Why I Turned Down A $300k Investment (ft. Iris Smit)

Hi, I'm Britney Saunders and welcome to Big Business, the place where business is far from boring. And today I'm recording on gaddigal Land. Now I somehow manage to build an empire from the garage underneath my house and I'm here to share it all with you, from the wins, the mistakes, the challenging times and trust me, there's a

By the way, I started twenty seventeen. This is that a long time? I think seven seven years?

Yeah, roughly. At the same time as you have to use my fingers to count, We're about to celebrate our seventh birthday. But it feels like I was saying, like, we've been doing this for seven years. It feels like a lot has happened in seven years. But it also feels like it's just flows so quick. Don't you think being in business makes you realize how fast the time goes so fast?

Yeah, especially with COVID, I feel like twenty twenty to maybe like twenty twenty two, those two years was just like a write off. I don't even count them. I'm like, now I've been in business for like five years.

Yeah, I couldn't agree more. Well, I'm so excited to have you on the pod. I've obviously followed you for who knows how long. I feel like we've been connected online. Love everything that you do. Love some of your products. I've been buying them.

Oh thank you.

I've got on your tanning serum spray. Yeah, like the missed one y. Yeah, I've been putting it like on my face and neck and then just on my hands.

Can I bring something out? Yeah, I've brought you something. I'm like, God, because someone actually sent me you're live using it? Oh yeah, And I was like I need to hook you up. Oh stop with the moose. The moose which is like it's actually like whipped cream. I was like, you'll love this. Hold on, you got a demo.

See this? So this is tan? Wow? Yeah, it's like white white moose, literally white mood. Is it gradual or like fake tan? Well, it's a fake tan, but it's gradual.

I am actually working on a like.

A darker version.

Yeah, but it's actually just like a moisturizer.

There you go. Love that.

Now I've got no where to put this, So that's yours. So we're adding to your collection today.

Well, I gave up fake tan, like I was a serial fake tanner, like every week you just hold on, we'll get a cloth, we'll just keep talking. I gave up fake tanning because I used to do it religiously and then it just got to the point where I was like I can't do this every Thursday. Yeah. So now I kind of just put on like a bit of a gradual or I bought that missed being and then I just put that on to want to feel a bit of a glow. Anyway, I want to get into the pod because I feel like we're just going

People say the stamp thingy, thank you, the eyelighter stamp, stamp thingy. They're like, you're the stamp girl. I'm like, yep, that's me, or the sunscreen girl. Sometimes they say the sunscreen spray girl.

You're doing all the things. Okay, we've just cleaned up. The tanga moose is gone. Xander's distracting us already. I guess I obviously know your story and who you are and what the quick Flick is, but maybe you can give everyone listening and yeah, like, what is the quick Flick for anyone who doesn't know. Yes.

So I started at twenty seventeen and winged eyeliner was just popping off at the time, and it was like the era of the winged eyeliner, like a makeup loook wasn't finished without a.

Massive, big wing, ye big ass wing.

And I was watching so many videos of how to do wing eye liner, so I decided to create a better solution, which was the eyeliner stamp. So, yeah, my whole brand is essentially about solving makeup problems that people experience in their daytay routines, and solving that through better designed products. So, whether that be eyeliner stamps, sunscreen to help with reapplying a sunscreen over a full face of makeup, false slash application.

Name a problem, I probably have a product that solves it. She's a problem solver.

Yeah, problem solver, time saving and also trying to make the multi use as well, so you can fake tan and moisturize.

At the same time, for example. We love that. So your quick Flick range, which I have a question for you, by the way, I'm going to ask you in a second, but your quick Flick is obviously you started it online and then you've since branched out into retailing. Now all of your your entire range is available in Priceline and Coals.

Yeah, so entire range in Priceline. We actually just launched our first floorstand. Yeah, there's a select range in Coals and a select range in Terry White as well.

Wow, And you're allowed to be in all different ones like that right now, So you can be in Priceline and tear weep Terry.

