Meet Melissa Rappaport Schifman

 

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Melissa Rappaport Schifman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Melissa Rappaport, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.

In today’s world and 24/7 news cycle, it can be difficult to remain optimistic. But some level of optimism is essential when running your own business; otherwise, we might as well just hang it up, right?! As a husband-and-wife team, we help each other remain optimistic about the future, reminding ourselves about what we have accomplished so far and the obstacles we have worked hard to overcome. We’ve both been through difficult times and realize we have a choice about how to react. Most of our optimism comes from our upbringing and life experiences, along with a positive mindset. There’s a great quote from Victor Frankl that we look at every day: “Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

But what drives us more than optimism is a sense of responsibility to make the world a better place. This comes from the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) that was instilled in both of us growing up in Jewish households. Businesses have caused many environmental problems that affect the health of our planet and the health of all of us humans. Businesses have also created amazingly positive things. Philosophically, we believe that businesses can and should be used as a force for good. Project Hive Pet Company’s mission to save bees and giveback to plant wildflower habitat is part of how we act out our values. In a recent book talk, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson (author of What if We Get it Right: Visions of Climate Future) said, “You don’t have to be hopeful, but you have to be useful.” We’re working to make our business be of service to our planet—and hopefully bring joy to pets at the same time!

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My husband Jim and I are Co-Founders of Project Hive Pet Company, a public benefit company we launched in 2021 with a line of USA-made dog toys and treats that work together to create engaging experiences for dogs.

My background is in finance, business development, and public policy; I’m a LEED-Accredited Professional who helps businesses become more sustainable while saving money and doing better for the planet. Jim’s background is in retail sales and marketing, and he’s been working in the pet industry for over 30 years. Over the years, we have both been working to get our clients or vendors to be more sustainable, and launching our own company has allowed us to author our own path.

From the beginning, we knew our products had to be made in the United States, as sustainably as possible. Our conversations became aspirational: What if we could create a business as a force for good? What if we could make really cool dog toys and treats—that dogs love, that work together as an ecosystem, and that help save our home planet?

Our company’s mission is to help save bees. We had both been struck by a 2008 article in the Guardian on why bees are the most important species on the planet: we depend on bees for much of our livelihood. Bees pollinate about a third of our food—including berries, apples, and almonds. Personally, we’ve directly witnessed and benefited from the work of the bees in our garden, year after year. But it goes beyond that. The plight of bees represents the plight of our planet’s ability to support humans with healthy foods—which requires healthy soil, air, and water. The reasons that bee populations are declining turn out to be some of the same problems with many of our broader sustainability issues: industrial monoculture farming, widespread use of harmful insecticides and herbicides, and climate change.

We help save bees by planting acres of healthy wildflower habitat. It is a measurable and achievable goal that also helps so many other species critical to our fragile ecosystem, like butterflies, hummingbirds, and other insects. Planting wildflowers is also something individuals can do at their own homes, with multiple benefits. By transforming lawns into wildflowers, it’s not only more beautiful, but it also saves water, fertilizer, and decreases carbon emissions because that lawn doesn’t need to be mowed anymore!

We also love this mission because there’s an aesthetic quality of honeybees that is easily transformed into cute, fun products with beehive shapes and honeycomb patterns, so it can gently remind people to think about bees and support our planet. (Compare that to, say, combatting climate change—what cute, fun aesthetic is associated with carbon emissions?)

All of our products physically relate to bees in some way to help raise awareness. Last year, we launched a line of scented toys—pleasant aromas like vanilla, lavender, wild berry, coconut, and mango—all inspired by plants that feed or need bees for pollination. Our Non-GMO treats contain a small amount of organic honey, and we’ve been growing the number of treats we sell as well. So, we’re super proud that our efforts have already supported planning over 20 million square feet of pollinator habitat throughout the United States and have launched a similar program in Canada.

As Jim likes to say, “The more products we sell, the more bees we save,” so we continue developing new, innovative products. What we’re currently most excited about is that this fall, we launched the Hive Zoomer Collection—a game-changing USA-made dog toy launcher that makes it so easy for humans to exercise their dogs without wearing themselves out or touching slobber. It’s easier to pick up and easier to throw, and the toys can be used for a game of tug. The Hive Zoomer recently won the BlogPaws Best Award for Innovation, so we’re thrilled to be recognized for this new, accessible fetch toy for dogs.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Between the two of us, we’ve interviewed and hired many people throughout our careers. The three qualities that stand out most, and that we always try to bring to any endeavor, are attitude, initiative, and anticipation. If someone has a positive attitude about going to work and doing the work, that can make a world of difference in getting things accomplished and establishing and maintaining good relationships with other people. Even if someone’s work is primarily solo or remote, we always have to work with people. Those who think some tasks are beneath them or approach problems with a bad attitude generally will be unsuccessful.

Having initiative is also super impactful. I for sure would not have been promoted in my earlier corporate career, nor would I now be a LEED Accredited Professional or have authored a book if I had not taken it upon myself to learn what I needed to know and to take steps to solve problems. Given the vast resources we have at our fingertips, a person can accomplish almost anything with the right amount of initiative.

Third, being able to anticipate what potential problems might arise, what a person’s reaction might be, and what snags might surface from any business decision is also a key quality. It doesn’t have to be “analysis paralysis” where you can’t make a decision unless you know every permutation of possible outcomes; it’s really just having the ability to think a few steps ahead that can make the difference between, say, a successful contract negotiation and a complete disaster.

Is there a particular challenge or obstacle you are facing?  

We find that once people hear more about our mission to save the bees and try our dog treats and toys, they love our brand! But the pet industry is extremely competitive. As a small business, we’re up against very large players with enormous marketing budgets, and that’s tough to compete with—in retail stores and online. So, we have the challenge of gaining brand awareness.

To give you more detail about us, we differentiate ourselves at the brand and product levels. As a brand, we are B Corp certified—which means we consider not just profit for our shareholders, but also our impact on stakeholders–our employees, our community, and the environment. We have an agreement with 1% for the Planet where we donate 1% of our gross revenues to our nonprofit partners to create habitat for bees. So, we give customers the ability to purchase with a purpose. That’s empowering!

At the product level, all our toys and treats are manufactured in the US. Our toys are made of thermoplastic elastomers, a very durable rubber-like thermoplastic that is 100% recyclable–in fact, they can be recycled and ground into new toys. The toys are non-toxic, BPA-free, dishwasher-safe, and gentle on dogs’ teeth and gums; they have an erratic bounce and float in water. They are also multifunctional: the disc is a soothing lick mat on the other side, so you can put peanut butter on it, and when your dog licks it, it calms your dog; the fetch stick and chew toys have internal cavities that fit our treats, or other treats, for engaging extended play.

Our primary competitive advantage at the treat level is that they are vegetarian and non-GMO Project Verified (70% of Americans say they don’t want genetically modified organisms in their food, and we are one of only a handful of companies that make non-GMO dog treats). They are peanut butter-flavored, which dogs love, and made with organic honey, no corn, wheat, or soy, and no artificial ingredients.

We have great products and a great brand, but there are just a ton of other products out there vying for dog parents’ attention. We appreciate publications like yours that help us get the word out, so thank you!

Contact Info:

Image Credits

lifestyle images with dogs (not the ones with founders) to be credited to Michale Kazma.

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Portraits of Resilience

Sometimes just seeing resilience can change out mindset and unlock our own resilience. That’s our

Productivity
Perspectives on Staying Creative

We’re beyond fortunate to have built a community of some of the most creative artists,

Confidence
Kicking Imposter Syndrome to the Curb

This is the year to kick the pesky imposter syndrome to the curb and move