We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erica Joyce a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Erica, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
Every good story starts with a glass of wine, right?!
Well, I got tired of handwashing my wine glasses, especially when the pandemic hit and I was spending a lot more time at home (even now, like many, I’m doing more entertaining at home). Even though my stemware was dishwasher safe, I was afraid to put it in my dishwasher. The fold down “wine glass holder” in my dishwasher wasn’t cutting it for my tall stemware – and I couldn’t find an existing solution that actually worked. And a really nice glass of wine just tastes better in a glass with a stem, so I wasn’t swapping to stemless.
After many broken glasses from handwashing (RIP to some beloved Riedels), experiencing that overwhelming sensation from a backlog of glasses after a dinner party, inevitable cleaning procrastination and very pruney hands, I decided to develop my own solution.
While researching, I learned that it’s actually safer to wash your wine glasses in the dishwasher (even many of the high end brands recommend it), as most breakage occurs through mishandling, like in a soapy sink. I also learned that I wasn’t the only one annoyed with wine glass clean up. I surveyed friends, family and wine lovers to make sure this was a worthy endeavor – and sure enough, everyone agreed it was a problem.
I spent almost a year in development, from idea in my head to launching my website. Countless designs, prototypes and bottles of wine later, Wine Wash® was born. A simple gadget that lets you safely wash your wine glasses in the dishwasher.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
I’ve had an entrepreneurial spirit since I was a young girl. In elementary school, I’d buy penny candy at the local corner store and sell it to my classmates out of my Caboodle for a nickel. From running yard sales with my grandfather, managing a vending machine at my dad’s office through grade school, an eBay business selling ‘NSync photos & videos through high school, and Etsy shop out of college to help pay the bills when I was living paycheck to paycheck, I’ve always wanted to own my own business.
My dad is an entrepreneur. He started his company in the 80s and grew it into a successful business that he sold in 2020. He was always working, and I was always tagging along. I’d go to the office with him on the weekends (where I took over the vending machine business in the shop kitchen). Even when we were on vacation, there would be site visits the family would tag along on or the trip itself would be based around a project he was working on.
My dad’s drive rubbed off on me and I became someone that always went for and worked for it. I wanted to work in the music business, so I moved to Nashville where I eventually ended up working in brand partnerships for the biggest talent agency in the world. That launched my marketing career, where I worked for Fortune 100 companies executing marketing programs and experiential events.
While growing in my career, I couldn’t shake the desire to pursue my own business. When the idea – and the pandemic hit – it just felt like the perfect time to take the risk and go all in. Or maybe it was all the wine I was drinking?! Either way, if I applied the same work ethic and drive to my own company, I felt confident that I would make it work.
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
When I started, I had no idea how to invent something, but I took the “I’ll figure it out” mindset and applied it to Wine Wash.
I started with my own sketches and MacGyvered a homemade prototype. From there, I hired a product engineer to help refine the design and create technical drawings. During the prototype stage, not only did we refine the design, but I researched and tested materials that would hold up well in a dishwasher. When I began reaching out to vendors, I didn’t know the right questions to ask but started conversations and took notes, learning something new from each conversation. I’d dive back into research following the calls, and each time I spoke to a new vendor would have a better understanding of the process and right questions to ask. Between self-education (you truly can find anything on the internet), connecting with experts and picking their brains and the quotes and information from manufacturers, I landed on a manufacturing partner.
Throughout the process, I’ve learned that communication is key, including learning to speak the manufacturing language. A change to durometer or curing time will completely alter your product. Being specific as possible with feedback is necessary, making sure to include written documentation paired with photos and videos.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
There are three areas that helped with building a reputation.
1. Doing the work and being confident in my product. I know the product works. I’ve tested Wine Wash like a mad woman, have family and friends test, and even take field trips to the Home Depot appliance department to test fitting in their dishwashers. I test any dishwasher and wine glass combination I can get my hands on!
2. Strong customer service. I welcome feedback and questions from all customers. I want to make the customer experience enjoyable and create a relationship where they can feel confident in trusting me and the product.
3. Sharing proof, particularly on social media. On Instagram, I share videos of how to use Wine Wash as well as success stories of my own and from other customers.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://winewashco.com/
- Instagram: winewashco
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/winewashco
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/winewashco
Image Credits
Houston Studio; Hannah Mulik Photo