Lindry Lab

0:00SPEAKER_00:You're listening to the Preppy Podcast, and I'm your host, Patricia May Olsen. I'll be interviewing the brands, businesses, and influencers who are keeping the modern preppy lifestyle alive. Each Tuesday, I'll bring you a new episode, but if you're craving more preppy, then shop the merch and listen to past episodes at thepreppy podcast.com and be sure to follow at the preppy podcast and me, Patricia underscore May underscore Olsen on Instagram. So in this discussion, we talk all about what's different this time around, all about the amazing scents that she came up with.

1:04SPEAKER_00:And something that I found so fascinating is she takes something like a chore, something so mundane, like doing laundry, and makes it luxurious, makes it an experience. So all about how she's done that with this brand. Um, but before we get into this week's episode, a few reminders. First being Camp Preppy. Join us for our holiday Camp Preppy at Barnesley Resort at the end of November. It is all holiday and Christmas themed. We are going to be our doing our signature activities like mahjong and needlepoint, plus, of course, lots of holiday-related things, such as baking some treats with the Southern sideboard, learning how to do some holiday glam with Dash Augusta.

1:47SPEAKER_00:Lydia Menzi is going to be sharing some tips for entertaining for the holidays and so much more. It's truly going to be glamorous, fun, festive, and joyous. So you can get your tickets at thepreppypodcast.com. And I hope I get to see a lot of you. It's very conveniently located as it's not too far from the Atlanta Airport, which I know so many of you can get to from all over the country. Um, so join us, seriously. And then lastly, remember we have Club Preppy, our monthly membership.

2:17SPEAKER_00:And honestly, during these colder months in fall and winter, I find myself staying home and looking for activities. So this is a great way to do something fun when you're stuck at home and you can do it in the comfort of your own home. It's basically like a mini camp preppy brought to you. So with it, we do at least one virtual event per month. So think of things like wine tasting, cocktail classes, cooking, um, even more like branding and styling workshops, all taught from preppy experts.

2:49SPEAKER_00:Plus, you get put in our private group chat where our members share their finds and support one another. And lastly, you get a treat from me each month. So we have done things like exclusive tote bags, some cocktail stirs, um, and so many more goodies that you can come to expect. So you can find that information also at thepreppypodcast.com. Um, and I am so excited to get into this week's episode. So let's get started. Okay, so why don't you first let everyone know who you are, where you live, and what you do?

3:24SPEAKER_01:My name is Lindsay Boyd, and I am the founder of Lindry Lab, and I'm currently living in Austin.

3:31SPEAKER_00:Excellent. Well, I am absolutely thrilled to have you on the podcast today. We chatted a little bit offline. Um, Annie Spence is how I found you and your brand. Um, and I knew I had to have you on to share what you're doing. But let's, before we get into that, tell me about you as a kid. What was your childhood like? Were you someone that like had an entrepreneurial spirit and was having a lemonade stand, or were you someone that was super creative?

3:57SPEAKER_00:Like, I'd love to hear about your childhood.

3:59SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so it's funny. I always talk about I did more than the nor average lemonade stand, but for sure, I'm a child of entrepreneurial parents. So um even I have other family members that have had their own businesses and still do. Um, so it's always kind of been part of my orbit and my environment. Um, but I definitely was, I enjoyed selling things and making money like at a very young age. And I never really uh someone asked me the other day, did you have like a goal in mind?

4:37SPEAKER_01:Did you want to buy something, you know, or did you want a new pair of sneakers? Or what was, you know, kind of, and I just really liked the transaction of it. It was more about, and I'm creative too. So I liked creating things and then like coming up with ideas, executing, and then selling it.

4:56unknown:Okay.

4:56SPEAKER_01:And it was really as simple as that. It wasn't about like having all this money and saving money. It was, it sounds very weird because that would obviously be the normal, like, yes, I was staying up for something, or yeah. Um, but I just I always watched my mom was a huge mentor in my life too. And I always watched her kind of hustle and have these businesses, and she's an artist, and um just always thinking out of the box and just listening to her, just the way she behaved every day.

5:27SPEAKER_01:And so let's see, I had, oh my gosh, so I worked for my family business um growing up and hired all of my friends to work with me, which was a lot of fun. Um, we had candy stores and children's gift items, so that was my family's business. And then I right out of college, I started painting boxes and that were like it was called sassy storage, and I created my own website and they were hat boxes, but I used them for storage and I'd put cheetah print and stripes, and and so I love to paint and create and um and then early, early on, I would I actually would sell earrings, sticker earrings instead of like lemonade stands with sticker earrings, or like I sold buttons because in the 80s buttons were a big thing.