Why so, yes, unless you've got like different terms with your retailers that maybe makes you exclusive, but in our case, we don't have that.

Very interesting though this is all new to me, I'm like, teach me everything you know, honestly, because like mind blowing. My first question to you is, obviously, when you started this, you started it on your own. You started it with your eyeliner stamp, and you've called your brand the quick Flick was your mentality at the time. I'm just coming out with this one product, and that's why I'm going

So when I started, I don't really know what I thought. I just started, like I didn't have like this big five year business plan, and this is what I want to do, and this is what I want to go into I kind of just started and just rolled with it. I think looking back, yes, I maybe if I was to do it again, I would have chosen just a generic name that would have overarched the entire brand. But I still think like quick flick, it's still relevant to the ethos off the brand, which is like to get

Products, and their brand is called beauty Blender beauty Blender. Yeah, yeah, so you can evolve a name. But what would be your advice, if any, to someone maybe who is starting a business Like both you and I when we started, I think we started in similar ways where we didn't know what the fuck we were doing. Literally we just started it anyway, and not much thought went into our

I think if I started again, I'll probably definitely pick a generic, just overarching name that would probably encompass everything beauty related.

Yeah. I think that's the interesting thing as well. When someone is starting something, you know, from scratch, you don't think it's ever. I mean, some people might have the dream that their brand is going to be huge and it's going to be in calls and terry white. But when you are starting so small, you kind of do have that small mindset, so you never think, oh, maybe i'll call it something plain in case I've become huge one day. But yeah, I've been wanting to ask you

Yes, it's like you're in my brain right now, Yes I have, But I honestly just feel like the quick flicks just the quick flick now, yeah, and it would maybe not be detrimental, but I don't know the true benefit it would have because I've kind of already proven that we can be quite successful in other categories like tanning or sunscreen, and I think having yeah, the name like quick screen or quick glow, it still works and then people know it's you know, quick glow, tanning by the quick flick.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, It's so interesting and I'm always interested when I see brands do rebranding, and you even see like some massive brands do a whole rebrand, but.

Fuitter Beauty recently they did like all new logos and everything.

Yeah, Like, I can't imagine what that process would look like for brands when they've got all the products out there. Like I think if we would ever rebrand Fate, I'd have to change like every tag on every piece of clothing and all the signage that's everywhere. Like, how do you even orchestrate something like that?

Yeah, it'd be huge, especially for retail because say, if we were you know, let's say calling it I don't know, Quick Cosmetics or something, I don't know, Quick Beauty, we would essentially have to buy back all the stock from the retailers, dispose of it somehow or salad off for really cheap, yeah, and then pipe in all new branded's stock.

It would be a lot. It would be very expensive exercise. It would be a lot. I've never really had one thought in my mind to rebrand Fate, But the only time that I have ever thought that is because I have been shocked over the years at how many people have thought that it's fat. I've seen your videos. I'm just like, can you not read like are you seeing fa y? And like that's fae and then two on the end. But that's the only thing that's ever made me go, I think we need to change the name.

So that was many moons ago, two thousand and eighteen, so.

You're only like a year into your business.

Yeah. I actually got the email from the producer four months after I had started, and my initial thought was, one, this is a.

Scam so they scouted you.

Yeah, at first I thought this is a scam email, so yat man, I think I like deleted it, and then like undeleted, I was like, no, it's legit, and then yeah, I think going back to what you said about like the smaller mindset, thing. I was like, I'm too small to go on this show. Yeah, like only big businesses go on this who have you know, huge revenue behind them. And at the time I was still very small. I was like literally doing it out of my one bedroom apartment.

Yeah. So yeah, it was just you just had the one product back then, right.

Yeah, it was well, it was the eyeliner stamp in a few different sizes. Yeah, but initially I just pushed it to the side and said I'm not gonna bother And then I think the submissions were due at midnight and it.

Was one am in the morning.

