Hey! It’s Doone, your hype girl in business. Shout out to everyone taking action this week to bring a side hustle or business idea to life! Starting a business is a marathon, not a sprint so surround yourself with a supportive community, be flexible and keep pushing forward.

And if you need a pep talk - hit reply to this email and I'll drop some hype girl energy into your inbox! Let’s get into it 👇

The Bad vs. The Brilliant Business Model ⚽

Starting a new business is often fueled by passion and that strong "why" we love to talk about. But while passion is important, it's not enough to build a successful business. To make a business really work, you also need a solid business model. Passion alone won't cut it. You need to understand your market, competition, and those pesky numbers.

Let's break it down from the POV of an entrepreneur that's been there and done that, from both sides of the puzzle:

The Bad Business Model (Ava the Elephant)

Ava the Elephant® was inspired by a sweet-natured boy with Down syndrome who struggled to take medication. Tiffany brought her idea of an elephant medicine dispenser to Shark Tank and walked away with $50K for 55% equity to Barbara Corcoran.

But.... there were some inherent difficulties with this business model that made it difficult to grow and scale. Here's the tea so you can avoid it in your entrepreneurial journey 👇

• Niche Product ✨ having a one-use product for kids that have difficulty taking medication, made it a very small market to work with and market to

• Single SKU 🐺 there was no opportunity to easily venture out into a wider range of products so the entire business was based around Ava. The other trouble with single sku is that buyers want you to come with a suit of products and take up more space on the shelf

• Retail Strategy 🛍️ a retail only play makes it tricky to receive direct feedback from customers and communicate their strong why and story and you need to be on top of the placement in store so you don't get lost in a section that's not where your customers are searching for it

• Low Margins 💸 are not helped by retail, even with huge order quantities. Tiffany was seeing relatively low returns on the dollar front

The Brilliant Business Model (Opu Probiotics)

A well-deserved break later to recover from the sale of the first business, Tiffany was ready to do it all over again. Following an intense journey battling cancer and the chemotherapy that came with it, she found a real need for probiotics that were functional, delicious, and easy to ingest.

In true entrepreneurial fashion - if you don't find something on the market, you create it yourself. Especially with a bunch of first-hand learnings in your pocket. Let's sum up the model that was worth coming back for 👇

• Huge Market 🌎 the global market for Probiotics reached $59B in 2022 and is projected to reach a revised size of$91B(!!!) by 2030 (yes, please)

• Fantastic Margins 💸 the gross margins for probiotic businesses are typically around 40% (super high), this is always worth calculating before you dive in

• DTC 💕 when you're a people-person and have a story to tell DTC can be a great direction to take, bypassing wholesaler and retailer costs along the way

• Sustainability 🍃 build your greater values into your business model and it will encourage the right customers to come on that journey with you

• The bigger picture 🖼️ opposed to focusing on that big bang, focus on sustainable growth - that grassroots community approach - it really has staying power

So, as much as we love honing in on the importance of your "why", don't let it overshadow the need for a *super* solid business model. Get your hands dirty, listen to your customers, do the math, and be willing to adjust your business model as needed. With a solid plan in place, it's off to the races! (or to Shark Tank...)

Listen to Tiffany on the podcast →

• Glossier accepting applications to 2023 Grant Program

• & Shark Tank AU is also accepting applications 🦈

• VC is still a Boys Club (90 percent of investments for male founding teams)

• Parade launches a swimwear line

• MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving announces $250M open call

• Robinhood COO Gretchen Howard is retiring at the end of the year

• Silicon Valley Bank Parent, SVB Financial, Files for Bankruptcy

• eCommerce pricing platform BlackCurve raises £750,000

• Profits of women-owned businesses jumped 27% in 2022 (no surprises there)

• Drunk shopping costs US consumers $14B (oop!)

• TikTok CEO’s U.S. Testimony is well on the way, here's the low-down

• On that note, U.S. DTC brands prepare contingency plans

• De-influencing & loyalty are top concerns for beauty brand leaders

• Virtual clothing platform DressX raises $15M

• Instagram is bringing ads to search results

• Target earns perfect score on racial & gender scorecard (Walmart & Google fail)

• Emblem is the latest European seed fund in new wave of VC funds

• Pernod Ricard set to acquire a majority stake in Skrewball Whiskey

• We launch the Doone Roisin Business Innovation Award in partnership with UNSW

This week's contest...

Our $2000 Shopping Spree giveaway will only be live until March 28th (yep, that's tomorrow!!). If you haven't already, sign up now. You'll be in with a chance of winning a gift card to any brand of your choice. A yoga membership? Beauty products? New iPhone? You deserve it.

This week's lineup...

This week's recommendations...

REMOTE 🌎

• Queer & LGBTQ+ friends app Lex is hiring a Freelance UX Designer to join the team part-time. Find out more here.

• And so is Silk + Sonder, your self-care monthly planner and journal subscription service. If it sounds like a fit, check out the listing right here.

NYC 🇺🇸

• Inclusive kids clothing brand Primary is looking for a Social Media Coordinator to join the team on a hybrid basis. Apply directly here.

• Rent the Runway, the brand transforming the way we get dressed, is on the hunt for a Marketing Project Manager to oversee the day-to-day. Apply here.

• New York's award-winning bakery Milk Bar is searching for a Logistics Coordinator to strengthen the team. Something for you?

That’s all for today folks! This week I want you to remember: on the days you only have 40% and you give 40%, you gave 100%. Catch you next week ✨