This Startup Is Making Edible Lube That Tastes Amazing

In our Straight from the Founder’s Mouth series, we’re asking entrepreneurs in emerging and fast-growing markets to share intel on what it took to launch their business and explain how they’re continuing to thrive during growth. After speaking with the CEO of Maude, a startup making safe and healthy sex sexier, we’re tapping the CEO of Woo More Play, Westin Mitchell.

Woo More Play, a purveyor of sexual wellness products founded in 2016, currently sells a single product on their site: Coconut Love Oil, a clean and organic personal lubricant. That’s right. The company wants to make sex lube more edible and less preservative-filled with only four ingredients: organic coconut oil, vanilla essence, beeswax and stevia. It is described on the site as “the only virgin in the room,” made from organic virgin coconuts and natural ingredients. “It’s been designed for anyone who loves better sex. So, everyone.” Cheeky.

We sought the candor of Mitchell, the current CEO of Woo More Play. Here are his top tips for inspiring company morale, being impressive in a job interview and getting ahead in business:

What is your number one way to inspire positive company morale?

Westin Mitchell: Communicating the vision of our brand with the team on a daily basis. It’s important to keep everyone in the loop so they feel like what they are doing for the brand matters. I think it’s important to constantly remind my team what we are working toward and what our purpose is. Woo is not merely a company that sells sex products. Yes, it is that, too, but Woo’s purpose is to serve as a resource for people in relationships. From opening up the conversation about each person’s sexual needs to guiding couples out of a rut where they are not having enough sex, Woo inspires people to have better sex and more of it.

Building a brand that creates better relationships feels rewarding and purposeful. We brainstorm daily on how we can provide value through our newsletter, social media channels and, soon, blog. We are constantly developing ideas and new products so that couples come to us for the tools they need to have a better sex life. This keeps the inspiration and creativity flowing throughout the week, which I think keeps the morale in check on the macro scale.

Finance reports, analytics, emails, boxing up the product, dealing with manufacturers... these parts of running a business are truly mundane but essential to success. By carving out time for brainstorming sessions with the team, it gives everyone a chance to step away from the computer. The chemistry you get with your team in a creative brainstorm, or what I love to call a spitball, is truly magical. Everyone gets involved and brings their perspective to the table, turning out new ideas. Together, the team works toward the end goal of giving our customers the best brand experience.

For example, we recently launched our weekly newsletter, Foreplay Fridays, with the idea of giving our customers fun sex activities to do over the weekend. Cheeky topics we’ve done in the past include whipped cream bikinis, aphrodisiac cocktails you can make at home and fun role-playing scenarios. These brainstorming sessions create an upbeat, unique energy that ultimately is the foundation for our positive company morale. Taking the team out for margaritas once in a while tends to help too.

How can a candidate impress you in a job interview?

Mitchell: Chemistry. When you’re building a startup, you don’t have the resources or capital that larger companies have, so I have always relied on emotion. Some might think this is irresponsible or stupid, but it has worked well for me in the past. During my days in the furniture business, I had an interview with an Australian welder who was visiting the states on a surfing trip. At the time, my team and I were working out of the back of my two-car garage in West Hollywood. After I expressed the background of the brand and my vision, I offered him a daily wage that was probably below the minimum at the time, but it was all we could afford as a startup furniture business in L.A. Without hesitation, he canceled his flight home to Australia and took the job. I don’t know how else to explain it, but there was just this connection. He continued to work for me for the next five years and was one of the most vital assets in my company as well as one of my closest friends to this day.

I understand that chemistry and connection aren’t actionable items for a candidate to apply in a job interview, but sometimes feeling exceeds logic. With that, I seek candidates who share my passion for the brand and see the vision of what we are creating. That is something I look for in building a team and definitely something they should look for in choosing a career.

How do you take your coffee?

Mitchell: I’m a bit of a bore with coffee. I drink drip coffee with almond milk. Ask me about cocktails, though, and that’s a whole other conversation.  

How do you balance your career and your family life?

Mitchell: I’m currently single with no children, but I envision myself in the future as a husband and a dad. So if we were to hop into a time machine, I would achieve a balanced lifestyle through time management and valuing that scheduled time. Ed Mylett, an entrepreneur and author, says he lives three days for everyone else’s one. What he means is that everyone else envisions 24 hours as one day, while he envisions 24 hours as three individual eight-hour days. By doing this, he values his time within each day because it is shorter. If your days were shorter, would you take as many breaks to gossip with coworkers, stroll to get coffee or scan your Instagram feed? It’s amazing what you can get done in a shorter time when you are hyper-focused.

By practicing this mentality, you can optimize your time at work, stay focused and crush out everything that needs to get done. If you’re disciplined, you can shave off a few hours of downtime to spend with your family. Also, if you stay hyper-focused at work, you will feel a greater sense of accomplishment, which will allow you to be less likely to bring your work home with you. When you’re with your loved ones, you are not distracted and you can live in the moment. This is all easier said than done, and I am not a current practitioner of balancing life and family, but I hope one day I get the challenge.

What advice would you give to anyone looking to advance their business career?

Mitchell: Set goals and then execute those goals with discipline. I truly believe that execution is a huge part of the equation. I am still on the journey of self-satisfaction in my own career, but I have gotten to where I am, not because of education or experience, but because of execution and believing in what I was going after. Attitude is also a crucial component in anyone looking to get further in business and life. Setting goals and then executing on them for the first few months is easy because you’re excited and in the moment. After six, 12 or 18 months, it can be a real grind. It’s very rare that you will see instant results. With the right attitude, each step forward is a success, and eventually, success becomes the destination.

I still laugh about this, because we were so naïve, but when my partners and I had our first meeting about Woo, we set a goal to launch in three months. Two years later, we were still shy of launch. Keeping a positive attitude through those times was tough. Thoughts can get blurry and often depressing. My advice is to live outside of work and to maintain optimism in business. Focus on friendships, health, physique and hobbies, not just your career. “Balance is key” is what my mother has always instilled in me. If you set aside time to keep up the maintenance, it will fuel you to the finish line.