I was packing orders and I was like, fuck it.

Just do it. Iris.

I like whipped out my phone and I was like, Hi, I'm Iris, and I like I looked so tired, my hair was like everywhere and did like back then what was probably like ugc now, but back then it was all like very polished and these you know, highly produced videos. Sent it in and the producer literally called me the next day she was like, we love it, such a raw video.

So I was like, I'm glad that's what you think, because.

Like I remember when I was actually going to do the filming, like there was people there telling me they had hired like film Cruis do their audition tape. Yeah, like really good polish stuff. And mine was like, Hi, do you think that iPhone quality is bad? Well?

And so you went on Shark Tank obviously seeking an investment. What was I remember watching like the clips when that happened. But what was the investment that you're after in? What percentage? Were you? Oh? Testing my knowledge?

So I think it was three hundred thousand dollars for So I was asking for three hundred thousand dollars for ten percent and then the deal I ended up getting, but then later it turned down after the show was three hundred thousand and four twenty seven and a half percent.

Oh that's a high amount. Yeah, that's a high amount. So you did like take that offer on the show.

Took it on the show after a bit of back and forth negotiation. Uh, and then yeah, afterwards when it went like through the whole due diligence, I ended up turning it down.

And it was like the best thing that you did. Yeah, I'm glad, I glad. I'm so what were you wanting to do with that three hundred grand go into retail? Yeah?

And yeah, during the time like when you film and then when the due diligence actually starts, like there was a three months but yeah had happened, and during that time, Priceline had actually reached out to me and said, we want to put you in our stores. And yeah, literally, during that three month time, I'd scaled my business from I think one hundred thousand dollars in revenue to half a million dollars in revenue. So I had the cash to literally do it on my own, and actually was

Yeah, because you think, like shock Tank a big deal.

So yeah, I'm really grateful I had good advice.

I can imagine that's hard when you've got a bunch of like yes people in your ears. Did you have like a gut feeling then that was like no, Like I don't think I should take this.

Yeah, I really did, Like there was just a deep down knowing I shouldn't go through with this. So I'm really really glad I've listened to that. And I feel like even now in business, like when that gut feelings like we are we are, we are, We're listen to that shit.

Yeah, I found that that's always the right really, and even it could be something so small, like at the beginning of something, it's gut feeling and then you let it go and then lay it down the track. It will you if you don't listen to it. So listen to your gut listen. Yeah, one hundred percent. Like in anything in business, I would say, yeah, wow, So do you know what that would have looked like if you

I can't talk about it, okay, Yeah.

Oh damn, I wanted the tea. I'm not going to get it out of you, obviously, but just because that that whole thing like fascinates me obviously.

Yeah, I can't discuss the actual details of what that deal would have looked like. But from my knowledge of other people I know who've had investors, I can talk about what that would look like.

Yeah, from their experience, because I spoke with like an investing company I think it was last year, and they wanted to come in and take fifty one percent of fate. Oh my gosh. Yeah, and they wanted yeah full, so that fifty percent was like they've got the upper hand kind of things. So yeah, yeah, And I only had like a couple of conversations with them and AJ my partner,

Yeah, especially at fifty one percent, I know.

And I just couldn't wrap my head around how that would work, especially more so from yours and my point of view where the business is us. Yeah, like we have started this from the ground up kind of thing, and like I'm very much still in control of absolutely everything, like nothing gets done without my take of approval kind of thing. So how would that then look if some

No, I don't think so. I think it all goes back to what's your purpose? Why are you in business in the first place? Yes, And I agree. I think there's some people out there who just want to build a cash cow and then.

Flog it and then sell it off and then.

Start a million and then start something else.

And I don't see there being anything wrong with that. No, but I'm kind of like here for the journey.

I agree, I'm the same, Okay, and I'm the same. I'm like, I'm just getting started. I'm seven years in, but I'm I feel like there's so much untapped potential that I still want to get my little claws in.

