August 24, 2023 • 33 mins
In 2017, Raynell Steward, more commonly known by her social handle Supa Cent, launched The Crayon Case, a cosmetic kit for amateur makeup artists featuring bright, playful colors.
In the ensuing 5 years, The Crayon Case would explode into a $50 million business, thanks to confluence of their innovative marketing approach, their vocal and hilarious founder, and a rock solid team of crafty individuals with unique professional experience—including time with the illustrious New Orleans record label, No Limit. But as with any company that enjoys rapid growth, mistakes were made, lessons were learned, and the Crayon Case would be forced to navigate uncharted waters.
On this week's episode of All Angles, we talked to founder Supa Cent, business manager Russell Baker, and marketing director Iona Norris, to hear how together they built one of hottest makeup brands on the market.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
I started learning how to my makeup. I stopped booking
makeup artists. I started to get my makeup collection up.
My followers can ask them like, well, I'm about to
give this company all this attention, I'm just going to
come out with my own college.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Welcome to Idea Generations All Angles, a podcast about culture's
most influential brands and the teams that built them. If
you're an entrepreneur, creative, or anyone interested in harnessing the
power of collaboration, join me Noah Callahan Bever each week
as we dissect the most dynamic companies in culture. Because
(00:45):
the only way to truly understand success.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Is to look at it from all angles.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Idea Generations All Angles is a Will Packer media podcast.
In twenty seventeen, Raynel Stewart, more commonly known by her
social handle Supercent, launched the Crayon Case, a cosmetic kit
for amateur makeup artists featuring bright, playful colors. In the
(01:14):
ensuing five years, the Crayon Case would explode into a
fifty million dollar business thanks to their confluence of innovative
marketing approach, their vocal and hilarious founder, and a rock
solid team of crafty individuals with unique professional experiences, including
a partner who worked for the illustrious New Orleans label
No Limit Records. But as with any company that enjoys
(01:34):
rapid growth, mistakes were made, lessons were learned, and the
Crayon case would be forced to navigate uncharted waters. On
this week's episode of All Angles, we talked to founder Superci,
business manager Russell Faker, and marketing director Iona Norris to
hear how together they built one of the hottest makeup
brands on the market. But before any of that happened,
(01:58):
before the multimillion dollar cyber month or a spot on
Oprah's Favorite Things, Supercent was just a young content creator
in New Orleans trying to figure out how to code
her MySpace theme.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
What drew me to social media early was Hurricane Katrina.
When Hurricane Katrina happened, we had to keep in touch
with our friends and our family. When my Space came out,
That's how we kept up with our best friends, and
I was able to see who was alive from Katrina,
you know. And then the next thing was Facebook. They
had statuses, So that's why I was more informative about
my feelings and what's going on and how I feel
(02:32):
about this than my opinions about relationships in life.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Many of us took for granted Facebook's simple prompt to
let the world know what we were doing, But for
Super this created a new level of self awareness and
inspired her to express herself on the Internet in a
way that she hadn't before.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Facebook really pushed me out there when it came to
talking about me. Social media of pushed me out things
to the world so bad. That was a very open, real,
straightforward person. All my friends around me was doing funny
ass kits. There was being Super funny, going out there
way to be weird, and I was just I had
(03:16):
work housekeeper and just showing them how I felt about something.
And I guess they thought that was funny.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Super started to build a fun, organic and loyal following
on her socials by letting her followers into her everyday life.
As her fan base started to scale, she realized there
was an opportunity to productize her personality and offer something
tangible to her audience, so she opted for something close
to her heart, New Orleans Bounce music.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
Me.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Being on social media, a lot of people did not
know about different cultures or music. I didn't think Bounce
music was for New Orleans. I thought it was for
the whole world. But then me getting on social media,
I'm like, okay, so it's just a New Orleans shot
and they was like, what you're listening to me? Like
why are you trying to song? Why this song sound
like that? I'm like, this called Bunce music. So I
(04:04):
started telling them where to find it a because they
couldn't really find it no iTunes. They had to get
it off of YouTube. But they was like, we want
to hear Li's sit in our car. So I'm like, well,
let me see if I can come out with some
cvs and sell it to thee because I couldn't do
it online, like I couldn't put no iTunes. And that's
what I did. Start the Burns CDs and I sip
until them and they just got enter into a whole
different caution you love it.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Super's burn CDs were a hit. She was moving units
and she could barely keep up with the mand. Super
had gone into the business expecting to sell a couple hundred,
and within weeks she had orders in the thousands.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
So my CDs is seven dollars and I got them
printed everything I got my I was playing list printed.
I got all that printed. Then I had to buy
the yellow packages from Walmart. Then I had to buy
papers to write your address on and tape the tape
it and then stamp to ship it. Like it was
so much and I didn't realize how much it would
be because that was my first time actually doing right.
(05:00):
I was supposed to corporate the website price. I was
supposed in corporate so many prices that I did so
I think I made fourteen thousand, but I probably spent
probably twenty probably twenty five. It was just reckless and crazy.
I don't know what I was doing, but it was
a great thing to do because a lot of people
got the CD. I didn't think the CGU was going
to sell that fast, but it sold out so fast
(05:20):
that I was happy about that.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Supers venture into Hawking CDs wasn't necessarily a success financially,
but the lesson she learned it fulfillment and customer service,
would pay dividends down the line. As her social media
following scaled, super continued to idate on how to capitalize
on her magnetic persona.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
For her next venture.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
She would utilize a popular catchphrase from her handle, known
for liberally blocking detractors, super slogan Hye block hose became
a rallying cry within her comments section. Now equipped with
an entrepreneurial eye, she knew it could be more than
just a hashtag. It could be a brand. So what
did you do next? Of course, she put it on
a T shirt.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
So our black holes came down because I was very
known for blocking people on social media. Still am I
just cannot tolerate disrespectful from somebody I can't see, don't know,
never heard of it, but it just don't make sist
to me to allow them to be on my page.
And you got so much and amosity towards me and
I can't even see you. I don't know you, so blocked, right,
But the blocking came from a way deeper, meaning I've
(06:22):
been blocking people to a house. So the term came
about with people saying, oh, why are you blocking it?
Because which I block over? And then people said, oh,
you gotta put that down shirt. People used to tell me,
I don't think a curse word on a shirt is
going to sell them. I'm like holes, Like, technically it's
not really curse work. Well, you know, so I just
made it work. I started getting the shirts printed. I
(06:43):
finally supplied in New Orleans, got my shirt print, and
I started incorporating every price, every price. I even incorporated
gas one time. I'm like, okay, I'm just being paid.
So I had to go pick up the shirts right
after he made them. So it came with my website.
I got my website done. I put so much effort
into that business, and I think I was just trying
to be better than the CD right, and it was perfect.
(07:06):
I'm doing all this in my house, all this in
my living room. I probably had some of my friends
more every now and then, but I did all this myself.
I didn't even have a labor printer. Still, I didn't
know about a labor printing until way lived on and
in my life so much easier, Oh my god. And
I was having fun with everything. I was shooting like
maybe thirty orders a day, and I wasn't happening late.
(07:27):
It's a lot of orders, you know. The thing is,
it was so many orders at the time, but for me,
it won't that many orders because I did the whole
day to do yet, so it was really nothing. But
at that time it was a greater amount orders. I
was in a better head space. I was able to
pay rent beforehand and not have to wait for it
and had to find out when rent coming. I was
able to pay it off quickly, and I was able
(07:49):
to do a lot of stuff that I wasn't able
to do in my other years, you know. So I
felt like that was the great.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Starting the iblock host t's were a massive success. Super
had figured out how to tap into her fan base,
create a fun, desirable product, and deliver it without issue.
