Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Deepti Brambl, Co-Founder of Kaylaan, located in Floral Park, NY, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

We manufacture toothpaste tablets in New York. Our customers are both men and women.

Tell us about yourself

I’ve been experiencing climate anxiety since I learned about our impact on the environment. In a talk by the founder of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, I heard him say that “the greatest evil in the world is knowing that we have the resources and tools, but we decide to do nothing.” This hit home hard. Wells [Co-Founder] and I have the resources and tools because I’m an engineer and Wells is a toxicologist. So we decided to combine our skills and at least give it a try to come up with a product that is eco-friendly and benefits people.

We did an audit of the products that created the most trash and discovered it was toothpaste. After researching, creating an ingredients list, and putting a plan together, we started the project at home. We tested it out with friends and family, but thinking, “friends and family obviously will support us,” we tested on Etsy for organic feedback with the hope that people would be forgiving if our product sucked. But we were thrilled to see that people loved the product, and we quickly became the bestseller. That was a reaffirmation that our product works, which was a huge confidence boost. From there, we started the business plan and scaling process.

We first tested our ideas with a homemade tool to check if we could form a tablet from the ingredients we put together. We then bought a manual hand-crank tablet pill press. We didn’t know anything about making tablets; it was a completely new skill we had to learn. We did a lot of variations. It was the 87th batch that we were like, “yup, this is the one.” At this point, it was still a project, and we never thought we’d become a company. Etsy really gave us that push.

When we started the journey to become a brand, we knew our brand would put the planet over profit. So we focused on getting a B-Corp certification. We also knew the importance of fluoride in the toothpaste, so we worked to get FDA clearance to add fluoride. Both processes were gruesome, but the outcome was completely worth it.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

The opportunity to grow as a person and grow the business to a certain extent. I’m a woman of color and recently got my American citizenship. Being an immigrant woman of color in tech, I know that even though I was as capable as my male counterparts, I wouldn’t have been given an opportunity to remotely do what I am doing as a small business owner because of role and gender inequalities. With my business, I get to employ people from all walks of life, from different backgrounds and cultures. It’s a very diverse environment.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

In the beginning, the hardest part was loneliness. You see your friends going out and having fun, going on vacations and adventures. But when I decided to take a break, I’d experience guilt. Over time, I’ve learned that it’s important to reset, to give your body and mind some rest.

We learned early on that it’s a lot easier to delegate than to figure out how to do it alone. There will be some growing pains and setbacks along the way, but once things are defined and carefully documented for everyone involved, delegating becomes much easier and saves time.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Start small. Do one thing and do it very well.
  2. Delegate where necessary. Don’t try to do everything on your own; you will burn out.
  3. Make friends with uncomfortable or, in other words, make uncomfortable comfortable and fail as many times as possible. This is when you learn the most and grow.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.kaylaan.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaylaantoothpaste
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaylaantoothpaste/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kaylaan/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.