How do you feel about that, because I guess we would probably have a similar view about that, feeling of never being able to achieve enough. How do I feel about that? Do you feel that way? Oh?

Yeah, it's not just me. I think sometimes it's just reminding me that I have huge expectations for myself and I have. I'm probably my worst critic.

I know.

I have like an inner bully as well that's always telling me keep going, do more, keep pushing, And sometimes I just have to tell it, chill the fuck out and just take a step back and see how far you've come. What you've done is actually incredible. And stop comparing yourself to others as well. I think is the big thing. Like there's some people who have amazing businesses, but they've had a head start, whether that be with funding or they have already scaled a business and sold it.

Before and then they're starting another one.

They have those contacts already, So I think not comparing yourself to other people's journey is a huge thing for me.

But yeah, I think it's just a constant.

I deal with it every single day, and I think it's just you get better at calming that voice in your head and just telling it to just chill out. We're doing really good. And I think having like a clear plan as to where you want to go sometimes I get really overwhelmed. I'm like, oh, we haven't done all of this and this and this, and then I'm like, actually go back to the plan that we set out.

We're ticking it off.

I think every entrepreneur has that little in a voice that says when we're not doing enough.

It's never and it's a list just gets longer. Why it is like that in business, and I'm sure a lot of other business owners can relate, Like it is hard to stop and acknowledge all the amazing things that you've done. That hard when you can only see like the path that's in front of you and how much further you can go, Which is crazy because the stuff that we've done is like so like amazing, and but when you're doing it, it doesn't feel like it. It just feels like.

It just feels normal to you, like I'm just doing the minimums.

Sometimes people, oh, you're not look at everything that you've done, and I'm like.

Yeah, yeah, because we just expected of ourselves.

I think maybe it's that it's like that self pressure. Yeah, what are some of your goals with the quick flick? Like how many products do you have in your range at the moment?

I think I've got just one of fifty skews now if you count like different sizes of stamps. Ye, So a skew is essentially just like a product or a code that we give to a product. So for example, the Tanning moose, the skew for that is q GMO, so quick Glow Moose. So it's just like a code that we give like a barcode. Yes, So it basically helps you differentiate. So say we've got like an eyeliner stamp, and then it comes in four different sizes. Each size would have its own skew your code.

Yeah, so you've got around fifty ish about fifty Yeah? Are you just going to keep going?

Yes, definitely. I've got so many adults. Well, there's so many problems still to solve. Yeah, And recently I've become very passionate about haircare. I kind of want to go into hair care a little bit more.

I feel like with the realm that you're in as well, it is endless. The stuff that you can cut out, Like you've just branch off into tan skincare, you've done sunscreen hair makes sense totally. Stuff. Are you going to jump on like body mists, because they're absolutely raging at the moment, I've got something for you. Is it an exclusive?

No, it hasn't launched yet. It's currently launching into Coals at the moment. I have spoken about it online. Okay, it's not on our website yet, but it is. It's actually a hair and body.

Miss Oh yeah, I think I've actually seen this on your social r.

UV filters, so it helps proect your hair against sun damage. Wow, going you know, like kind of ties into the whole suncare, Isn't agree?

That so interesting to see you Like, it's been so interesting to see the rise of body mists again. Like I feel like thanks to Soul Dejaneiro, they're the ones that have really like skyrocketed the body mists breaking out. Yeah, because I think back to when we were kids and teenagers and Pulse. Yeah, we were going calls and by like hello Kitty, bubblegum spray, and it's it's giving the same sort of thing, but just rebranded and it's all about the branding. Literally.

Yeah, the change rooms stunk of impulse, like.

Use impulse, like in my arm pits, and then you get.

The worst bo sting.

Because it's not deodorant. Deodorant maybe who knows?

Do you want me to do you have a problem I can solve?

