825 Robbie Salter: Co-Founder of Jupiter

0:00Kara Goldin:I am unwilling to give up, but I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be. You just want to make sure you will get knocked down, but just make sure you don't get knocked out. So your only choice should be, go focus on what you can control. Hi everyone and welcome to the Kara Goldin Show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world's greatest leaders. We'll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and really some of the most interesting people of our time. Can't wait to get started. Let's go. This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by Upwork.

0:45Kara Goldin:As your business scales, you don't just need more help. You need the right expertise at the right time. Trying to do it all yourself can slow everything down. That's where Upwork comes in. Upwork is a one-stop platform where you can find, hire, and pay expert freelancers across web and software development, data and analytics, marketing, business operations, and more. It helps growing teams move faster by giving them access to specialized talent across more than 125 categories. So you can get the help you need exactly when you need it without adding full-time overhead. You can browse profiles, review past work, and even get help scoping the roles so you can hire with confidence and get started quickly.

1:33Kara Goldin:With Business Plus, you can access the top 1 % of talent on Upwork. And with AI-powered shortlisting, you'll get matched to the right freelancer in under six hours. No endless searching required. Upwork also takes the operational hassle off your plate by handling contracts and payments in one place, bring you up to focus on running and growing your business. And it's no surprise that thousands of growing companies already trust Upwork for everything from one-off projects to ongoing support. It's free to sign up and posting a job is easy. Visit upwork.com right now and post your job for free. That is Upwork.com to connect with top talent ready to help your business grow.

2:24Kara Goldin:That's Upwork.com. This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by OneSkin. I've tried a lot of skincare over the years and honestly, most of it either over promises or over complicates things. I don't want a complicated routine. I want something that actually works and is backed by real science. That's what drew me to One Skin. It was founded by a team of female PhD scientists focused on longevity, and you can actually feel that in the product. I've been using their moisturizer, and it's simple, effective, and my skin just feels healthier and smoother. What makes it different is their OS1 peptide.

3:14Kara Goldin:Yes, pronounced OS1, it's designed to target senescent cells, one of the key drivers of skin aging. So it's not just about surface level results, it's about helping your skin function better over time. Born from over a decade of longevity research, one skin's OS1 peptide is proven to target the visible signs of aging, helping you unlock your healthiest skin now and as you age. For a limited time, try OneSkin with 15 % off using code CARAgolden at oneskin.co slash CARAgolden. That's 15 % off oneskin.co with code CARAgolden. After you purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about them, please support our show and tell them we sent you.

4:07Kara Goldin:Hi, everyone, and welcome back to the Kara Golden Show. So excited to have my next guest here. Robbie Salter is the co-founder and co-CEO of an incredible brand called Jupiter, the clinically proven salon-grade scalp care brand redefining how dandruff is treated. So Robbie's journey started with a very personal problem. I cannot wait to get into hearing a lot more about that story. But during an intense period of work stress, he began experiencing dandruff. Who wants that? But decided not to stress or complain about it too much, but instead create a product that actually, or a series of products that actually helps with this.

4:59Kara Goldin:So consumers were essentially forced to choose between products that worked but felt maybe outdated and embarrassing and then came along Jupiter. So that insight led Robbie and his co-founder Ross to build Jupiter, a modern science-backed brand designed to treat dandruff at the root. And I cannot wait, like I said, to get into exactly how they built this company how they've been able to scale this brand. They started during 2020, which we all know was a cuckoo crazy time to be starting a company. So welcome, Robbie Salter, co-founder and co-CEO of Jupiter. Very excited to meet you. Thank you, thank you.

5:46And I'm excited to talk about a topic that I know all of your listeners want to hear about, which is dandruff. Let's talk about dandruff for a half an hour.

5:53Kara Goldin:This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by Samsara. I want to show some love to the hardworking men and women who keep America running. Truck drivers, field crews, warehouse teams, ever think about who is looking out for them? That's what Samsara does. If something went wrong in your business tomorrow, an accident, a claim, would you actually know what happened? Without visibility, you're the one paying for it. That's why so many operators use Samsara. Their AI-powered dash cams capture real-time footage and alerts, helping reduce crash rates by nearly 75 % and protecting your drivers from false claims.

6:36Kara Goldin:But it's more than a dash cam. It's a complete connected operations platform. You get GPS tracking, asset visibility, maintenance insights, and safety analytics all in one place. And so instead of reacting to problems, you can prevent them, cut costs, and run a smarter operation. Don't wait for the next accident to take action. Head to Samsara.com slash Kara to request a free demo and see how Samsara brings visibility and safety to your operations. That's Samsara.com slash Kara. Samsara. Operate smarter. This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by OneSkin. I've tried a lot of skincare over the years, and honestly, most of it either over-promises or over-complicates things.