6:18SPEAKER_01:Yeah. But so that's kind of so yes, I was always a creator. It's not random where I am today. Um it was in your blood. It's in my blood. It's obviously, I feel like every child's creative, every child has a creative side. It's just whether or not how much it's tapped into, how much it's encouraged. But we're all we all believe in magic, right? And we all have this, this element of our of us just that we're born with. Um, and I just I happen to lean into that more.

6:58SPEAKER_00:I love that story. And I love how you said you've always been a creative, like and a creator, because instead of entrepreneurial, I think that's a great way to put it. Um, and I was listening to another podcast recently, and I think certain entrepreneurs, we just like you said, like creating something, like watching it grow, going from idea to concept. And I feel the same way. So it's just something that's in you to constantly want to create something and watch it grow.

7:26SPEAKER_00:Um, it's not necessarily, like you said, that transactional aspect. It's more about the creating. So that makes total sense. So, what did you end up studying in college? Was it something relating to business or entrepreneurship or something completely different?

7:41SPEAKER_01:Yes. I um so I actually set out to do marine biology, which was completely different from when you hear about what I've done in my in the last 20, 30 years. Um, but I have a science, uh, science was always something that I gravitated towards. I um my children now will ask me, mom, what AP classes did you take, or what were you doing? And I said, honestly, the only AP I ever took was science. And they were like, oh, science, you know. So I'm like, okay.

8:09SPEAKER_01:But thinking back to kind of, so I always had this sort of I mean, I think science is creative too, right? Like they're that exploratory piece of it to some degree. Um, and so I I set out to do that. That was very wrong for me, um, because I wasn't playing, I wasn't going to swim with the dolphins. Like 17, 18-year-old, you think marine biology, biology, this is what I'm gonna go for, blah, blah, blah. So I ended up learning more about other, I always had an interest in fashion.

8:46SPEAKER_01:I always um, again, like I said, I was, I I like to create things and design. I always had an an interest in design too, um, not from a designer perspective, but just sort of just had an just was attracted to it, right? I just really gravitated to art and design. Um, so I ended up studying fiber textile science, which was for me because it ended, it um combined everything that my, you know, my left and right brain together. Um, and my concentration was in business.

9:21SPEAKER_01:And so that really propelled me into the fashion industry, which ultimately led me to start my first company, the laundress, which was all about fabric care, which I'm still in the fabric care space um because I love it so much. So that's kind of that is my education college journey.

9:44SPEAKER_00:Um It makes so much sense. And it's funny, as you were talking about that. So I had a degree in PR, but then also fashion merchandising, and we had to take a fiber composition class. And I remember it was so hard, and it was just so not what I was good at.

10:00SPEAKER_01:Technically, yes.

10:02SPEAKER_00:Yes, yes. But what I like about fashion, and I feel like uh people know more these days, is you don't have to be a fashion designer to work in fashion, right? Like you could work in fashion and be a publicist who works with, you know, fashion brands like I do, or like you're doing um today in working with more of more of the fibers and how to treat them and care for them. So that that's another aspect that I love from your story there. It's just there's so many aspects and avenues in the world of fashion.

10:32SPEAKER_00:And everyone can find their spot and land in the right area with their skills, right?

10:37SPEAKER_01:Yes, it doesn't have to be so linear. And I talk a lot, I have a 15-year-old daughter, and she's very curious about the beauty industry and fashion and being an entrepreneur and all of these things. And I'm I'm always thinking about like what you said with PR and marketing, and she gravitates to sort of that that world too. And I said, So that exists in fashion, that exists in a lot of things. Like, so there's um, so I was really excited to find my major at that time because I truly thought as well, I can't, I'm not, I'm not doing I'm not an illustrator, I'm I'm not very good at sewing.

11:15SPEAKER_01:So for me to do design was like overwhelming because I'm not a designer in that in that like traditional sense.

11:22SPEAKER_00:Yeah.

11:22SPEAKER_01:And so what I learned about this other avenue of sort of business side of fashion, it got me very excited because that could come that combined everything, right? That I would ever want. Um, and so then I went on to work for Ian turned at Nicole Miller at Donna Karen with Malia Mills, a swimwear designer. I went on to um ultimately work at Chanel and Brooks Brothers and in the sales side, but really in corporate sales, but had a lot of hands-on experience with the designers and the fabrics.

12:00SPEAKER_01:And that's and the customers that were asking a lot of questions about how to care for these things, which is how all of this comes full circle for me. So really finding, really learning from my customers, learning from my my own habits as well, hand washing my bras and underwear in my sink, um, washing my cashmere sweaters, things that I was doing on my own just because I knew you could wash them. And I was in my 20s and I didn't want to dry clean.

12:32SPEAKER_01:I didn't want to spend money on dry on the dry cleaner. I knew you didn't have to. It smelled bad, you know. So I'm like, is it really even cleaning anything?

