We recently connected with Charlie Weisman and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Charlie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
Staff’s mission is to make each day brighter.
It all started when I was desperate to bring positive energy into my tiny New York apartment during the COVID lockdown. One day, I locked eyes with my plunger and realized that, like me, most people in NYC don’t have storage space so it permanently sits next to the toilet. Everything in the market was designed to blend into the background, but still awkwardly stuck out. That made me wonder: What if we went in the opposite direction?
What if we created a display-worthy plunger, something that could spark a little joy during an otherwise unpleasant occasion? That was my first a-ha moment. I was excited by the concept, and it felt kismet: my grandfather was in the plumbing business, so this kind of thing is in my DNA.
The second a-ha came about an hour later. I realized a plunger company is too narrow, so I started thinking about all the unloved essentials that live throughout the home. I wanted to create a repeatable happiness through-line connecting them all.
Following quality as our priority, we use bold colors, unique materials, and our signature smiley face that’s eager to help with your least favorite chores. Now anyone can now have a house full of Staff.
Charlie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Staff is the culmination of over a decade spent working across different industries.
I’ve always been drawn to advertising – it struck me as the perfect balance between business and creativity. For many enjoyable years, I worked at creative agencies helping brands connect with their desired audiences. Over time, I realized it was the creative side of the business that truly lit me up, but I didn’t have the traditional writing or art direction background typically required to go down that path. Knowing that nobody was going to hire me as a creative without that kind of résumé, I decided to create the opportunity by starting my own brand.
As I’ve always been one to follow my heart and consider less obvious opportunities, I also spent a couple years between creative agencies working as a Guinness World Records judge. With endless stories, that could be its own interview!
When the idea for Staff presented itself, I had no experience in home goods, manufacturing, ecomm, product design, supply chain management, etc. Half the fun was learning how to figure these things out. I never put too much pressure on Staff as I figured worst case scenario, this will be own make shift version of grad school. It was a week after launching that we were in our first store and witnessing strangers post their plungers on social media that I knew there was truly a larger opportunity here.
Following the launch of our cheerful plunger, we have expanded to items all throughout the home – lint rollers, oven mitts, garbage bags, matches, and more. The products have been featured in The Drew Barrymore Show, Barbie’s Dream House, Chrissy Teigen’s Gift Guide, Architectural Digest, GQ, and hundreds more.
We’ve also been fortunate to partner with dream brands like Clorox, Instacart, MoMA Design Store, and Susan Alexandra.
More products and brand collabs launching soon. Follow along at @meetyourstaff on Instagram.
Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?
Staff products are highly giftable, so the holiday season is a crucial time for us – as it is for many brands.
As a small company, we knew we couldn’t outspend the competition for attention. So instead, we set out to create our own luck with a timely, unexpected product launch: The Turkey Baster. It is the only colorful, design-forward baster on the market and we dropped it right before Thanksgiving. The novelty caught people’s attention, and it quickly became both a conversation piece and a source of revenue during our most important season.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
We’re growing both our B2C and B2B business.
B2C comes from social media and Amazon.
B2B comes from wholesale marketplaces like Faire (online platform) and Shoppe Object (trade show).
That said, I think both only work with a lot press starting at the top of the funnel. Like this interview :)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://meetyourstaff.co/
- Instagram: @meetyourstaff
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-weisman/