It was a blueprint that could be repeated, and her
potential was not lost on those in the local scene either.
(08:16):
One person in particular who took note was Russell Baker,
a former artist manager who worked with Mac and C
Murder from Masterpiece legendary label No Limit Records.
Speaker 5 (08:26):
I was introduced to Supa and late twenty fifteen a
mutual a friend of ours say, Man, you need to
check and check out. She is so hilarige. I think
she'd be a good client for you to manage. And
at that time I had taken the hiatus on managing talent,
and I told a note. I told him no, and
then I told her no, just because I was kind
(08:48):
of burned out on a business. I started off a
friend of mine who was signed to No Limit Records,
McKinley Phipps, now known as Mac Phipps. I started with
him in ninety nine two thousand and then he was
unfortunately incocerated for a crime he didn't commit. And then
I assisted see with his label and that mutual friend
(09:08):
that introduced SUP and hour would running his label and
managing him, and then he was arrested. So at that time,
I was like, you know what, Uh, maybe this is
not for me. And so after a while I just
kept watching her. And as I was watching her, I said, man,
she is so talented. She has natural comedic talent. No
matter what she touches, she has that what you call
the it factor.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
She has.
Speaker 6 (09:30):
She put her mind to it, it's gonna strike. She
was starting to sell a mixtapes. She always loved music,
so she'll sell mixtapes. That was a crazy time.
Speaker 5 (09:39):
Now because I'm the closest thing that you will get
to an attorney that.
Speaker 6 (09:43):
Doesn't have a law degree.
Speaker 5 (09:45):
So a little while I'm saying, I'm like, man, okay,
we're infringing on these people copy right, They're gonna come atter.
Speaker 6 (09:50):
That sometime.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
She made ten thousand dollars off the first REPD the
first day she released me ten thousand dollars. At that point,
I'm not fully full time with her yet. Again, my
managing style is different than most. When I managed someone,
I have a personal relationship with that person, So I
was always just observing, making sure that she was.
Speaker 6 (10:06):
Straight, making sure that she was okay.
Speaker 5 (10:08):
Just an advisory role, just someone to talk to on
a daily basis.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
As Superstar continued to rise and social media evolved into
a twenty four to seven medium, super started using live
features to broadcast her life. Super would stay on Periscope
and later Instagram Live for hours every day, even going
live during her daily chores and most mundane moments.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Before Instagram Live, before Facebook Live, it was Periscope. So
that's when I was on Periscope all the time. Maybe
made me a damn hashtay for Paris school scrib I
kind of showed everything. I would bring my son in
school in the morning, I was on live pick my
son up for school. I was on live, and that's
how people really was able to see my son book
(10:53):
because I literally recorded this guy whole lifely since he'd
been born right, so that he'd loved to see what
he was thinking about and what he saying when he
was two, when he was a street when he was four, right,
they seen me go and pick up the shirts. They
seen me having a problem with the shirts. I used
to ask them, like, what should I pull off a
battle dun day? And they would help me, and I'm like, okay,
I'm gonna put this out. I was getting my mock ups.
(11:14):
I was showing the mock ups. I started paying for
more people to help me. I paid for graphic design.
It was just like those two years on my fast.
But it was so important to me because I actually
learned the motion of business from our black bodies.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
As her follower count rose from the thousands to the
hundreds of thousands and she grew from a local celebrity
to a national star, Super started getting booked for IRL
appearances across the country. It was during these travels that
Super would find herself with a need, a need that
would spark her next entrepreneurial endeavor.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
I was getting booked a lot, so that's when I
kind of got into the makeup. I was getting booked
so much. It was very hard to find somebody every
state to do my makeup. I learned how to do
my makeup from being alive so much. And I'm doing
my makeup and they watching me mess my face up.
They thought it was funny. I thought it was funny.
And see, eventually I started getting it right, and I'm like,
(12:11):
oh that, Oh, your brothers looks so much better today.
I'm like, oh, thank you, Like, oh, you know, you
kind look way better to the I'm like, thank you.
You know. So I started being okay, well, let me
keep being all live to see the process and the progress. Right.
I started learning how to my makeup. I stopped booking
makeup artists. I started getting my makeup collection up. My
followers kept asking, I'm like, well, I'm about to give
this company all this attention. I'm just gonna come out
(12:33):
with my own stuff.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
The idea for the Crawern case was born.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Super wanted to do her own makeup, and she wanted
to do it her own way, and that went with
her own unique color palette, and straight up, the market
was bare when it came to the bold and bright
color she was looking for it, So she took matters
into her own hands and started the arduous process of
fabricating a line of makeup that she's desperately needed.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
My first two things can Sprawled You and Highlight. That
was it. I feel like I could sell that forever,
and my mind designed I was gonna make a good
twenty thousand dollars off that, and I was gonna be happy.
So that's all I wanted to come out with. And
then when they was like, well when you put on
your brows or bush reviews, I'm like, oh, that's true, right,
So that's why I said, Okay, I'll get a brush.
(13:20):
By the time it released, I came out with seven products,
the eyebrow jail, the eyeshadow, the cream, the lashes, just
stuff that needed to go with the eye. Basically, that's
all I came out with. I dropped on June first,
twenty seventeen. I made thirty three thousand dollars and that
was the most I ever made it one day. And
I was so shocked about that because I'm like, damn,
(13:40):
I can make money like this for the rest of
my life to be happy right now. Twenty seventeen it
was so big for me because I never made that
much money in one day before. I had to learn
how to put money back into the brand too, Like, look,
don't go spend that money on the trip. You have
to put the money directed back into the bran. That's
what I did. So when I made it thirty dollar dollars,
I didn't spend it. I just kept it and bought
more products. I realized everything you have in stock doesn't
(14:04):
have to be the same count. I has to learned.
If one paddle is selling better than the other, you
should all make it ten thousand of the pallet that's
selling better than others. The other palt you probably only
five thousand, and you may not brought me twenty five
hundred be it's selling to I learned all that in
the Crown case. So that was a big thing for
me about June first of twenty seventeen, because I realized
(14:24):
I'm about to spend all this money on all these
products at the same time when I don't need all
these projectives. And that was important to me because that's
how still how I'm doing it. Like if this is
not selling to one and I got a lot of
these in our house, it's no need for me to
re up on this. I need to put this money
into a different product.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
The Crown case was a hit, the product was innovative.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Super's personality did the marketing for her, and her followers
quickly converted into die hard consumers. So as the brand flourished,
Super and Russell looked a family to help build out
the company's infrastructure.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
My Veri's first high all family, and I only picked
the family who I had the big get from another job,
and I never picked the fawnily member who didn't have
a job, needed a job. Everybody I picked was at
certain jobs for years, but I felt like if they
kept that job for all the years, still keep mind.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
All management everyone that worked at the facebool family of friends.
As we grew, we started taking resumes, and even as
we started taking resumes, we interviewed collectively as a whole,
as a.
Speaker 6 (15:31):
Team, and never were individuals. It was everyone from the
management team.
Speaker 5 (15:36):
You had your different departments where her sister Raven ran
the customer service apartment, her aunt team ran the packing department,
her cousin Jason ran the warehouse as a whole, her
cousin Brandy ran human resources, and I was just the
overseer of all of them.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
The grand cases overnight success for Super to learn how
to build a company on the fly, once living paycheck
to paycheck. Then a year Super found herself at the
helm of a multimillion dollar corporation. She needed to plan
for the future of the business and also for the
future of herself.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Once the current case started, I definitely started thinking more
about the future. And again I was never a future person.