12:41SPEAKER_00:Yeah.

12:42SPEAKER_01:And and yeah, so that that whole piece of how the laundress was formed, and then ultimately with Lindry Lab is really taking everything that I've learned in this fabric care space and creating product that, well, takes it to the next level, good for you, better, not just, you know, good for the clothing, but also good for you, better for the environment, and ultimately really good at cleaning too. Because yeah, that's important.

13:13SPEAKER_00:I love how it all comes full circle, you know, everything that you studied, your background, it all like it's a web that then connects. And I find that a lot of times when I interview people, which is why I kind of always ask, you know, what were you like as a kid? What did you study? Because it ends up making sense uh down the road.

13:31SPEAKER_01:It's a good question. Yeah, because we forget, we forget, we forget. You know, we're in it, we're in it, we're in it, and we forget that there's a path that got us here, right?

13:41SPEAKER_00:Totally. Now, I'd love to touch on a little bit of the laundress before we get to what you're doing today, because obviously that impacts today. So tell me about obviously we know the inspiration, um, but that journey and then the decision to move on from it. And then let's get into what you're doing today.

14:01SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So that's a that's a lot to answer. That's that's 20-something years, but I'll try to sum it up now. Um so the so the laundress really was formed based on a need and a void that I had. Um, that I came up with my with at the time at the time, my college friend, and who was in design, design background, and I had the business background. So um her and I came together because we really just knew that there was there wasn't anything available. It was wool light, it was um, there was like a another linen wash that was only for bras and underwear or hosiery.

14:43SPEAKER_01:There was, it was very limited. And all of the better products or the more natural products at the time were collecting dust at the bottom of a health health food store. It wasn't the landscape that we have today was looked very different 20 years ago.

14:59SPEAKER_00:Yeah.

14:59SPEAKER_01:Um like a lot of things, right? But specifically in this category, and it's still it's still changing and get and evolving, right? Because we're learning more and more about the thing, what's important for not just what we put on our clothes, but what touches our skin, what we're breathing, all of the things, the environmental piece of it. Um so really the laundress was born out of a a need that I was spending a ton of money at the dry cleaner. Like I mentioned, I I worked at Chanel.

15:31SPEAKER_01:I was having this beautiful wardrobe. Um, we had a clothing allowance, and so we could dress the part.

15:39SPEAKER_00:A dream.

15:41SPEAKER_01:It was a dream. It was the best job, the best job. I would do it over and over again. Um and so I that was, I was washing things again because I knew that I could in my five-floor walk-up apartment in New York City. Um, and then hearing as I would go, I did trunk shows, which a trunk show is when you bring a collection to a store like Neiman Marcus, and you're showing your previewing with customers, and they're getting excited about the upcoming collections.

16:14SPEAKER_01:And so this is what I did. This was a big part of my job, um, working with buyers, going to market in Paris, and also working with these customers face to face. And they would actually hesitate on buying something if they didn't know how to care for it, even though they wanted to only wear it potentially once. They didn't want to put it back in their closet dirty. They wanted to properly store it because they they cared about the craftsm craftsmanship, you know?

16:43SPEAKER_01:And um they're probably collectible pieces, too. They're collectible pieces, absolutely. They're they're basically like a couture piece in that sense. They're one of a kind. Chanel doesn't make 50 of one thing, you know, it's very curated, a lot of these more expensive pieces. And so that's when the light bulb went off, where it's like, okay, I'm having this situation. I know that there's gotta be a better way. People don't understand how to care for their things.

17:16SPEAKER_01:They're throwing darks and whites in a machine, they're bringing their stuff to the dry cleaner, okay, the most expensive dry cleaner, but they're coming back hoping, crossing their fingers, hoping that things are not getting ruined, right? Like they're and how many times have you had I've had a lot of things ruined at the dry cleaner? Yeah. Buttons missing, things frayed. So, so that's ultimately how the laundress was formed, based on the feedback from from real people.

17:47SPEAKER_01:And and really something that I wanted and I knew that I could benefit from. I figured if I can use it, everybody has dirty laundry. Everyone will benefit from this. So that's ultimately that's the brand, that's the product. We we developed 13 products we launched with. Um and along the way, it was a lot of gosh, I mean, we ended up selling the company 16 years after we launched.

18:17SPEAKER_00:So um so when did you launch and when did you sell? Like when did you launch and when did you sell? Years.

18:24SPEAKER_01:We launched in um 2004.

18:27SPEAKER_00:Okay.

18:28SPEAKER_01:So um well, started 2002, launched in 2004. So research and development, all of the things. Um, our first, our first like hello to the world was preparing for QVC, which we ultimately didn't never did then. We did it later, which was a total fail, which is like such a funny story because I had all of this training, and we just, you know, it's we're just not a QVC brand, just because we're cleaning product, just because it just they need quick fixes and do not care about the environment at the time.

