one that keeps you connected to what matters most. msnbc's "your business" why did the owners of this cool cleveland motorcycle company get more traction with their made in america over seas than they did in america. listening to women helped them grow their business. that plus what you can learn from google about retaining employees and making them feel appreciated. let's grow fast and work smart. that's all coming up on "your

business". hi everyone, i'm j.j. ram berg and welcome to your business. the show dedicate today helping your business. >> scott has always been proud of his cleveland roots. so the city seemed like a perfect home for his business. but he had to abandon that idea and go to asia. now after 10 years of trying he's bringing some of the manufacturing back home. >> cleveland has struggled in recent years with is post industrial ie debitty. it's not surprising to see out of the ashes of an old rubber factory a new motorcycle company take over with the motto, we are cleveland. >> cleveland is blue color, working class. it's not flashy, gritty.

>> cleveland cycle was a dream for scott, after graduating college he found the transition from school to working in the industry was not what he expected. >> once you work for a large cooperation it's all about glacial movements, right? you have a five-year development program. where in college you had one semester to design an interior, exteri exterior, everything. >> in 2008 scott and his colleague found themselves in a bar commiserating about a layout. >> that's when scott said i can't go back and work for another company. that's not me. that's not who i am. and i have an idea that i think makes a ton of sense. he walked me through his rational about delivering affordable motorcycles that are quality but cool. >> jared was so impressed with

the concept he and scott decided to start a new motorcycle brand. they went into business the next day. >> we bootstrapped the motorcycle company, which is pretty insane. we started with $9,000. we brought in a little bit more money after that, but most of what we dooechb has been off of what we've earned. >> in a world where most bikes are big, loud, heavy and expensive. scott's simple retro inspired designs would always turn heads. >> there was, you know, like harl harley, harley, bagger, bagger like $30,000 bike. i roll up on this bike i built for 3 grand and i parked it in the middle and everyone was on it. you see how this cheap, inexpensive bike everyone likes. that's the power of design. >> with the name cleveland cycle works and the motto we are

cleveland. it's not surprising the corner stone of this dpaen was the idea of bringing manufacturing back to cleeveland. >> the company was started in scott's garage. it operated as the warehouse, distribution center and shop. >> with very little money and new to the field they knew they'd never set up like a traditional car or motorcycle manufacture. their business called for looking for investors to help the business grow. >> i image back then being 26 walking into multimillion or billion dollar cooperation telling them you're going to start manufacturing motorcycles. the response i got in the u.s. was pretty much like you're crazy, not interested. it was pretty depressing. >> the door shut in their face again and again. so they decided to try another

approach. >> we created the heist, which is our first model. we created that in cleveland. the issue was once we created it, we couldn't find anybody to make it in the u.s. so fast forward six months after trying and hitting one wall after the next, we shipped the bike to china and scott followed it shortly behind. >> the goal of getting the bike made trumped the goal of making it in the u.s., at least in the short term. the experience was a sobering lesson in manufacturing a product overseas versus making it america. >> i would say the one thing amazing to me was nobody said no. every single factory that i went to in china, they didn't ask me my age, they looked at the idea for what it was, and they said, how many, how long. >> it turned out part of the issue in the u.s. was that manufacturers were not relating to the product. it was different in asia where

small motorbikes outnumber cars and demand is high. it seemed to make sense to make and sell the product there, get some traction and worry about the american market later. >> our bikes in asia are viewed as american style. if you spend time in asia they love american music, culture, the lifestyle, image. so our bikes appealed to them. >> but the original appeal was to make them in cleveland. the irony of the bikes being made in asia is still an issue. >> if you look at what people consider the american motorcycle, they would be shocked at the content that is not made here because it's significant. >> with many companies some parts are made in the u.s. and some overseas. >> there are those people that say i will never buy anything in china and type the angry e-mail on their compute er.

we manufacture parts in the u.s. if we can find the right price and partner in italy, we'll do it in italy. >> scott has created a global business with most of the manufacturing done in asia closer to their customer base. but after making tens of thousands of bikes, earning a good reputation and surviving in a tough industry, cleveland cycle works is geting back to the plan of bringing some of the assembly here in america. >> we do aftermarket paras here. we are starting to manufacture chas sis, gas tanks so large components here. >> no matter what, the brains of the operation will always be in cleveland, providing many jobs in the u.s. and beyond. >> i can say without a doubt, cleveland cycle works would not exist if i didn't go overseas to make this happen, i wouldn't have the employees we have. i wouldn't own the factory i

