NightCap: A Fun Solution to a Serious Problem with CEO Shirah Benarde
Download MP3Scott Jamieson: There. Yeah.
Scott Jamieson: welcome to the empathy to impact podcast
Scott Jamieson: visiting Florida today. And I have Shera, who is a
Scott Jamieson: entrepreneur and CEO of a company called Nightcap. You can check it out@nightcapit.com. It's this really cool, innovative product that turns a scrunchie like a hair accessory
Scott Jamieson: into a cap to put on your drink to prevent anything unwanted going into your beverage to help kind of prevent being roofied, or any of these awful things that might happen when you're out. I think it's such a cool idea, and I am really excited to learn more about how she turned this idea into a company that is distributed all over the place, and really kind of
Scott Jamieson: helping out with, or a need in a community. And so I think that's so cool. So I just want to pass over to she right to do a quick introduction. And then we're gonna dive in.
shirah: Hi, yeah, thank you for having me. I'm Shira. I'm from West Palm Beach, Florida, and
shirah: I started nightcap when I was about 16. I was at in high school at the time, and I had an older friend that was rufied at the bar, and a few weeks later I went to bed one night and thought of this life saving product in a dream when I was sleeping, and when I woke up the next morning I sat down with my dad
shirah: and
shirah: created a prototype out of my mom's stockings and a scrunchie for my room. I thought it would be a lot easier to just show him visually what I was kind of thinking of, instead of trying to explain it to him and the 1st couple of steps we took was.
shirah: he immediately said, nightcap or top hat. So we came up with the name Nightcap he found a couple
shirah: a graphic designer to come up with some Logos to choose from, and a local seamstress he was kind of just calling around, being very resourceful. I didn't know anyone or anything. He also isn't an entrepreneur, so he didn't really know what was going on. But we were just trying to to see what people we knew that could help us out. Get it off the ground.
shirah: And so we found a patent attorney sat down with them, started, you know, patent started by provisional patent on the product. And
shirah: we kind of just took those 1st couple of steps to get, and I kept going, and my brother was going to Florida state at the time. He knew how big of a problem that drink spiking was on his college campus. So he came home and saw my prototype on the table and realized that it was a huge problem. There was no solutions out there, and so he dropped everything to work with me, and now he is my co-founder.
Scott Jamieson: That's so cool that this is kind of turned into a bit of a family affair with your dad kind of helping out the early stages, and you make that sound so easy
Scott Jamieson: that all right, we just did this. And I had this idea, and I woke up, and we kind of created a prototype. And all of a sudden we've got this business, and I'm sure there's a lot more to it than that. And I really kind of want to dive into some of those pieces. But before we start, I wonder if you can share with our listeners
Scott Jamieson: just how big a deal this problem is.
shirah: Yeah. Unfortunately, it's a huge problem. And
shirah: you know, almost half of women have been affected by this. And it's not only a problem for women, either. It's actually like anyone can experience this.
shirah: I think a lot of drink spiking goes unreported. And that's what makes us think that it doesn't happen to us. But it's
shirah: a very big problem out there we've sold over 700,000 of these things so kind of shows you that there's a need for it. And we're constantly hearing people telling their stories to us, and people who have experienced the problem and
shirah: haven't been able to go out before they found nightcap. So we've been able to give them that peace of mind when going out again. And yeah, I think the craziest thing that we've discovered about drink spiking is that the most common person to
shirah: target you is actually someone that you know. So
shirah: it's a very, very big problem. A lot of us don't realize how big. So we tend to ignore it, or, you know, think it won't happen to us. But it's definitely going on.
Scott Jamieson: That's a little bit terrifying as a parent of teenagers who are getting close to
Scott Jamieson: stepping into this world. And it's something that I didn't know a lot about until reading a little bit about your work and doing a little bit of a deep dive to see how prevalent this is. And that's why I think it's so cool that you know, university campuses like in frosh kits and stuff like that are starting to hand out your products to people to kind of really help prevent this.
Scott Jamieson: I wanna kind of just kind of start at the beginning, though, and think about what was your dad's reaction. When you have, you've got this big idea. And you know you have.