I was always I'm going to live in a moment.
I'm gonna enjoy it, and that's it. I never saved money,
but I did save money. It was only because R
was doing it me. That was it. Like that was
my lifestyle before the current keys. I just felt like
if I die, I can't keep nothing anyway, That's how
(16:33):
I felt. But once the current case started, it really
grew me up into an entrepreneur, and it grew me
up to way more strategized on me. So I felt like, Okay,
that this biness is going to be around for plenty
of years. I need to do something to make it
stay around for plenty of years. So that's when we think,
you know, about the future. Like I had to scale
my business, I had to hire the right people, I
(16:54):
had to fire the right people. I had to do
so much, Like I didn't just want to keep doing
warehouse work. I even thought about me doing drop shipping.
I wanted to get in stores like it was a
lot that I had to do by the pettations of
the business for me to get further and not just
build a social leadia business. I wanted people to know
(17:14):
about the current case without knowing me. That was real
big for me. This past two years. I tried to
detach myself from the currentcas because if something happened to me,
I done wanted to reflect on my business. It was
no more me just speaking my mind on celebrities nowhere
because I didn't know who I was going to run
into and lead partnership with. That's when I started about
a long time and let me not talk about these
(17:35):
people anymore because I may need them what campaign, I
may need them to help me with them right, And
that's when I started building my HAVST relationships with all
different entrepreneurs, celebrities, athletes, all these people. I probably would
have talked about twenty and fifteen super but I didn't
because I wanted my business to stay intact.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
As the company scaled, its consumer based super social network
of DIY makeup artists became an army brand ambassadors in
real life. Seeing the opportunity to use other people's platforms
to help market her products, super brought in social media
strategist Iona Norris to help spearhead the content.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
We sent them a huge box of products. They got everything.
No brand has ever just sent them everything in their rerehouse.
So they would get this huge box and they would
push videos and lives for us and we would just
use their comment saying on our Instagram sitters in now,
TIKSI or five years ago right now. I like to
be relatable to a brand, Like when I see Super
(18:37):
Bowl'm like, okay, I've been through that. I could do that,
And you get to know the brand.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
It's very open and.
Speaker 4 (18:44):
No other brand is really open. She's relatable. We don't
get to know too many brands behind the scenes, very transparent.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
So that's what draws me to the brand.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
And she's herself. You know, she could be herself and
you know be a millionaire business owner and that's why
people gravitates to the brand. And then on top of that,
I mean it's catchy, the crawn.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
You get to have fun.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
Her sogn is coloring out southe the lines. That's always fun.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
With an army of micro influencers behind the brand. It
wasn't long until the Crayon case started picking up national attention.
As the orders continued to roll in, it was obvious
that this was bigger than burnt CDs, T shirts or
any of Super's previous endeavors. In no time, the Krayon
case was doing numbers like ninety seven no limit.
Speaker 5 (19:38):
Those numbers were undeniable. So when I told you, for
the first six months, I was like, it's her thing.
Let's see the BLOGO. I think it was March twenty eighteen.
That's when I really opened my eyes. I looked at
the numbers on one hundred the numbers, It is dumb numbers.
So I managed my friend MATC Phipps a no limit
and those numbers were dumb. For ninety eight nineteen ninety
eight things that they did there to do what she
(20:01):
was doing and for it to be one hundred percent
e commerce, it was crazy numbers because the stuff was
just flying up the shelves, flying up the shelves, We're
averaging eight hundred thousand a month averaging that was just ridiculous.
Speaker 6 (20:16):
And so yeah, I was like, yeah, we may be
on or something.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Yeah, the team was firing on all cylinders, and it
all came to a head. On their twenty nineteen Cyber
Monday launch, the crayon case did one million dollars sales
in just ninety minutes.
Speaker 6 (20:32):
It was ridiculous.
Speaker 5 (20:33):
It was surreal because again, like I said, we had
to make it eight hundred nine hundred thousand a month,
but to make it in ninety minutes, it was like crazy,
you know, But I don't know super to ya. I
was pissed because we sold out, because I'm like, damn,
we could have made two million, So.
Speaker 6 (20:50):
I'm always looking at numbers, you know.
Speaker 5 (20:52):
It was a very unusual but pleasing feeling to see
that accomplishment and then only see at that time we
made it that Monday, and then the following tax my cell.
Speaker 6 (21:02):
At following lunch we made another million dollars and I
think it.
Speaker 5 (21:05):
Was sixty minutes, and then I followed cyber Money we
made another one point three in sixty minutes. So it
started becoming a regular feed, and I'm like, you know,
this is some unusual stuff that we're doing, so let's
not get used to it.
Speaker 6 (21:17):
But it was gratifying.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
After back to back multimillion dollars. Cyber Monday launches the
Crait cases. Explosive growth and market share was undeniable. But
just as the business achieved maturity, the COVID nineteen pandemic
hit and brought the world to a hull.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Once COVID hit, people just like, yeah, I'm just going
to take on unemployment and take the loans and I'm
not going to come back to work. And I understood
I would have done the same thing if I was employee.
Right the most employees I had was probably nineteen, and
that was s lot to pay nineteen people every week.
Now I think we have five. As COVID was passing by,
I kept it in mind too, all right, I don't
(22:03):
need all his employ All these employees is not needed.
These employees is here right now. They've been getting a
job done for the whole COVID period. So I'm just
going to keep these employees and get them raises and
be found with them. I learned that, and I cut
back on payroll. I coupled on a lot of things,
and I started seeing what my money was going for them.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
But a bright spot of merged during the pandemic.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
A feature on Oprah's Favorite Things propelled the Crown case
even further, putting a national brand.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
On a global stage.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
However, it also brought some unwanted attention in the form
of a cease and desist from Crayola. The iconic crayon
maker claimed that super had infringed on their copyright. Super
quickly and amicably settled the matter, adjusting her branding and
marks and making sure to tread more lightly in the future.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
We have issues with Criola as far as they say
we infringed on their trademark. I actually learned some things
from that, and then later on they infringed upon our trademark,
and that early experience with us infringing.
Speaker 6 (22:57):
On theirs prepared me to defend us against them.
Speaker 5 (23:00):
We had another situation was to Farrow when they didn't
infringe on our trade mode, but they infringe on our
trade address.
Speaker 6 (23:05):
So those things prepared me for anything that came out way.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
As far as that's concerned as people trying to attack
our style and do things the way we do it, it.
Speaker 6 (23:13):
Won't stop them.
Speaker 5 (23:14):
Won't stop people because that's the compliment I see is
if people try to immolate what you're doing, it's a
compliment to your success.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
As other companies started to release similar products, and the
brand grappled with growing up with their consumers while still
appealing to younger, newer ones. Super In the team pushed
themselves to keep innovating. She also started to hone in
on a new release strategy that would continue to differentiate
the crayon case in the market.
Speaker 5 (23:40):
But I do constantly learn and evolve with the time.
If you don't evolve with the time, you will get
stuck and possibly fail. You have to understand what we started.
It was six years ago. Those people that were enamored
with us at that age are six years older. They
have different interests. As they grow and have different interests,
we have to evolve with them to make sure that
we keep them keep their palette interested in our brand.
(24:03):
And then we also have to see those that's coming
behind them. Their interest is going to be different from theirs,
but we have to make ourselves attractive to their palate.
So you're constantly evolving as a business to stay relevant
in every realm and in every.
Speaker 6 (24:17):
Demographic, so you can survive.