have in the u.s. we wouldn't be manufacturing here now, we wouldn't have our distributors. we have hired, in its entirety between the cleveland cycle works and people that make parts, probably over 100 families. >> after a lot of blood, sweat and tears, after 10 years it may be a bigger milestone to expect. >> they said we'll be the biggest motorcycle in the u.s. in the last 50 years to have the staying power and brand we've been able to achieve if we make it 10 years. >> from a movie video to an instagram post. the egg shaped lip balm has been popping up everywhere and outselling brands like chap stick. we found out how they managed to

break into the market, continue to attract the highly sought after millennial customer and while patience has helped women worldwide give them their kiss of approval. >> wing looked at the lip care market, lip balm specifically. we saw the products were all the same. despite the fact that 80% of the lip balm purchased by women, there was nothing designed for weem. >> often times people think they do best if they're their own customer. you created something you keep talking about how it is for women and you're two men in your button-down shirts. how did you know what they would want. >> we saw that women were struggling to find lip balm in their bags and using pots but they were trying to put the pot directly on the lips instead of

their fingers. our belief was if we wanted to do something different we need to be intu tiff and it's asking the right question sometimes. don't listen to the, quote, professionals because they don't know everything. i think one of the challenges with consumer products is everyone is a consumer. so one individual's reaction isn't more or less meaningful than another. >> we believed we'd be successful, self-confidence. we were concerned saying if we wanted to do this at the scale we'd like to be, to compete in this very big and established marketplace, shouldn't we go get money? and we went to investors. >> what happened when you went to investors and you said we want money? >> they said no. we got more noes than we envisioned we ever would. it was, for us, an interesting process because we had to look within and if all these

professional investors were saying no did we believe in what we were doing and we did. >> people think build a good product and people spread the word and you don't needily need to spend the same money on marketing as the olds days because word of mouth is so powerful right now do you agree or disagree? >> the old methods are less effective than they used to be before. what is absolutely true is that word of mouth is significantly more effective than it ever was. and what has happened is people jumping product to product or jumping on whatever is new because that's the thing everybody is buying has become far more prevalent. >> you have to market differently today. so certainly, consumers have more power. so marketing and spending money on a traditional advertising campaign, broadcasting to the

consumers what they should like and buy, that doesn't work like it used to. >> we said we need to create buzz when we started and find influencers. so what we did, this was well before anybody else thought of these things. we said to ourselves, who are influencers? >> it's got to be an authentic relationship between the influencer and our product because we know that consumers are looking for that. it's about finding authenticity in the context of these relationships so their use of the product is actually reflective of what they do in everyday life. >> we had distributors from 140 countries reach out to us and we said no to all of them. and it has worked well for us because as we go into market we don't have to recreate what was done and we can start from the beginning and we can do it the right way. >> our perspective was you only launch once and if you're

launching with that long term perspective it's going to sustain business as opposed to a quick blip and you're out. >> we're actually quite patient and we tell ourselves it's not going to happen in a hurry. and if we want to build a great brand, it does take time. >> what advice do you have for people partnering with someone. >> if one of us disagrees on something, we simply just don't do it. we both. agree on everything we need to. that's when we know we're aligned. the other part is we're open with each other. there are no secrets amongst the two of us. we don't carve out spaces this is mine and this is yours. together this is ours. i'm here right now with this week's elevator pitcher. welcome. tell us about what you have here. what's the same of your company.

>> shea alean and i have shea butter products. >> you are helping women create jobs for themselves. >> absolutely. by bringing natural organic products that are being sourced from women's cooperatives. >> we want to see how the panel thinks about it. are you ready for this? have you been practicing? you're pitching to two people today, the founder of inintegrity capital, incredible woman, and a serial entrepreneur very successful his latest company is called ub. let's see them. >> hello. i'm here to butter you up. my company creates high quality natural organic shea butter products. i was inspired to create it after serving in the peace corpse our business model is a

fusion of high product quality with social impact. the customer wants access to natural products and they want to make a difference in this world. according to to a harris pole 237% of millennial women want to buy all natural products. this is not a trend. research predicts by 2020, the natural products market will be $15 billion. the customer can find our products through our line at mgm resorts, we have a spa line with them. as well as whole foods markets. i'm looking to raise $2 million to support product innovation, also build our supply chain and make some improvements, as well as sales and distribution. >> nice. i'm going to stop you right there. you got a lot in there. i'm going to give you two these. i need numbers one to ten, what do you think of the product? the pitch?

