Brand Spotlight: Happy Habitats with Ethan Haber

In this episode of The Seller’s Edge podcast, we explore the seller journey of Ethan Haber and his company Happy Habitats. Ethan and his brand are dedicated to changing how small pets are transported and cared for while creating new ways for owners to engage with them. From his childhood fascination with stuffed animals to his innovative designs for hamster carriers, Ethan’s story gets to the heart of what entrepreneurship is all about. 

The discussion gets into a lot of Ethan’s experiences, including the challenges of starting a business during a pandemic, the importance of mentorship, and the unique marketing strategies that have helped him thrive. Read on for the full transcript of this conversation:

Episode 23 of The Seller’s Edge – Ethan and Jonathan talk about:

• [00:00] What is Happy Habitats?
• [01:21] Originating an idea
• [02:54] Entrepreneurs typically have multiple interests
• [03:39] How personal experiences influence careers
• [05:38] Turning an idea into a reality
• [06:35] The process of product development
• [07:43] Where all seller journeys really start
• [08:37] The value of expert guidance and mentorship
• [10:37] Getting started selling on Amazon FBA
• [13:23] What has been your approach to social media marketing?
• [14:54] Overcoming negative perceptions and misinformation
• [17:41] Moving from ecommerce to retail
• [19:39] The positive reception by consumers
• [21:50] How to handle criticism and feedback
• [24:48] The biggest challenge for Happy Habitats
• [28:08] Good products sell themselves
• [29:40] Wrap up and key takeaways

Key Takeaways:

1. Identify Unique Product Ideas – The key is to discover products that solve everyday problems or fill gaps in the market. Viral Launch’s Product Discovery is great resource for this.
2. Seek Out Mentorships – Seek expert guidance from experienced entrepreneurs in your industry. This is not only a great way to learn but also a valuable sounding board when it comes to weighing hard decisions.
3. Embrace Social Media Marketing – Regardless of your age, this form of marketing is outside of a lot of people’s comfort zones, but it will continue to play a more prominent role in business over time. 
4. Expect A Long Journey – Everyone would love to be an overnight success, but the reality is that few are. Be prepared for a long development process and potential setbacks. The important part is to not mistake any of these for failure.
5. Deeply Understand Your Target Market –  Do not attempt to apply approaches from other categories to your own. Work hard to understand your target market size and adjust marketing strategies accordingly.
6. Persist Through Challenges – Be persistent in your entrepreneurial journey, even when faced with challenges. Persevering through moments of doubt or great difficulty are what separate the good sellers from the great ones.

Full Transcript of Episode:

JONATHAN: Yeah. So let’s start at the very beginning. Was the dream always to grow up and start a business or did you have other things? Do you want to be a professional athlete, an actor? What was the, what was the dream? 

ETHAN HABER: Well, so I’ve always loved stuffed animals for whatever reason, just love stuffed animals. And when I was 11 or 12, there were always ones I would want that I couldn’t buy. And I saw and I majored in studio art at Wake Forest. I started making my own ever since I was a kid. For the past, you know, 15 years now, I’ve been making stuffed animals by hands. And that was my first, you know, business. When I was in college, I was a sophomore at Wake Forest and there’s a VR video game studio called Squanch Games. It was, it was created by the co creator of Rick and Morty. And I basically sent them a letter with a stuffed animal in it and then they sent me back some fan swag. And then I made like a really nice stuffed animal and I sent it to the return address and I kind of reverse engineered this hired contractor relationship with them and I and I got about 5, 6 grand making stuffed animals for this, you know, small video games company. I was in the special thanks to their game, which is really cool. That’s always been, you know, kind of a dream of mine to, you know, have my name in the credits of a video game. So I got to take that off pretty early. But as a kid, the dream was always to, you know, be an artist and have a stuffed animal company. And that dream is still alive and well, I still make stuffed animals. There’s one I’m working on right now just for fun in my free time. But right now the main squeeze is small pets, hamster sherbals, mice and depending on how that goes and you know, where my life branches from, the then and stuffed animals will, will, will make a resurgence. Whether I’m, you know, 40, 30, 50, 60, they’ll come back. 

JONATHAN: I love that. So what. So obviously this all is sort of animal centric. Was there always an affinity for animals? 