Speaker 5 (24:19):
Because the younger demographic has more disposable income, the older
demographic has a larger income that may not be as disposable,
but you still want to be able to be attractive
enough to them to they have extra, they have something
to spend, they want to spend it with you.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Well, oh you know, of course you pay attention to
other calculated brains. But I would notice I started payition too,
and I didn't think I would. Is how long it's
taken to drop from the new right, because I never
had a strategy for dropping stuff. I have an idea,
I tell my supply it, I tell my graphic designer
it get made. Then I just wait for it. Right,
But I never had a strategic way of dropping new product.
(24:56):
So I started watching other brands. I start to watching
the most popular brands do that I open They come
out with a product, damn there every three months, and
I ain't doing that because then when you come out
with a product so much so fast, it kind of
drawing away from the last product you dropped. Right, That's
like I already dropping the CD. Didn't drop another one.
But I didn't even get the enjoyed person.
Speaker 4 (25:16):
You know.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
That's what I had to learn. So I'm like, Okay,
y'all dropping a lot of products, but that don't mean
I know how you're doing the business too. But then
I found a brand that dropped literally once a year,
and I'm like, Okay, that makes more sense for me
because that product will be talking about for a long
time once the YouTube videos get made and they start
doing reviews, once the reals started coming out, they had
so much time to love and fall in love with
(25:38):
the product.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Soon, a huge opportunity presented itself when Walmart asked to
carry the line. The IRL visibility and large upfront order
appeared to be very enticing. However, Super would soon learn
how selling wholesale would challenge her margins and supply chain,
as well as the expectation that she would show her
the market costs within their marketplace.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Once I stepped into stores, a lot of things changed.
I felt like that was a bad move and I
should have waited, probably like a few more years, because
I didn't realize me going into Walmart, I have to
stock Walmart and I have to stock my warehouse, right,
And I don't think I was too ready for that
because Walmart was very neat, very needy, like if they
need ten thousand pallets on Thursday, and they may need
(26:27):
ten thousand pallets next Thursday too, and the production time
take at least forty days, right, So I'm like, okay,
so I got to keep up with Walmart inventory and mins,
and I don't think I was ready for that.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
The Walmart deal didn't go the way Super expected it,
and she realized that she still had much to learn.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
It just don't make sense, especially if I'm doing so
well on e commerce. It don't make sense to go
and say story the stores me, that's more than we
need them. I want to currank Instay way way bigger
than Instagram, way big in Facebook, way big in Twitter.
I wanted to be seen by people who's not even
on social media. So official Crown Case is pulling things
out the stores. It don't make sense. When you go
(27:06):
in the store, you gotta do all the marketing yourself.
They're not help you remarking at all. Gotta pay for
everything you want in there. Like if I sell wipes
and all my wife's next to mes Gina, I gotta
pay for that, you know, so everything is very costly.
It cost so much to upkeep. The best thing would
have been also, you know, which is the makeup store?
People going there for a makeup Walmart people don't really
be thinking about cosmetics. You know, they're going there for
(27:28):
the tissue, a little peroxide, you know, like maybe a
little bit charger, and it's it. You know, it's not
really them going there like let me get some make up.
Aout walking The best move probably would have been also,
even though would have been the same problems, but at
least it would have been in the auto because they're
actually going in there for a makeup, right. I just
want Crown Case to be like Navelings, to be like Revlong,
(27:49):
just to be like the makeup brains have been around
for years and it made the impact in cosmetic world.
I wanted the current case to be a saying.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
As the Crown Case looks to the future, the team
is hyper focused on learning more about the business, continuing
to innovate their product line, and also giving back to
their community.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
I still need to learn about business funding, you know.
I need to learn about is that a great move
of business? Is that needed? I'm thinking about actually taking
classes for it to find out about business funding. I
just want to know just the right move to teake
because I don't want to have to have a bad
year in business and then I just getting flushed out,
you know, So I'm trying to learn this.
Speaker 6 (28:32):
Near future is to offer our new mood lines.
Speaker 5 (28:36):
We're known for colors and not being afraid to color
outside lines, but we also, like I just said, know
that our demographic is getting older. They're going to work
there in their careers now, so they can't wear blue
eyeliner and blue lipsticks. So we have to offer and
meet them or they are because we're going to offer
new collections and starting this fall as well as we're
starting an HBCU collection to pay homage to the HBCUs
(28:59):
and give the student just to feel that we support.
Speaker 6 (29:01):
Them and that we meet them where they are.
Speaker 4 (29:04):
We are trying to reach a different audience. So everything
that we have right now is very colorful. So we're
going to be dropping a nude collection that will cater
to different makeup artists, a lot of makeup artists who
make up for weddings and things like that, and then
we think that they're maybe scared to purchase, you know,
a big box of crayons and things that are colorful.
So we're catering to the everyday woman or guy. So
(29:26):
that's our goal to get a new audience. People are scared,
they're saying like, Oh, my skin is mature, so I
can't really wear that product. So we're catering to them.
We take polls on Instagram and see what they want.
As a realists Facebook and we listen to our audience
and we get the job.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Having been through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, Russell
and Super are happy to reflect on their own experiences
and share advice for young creatives looking to start their
own businesses.
Speaker 5 (29:56):
My advice would be to trust yourself. Block out all
that outside chatter, and you're going to get so much
of it.
Speaker 6 (30:03):
Some of it's going to be good.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Some of it.
Speaker 5 (30:04):
You have to really stay grounded. You're going to have
some failures across the road, You're gonna have some tribulations.
Do not let that discoverage you, let that strippen you,
and keep going, keep pushing and learn as much as
you can. Learn as much as you can, and don't
take no class.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
But I think it's very important to learn as much
as you can about entrepreneurship, head to the price points,
just all types of things that you didn't think was
important in business. So if I want took business classes
and I would went to school, or maybe if I
would have just hit a sension more we can entrepreneurship.
I probably would have flourished way more in business. I
(30:41):
just learned a lot from trial and error. The current
CASS is not my first business. I had many businesses
before the current case and failed tremendously. So you still
got to keep working. You still got to do more.
You still got to write your owns and find out
what you could do better. And that's what I had
to do as well. So I feel like people rush
into the entrepreneurship for money and not for the passion.
(31:01):
I feel like the currankings was my biggest passion. I
had a lot of business, but I know the currentness
was my paston the crnkings was the easy marketing for
me because I actually get up and do my wake
up you know, I actually fall in love with product.
It's not a passion for you. It's not going to
be because when it's a passion for you, spend so
much time money. Everything is on YouTube, and that's why
I mean by researching, take a few months out before
(31:23):
you actually put all your money into it and learn
this first so you can know what's going to happen.
I think if I would have done that first, Oh man,
I'll be like Michael Jordan.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
Humility.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Aside within the conversation of self made entrepreneurs, Super is
certainly a go contender. Her magnetic persona and willingness to
put herself out there has engendered a cult like following,
with Fiz not just interested in her personality, but invested
in her success. By giving her audience a front row
seat to the minutia of her everyday life, She's inspired
them to see her as a relatable human being, not
(32:00):
just as a transactional marketer. And when the Crayon Case
launched and Super delivered a high quality product to an
underserved audience, her fans were eager to open up their
wallets and support. With the addition of Russell to help
legitimize and organize the business, along with Iona's innovative approach
to merchandising, Super managed to put all the right pieces
in place and now together they've made the Crayon Case
(32:23):
a global brand by maintaining their authenticity and always coloring
outside the lines for idea generation. I'm Noah Callahan Bever.
Thanks for listening to the All Angles podcast presented by
will Packer Media. If you've enjoyed this episode, Please don't
(32:54):
hesitate to like, comment DM, or tell a friend to
tell a friend about Idea Generation and the All Angles Podcast.