Scott Jamieson: even before that. Actually, I'm going to start even before that and think about just creating that prototype you said. It's easier to show than to tell
Scott Jamieson: How did you have some experience with stuff like this, or to put this together like I thought it was really cool. I actually read in the Forbes article about how this kind of came to you as a dream almost, but then not everyone can turn that into a reality. So tell me about creating that 1st prototype, and how that came together.
shirah: Yeah, I don't. I didn't have experience with anything like that. I've I don't.
shirah: I'm not really
shirah: into like making my own clothes necessarily, or anything like that. I've definitely been like a creative kid forever. I've loved like art projects and like different. You know, things that I just come up with randomly. I love making things, but that when it comes to sewing, not for me, but I think when I had this idea, I just
shirah: it was the 1st thing that came to mind. Grabbing an old scrunchie from my room was the easiest thing I could think of, and
shirah: a fabric similar to a sock or just like a stretchy kind of fabric. So I immediately ran to my mom's closet and started digging, and that's when I found her stockings, and I just kind of taped them to the scrunchie and put it on the cup and showed him what I was talking about, and
shirah: once we had that, we were able to take that and show the seamstress to tell her exactly how we wanted to create this product, so she would come over like
shirah: every couple of weeks with a new, different fabric it was. Sometimes it was like gymnastics, leotard or socks, or textbook covers, and like, no matter what it was, it was
shirah: always just for the functionality. It never really mattered what material it was, or, you know, color, because it was a
shirah: all different rainbow colors and random pieces that I'm sure she found around her house, too. But
shirah: it was all about the functionality, and just how we wanted it to work. And obviously something like this, it has to make sense. And it has to work. Because this is a real problem. So we're trying to prevent people from being tampered with, and I think a big part of nightcap, too, is not only that it protects your drink, but it also is like a deterrent for the bad actor. So you know, if somebody's looking to spike a drink.
shirah: they're usually going for an open glass. So I think a big part of that is just, you know.
shirah: set like sending that signal to everyone at the bar that you're not someone to be messed with. But yeah, I mean, the prototype was a lot of fun to create. I think I make it sound easy, because at the time I was so young, and I didn't realize what we were doing. I was just really having fun with it, like a side project. I was just doing my homework, going to high school and didn't realize the impact that we would eventually make.
shirah: So yeah, it really was fun. And I still find it fun. So I think that was my real real experience with it.
Scott Jamieson: I love that, and I think it's important to, you know, have that fun aspect of things.
Scott Jamieson: You also. You mentioned that you were really young. You were 16 when this all started.
Scott Jamieson: What did you have to learn about running a business at that age? What are some things that you learned along the way that were kind of those important steps to have this go from an idea to a successful business.
shirah: So many things. I think a lot of what I've learned has been not only professionally, but personally, because I feel like
shirah: as a founder as somebody like a business owner. You have to
shirah: also discover a lot about yourself and how you work. Cause that applies to business, and I think, like, at a really young age like when I was 16 and 17, I was kind of realizing that I wasn't supposed to know everything, because going into business.
shirah: Knowing nothing obviously made me a little bit insecure. And I didn't wanna type out emails or or get on the phone talking to people because I didn't feel like I was qualified for it, or I didn't feel like I
shirah: spoke well enough. I would talk myself out of things, so you know, I'd always like run the emails by my brother every single email that I would type. It was going through him or like my dad or something, and I was never. I never had the confidence to just do something for my like by myself. And I think, just realizing that it wasn't a lack of education, but it was a lack of experience, because.
shirah: you know, a lot of people get out of school, and they still don't know how to start a business, but the reality is that you only figure out
shirah: how to start a business when you start a business. So I learned that I figured that out 1st thing, and I, you know, ended up developing more confidence along the way to be able to do a lot of the things that I do?
shirah: A big part of my job is like
shirah: making content and being on social media, and like that's not really easy to do when you're insecure, or you know you feel like you lack knowledge. I feel like when you're on social media. You're very forward facing. And you're putting yourself out there, and you have to have this like kind of confidence about you. To be able to do that. So I think. You know, just giving myself. Grace has been
shirah: one of them, and and reminding myself that you're supposed to learn everything along the way.
Scott Jamieson: I think that's so cool. This is great advice to think about how this really is a learning process for everybody. And yeah, we don't come out of high school with all these skills already. And there's always going to be new things to learn and lovely talking about social media and the challenges that presents, but also the opportunities. As a small business owner. I I think that's really important.