I feel like you could maybe make a deodorant. I mean, you know how there's like lots of natural deodorance out there now, all the ones that I've tried, it makes you stink a bit. Yeah, okay, so maybe you could come out with a natural deodorant in your Yeah, that works and like doesn't make you get bo But I've heard like you need to use them for so long before it like neutralizes with your body or whatever. Okay, because I just keep using my Dove, like my og

I've heard the trick with deodorant is to actually apply it at night before you go to bed. That's the hack I've heard, and then again in the morning. But by applying it at night, it helps mitigate the smell more throughout the day rather than just in the morning.

There you go. You heard it here first everyone, What other goals and plans do you envision for the quick flip other than like coming out with more products? Yeah, so new products definitely. I think.

Also going into new regions, new countries.

Yeah.

So the fun thing with sunscreens is every region pretty much has its own laws and regulations.

Yes, and our sunscreen is so different to sunscreen in America. Yeah, what different actives.

Yeah, so the US has a limited amount of actives, So some of the sunscreens the TJ allows to be sold in Australia can't be sold in the US, so you have to reformulate. So actives are essentially sunscreen filters that help filter UV when you're wearing the sunscreen. That's how they work.

And isn't it Australian sunscreen, like the best sunscreen? It's the strictest. Yeah. Like, I feel like Americans should be taking our advice when it comes to sunscreen, not that I know anything about it, yeah, but you know what I mean, Like our son here is harsh. Yeah, we know, Yeah, a good sunscreen exactly right. Yeah, yeah, I'm just talking about goals. Have you, Like, have you ever thought of having your own store?

No, I haven't, just because I think it works really well how we have it at the moment. I haven't looked into it. Yeah, I haven't really explored that as a.

Great now I've planted that seed.

Yeah.

No, I think it'd be really hard to have like a standalone beauty store. Yeah, I think that would be hard, especially with your mechazine Sephoras and everything, like that.

Yeah. I think also because when I started my business, my boyfriend at the time had a kiosk selling dried meats super random, I know, like what's it called jerky, Yeah, Bill Tong, And I think I got to understand the back end of that, and I was kind of like, I just that's not for me.

That's so interesting because then I obviously have stores and that's my thing that I do, and I look at what you do and how you're in other retails. I'm like, oh, I couldn't do that. You know, you just get used to whatever it is that you're doing, and so I look at you and I'm like, how the fuck would you supply to Cole's, Like how do you know how much product to give them? Like, you know, business to business.

I literally posted a video on this last night because there was this viral video Wheather.

I think she's a millennial.

I'm millennial, but whatever she was saying, like, as a millennial, are we like I'm asking the gen zs, are we still wearing We? No gen zs wearing it and it's the only look that makes me look hot. And I literally made a video saying, we're still wearing it, but slightly differently, so like opting for a brown liner rather than like a thick black or using a pencil so it's a softer wing and rather than like that real

Yeah. I really do think since twenty seventeen we have gone from that really full glam, big wing cutcrease whatever to now like more your natural vibes totally. Did you ever think that when you started the quick flick that your hero product would then no longer be your hero product? What is your hero product at the moment?

So well, the is longer stamps are still in the top sellers, So like top five cellars would be the sunscreen spray, the Turning Moose, the winged eye liner stamps, the brow jel, the brow lamination gel, and actually our lash curler of all things.

There you go.

Yeah, so the stamps are still there. They're still holding on. Seven years later, they're still holding on.

What was the motivation for starting in the first place, I guess, and this is a question that I get all the time as well, like why did you start?

Yeah, honestly, I think because I was really unhappy with my life at the time. So I was studying architecture, and I feel like I was just studying it because I had to go to UNI.

You just felt like you needed to be to do something, you.

Know, like and I started. I started doing law. Didn't like that, changed architecture, didn't like it so much. Then changed interior architecture. I was just hopping around, trying things. And then the second UNI that I went to, I felt a lot of pressure from my parents to like see this through. You know, just get the piece of paper. You know, at least if you have a piece of paper, you can do anything. That was the mentality that I had, and I'm like I don't have a piece of paper.

