Here's How Poo-Pourri Founder Held Onto 97% Of Company
Suzy Batiz filed for bankruptcy twice before inventing a toilet spray that made her one of America's richest self-made entrepreneurs. In a conversation with ForbesWomen editor Maggie McGrath, Batiz dishes on her strategy--and the future of her company.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Hi, and welcome to Forbes Talks.
00:03 I'm Maggie McGrath, the editor of Forbes Women,
00:06 and welcome to the Forbes set at the NASDAQ Market Site.
00:09 I am here with a founder, a CEO,
00:13 someone who has overcome a lot of challenges
00:16 to get to where she is.
00:17 I am talking about Suzy Batiz,
00:19 the founder and CEO of PooPourri.
00:21 Suzy, thank you so much for joining us.
00:23 - Hi, thank you for having me.
00:25 What an honor.
00:26 - I'm so glad we finally get to talk
00:27 because you've spoken to Forbes before,
00:29 but you and I have not sat down together.
00:31 And I want to go through everything that has happened
00:35 since the last time you talked to us.
00:36 - Okay.
00:37 - And a lot has happened.
00:38 In 2019, we ran a story with the headline,
00:41 "How a Twice Bankrupt Entrepreneur
00:43 Turned Toilet Spray Into a $240 Million Fortune."
00:48 That headline says a lot.
00:52 And for folks who haven't read that story
00:54 or aren't familiar with you as an entrepreneur,
00:56 can you give the 60 second overview?
00:59 What is PooPourri?
01:00 What is your business?
01:01 - Yeah, so PooPourri is a before you go bathroom spray
01:03 that I invented in my kitchen, in my house.
01:06 Took me about nine months.
01:07 I had this idea, can bathroom odor be trapped?
01:10 I've always been a closet hippie
01:12 and decided to mix some oils.
01:14 Took me nine months.
01:15 One day, my husband walked out of the bathroom.
01:16 He said, "We're going to be millionaires."
01:18 And I said, "What?"
01:19 So I'd been bankrupt twice, but the product was so good.
01:22 I knew I had to bring it out into the world.
01:24 - Well, past performance is not a guarantee
01:26 of future results.
01:27 And in fact, I imagine you learned a thing or two
01:30 from those bankruptcies.
01:31 And one of them, you were very young.
01:32 You had borrowed money to start a business
01:34 when you were just 19, I think.
01:36 So what happened there?
01:37 - A bridal salon, I borrowed and bought
01:39 a bunch of old inventory.
01:40 So I had no money, no cash reserves
01:43 to buy any new inventory.
01:44 So I was stuck with this old inventory
01:45 and ended up being bankrupt.
01:47 But I got some really good advice
01:49 from the owner of the bank.
01:51 I went to go get a loan.
01:52 And he said he had been bankrupt a few times.
01:55 He was very wealthy.
01:57 He said, "The key is to recognize
01:59 "when you have a rotten fish,
02:00 "and when you do, turn your back on it.
02:03 "Turn around and never look back, just to learn."
02:05 So I did it at a very young age.
02:07 I thought, "Oh, this is the way it works.
02:08 "Okay, great, let's move on."
02:11 - And what did you take from that experience to founding?
02:14 It was called Poo-Pourri at the time
02:15 that you last spoke with Forbes.
02:17 - Yeah, I think not being so worried
02:19 about whether things are gonna work out or not.
02:22 It can work out and it cannot work out.
02:24 I've had both sides of that.
02:26 And can I stay true to this idea
02:29 and giving this to consumers and not be so afraid
02:32 about whether the company's gonna crash
02:34 or make it or grow or scale
02:35 or all those words that we hear.
02:37 Can I just be present
02:38 and give my company what it needs in the moment?
02:41 - So 2019, you make our list
02:42 of America's richest self-made women.
02:45 We had projected revenue was on track
02:47 for $100 million that year.
02:50 What's happened since?
02:51 How are you doing?
02:52 How's the company doing?
02:53 - The company's doing amazing.
02:55 We're growing into, we're in big box,
02:57 we're in Target and Walmart,
02:58 we're in about 40% of the store.
03:01 Poo-Pourri changed to Pourri.
03:03 So now instead of having one SKU,
03:05 we have 75 SKUs in different categories.
03:08 We have Pet-Pourri, Home-Pourri, Diaper-Pail-Spray,
03:13 we have Car-Freshener, even Pot-Pourri
03:15 for the people that enjoy weed.
03:17 - Oh, that pot versus like a pot.
03:19 - Is that pot?
03:20 - I'm picturing a flower pot,
03:21 which like mulch can smell.
03:23 Okay. - Different kind of pot.
03:25 - Okay, got it.
03:25 - Yeah, so we're expanding in all departments
03:28 in a lot of different forms.
