the company is called corky, that also describes some of the products its members create. find out how this business gets their ideas into market. and clothing queen ilene fisher on the importance of your brand translating on giant. that's all coming up next on "your business." >> small businesses are revitalizing the economy. and american express open is here to help. that's why we are proud to present "your business" on msnbc.

hi there, everyone. i'm jj ramberg and welcome to "your business." the show dedicated to giving you add vice to help your business grow and succeed. his team calls him the world's least important ceo. but do not let that label fool you. ben kaufmann is disrupting not only how the world makes new products but how yo cultivate an innovative culture to fit the company's name corky. it's thursday night in new york city, and ben kaufmann the dynamic 28-year-old ceo of quirky invited me to be a panelist of the company's weekly

ritual called e-val. >> you are watching the evaluation. special guest panelist tonight is jj ramberg, give it up for jj ramberg. >> quirky describes itself as a company that makes invention accessible. every week the employees sift through thousands of product ideas submitted by the company's community. they then select the best ones to bring to eval to see if a new concept has merit. if it makes it to eval the idea goes to the quirky community for a vote. the night fueled by food and beer is great. all these people read martha stewart and cannot get it themselves, they would buy this but at the right price. >> once a product is given the green light at eval, quirky's

industrial designers create a prototype and bring the concept back to the community who helped fine-tune the idea. >> you'll notice on every quirky product there are names. >> people who figured out how much weight it needs to hold all the different people are making contributions to make the product better. when one unit of this is a different target, bed bath&beyond and home depot, all 559 people get paid based on the royalty of the product. >> wow. kaufmann may headache it sound easy, but believe me, it's not. the culture is intense starting with being competitive. kaufmann who at the time of our chat had not slept in three days. are you demanding on your employees? >> yes. >> in what way? >> probably all of them. i mean i expect that stuff

happens quickly. speed is a -- it's a big part of quirky. we can say quirky time is our weapon. we are faster than any company in the world. in order to do that you need to work hard and break down barriers every day. >> the break-neck case has ideas brought to market with unbelievably short turn-around times. their record? just 29 days from idea submission to store shelves for a product called pluck. what does a week look like for your employees? >> everyone sort of goes at a different pace. and it's the pace that works for them. you know it's a creative business and creative people get burnt out, typically. and we want to prevent that. >> there's no doubt ben expects his staff to work hard but he doesn't want them to burn out. so he's figured out a way to avoid it with something he calls blackouts. >> so we actually shut down the business basically the philosophy is that when you take a vacation you're always worried about what is going on back in the office. to eliminate that we said how about if everyone in the office

takes off time at the exact same moment. >> i went skydiving. >> i adopted a mini shepherd. >> we actually shut down the business three weeks a year and tell people to go and relax and learn something new, or see their family or whatever it might be. >> michelle duret is told she practices radical h.r. as the chief people officer at quirky her specialty is building companies with the entrepreneurial mindset. >> we have a very work hard play hard ethos here at quirky. and i think the blackout period is a way for people to recover from our sprint. so it's a unique practice. i don't know of many other company that is do it. >> and not many companies have an ethos like quirky's like they hire, fire and live by six values getting things done impatient, embracing conflict agility, being selfless and looking to the future. >> the dynamic with a core value is for every ying there's a yang. so with impatience you have

futurists. they balance each other out. we want you to move now and quick but always by thinking about the long-term. you have embraced conflict but we want you to fight with everyone in the company but we want you to not fight for yourself. we want you to fight for your idea. >> and what drives this culture is the fact that everyone is measured by this yardstick. every day, not just when review time rolls around. what's really interesting and important about quirky's culture is that the sort of blueprint was set early. and ben has been very clear about what the is important here. they really vibrate through the company every day. people who are successful here really do embody those values. so getting things done and being agile, these things are alive here. and people are out of step with those values they actually don't succeed here. >> kaufmann also preaches a culture of setting the bar high and always hitting it. >> it's always under promise,

overdeliver. we try to under promise and over deliver. the structure of the business is tell the world what you're going to do and quickly after that do it. versus most companies the other way around. do it and tell the world about it. and that provides the service with strength. because when we tell the world we are going to ship this by this date guess what has to happen. it has to ship by that date. >> and it's that sort of attitude that brought this nimble entrepreneurial and disruptive company to the attention of ge. a corporate bohemuth who needed to reinvigorate their consumer products. >> we literally built the life of ge in 100 days. they have been making light bulbs for close to 100 years. you would think they are better than everyone else and they are, but we were able to do this whole thing in 100 days. and build a light bulb that would have taken them many years. it's a great partnership.

