00:00The only thing you can really be certain about is how you react.
00:03Being able to talk with people who are experts in their field is validating.
00:08Being an entrepreneur is not easy.
00:11You might have people looking after your business, but who is looking after you?
00:15We are. Welcome to Entrepreneur Therapy.
00:19Presented by Amazon Business.
00:20In each episode, renowned health expert Dr. Drew Pinsky and serial investor Kim Perel
00:25will meet with small business owners looking for some advice.
00:28We're here to find out what issues still keep them up at night.
00:33Today we've got Joy Hoover from SOS.
00:36It's a lipstick app and a roofie test strip company.
00:40Joy, welcome.
00:40Thank you so much for having me.
00:42Hi, Joy.
00:43Looking forward to hearing more about your business.
00:45If you could just give us a backstory of how you created it and where you are today.
00:50After 12 years of working in gender-based violence, I was really, really pissed
00:55because the stats around gender-based violence not only were not decreasing,
01:00but they were increasing by about 2.9%.
01:02And so I invented a lipstick that you can put test strips inside to keep them safe,
01:07as well as a panic button that you can push, that you can really customize your own safety plan.
01:12How's it going?
01:13As in, I think, any entrepreneur journey, it's had lots of highs and lows.
01:19We went to market in 2023, and we're in market for about 10 months doing incredible shipping to about 50 states,
01:27had about $150,000 in sales.
01:30And then in July of 2024, we had a business and home fire, and we lost everything.
01:37Oh my gosh.
01:38So our lipstick actually saved our home from fully burning down.
01:42We pushed the button, and then the fire trucks were there in five minutes.
01:45They said had they come 10 minutes later, they wouldn't have been able to save our home.
01:48But as you can imagine, the rebuild from that has been extremely difficult.
01:54Wow.
01:54So do you have any inventory?
01:56What was left?
01:57So 100% of our inventory and everything we had was lost in the business.
02:02And the last nine months, we have worked three jobs, done everything it takes to rebuild and to come back to market,
02:10which we have just done this month.
02:13We're still displaced.
02:14I'm talking to you from a rental home right now.
02:17Oh my goodness.
02:18Yeah.
02:18First, congratulations, because it takes a lot of grit and a lot of heart to keep going.
02:24Yeah, thank you so much.
02:26I mean, the hardest part is that the ground keeps shifting for us, right?
02:30And so whether investors say no, our house burns down, our inventory turns down.
02:35It's just there's so much uncertainty.
02:37And that, I think, is what I'd like to ask is just how do we keep going?
02:42And can you ever plan?
02:43Is it always just like doubt and uncertainty?
02:46No.
02:47That's the nature of the beast.
02:49But I'm imagining there must be some strategy entrepreneurs use to sort of understand that things are unpredictable,
02:56but they control the things you can't control, as they say.
02:58Getting used to the unknown is really important.
03:02The only thing you can really be certain about is how you react.
03:06You do something that I've seen, we've seen that almost every entrepreneur we've talked to do,
03:11which is gloss over horrible things with a smile and keep moving forward, literally smiling or laughing.
03:17We see that too.
03:17So it's okay not to be okay.
03:21But to be an entrepreneur in the setting of all that.
03:24Oh my gosh, I can't imagine.
03:25Oh man.
03:26I'm really impressed with your tenacity and resilience and perseverance.
03:30My honest thought in what you're saying is I feel this is a very long-term play, what you're trying to create.
03:41And so what I would recommend based on my own experience is knowing that because you're never going to give up on it.
03:47However, I would try to find a balance between going all in and something that creates just stability for yourself and your family.
03:58I mean, I grew up with two entrepreneur parents.
04:00So the instability and the uncertainty of not knowing was actually really, yeah, it was really hard for me.
04:08So in your vision and trying to bring that to life, look at what are the other ways to bring capital in to support it that are outside of you guys.
04:16So how can you crowdfund?
04:17How can you use the community?
04:19Probably if you found a partnership with a nonprofit that was very aligned, you could get investment.
04:25I like your idea about the nonprofit piece.
04:26We've been, because nonprofit was my background, we founded a nonprofit previously working with trafficking survivors and gender-based violence folks for 12 years.
04:34Well, listen, I'm moved by your story and your experience and if we want to see you succeed, we should have passed.
04:42Yeah, and congrats, I mean, really, it's amazing what you've done and I love that you have this big vision and we're excited to watch you bring it to life.
04:51Thanks, Joy.
04:51We're going to send you to Brad.
04:52Sounds good.
04:53Joy, you just talked with Dr. Drew and Kim.
04:56How are you feeling right now?
04:58I think being able to talk with people who are experts in their field and investment and obviously in therapy and hearing their perspectives is validating a big one.
05:10And then also just like great to think through as we're continuing to look at next steps with SOS.
05:16I'm really appreciative of the opportunity.
05:18We're appreciative of you.
05:20Thank you so much for participating in Entrepreneur Therapy presented by Amazon Business.
05:24To say thank you, we're giving you $1,000 in cash.
05:28Wow, thank you so much.
05:31As SOS Cosmetics grows, Amazon Business Analytics can provide the actionable insights your business needs to foresee disruptions and refine supply chain operations efficiently,
05:41ensuring SOS continues to build a safer future without any hiccups in your back-end processes.
