The Exchanges

Q So it was four, four kids. Did you guys go to church? Was that part of growing up or not really?

A Yeah, so our dad is Baptist, and our mom is Jewish, actually, so they took us to temple on Fridays and church on Sundays, and it was really more about community, and when somebody didn't want to go, they didn't have to go. There was not that push. Really, what they were trying to instill is, like, you're part of a bigger community outside of this family also, and it's your responsibility to be part of something bigger than yourself, and so I think that's really what they instilled, and I looked forward to it every week, and I think it was really cool that it was never about somebody being right or wrong. It was just, like, different perspectives.

AI assessment note: “they took us to temple on Fridays and church on Sundays”

Q Alright, so Jennifer, you are introduced to this, like, these heirloom popcorn kernels, and, uh, and what'd you do? Did you go home and, like, pop them?

A Yeah, that's exactly it. I went home, put some oil in the pot, a little bit of, like, rosemary, I think, and salt, and popped them, and, you know, it's the first time I'd ever seen popcorn that wasn't massive, like, it was just these mini kernels. It was also the first time that I, like, stove-popped popcorn, you know, we grew up, and we would have the microwave popcorn, and so I took it home really excited, and I popped it, and it was, like, half the size, and really tender, and, and it didn't hurt my stomach. Like, that was the craziest part. Like, I could eat it, and I hadn't, as I said, like, I hadn't had popcorn or corn in so long, because as a kid, it made me so sick, and it was delicious, and it was like, I think for the next month, that's all I ate for dinner every single night.

AI assessment note: “Yeah, that's exactly it. I went home, put some oil in the pot”

Q They don't want you to talk to the other contestants?

A No, they, that, and that's what they said to us, and so we were like, okay, got it, like, we are never gonna mess up this opportunity, so like, we are not gonna talk to anyone. So we get off the plane, they're like, no one can know you're there for Shark Tank. They said somebody would be there to pick us up, and we get to the curb, and it's like a massive van that says Shark Tank season six all over it, and so we were like, what's happening? Like, is this a test? And we get on the van. Teresa was with us, and there's all, all the other brands who are gonna pitch, and everyone's talking. Like, every single person is talking to each other, and we're like, is this a test? Is this all a test? Like, what's happening? And so Jeff and I don't say a word, and so we seem like such We just seem like horrible people.

AI assessment note: “that's what they said to us, and so we were like, okay, got it”

Q because of the protests against racial injustice. And there were, there were earnest and let's say some less earnest attempts to support black businesses, but there, there was sort of a groundswell. And we know this because, um, we, you know, we talked to some founders who experienced that, um, black owned businesses. Were you, did you see any of that connected to your business at all in any way?

A Yeah, and I think it was, I was talking to a friend, and we kind of described it as bittersweet, you know, because it's like, the support came after, obviously, George Floyd getting murdered, and, you know, obviously years and years of injustice, that it took this for then people to want to support us, so I think that's a very bittersweet moment, but what's amazing is we are getting the support, and that people are wanting to support Black and brown brands, you know, and minority-owned brands, and I think where it feels good is when it's companies or people who are reaching out to you who have always supported you, and they're just amplifying it. I think the part where it gets confusing of how to feel about it is when you can tell it's an opportunity for them to lift their brand, and it isn't actually about lifting us as a Black-founded brand, so I think that that was a really Tricky thing, and I think it's tricky because it's like something so personal that affects us, who we are, and who our family is, and navigating this at the same time as trying to, I don't know, I think it's just been like a really, really interesting few months of how to be really grateful, but also like kind of really eye-opening of What people's, why they're doing the things they're doing.

AI assessment note: “Yeah, and I think it was... what's amazing is we are getting the support”

Q Wait, so, so the idea was For your Christmas offering. And this wasn't even something you had thought about until she asked you, what's your Christmas offering? You're like, well, we're gonna, we're gonna sell like a four pack in a crate that, that you just kind of had to come up with that instantly.

A Yes. Yeah. And so we were like, so excited. And it was just, I can like still feel that moment of like, you know, we had no idea who was standing in the back of our tent. We were just like trying to give her a second and then being like, could this actually happen? Like, What, you know, and we had so many things that were working, like, right time, right place, that we were like, no way, like, what's going on? And so we, like, pack up, and Jeff is very good at, like, building things and fixing things, and he, like, goes home and, like, builds a crate. Like, he, like, stains the wood, figures out all the measurements, does all.

AI assessment note: “Yes. Yeah. And so we were like, so excited.”

Q How were you making popcorn, packaging it, delivering it to Whole Foods, and also still getting direct-to-consumer orders, and going to shops and trying to get them to sell and stock your popcorn?

A Guy, I honestly don't know how we did it. Like, thank God. When you say it, it's like, what? How did we do that? I remember there was the specialty stores that we got into, and I think that one thing that we'd replicated was we'd, like, go on to Yelp and just look for cheese shops, specialty shops, gourmet shops in other cities, right? Like, Philly and Boston and Chicago and all those things, and I think that was really Helpful in like figuring out how to get into those. I remember Ellie Truesdale from Whole Foods. She was like, don't make the mistake so many people make, which is getting into Whole Foods and then being like, I want to get into every store. And I think that that helped us a little bit, um, because we didn't make the mistake of trying to get into like a massive retailer where if we couldn't fulfill it, then we would have gotten kicked out aside, you know, like obviously aside from Whole Foods, but we didn't have a lot of those going on. It was all these like specialty shops.

AI assessment note: “I honestly don't know how we did it.”