i'm going to hold this because i think you did a fantastic job, and also because it smells fantastic. let's start with you, okay eight and eight. >> so for the product side i gave you an eight. i love it. i love the social enterprise, that you're helping women. i love your presentation, the delivery. it was great. the only reason i nicked you a little bit is because i don't know the price and you didn't mention that. it was really good. on the pitch side, i felt like there was a lot of great information, i learned about your distribution, your customer focus, your ask and your uses but i had no sense of your sales overall, so i don't know if you sold $2,000 or $2 million, so i nicked you a little bit because there were bits of information i would like. >> and itto knows product.

let's hear what you think? >> i've given you a 7 for product and eight for pitch. the seven for product is primarily because of your packaging. you have to make sure, particularly when you go out into mass retail, you're really wanting to have impact on shelf from day one. you have two seconds to grab somebody on shelf and you don't want your product to get lost in the mix. as far as the pitch goes, i loved i want. you can tell that you're excited and passionate. in one minute, not easy. the reason i didn't give you more than an eight is because i want to know more about you and your background. when we invest in somebody it's about the entrepreneur and then the product. the entrepreneur is the person we need to believe in in anything. >> did she peak your interest? >> yes. >> love her. >> thank you both so much. great insight. this was a great panel for you. you congratulations, and good

luck with everything. >> thank you j.j. >> if any of you would like to come on "your business" and pitch your company. the best is to do the one-minute elevator pitch. send it to msnbc.com let us know what your company does and how much money you're trying to raise. we look forward to seeing those pitches. >> business travel is so much less glamorous than it used to be. airlines have cutback on many of the services they used to offer to save money. but that doesn't mean your business trip needs to be a nightmare. here are five ways to make things a little easier and nicer for you. >> one, dress to impress. it it's tempting to wear sweats but you never know who your seat mate may be. >> two, use tech to streamline

your trip. most airlines offer easy remote check in on their web sites and apps like trip it and expense fi can help you stay on top of your expenses and loyalty rewards. arm yourself against jet leg. set your time for the destination before you leave. drink plenty of water, sleep only when it's dark in your host city. four, stick to a healthy routine. it's easy to stay up late, skip your work out and stay on junk food. a healthy routine will keep you sharp and focussed for big meetings. five sanitize everything. there's nothing worse than getting sick on a bibusiness trip. watch your hands and bring sanitizer so you can sanitize everything. >> if you want to score major

happy points with your employees one of the best thing you can do is provide google-like perks. what if you don't have room for surprise napping spaces? we have gift alternatives. and it's great to see you. why thanks for having me. >> i think this is a big issue to smaller companies because it is a big perk to go somewhere like google and get degree lunch a free lunch and all the other things. so i'm happy to say here's what you can do. first lounge space. >> a lot of companies offer napping rooms or napping pods. and i don't think it's necessary to take a nap at work, but it is nice to provide a comfy place for your employeres to relax an charge up again. so i discovered the pouch couch which is and i believe for about $40 and it's an air filled

couch. you toss it around in the air, fill it up, and it holds the air and employees can lounge on it. they are bright, colorful and inexpensive and they can be moved around. >> i love it. you could do work, have a nap, have a meeting. and second one, you don't have a mass soos coeuse coming in ever. >> and this is becoming common too to have masseuses come in and massage employees at the workplace. and that is a very expensive thing to offer. so i found this little guy right here called the m cushion, this is a massage pill lee and you c pillow. and there are different colors. and if you flip it over,lee and pillow. and there are different colors. and if you flip it over, it has four different heads to massage your back or neck. >> like when you get a manicure, though chairs. >> exactly. and my suggestion is keep a few of these around for employees to

share, they can just plug it in at their office chair and enjoy a massage. it actually feels really good. >> i'm going to try this when we're done. and lunch. it's very expensive. snacks can get expensive, too. >> that is true and not every company can offer full lunches, full breakfast. so snacks are a great alternative. i recommend buying them in bulk. you can do costco or sam's club of course. but i also love boxed.com which has a site and app and it's a wholesale club online, but they don't charge a membership fee and so you get the benefits of buying in bulk about texpense. >> and finally organizing for local clarities. >> that is a replacement for the expensi expensive off sites like a rope course or trust balls and going to a spa for your employees. that is very expensive to do.

so my suggestion is find a local clarity that you like, have a sign upsheet, maybe do it on a workday, and have the employees go out and do something good for the community and maybe meet other co-workers that they have not met before. >> and the big thick here is just letting your employees know it that you care about them.thit letting your employees know it that you care about them. >> yes. and don't be so concerned that you can't compete with the big guys if you are not google or amazon. these are alternatives that you can offer that is more friendly to your budget. >> i love it. thank you. when we come back, how to value a growing early stage company. plus why you need to give buzz words is rest. thank you so much. thank you! so we're a go? yes! we got a yes! what does that mean for purchasing? purchase.