ETHAN HABER: Yeah, I love animals. I actually have my dog here with me right now in the phone booth. He comes with me to WeWork. But I’ve just, I’ve always loved, you know, creatures, animals, whether they’re real or made up. I love them. I love having them in my life. I love having something you take care of that just gives you unconditional love. So I’ve always been a fan of animals. And also if you want to see my stuff to animals just so you can put, you know, kind of like a face to the name. My, my Instagram handle is Haber H-A-B-E-R Plush Productions. And I’ve made some for a few celebrities and influencers here and there over the, over the course of my, my life. That’s a whole separate story. That’s interesting. 

JONATHAN: That’s awesome. I love that. Yeah, I’m definitely going to have to check that out. That’s like, it’s a very niche thing. I’ve never heard of anyone doing that and it’s a great, I mean who doesn’t love stuffed animals? That’s a really great. Have I ever met anyone who’s like, I hate stuffed animals? No, I don’t think. 

ETHAN HABER: No. But I would venture to, I would venture to guess that the average 25 year old man doesn’t, you know, have 10 plus stuffed animals in his apartment. 

JONATHAN: I mean that may be true, but I think underneath that gruff exterior, they’re probably a child who loves stuffed animals. 

ETHAN HABER: That’s a good point. It’s a really good point. 

JONATHAN: Yeah, I mean they’re just not living their authentic life and living in their values. So that’s on them. So did you have pets growing up? 

ETHAN HABER: We got so I didn’t have a hamster until I was a sophomore in college and I actually got him the summer before my sophomore year. But when I was 4 or 5, I have like this vivid memory like this, they call it a cardinal memory. Like what the of like walking into my parents office at like 10 o’clock. They put me to bed at 8 and I’m like just this cute little kid. I walk in and I go, can we get a dog? And then like four or five weeks later we have a dog. But so my parents never got me a pet that like was my responsibility to take care of beyond like a fish. When I was a little kid they would, they wouldn’t let me get a hamster or anything. And then I was in college and the dog was just too much. I didn’t think it would be fair to the dog between my class schedule and you know, living in a dorm. So I did a bunch of homework, I got a hamster and then I had a hamster. And that was kind of how I fell into this. My hamster’s name was Mooksie and I loved Mooksie. Mooksie was a great hamster. My dad doesn’t. My dad hates rodents and when I was gone for like a week or two, he had to take care of my hamster Mooksie. And he even. He liked the hamster. Like, it was just such a great pet. 

JONATHAN: I love that. It’s a great name, too. I had a. I had a couple hamsters when I was younger, and I had a lot of affection and love for them. I would have loved to have taken them everywhere with me. So when I saw your product, I was like, oh, like, if this had been around, this is something I would have definitely loved to have. 

ETHAN HABER: Yeah. Every adult that sees it says they wish they had that when they were a kid. 

JONATHAN: Yeah. So, I mean, walk me through it. So you had Mooksie as a pet, and then how did this evolve from there to. To happy habitats? 

ETHAN HABER: So I had my hamster as a pet, and I was. I was majoring in studio art at Wake Forest University, and I was minoring in entrepreneurship. So I had the hamster in college. And, you know, you just do a lot of homework when you get a pet and you kind of learn these things, but you don’t necessarily, like, a lot of small pet owners make DIY solutions, which was kind of like the first piece of the puzzle in the back of my head. But then the thing that really sparked it all was my hamster and I were out on the quad, and he was in his ball, and I was just chasing him in circles. And then I turned and I saw an upperclassman walking her dog. And I was like, why can’t you walk your hamster? 

JONATHAN: I love that. And it’s. It’s so simple of an idea. It just goes to show that there’s all of these things kind of hiding in plain sight. All we have to do is use a little of imagination to get to them.

ETHAN HABER: Yeah. 

JONATHAN: And you instantly thought, hey, I’m just going to make this for my hamster. Or this is something that would be a good business. 

