Deep down, have you always wanted to go off on your own?
Do you want to test yourself? Do you want to own an idea from scratch?
Becky Verma felt the same.
Her corporate career as a software development manager for a Fortune 500 company was secure but unfulfilling, and she wanted to give entrepreneurship a chance. Last year, she finally did it.
In 2023, becx was born.
Last fall, Verma’s new business launched its premiere product, the SpinnStir. It’s a handheld mixer that seamlessly mixes powders into water without the frothing side effects of traditional mixers. The SpinnStir allows health enthusiasts to enjoy powdered supplements without clumps or unnecessary bubbles.
Through the mentorship of Natasha Marcello, her business coach, Verma actualized a product and became the entrepreneur she always knew she could be. Her one-day presale yielded $2,000 in revenue, and her Instagram reach increased by more than 4,000 percent in just two months. She’s almost sold out her first order of products and plans to launch new colors in 2024.
We caught up with Verma to ask how Foundr’s coaching program kept her on track to confidently manufacture and launch SpinnStir.
Q&A With Becky Verma
Q: Where did you come up with the business name becx?
A: It’s a cheeky nickname that people gave me when I was young.
Q: What problem does your product solve?
A: The product that I’m selling right now and that Foundr helped me build, manufacture, and sell is called the SpinnStir. It’s a replacement for a handheld frother that you would use to mix your greens or your protein powder or something that you don’t want to have foam in. So a [normal] frother is great for mixing with milk, and a frother is great for foaming milk but not so great when you want to mix other items, like hot chocolate for your kids or a protein shake.
Q: How has the Foundr coaching program helped you?
A: Before the Foundr coaching program, I was really struggling with what to do for the rest of my life and how I was going to become the entrepreneur I always wanted to be. Through the coaching program, I’ve been able to create a product, manufacture it, develop a website, and launch a presale.
Q: How did the store launch go?
A: I started social media on June 24 [2023] with anticipation of launching the store in September, but I had delays in manufacturing and shipping.
So I decided to hold a presale just to see what type of interest I would have, and the online store sessions increased by 417 percent in five days.
We opened the store for presale for one day, [and] I got $2,000 worth of revenue and over 40 orders.
To launch the presale, I sent out an email to my email list that they would get a 15 percent discount and then two more emails right before the sale and during the sale. Overall, almost $800 was attributed to the emails that were sent out.
Q: Did you use social media for the presale?
A: For the presale, I ran a $10 Instagram ad for 24 hours that reached over 5,000 individuals, and I received six sales from that ad alone, totaling $223.
After launching, what were the next steps you focused on?
After the launch, I focused on getting micro-influencers to make videos of the SpinnStir. I set up a TikTok shop and connected it to my Shopify so I could manage all orders through my website.
Additionally, since the SpinnStir is a perfect item for Amazon, I launched my Amazon store. The SpinnStir quickly gained traction on Amazon, and I was able to convert the product to Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA), which has allowed me to focus more on testing different product bundles on my website.
Q: What’s the toughest challenge you’ve overcome with your business?
A: When I look back, there have been two challenges that were most significant last fall (after the launch). The first struggle was moving forward with confidence and believing in myself as a small business owner. I am not risk-averse, which is a great quality to have, but I have always lacked the self-confidence to go all-in on a business. Going through the Foundr coaching program allowed me to build my self-confidence, and Natasha, my coach, helped me see that I could push past the self-doubt and be successful.
I am not risk-averse, which is a great quality to have, but I have always lacked the self-confidence to go all-in on a business.
The second challenge was getting through the holidays. As a single-owned small business who has bootstrapped the entire launch, I found it very difficult to compete during the holidays. Ads were extremely expensive, so it was very difficult to get eyes on the product. If I could go back and do it over, I would have launched the product earlier in the year so I could gain more attention before the holiday rush.
Q: Where do you see becx in five years?
A: I hope I’m mass-producing the SpinnStir or that it is being mass-produced and sold.
I hope that we have some partners that are embracing the product and using it in either their packaging or selling it on their sites.
I lose interest in things quickly, [but] I’m excited to see where this takes me from here because I do think that there will be more.
Q: What have you learned about yourself through building becx?
A: The mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Continuously pushing past the self-doubt has been a daily occurrence and can get exhausting. It is vital to have a firm purpose and vision to propel you forward, even in times of the worst doubt and fear.
It is vital to have a firm purpose and vision to propel you forward, even in times of the worst doubt and fear.
Q: What is your advice to someone considering the Foundr coaching program?
A: The coaching program has given me the confidence and the road map to believe in my product and get it to manufacturing and sale. I believe everyone needs a mentor who has not only succeeded in the area you may be interested in but is unequivocally in your corner.
I believe everyone needs a mentor who has not only succeeded in the area you may be interested in but is unequivocally in your corner.
I think there’s something to be said for not knowing what you’re going to do, and then you go to a program, and you find that.
Absolutely, go for it. It is a confidence boost. You always have somebody in your corner helping you through the really tough questions that you’re overthinking and not able to make a decision on. It’s really worth that alone.
Q: What’s the best part about being a founder?
A: I am grateful every day to be working for my own purpose and vision. Sometimes, it can be scary to not have a stable income and to do this on my own, but I’ve found I’ve grown so much over the past six months through adapting to change and pivoting quickly.
Keep Learning: This Founder Believes Entrepreneurship is a Spiritual Practice
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