We can't do any of this without your help, and honestly,
your support means everything. We do this for you, and
we can't do it without you. This episode was brought
to you by Will Packer. Executive produced by John Valachick
(33:15):
and Helena Os. Original music by Valentine Fritz, edit and
sound mixed by Nonsensible Production, and hosted by me Idea
Generation founder Noah Callahan Beveret Idea Generations.
Speaker 3 (33:26):
All Angles is a Will Packer Media podcast
I started learning how to my makeup. I stopped booking
makeup artists. I started to get my makeup collection up.
My followers can ask them like, well, I'm about to
give this company all this attention, I'm just going to
come out with my own college.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Welcome to Idea Generations All Angles, a podcast about culture's
most influential brands and the teams that built them. If
you're an entrepreneur, creative, or anyone interested in harnessing the
power of collaboration, join me Noah Callahan Bever each week
as we dissect the most dynamic companies in culture. Because
(00:45):
the only way to truly understand success.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Is to look at it from all angles.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Idea Generations All Angles is a Will Packer media podcast.
In twenty seventeen, Raynel Stewart, more commonly known by her
social handle Supercent, launched the Crayon Case, a cosmetic kit
for amateur makeup artists featuring bright, playful colors. In the
(01:14):
ensuing five years, the Crayon Case would explode into a
fifty million dollar business thanks to their confluence of innovative
marketing approach, their vocal and hilarious founder, and a rock
solid team of crafty individuals with unique professional experiences, including
a partner who worked for the illustrious New Orleans label
No Limit Records. But as with any company that enjoys
(01:34):
rapid growth, mistakes were made, lessons were learned, and the
Crayon case would be forced to navigate uncharted waters. On
this week's episode of All Angles, we talked to founder Superci,
business manager Russell Faker, and marketing director Iona Norris to
hear how together they built one of the hottest makeup
brands on the market. But before any of that happened,
(01:58):
before the multimillion dollar cyber month or a spot on
Oprah's Favorite Things, Supercent was just a young content creator
in New Orleans trying to figure out how to code
her MySpace theme.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
What drew me to social media early was Hurricane Katrina.
When Hurricane Katrina happened, we had to keep in touch
with our friends and our family. When my Space came out,
That's how we kept up with our best friends, and
I was able to see who was alive from Katrina,
you know. And then the next thing was Facebook. They
had statuses, So that's why I was more informative about
my feelings and what's going on and how I feel
(02:32):
about this than my opinions about relationships in life.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Many of us took for granted Facebook's simple prompt to
let the world know what we were doing, But for
Super this created a new level of self awareness and
inspired her to express herself on the Internet in a
way that she hadn't before.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Facebook really pushed me out there when it came to
talking about me. Social media of pushed me out things
to the world so bad. That was a very open, real,
straightforward person. All my friends around me was doing funny
ass kits. There was being Super funny, going out there
way to be weird, and I was just I had
(03:16):
work housekeeper and just showing them how I felt about something.
And I guess they thought that was funny.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Super started to build a fun, organic and loyal following
on her socials by letting her followers into her everyday life.
As her fan base started to scale, she realized there
was an opportunity to productize her personality and offer something
tangible to her audience, so she opted for something close
to her heart, New Orleans Bounce music.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
Me.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Being on social media, a lot of people did not
know about different cultures or music. I didn't think Bounce
music was for New Orleans. I thought it was for
the whole world. But then me getting on social media,
I'm like, okay, so it's just a New Orleans shot
and they was like, what you're listening to me? Like
why are you trying to song? Why this song sound
like that? I'm like, this called Bunce music. So I
(04:04):
started telling them where to find it a because they
couldn't really find it no iTunes. They had to get
it off of YouTube. But they was like, we want
to hear Li's sit in our car. So I'm like, well,
let me see if I can come out with some
cvs and sell it to thee because I couldn't do
it online, like I couldn't put no iTunes. And that's
what I did. Start the Burns CDs and I sip
until them and they just got enter into a whole
different caution you love it.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Super's burn CDs were a hit. She was moving units
and she could barely keep up with the mand. Super
had gone into the business expecting to sell a couple hundred,
and within weeks she had orders in the thousands.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
So my CDs is seven dollars and I got them
printed everything I got my I was playing list printed.
I got all that printed. Then I had to buy
the yellow packages from Walmart. Then I had to buy
papers to write your address on and tape the tape
it and then stamp to ship it. Like it was
so much and I didn't realize how much it would
be because that was my first time actually doing right.
(05:00):
I was supposed to corporate the website price. I was
supposed in corporate so many prices that I did so
I think I made fourteen thousand, but I probably spent
probably twenty probably twenty five. It was just reckless and crazy.
I don't know what I was doing, but it was
a great thing to do because a lot of people
got the CD. I didn't think the CGU was going
to sell that fast, but it sold out so fast
(05:20):
that I was happy about that.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Supers venture into Hawking CDs wasn't necessarily a success financially,
but the lesson she learned it fulfillment and customer service,
would pay dividends down the line. As her social media
following scaled, super continued to idate on how to capitalize
on her magnetic persona.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
For her next venture.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
She would utilize a popular catchphrase from her handle, known
for liberally blocking detractors, super slogan Hye block hose became
a rallying cry within her comments section. Now equipped with
an entrepreneurial eye, she knew it could be more than
just a hashtag. It could be a brand. So what
did you do next? Of course, she put it on
a T shirt.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
So our black holes came down because I was very
known for blocking people on social media. Still am I
just cannot tolerate disrespectful from somebody I can't see, don't know,
never heard of it, but it just don't make sist
to me to allow them to be on my page.
And you got so much and amosity towards me and
I can't even see you. I don't know you, so blocked, right,
But the blocking came from a way deeper, meaning I've
(06:22):
been blocking people to a house. So the term came
about with people saying, oh, why are you blocking it?
Because which I block over? And then people said, oh,
you gotta put that down shirt. People used to tell me,
I don't think a curse word on a shirt is
going to sell them. I'm like holes, Like, technically it's
not really curse work. Well, you know, so I just
made it work. I started getting the shirts printed. I
(06:43):
finally supplied in New Orleans, got my shirt print, and
I started incorporating every price, every price. I even incorporated
gas one time. I'm like, okay, I'm just being paid.
So I had to go pick up the shirts right
after he made them. So it came with my website.
I got my website done. I put so much effort
into that business, and I think I was just trying
to be better than the CD right, and it was perfect.
(07:06):
I'm doing all this in my house, all this in
my living room. I probably had some of my friends
more every now and then, but I did all this myself.
I didn't even have a labor printer. Still, I didn't
know about a labor printing until way lived on and
in my life so much easier, Oh my god. And
I was having fun with everything. I was shooting like
maybe thirty orders a day, and I wasn't happening late.
(07:27):
It's a lot of orders, you know. The thing is,
it was so many orders at the time, but for me,
it won't that many orders because I did the whole
day to do yet, so it was really nothing. But
at that time it was a greater amount orders. I
was in a better head space. I was able to
pay rent beforehand and not have to wait for it
and had to find out when rent coming. I was
able to pay it off quickly, and I was able
(07:49):
to do a lot of stuff that I wasn't able
to do in my other years, you know. So I
felt like that was the great.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Starting the iblock host t's were a massive success. Super
had figured out how to tap into her fan base,
create a fun, desirable product, and deliver it without issue.
It was a blueprint that could be repeated, and her
potential was not lost on those in the local scene either.
(08:16):
One person in particular who took note was Russell Baker,
a former artist manager who worked with Mac and C
Murder from Masterpiece legendary label No Limit Records.