Scott Jamieson: And you know, with my work, you know helping schools kind of think about the future. Entrepreneurship, I think, is so important in creating these opportunities for students
Scott Jamieson: to be innovative and having a space to try some things out and make some mistakes, and reiterate and come up with different prototypes and kind of going through this sort of design process and thinking like a social innovator. I think there's a really important place in school
Scott Jamieson: these days that needs to be developed. So I think it's really exciting to hear you talk about this as well and just kind of how that journey might connect to something that we might be able to create in schools in a kind of a controlled space where students have an opportunity to think like an entrepreneur, and think how they might be able to take an idea like this and make that actionable.
Scott Jamieson: Sorry. I just have some notes over on the side. If you see me turning, I'm not checking my Instagram feed.
Scott Jamieson: I read in the Forbes article that your time on Shark Tank was kind of a real springboard
Scott Jamieson: for nightcap.
Scott Jamieson: and
Scott Jamieson: I I'd love to hear a little bit more about that experience. It seems like kind of a stressful environment. But at the same time, such a cool opportunity to, you know, get your product out into the world. So can you share a little bit just about that part of the journey?
shirah: Yeah, that was a really.
shirah: really fun part of the journey, I think. Like
shirah: going on. The show, too, was like a reminder that.
shirah: you know, my nightcap could really like be something and
shirah: it was a it was just a reminder of like.
shirah: Keep going kind of thing, because that opportunity is not one that many people get.
shirah: I went on the show when I was 17 and my brother was 21, and we applied for it online, and eventually got a couple of calls back.
shirah: and we quarantined for about 10 days in a hotel room because it was during Covid. And we would, you know, practice our pitch on one side of the room and work out on the other side of the room, and on the 10th or 11th day they brought us out
shirah: to walk out with the, you know, double doors. The 1st door opens, and you see Mr. Wonderful's bald head right in the middle. And you're like, Oh, my God, this is
shirah: literally insane. You feel like you're in the TV screen. So it's definitely
shirah: it's definitely
shirah: I wouldn't call it stressful, I mean, unless you know, I think it's all perspective. But for for me at least, I think I looked at it as like this is an opportunity that I want to enjoy as well like this is a 1 in a lifetime
shirah: opportunity. And I don't want to just like stress about this. So I tried to like, take the nerves, and just like.
shirah: keep myself excited, and just be present. And what was happening, even though you go in there, and you kind of just forget everything that happened because your adrenaline is pumping. So we have no idea what actually happened in there. But but we, you know, our our deal with Lori, and the episode definitely couldn't have gone better. It was pretty much the most ideal situation that could have gone down so
shirah: we were in there for about half an hour, and they, you know, they show about 8 min of it, I think, and it was just a really awesome opportunity. And I, yeah, I mean, we. I think we tripled our sales that night. From what? What was? Yeah.
Scott Jamieson: Wow! Just in one night. That's amazing. And I love the mindset just kind of really taking that opportunity to enjoy the moments. And there must have been some validation there a little bit, too, you know. We all sometimes think we have an idea. That's a really good idea. But in a space like that when someone else has come in and say, You know what? This is a really good idea. And I want in like, I think that's just like, what do they feel it at the time?
shirah: Yeah, I mean, I it was crazy. I don't even have words to explain how it felt, because I think I was just in shock. And I know in the episode I like put my hands over my mouth because I'm like.
shirah: just I needed to take a second because it really was
shirah: everything that we
shirah: possibly wanted.
shirah: just kind of literally coming to life. And we are watching it in front of us, like Lori, just being like, I love this
shirah: like, I want you guys. And everything that she said about the product was so amazing. So
shirah: we were taken back. And I think, after as we were walking off the show. It was just like
shirah: you don't even. You're not even able to process it like fully. It definitely took a while to understand what really happened, but it was really rewarding and cool to know that, like all the hard work that you put in, and you know all the
shirah: people's opinions that you overlook to get there, because a lot, I mean, I was in high school. I had a lot of people telling me that was stupid idea, or like it was like out of the ordinary. So people didn't like me doing something different. You know, when you overlook those people's opinions, and you just like, do what feels right. And you're standing there, and Laurie's telling you how good of an idea it is. It just makes everything make sense, I guess, and like it helps
shirah: to know that following your gut is
shirah: usually the better decision. So.
Scott Jamieson: That's fantastic advice. And I think, yeah, everybody in those situations, from the most successful times, because everyone has doubts and to be able to power through those and continue to follow your gut, like you say, and and really stick with an idea. I I think that's that's so important to share with our listeners. And I think it's sounds like it's helped you get to where you are today.