ETHAN HABER: Well, so the first idea I had was. It was kind of like a. Like, you know, those little baby toys. It’s like the. It’s like the law. The vacuum or the lawnmower, and the balls pop up. Like, the first idea was to create, like, a wheel that you can push on the ground while your hamster’s close to the ground. And the ball is, like, in, like, a gyroscope in the middle of that wheel. So the Hamster can run 360 degrees, but I have this wheel, and I can push them around and I can take them for a walk. And that was the original, you know, idea. It was like, oh, so now I can, you know, I can take my. I can walk, but my hamster can enjoy the outdoors. And, you know, their range of momentum, movement is not restricted. And then it kind of turned into this carrier because there were all these things that, like, we discovered along the way about having it close to the ground, about having it get dirty, about, like, you know, bugs getting in or whatever. It evolved into this carrier kind of as I was growing in my entrepreneurial journey. And by the time we, you know, started, we. I incorporated in 2019, but we didn’t have product for sale until September 2022. And Covid was a big part of that. But we’ve been experiencing. It’s been an uphill battle for sure, but we’ve been experiencing solid growth. 

JONATHAN: Were you familiar with starting a business? Did you have people who were familiar with starting a business? Did you go into it completely blind and just kind of learned as you went? 

ETHAN HABER: I’ve had a good batch of mentors. I did my stuffed animal venture before, and that was kind of my, you know, me dipping my toes into starting a business. I was a hired contractor for that. I don’t think I had to form an llc, but that was kind of my first step of like, creating something and going from there. And I’ve always wanted to work and have my own money to spend. I didn’t grow up without resources or anything. My parents were very generous, but I always wanted to just have money in my pocket that was mine that I could spend on whatever I wanted and I got. When I was a freshman in high school, I got my workers card that you need to get a job if you’re below 16 so you can work like 15 hours a week. That was just kind of like the thirst has always been there. So I created this business, and I’ve had entrepreneurs mentorship along the way. I was in an incubator in college. I was in a startup incubator, which was really great. I’m still connected to my professors. About a year or two ago, I reached out to the founder of Petsmart on LinkedIn. I shot him a DM and asked him to mentor me, and he responded. And I talked to him every few weeks and we. And we each catch up and he gives me advice. And he’s been a very valuable mentor to have along the way. But one thing, one piece of advice I was given that is really great is if you want to seek advice from someone, ask them to mentor you. Like, it’s just people feel like it’s an awkward question, but everyone’s. Anyone who succeeded has been where you’ve been in your journey towards success and they’re happy to share, they’re happy to share that knowledge if you ask. 

JONATHAN: I love that you had the wherewithal to reach out and just send him a message and I love that he responded was like, yeah, like I absolutely. 

ETHAN HABER: It’s, it’s a very great connection. 

JONATHAN: Yeah. So from there like you have these mentors, you have this idea going through the nuts and bolts of it obviously, like funding like actually like sourcing materials. Like how did that all come to you? 

ETHAN HABER: So my father is involved as well. So it’s, it’s, there’s, there’s three partners. It’s me and I’m like the, we’re three legs of a stool and I’m the face in day to day operations. There’s my father who provides the capital and business knowledge. He traded commodities back in the day and he also has a startup of his own, which is really cool. He’s one leg of the stool. And then our third partner is a design firm in Edgewater, New Jersey and they’re called P9 Design. They create all the products. Soup to nuts for Oxo, Honeywell, Vicks. Well, there’s a product in your home that they’ve designed and you wouldn’t even know it. And that’s a royal. You, not you specifically, but so they’re the third partner and they’ve really helped with the ideation and I come to them and say I want to do this. And then they’re like, okay, let’s actually figure that out. Out and how do we do this? And they, they’ve helped. They, they created the cads for the product. They create, they help us create, you know, all the digital assets. They’re on all of our weekly calls. They’re, they’re a great partner to have. 

JONATHAN: I love that. So now you’re on Amazon. So I kind of came into the Amazon space like, I don’t know, like, I mean I’ve, I dabbled in it but like kind of all in like six years ago. And it was really interesting and eye opening because I always had had thoughts about the simplicity of Amazon before that. And then when I saw everything that demanded, I was just like, oh my God, this is a lot and there’s just like a whole other world here. 