Speaker 5 (08:26):
I was introduced to Supa and late twenty fifteen a
mutual a friend of ours say, Man, you need to
check and check out. She is so hilarige. I think
she'd be a good client for you to manage. And
at that time I had taken the hiatus on managing talent,
and I told a note. I told him no, and
then I told her no, just because I was kind
(08:48):
of burned out on a business. I started off a
friend of mine who was signed to No Limit Records,
McKinley Phipps, now known as Mac Phipps. I started with
him in ninety nine two thousand and then he was
unfortunately incocerated for a crime he didn't commit. And then
I assisted see with his label and that mutual friend
(09:08):
that introduced SUP and hour would running his label and
managing him, and then he was arrested. So at that time,
I was like, you know what, Uh, maybe this is
not for me. And so after a while I just
kept watching her. And as I was watching her, I said, man,
she is so talented. She has natural comedic talent. No
matter what she touches, she has that what you call
the it factor.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
She has.
Speaker 6 (09:30):
She put her mind to it, it's gonna strike. She
was starting to sell a mixtapes. She always loved music,
so she'll sell mixtapes. That was a crazy time.
Speaker 5 (09:39):
Now because I'm the closest thing that you will get
to an attorney that.
Speaker 6 (09:43):
Doesn't have a law degree.
Speaker 5 (09:45):
So a little while I'm saying, I'm like, man, okay,
we're infringing on these people copy right, They're gonna come atter.
Speaker 6 (09:50):
That sometime.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
She made ten thousand dollars off the first REPD the
first day she released me ten thousand dollars. At that point,
I'm not fully full time with her yet. Again, my
managing style is different than most. When I managed someone,
I have a personal relationship with that person, So I
was always just observing, making sure that she was.
Speaker 6 (10:06):
Straight, making sure that she was okay.
Speaker 5 (10:08):
Just an advisory role, just someone to talk to on
a daily basis.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
As Superstar continued to rise and social media evolved into
a twenty four to seven medium, super started using live
features to broadcast her life. Super would stay on Periscope
and later Instagram Live for hours every day, even going
live during her daily chores and most mundane moments.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Before Instagram Live, before Facebook Live, it was Periscope. So
that's when I was on Periscope all the time. Maybe
made me a damn hashtay for Paris school scrib I
kind of showed everything. I would bring my son in
school in the morning, I was on live pick my
son up for school. I was on live, and that's
how people really was able to see my son book
(10:53):
because I literally recorded this guy whole lifely since he'd
been born right, so that he'd loved to see what
he was thinking about and what he saying when he
was two, when he was a street when he was four, right,
they seen me go and pick up the shirts. They
seen me having a problem with the shirts. I used
to ask them, like, what should I pull off a
battle dun day? And they would help me, and I'm like, okay,
I'm gonna put this out. I was getting my mock ups.
(11:14):
I was showing the mock ups. I started paying for
more people to help me. I paid for graphic design.
It was just like those two years on my fast.
But it was so important to me because I actually
learned the motion of business from our black bodies.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
As her follower count rose from the thousands to the
hundreds of thousands and she grew from a local celebrity
to a national star, Super started getting booked for IRL
appearances across the country. It was during these travels that
Super would find herself with a need, a need that
would spark her next entrepreneurial endeavor.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
I was getting booked a lot, so that's when I
kind of got into the makeup. I was getting booked
so much. It was very hard to find somebody every
state to do my makeup. I learned how to do
my makeup from being alive so much. And I'm doing
my makeup and they watching me mess my face up.
They thought it was funny. I thought it was funny.
And see, eventually I started getting it right, and I'm like,
(12:11):
oh that, Oh, your brothers looks so much better today.
I'm like, oh, thank you, Like, oh, you know, you
kind look way better to the I'm like, thank you.
You know. So I started being okay, well, let me
keep being all live to see the process and the progress. Right.
I started learning how to my makeup. I stopped booking
makeup artists. I started getting my makeup collection up. My
followers kept asking, I'm like, well, I'm about to give
this company all this attention. I'm just gonna come out
(12:33):
with my own stuff.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
The idea for the Crawern case was born.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Super wanted to do her own makeup, and she wanted
to do it her own way, and that went with
her own unique color palette, and straight up, the market
was bare when it came to the bold and bright
color she was looking for it, So she took matters
into her own hands and started the arduous process of
fabricating a line of makeup that she's desperately needed.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
My first two things can Sprawled You and Highlight. That
was it. I feel like I could sell that forever,
and my mind designed I was gonna make a good
twenty thousand dollars off that, and I was gonna be happy.
So that's all I wanted to come out with. And
then when they was like, well when you put on
your brows or bush reviews, I'm like, oh, that's true, right,
So that's why I said, Okay, I'll get a brush.
(13:20):
By the time it released, I came out with seven products,
the eyebrow jail, the eyeshadow, the cream, the lashes, just
stuff that needed to go with the eye. Basically, that's
all I came out with. I dropped on June first,
twenty seventeen. I made thirty three thousand dollars and that
was the most I ever made it one day. And
I was so shocked about that because I'm like, damn,
(13:40):
I can make money like this for the rest of
my life to be happy right now. Twenty seventeen it
was so big for me because I never made that
much money in one day before. I had to learn
how to put money back into the brand too, Like, look,
don't go spend that money on the trip. You have
to put the money directed back into the bran. That's
what I did. So when I made it thirty dollar dollars,
I didn't spend it. I just kept it and bought
more products. I realized everything you have in stock doesn't
(14:04):
have to be the same count. I has to learned.
If one paddle is selling better than the other, you
should all make it ten thousand of the pallet that's
selling better than others. The other palt you probably only
five thousand, and you may not brought me twenty five
hundred be it's selling to I learned all that in
the Crown case. So that was a big thing for
me about June first of twenty seventeen, because I realized
(14:24):
I'm about to spend all this money on all these
products at the same time when I don't need all
these projectives. And that was important to me because that's
how still how I'm doing it. Like if this is
not selling to one and I got a lot of
these in our house, it's no need for me to
re up on this. I need to put this money
into a different product.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
The Crown case was a hit, the product was innovative.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Super's personality did the marketing for her, and her followers
quickly converted into die hard consumers. So as the brand flourished,
Super and Russell looked a family to help build out
the company's infrastructure.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
My Veri's first high all family, and I only picked
the family who I had the big get from another job,
and I never picked the fawnily member who didn't have
a job, needed a job. Everybody I picked was at
certain jobs for years, but I felt like if they
kept that job for all the years, still keep mind.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
All management everyone that worked at the facebool family of friends.
As we grew, we started taking resumes, and even as
we started taking resumes, we interviewed collectively as a whole,
as a.
Speaker 6 (15:31):
Team, and never were individuals. It was everyone from the
management team.
Speaker 5 (15:36):
You had your different departments where her sister Raven ran
the customer service apartment, her aunt team ran the packing department,
her cousin Jason ran the warehouse as a whole, her
cousin Brandy ran human resources, and I was just the
overseer of all of them.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
The grand cases overnight success for Super to learn how
to build a company on the fly, once living paycheck
to paycheck. Then a year Super found herself at the
helm of a multimillion dollar corporation. She needed to plan
for the future of the business and also for the
future of herself.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Once the current case started, I definitely started thinking more
about the future. And again I was never a future person.
I was always I'm going to live in a moment.
I'm gonna enjoy it, and that's it. I never saved money,
but I did save money. It was only because R
was doing it me. That was it. Like that was
my lifestyle before the current keys. I just felt like
if I die, I can't keep nothing anyway, That's how
(16:33):
I felt. But once the current case started, it really
grew me up into an entrepreneur, and it grew me
up to way more strategized on me. So I felt like, Okay,
that this biness is going to be around for plenty
of years. I need to do something to make it
stay around for plenty of years. So that's when we think,
you know, about the future. Like I had to scale
my business, I had to hire the right people, I
(16:54):
had to fire the right people. I had to do
so much, Like I didn't just want to keep doing
warehouse work. I even thought about me doing drop shipping.