7:29Kara Goldin:I don't want a complicated routine. I want something that actually works and is backed by real science. That's what drew me to OneSkin. It was founded by a team of female PhD scientists focused on longevity, and you can see that can actually feel that in the product. I've been using their moisturizer and it's simple, effective, and my skin just feels healthier and smoother. What makes it different is their OS1 peptide. Yes, pronounced OS1. It's designed to target senescent cells, one of the key drivers of skin aging. So it's not just about surface level results. It's about helping your skin function better over time.

8:15Kara Goldin:Born from over a decade of longevity research, OneSkin's OS1 peptide is proven to target the visible signs of aging, helping you unlock your healthiest skin now and as you age. For a limited time, try OneSkin with 15 % off using code CARAGolden at oneskin.co slash Kara Golden. That's 15 % off oneskin.co with code Kara Golden. After you purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them we sent you. Today's episode of the Kara Golden Show is sponsored by Acorns. I think a lot of people focus on where their money is today, but not nearly enough on where it could be tomorrow.

9:03Kara Goldin:and I've been there. For a long time, investing felt intimidating. I thought you needed extra money, expertise, or perfect timing to start. What I've learned is it's not about perfection. It's about starting and giving your money a chance to grow. Acorns is a smart, simple way to do exactly that. You can sign up in minutes and start automatically investing your spare money, even if it's just spare change. And what I love is that it grows with you. Whether you're just getting started or thinking long term, Acorns supports your goals at every stage. One feature I think is really powerful is the potential screen, which shows you how your money could grow over time.

9:48Kara Goldin:It makes investing feel real and honestly, more motivating. For me, Acorns takes something that can feel overwhelming and makes it automatic and manageable. And that consistency is what really matters. Sign up now and Acorns will boost your new account with a$5 bonus investment. Join the over 14 million all-time customers who have already saved and invested over$27 billion with Acorns. Head to acorns.com slash cara or download the Acorns app to get started. Paid non-client endorsement compensation provides incentive to positively promote Acorns. Tier 2 compensation provided. Potential subject to various factors such as customers' accounts, age, and investment settings.

10:39Kara Goldin:Does not include Acorns fees. Results do not predict or represent the performance of any Acorns portfolio. Investment results will vary. Investing involves risk. Ask Acorns Advisors, LLC and SEC Registered Investment Advisor. View important disclosures at acorns.com slash cara. I love it. So how would you describe the brand that you've built, Jupiter? Yeah, so we're the new standard in dandruff care. So think about everything that you hate about all of the existing blue bottle brands. You know, we kept all the good stuff, which is the medicated ingredient, and threw out all the bad stuff. So it's a cleaner, more premium, elevated, seriously effective product.

11:28So, you know, oftentimes I'd like to compare us to, you know, or make the comparison between matcha and Mountain Dew, right? So if you're going to use the old brand, the old brand is the Mountain Dew. It's, you know, the blue goo liquid that, you know, will do the trick, but you don't feel great using it. We're the matcha, right? So we are the cleaner version that still gives you what you need. We still get you the end result guaranteed, but we do it in a cleaner, more beautiful fashion. So we're sulfate, paraben, phthalate free. We're safe for color treated and chemically treated hair. No MITs, no BHTs.

12:06So all the toxins that you don't want in your product and that the modern woman mostly, because I'd say 85 % of our brand is focused on women. It's what a modern customer really is looking for in a dandruff care product. And it's only been 75 years since the last innovation in the category. So we're coming to market or we're in market rather with a totally new elevated product.

12:36Kara Goldin:So interesting. So I'd love to hear your experience when you were launching the company. A lot was going on in your life. And as you mentioned, what were you dealing with beyond having this problem with dandruff? Beyond having dandruff, what else is going on in your life? Well, there seemingly was a lot going on that was causing me dandruff. And, you know, I imagine some listeners will say, oh, I have dandruff and I'm not sure how I got it. But so a little taking a little bit of a step back, dandruff is kind of like acne in that you can get it from your genetics or from your lifestyle. So genetics is thank you, mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, you got it.

13:24And then lifestyle, it's things like your diet. It's about exercise, how frequently you're washing your hair. And now to address your question, stress. so the idea came to me and my business partner separately we independently had this idea and came to the same idea at the same time which is a crazy story in and of itself but um it during that time I was uh in in 2018 uh I was working as a consultant at a media company or a company that focuses on the media industry uh we had just sold the business for a lot of money my boss made a lot of money. I made zero monies from that transaction. But I was at my desk scratching my head saying, what the heck am I going to do with my life?