19:06SPEAKER_01:It was like trying to sell our message in a quick, you know, quick fix environment. I don't know how familiar you are with QVC or HSN or any of those kind of, yeah.

19:17SPEAKER_00:Yeah, because they're headquartered right here, actually. Um, so yeah, I'm quite familiar.

19:22SPEAKER_01:That's right. Yes, that's right, that's right, that's right. Um yeah, so that was that's so then a lot happened in between, obviously, from launch to selling.

19:33SPEAKER_00:Um you obviously grew the line. I mean, I would see your products. Yeah.

19:40SPEAKER_01:Yes, we sold all over the world. We were sold through online. I mean, before web sales were really a thing, before D2C was a thing. Um, we had we had our a very basic website when we launched. Um, a lot of our business was wholesale, wholesale. So Bergdorf Goodman, all of the major department stores we were sold in, and then boutiques all over the world. Um, we launched pretty quickly into Europe and Asia as well. And so that was kind of we my my background being heavily, heavy in sales, I really knew that we had to diversify ourselves and um just based on okay, sometimes it'll sell really well somewhere.

20:29SPEAKER_01:You have to have a backup. So really being like this octopus, if you will, if you will, like that kind of if that makes sense, like having your arms in many different places was something, was my strategy. And I think that was something that helped us during a recession, during times when stores weren't buying, during, you know, COVID, like being able to pivot and kind of okay, lean into what's working, not talk, not focusing on what's not working.

20:58SPEAKER_01:And that's so that's like the the journey was you know, one direction, one year we'd focus on D2C, the next we'd focus on Asia, the next, you know, it just wherever you need it to go, right? Yes, and that's what you have to do as an entrepreneur. You have to be flexible, and there isn't a linear path.

21:21SPEAKER_00:Yes, exactly. I feel like that's the theme of this episode, right? There's no linear path.

21:28SPEAKER_01:Yes, exactly.

21:30SPEAKER_00:So I'm curious then, at what point did you feel you were ready to sell and move on from it? Like how did you know that it was the time?

21:39SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so we we hit a point where we had to go out and raise a lot of money, like raise capital. We were self funded up until that point. Um, up until about, I guess it was probably two years before we sold, two, three years before we sold, where we were like, okay, we need to make a decision. It's time to find a strategic buyer to look at VCs and really kind of weigh the pros and cons of that. But we needed a large cash infusion. Um, it was no longer you know, you're making it exactly.

22:19SPEAKER_01:It just we got to that point where it was exciting, it was all very good and positive. And because we always wanted to sell to a strategic, we just that was something that we were preparing for. So we met, we interviewed with different VCs and met with a lot of people there. And then we actually opened up our store around that time. And so that brought a lot of eyeballs to us, which is interesting to have the retail store is something we always wanted to have, but retail stores are hard, right?

22:53SPEAKER_01:They're they cost a lot of money and they don't make a lot of money.

22:57SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's more like a marketing expense.

22:59SPEAKER_01:It really is. And that's that's what we ultimately said, okay, we just need to break even. This needs to be so once we've wrapped our head around that, we launched it, it was amazing. We used it as a platform, like you said, for marketing. We brought in partnerships like John Mayer and um Katie Storino and all of these kind of people. Um there's thousands of tastemakers, brands, celebrities that we brought in that we partnered and cross-promoted with and whatever it might be through collaborating with products or just supporting them, just supporting them as other entrepreneurs in the space.

23:39SPEAKER_01:Um, and that was a really neat vehicle for us. And actually, going back to the strategic piece of it or finding the the buyer ultimately is that we had a letter slipped underneath our door. So, from um Unilever. So, and then at that time, it just felt like I guess we were put on the map when we had a store, which is so crazy to us. Just like one thing made us visible for everybody. Yeah. You know, where we were building our brand and really successful and thought we kind of hit every point, right?

24:16SPEAKER_01:And we had this huge ad campaign that we were run that we had run. Um it's just, it's interesting. You never know how someone will discover you.

24:28SPEAKER_00:Yeah, especially because getting, I mean, a brick and mortar, not that anyone can do that, but like you can get most people can get a lease and build a store or whatever, but you were launched in Asia and overseas and doing all these other things, but the stores that put you thousands and thousands and thousands of clients like all over the world.

24:45SPEAKER_01:And and shocked that we still had people that didn't know who we were, you know, and that's that that's powerful because that means there's it's endless opportunity. I mean, for an entrepreneur, that's exciting, right? That means, okay, we haven't even, we've just scratched the surface, you know. And I mean, we scratched more than the surface, obviously, after after that long. Um, but that's yeah, so that's sort of the how that objector happened.