ETHAN HABER: I think the thing about Amazon is that, you know, it’s a little bit pay to play and it’s also nobody wants to like, you know, become a slave to the beast, so to speak. Like Amazon’s the biggest player. There’s the ideology that you can make a lot more money selling product on your own website. And we tried that for a while but the problem was it’s a lot harder to gain the trust of the consumer on, you know, this website that they’ve never heard of before as opposed to Amazon which is where they go and shop every day, all, all day, every day. And we were working harder, but not smarter. And when we finally decided to give in and give Amazon a shot and it just started working. I mean we’re making, we, we make less per product but we move more products. So it’s, it’s, it’s a much better revolving door. I’m a huge fan of selling on Amazon. For a small business, for a startup, for a vendor like myself, Amazon offers a really great opportunity. So there is that positive to it. But they also, you know, double edged sword is that they, they rake you over the coals and take every penny out of your pocket that they can along the way. 

JONATHAN: Yeah, it just, it used to be a much different game on Amazon and I feel like it’s changed drastically and it’s in some ways good, but in many ways frustrating. And I’m just very curious to see where it goes in the next 10 years. But I can absolutely feel it is a customer centric environment. It is in no way a brand centric or seller centric environment. Like they do not want to make your life easier at all. 

ETHAN HABER: But that’s also part of the value because I’m getting customers ready to buy who can buy, you know, in three seconds. It’s super easy for them and the value that that gives. You know, it’s tough to say if it’s worth the price that Amazon charges in regards to fba, in regards to seller fees, in regards just every little step along the way that they squeeze money out of you, I’m happy, I’m happy with how it’s going. I’d obviously like to make more money and everybody would, but the opportunity Amazon has given us to get product into direct to consumer hands because we have a pretty healthy business to business sales funnel. But our direct to consumer is what we’ve been working on and Amazon is what is what’s given us that opportunity. So I’m grateful to Amazon for that. 

JONATHAN: Yeah, it has definitely leveled the playing field and given everyone a opportunity to get themselves out there, which was not always the case. I was curious about what your initial approach to marketing was. It seems like it’s a product that is made for social media. Like you would have a lot of great content for it. Was that something that you were specifically looking at? Like how did that play out? 

ETHAN HABER: So we do do social media. I put out, you know, a few posts a week across various platforms. YouTube shorts, Instagram, TikTok. We have a blog on our website that I post articles to. But I just, I’m 25 years old. I grew up with technology, but I am not the average, you know, 25 year old. I mean, right out the gate I sew stuff to animals and sell hamster balls. But you know, just even beyond that I have like a very small social media footprint. So that’s probably my least favorite part of the job is, you know, being my own salesman on TikTok and Instagram. And I, you know, do fight myself to put that stuff out there because it’s important. And we have, we have had some, several viral TikToks. We have one with over 3 million views, a few with a hundred thousand plus, and then like a handful of 10 with tens of thousands of views. And we have 10 and a half thousand followers on TikTok right now. So it’s, it is, it is, it is a great way to get people to see our product. And we do, we have sold a few units on TikTok Marketplace. But it’s tough because not everyone who sees it has a hamster. You know what I mean? Like it’s, yeah, it’s, it’s a very viral product, but a small pet. Small pets are niche. There’s only 6 million in America small pets that are owned and in the world it’s, you know, 24 million. So I’m servicing a small but sizable market. So the thing about hamster balls is that there is, there’s like a 50, 50 split in the community, in the, in the, in the small animal community about how do you. About what hamster balls and whether or not they’re safe and the problems with them. So the hamster ball that was Invented in the 70s, the ventilation holes are large enough that the animals paw can go through it while it’s rolling around. So that can lead to injury and death. I mean a hamster’s paw could get sliced off by one of these old school balls. And they’re made of cheap plastic. They’re connected by fish hook prongs and they, the cheap, it’s the thin, thin, cheap plastic warps over time and the lids can pop off. So our ball, you know, we sought to do away with all that. So we have a 2, we have 2 mil. We have patent pending. We just got it this Is one of my, you know, big successes for my company is that we got. About a month ago, we got a notice of allowance from the United States Patent Office that we are. Our ball will have a patent. We haven’t gotten it yet, but we’ve gotten everything checked on. And for all these key safety innovations we made in the small pet space. Our ball has 2 millimeter holes to prevent against paw entrapment. It has a two step locking mechanism on the lid. It has a traditional quarter turn that all balls have. But then it has a slat that pushes forward so that the lid can’t pop off. And so your pet’s just safely fastened inside. And it’s also screwed shut and built from a thicker plastic. It’s never going to split open. It’s built to last. It’s, it’s a quality piece of equipment that you would, you can feel comfortable putting your hamster in. But because of this negative stigma that the old, that the old school balls have, it’s hard to, it’s hard to overcome that. And we’ve tried to do edutainment, but it’s just been, it’s been, it’s been a bit tough and we’re finally starting to overcome that hurdle. But social media is something that I go back and forth on because of that. 

