avatar

192 | Cutting Through the BS in CBD/Skincare | with Graham Smith and Zain Pirani

Honest Ecommerce
Honest Ecommerce
Episode • Sep 26, 2022 • 29m

Graham Smith is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of No, Thank You. 

Graham has spent the last 3+ years as an entrepreneur in the startup community. Prior to this, he worked in the financial industry for over 12 years, where he led cross-sector financings for middle market businesses across Europe. 

Notable investments include Liberty London (a historic London department store), where he also served as a board member. 

Graham graduated cum laude from USC Marshall School of Business in 2005 with a B.S. in Accounting. 

Graham likes all things fitness, cooking, photography and exploring the world. 

Zain Pirani is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of No, Thank You. 

Zain has 3+ years of experience in developing and launching various consumer product brands across multiple industries, including supplements, food, beverage and most recently in the cannabinoid industry. 

Prior to this, she worked in marketing and fundraising in the financial industry for over 14 years. 

Zain graduated from Boston College with a B.S. in Finance and Management Information Systems in 2003. 

In her free time, Zain likes to read, enjoy a good cycling class, dabble in cooking and charcoal drawings. 

In This Conversation We Discuss: 

  • [00:00] Intro
  • [01:23] Emphasizing the efficacy of CBD
  • [02:36] How No, Thank You started
  • [06:04] Why NTY focuses on the products and ingredients
  • [07:36] Duration from idea to products
  • [09:07] The importance of customer feedback
  • [09:54] Go out and let people test your products
  • [11:06] Where the name “No, Thank You” comes from
  • [12:48] Sponsor: Electric Eye electriceye.io
  • [13:07] Sponsor: Mesa apps.shopify.com/mesa
  • [13:56] Sponsor: Rewind rewind.com/honestecommerce
  • [14:26] Sponsor: Klaviyo klaviyo.com/honest
  • [15:14] NTY and HEC are kindred spirits
  • [15:32] The downsides of launching CBD brand
  • [18:12] Rebuilding the broken trust in the industry
  • [19:54] The CBD industry requires at least twice the effort
  • [20:24] What makes NTY show up every day
  • [20:58] How NTY got their first customers
  • [23:07] Making your target audience as your Northstar
  • [23:52] Struggling at first but making emails work
  • [25:23] Employment is only sustainable for a time
  • [26:41] Pick good people to have a business with
  • [27:24] Prepare for a “divorce” if it happens
  • [27:44] Where to find No, Thank You
  • [28:07] Be informed about CBD products

Resources:

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!