It's a massive accomplishment to start one super successful business from scratch — let alone two — but that's exactly what entrepreneur and founder Jess Ruhfus has managed to do within a single decade.
From being a junior publicist with a limited network, to now running two thriving businesses — one of which has sold out four times (and counting!) — BuzzFeed Australia spoke to her for the inside scoop on how she managed to do it.
1. First up, tell us about yourself!
"Hello! I’m Jess, I run two super unrelated and different businesses from my home in the Northern Beaches of Sydney. I absolutely love creative marketing, which is what nabbed me a 30 Under 30 Award in Entrepreneurship, and links my two brands Collabosaurus and No.2 Co.
I started out wanting to work in film, and I was lucky enough to beg my way onto sets and The Great Gatsby when Baz [Luhrmann] was filming here [in Sydney].
In the end, I started my career in fashion PR — and quickly got frustrated with how many growth opportunities were being missed by small businesses who didn’t have the budget for publicist representation. Cool collaborations were happening all around me, in events, social media and with limited edition products, but I was a junior without a network and the whole pitching process was super time consuming.
So, with dating apps rising in popularity [at the time], I created Collabosaurus as a ‘match-maker for brands’ in 2015. Since then, Collabosaurus has grown to house over 10,500 brands.
Then, after being trapped in an apartment with a housemate through COVID-19 lockdowns, my ecommerce brand No.2 Co was born and has since sold out five times."
2. In your own words, describe what your two businesses are about.
"Collabosaurus is like a dating site for brands. The platform match-makes brands with brand marketing collaborations — and is 25 times less expensive than digital advertising, where businesses big and small can ‘swipe right’ on partnership opportunities that leverage currencies other than cash.
No.2 Co is a post-flush perfume drop that has your back(side). Stylish enough to display, No.2 Co is a beautiful fragrance dropper for the loo to keep your reputation intact.
Ugly aerosol cans are not only an eyesore, but I didn’t deem them effective for our household. So, I created an essential oil based formula that is pipetted into the loo post-flush, to nullify unwanted smells. I also made sure the packaging is stunning so that the chic No.2 bottle can sit proudly on your bathroom shelf."
3. You went eight years between the launch of Collabosaurus and No.2 Co — tell us what drove you to launch each?
"Both businesses were born out of a frustration I had personally!
For Collabosaurus, I found brand partnerships extremely time consuming and wanted a solution that made marketing collabs easy to access.
For No.2, I wasn’t a fan of aerosol sprays, synthetic fragrances and icky packaging (I was also living in an apartment with two boys, so as you can imagine the need for No.2 Co was paramount!)"
4. For No.2 Co, roughly how long did it take from idea to the brand launching? And what was involved?
"No.2 Co took about a year to launch from the time I came up with the idea. I was mixing formulations in my kitchen at home, trialling different scents and then doling out samples to friends and family to get feedback.
I had a really clear idea for aesthetics and branding, and so there was a lot of back and forth with packaging suppliers. I was building No.2 Co as a true side-hustle, so I took my time with it.
We launched with 1,500 units that we mixed and bottled by hand. This batch sold out in a few months and I was quickly trying to find a manufacturing partner who could produce No.2 Co at larger quantities!
Uber Package was super useful at this stage, because the manufacturer would courier samples via Uber same-day for approval. We ran multiple sampling rounds with the manufacturer, until we arrived on a perfectly matched product that was ready to produce in Melbourne. This stage of the process was sped up significantly because of curb to curb delivery with Uber Package, and what’s more, I could watch the deliveries in real-time via the app."
5. As a business owner of two distinct brands, what are the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
"The two businesses are incredibly different and also at different stages. I’ve definitely learned a lot from building Collabosaurus that I can apply to No.2. For example, I didn’t waste a bunch of money on social advertising for No.2 as I did on Collabosaurus in the early days!
With No.2 Co, I was focused on achieving product market fit quickly, gathering feedback and iterating from the first small batch of No.2 Co. However, with Collabosaurus I spent big on the first product instead of building an MVP (minimum viable product) to test whether customers would pay for it first. This mistake with Collabosaurus was an expensive one, and set the business back about two years as we tried to ‘build the plane while flying.’
A challenge for No.2 Co has been cashflow in a product-based business. I love unit economics, but there are more hidden costs in product-based businesses than there are in services, so I wish I had engaged a financial expert from the get go to sense-check my numbers.
There’s also a longer runway to launch anything because you’re reliant on manufacturers and suppliers, so my timeline expectations had to change. Using tech tools across the gamut of business processes has been a game-changer, we use Uber Package to speed up sample deliveries, Collabosaurus to streamline and access brand collaborations, not to mention other apps to cut engaging social media content together quickly and to automate review collection."
6. And what have been your biggest highlights?
"For Collabosaurus, there have been so many! Winning a 30 Under 30 award, speaking at a summit to over 900 people, attracting clients who are really category leaders, hitting the milestone of over 10,000 brands on the platform and connecting with the coolest people in startups has been incredible.
For No.2 Co, we’ve sold out four times so far — always unexpectedly. An international celebrity has a bottle in her bathroom and there are just so many opportunities for growth with this business. No.2 Co is a fantastic creative outlet for me and there are so many fun campaigns to come!"
7. What learnings did you take from your first business into your second?
"After a full year running No.2 Co, I ran a deep dive on all of our analytics and realised that we achieved the same monthly revenue that took Collabosaurus three years to hit. I’ve been able to apply learnings, strategies and tech tools a lot faster the second time around, and with more confidence.
I’m also grateful for my network of friends and work contacts who have also helped significantly with No.2 Co. When I started Collabosaurus, I knew no one in the industry, I was working my way up from absolute scratch! With No.2 Co, plenty of the growth and introductions I’ve seen have come from the amazing people around me, who I wouldn’t have met had I not started Collabosaurus eight years ago."
8. Finally, what advice do you have for anyone who wants to do something similar? Or anything else you want to share?
"Follow the joy! It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and the mundane, but one of the greatest things about running your own business is that you’re entirely in control of your time and energy.
It’s definitely not always roses, and not always easy, but it’s incredibly rewarding and also develops your skills in a way that no job can do. No.2 Co was born out of a frustration that turned into an idea — and it has been such a joy to work on."
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