25:14SPEAKER_01:Yes.

25:15SPEAKER_00:So then tell me about Lindry Lab. At what point were you like ready to jump back in with a new business? And what's how's it different? Like, what's the concept that makes it unique? Would you describe?

25:27SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So I've always cared about what what I'm, you know, what I'm eating, what I'm beauty products I'm using, what fabrics I'm buying. Um I've always gone through life very thoughtfully in that way. And also I grew up in a 1500s home. So around a lot of antiques, a lot, around a lot of things that were preserved and passed on. And so for me, I always saw value in quality over quantity. And really, that's where the laundress and Lindry Lab, it's much more to me than just a detergent and cleaning.

26:10SPEAKER_01:It's like it's full, it's it's an entire, what is it? It's not, it's like it's like it's a lifestyle for me. You know, it's a lifestyle choice. And when I say that, it's because I went after the laundress the same way I'm going after Lindry Lab. I just know more now, right? So I can be even more thoughtful because it's science. Science evolves, things have changed. We know now that we can have fragrances without endocrine disruptors, we can have ingredients that that don't have enthoxalated gases.

26:44SPEAKER_01:We can do, we can be better, we can make things better today than we could 20 years ago because we just didn't have the information.

26:52SPEAKER_00:There's new technology and yeah, information.

26:55SPEAKER_01:Exactly. So the way that I went after Lindry Lab is really with no compromises. So my key things were formula, fragrance, and packaging.

27:05unknown:Okay.

27:06SPEAKER_01:And so formula is loaded in the sense of I really wanted a product that worked. I obviously wanted all of those things of plant-based, you know, animal cruelty free. I I added things like no known endocrine disruptors, um no, no um Laureths. So there's a whole list on my site of what we don't have and what we have. But really being thoughtful and proactive in the ingredient choices that I make and how they all work together in the formula so that it really is effective in cleaning ultimately.

27:47SPEAKER_01:Okay. Um, so it's complicated when you start adding in, but I don't want this, but I want this, but I don't want this. It's like, can you have a balance on it? Yes, can you have your cake and eat it too? Kind of thing. Like, and it truly is a balance and it truly is it's it's difficult and it's it's it's time consuming, it's costly. So, but I didn't, I don't care, you know. Like I went in with no compromises. I'm not compromising on this because you say that I can get this great surfactant that's cheaper, or I'm not, I know you only have animal-based, you can't find a bio-base for this ingredient.

28:32SPEAKER_01:I don't care. You need to find a replacement. So just challenging that the manufacturing process, because I'm not a chemist, I'm not a manufacturer, um, but I know what I want and what I want to get out of it. So the formula is super thought out. And what I say to everybody when you're looking at formulas or ingredients, look and see not just what the ingredient, what you chat GPT about it, but look and see how it's behaving in the end use product, right?

29:03SPEAKER_01:Like a preservative, for instance, is a really good, like some people are like, no, preservatives, no, but preservatives prevent bacteria. And if you want essential oils and you want all these plant great plant things, you need a preservative system. So it's like, it's just those kind of things that I want to be transparent and educate my customers on. So formula is one piece. Fragrance, I'm a big fragrance person. Okay, I love scents. Um, I didn't, I'm not a fragrance-free detergent girl.

29:38SPEAKER_01:I have it in my line for people that don't like fragrance, but the fragrances that I use are used at low percentages. They're long-lasting but not overwhelming. They don't have any benzene, they don't have any PFA, PFAS, they don't have, there's no known endocrine disruptors. So this is so again, being that product that you can feel good about in your home. And then packaging, we use PCR, so it's full cycle, full recyclable, and it has second life as well.

30:14SPEAKER_01:So it's put into clothing or another bottle or uh carpets that we have, or it's used, reused and repurposed so it doesn't go back into the environment.

30:26SPEAKER_00:That's amazing. I love how thoughtful you are with this brand. And also, like you educate the consumer, you know, to tell them like, ask questions about this, or um, look into this, or think a different way. So I think that's so genius. And, you know, looking on your website, you mentioned obviously scents are important. So, how did you decide on what what the scents were going to be, what everything was gonna smell like? Can you tell tell me about that process and what where you landed?

30:56SPEAKER_01:Yes. So I've collected an arsenal of scents in everything from bubble bath to a deodorant from all over the world. And so I'm a big, I'll smell, I smell everything because I'm curious. I like to, I like scents from other places, from other countries that I visited. Um something that I I found really interesting, and it may be knowledge that everyone has, but when you go to different countries, there's different scents that different cultures gravitate to that, you know.