I feel like a lot of people do find themselves in that position. I feel like I need to get this degree and just finish it. Yeah.

So I was in the middle of my final year writing my thesis and I was like, I do not want to graduate and be an architect, Like it just felt like a prison sentence to me. So my boyfriend at the time actually had an e comms store that was very successful and he got me in to run it.

Not the beef Jerky, this was the one before that.

So this one was oh my god, so round, and this one was selling gold plated roses.

I remember those were they like a forever rose thing? Yeah? Yeah, they were really popular back the Yeah.

And I saw them rise and then I saw them fall as they rose, which has almost like intended, which kind of has instilled this thing in me to always stay ahead and constantly be innovating and like not just sticking with the eyeliner stamps.

And making up that is so important. Yeah.

So I just kind of wanted to change my life, to be honest, which is why I started the business.

And had you tried any other business before the quick Flick?

Yeah, I delved with a few random things, like actually tanning, of all things. Tanning was like the first thing I sort of tried. Then I tried like remember those like selfie phone cases at the time they were really big round I've done some random shit. A there was a phone case it had like a selfie light on it, so.

When you took I think like Carlie Jenner and all that was promoting back in the day.

Yes, I did that a little bit. And then I also did tried to start like I still think it was a really good idea. I tried to start a brand called the Hair Consultants, which was for hair extensions, which at the time like they weren't huge on the market hair extensions in terms of like the wafs. So I tried that and then yeah, none of the really work. To be honest, I don't think I was super passionate about them. Yeah, and then yeah, quick flick here we are.

Wow, there you go. I think it's always good to know most entrepreneurs that you'll see today that do have like a successful business have probably tried lots of little things prior to it. It's not always like your first rodeo kind of thing like you. Yeah, So it's good to know that you also tried all these random little things and looking back we might say, oh, but they weren't businesses, like it was just me trying to do something, But it is you trying to start a business. Even

Well, Quick Flick felt like a hobby at the start. People used to say, oh, how's your little sidebiz going, Actually not too bad?

Thanks, Oh I love that. But I mean we still I think fate as much as it is a big business today, and maybe you feel the same about the Quick Flick, it still does feel like a fun hobby that you just so luckily get to do every single day. It just kind of turned into this big thing, but it feels fun. And I think it's an important thing as well in anyone's business journey is to never not have fun with it. And I think at any point if business is not fun, like obviously, we're going to

So this tip would have saved me ten thousand US dollars had I known it, so I want to share it. So a mistake that I made was assuming that the sample you sign off on when you're manufacturing a product is going to match the final bulk order that you receive. So I made this mistake where we were actually ordering merchandise.

They were completely different, did not match.

Couldn't even use dollars, Like the whole design was like warped and stretched, the lid didn't go on properly. They all had to be recycled like it wasn't even salvageable.

Wow.

So yeah, check your sample against your bulk always before you ship and pay any final deposits.

Yeah, it's crazy, isn't it. I think that's something that would probably happen to a lot of owners. And people always ask like, what is our sampling process for fate And I'm sure it's the same for your or packaging kind of thing. So we always sample and sample and sample until you get it right and then you're like, Okay,

So me, you can find at Iris Jade on socials and then the Quick Flick, the Quick Flick or head down to your local Coals, Priceline or Terry White and you'll find us in the shelves.

What's your number one product that you would recommend for people to try if they have never purchased anything from you before.

I gotta go with our best seller, which is the Sunscreen Spray. So it's sunscreen spray for over makeup, but it also helps set your makeup and hydrate your skin. And it's s p F fifty plus trust the Aussie Sunscreens.

I'm gonna need to try that because I've just got like this serum one. Don't worry, I've got some for you.

I've got everything in my bad today it happens, stop it.

Oh, this has been so great and I'm gonna need to get you back again whenever you're here next because it's just so good to talk to other people who just get it. Agreed,