Scott Jamieson: I want to circle back a little bit and think about the partnerships that you've been able to develop and continue to develop like thinking even way back to the beginning, like working with the seamstress, working with a graphic designer up to, you know, some of the partners you're currently working with like forever. 21 like, how have those partnerships along the way, and getting that kind of community support, helped you as an entrepreneur, and helped your business to be successful.
shirah: That's a great question. Well.
shirah: they're all different in their own ways, for sure. And you know the partnership with our seamstress
shirah: was so
shirah: awesome because she was just. She's been there through or since the beginning, and like I still talk to her to this day, just because.
shirah: you know, she
shirah: saw the idea through, and it's just so
shirah: like awesome to be able to still connect with someone from the very early days of nightcap, and even from her perspective. She, you know, loves
shirah: just seeing it all kind of come to fruition. So I think it's
shirah: great to have partners like that, and
shirah: know that you can't do everything by yourself. I think that's a big thing that I also learned pretty quickly is like you shouldn't be.
shirah: I mean as we do wear a lot of hats. I'm not gonna say we don't. But you shouldn't be doing absolutely everything alone. I think it's really important to pull people in and
shirah: You know, the relationships are always best when you
shirah: genuinely like them. As a person I think. That's
shirah: normally the best route to go is
shirah: working with people that you actually do enjoy spending time with, and with forever. 21, I think.
shirah: kind of a similar situation.
shirah: you know that partnership started with me, walking up to the CEO and telling her how amazing
shirah: she was at speaking, and just handing her a nightcap and saying, Hey, this is my product! And she immediately wanted
shirah: to get it in the stores, and I feel like she was almost buying into me as well. Same with Lori, you know a lot of people buy into the founder of the product and when they see that you're on a mission. They can feel it, and they know that. You know, if you're serious about it, you're gonna push.
shirah: push that thing as hard as you can. So
shirah: it's so important to have
shirah: people around you that can help you and just to tell your story and have people hop on board. But we're also like, extremely grateful. And
shirah: for those for those partners and we do a lot.
shirah: I guess we do what we can for
shirah: for our partners, and also just people that we see potential into. So
shirah: yeah, I think it's super important goes for friendships, too. I mean
shirah: you nothing, is
shirah: it? The people are the most important. It, I guess, is what I'm trying to say. Yeah.
Scott Jamieson: The people are the most important. I absolutely agree. You know, with my team that I work with. They're like a family, and it's so amazing to be, you know, working with the group people. I do. And it's absolutely right. You want to surround yourself with amazing people. And you're right. I think if people can see that you're passionate about this, people can see that
Scott Jamieson: you are addressing an important issue, you know, in a community. And it's a really cool product. So I think you know, those all those kind of pieces fit together that really get people excited about this, you know. And the opportunity came to have a conversation with you. I thought you know I did. I hadn't heard of your product, but looked it up and said, Wow! What an amazing idea!
Scott Jamieson: And this really leads me to my next question.
Scott Jamieson: You know it. This all kind of started out with a scrunchie and stockings. But it's really evolved a little bit. If you look at the website, there's a lot more going on now with different kind of products and the same theme. But how have you kind of continued to be creative and innovative, with certain kind of new aspects of new products, as the business has kind of evolved.
shirah: Well, we've tried to stick to our motto as much as we can, which is
shirah: creating fun solutions to a serious problem. That initially started with the scrunchie being, you know, a scrunchie, but it also covers your drink. So we tried to follow that throughout all of our products, and just make them as
shirah: fun, and not so serious, because at the end of the day it is a very sad topic, and we're not trying to scare people into using our products. So I think you know, just in the creative way,
shirah: just having fun with it and
shirah: making sure that it functions correctly is super important.
shirah: and
shirah: obviously, we've tried our best to make things that work for all genders, and then all drinks. So no matter who you are what you're drinking kind of thing. So we have something for beer bottles and for cans, and just all different kinds of things. We have boxes for college students and bachelorettes. Pretty much
shirah: anything that people need, and a lot of that came from just like listening to our customers and seeing their comments on what they wanted, and going and running with that.
Scott Jamieson: I think that's really cool. You talk about listening to customers, and you know, you see those comments, and like, Hmm, we could do that. And I think this is a cool mindset. I I again, and just kind of helps to kind of keep the fun in there. Absolutely. You're right. This is a serious topic, but you know people are out in these spaces with their friends to have a good time, and you know we want to be able to do this in kind of a way that's
Scott Jamieson: pretty easy, you know. You have your scrunchie around your wrist or in your hair. And all of a sudden. There it is over your drink, and you're protected and just feeling safer in in this environment, like I said, we're not trying to scare people. But we do want to raise awareness. This is a real issue. And this could happen to you. And you know, here's how we can help. And I think that's it's just a really cool way to just kind of address that serious topic like you say, in kind of a fun way, and to be able to help people through the work you do.
