oscar. That's the running joke.
Indie Lee:doing it right after this. I love the idea of attacks too. I'm like, All right. Do you know every morning every morning for the past 12 years, my best friend and I text each other G m s for Good morning sunshine, and I love that you're doing with Lee texts of that, because it is about creating community and is about lifting one another up when you're right. Loneliness is a pandemic that
Unknown:Oh my gosh, me too. This is I love it.
Indie Lee:Thank you for joining me today.
Unknown:Absolutely. Thanks so much.
Indie Lee:I hope you enjoyed our recent episode. As always, if you have ideas for upcoming guests, or perhaps new topics, please feel free to email me at coming clean at Indie lead calm that's coming clean at Indie lead calm, and if you liked what you hear, please subscribe and of course, always love to hear a review. See you next time.