03:30 We're excited.
03:30 - And is it the same technology that you used
03:32 for the toilet spray, like using the essential oils
03:35 and creating the film, or has it involved more R&D?
03:38 - Way more R&D because not every odor is the same.
03:41 You know, like a breath odor is different
03:43 than an underarm odor.
03:44 They're actually different bacterias.
03:46 And what we do differently is I use oils
03:49 to solve a problem, not to smell good.
03:52 So I'm using oils and plant ingredients
03:54 to actually kill and neutralize the bacteria
03:57 versus covering it up.
03:58 That's why the products are so effective.
04:00 But yeah, it takes a lot of R&D.
04:02 - What is the most popular product now,
04:04 given that you have so many different SKUs?
04:06 - Well, I'll tell you,
04:07 Amazon just stated a couple of weeks ago
04:09 that our diaper pill spray was one of the top
04:12 baby products on there.
04:13 So that looks like it's gonna have a great demand.
04:15 The pet products are going crazy.
04:17 It got expanded into all stores in Target
04:20 with multiple SKUs.
04:21 So pet and baby looks very promising.
04:24 - Big growth areas.
04:25 And I was gonna ask, you know,
04:26 we are in a high inflationary environment.
04:28 Consumers are feeling the pressure.
04:30 And something like a Poo-Pourri
04:32 could feel like a luxury product almost,
04:34 like a nice to have versus a need to have.
04:37 So was the diversification strategy
04:39 part of making Pourri an essential
04:43 so that people buy it in all economic environments?
04:46 - First, I wanna commend you on your business savvy
04:48 'cause you're exactly right.
04:49 (laughing)
04:50 During the actual recession, 2008 to 2009,
04:54 we grew 735%.
04:56 And we were selling a product
04:57 that cost 10 times as much as the competition,
05:00 but it made you feel good.
05:01 So for $10, you could get a good feel-good product, right?
05:04 And feel like you were doing something
05:06 that was a little more luxurious.
05:08 And it's the same way in every category.
05:09 So yes, you were right on.
05:11 - Well, I was wondering about the pandemic too,
05:12 because if you don't have people using
05:14 your restroom at your home, you know,
05:16 a dinner party, Poo-Pourri,
05:17 I totally understand the value proposition.
05:20 Just you and your partner or your family,
05:22 you're kind of used to your smells.
05:24 - Exactly, now people are coming over, yeah.
05:27 - The world's opening up again.
05:28 - And pets, people adopted more animals and pets,
05:31 which is great, but also there are now contained spaces
05:33 'cause they're working at home as well.
05:36 Before the pandemic, we were leaving.
05:38 - So you changed the name of the company in 2022.
05:41 And then there was a period there a few years ago
05:43 where you had stepped down as CEO, but now you are back.
05:46 - Yes. - Can you talk about that?
05:47 First of all, what made you step away?
05:49 And then what was the thought process behind coming back?
05:54 - Yeah, I stepped away right before the pandemic,
05:56 actually the month before.
05:57 I went to LA to move, I was burnt out,
06:00 and I didn't know what I wanted to do when I grew up.
06:03 I was like, I can't do this anymore.
06:04 Then the pandemic happened and I didn't wanna come back.
06:08 So I hired a CEO that was very well vetted.
06:12 And about a year in, well, a few months in,
06:15 you know, it didn't work out.
06:16 So at that point I was faced with, do I hire another CEO?
06:20 I know in my own evolution,
06:21 I was working on creative projects
06:23 and I was really in flow for my being,
06:26 but that wasn't particularly a full-time CEO.
06:28 So I went back, had to make hard decisions
06:31 to restructure the company and change out some executives,
06:34 the executive team.
06:36 And then now I am still the CEO,
06:38 but I work in mostly marketing and creative.
06:41 So I came back in a completely different capacity
06:44 than I did before because I built the support underneath me
06:47 that I didn't have prior.
06:48 - That's smart.
06:49 I think a lot of founders have to navigate that journey.
06:52 They have a commitment to the product
06:55 or company they've started,
06:56 but they don't necessarily want to do all aspects of the job.
07:00 So what's your advice to a founder out there
07:02 who's in the CEO position
07:04 and feeling like they're struggling right now?
07:06 - Yeah, the things that drain you or that you hate doing,
07:10 you know, if it's that strategic pressure,
07:12 hire someone to do that.
07:14 And really the things that make you get up
07:16 and want to work every single day.
07:18 I've been on back-to-back calls all morning,
07:20 but they're all creative meetings and marketing.
07:23 That's my sweet spot.
07:25 So try to carve out as much time.
07:27 So probably 90% of my CEO life
07:31 is in my creative and marketing.