Scott Jamieson: What advice do you have for younger entrepreneurs who are listening to our podcast
Scott Jamieson: just hearing your story of you know how this evolved for you. What advice do you have to sort of help young people take an idea and turn it into action, and maybe even a successful business.
shirah: My advice, for people that want to take an idea and turn it into action would be to
shirah: go walk around a busy area in wherever you live, and ask people
shirah: if this is something that they need, because I have seen a couple of friends
shirah: launch a product that nobody actually
shirah: want it.
shirah: Go get unbiased opinions, too. I wouldn't just ask friends like Go out there, I mean, if you're talking about. Say, it's like a a Yoga mat type of thing. Go to a gym and ask people if they need it, so make it make sense. But
shirah: walk around, find different people and ask them
shirah: if they're looking for something like this, or if they've struggled with XY and Z. That you're trying to provide a solution for see if what you're creating is actually solving a problem. And that is my, that is my advice.
Scott Jamieson: Does your product address an authentic need? Do people want it? It seems so simple and obvious, right? But so many times when we think about even something like service learning where we're looking to support a community. Maybe it's a service club at a school or part of a project in a class at school, and we often think about, you know, what do we want to do as opposed to?
Scott Jamieson: What do people really need. And just that kind of shift in mindset, I think, is is so so important, so thank you for highlighting that.
shirah: Yeah.
Scott Jamieson: Shira, what are you most grateful for at this stage of your journey?
shirah: Oof everything. I feel like I'm grateful for my family, my dog.
shirah: and
shirah: like
shirah: quite literally everything. I meditate all the time, and I I talk about
shirah: how grateful I am like very often. At least to myself. I definitely acknowledge, like all the things around me. And
shirah: That's definitely, you know.
shirah: keeps me grounded and keeps me going too. So but I would say, number one is definitely my family.
Scott Jamieson: Fantastic, and they've been with you on this journey. You know the whole way since the very beginning, and I think it's so cool to have that support, and just to be able to kind of connect this success with the people you love.
shirah: Yeah, I love that. Thank you for that.
Scott Jamieson: What's next? You are still, you know, very young at this stage of the game. You know. What are you thinking about for the future. Where? Where does this go next? From here?
shirah: Yeah, I definitely have a lot of
shirah: different random goals for nightcap. I think, like different partnerships would be fun and just growing in ways that I didn't think we could before.
shirah: because now there's a lot of validity and credibility behind the product. So that can range from just
shirah: anything to everything. But
shirah: you know, right now I'm actually really excited for I'm working with Perno Ricard, which is a big
shirah: alcohol brand that owns many other alcohol brands, 240 brands they own, including Absloo, Malibu, Kalua, and they actually picked me to.
shirah: I applied for their scholarship, and I got selected. I'm 1 of 10 delegates that were selected to help them minimize alcohol, related harm. So in September I'll be flying to Montreal with them to go help them. You know, really make an impact. And I think that's a big one of my goals is actually becoming someone that creates change, and not just someone, but like a brand, too, like we really want to be a voice for victims.
shirah: And I think that's just scratching the surface honestly, so very excited for the future.
Scott Jamieson: Beautiful. I think it's so cool to see these big brands like
Scott Jamieson: thinking about harm reduction. And I love that you're gonna have that opportunity to be a voice in the room in those conversations and thinking about how we
Scott Jamieson: design change. I think, being a change maker like we need to be, you know, thinking about. You know how we can move the needle in a positive direction. That's so much of my work that gets me excited is, you know, how can we take these small steps to make things better in our community? So I think that's absolutely amazing.
Scott Jamieson: Sure, it's been so cool to get to know you a little bit on the podcast to share your story. I'm feeling so inspired. I think it's so cool to just kind, of hear and about how this kind of journey has evolved for you, and how it continues to kind of fill your cup and really address an important issue in our community with the work. You do. So thank you for all that you do. And you've been such a fabulous guest on our, podcast I really appreciate your time this morning.
shirah: Thank you so much for having me.
Scott Jamieson: And I think we're good. You're fabulous.
shirah: Thanks, so.
Amanda Gibson: Such a fun! Listing.
