Interview with Briana Gardell the CEO and Founder of Goblies!
What are Goblies? What is it made out of and how is it made?
Goblies are washable paintballs that you throw by hand. They are painless like water balloons and create a colorful splatter like paintballs. The paintballs are made entirely from food ingredients. I started selling Goblies as a DIY kit that allows kids to make Goblies while learning about chemistry. The kit allows kids to make Goblies by dropping ice in a special syrup.
How did you think of the idea for the product? What was the motivation behind it?
The primary market for the Goblies kits are the parents of 8-12 years old that want their kids to engage with science in a fun way.
The overall market for throwable paintballs are seekers of “Instagram worthy moments” People that are interested in Goblies want interesting life experiences. They want to make memories. I have an event based marketing strategy.
Your product, Goblies, is a product of your company, Mezzimatic LLC. Do plan on releasing other products in the near future?
I started Goblies as a DIY Kit that allows kids to make Goblies at home. I plan on releasing a no-prep needed version in the spring of 2017 (Just pop open the container and throw). I plan on scaling the company through market development.
Describe to us an example of your typical workday.
I usually have 10-20 goals I’m trying to accomplish for the month. For example, working on a sale, increasing the manufacturing efficiency in a particular area, trying to decrease the cost of one area of the product, designing packaging, figuring out something with logistics, planning a booth for a trade show, etc. I’m either researching, talking to people, prototyping or making decisions in attempt to make those goals happen.
What stage are you in your capital investing phase? Are you currently looking for more funding?
I have funded the company through bootstrapping and I utilized a grant to purchase manufacturing equipment. I'm not actively seeking funding, but I'm open to opportunities.
What are some challenges you encounter as the CEO of Mezzimatic LLC?
Every time I’m asked about what the challenges are of running my company I gravitate towards the overall challenge of deciding on if I should take on investors and debt in effort to grow faster. This is something that I will be thinking about at every stage of my company.
Any advice for our aspiring entrepreneurs?
I’ve been writing business plans and researching ideas for years. The difference between those businesses and Goblies is that I was able to make a working prototype. Try to get to a minimal viable product as fast as possible.
If you don’t have an idea for a business right now, take this time to learn skills. I think learning anything from tap dancing to Photoshop could help you in a future venture.
If you want your startup to be interviewed, please reach out to me at taehong.min18@outlook.com. Thanks!