Does weird = winning?

Welcome to the very first ✨official✨ edition of the Momentum Newsletter! There’s a lot to celebrate today because, well, it’s my birthday! 🥳 

So I hope you find edition #1 extra special because I sure do. Today, we’re talking about how embracing the strange, weird, and downright absurd aspects of your business can actually work in your favor when it comes to standing out in a market and making noise as a newcomer.

I’m also sharing a gem from this week I find valuable and at the end, I’ve saved some space for letting your voice be heard on this newsletter. Ready? Here we go.

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🏃🏽‍♀️ Here’s what’s moving through the pipeline:

• How brands lean into “weirdness” and use absurdity to stand out in their market 

• 💎 Gem of the week 💎

• Temperature check 🌡️

• Say hi 👋🏽

How brands lean into “weirdness” and use absurdity to stand out in their market

Have you ever been told to embrace the qualities that make you truly unique?

It can sometimes be easier said than done, especially when it feels like everyone else is moving in the same direction and moving against the grain could mean facing resistance—whether we’re talking about your career, social life, family life, or even your business success.

But when you’re dealing with a crowded market, sometimes taking the road less traveled (even when it may sound a little…strange) can actually help you make some noise as a newcomer. And in a best case scenario, it can even keep people excited about your business and coming back for more.

That’s kind of, sort of the idea behind the 10th Law of Business and Life according to Steven Bartlett’s Diary of A CEO.

In essence, Bartlett writes that useless absurdity can define you more than useful practicalities—and this can help take you ten times further in your marketing and reach way more people.

He writes that at the age of 20(!!!) he launched a marketing company and used a sizable investment to lease out a warehouse to use for office space.

If you’re pulling together an office space for your business, what are some of the first things you might buy for that space? Desks, perhaps, so your employees can have somewhere to work. Appliances, chairs, and tables for your breakroom, maybe, so people can have a spot to take their lunchbreak.

But for Steven Bartlett, boring, old desks seemed to fall lower on his priorities list compared to the gaming room he had installed in the office or the giant blue slide and ball pit he added in lieu of stairs.

No, seriously.

However, that giant blue slide actually ended up being one of the best purchases he made for his business, he explains.

That slide drove his company’s publicity for years. Of course, the media wanted to photograph the slide every time outlets published a story on Bartlett’s company. They were essentially known as that millennial marketing company.

But even more than that, the slide conveyed a message to the world. It seemed to tell other brands, “we think differently,” “we’re disruptive.” And if you’re a brand who wants to be more innovative and take the road less traveled, you may be drawn to the professionals who seem to embody that exact line of thinking.

Was this £13,000 slide a strategic business decision from the jump, or was it an accidental success fueled by a twenty-something-year-old’s desire for a more exciting workspace? Who knows.

But when it comes to growing our own brands and businesses, we can embrace those very unique characteristics that make people raise an eyebrow, and use them to engineer some level of success. Or at least garner enough attention to get the ball rolling.

Case studies

Let’s take a quick look at the beauty brand, Experiment Beauty.

The brand, founded by Lisa Guerrera, portrays itself as a Gen Z science-backed beauty brand that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Launching and growing a beauty and skincare brand in 2024 may seem daunting when you consider how saturated the market is. It’s dominated by large brands that have had a several decades-long grip on the industry as well as TikTok viral brands that feel like they’ve sprung up everywhere practically overnight.

But one product helped Experiment Beauty stick out: The Avant Guard Reusable Sheet Mask. 

It’s a sheet mask that lays across your face and loops around your ears to stay in place. It’s made of silicone and designed to be worn on top of your favorite skincare products to increase the hydration delivered to your face. It comes in two sizes and the loops are adjustable.

Oh, and did I mention the mask is actually bright neon, alien green?

This might make most people furrow their brow as they wonder why anyone would want a beauty product that, ironically, isn’t the most attractive looking item.

But that’s exactly the point.

The brand strives to show that you don’t need to take beauty too seriously—it should be fun, after all. And what better way to do that than to throw on an “ugly” mask, laugh at yourself a little, and let the product get to work.

This mask was actually the brand’s very first product, Lisa Guerrera says on the Female Founder World podcast. It wasn’t too costly to create but the alien green color of the mask stuck in peoples’ minds.