I wanted to get in stores like it was a
lot that I had to do by the pettations of
the business for me to get further and not just
build a social leadia business. I wanted people to know
(17:14):
about the current case without knowing me. That was real
big for me. This past two years. I tried to
detach myself from the currentcas because if something happened to me,
I done wanted to reflect on my business. It was
no more me just speaking my mind on celebrities nowhere
because I didn't know who I was going to run
into and lead partnership with. That's when I started about
a long time and let me not talk about these
(17:35):
people anymore because I may need them what campaign, I
may need them to help me with them right, And
that's when I started building my HAVST relationships with all
different entrepreneurs, celebrities, athletes, all these people. I probably would
have talked about twenty and fifteen super but I didn't
because I wanted my business to stay intact.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
As the company scaled, its consumer based super social network
of DIY makeup artists became an army brand ambassadors in
real life. Seeing the opportunity to use other people's platforms
to help market her products, super brought in social media
strategist Iona Norris to help spearhead the content.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
We sent them a huge box of products. They got everything.
No brand has ever just sent them everything in their rerehouse.
So they would get this huge box and they would
push videos and lives for us and we would just
use their comment saying on our Instagram sitters in now,
TIKSI or five years ago right now. I like to
be relatable to a brand, Like when I see Super
(18:37):
Bowl'm like, okay, I've been through that. I could do that,
And you get to know the brand.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
It's very open and.
Speaker 4 (18:44):
No other brand is really open. She's relatable. We don't
get to know too many brands behind the scenes, very transparent.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
So that's what draws me to the brand.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
And she's herself. You know, she could be herself and
you know be a millionaire business owner and that's why
people gravitates to the brand. And then on top of that,
I mean it's catchy, the crawn.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
You get to have fun.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
Her sogn is coloring out southe the lines. That's always fun.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
With an army of micro influencers behind the brand. It
wasn't long until the Crayon case started picking up national attention.
As the orders continued to roll in, it was obvious
that this was bigger than burnt CDs, T shirts or
any of Super's previous endeavors. In no time, the Krayon
case was doing numbers like ninety seven no limit.
Speaker 5 (19:38):
Those numbers were undeniable. So when I told you, for
the first six months, I was like, it's her thing.
Let's see the BLOGO. I think it was March twenty eighteen.
That's when I really opened my eyes. I looked at
the numbers on one hundred the numbers, It is dumb numbers.
So I managed my friend MATC Phipps a no limit
and those numbers were dumb. For ninety eight nineteen ninety
eight things that they did there to do what she
(20:01):
was doing and for it to be one hundred percent
e commerce, it was crazy numbers because the stuff was
just flying up the shelves, flying up the shelves, We're
averaging eight hundred thousand a month averaging that was just ridiculous.
Speaker 6 (20:16):
And so yeah, I was like, yeah, we may be
on or something.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Yeah, the team was firing on all cylinders, and it
all came to a head. On their twenty nineteen Cyber
Monday launch, the crayon case did one million dollars sales
in just ninety minutes.
Speaker 6 (20:32):
It was ridiculous.
Speaker 5 (20:33):
It was surreal because again, like I said, we had
to make it eight hundred nine hundred thousand a month,
but to make it in ninety minutes, it was like crazy,
you know, But I don't know super to ya. I
was pissed because we sold out, because I'm like, damn,
we could have made two million, So.
Speaker 6 (20:50):
I'm always looking at numbers, you know.
Speaker 5 (20:52):
It was a very unusual but pleasing feeling to see
that accomplishment and then only see at that time we
made it that Monday, and then the following tax my cell.
Speaker 6 (21:02):
At following lunch we made another million dollars and I
think it.
Speaker 5 (21:05):
Was sixty minutes, and then I followed cyber Money we
made another one point three in sixty minutes. So it
started becoming a regular feed, and I'm like, you know,
this is some unusual stuff that we're doing, so let's
not get used to it.
Speaker 6 (21:17):
But it was gratifying.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
After back to back multimillion dollars. Cyber Monday launches the
Crait cases. Explosive growth and market share was undeniable. But
just as the business achieved maturity, the COVID nineteen pandemic
hit and brought the world to a hull.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Once COVID hit, people just like, yeah, I'm just going
to take on unemployment and take the loans and I'm
not going to come back to work. And I understood
I would have done the same thing if I was employee.
Right the most employees I had was probably nineteen, and
that was s lot to pay nineteen people every week.
Now I think we have five. As COVID was passing by,
I kept it in mind too, all right, I don't
(22:03):
need all his employ All these employees is not needed.
These employees is here right now. They've been getting a
job done for the whole COVID period. So I'm just
going to keep these employees and get them raises and
be found with them. I learned that, and I cut
back on payroll. I coupled on a lot of things,
and I started seeing what my money was going for them.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
But a bright spot of merged during the pandemic.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
A feature on Oprah's Favorite Things propelled the Crown case
even further, putting a national brand.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
On a global stage.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
However, it also brought some unwanted attention in the form
of a cease and desist from Crayola. The iconic crayon
maker claimed that super had infringed on their copyright. Super
quickly and amicably settled the matter, adjusting her branding and
marks and making sure to tread more lightly in the future.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
We have issues with Criola as far as they say
we infringed on their trademark. I actually learned some things
from that, and then later on they infringed upon our trademark,
and that early experience with us infringing.
Speaker 6 (22:57):
On theirs prepared me to defend us against them.
Speaker 5 (23:00):
We had another situation was to Farrow when they didn't
infringe on our trade mode, but they infringe on our
trade address.
Speaker 6 (23:05):
So those things prepared me for anything that came out way.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
As far as that's concerned as people trying to attack
our style and do things the way we do it, it.
Speaker 6 (23:13):
Won't stop them.
Speaker 5 (23:14):
Won't stop people because that's the compliment I see is
if people try to immolate what you're doing, it's a
compliment to your success.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
As other companies started to release similar products, and the
brand grappled with growing up with their consumers while still
appealing to younger, newer ones. Super In the team pushed
themselves to keep innovating. She also started to hone in
on a new release strategy that would continue to differentiate
the crayon case in the market.
Speaker 5 (23:40):
But I do constantly learn and evolve with the time.
If you don't evolve with the time, you will get
stuck and possibly fail. You have to understand what we started.
It was six years ago. Those people that were enamored
with us at that age are six years older. They
have different interests. As they grow and have different interests,
we have to evolve with them to make sure that
we keep them keep their palette interested in our brand.
(24:03):
And then we also have to see those that's coming
behind them. Their interest is going to be different from theirs,
but we have to make ourselves attractive to their palate.
So you're constantly evolving as a business to stay relevant
in every realm and in every.
Speaker 6 (24:17):
Demographic, so you can survive.
Speaker 5 (24:19):
Because the younger demographic has more disposable income, the older
demographic has a larger income that may not be as disposable,
but you still want to be able to be attractive
enough to them to they have extra, they have something
to spend, they want to spend it with you.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Well, oh you know, of course you pay attention to
other calculated brains. But I would notice I started payition too,
and I didn't think I would. Is how long it's
taken to drop from the new right, because I never
had a strategy for dropping stuff. I have an idea,
I tell my supply it, I tell my graphic designer
it get made. Then I just wait for it. Right,
But I never had a strategic way of dropping new product.