let's do this. got it. book the flights! hai! si! si! ya! ya! ya! what does that mean for us? we can get stuff. what's it mean for shipping? ship the goods. you're a go! you got the green light. that means go! oh, yeah. start saying yes to your company's best ideas. we're gonna hit our launch date! (scream) thank you! goodbye! let us help with money and know-how, so you can get business done. american express open. the question is from sem. he asks how do investors value an early stage company? >> that is a great question. valuing a startup business is one of the most difficult things you can do when you're either raises capital or setting a company. my favorite mefd thod is callede first chicago method. and that looks at three scenarios. first is best case and you

project your cash flows. second is the achievable scenario and then the third of course is the worst case their crow. once you've projected those different cash flows, you apply. once you've projected those different cash flows, you apply da different weightings. but do be careful to not push the value too high. if you do, it can make it hard to raise capital in the future and also make it difficult to live up to investors' expectations. we now have the top two tips you need to know help your business grow. you did a great job before. thank you both. and now out of all the tips in the world, let's start with you. >> so my top tip is to go light on the buzz words. let me tell you what i mean. i have entrepreneurs pitch me all the time and they will he tell me how members of their team are hustlers or hackers or ninjas. and i have to tell you, i don't have any investor colleagues out there that must invest in

ninjas. so just be authentic, be real, let that do your talking for you. but know light on t go light on the buzz words because can cause you to lose credibility. >> and i also think speak a normal language. you're not impressing anybody. if you know your stuff, you know your stuff. >> yeah. >> i totally -- >> don't be trendy, just be real. >> and what do you think? >> my top tip is very simple. we believe that everything should start and end with a cause. if you have true meaning, it gets you up in the morning, it gets your community, employees and the people you sell to excited about what you do. and my example, when we started, we started because my mother was a school teach so we wanted to provide free school supplies to these teachers to give to their kids in need. so if you can find something that has meaning for you, that you can have it as a local give,

something that is meaningful to your customers and to your -- to the people that you serve, you can independent up with something that is significantly more special than just sellinging a widget or any service. >> so the company i started socially responsible and we've given millions of dollars and you were. but i always say because i think people want to give back, and also feel pressure to give back because they want to often, but i say giving back doesn't necessarily need to be about money. for me it is, for you it's school supplies, but it could be about treating your people very well. and treating your customers well. and providing people with jobs and focusing on that. and so -- but you believe you actually need to have some partnership with a nonprofit or community organization? >> i think that there are plenty of ways to do good. and for us, i think what drives us forward is not necessarily the dollar signs. you get to a certain point where the dollar signs can only get you so far.

and you really want to wake up five years thefrom now excited wake up, excited to know that the things that you do end up serving somebody else. and in a doesn that doesn't necessarily mean partnering with a nonprofit. it could mean working with responsible factories or sourcing your products fairly. >> exactly. thanks both of you. this week's your biz selfl f i comes from ken who owns apollo packaging. you love so happy there. he provides high quality packaging and janitorial supplies. now all of you pick up your smartphone and take a selfie of you and your business and send to yourbusiness@msnbc.com or tweet to @msnbcyourbiz. include your name, location and #yourbizselfie. thank you so much for joining

us. we lover hearing from you. so if you have any questions or just warrant to say hi, send us e-mail. and please go to our website open f openforum.com/yourbusiness. we put up a whole lot more for you. and you can connect with us every day and night on our digital and social media platforms, too. we look forward to seeing you next time. remember, we make your business our business. so that's the idea. what do you think? hate to play devil's advocate but... i kind of feel like it's a game changer. i wouldn't go that far. are you there? he's probably on mute. yeah... gary won't like it. why? because he's gary. (phone ringing) what? keep going! yeah... (laughs) (voice on phone) it's not millennial enough.

there are a lot of ways to say no. thank you so much. thank you! so we're doing it. yes! start saying yes to your company's best ideas. let us help with money and know-how, so you can get business done. american express open. good morning and welcome to "politics nation." i'm here in washington, d.c. today because tomorrow i'll be joined with religious leaders from across the country in a march for justice. it marks the 54th anniversary of dr. king's i have a dream speech and takes the trump administration to task for endangering that dream. in a moment, we'll talk with a trio of faith leaders about the important message at the heart of this gathering, a