JONATHAN: I get that it’s tough with niche products, right? Especially when they sort of have like a shadow cast over them like that with people’s kind of preconceived notions. 

ETHAN HABER: People will comment and they’ll be like, it’s unsafe because of X, Y and Z. And it’s like, well, actually our ball, you know, fix X, Y and Z. And then they’ll be like, yeah, but still, like, it’s like, it’s just, it’s, it’s like I’ve had someone comment on our tick tock. That’s so cool. Where can I buy? And I have someone else commenting under, below, below like being like, don’t buy that. And then you have people getting into the wars in our comments about being like, this is safe. And they’re like, no, it’s not. And it’s, I guess that’s what helps speed the funnel. And that’s one of, that’s one of reason some of our videos have gone viral. But it’s just, it’s, it’s just disheartening. 

JONATHAN: Yeah, controversy. I feel like it’s everywhere if it’s not. 

ETHAN HABER: Yeah, it is everywhere. And I’m not a controversial guy. I mean, I just, you’re just like. 

JONATHAN: I just want to make stuffed animals and make kids happy! 

ETHAN HABER: I just want to make stuffed animals and sell hamster balls. 

JONATHAN: Yeah, but you mentioned petsmart earlier. I’m curious, like the like, is there a retail play? Have you already explored that? Will you explore that? 

ETHAN HABER: We have explored it and it’s been tough because our product is, is, is big. They had, I was, I was engaged with the buyer this year and she was like, we really want to bring you in, but we just don’t have the space for it. So that’s, you know, and they big box retailers like that, you know, review inventory on a yearly cycle. So it’s not like I can re engage her in three months and be like, well how about now? It’s, it’s, it’s pushes us out another year. But so they, they’re aware of us, they’re interested and it will happen. It’s just a matter of when, not if. But we just like in the past two weeks picked up, just fulfilled our order for our first national retailer for pet value. They’re, they’re a Canadian retailer. They have 750 plus stores and that’s our biggest order to date. They placed an initial purchase order for all of their stores and you’ll just now in the few, in the next few days start to see our products crop up among their retailers. So that’s really exciting. 

JONATHAN: That’s awesome. Congrats on that. That’s a great. 

ETHAN HABER: Yeah, thank you. That was, that was one, that was one of our bigger successes. 

JONATHAN: That’s fantastic. So, yeah, we just need to get more people buying hamsters is the thing. So we just need to educate the public on this not being. I can see it. I mean, come on. There’s always, there’s comeback stories. I feel like we can make hamsters the number one pet somehow. 

ETHAN HABER: Well, you’re never in the pet industry. It’s 90% dog and 10% cat and that’s 100%. So that means, so it’s not actually that, you know, black and white. There’s, there’s, there’s probably 1% that’s other which is small pets, reptiles, birds, fish. But the pet industry is massive and it’s a stable industry and it’s a growing industry. I mean pets are like kids. People take these things, these animals into their homes and then they care for them like their own children. Like, they take it, they take them to the vet, they get them the best possible collar, the best possible leash. So I’m, I’m confident that there is a place for small pets in the World. And that place is going to. Is growing. It’s just a matter of, you know, grabbing a hold and hitching on that ride. 

JONATHAN: Yeah, it seems like it’s a product because people do have a strong affinity for their animals. And when they come across a product that works really well for it, it feels like they would want to become advocates or kind of mavens for that brand. Have you had that experience with customers where they’ve responded just like very positively to it? And is there a particular customer experience that you would call out? 

