Car fresheners came about in the early 1950s and since then, have looked (and smelled) pretty much the same. In 2016, Ryan Baylis and his co-founder, Christian Thrapp, set out to them a much-needed refresh. Handcrafted from wood, stone, or metal, Drift’s products are soaked in clean fragrance oils and attach to your car visor. They say they’re designed to blend in, with amazing scents that stand out.
In this episode, Ryan sits down with Mariya Nurislamova, Scentbird’s co-founder and CEO. They reflect on the highs and lows of building online fragrance businesses that reach hundreds of thousands of customers every month. Ryan takes us back to the moment he delivered what he calls “the world’s worst elevator pitch.” He shares advice on how to keep your car smelling great, how to combat nose blindness, and why atmospheric scenting can be a tool for personal branding.
• From a car with a funky smell to the idea for Drift
• The hike with Christian: “Got any good business ideas?”
• Creating the wood freshener prototype
• Do you know about nose blindness?
• How Scent of the Month works
• Where the Drift team draws inspiration from
• Stone, Drift’s newest product
• Metal, the freshener that totally blends in
• “The car is such a symbol of independence”
• Mariya on Scentbird’s acquisition of Drift
• Picking scents based on personal vs. market tastes
• “Wood manufacturing has been sustainable since the 20s”
• Christian cut how many wood fresheners by hand!?
• Scrappy entrepreneurial moments
• “Selling fragrances online is the definition of insanity”
• Mariya’s “aha! moment" with an early Scentbird customer
• Ryan reacts to common car scenting methods
• Don’t use this scent in your car
• What’s wrong with the “new car smell”?
• Layering scents… in your car?
• Recommendations for cannabis fragrances
• Scent Spotlight: Most Loved Drift Scents
• The scent that smells like Hemingway’s boat
• When you’re sick of winter, fire up this scent
• Floral scents in cars?
• Ryan reacts to nice & mean Drift customer reviews
• Mariya on the story behind Get A Room, by Confessions of a Rebel
• Creating Confessions of a Rebel as a gender-fluid brand
• Who would be Mariya’s celebrity crush?
• This Drift scent smells like… a cigar!?
• Dealing with negative reviews
• Scent Connection: Preferences Edition
• Ryan’s favorite scents + fragrance recommendations
• What’s the most dangerous smell you can think of?
• The next frontier for Drift
Wood, Stone, and Metal car fresheners by Drift
