We’ve all heard of the impact that plastic has on the environment, and while most of us are concerned, few jump into action. Emma Rose Cohen is one such person who spends 98% of my time obsessing over single-use plastic waste and trying to figure out how to eliminate it from our daily lives.
Emma is the CEO and Founder of the Final Straw, where her passion for sustainability met radical action by creating innovative and fun alternatives to single-use plastics. She launched Final’s first product, FinalStraw, on Kickstarter with a goal of raising $12,500. In a matter of weeks, the campaign raised $1.89 million and later went on to be featured on ABC’s Shark Tank.
Let’s get right into Emma’s story and learn how making sexy straws and forks led her to world-renowned success while fueling her purpose with passion.
Things you will learn in this episode:
[00:01 – 05:59] Opening Segment
- Sponsored ad
- I introduce today’s guests Emma Rose Cohen
- Final Straw
- Master from Harvard in sustainability
- Be sure to check out guestio.com and start booking
- Emma gives us some background
- High energy as a child
- Entrepreneurial from a young age
- School life
- From partier to pragmatic
[06:00 – 17:23] Instant Kickstarter Success
- Emma shares about her time at Harvard
- Mentorship that led there
- The applicability of a Masters program
- Growing passion for sustainability
- Humans are the only creatures that create unnatural waste
- Figuring out what to do next
- Miserable at the lab
- Skiing as a passion
- Timing, luck, and hard work
- Emma talks about the tactics around building the business
- Starting on Kickstarter
- Test marketing with people first
- Building a pre-campaign strategy
- Early prototypes
- Working with friends to create a product
- The instant success
- The experience
- The moment people say yes
- A word from our sponsor
[17:24 – 23:02] Making Sexy Straw and Forks
- Emma shares the growth since finding success
- Grateful for every sale, but not motivated by money
- Doing something innovative
- New products
- Biggie Straw
- Literally, suck anything!
- Sustainability can be a fun thing
- Agents of change
- Releasing the sexy fork and spork
- Moving beyond the straw
- Small steps towards a huge win
- The various experiences that go into it
[23:03 – 29:07] Closing Segment
- Who you know or What you know?
- Not mutually exclusive
- It’s impossible to be successful in business without connections
- You can learn more from others
- ThE RaNdOm RoUnd
- How to engage with Emma
- Links below
- Final words
Tweetable Quotes:
“Humans are the only creatures in the world that create waste, and I think really, it’s just fundamentally a design flaw in both the systems and the products we’re creating.” – Emma Rose Cohen
“To have an idea and be excited about it is one thing, but to have the world say YES… it’s like the most beautiful feeling.” – Emma Rose Cohen
“Sustainability can be a sexy, fun, sparkly party – and that’s gonna bring a lot more eyeballs than the kind of traditional ‘Sarah McLachlan Peta’ vibe.” – Emma Rose Cohen
Resources Mentioned:
Connect with Emma on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Be sure to visit https://final.co/ to learn even more.
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