ETHAN HABER: I have two. So we do trade shows, you know, for the pet trade shows for the brand. The two. The two most common trade shows in America are the Global Pet Expo and Super Zoo. And I think I have a story from each. I believe it’s Super Zoo. We met this guy who, this couple who loved our brand, loved the product. And for these expos, we pick up two hamsters to use at the shows and we give them away by the end, by the end of the show because we can’t take them with us. You can’t fly with, with a. With rodents. So we had this one couple who, you know, we gave the hamster to, along with a halo and, and a Rome, which are the carrier and the ball and some other starter stuff. And this one guy liked our brand so much, he got a tattoo of our logo on his neck and he was like a, like a fully tatted out guy. But I. There’s a. There’s a video. I’m shocked that video didn’t go viral at Tick Toc. He has. He had our logo just tattooed on his neck, which was sick. That was crazy. And then the other one is at the other expo in Florida. There’s a woman that we gave a hamster to a year ago, and she stopped by our booth the next year and she was like, just raving about how much she loved our brand and she loved the hamster we had given her and she loved the product and she sold us to the people who were at our booth at that moment. Like, I was, I was like, yo, you really like the products? I’ll let her take it away. Because I had already kind of explained it to the people and then she rehashed it and redid it. She was like, this. The most amazing ball is the most amazing carrier. Like, if you really want to love your small pet, like, you need to use this. Like, I have it and it’s changed my life. Like, I love it so much. It was really amazing to see a customer just, you know, that enthused about our product. 

JONATHAN: That’s fantastic. I love both of those. The fact that he got a neck tattoo is just. I don’t know if I’ve ever talked to any other brand that was like, yeah, they actually got our logo tattoos on them. That’s fantastic. I mean, how do you handle like negative feedback or just constructive criticism for the product? Has there been any? 

ETHAN HABER: Yeah, we’ve had a few people who have told us our product is over engineered and they’re a little bit right. You know, we used to have magnets in it and the magnet. And this is one thing like if I could go back and tell myself what I know now when we first were designing the product, because I’ve never created, I was, you know, 19. I’ve never, you know, set out to create a manufactured good before. We had like a threshold of how much we wanted the product to cost and we designed the product within that budget range as opposed to trying to make the best product for as cheap as possible. Which there is a key distinction there. And then Covid hit and the cost of goods goes up 40, 50%. And all of a sudden our business to business becomes a lot harder because it’s hard to sell directly to vendors when your cost of goods is increased by 50%. And that is something we’ve had to kind of, you know, work backwards from. But I don’t know if that answers the original question about criticism. 

JONATHAN: No, I thought those were all good answers. I think that, I mean, you mentioned the over engineering and the cogs piece is always like interesting as far as sort of where you see it heading. I guess one like where you see the business heading, like, like what’s sort of that roadmap look like. And also where do you kind of see the small pet care industry going in general?

 ETHAN HABER: So I have a dream that our ball will become the new standard for hamster balls that are, you know, sold. And the hamster balls are actually illegal in Germany because of the, because of the X, Y and z reasons that we have, we have fixed. So if we can kind of, you know, jump that hurdle, get people to recognize the quality of what we have and why we’ve created it and we, and we’re patented. I see, you know, a great future for my business and for the care that we can provide to these small animals. And the next immediate product we would create is a bigger ball. Because that’s the first question people always ask is, does this come in other sizes there’s four sizes of hamster balls that are traditionally sold. It’s 5 inches, 7 inches, 11 inches and 13 inches. And 5 inches is too small for any animal. Seven, you can fit your hamsters, gerbils and mice. And like a large hamster might be too big for a 7 inch ball. The trick is you don’t want their back to splay. Like, you don’t want it to arch like it should be straight if they should be able to run straight in the ball and their back should be straight. So the next invention would be a bigger size. I’m thinking 12 inches, but that’s just off the top of my head because it’s between 11 and 13 and I don’t see a huge distinction between 11 and 13. 12 inches would be big enough for rats, ferrets, chinchillas, hedgehogs to comfortably use it. And the sky is the limit. We have, we have a whole host, a slew of products beyond just what we’ve created that are you ready to go? We just need to prove first that the market needs to bear fruit. 

JONATHAN: Yeah, for sure. I love that. And then as far as, and you may have kind of touched on this, but what do you think is your biggest or has been your biggest challenge? 

