 What was in scratch in the itch for you at Sachi boner jokes and Super Bowl creative meetings? Jacqueline DJ's Center founder and CEO of shower cap. Are you ready to answer some questions? I'm ready to answer some questions Let's do this when I think of a shower cap I think of a free elastic ziplock bag from a hotel. Is that your competition? No, it is absolutely not our competition We don't have much competition. We created a new category of waterproof turbans Why did you think something as simple as a shower cap needed reinvention because they were so awful? Why are there three H's in the brand's name because previously it was kind of a secret behavior 90% of women don't wash their hair every day and that's who we speak to so it's like shit It's not a shower cap, but also I'm not washing my hair every day. It's it's what we know How often do you wash your hair once a week when I met you in the back of a minivan taxi summers ago in Bridgehampton you were an art director at Sachi next time you see you're getting press on a shower cap Please tell me what happened in between. I reinvented the shower cap I spent two years trying to make a better product and brand where there wasn't one previously and and I launched it because of those skills It hit what was the aha moment? Honestly, I'm the daughter of a hairdresser and I went to go look for a shower cap that fit into my adult life And I always say that it's not that I couldn't find a shower cap It's it's what came up when I searched for a fashionable shower cap that made me pursue this when did you know You wanted to jettison advertising and start a brand. I really didn't I just wanted something that Didn't exist and I realized that my skills in art direction and brand strategy were what the category needed in order to catapult It's a new level what wasn't scratching the itch for you at Sachi boner jokes and Super Bowl creative meetings What brands were on your mood board Where do you draw inspiration from tumblr the kids the streets honestly? I'm 35 so I do try to stay tapped into Gen Z. I spent a lot of time on the internet I'm really inspired by culture but also the viral nature of what hits has always been what's inspired me So I try to pay attention to those themes wherever they happen. You had a great launch. How did you ensure that happened? I spent a lot of time getting the product right we had a pre-sale We were able to boot shop at launch But the product does what it says it does and we claim a million things. That's really what what Set us on the right foot everyone these days tries to create a platform brand yours is called shower cap Where can you go from here the most interesting and exciting thing about my brand is who we speak to and why she comes to us So we don't care about shower caps. We care about the behavior of not washing your hair every day And when you think about that behavior, it's an arsenal of hair products So it's not just other shower things. It's more hair things. Yeah I have such a chip on my shoulder about owning owning a space You know kitchenware owns the kitchen bath owns a bath space But it's been really important to me that we don't launch shower curtains Who chooses the prince me and my team from your websites about me It looks like your whole team is great here. Is that a prerequisite for hiring or all thanks to shower cap It's not not a prerequisite for hiring. Where do you have the most success online? Net-a-Porter brick-and-mortar blue mercury or your own comm they play different roles If you had one marketing dollar to spend where would you spend it printed flyers? So I have to stop for a second because you said printed flyers Please explain. So we are Effectively diversifying our digital ecosystem that our digital ecosystem has always been about awareness We are pulling on my traditional background and advertising and we're literally printing flyers at kinkos Let's say do you wash your hair every day and rip offs with promo codes on the back So are you hoping the flyers are effective in and of itself and just your ability to distribute them? Or is there something like we're hoping is a ton of our media from this? We're hoping to find scalable solutions that are Not dependent on Facebook and Instagram. Who do you want to steal market share from? Loreal. All right We're on the flow code flow card. So this season flow code is sponsoring. I'm with the brand They're a revolutionary new QR technology that allows you to directly connect to consumers So you could put a flow code on your packaging and what's gonna happen right now is everyone at home watching is going to Have a flow code specifically designed for shower cap put on screen what it will do is as they hold their phones up It will take them to a customized flow page that they will create for you. It doesn't have to be one thing It could be a whole melee. What would you love flow code to put on your flow page? Do you wash your hair every day? Cool neither do we you need this promo code. Yeah and week 10 What single partnership piece of press or moment in history has been the most impactful? There's two Fast company launch piece reinventing the shower cap for the modern woman hit the day after the site went live as a bootstrap Self-funded company insane and then our Forbes piece wouldn't announce that we were worth millions of dollars What was it like when you saw your shower cup on Issa Ray on her HBO show insecure? Honestly, this is the most iconic moment of my entire life I was in Bali and Alex was peeing in the bathroom and saw it on social and freaked out And then we just like drank mimosas all day. How did that happen the stylist on set She had known the brand and she requested them the same way that you would request a sweater brand Luckily, we made it on and then we made it on again the next season I saw some other brand completely copy you and you rightfully went ape shit on social It seems like you were able to get them to stop copying you immediately Was that lucky or were us were you gonna do if they didn't stop? We sent a cease and desist and because we posted it on social They responded the way that any infringing brand should which is politely respectfully and immediately Personally, I've never worn a shower cap, but Elsa over here wanted to know Can you fully submerge your head when wearing a shower cap? So my patent to design is meant to protect your hair Perfectly from water that's coming from above. We don't necessarily recommend water coming from underneath But we definitely do protect if you're bathing or swimming just not Underwater swimming. What's the next milestone you're working towards? We're launching new products. Can you share what they are? We're building out a hair care system. Does that mean like what dry bar did like sprays and stuff like that? Tools formulas really understanding her needs and the other products in her arsenal and being the one to provide them for her tailored Experiences. What's the end game portfolio of inventions? I've learned that a lot of brands have a certain tribe and that really helps fuel its success. Who's your tribe? Women who don't wash their hair every day. Do your customers ever wear the shower caps outside of the house? Yeah, they wear them underneath umbrellas, so you'll see someone on the subway on a rainy day They wear them swimming. They wear them conditioning and running errands Lots of different use cases. What's the key to your business? Knowing her. How do you make sure your brand resonates and doesn't just check boxes? I think you have to be authentic. So far in your company's history, what's been the best day? What's been the worst? Best day when we broke a million as a self-funded company. Worst day when I was crying in my office trying to figure out how to meet payroll. What's been the weirdest customer feedback you've received? That we should make them for dogs. What's been the best part of the job? Building a brand that resonates. What's been the coolest moment so far? What's the biggest lesson you've learned so far? Check your references. I noticed in your content you cast women of all different shapes and sizes. Why does that matter when it's a shower cap that to me doesn't feel like a product that's size-oriented? It really isn't about shower caps at all. It's about how she feels when she's in the nude and body really matters there. A chic shower cap, please explain. Show versus tell. Who did the branding and what was the brief? I did the branding. The brief to myself was to create a brand that felt cool enough that women would actually want to engage with and purchase a shower cap. Who's your target audience? Everyone. Has COVID helped or hurt? Helped. We're a self-care item. Besides sales, what metrics do you look out to determine the health of your brand? Anecdotal evidence, like in-person conversation and brand recall. What's been harder than you anticipated? Scaling a self-funded company. What keeps you up at night and what time do you wake up in the morning? More than a half before my earliest meeting. And what keeps me up at night is making this brand everything that I want to be. What is your kryptonite? Managing millennials. What's the biggest challenge you've had to date? My infringers. What's been your biggest investment to date? My patents. What's something popular now that really annoys you? Other waterproof turbines that infringe on my patents. Jacqueline Dujay's Center, founder and CEO and inventor of shower cap. Thank you so much for coming on and answering my questions. Thank you so much for having me. This was so fun. I'm Ian Wishingrad and I'll see you next time on I'm With the Brand.