Apr 30, 2018, 11:12 AM ETPanel, Fireside Chat, Conference Presentation, Interview

Sarah Kauss: Starting Up and Going Global

Sarah Kaus grew up in an entrepreneurial family in South Florida; her parents owned an ice cream parlor where employees were treated as family.
Kaus began working at her parents' business in high school, engaging in formative business discussions with her father.
She earned an accounting degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and worked as a CPA at EY for four years.
Her time auditing and consulting during the dot-com bubble taught her to value conservative growth and the ability to pivot when faced with failure.
Kaus decided to pursue entrepreneurship after realizing that scaling businesses required understanding the challenges of their founders firsthand.

The concept for Swell originated during a hot hike in Arizona while Kaus used a non-insulated, unattractive free water bottle.
She aimed to create a "covetable" hydration accessory that combined fashion, function, and philanthropy, resulting in the company's "one-two punch" product strategy.
Swell's mission explicitly addresses environmental impact, specifically reducing plastic waste and the global water crisis.
The company partners with nonprofits including UNICEF, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and the Girl Scouts to educate consumers.
Kaus created the "Million Bottle Project" to encourage sustainable choices through community engagement.
She invested her own capital initially to retain full ownership, control unit economics, and grow the brand without external pressure.

Kaus spent two years pitching to Bloomingdale's, eventually convincing them to stock the product in holiday windows on Fifth Avenue by repositioning it as a "hydration fashion accessory."
Swell currently distributes in approximately 2,200 stores in the U.S. and 600 stores in Canada, primarily in independent boutiques and fitness studios.
The company secured a major partnership with Starbucks, requiring the team to manage international logistics, multi-language support, and import codes.
To expand into the mass market without diluting the core brand, Kaus launched a sub-brand called "Sip by Swell" specifically for Target after declining an entry four years prior.
Swell recently announced a partnership with Marriott to replace plastic water bottles with Swell products in select brands like Element Hotels.
The company introduced Facebook as a corporate client following an Earth Day initiative where the company refused to use plastic on campus.
Swell releases new pattern and color collections every season to maintain consumer interest as a "collectible" fashion item.
Product diversification includes Travelers, Tumblers, and wine-sized bottles, with new form factors for hot coffee and outdoor entertaining launching in the spring.
Kaus emphasizes a 70-step manufacturing process where every product is hand-inspected to ensure quality control at scale.

Kaus identifies hiring the right talent at the right time as her biggest early mistake, noting she often delayed bringing in experts because she believed she could handle tasks personally.
The company employs over 100 people in New York and five in London, with a team culture described as positive and mission-driven.
Swell has implemented a "Spirit Committee" led by employees to organically drive culture through activities like weekly happy hours, catered lunches, and peer recognition programs.
To foster creativity and efficiency, the company utilizes an open-office layout with cross-functional pods and places the creative services team in the center of the floor plan.
Kaus conducts a standing Monday meeting where front-line employees, particularly customer service, present customer feedback first to ground the entire organization in market reality.
Financial strategy relies on "creative financing," such as requiring international distributors to deposit funds before production to manage cash flow during inventory bulking.
The company maintains a nimble startup mentality despite growth, allowing for rapid pivots and the acceptance of "no" to protect long-term brand equity.
Kaus admits she struggles with delegation, specifically regarding accounts payable, but acknowledges the necessity of stepping back to allow the business to scale.

Kaus advises entrepreneurs to be bold and fearless, suggesting leaders should "fake it until they make it" when immediate answers are not available.
She encourages admitting imperfection and vulnerability, citing Sarah Blakely as an inspiration for balancing business success with personal authenticity.
Kaus recommends entrepreneurs take actual vacations to gain fresh perspectives, having recently taken a two-week holiday to recharge and strategize.
She advises founders to ask for help early rather than hiding challenges to maintain a support network.
Kaus highlights that female entrepreneurs can leverage specific programs like Goldman Sachs's "10,000 Small Businesses" and EY women's initiatives to overcome barriers.
Her primary advice to new entrepreneurs is to "think big and be bold," asserting there is a strong appetite in the market for small business innovation.
Kaus notes that social media engagement is most effective when brands embrace user-generated content, such as the "Adventures with Swell" hashtag campaign.
She defines her standout career moment as seeing a stranger use a Swell bottle in public, realizing the product had entered the mainstream consciousness beyond friends and family.