31:33SPEAKER_01:So you'll find our detergent aisle smells very different from a detergent aisle in Europe or in Mexico. And there are some similarities, but there are these certain things where you're like, oh, this is a real, this is a trend here. And even in Asia, the certain scents that they like. And so that I found that sort of scent journey has always been very interesting to me. Um, like when I was in Morocco, like the orange blossom everywhere, and obviously there's that's a very colorful place.

32:02SPEAKER_01:So the spices and all of that, but but those are, and like if you walk into a French uh hotel versus you know an American hotel, like those are so that's always been very inspiring to me from a fragrance perspective. Um, and I like fine fragrances. I'm not big on like one scent or like a typical detergent scent, like a fresh linen, like you'll never get that from me. Um, or like just lavender, like that's not happening from Lindry Lab or from the laundress, frankly.

32:37SPEAKER_01:Um, I was the nose, I am the nose. So I I love I work with um master perfumers um at top perfume houses in that are global perfume houses. And um so each of my scents are developed with fine fragrance in mind. Um, so they're super complex, but they have to be used in detergents. So they have to have long-lasting, they have to smell good out of the bottle, good in the wash after the dryer cycle, and then after you pull it out from storing. So it's it's a it's unique.

33:16SPEAKER_01:It's a unique and the scent will evolve and change because there's lots of different notes, and so top notes will taper off a little, but the the woodier notes will be more long-lasting. So, really considering all of that when I was developing the fragrances, um, and all of them are numbered. I love numbers, and the numbers are significant to me. They're either lucky numbers, birthdays, special anniversaries, things like that. And they all have a story, and the scent reminds me of that number.

33:50SPEAKER_01:And I I think it's neat because some customers just gravitate to a number because it's their lucky number, and then that's their scent. You know, they don't even some are reading the notes, the scent notes, and some are just buying it because they're like, oh, I need 44, you know, because that's my so it's but there's a story behind each scent. Um, and so everything's super thought out. I have seven different ones, different scents in my line, and there will be a lot more.

34:19SPEAKER_01:I love creating. I think it's neat to be able to go into your laundry room and say, I'm going to wash this with my number one with my sheets, 44 with my in my workout clothing, um, number nine for my sweater, like whatever it is. I think they all layer really well together in your home. And it should be fun. It should be scents are enjoyable for people. We have we have many scents, right? In our bathroom, from perfumes to lotions to hand wash. Why can't we have that in our in our home for cleaning?

34:56SPEAKER_01:For we are developing a cleaning line as well for cleaning products. Um, and I really want Lindry Lab to be the fragrance of your home. So having the product that works really well, but also the sense that you can feel good about using.

35:12SPEAKER_00:That makes total sense. I I'm glad I asked um that because I was curious about the numbers and I love the story behind that. And it's so true. Like I gravitate towards odd numbers and specifically like I love 17 or 21. Um, and I think most people are like that, right? Yeah. And then I love what you brought up too. Like, obviously, I don't think really anyone enjoys doing laundry, or like maybe some people too, but it's not me, it's not the majority.

35:40SPEAKER_00:So I love how you're making it like an experience and you're making it fun and pretty. It's like, you know, I think bath time, like having a bath and having your bubbles, having your scents or the salts and your soaps, like your candle, the home.

35:55SPEAKER_01:Yes.

35:56SPEAKER_00:It's like an experience, which makes it more fun and more enjoyable and pleasant. Um, yes.

36:01SPEAKER_01:And the laundry room is becoming a a very important room in the home. I mean, it has for the last five, 10 years, 10 years, maybe longer.

36:12unknown:Yeah.

36:12SPEAKER_01:So people are decorating. Leaving the basement and going on the yes, exactly. Like it's a, it's a, it's a place that you're you're having to spend time in. Why not make it enjoyable? You have there's no way of avoiding laundry, unfortunately, right? But if you can have the sensory experience and you can pull your items out and they're clean, you know, and I line dry everything. So I'm really big on I love having that sensory experience right out of the machine and then line drying everything, and then it's the scent lingers long, it's stronger because the high heat in the dryer will take.

36:51SPEAKER_01:Okay. It removes this more of the scent because of the high heat. And also, it's not great on clothing. So I like to avoid, I use a dryer for sheets and towels only.

37:02SPEAKER_00:Oh, good. That's good to know. It's so funny because my mom, my parents, they line dry, I would say, just about everything too. Okay. And when they like, if for some reason they're doing our laundry, I don't know, like if our power went out or whatever, and they do for me. I'm like, it's so crisp and nice. Like, I need to start doing, I need a line. I we don't have a line in our house.

37:20SPEAKER_01:So you can't, and you can where you live too, because it's nice in the fall. You don't have the humidity or anything. Yeah.

