Emma Rose is the CEO and founder of Final, the company that created FinalStraw (https://final.co) — the world’s first reusable, collapsible straw. Prior to launching her company, Emma earned a master’s degree from Harvard in Environmental Management and Sustainability and spent four years working in waste minimization at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In the last decade, Emma’s passion for sustainability motivated her to help create a nonprofit called “Save the Mermaids,” its purpose being to educate children about the harmful effects of single-use plastics. It also led her to the TEDx stage to give a talk about the harmful effects plastic straws have on the environment. Emma and her entirely remote team continue their work on a full line of items designed to last forever and replace single-use plastic.
How did the idea for FinalStraw come about?
When I was an undergrad at UCSB I found myself living near the most beautiful beaches in the world while at the same time surrounded by a disturbing amount of trash. College felt like it should be the place where everyone was working on becoming a better version of themselves, and yet no one seemed to care about the tremendous amount of single-use waste we tossed in the trash or on the ground. So a few friends and I grabbed our mermaid outfits, went to the beach, and did a clean-up. The response was incredible; by the time we were done, we had everyone on the beach that day helping us out. We then decided to take it one step further and start a non-profit called ‘Save the Mermaids,’ a 501(c)(3) aimed at bringing kids closer to their environment, as well as a platform for education about the harmful effects of single-use plastic on the environment. Eventually, I accepted a position as a waste minimization expert at Los Alamos National Laboratory and earned my masters from Harvard in environmental management and sustainability. The FinalStraw opportunity arose almost immediately after I decided to leave my job and become a ski bum for a year. So, instead of spending my days on the slopes, I was suddenly entrenched in the development and launch of an innovative straw. In April of 2018, we hit the launch button on Kickstarter for FinalStraw and my life changed forever. The campaign went viral, and we raised almost $2 million on Kickstarter. It’s been a wild ride ever since.
It’s very modern that you lead a fully remote team. What’s the biggest challenge? And what do you love most about it?
One of the biggest challenges is ensuring that we maintain very clear channels of communication with one another. We have found that establishing structure, routines and expectations around communication offsets the fact that there are fewer opportunities to work side-by-side. I love the flexibility of being remote because I can run most meetings in a robe and take calls while skiing!
Khloé Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian are fans of FinalStraw. Do you find the celebrity attention has helped to grow your business?
Everyone in the public spotlight is influential, and with the rise in awareness of single-use plastic, celebrities get destroyed by follower comments if they post a photo with a plastic straw. In this sense, straws really are the cigarettes of the times. Fans expect people in the limelight to use their platforms for good and to spread awareness about important social and environmental issues. A-list celebrities have massive followings, but the rise of the micro-influencer has also proven that everyone has a voice. It is very important to remember that whether you are a celebrity with millions of fans or an individual with 26 Instagram followers, your friends are listening. Speak up for what you believe in!
You seem quite adventurous — from skiing Whistler in the winter to Burning Man in the summer. Do you find this helps to clear your mind and come up with more ideas or solutions to problems?
When you push yourself physically, you enter a state of flow that allows the mind to clear. Dropping in on fresh powder followed by the descent down the mountain becomes a form of moving meditation that forces rumination to cease and creates space for much deeper thought. I know of a lot of CEOs that seek high-adrenaline activities. Similar to skiing the backcountry, where the chance of avalanche is high, an entrepreneur always needs to be primed for the next risk — even the calculated risks. And there is definitely a correlation! Skiing is one activity that helps me create space; however, I generally don’t come up with ideas on the slopes. That almost always happens in the shower!
When you put your campaign up on Kickstarter, did you have any idea it would raise almost $2 million dollars?
No! When we launched, we were just hoping we’d meet our goal of raising $12,500 and that we would have enough so we wouldn’t need to put every single FinalStraw together by hand. We blew that goal out of the water and raised $200k in the first 48 hours. The momentum continued. We were blown away by the amount of encouragement we received, and the shock value never wore off!
You’ve had your fair share of copycats. How has it been dealing with protecting your patent?
The knockoff situation was extremely emotional. I had a tremendous amount of anxiety that was heightened by a feeling of helplessness. There are no ‘internet police’ and we really didn’t know where to turn for help. The entire point of creating FinalStraw was to reduce single-use plastic waste and suddenly the market was flooded with low-quality imitations that would eventually end up creating more trash. It took a long time for the team to get their arms around the problem, but we have an amazing team now that enforces all of our IP to the fullest extent. We have also filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission, asserting our utility patent against multiple importers that we believe infringe our IP. We are hoping to obtain a General Exclusion Order from this complaint that will help us seize infringing products from coming into the US.
What is your company’s projected gross for this year?
We don’t share our financial numbers but love to measure our progress in ‘straws saved.’ So far we’ve saved over 100 million straws from entering the environment!
Where will this straw-volution take us?
The straw has become a symbol for waste minimization because it’s an easy item to remove from everyday life. However, even if we eliminated every single straw from the world, there would still be an overabundance of plastic waste. The straw-volution is just the first step in a long journey towards waste minimization and corporate responsibility.
How many FinalStraws do you personally own? Which is your favorite?
I truly love all of my straw-babies equally — just kidding — black and gold!
What’s next for your business?
I believe that waste is just a design flaw. With that in mind, we look at the single-use plastic in circulation as an opportunity for innovation. We initially began with solutions to the low hanging fruit, but will eventually scale to implement larger and more complex systems. This year we are excited to be expanding our product line to include a variety of foreverables — items that replace single-use products and are designed to last forever. Stay tuned for FinalFork, FinalSpork, and BiggieStraw!
