 Today we're excited to welcome someone who proves that making small innovative changes make huge impact. Shea Riley joins us to talk about founding SIP, her part in saving the environment, and what we can all do to help. This is School of Hustle, the show where we find advice and inspiration from people who are making their own way. I'm Shannon, the VP of social here at GoDaddy, and I live and breathe the hustle of business. Today we're filming from the hustle of it all at the WeWork Time Square in New York City. Okay everybody, let's give Shea a big warm welcome to the show. So exciting to talk to you today. You are the founder of SIP, an alternative to plastic and paper straws. Tell us about your products. Yeah so at SIP we have glass sustainable reusable straws and the reason that I really wanted to focus on glass is because the other alternatives I wasn't really into paper on plastic obviously and metal specifically just the way it changes the the taste of your drink and all of that. So yeah we came up with this like way to do glass straws and we have the regular size and the cocktail size so that you it's really versatile and you can enjoy all of your drinks and without having the dissolving straw or the you know plastic so yeah that's that's where SIP is around. And is it clear? Is it colorful? What does it look like? Yeah so it's clear actually I've seen her too but it's clear glass and we have a black logo on the other side that's open too. Okay fabulous. Black logo, white logo, and yeah there's room for growth and everything too but so it's it's clear glass with a logo. I like this too because I feel like plastic straws that get too colorful and opaque you can't see how clean they are. Right. And then I feel weird using it because I don't want to make myself sick. Right. And so I feel like a nice clean glass straw is the way to go. Totally and that's kind of what my thing against metal straws was was that you can't see if they're clean or not and I didn't like that. So like the glass you know for sure we have like the brushes that go with it that are also plastic free. So yeah just keep it on that row. How easy do they break? How to drop this in my out of luck? No you're not out of luck. So it's the strongest commercially available glass it's for a silicate so it's the it's the same glass NAPS actually uses in a lot of their products because it's just so it's so strong so obviously things in space are gonna be a little bit stronger than they are here but here I mean I have people like tell me all the time I dropped it and on the kitchen floor and my heart stopped and and I was just waiting for it and it just it bounced back up and it was fine and and so I always like love to hear those stories about people like really understanding that they're not going to break and that they are really durable so yeah. Why was it important to you to start your business? Totally I think like obviously the the whole movement around not using plastic straws is is really big right now and I started to think on it and think about how we can make a little bit more of an impact and in these small changes that large groups do and I I love that we're all moving toward using paper straws and alternatives and stuff but at the same time like I said the paper straws are like they dissolve they're not they don't they kind of like deteriorate the quality of the drink that you're having so it was just really important to me to have a different alternative that almost enhanced the drink experience if you will. And you started your business with your sister? Yes. And I always think that's interesting when people who know each other very well very close to work together in business. Yes. How do you each define your roles at the company? Well since it's a startup it's very you know touch-and-go as is like we're still learning a lot and figuring out what the day-to-day looks like so it's really just we tackle what needs to be tackled when it needs to be tackled so if there's something that I need her perspective on or her help with she's there for that and likewise if she needs something for me to create or ideas then then I'll handle that stuff and it's really nice to have a separate perspective when I'm kind of like focus so much on the nitty-gritty of things and she's a fresh clear perspective that kind of you know reignites the excitement behind wanting to do something like that so that it's been really cool to have her as a soundboard and and grow this together. Is she a big sister or a little sister? She's my little sister. Yes. Well SIPP has a very important charitable component to it. It does. Tell me about your work with Oceana. Yes so every purchase we donate 10% of that to Oceana. Our first one is actually coming up at the end of the month so we're really excited about it and it kind of puts it into perspective about how new we are as a company and and so we're going to do quarterly donations and yeah it's just we really wanted to to take what we're doing and just go a step further and and further be able to you know make an impact in whatever way we can and so if that's you know donating some of our our sales and revenue to a greater cause then that's that was our a huge focus for us. And like you've covered there are a lot of straws out there and alternatives right? So how do you go about standing out in the marketplace and educating people as to what SIPP is all about and ensuring that they buy your product and not some of the others out there? Absolutely so I think people love to have alternatives and and the more that there are you know the healthier your decision-making process is if you can really have a say and you know I love that we're moving away from plastic and we have paper but I don't love paper and I don't love map and and so there's really something for everybody out there and and people are all different obviously and so everyone's going to have their preference but to just kind of get on board with that idea that there is this like nice feeling like tasting alternative is is really something that I think that people who use SIP notice off the bat and kind of are like okay this is the the way that I want to have my drinks. Yeah word of mouth and reviews are very important. Absolutely right absolutely and so how do you and your sister think about expanding SIPP? Yeah so um I think there's a lot we can do with it just in the idea of accessories and and making sure that we're coming out with a travel component case um so you know like yeah that's a huge thing for people yeah because a lot of people want to take it on the road right right enjoy beverages out in the car at work at their desk right and just kind of be on the go. Exactly yeah so that's the next our our focus right now and those should be coming out within the next like month or so so I'm really excited about that to kind of like be able to say okay now you can take it out with you. Is it like a zip pouch? Is it a canister? It's going to be like a canister like a tube essentially um and so just so that you're able to you know like throw it in your purse when you go out or your backpack and not feel like you have to worry about it um honestly mine's always in my backpack anyway and I've never had any problems with it but um this will just give people the the peace of mind that they don't have to worry about that. And so how do you think about producing your product when you when you go and work with your manufacturers or your teams um how do you think about like actually making sure that the product itself is great because there is word of mouth