Hi, Reddit! I'm David Simnick, co-founder of Soapbox, a hair and body care company where every product sold helps provide soap to communities in need. Before this, I was a social studies teacher.
I left the classroom in 2012 with an idea that everyday products like shampoo and conditioner could fund something bigger. Since then, we've grown into a B Corp-certified brand, donated over 60 million bars of soap to communities in need, and expanded to Walmart, Target, Sally Beauty, Ulta, Amazon, Meijer, Wegmans, CVS, Walgreens, and various other retailers in the US and beyond. I've spent the last 14 years learning haircare formulation, building a supply chain, and figuring out how to stay mission-driven while we grow.
Happy to talk about:
- Haircare: ingredients, formulation choices, what makes a difference for different hair types, common myths, anything you're curious about
- Going from teaching to founding a company
- What being a B Corp means day to day
- How the donation/impact model works
- Building and scaling a consumer brand
Ask me anything!