Nathan Bush: Happy Holidays. I hope you're enjoying this episode of Add to Cart on a beach or somewhere really relaxing after a big 2022. We're taking a break at Add to Cart, so we're bringing you some extra checkout episodes that haven't gone to air yet. We'll be back with our feature episodes from Monday 16th January, and the very first episode we have lined up is an absolute star of the industry. We can't wait to bring it to you. Until then, enjoy the downtime and we'll see you in the new year.
[Voiceover]: Welcome to the checkout. We catch up with previous Add to Cart guests and ask them five quick questions to get to know them better and leave you with a little extra inspiration to get you through your Friday.
Nathan Bush: Today's checkout features Ira Smith, founder and CEO of the Quick Flick, a cosmetics brand selling online and with major retailers. The such as the iconic Priceline and most recently, Kohl's. Iris is an architecture graduate with a fondness for coding websites. What a lethal combo. And the first product that she created was a winged eyeliner stamp that helped customers who struggled like she did to nail that perfect look. And from there, the Quick Flick range has grown to include sunscreen, brow products and a whole lot more oris. Welcome to the Checkout.
Nathan Bush: Thank you so much for sharing everything you did around what you've built with the Quick Flick and your insights in the beauty industry. Continuing on the theme of We Can't Talk from our earlier episode, I've got
Nathan Bush: five quick questions for you.
Nathan Bush: Number one, what's the weirdest thing that you've ever bought online?
Iris Smit: Probably recently I bought these stickers that change when you go out into the sun after you've plucked applied sunscreen. So they tell you if you're adequately protected from UV rays. Yeah, I don't know if that's weird, but it is cool. It's different.
Nathan Bush: So where do you stick them on your skin?
Iris Smit: Anywhere.
Nathan Bush: Anywhere. And they don't change color when. Okay.
Iris Smit: Yeah. So they are basically just a way to test, obviously, if you've applied enough sunscreen, because people don't apply enough sunscreen. You can really tell I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to sunscreen. Right. And as the hours progress, the sticker will change color to indicate that you're no longer protected and you need to reapply your sunscreen.
Nathan Bush: Oh, that's awesome. I'm going to stick them all over my kids.
Iris Smit: UV stickers. Just search them on Amazon. They're great for kids. Right. Because it, like, gets them into, like, sun safety and it's a fun way to do it because I've got a sticker now.
Nathan Bush: That's really cool. I didn't know they existed. All right, number two, who is your favorite retailer? Not allowed to say Kohl's personally to shop.
Iris Smit: I really like Etsy. It's a marketplace for vintage and homemade goods. I love vintage. That was actually one of my first businesses on. Was on Etsy. Yeah, I had a Etsy shop and I used to sell secondhand clothing. So yeah, I love that. I can spend hours on that.
Nathan Bush: Not selling anything on Etsy at the moment.
Iris Smit: No, I'm not. No, just buying. Buying a lot, but not selling.
Nathan Bush: Awesome.
Nathan Bush: All right, number three, which E commerce
Nathan Bush: practice do you wish was history?
Iris Smit: I would say perfectly edited photos and videos. I think it's all about UGC content these days, showing real people and showing your customers as well. Like, you don't need to have a perfect model photo shoot. Use your customers, use yourself. I use my own pictures sometimes for my products and they're taken on my iPhone and they are better converting than perfectly shot studio images.
Nathan Bush: Yeah, you get amazing engagement on socials through your content. So great example to have a look at. Number four, can you recommend a book or a podcast that our listeners should immediately get into?
Iris Smit: Well, this one, thank you. I would say I really enjoy the girls that invest podcast podcasts. I think it's great if you are a beginner or even, you know, an advanced investor. I've learned a lot from that. And they also have a book as well, which I think is great.
Nathan Bush: Yeah, they've done so well. It's a really well done podcast. All right, and number five, finish this sentence. The future of retail is, I would
Iris Smit: say the future of retail has definitely shifted more into brand founders becoming their own personal influencer for their brands. And it's something I've seen very much on. TikTok is brand founders creating their own pages to cross promote their brands and to show just that realness. What goes into building their brand, what goes on behind the scenes? What's the day to day like, who's part of their team, what are they up to in the office? Just like those basic simple things that just feel real and add that human side to it. It's kind of like bringing that human touch back so that they're no longer just this like big corporate brand that are untouchable. I think people really need to start to focus on that authenticity, transparency, and just relatability.
Nathan Bush: I love that. Love that we want to see more brands doing that. And you have definitely been that with us on Add to Cart. So thank you so much Iris. Really appreciate what you've shared with us.
Iris Smit: Thanks so much for having
Nathan Bush: to hear more from Iris. Jump back into episode 238 where Iris shares her experiments with Bereal. She explains what she hates about the beauty industry and how she had the last laugh with some online trolls. Thanks for listening. And until next time, keep adding to cartoon.