07:33 And I trust the other people with, you know,
07:37 I have reporting every two weeks
07:39 of what's going on internally in the company,
07:41 but I keep myself almost separate while still tapping in.
07:44 - So talking about the marketing and creative,
07:46 I do want to ask you,
07:47 I know you've been asked this a thousand times,
07:49 but the marketing for Poo-Pourri back in the day,
07:51 and even now, it's a little sassy.
07:53 And the product lends itself to literal bathroom humor.
07:56 But then there's a flip side to that, right?
07:58 If you lean into that humor,
08:00 you run the risk of not being taken seriously
08:02 as an entrepreneur.
08:03 How did you make the decision
08:05 about how to lean into this humor
08:07 and what type of marketing you've been using
08:09 for the company?
08:09 - Yeah, again, great call-outs, because we did.
08:13 The reason I started with humor
08:16 is because when I was inventing the product
08:17 and I told them, people would back up.
08:20 They're like, "You're doing what with what?"
08:21 Nobody wants to talk about bathroom odor 18 years ago.
08:25 So I said, "Hold on, comedians actually break the ice
08:28 "with humor, so I'll use humor."
08:30 But it was very subtle,
08:31 but it did get us into a thing
08:33 where people thought it was just a giftable.
08:34 They didn't think it was an everyday product.
08:36 So we had to go back
08:38 and really start talking about how effective the product is,
08:41 that it actually works.
08:43 Once we changed that campaign message,
08:45 then the giftability or that whole joke part was out of it,
08:48 because we had a tagline like, "It works guaranteed,"
08:51 which we had many studies
08:52 and gazillions of five-star reviews.
08:55 So we banked on that versus,
08:56 we just used humor to help break the ice a little bit,
08:59 and it's fun.
09:00 You get to awaken your inner third grader
09:03 that laughs at the fart jokes, right?
09:05 (laughing)
09:06 - It is a little hard not to laugh.
09:08 - It is.
09:08 - At some of what's on your website,
09:10 but it's effective.
09:11 Humor is effective.
09:12 - It's effective, and that's why people love the brand too.
09:15 I gotta tell you, I've never met anyone
09:17 that when I say I'm the CEO and founder of Poo-Pree,
09:19 they smile and they light up.
09:21 So there is a level of levity and happiness that we bring,
09:25 and there's also a secret that I rarely tell people.
09:27 The essential oils in the original formula
09:30 are aromatherapeutically uplifting.
09:34 (laughing)
09:35 - Interesting.
09:36 So you're drawing on aromatherapy lessons
09:38 to fuel your business.
09:40 - And I never talk about it 'cause it's kind of weird.
09:44 - No, I mean, I think aromatherapy,
09:46 and there's a lot of science behind.
09:49 - Right, but while you're pooping, you know it.
09:51 - True.
09:52 - Yeah.
09:53 - Now, I was reading the comments on the story and video
09:56 that we did on you in 2019,
09:58 and a lot of people were saying it's so cool
10:00 that she owns the whole company, basically.
10:03 So at the time, you had owned 97% of the company,
10:06 you took on no outside investors.
10:08 Is that still the case today?
10:10 - Yes.
10:11 - 97%?
10:12 How did you do that,
10:13 and were there any moments that you wavered,
10:15 that you felt yourself talking to an investor,
10:18 considering outside capital,
10:20 thinking it might be good for help?
10:22 - Yeah, there's probably 20 that could call you right now.
10:24 Say, "I got that call one time."
10:25 Of course, you know, there's always that.
10:27 You think, "I'm not gonna be able
10:28 "to get around the next corner."
10:30 But what I have done that I think is very smart
10:33 is leaned on partnering with my suppliers early on.
10:37 Like my first Christmas,
10:38 I didn't know how I was gonna build up inventory.
10:40 My manufacturer actually produced goods
10:43 that I didn't have to pay for until I sold them.
10:45 So they were sort of inventorying for me, right?
10:48 So, and I've had a relationship with them for 17 years,
10:51 so I've built really deep relationships
10:54 where we can grow together during times.
10:57 And I think that's the way collaboration is.
10:59 That's the only way you can grow.
11:01 And they were always strategically able
11:04 to get us out of any tough spot.
11:07 And I keep knocking on wood going,
11:08 "Okay, we're still here.
11:09 "It's still growing." (laughs)
11:11 - You've also had some offers to sell the company,
11:14 and you have refused.
11:15 What would it take to sell this company?
11:18 - Someone that I knew could do a way better job than me.
11:21 You know, Pree is, I invented her 18 years ago.
11:24 I call her her, to me it's like a child, you know?
11:27 And I would love to see what she can do in the world.
11:29 You know, I have my own dreams.
11:31 So, you know, I'm open.
