Have you ever heard a friend say “natural deodorant just doesn’t work for me,” or maybe even said it yourself? If this story sounds like your own, the good news is: there’s still hope. Often, figuring out why natural deodorant isn’t quite doing the job can be the key to unlocking how you can go aluminum-free for good. Stacia Guzzo, the Founder and CEO of SmartyPits has the solution for hundreds of thousands of customers: her company sells a natural deodorant that’s free of aluminum, parabens, phthalates, and propylene glycol…and most of all, it works. Her award-winning deodorant is mixed, poured, and labeled her team in Tehachapi, California—and it’s one of the top brands in one of the hottest trending markets in America.
SmartyPits Story
The company’s origin is personal for Guzzo: she started the company as a result of her mother’s battle with breast cancer. The cancerous lump was discovered directly underneath her mother’s armpit, and her doctors had told Guzzo’s mother that the lump was most likely influenced by something in her environment; however, the couldn’t determine the exact cause. Stacia began to research breast cancer extensively, and she discovered that aluminum in antiperspirants was considered a possible risk factor in the development of breast cancer.
While researchers still debate the dangers of aluminum, she knew that she didn’t want to take any chances—she wanted to go aluminum-free in her deodorant choice. This proved to be a challenge, however; when she tried to find an aluminum-free deodorant to replace her clinical strength antiperspirant, she couldn’t find anything that smelled good, felt good, and actually worked with her body chemistry. As a result, SmartyPits was born on her kitchen stovetop as a way to initially solve the problem of an effective aluminum-free deodorant for herself.
“Build and nourish relaonships— from your customers to your vendors to your team members to your buyers. The relationships you build will shape everything”
Today, the company is making seven figures of annual revenue, has 19 team members on staff, and SmartyPits deodorants are sold in almost 4000 locations all over the United States (from independent retailers to nationwide chains) as well as 15 countries.
Highly Qualified Team Members
Stacia Guzzo doesn’t have any formal education in business, so one of the initial challenges was learning how to wear all of the hats required in the early years of a company. As the business grew, she learned how to slowly delegate each of those hats to highly qualified team members so she could do the deeper-dive work that a CEO needs to do. “There was definitely a learning curve to both processes,” says Stacia.
Her current team includes members of their California warehouse staff as well as team members in Alaska and Oregon. No matter where they are located, each member of the team is committed to doing his/her best work daily—and above all, are committed to why they do it.