37:28SPEAKER_00:Totally. So, you know, I am curious, what are you doing for marketing this time around? You built such a great business, and obviously you were talking about John Mayer and the retail space with the previous. So I'm curious, like, what are you taking from your original, your, your first business and using again this time for marketing? And then what are you doing different?

37:48SPEAKER_01:Okay, yeah. So we're deaf. I'm big on collaborating with other brands. So we we still have we have collaborations in the works with creating product, exclusive product for other brands, and then also just collaborating in general. Um, I love to support new founders and I love, I love brands. I love branding and all of that. So that's that stays in my allergy. Synergy, right? Yeah, synergy, of course. It's not, it's usually not random. It's usually in my home or something I use or someone, some, or someone that I love that's created something.

38:23SPEAKER_01:There's a reason um of why we collaborate. And then a lot of the in-person events and FaceTime, I think that is so powerful. I I don't, even though everyone's doing everything digital, obviously all of that is necessary. AI, ads, all of that, and all of social media, but I love in-person demos, FaceTime with people. Um it works. It works, it's so easy. It's time consuming. It's time consuming, yeah, but it works. There's I've rarely had a situation in my career of selling anything in person and it not and it failing.

39:11SPEAKER_02:Yeah.

39:12SPEAKER_01:So I think people create, we crave that that experience. So so building the community, Lindry Labs community, similarly, because I was the laundress, now it's I'm Lindry Lab, so it's still me, right? So I still that's how I build communities. I've I've actually now I'm from New York, born and raised. I've lived in New York, Miami, and now I'm in Austin over the last, gosh, that's been since 2019. So over the last whatever that is, seven years, six years.

39:46SPEAKER_01:So I've also learned to not just build this, you know, not just from a marketing perspective perspective for my brand, but also just connecting with people and how important it is. Um, it's always been important, but I feel like since COVID, it's become really obvious for people to be like, okay, we miss that connection. We still need that. So that piece of the brand building is really important to me. And then listen, there's a lot of competition and a lot of noise.

40:17SPEAKER_01:And I think it's all about authenticity, bringing out the person behind the brand, being really transparent and authentic through your messaging, through social, through ads. Um, that's really, but again, I don't think that that's really changed for me. I have to do more of it, right? We have to pump out more of all of this like content than we probably did 20 years ago. But that's it's always been important. Yes, exactly. And um, I mean, D2C is is is very important to me now to reach more people globally.

40:59SPEAKER_01:Um, but that's really yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, there's a lot of a lot of similarities. It's just I feel like everything is more rapid fire, like just shorter videos, shorter attention spans, reaching, you know, just pumping out more more of more of the same information, really.

41:21SPEAKER_00:Yeah, people's attention spans are shorter even now, right?

41:25SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so I assume the uh the authentic, sorry, the authenticity piece of it and the transparency, um it works with people. People don't want to be told something that's not true, or I mean no one does, but I think just diversify like not diversifying, but differentiating you yourself with other brands in that way is is critical.

41:50SPEAKER_00:Yes. I mean, the thing that makes you different from another business is the you factor, right? You could have the same product, but they're buying um because of you as the founder and and who you are at the end of the day, I think.

42:03SPEAKER_01:Yes, exactly.

42:04SPEAKER_00:Um, I'm curious, since this is your second time around, what advice would you give to an entrepreneur listening or an aspiring entrepreneur? Like what's a great piece of advice?

42:18SPEAKER_01:I okay, I don't have a lot of advice, but the one thing the the the thing that always hits for me is and when I'm talking to other people that are want to do it or it when they're when it gets tough for them, I think you have you have to love what you're doing. You have to love the idea, you have to believe in it yourself because and you have to put everything people tell you through a filter. So people will tell you that your idea is bad, they will not believe you, they will say, keep your day job, people will tell you, well, you should have to show proof of concept, this and that for whatever, you know.

43:03SPEAKER_01:I think like one of the things that we always heard when we started the laundress was why would I? I'm just gonna use Tide. I don't need that, I don't need that. Why would we who cares? People don't even care about their laundry. And I'm like, okay. Fast forward to today. I think people probably care about their laundry. Yeah. So that always makes me laugh because I'm like, oh, I'd love to write that person a note, but I won't. Um, I just enjoy telling that story to everyone.

43:31SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And I think that's staying true to what you believe in. Um that's where the success is going to come from. It has to be authentically you and off and an authentic, not just something you you think of on a whim and are like, oh, we could make a lot of money doing that. Or, you know, it's not like that. It doesn't work like that. Like things don't, yes, there, I'm sure there are instances where that it's just. A brand that a bunch of money's thrown into and you're a part of, fine.

44:05SPEAKER_01:But if you're an entrepreneur starting from you know bootstrapping, you need to you need to love it because it's hard.

44:14SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And there's a lot of noise.