14:14Where am I going? Having a little bit of a panic attack, a stressed out moment as somebody in their mid-30s at the time. And I just looked down on my desk, saw a pile of dandruff, and I said, isn't this interesting? um right around there um my wife told me the greatest news possible which is that we were pregnant or she was pregnant and that we were going to be having a baby so that was in november of 2019 um we ended up uh securing an apartment in uh february of 2020 we got a puppy in march 2020 and the world shut down in April 2020. So to be clear, I've left my job to start a dandruff brand of which I have no background in, no beauty background whatsoever.

15:08My wife is pregnant. I have a new puppy and I have an apartment that I'm now paying for. Add to that a global crisis that is preventing me from launching this company that I was so optimistic and positive about. So quite the crazy time.

15:26Kara Goldin:This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by Samsara. I want to show some love to the hardworking men and women who keep America running. Truck drivers, field crews, warehouse teams, ever think about who is looking out for them? That's what Samsara does. If something went wrong in your business tomorrow, an accident, a claim, would you actually know what happened? Without visibility, you're the one paying for it. That's why so many operators use Samsara. Their AI-powered dash cams capture real-time footage and alerts, helping reduce crash rates by nearly 75 % and protecting your drivers from false claims.

16:09Kara Goldin:But it's more than a dash cam. It's a complete connected operations platform. You get GPS tracking, asset visibility, maintenance insights, and safety analytics all in one place. And so instead of reacting to problems, you can prevent them, cut costs, and run a smarter operation. Don't wait for the next accident to take action. Head to samsara.com slash Kara to request a free demo and see how Samsara brings visibility and safety to your operations. That's samsara.com slash Kara. Samsara. Operate smarter. This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by Upwork. As your business scales, you don't just need more help.

16:58Kara Goldin:You need the right expertise at the right time. trying to do it all yourself can slow everything down. That's where Upwork comes in. Upwork is a one-stop platform where you can find, hire, and pay expert freelancers across web and software development, data and analytics, marketing, business operations, and more. It helps growing teams move faster by giving them access to specialized talent across more than 125 categories so you can get the help you need exactly when you need it without adding full-time overhead. You can browse profiles, review past work, and even get help scoping the role so you can hire with confidence and get started quickly.

17:41Kara Goldin:With Business Plus, you can access the top 1 % of talent on Upwork. And with AI-powered shortlisting, you'll get matched to the right freelancer in under six hours. No endless searching required. Upwork also takes the operational hassle off your plate by handling contracts and payments in one place, bringing you up to focus on running and growing your business. And it's no surprise that thousands of growing companies already trust Upwork for everything from one-off projects to ongoing support. It's free to sign up and posting a job is easy. Visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free.

18:27Kara Goldin:That is Upwork.com to connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. That's U-P-W-O-R-K.com. Upwork.com. That's insane. How did you meet your co-founder? Yeah, so we both, the answer is through a mutual friend. um we both went to the university of michigan and um we had a a friend who went to the university of michigan who said hey you guys should meet you both have entrepreneurial interests um you know probably some complementary skills my background is more in the brand building brand storytelling world his is in the finance and also strangely amazon world too which we can talk about a little bit.

19:13But he just said, you guys should get together. And we got together, we started kicking around some ideas and nothing really felt personal, nothing felt true to what, you know, who we were as humans. And a year later, I texted him and I said, I got this idea. Let's get back together. Let's get a cup of coffee. We sat down, I told him the idea. And he just started laughing at me. And I'm like, okay, he thinks dandruff is a joke. And what was ultimately revealed was he was working on the exact same idea at the exact same moment, but taking a different angle. He was analyzing it from an Amazon perspective because most people don't know this, but a dandruff brand is the both number one and number two top selling shampoo on Amazon across any category.

20:08So dandruff shampoos comprise seven of the top 10 selling shampoos on Amazon, or it's a scalp treatment-related, dandruff-related, or color treatment-related are all in the top 10. Half the world gets dandruff. 50 % to 75 % of the world gets dandruff. So we were both looking at this enormous market and approaching it from different angles, And it was just sort of this moment of serendipity that brought us together.

20:41Kara Goldin:So, so interesting. Go blue, by the way. My son goes to Michigan as well. So we're huge fans in the South. Yes. Amazing. Ann Arbor, greatest city in the country. So, so much fun. So how did you decide on the name Jupiter? For sure. It's a question we get asked a lot. And it's a fun one. So Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, and it blocks Earth from getting hit with what astronauts call space flakes or meteorites. So the fact that because Jupiter exists, Earth can exist. in addition and perhaps even more funny is the fact that jupiter has that red spot on it i don't know if you remember that jupiter the planet jupiter it's got this it's it's well known for having this red dot that red dot is a storm on its head uh that has been burning for 300 years and scientists describe the dissipation of that storm the breaking up of that storm as flaking.