when ilene fisher started her clothing line in 1984 she had zero sewing experience and four samples in her hand. now with stores all over the world, her designs are favorite for those who like her simple fabrics. we sat down with her in new york city and she talked about the essence of capturing your brand online and why you need to diversify. >> i am a really shy person. and sort of by default i became a listener rather than a speaker. i've been listening and that becomes a huge advantage for me. in that i realize by listening other people help me to even see my idea more clearly or add to the idea. i wait to kind of express my own thoughts until i've heard from most other people. and then i filter what i've

heard through my own kind of inner sort of sensibility. and then i give my opinion. what is important about an internet business is just that you try to capture the essence of the brand. and for us it was so much about feelings. we wanted to be able to feel the clothes. but i think for us it's having great photos that people can really see it up close and, you know, all around. one of my first battles was a textured cotton knit. everyone loved it and i became known as the french terry lady. but what happened is i got a delivery of the fabric. and the supplier had substituted a yarn that performed differently. i had to stop the production. so i was getting clothes back from customers and really thought i was going to lose the business.

i had to diversify. so i started developing the styles in all different fabrics. my whole line just exploded. and then i was seen as not just the french terry lady but somebody who did these sample clothes in all kinds of beautiful fabrics. to just stop and take a few minutes, and however we do it i journal and sit in my purpose chair. and stop and think what is important every day. it's so easy to be distracted. and so just if we stop before the day begins and, you know sit down and just take stock of ourselves and what we care about and what matters, then we're more likely to stay on track. getting feedback from your target audience is an important step when launching a new product or service. if you're looking for an

affordable way to survey opinion panels, check out our website of the week. gutcheck.com is a market research tool that allows you to conduct 30 minutes online video interviews with the members of its consumer panel. the company has more than 37.5 million people in the poll so you can target people based on criteria like age and income. whether you are just getting started or you are a seasoned tweeter, you should be focused on building an engaged audience. here now are five ways to tap into your followers' behavioral patterns to determine what resonates with them on twitter courtesy of entrepreneur.com. one, get inspired by influencers. use a media monitoring tool like mention to identify people who are thought to be leaders in your industry and see what content is getting the most shares using buzzsumo.com. two, be personal while being professional. sharing your personal hobbies and interests will attract like-minded followers. your twitter bio is a great

place to check this out. three, track unfollows. keep an eye on who decides to opt out of your updates. four, find topics that engage the most. monitor the effectiveness of your tweets so you can make sure you're twitter activity is asproductivity as possible. five, pay attention to your audience's activities. what, when and where they are saying things is extremely important to discovering what hashtag and other keep terms your potential community is using and who is leading the conversations. we've talked about crowd funding a whole bunch on this show and it's important to remember there are different kinds of crowd funding. there are companies like indygogo and kick starter where you can donate to somebody's venture and in return get a prize. but that should not be confused with equity funding. that's where investors receive equity for their funding.

vincent bradley is here to talk about how this works and how to invest. he's got a business in product development and he's the ceo of flashfunders. a no cost equity platform open for small businesses and tech entrepreneurs. so great to see you, vincent. >> thank you for having me jj. >> there's been so much focus on the equity funding because of the jobs act that says anyone can invest in a company for equity. we're not there yet. >> we're not there yet. congress actually, excuse me the sec just came a little further on that. so right now flashfunders and everyone else is allowing credited investors to purchase direct equity or through spds, which is complex method. we are focused on direct and flash funders. so you must be a credited investor right now to invest. >> let's just say i'm starting this amazing company, right? and i have some people who are interested but i'm also looking for other funders. how does that work? how do i work with an equity

crowd funding platform? >> yeah so at its core flashfunders is a technology company partnered with a brokered dealer and a security's law firm. we provide entrepreneurs the tool to raise capital efficiency. if they have their own investors, own family and friends to investigation in their company, we'll allow them to do it at no cost very efficiently. because of our marketplace that we built around our utility platform investors from around the world can come in and access deals as well. so we have already had investment come in from wyoming, israel france and switzerland and australia. >> a lot of people think, i put my company up there and it's amazing. all these strangers are going to see what i'm doing and want to give me money. when in reality what crowd funding with these sites like yours do right now is they provide a tool to make it happen efficiently. they still have to go out to find the funders and pitch your

business. >> yes, it's an empowerment tool. but the first thing i tell entrepreneurs is we are not going to change the psychology of a check. i am a hustler. i'm in a position today because i started several companies because i hit the streets and meet people. that's how you raise capital. you have seen with kick starter, the people who are successful on these sites put a ton of prep work in before they launch their campaigns. so raising equity capital. getting someone you a 50,000 100,000 check requires a lot of work. >> but your company makes it easy right? so i can put my whole pitch online so people can easily access it and the back end of funding is easier too. >> absolutely. an investor can come on and discover a deal and can diligence the company on the platform via his pitch, via the data where we have all his documents. he can reach out to the company and engage in a conversation.