44:18SPEAKER_01:And there's a lot of competition. Just when you think you figured it out, I still feel that. I've been doing this for a long time. I'm not insecure about what I'm doing. You know, but there's a lot of people that are going to be coming at you in different ways and question it. You're going to question what you're doing. You have to step away and come back to why you're doing it.

44:42SPEAKER_00:I love that. That's a good quote.

44:44SPEAKER_01:You know.

44:46SPEAKER_00:Going off of that, I'm curious, is there a resource that you can share with listeners? Like a great book you've read, um, a great newsletter or networking group.

44:58SPEAKER_01:Well, I there's so many great networking groups right now. I definitely encourage if you're starting. I I'm bummed that they didn't exist when I started the laundress, because a lot of now when I'm stepping into a lot of these resource groups is more from like uh, you know, um a mentor for people, which I love. And I I'm on a board and I mentor. Actually, I think that's a great if you have a mentor or if you know someone that's done it, give them free product or a piece of your business, you know, because you usually can't pay for them because you don't have money in the beginning of starting a business.

45:38SPEAKER_01:So um, but I think getting resources for me. Make a lit. This is not a book per se. I've read I've read almost every the big idea to like Guy Raz. I've read every single book. I read all of like the Harvard Business Reviews. I'm I love reading about like the tactical piece of business and the the leadership piece of it, which I can recommend. Um, but I think the the big thing for me was it would be tap into your resources and your network, make a list of everybody you know and who they know, and then ask questions.

46:25SPEAKER_01:See how you you'll be surprised. Everybody will want, everyone wants to help you, you know, like you're afraid to ask, but most of the time, and what's what's the harm in asking, right? They could say, I don't have any time, or this isn't for me, or whatever. But yeah, make a list of that to me is the biggest resource, right? The what comes with age and with doing this are all the network you've developed. So you have to start creating your own. So make a list of people you know and people they know, and maybe even third degree, like people they know know, you know, that kind of and you'll start thinking, oh wow, actually, my my friend's dad is, and you'll you won't even think about it unless you start thinking about it.

47:14SPEAKER_01:You know what I mean?

47:15SPEAKER_00:Like take 10 minutes after this episode, think in quiet time, and yeah, go through who you know, maybe pull up your phone and and scroll through your contacts. Um, I think that's great advice.

47:28SPEAKER_01:And I still do that today because when I'm thinking about people that can promote my brand or people, I know a lot of people like I so who I have to do this again. How can I start this over?

47:43SPEAKER_00:Now, since this is the preppy podcast, I always ask everyone, what does preppy mean to you? So, how would you describe preppy?

47:50SPEAKER_01:Colorful.

47:52SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that's a good answer.

47:55SPEAKER_01:Print prints and color, and and uh actually my daughter uses preppy, and you can cut this out or not, but I always as a kid growing up to me was color and you know that 80s prep, right? Yes, exactly. That that's that's what I grew up with. Um, and she has a totally different idea of what preppy is. She's like, oh, this is so preppy. And I'm like, that's not preppy. But but so it's interesting. I wonder what I have I haven't really done a deep dive, but I'm curious to know what her generation thinks preppy is.

48:33SPEAKER_00:Oh, they think it's like love shack fancy, the like ruffles. Yep. Yeah, it's so preppy.

48:40SPEAKER_01:I'm like, not really.

48:42SPEAKER_00:That's not preppy. Totally. I get that answer a lot. People talking about their kids thinking that it's a completely different thing than what we all know it as and grow up.

48:52SPEAKER_01:Yes, the traditional, I we know the traditional meaning of it, I feel like, right?

48:58SPEAKER_00:Definitely. Um, okay, so my final question is where can people find you? Let them know your website, social media handles. And then also, is there anything you want to plug, like any sneak peek or something that's launching in the next few months that you want to tell?

49:14SPEAKER_01:Yeah, sure. So you can find us on our website at lindry lab.com and then obviously follow us on our social handle, Lindry Lab. Um, and we do have a stain remover coming up soon. And next year we will have cleaning, home cleaning, and then some collaborations with other brands. So there's a lot of amazing things. There will come, we're a seasonless product, but we will have a lot of neat things. Yeah.

49:41SPEAKER_00:Yay! That's so exciting. I cannot wait for these new products. Um, and I'm so thrilled that I got to interview you today and share this with my listeners because I think you just had so much great knowledge. So thank you, Lindsay.

49:53SPEAKER_01:Thank you so much.

49:54SPEAKER_00:It was really nice meeting you. Thanks for having me. Thank you so much for listening to the Preppy Podcast. I hope this put a little prep in your step for the day. Please subscribe, rate, and review on wherever you listen to your podcast. And follow along with at the Preppy Podcast on social media.