and all that but if the product isn't as it should be right people won't review it favorably right so how do you how do you actually make it? Right so I work with this um little family owned company that specializes in high quality glass products so I I had a very long the first thing I did was reach out to every production like manufacturer that I could I could find and had really like in-depth conversations with them about their process and what goes into their straws and you know all of that stuff like I wanted to make sure that the from everything from the shipping um was was we were being as eco-friendly as possible so I worked out fulfillment with him so it doesn't have to come to me to go then back out so there's just lots of little things that were really important to me to focus on for manufacturing um and so that's kind of that was like one of the biggest highlights I think for that process for sure. Yeah and do you think about doing SIP full-time? Are you doing it full-time? Um so I'm doing it full time and then I also do a lot of like marketing work on the side um so I'm kind of it's it's been really it's been a really cool time for me to be able to take a couple steps back and just like focus on something I really am truly passionate about and really care about um and at the same time like it's awesome to be able to make your own schedule and and and really focus and so like if I'm having a night where I'm really in like in the zone and I want to work till 11 like that's you know awesome one two whatever whatever the case may be um so it's just it's been really a rewarding process um throughout the entire thing. And what will success look like for you? I think success first and foremost is definitely being happy with what you're doing. I think that we see people who are quote-unquote successful all the time and I wouldn't measure my definition of success against that and I think that you know making sure that you have a work-life balance is something that's really important so I think that if there was there's a situation where you know you feel like you're being fulfilled both personally and professionally I think that that's how I would probably define success. Well we really appreciate you sharing all of that with us and I love what you're doing and the charitable component is amazing. The impact is enormous. Thank you. I do want to switch gears and play my favorite game called Castle Time. Would you rather never be able to teach or never be able to learn? Never be able to teach. Fictional place you'd like to visit? Hogwarts. Early bird or night owl? Night owl. Coffee or tea? Coffee. Favorite part of your day? The night. Ski trip or beach vacation? Beach vacation. First place you visit when you retire? Summer warm. Number when guilty pleasure? Ice cream. One word you wish you could take away from the English language? Boozy brunch or morning workout? Boozy brunch. Beer or wine? Wine. Favorite part of a s'more? Chocolate. Top quality you look for in an employee? Ability to learn. Instagram or Twitter? Instagram. Favorite holiday? Christmas. Worst trend you've ever participated in? Bell bottoms. New York or London? New York. Ideal fake sick day? Beach trip. Would you rather visit licorice castle or peppermint forest? Peppermint forest. M&M's or Skittles? M&M's. Number of times it took you to pass your driver's test? One. Last person you texted? Alyssa. Camping or glamping? Camping or glamping? Glamping. All right. Are you ready to see? We're going to count it off. We have one, 21, 22, 23. I think this is the test piece of advice you've ever gotten. To continue to just follow your gut and stick with it. Worst piece of advice? To remain complacent in that not we don't need to change anything or the status quo is the final word. How do you use your career to inspire others? I think just by communication and talking and building ideas and those communicative fridges. Ever felt like walking away? No. One thing you still need to learn? Probably how to I think all of us just to not worry so much about other people and their thought process of you or what you're doing. Something I always actively want to get better at. What do you want people to learn from you? That you know there's no set path that you need to follow and that you're gonna change your mind a million times about things and to just kind of stick with your gut and do what feels right in the moment for you. What's next for you? To continue with SIP and continue to grow this and figure out like how what I'm super passionate about and just continue to go down that path. Who inspires you? My family and my friends are such an insane support team and such a huge inspiration to me on every single day so. Who challenges you? My family and my friends also challenge me to be better and to grow and to continue to just challenge the status quo and what I'm doing. Well this next question comes from our favorite entrepreneur Noodle and Noodle needs some advice Shay. Okay. Sure it comes as no surprise that Noodle cares deeply about the environment and he feels compelled to live a more sustainable lifestyle. But he's not quite sure where to start. What are some practical changes that Noodle can make right now to start making impact? Sure I think that single use plastic and stuff like that that we that we're also frequently around is something that we can all do to cut down our waste and it's something super easy and very quick and I think that SIP's whole thing is that we can make a huge impact with these this little really little change if we all do it in in a group together and and that's something that I I would start with for for a time. And I think Noodle might be able to use maybe the cocktail size. Yes definitely that might work. Yes that's a whole new product line. Well as we close we always like to leave with a final thought and so I'm going to share three quotes with you and ask for you to listen and tell me which one resonates the most with you and why. Okay number one. The starting point of all achievement is desire. Number two. Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out. Number three. It's not what you look at that matters it's what you see. Absolutely so I think I'm going to go with number two given what we're working on especially but just in in and of itself that this again these little changes that we make can really leave a huge impact and I mean even the negative impact that plastic straws have made that's such a little thing that really made a huge put a huge problem on our plates and so this kind of is the same thing that we can undo or hopefully make a dent in undoing the damage that's been done already but. Thank you for being here. Thank you for having me absolutely this is awesome. I had such a blast this is so cool. I want everybody watching to understand how they can get their hands on one of your sip straws. Sure yeah. So we sell online at www.sipstraws.co and our Instagram is zip.curianstraws. My personal is Shay Rose Riley and yeah that's where you can find us. I know everybody will be thinking about this this is an awesome product. Thank you so much I truly appreciate that. You're welcome. Thank you. And I know that everyone enjoyed your inspiration and advice today so I do want to remind everybody watching that we are bringing fabulous entrepreneurs every week to you on School of Hustle. So if you follow GoDaddy, across all social, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter there is more advice and inspiration to be had every week. So follow GoDaddy tune in again and we'll see you soon. Bye.