(24:56):
So I started watching other brands. I start to watching
the most popular brands do that I open They come
out with a product, damn there every three months, and
I ain't doing that because then when you come out
with a product so much so fast, it kind of
drawing away from the last product you dropped. Right, That's
like I already dropping the CD. Didn't drop another one.
But I didn't even get the enjoyed person.
Speaker 4 (25:16):
You know.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
That's what I had to learn. So I'm like, Okay,
y'all dropping a lot of products, but that don't mean
I know how you're doing the business too. But then
I found a brand that dropped literally once a year,
and I'm like, Okay, that makes more sense for me
because that product will be talking about for a long
time once the YouTube videos get made and they start
doing reviews, once the reals started coming out, they had
so much time to love and fall in love with
(25:38):
the product.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Soon, a huge opportunity presented itself when Walmart asked to
carry the line. The IRL visibility and large upfront order
appeared to be very enticing. However, Super would soon learn
how selling wholesale would challenge her margins and supply chain,
as well as the expectation that she would show her
the market costs within their marketplace.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Once I stepped into stores, a lot of things changed.
I felt like that was a bad move and I
should have waited, probably like a few more years, because
I didn't realize me going into Walmart, I have to
stock Walmart and I have to stock my warehouse, right,
And I don't think I was too ready for that
because Walmart was very neat, very needy, like if they
need ten thousand pallets on Thursday, and they may need
(26:27):
ten thousand pallets next Thursday too, and the production time
take at least forty days, right, So I'm like, okay,
so I got to keep up with Walmart inventory and mins,
and I don't think I was ready for that.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
The Walmart deal didn't go the way Super expected it,
and she realized that she still had much to learn.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
It just don't make sense, especially if I'm doing so
well on e commerce. It don't make sense to go
and say story the stores me, that's more than we
need them. I want to currank Instay way way bigger
than Instagram, way big in Facebook, way big in Twitter.
I wanted to be seen by people who's not even
on social media. So official Crown Case is pulling things
out the stores. It don't make sense. When you go
(27:06):
in the store, you gotta do all the marketing yourself.
They're not help you remarking at all. Gotta pay for
everything you want in there. Like if I sell wipes
and all my wife's next to mes Gina, I gotta
pay for that, you know, so everything is very costly.
It cost so much to upkeep. The best thing would
have been also, you know, which is the makeup store?
People going there for a makeup Walmart people don't really
be thinking about cosmetics. You know, they're going there for
(27:28):
the tissue, a little peroxide, you know, like maybe a
little bit charger, and it's it. You know, it's not
really them going there like let me get some make up.
Aout walking The best move probably would have been also,
even though would have been the same problems, but at
least it would have been in the auto because they're
actually going in there for a makeup, right. I just
want Crown Case to be like Navelings, to be like Revlong,
(27:49):
just to be like the makeup brains have been around
for years and it made the impact in cosmetic world.
I wanted the current case to be a saying.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
As the Crown Case looks to the future, the team
is hyper focused on learning more about the business, continuing
to innovate their product line, and also giving back to
their community.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
I still need to learn about business funding, you know.
I need to learn about is that a great move
of business? Is that needed? I'm thinking about actually taking
classes for it to find out about business funding. I
just want to know just the right move to teake
because I don't want to have to have a bad
year in business and then I just getting flushed out,
you know, So I'm trying to learn this.
Speaker 6 (28:32):
Near future is to offer our new mood lines.
Speaker 5 (28:36):
We're known for colors and not being afraid to color
outside lines, but we also, like I just said, know
that our demographic is getting older. They're going to work
there in their careers now, so they can't wear blue
eyeliner and blue lipsticks. So we have to offer and
meet them or they are because we're going to offer
new collections and starting this fall as well as we're
starting an HBCU collection to pay homage to the HBCUs
(28:59):
and give the student just to feel that we support.
Speaker 6 (29:01):
Them and that we meet them where they are.
Speaker 4 (29:04):
We are trying to reach a different audience. So everything
that we have right now is very colorful. So we're
going to be dropping a nude collection that will cater
to different makeup artists, a lot of makeup artists who
make up for weddings and things like that, and then
we think that they're maybe scared to purchase, you know,
a big box of crayons and things that are colorful.
So we're catering to the everyday woman or guy. So
(29:26):
that's our goal to get a new audience. People are scared,
they're saying like, Oh, my skin is mature, so I
can't really wear that product. So we're catering to them.
We take polls on Instagram and see what they want.
As a realists Facebook and we listen to our audience
and we get the job.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Having been through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, Russell
and Super are happy to reflect on their own experiences
and share advice for young creatives looking to start their
own businesses.
Speaker 5 (29:56):
My advice would be to trust yourself. Block out all
that outside chatter, and you're going to get so much
of it.
Speaker 6 (30:03):
Some of it's going to be good.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Some of it.
Speaker 5 (30:04):
You have to really stay grounded. You're going to have
some failures across the road, You're gonna have some tribulations.
Do not let that discoverage you, let that strippen you,
and keep going, keep pushing and learn as much as
you can. Learn as much as you can, and don't
take no class.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
But I think it's very important to learn as much
as you can about entrepreneurship, head to the price points,
just all types of things that you didn't think was
important in business. So if I want took business classes
and I would went to school, or maybe if I
would have just hit a sension more we can entrepreneurship.
I probably would have flourished way more in business. I
(30:41):
just learned a lot from trial and error. The current
CASS is not my first business. I had many businesses
before the current case and failed tremendously. So you still
got to keep working. You still got to do more.
You still got to write your owns and find out
what you could do better. And that's what I had
to do as well. So I feel like people rush
into the entrepreneurship for money and not for the passion.
(31:01):
I feel like the currankings was my biggest passion. I
had a lot of business, but I know the currentness
was my paston the crnkings was the easy marketing for
me because I actually get up and do my wake
up you know, I actually fall in love with product.
It's not a passion for you. It's not going to
be because when it's a passion for you, spend so
much time money. Everything is on YouTube, and that's why
I mean by researching, take a few months out before
(31:23):
you actually put all your money into it and learn
this first so you can know what's going to happen.
I think if I would have done that first, Oh man,
I'll be like Michael Jordan.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
Humility.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Aside within the conversation of self made entrepreneurs, Super is
certainly a go contender. Her magnetic persona and willingness to
put herself out there has engendered a cult like following,
with Fiz not just interested in her personality, but invested
in her success. By giving her audience a front row
seat to the minutia of her everyday life, She's inspired
them to see her as a relatable human being, not
(32:00):
just as a transactional marketer. And when the Crayon Case
launched and Super delivered a high quality product to an
underserved audience, her fans were eager to open up their
wallets and support. With the addition of Russell to help
legitimize and organize the business, along with Iona's innovative approach
to merchandising, Super managed to put all the right pieces
in place and now together they've made the Crayon Case
(32:23):
a global brand by maintaining their authenticity and always coloring
outside the lines for idea generation. I'm Noah Callahan Bever.
Thanks for listening to the All Angles podcast presented by
will Packer Media. If you've enjoyed this episode, Please don't
(32:54):
hesitate to like, comment DM, or tell a friend to
tell a friend about Idea Generation and the All Angles Podcast.
We can't do any of this without your help, and honestly,
your support means everything. We do this for you, and
we can't do it without you. This episode was brought
to you by Will Packer. Executive produced by John Valachick
(33:15):
and Helena Os. Original music by Valentine Fritz, edit and
sound mixed by Nonsensible Production, and hosted by me Idea
Generation founder Noah Callahan Beveret Idea Generations.
Speaker 3 (33:26):
All Angles is a Will Packer Media podcast
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