College roommates and longtime friends, Courtney Toll and Annabel Love are the founders of Nori, a clothing care brand creating effective and innovative tools for the modern wardrobe.
Learn more about the duo behind our latest collaboration below!
What was the exact moment or experience that made you realize, "We need to create Nori"?
When we were first starting our professional careers in New York City, we began ironing our clothes with our hair straighteners given the close quarters of our urban apartments. We did not have the space for an ironing board, the time to deal with our leaky and inefficient steamers or the funds to support recurring dry cleaning. This personal pain point put a spotlight on the ironing and steaming market that had failed to introduce any meaningful innovation in the last 20+ years. We set out to create a next generation steam iron that delivered on the performance of an iron, in the compact nature of a steamer.
Our hero product, the Nori Press, was a runaway hit with our online audience and we have since continued to introduce clothing care products such as a fabric shaver and hamper designed to make caring for your clothes hassle-free.
How did you identify that this was a problem others were facing too?
Before launching Nori, we ran extensive customer discovery to validate the pain point that was inspiring our desired innovation. We interviewed 500+ potential consumers and heard the same narratives time and time again: customers had no attachment to existing market solutions and even had a hard time naming brands in the ironing and steaming space. It was clear there was a market for an elevated direct-to-consumer clothing care brand introducing an innovative product informed by consumer need.
What’s the dynamic like working with your best friend?
We have heard a lot of investors and fellow founders recommend finding a cofounder with a completely opposite and complementary skill set. While I can understand that advice, we always say that above identifying someone with a complementary skill set, is finding someone you just love to spend time with. Annabel and I never tire of spending time together. There is no else we trust more or would rather experience the highs and lows of entrepreneurship with.
How do you balance friendship and business partnership?
Within time spent just the two of us, I think our friendship and business has become quite blended! One minute we are talking about a weekend plan and the next a supply chain update. I think allowing friendship and work to overlap makes each day more enjoyable and the long nights more manageable. The trust we have built through our 10+ year friendship is really the foundation of our business partnership, allowing us to divide and conquer with full confidence in the other.
Favorite Weezie Products?
We are obsessed with almost every Weezie product, but live in our Weezie robes and towels! Last Christmas, Courtney got some towels in the Millie print and is now thrilled to see this same print on the interior of our co branded Hamper.
Favorite way #enjoythestay after a long day?
Ironically enough, Annabel and I are both big bath people. A warm bath after a long day is the perfect way to unwind and you can bet that we are each getting into our Weezie robes for "towel time" to wind down!