and what we are seeing is the conversations start on the platform and will be taken offline. >> right. >> and if he decides to invest he can invest in a company in under 15 minutes. that basically means he's going through banking compliance he's going through accreditation and signing his documents on the platform linking a bank account, transferring money. this is all stuff that used to be done by a paralegal that would cost $250 and $500 for a securities lawyer. we do it at a fraction of the cost. >> right. i know you had to spend a lot of time and money in order to launch your company. so congratulations. >> yeah, thank you. it's not a lot of fun sometimes dealing with but it's very important to do it right. consider flashfunders creating an industry standard. >> thank you for coming on to talk to us about it. >> thank you for having me jj. it's been awesome. still to come the small business question people keep asking. how do you monotize social

media? and we know bill murray likes them but will our panel? our elevator pitcher shows us his feathered bow-ties. american express for travel and entertainment worldwide. just show them this - the american express card. don't leave home without it! and someday, i may even use it on the moon. it's a marvelous thing! oh! haha! so you can replace plane tickets, traveler's cheques, a lost card. really? that worked? american express' timeless safety and security are now available on apple pay. the next evolution of membership is here. i redesigned my website

recently and it is so hard to compete with all the big retailers and all the big online beautiful stores out there. so instead of hiring an incredibly expensive photographer that i couldn't afford and going and hiring a big studio which i also couldn't afford my friend recommended that i go to the corner kiddie photo shop in the mall with my model and shoot all the photos for my redesign and i think it was a brilliant idea. i saved a ton of money. the site looks amazing. >> this week's yourbizselfie comes to me from the owners of the healing trail in connecticut. looks like a good place for massage. we would like to see your selfie selfie, so send us one to

#yourbizselfie. today's elevator pitcher got the attention of big hollywood stars, but does that mean he's hit upon a fleeting trend or is developing a strong business? let's see what our panel thinks. tanya yuki is the founder and ceo of social content analytics company, and jill sherman is co-founder and ceo of motolist, a brand that enables people to get their products into specialty shops. >> hi my name is jeff falkner and i'm the co-founder of a men's line specializing in bow-ties crafted in feathers. it started eight years ago when my friend came up with these for his wedding. they were a huge hit and that came to us coming together five-and-a-half laters and forming backrackish. since then we have 100 retailers all own the world. we have gained celebrities like

bill murray and ringo starr with our ties. we have combined we-retailers and trade shows and are looking to fill more orders. more specifically we would like to upgrade our production facility and expand distribution. based on our current growth rate investors should expect a 30% return on investment within the next five years. >> jeff, i have to say, these products are beautiful. and congratulations on all your success so far. okay, so two scores today. the first one on the left-hand side, score the product from one to ten. the second one, score the pitch from one to ten. and you guys have done some really amazing work. 20 employees so far. how many retailers? >> we are in over 100 retailers now. >> awesome. good for you. >> thank you. >> let me start with you, jill. you have a lot of knowledge about the fashion world. so the let's do the product first. >> awesome. i give the product a ten. i love it. i think it's amazing. an amazing product, congrats on

that. the pitch a nine you have done amazing with your pitch so far, but i would love to hear about the market opportunity, how big is it. i see you have done the red carpet weddings is where you are hitting up as well. i would love to hear where else you will expand distribution. >> all right, tanya? >> okay. i'm giving the product an 8. it looks really cool i see the appeal, it's not for me personally, but you've gotten great attraction and it looks beautiful. and i'm giving the pitch a six, but here's why. i see there's a high amount of detail that goes into creating the product. what i'm wondering about is how you're going to scale that when you broaden your operations? how are you going to keep the quality consistent so it still feels spisht and not mass produced and continues to attract the high-end customers you currently have. >> yeah i think you have a good story, too. this is good advice. you can practice into a really amazing pitch. you're on your way there. well congratulations with everything so far. we expect to see a lot of these on the red carpet coming up. >> thanks a lot.

>> thank you. thank you, guys for your advice for this elevator pitch. it was really fantastic. now if any of you out there want the chance to pitch your idea in the elevator here on the show please just let us know. you can send us an e-mail to yourbusiness@msnbc.com. in that e-mail include a short summary of what your company does, how much you're trying to raise and then of course what you intend to do with that money. i cannot wait to read what you guys have been working on. and i look forward to seeing some of you here in the elevator. it is time now to answer some of your business questions. jill and tanya are here on the set with us. the first one comes from al and he writes how would you recommend a company that's up and coming to get more media time? let's start with you, jill. it's hard right? so you've got something great but you want some attention. >> sure. so first i would recommend becoming a thought leader in your industry. stand strong find a way to position yourself so you're the go-to person for people that