With the help of TikTok, the traditionally un-pretty mask started gaining traction. People just really resonated with the weird, meme-worthy product. According to Guerrera, even VCs began talking about her mask for its standout appearance.

Guerrera saw her revenue 10x in 2023 and built a 10,000-person waitlist for her products.

Steeped Coffee is another brand that did something a little out of the box and had it pay off. The brand started as a solution for being able to enjoy high-quality coffee on the go.

A variety of coffee solutions have popped up over the years, including ready to drink cold brew, French press contraptions, coffee pods, and more.

But when you look at Steeped Coffee, there’s something oddly familiar about the product. Despite being a coffee product, it looks more like a set of teabags that you steep in water. While people aren’t used to seeing coffee products function this way, the design feels like a fresh (and more convenient) take on a cult favorite beverage.

Steeped Coffee has raised over $5 million in the past and is currently raising another $5 million through equity crowdfunding.

Chew on this

There are so many businesses out there that have leaned into absurdity to capture attention, get people talking, and resonate with consumers. If you can do it successfully, the organic marketing and content tactics help keep your CAC low.

However, I believe there are a few caveats to keep in mind as weirdness won’t always guarantee marketing success.

1. The function of your product must not be inhibited. Weird is cool but at the end of the day, your product still needs to work. Making Experiment Beauty’s Avant Guard mask bright neon green doesn’t prevent the product from functioning; it’s a cosmetic feature that draws attention. Same with the design of the Steeped Coffee bags; in fact, the design of this product is what creates that convenience factor.

2. There must be a market for your product. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about business and product marketing in recent years it’s that your product still needs to solve a problem your target market has. You can validate your ideas through conducting thorough market research.

3. Consumers must still be willing to pay for your product. One trap I foresee many brands falling into is inadvertently increase the cost of producing their product in an effort to manufacture absurd product features. This could then result in increasing the price of the product. However, you must understand the maximum price your target market is willing to spend on your product. If your absurdly cool product costs too much, you’re effectively pricing out your ideal customer.

Overall, I hope these lessons in embracing absurdity inspires you to think creatively about how you market your products or brand. I also hope you find these ideas encouraging and walk away with a renewed sense of hope that marketing doesn’t always have to be a cookie cutter process.

But I’m not done just yet! Read on for a weekly resource that’ll knock your socks off.

💎 Gem of the week 💎

I think it’s only fitting to say that today’s gem of the week goes to Steven Bartlett’s Diary of A CEO. 💎 

I’ve been reading this book while I travel (I’ve had a lot of travel this year so far). Part of me reads it because I’m a fan of Steven’s podcast of the same name and I love reading about the lessons he’s uncovered as an experienced CEO—lessons I apply to my own life and ventures.

Another (smaller) part of me reads it because I hope people at the airport will see me reading this book and think, “who is this smart girl reading a business book while she boards a flight? She must be building something big.”

Somehow, I always end up reading the chapters I really needed to hear at just the right time. For instance, this past weekend I stumbled into the law around building resilience. Then on the flight home, I read about the law of prioritizing your health always. I couldn’t have been more motivated to get my steps in and look for creative ways to improve my health daily after finishing that chapter.

Overall, the book is about both business and life and giving you bite-sized pieces of advice and anecdotes to help you find success in both. I believe there’s something in here for everyone whether you’re a startup founder, investor, or a professional building a personal brand.

Temperature check 🌡️

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Say hi 👋🏽

I love hearing from you! Whether you have a question or comment, are looking for a peer to bounce ideas off of, or want to offer me a job * cough, cough * (just kidding…but not really…) I’m just a few clicks away. Find me on LinkedIn and X, or email me at [email protected].

Let’s talk soon!

–Jasmin Suknanan, Founder & EIC of Momentum

About me

Jasmin started her career in media as a writer and reporter gaining expertise across several verticals, including lifestyle, commerce, Consumer Finance, and FinTech. She decided to focus on the venture capital space and gain skills as a product marketer to continue helping companies solve consumer-focused problems. She has evaluated over 80 startups across FinTech, Wellness, EdTech, and AI and is also deeply passionate about consumer packaged goods. She holds a Master’s degree in Behavioral Economics and excels in market research and competitor analysis.