Filljoy’s Humble Beginnings
I thought I’d take this opportunity to finally introduce myself - I’m Derrick, the founder of Filljoy, and build tech solutions for zero / low-waste stores to simplify and speed up the refill process. If you’ve ever shopped at Verde Market in Miami, Fillgood in Albany, Mason and Greens in Alexandria, The Well in Topanga, The Nickel Refillery in Sudbury, The Nada Shop in Encinitas, Earthwell Refill in San Diego, or No Tox Life back when they had their retail store, then you may have seen our product in action.
My journey has been a circuitous one; in 2018 I left the security of a full-time job at Google after several years of feeling unfulfilled, wondering how I’d somehow found myself selling digital advertising and so far adrift from the things I really cared about - causes like the environment, animal welfare, social justice. Through serendipity, earlier that year I’d been introduced to the nascent-but-growing zero waste movement and I was immediately struck with the simplicity of refilling, while also being filled with a deep joy. I’d never harbored strong ambitions to become an entrepreneur, but knew this was a movement I wanted to be involved with in some way.
I returned to the bay area at the start of 2019 and began to conceive of Filljoy. Could I develop a solution for zero waste stores that could delight customers and employees alike while streamlining operations? There was one big problem though: I didn’t know how to code. I spent several days trying to hire a developer and, after coming up empty-handed, bought a $10 online course on mobile app development on a whim to try and build it myself. In hindsight, my ignorance also served as my strength as there wasn’t anyone to tell me just how hard this would actually turn out to be - if so, I might have never begun!
Now fast forward 2 years later, I’m grateful to have over 25 low-waste stores using Filljoy. I get to partner closely with other founders in a space I feel deeply aligned with and as a plus, spend time in stores that smell amazing. My founder’s journey has been full of ups and downs, and I’d like to share my experiences with and give a shout out to the first 3 refill stores that took a chance on Filljoy.
Filljoy’s first refill store The Source Zero in San Jose. Ashley took a chance on me, letting me beta test the first version of Filljoy in her lovely shop. Every once in a while, I’d receive a message letting me know that something had gone wrong with the app, sometimes with a client standing in front of her waiting to check out a large refill order! Each time, I was devastated that my product had failed to live up to its promise. I recall on multiple occasions driving up to 90 minutes each way in rush hour traffic to deliver a software update or resolve a hardware issue in person. It was a bumpy ride at times, but I’m thankful she stuck with me.
I remember putting one of the first versions of Filljoy in the hands of Kris and Katrina Earthwell Refill - a semi-complete POS that included things like discounts and taxes. This is what we’d talked about, so of course they should want it, right? After we’d gotten it set up and they checked a few clients out with it, they told me something about it wasn’t right. I was crushed. However, as Steve Blank in Lean Startup writes, “No plan survives first contact with customers,” an adage I’ve since come to embrace. I hadn’t actually asked the right questions. I went back to the drawing board and returned with a more simplified version - its visual design left a lot to be desired, but this one solved a real problem and worked in their store’s existing workflow.
Months later, I would repeat this process with Stephanie at Fillgood, my first customer using Shopify. I’d finally stumbled upon a solution that would enable us to weigh refill products and send them into Shopify POS and was excited to show her. I think I showed up unannounced at her store 3 or 4 times before I was able to schedule a demo (she was exceedingly kind each time - a quality her loyal customer base knows very well). Stephanie told me the secret to her success has been starting small, and growing her business one customer at a time. From starting out as a delivery-only service to building out a makeshift retail space in an office building to finally securing her own large storefront, she embodies the ethos of continual iteration and improvement.