understand more about whatever your industry is. >> but how do you get people to think of you as a thought leader? >> look to press and see what is going on out there in the world and start to contribute articles or pieces on your blog. our tweet out reporters who are coming up with them in the press. so they know to come to you as well. and you also get wider distribution within social media. >> what do you think, tanya? >> i've got to say, it's one of the biggest challenges and i have two pieces of advice. one is the temptation is going to be to talk about your widget or service because you're excited about it but you want to focus on what is going on in the news or in the world right now that may be something your company does to drive the conversation on. jump into something already trending. and the second thing is if there's a way you can partner with an accomplished company or an established brand and somehow have some of their halo brush off onto you, it's going to be a lot easier to get noticed and cut through the clutter of up

and coming companies trying to get attention. >> i always ask companies, what is your goal right? because if it's customer acquisition, then media, press, may not be the best way to get it. it may be depending on what your product is or service is but you may want to do something more direct. if it's branding well, then media may be really important for you. >> that's exactly correct. and particularly if you do get lucky enough to have the media time, try to avoid that temptation to sell too. because it's not about selling. it's about building the brand and building trust. >> right. and becoming a thought leader. >> exactly. >> let's move on to the next one. a question about turning your social strategy into cash. >> how can i actually make great roi with social media? not talking about visibility orbut how to get direct result from the social media? >> it's a good question but i think she'll be disappointed with the answer. what do you think?

>> first, please reconsider what you're thinking about as social media roi. a big reason people are unsocial is to build the brand, particularly as an up and building company, you want to get that out there. you want to make sure the reason people choose your company is not just down to price. it's because they know you and trust you. but when it comes to driving specific clicks back to your site for purchase you want to craft your social content a little differently. for example, typically when you craft a facebook post or a tweet, it's really about making that content in itself that people can enjoy on the social network. if you try to hook them to go somewhere else give them enough to keep them interested but have the promise of data content back on your website so they have the inclination to take that click. >> and the beauty is she can test, right? but oftentimes i've heard over and over from companies when you have interesting conversation, you get a lot of shares re-tweets, likes, whatever. when you try to sell something,

it kind offal fas flat. >> exactly. i would say question what you're trying to get out of it lead generation or actual sales on that platform? if it's lead generation, make sure to include the link to your site. and if it sells the platform look for other companies unsuccessful and learn from them. a great example of sales apart from facebook would be lolly wolly doodle. you can actually measure your roi. >> let's move on to the last question. it's an e-mail about how to structure your company. muffetta writes my domestic assistants business is an s corps. now i also have a natural products business. should i change to an llc or keep both as s corps? where should she go? >> i would reach out to my networks and ask them. and by networks look to find an

s-serve where one has a similar business and has the same questions and ask for their advice. not only advice but once you find the right person who has been leading the way, ask them for contacts who are their lawyers, their contact information. often the initial conversation with lawyers is really good advice to get you in as a client. reach out to your networks and try to drive more conversations around the same topic. >> how did you think through the decision? >> both an s-corps and llc have a lot of similarities. you get the same benefit of protecting yourself from personal liability. the biggest difference comes down to the kind of business and the kind of scale you're anticipating initially. if you're going to be paying yourself a salary and have all of these excess profits you're anticipating, an s-corp is better for you. it's going to be more expensive to set up with complications with state level taxes, but if you're really just getting

started and building it up and are happy to pass through that on your tax, then an llc is a lot easier. you can do it online and don't have to worry about a lot of the additional implications. >> great. thank you so much for stopping by today. i really appreciate all your advice. hope to see you guys soon. as you all know we get all these questions from our audience. so send in yours and we'll give you some answers. send us an e-mail to yourbusiness@msnbc.com. thanks everyone so much for joining us today. if you want to learn more about the show just head on over to our website. it is openforum.com/yourbusiness. once you get there, you'll find all of today's segments plus a lot more content with more information to help your business grow. you can also follow us on twitter, it's @msnbcyourbiz. and we are on facebook and instagram as well. next week how to attract enough customers to make sure your business is not just a passing trend.

>> we gave people what they were looking for. and then we kept it fresh and we kept it new. with competition, it really keeps us on our toes. it keeps us coming up with new ideas. and really it just makes sure you're on your a-game to give the best experience out there. >> we'll tell you why constant innovation giving customers plenty of options and a glass of wine or two have ensured a colorful future for one company. until then i'm jj ramberg. and remember, we make your business our business. american express for travel and entertainment worldwide. just show them this - the american express card. don't leave home without it! and someday, i may even use it on the moon. it's a marvelous thing! oh! haha! so you can replace plane tickets, traveler's cheques, a lost card. really? that worked?

american express' timeless safety and security are now available on apple pay. the next evolution of membership is here. improbable suspects. >> oh, my god. oh, my god. >> is and what in the world is this doing on a golf course?