11:33 If someone says, "Hey, I can do a much better job,"
11:36 then okay.
11:38 - You led into my next question.
11:39 I was going to say, what is next?
11:40 We're talking at the beginning of 2024.
11:42 What can we expect to see from you and Pree this year?
11:45 - Well, our future's very bright.
11:46 We just had a Boston consulting group
11:48 do a study on our future.
11:49 And, you know, like I said, right now,
11:51 we're in 40% of the store.
11:53 We can go in so many different areas,
11:55 even different categories that are beyond odor elimination.
11:59 So our future is very, very, very bright.
12:02 Now we just gotta keep up with it, right?
12:05 - Do you feel like you're creating your best impact
12:08 or more powerful as an entrepreneur
12:10 than you were earlier in your career?
12:12 - I do, I do.
12:13 I believe it's because strategically,
12:16 the reason I never launched any other products
12:19 is because I wanted Pooh Pree to be the Band-Aid
12:22 or the Kleenex.
12:23 Like, I created the category.
12:25 I wanted to have dominion, you know?
12:27 Like, this is, we did this.
12:29 And then now that that has happened,
12:31 now we can bring in all the other products
12:33 and it's just fun.
12:34 You know, it's like, oh, we have all these other things
12:36 in our back pocket over here.
12:38 - You did create the category.
12:39 It wasn't, and there was a competitor that I won't name
12:42 that tried to use a similar name
12:46 and you were successful in fighting back on that.
12:49 Have you had a lot of copycats that you've had to whack 'em all?
12:52 - Yeah, and you know, I do believe competition
12:55 helps breed, you know, innovation.
12:58 So it's not anti-competitive,
13:00 it's just don't act just like me, right?
13:03 It's like, you can do whatever you wanna do.
13:05 That's where I get, and I have been very offensive
13:10 and defensive, you know, in the world,
13:13 with just don't act like us.
13:15 And that particular company was a $50 billion company
13:17 and they did act like us and I did go after them.
13:19 - Yeah, that was Goliath taking on David a little bit.
13:22 - I was like, yeah, no.
13:23 (laughing)
13:25 - Now, I think you were 54 when you were named
13:27 to our Richest Self-Made Women's list
13:29 and I edit a list called the 50 over 50
13:31 and I'm curious, we ask everyone on the list this,
13:35 did you ever imagine your career,
13:37 so when you were in your 20s,
13:38 did you ever picture your career over the age of 50
13:40 and if so, what did you picture?
13:43 - No, I mean, heck, we thought we were dead over 50, right?
13:47 Most people, I mean, when you're young,
13:48 you know, my kids look at me now and they're like,
13:50 oh my God, you're gonna be 60?
13:52 Like, do people live beyond that?
13:54 So it's amazing.
13:55 Of course I never pictured it,
13:59 but what I'm excited about is I spent so many years building
14:04 and that has its own rewards, right?
14:06 You know, I have those rewards, they're within me
14:08 and nobody can ever take those away.
14:11 But now it's that you've built it, how can I share more?
14:15 So you get into a place of service, you know,
14:17 and that's where I'm at, is how can I now serve
14:20 and help other people?
14:21 I get a little weepy with that, you know?
14:22 How can I give other women and other people
14:24 that are from any marginalized background a leg up?
14:28 South by Southwest, we're having an event
14:29 and we're doing a whole showcase for marginalized artists
14:33 and bringing in some record executives,
14:35 realizing that a lot of the marginalization
14:38 is just you don't have the same opportunities,
14:40 so how can we kind of create those opportunities
14:42 knowing that the person has to have the gumption, right,
14:46 after that opportunity is presented to go forward?
14:49 But that's what I'm really interested in doing now
14:51 in the world.
14:53 - You have a tattoo, if Forbes reporting is correct,
14:55 which I believe it is, that says,
14:57 this dance is the joy of existence.
15:00 - Yes.
15:01 - What does that mean?
15:02 - That's a Rumi quote, which was a Sufi poet,
15:05 and what it reminds me of every day
15:08 is that at the end of my life, at my last breath,
15:11 I would look back at even what I considered
15:13 the worst moment and be like, I'd take that too, right?
15:18 So what it reminds me of is it's the entire dance.
15:21 You know, we talk about challenges,
15:23 like of the pandemic or challenges in business, obstacles.
15:27 Obstacles are, life is, you know,
15:30 it's like how do I stay grateful during all of those?
15:35 That's what it's for.
15:38 - Thank you for sharing that with us
15:39 and thank you so much for joining Forbes
15:41 at NASDAQ MarketSight, we so appreciate it.
15:43 - Oh, thank you, I enjoyed it.
15:45 (upbeat music)
15:47 (upbeat music)
15:50 (upbeat music)
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