ETHAN HABER: The biggest challenge has been getting it in front of the right people. Product awareness is so tough. I mean, social media is free, but you know, in terms of getting the right eyes on that is super hard. Every customer that sees our product loves our product. We have great reviews on Amazon. We have one two star review and it’s a positive review. They speak very highly about the product. They just click two stars instead of five. So you know, anyone who takes the time to engage with our product is like, this is amazing. I want it. It’s super cool. One hurdle we had is we used to have the product in a four color retail box and it was a static image and it’s a complicated product. It’s hard to explain it to the customer. So having it in that four color retail box, it wasn’t really moving on retail shelves. And we’ve since switched to a clamshell. And the clamshell lets the product sell itself. We have a hole in front in the clamshell so that you can spin the ball directly in the product and you kind of engage with it. And there’s like a little sticker that says spin me. It prompts you to engage with the product and that carrying handle is also cut out so you can engage with the product directly on the shelves as if you would in your home. And that’s one thing that we’re really happy about. And took us a little while to figure out. One thing that was. This isn’t so much a hurdle as more of just like a logistical nightmare is that when we were. When we first created the company, I touched on this a little bit earlier about how we incorporated in 2019, but we didn’t start selling product until September 2022. Our molds to actually manufacture the product. We’re stuck on those ships in California that were waiting to port during COVID And I. I wouldn’t fault any dock worker for. For not working. They’re making more from stimulus checks, you know, enjoying their lives than they were from, you know, dangerous, laborious work at the dock. But our molds to actually injection mold, manufacture the product were stuck on those ships, and there were just eight months where we could literally do nothing crazy. 

JONATHAN: Yeah, supply chain. I feel like that’s always something that gets people in the end and then. 

ETHAN HABER: Yeah, so. So establishing our supply chain has been. Has been a bit of a headache because of. Because of. Because of that and a host of other things, but we finally have it going, and it’s. It’s almost at the point where it’s a revolving door, which is exciting. 

JONATHAN: Yeah, that’s great. And then, I mean, as far as giving, you mentioned before, like, if you knew then what you know now and you could go back and tell that to your younger self, like, what would you kind of. What sort of advice or wisdom would you bestow to starting entrepreneurs that you think would be helpful? 

ETHAN HABER: So we bootstrap, and I would just really hammer that home. I mean, I could save my company a lot of money if I knew what I know now. Of course, I’m sure everyone could. Every entrepreneur could say the same thing, but everyone kind of just thinks, like, oh, I’ll be different. Like, I’m not going to waste money. Like, I know what I’m talking about, and my partners have entrepreneurial experience, but. Or whatever. Whatever rationalization you can come across to think that you won’t fall prey to the same thing that everyone else has fallen prey to. But I would just give. If I could go back in time, I would. I would tell myself the lessons I’ve learned from the mistakes I’ve made to try and, you know, stop those mistakes. I don’t regret anything that’s happened. Of course. You know, it’s just part of the process. But the knowledge you gain along the way is extremely valuable. 

JONATHAN: Yeah, 100%. It’s a curious thing, because I feel like you need. There’s a level of confidence. You need to be just driven and ambitious enough to start a business and pursue it. Right. But there’s also this level of confidence where you can go overboard and it becomes hubris and you’re just like your own worst enemy. And I always tell people, I’m like, if there’s somebody that comes to me and tells me they have all the answers, I don’t trust them. I think that that is a dangerous human being, because I feel like that you never. Know everything. You don’t know the things you don’t know. 

ETHAN HABER: You don’t know the things you don’t know. And, like, a perfect. A perfect example is the first trade show that we debuted at. We put a lot of time and resources into creating an extremely nice booth. We had. We had stuff like custom, like, made for the booth. We had a monitor that, like, fit into the wall and it was cut into the wall. So, like, it was all this fancy stuff. We had a table with an inch lip above it so that the balls could roll around on the table without rolling off. And then the next year, we just had a table and chairs and a backdrop banner. And it was like. It was like a 20th, a 10th or a 20th of the cost. And that we’ve since used the same stuff each expo. And it’s just little things like that where it’s like, you wanna. You think, like, first impressions are important, so you want to go all out. Then after you kind of learn that you didn’t have to go that far. 

JONATHAN: Less is more. 

ETHAN HABER: Yeah. 

JONATHAN: Yeah, for sure. 

ETHAN HABER: I really appreciate you hopping on with me. If you ever need anything, let me know. If you ever get a hamster, I’ll send you. I’ll send you a halo. 

JONATHAN: love it, Ethan. All right, have a good day. Thanks for talking.