21:53So put it together and then you can add all the Greek and Roman references of who Jupiter was or is and how, um, you know, he pushes you to be better and to, um, you know, uh, push your boundaries and limits and wants you to be a better version of yourself. Um, so it all just sort of made sense. And I would say the final two points are the kickers for us where it feels science-y, sounds science-y, but it doesn't sound, it doesn't have like a hard X in it like a lot of the other brands do. It doesn't feel like, you know, it feels like something that could be in your shower. And we didn't want to create a word.

22:34We just wanted to go with a word that already existed in the world. So people didn't have to guess how to pronounce it.

22:41Kara Goldin:How long did it take you from the point where you and Ross said, we're going to go and do this to actually getting a product on the shelf? And how many on the shelf or into market, I should say? But how many SKUs did you also launch with? Yeah. So again, having no background in the industry, I thought this was going to be like a three-month process of creating a product. But while many companies will borrow something that's off the shelf from a formulator, you can just go to these formulators and say, I want a shampoo and I want it to smell like rose and lavender. And they can take an existing formula and change it.

23:25Ross and I really wanted to, no pun intended, start from scratch. so it really it took us about 18 months to nail the formulations because um we're we're again we're formulating with a medicated ingredient so the stuff that actually does the heavy heavy lifting um is difficult it's difficult to mask the scent of it um texturally it's it's hard to work with so it took us a long time to perfect the holistic experience of having a great you know dander shampoo that smelled worked and looked amazing um we ended up launching uh with six skews overall um not just uh shampoo and conditioner but also a purify a mask so an exfoliating mask which is vogue's three year in a row top scalp mask on the market um so that's a chemical exfoliant we also launched with a physical exfoliant which is our brush our scalp brush which another top selling item on Amazon.

24:30We sell a tremendous number of those and it's unbelievable. We also launched with a serum. So while some people may wash their hair every day, some people wash their hair two to three times a week, some people wash their hair once every two weeks or even once a month, what we wanted to do is we wanted to create a product that could be used in between washes that contained the medicated ingredients. So if you didn't shower as much or wash your hair as much, excuse me, you would still be able to get the medicated treatment you needed. So yeah, collectively, those were our skews. And we felt it was important to give a full variety and a full batch offering to customers who had been fighting an issue that just simply wouldn't go away.

25:17Kara Goldin:I thought it was fascinating when you talked about the makeup of your consumers now that you've been in the market six years. So 80 % women, yet, I guess, primarily dandruff shampoo has been marketed to men. So the opportunity to speak to women differently about this was obviously there. Did that surprise you? And how did you tackle that? Yeah, totally. So it was entirely surprising. And for the first 18 months that we were around, we were seeing that data, but we weren't certain that that data was statistically significant because we're such a small company at the time, right? Prior to launch, funny enough, we actually launched a fake brand called Headway.

26:07So we said, why don't we, we've got this great idea. It's easy to launch a website. let's you know have somebody on fiverr make designs that look like the products that we ultimately would want to sell so we put them together put together a site put it up online and drove about you know 10 15 000 of ad traffic to this site um to see what would happen and who would respond and when somebody would get to check out a pop-up would say hey we're not ready yet but if you leave your name and number or leave your name and email, we would give you 20%, 30 % off when we launched. After doing that for about a month, we had called 6 ,000 to 10 ,000 people who had signed up.

26:54And looking at that data, it was predominantly women. So pretty much from the get go, we saw that data, but we just weren't convinced yet, right from the start that that was who our customer is. And after time and, you know, after iteration, after iteration, um, and as we just grown after we had grown, we realized that the female consumer was just speaking so clearly to us saying that she needs this product. She's feeling left out of the conversation or she doesn't want to use one of the blue bottle companies because it's stripping her hair or it's, you know, impacting her keratin treatment or she wanted cleaner ingredients.

27:41So it took us about two years to really come to that, you know, conclusion or discovery rather.

27:49Kara Goldin:So interesting. So dandruff is kind of a taboo topic. It's not like you necessarily tell your friends that maybe your close friends that you've got this dandruff and you should actually go try the shampoo unless maybe one day. Right. They can see it. Yeah. It is kind of this taboo thing. Sure. You know, as compared to we were chatting about Hint, you know, you you don't worry about telling your friends about, you know, Hint and and but Jupiter is in this category that is hard, right? Because you've got that word of mouth. People almost have to own that they've got an issue or a problem first, and it's hard.

28:37Kara Goldin:So how do you tackle that? Like, how do you strike the balance of being a clinically effective, but also premium and clean product and getting the word out about it? Yeah, I mean, I think in many respects, the answer is you talk about it, right? You're not. Listen, I think one of the geniuses of companies like Starface or even do skincare in that they are, you know, acne putting these patches on your face, you're walking around and you're seeing that somebody has acne and you're sort of trying to make it a or a pimple, excuse me, and trying to make it a positive moment, you know, do skincare with their under eye patches.