We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Haley Tisone. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Haley below.
Alright, Haley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?
When we were just getting started at Coast to Coast Hammock Co., we didn’t have enough money to go into production on the hammocks. We decided to raise money with a Kickstarter campaign. Kickstarter is a platform where people can see your business idea, and if they want to support you they can either make a donation or pre-order your product. The catch with Kickstarter is that if you don’t meet your goal, you don’t get to collect any of the money you raised. This is because if you don’t raise enough money you won’t be able to pay for the production of your product. So, we knew that we needed to launch our campaign in a big way. Our team came up with the idea to launch the Kickstarter at an event. This is how we started doing hammock hangout events! We set out to set a new world record for the largest hammock hangout. We ordered 130 hammock stands, set them up on the St. Pete Pier, and invited the community to come help us break the record! We did successfully break the record, we got on several news stations at the event and after the event, spreading the news about our Kickstarter and helping us successfully reach our goal! At the time I wasn’t sure if the event would be a success, but it turned out to be the most innovative thing I’ve ever done in my career and I enjoyed it so much we continued to do two more this year and plan on hosting many more in 2024!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Haley Tisone. I am 20 years old and currently a junior Entrepreneurship major at The University of Tampa. I’m originally from a small town in Ohio, and I’ve lived in Tampa for the last few years since moving here for school. I absolutely love the community here, which is why we will continue to throw hammock hangout events for everyone to enjoy! I started hammocking for fun at UT, it’s very popular on the campus and students often study in hammocks and hang out with friends in hammocks. I found it to be a great way to find some peace amongst a very busy and fast-pace lifestyle and my mission with Coast to Coast Hammock Co. is to bring that same serenity to others. I saw students carrying pillows and blankets down to the park from their dorms, and I was inspired to create a 3-in-1 hammocking system: The Dynamic Hammock. It is designed to eliminate stress and provide ultimate relaxation to the user. We not only donate 5% of our profits to Mental Health America, but we also aim to make a difference in people’s lives with our hammock.
How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.
We sell The Dynamic Hammock and hammock stands on our own website (coasttocoasthammockco.com), and Amazon. I think that it’s always best to sell through your own website if possible to reduce seller fees. However, amazon is beneficial because it places your product in front of an audience who is ready to buy and already interested in your product.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
When it comes to managing a team, you have to find people who truly believe in the company’s mission. Especially with start-ups, you don’t have a lot of money to incentivize people to work for your brand. People will help if they see potential in the company to accomplish a mission that they align with. Our mission is to help people relax and make a positive impact on their mental health with our product and fun community events. Everyone on our team also aligns themselves with the same values and that’s why the work so hard for our brand.
Contact Info:
- Website: coasttocoasthammockco.com
- Instagram: @coasttocoasthammockco
- Facebook: Coast to Coast Hammock Co.
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haley-tisone-a62a8721b/
Image Credits
Matthew Lee Visuals