The tooth fairy is real and she means business
Eva Sadej, Founder of Floss Bar, 27
Going to the dentist has never been more convenient with Floss Bar. 45 minute appointments, online booking, after hours availability on evenings and weekends OR mobile units that bring care to you — Floss Bar offers high quality, routine dental care at thoughtful prices.
Eva comes from a small town in Poland and the mean streets of Brooklyn. After graduating from Harvard in 2012, Eva worked for Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund in the world. Eva dreamed up Floss Bar when she noticed how complicated it was to get a basic dental care without taking 3 hours off of work or getting offered multiple extra services. Upon further research, she realized that over 80% of Americans have gingivitis, and that the rates of those with preventable dental emergencies was consistently rising. In 2018, Eva put her Wharton MBA on hold to build Floss Bar into a household name. Eva’s goal is to improve the expedience, cost, and accessibility of health and beauty services — making others both internally and externally beautiful.
Why do you call yourself the tooth fairy of America?
I’m the modern tooth fairy because I put money and happiness back under the pillows of Americans. While I don’t deposit coins, I save them lots of coins and that makes people smile. It’s cheesy, but that’s it.
How did you come up with the idea for floss bar?
I was working at a hedge fund and I couldn’t really leave my desk to get dental appointments. I found that in the luxury dental offices they take longer and often try to up-sell you. The more affordable dental offices pack you too much and your appointment runs over time. It took too much time to go to dental appointments. I saw a lot of innovation in the medical field. I saw that dentistry is delayed in terms of cost and convenience factors. I tried to go for it.
Also, I have a very good nose. I smell bad breath. In the office, it’s a public service to everyone else to make sure people have nice breath.
Do you think Americans prioritize dental care?
No, when money is tight for anyone, in this country and other countries, the first thing that falls to the wayside is dental care. They don’t know the connection between the mouth and body. There’s a ton of those and I can keep going and listing them, but I won’t bore you. It’s seen more of a vanity service even though getting regular teeth cleaning is good for your entire immune system. It’s de-prioritized.
How do you think Floss Bar prioritizes dental care?
We think of ourselves also as an entertainment company. When you educate in a more entertaining way people are more likely to listen. It’s more of a shock and awe strategy by being slightly irreverent. We have a network across cities. It’s more convenient to use our services than to go to a dentist’s office evening and weekend. Instead, Floss Bar shows up at your workplace and we are like ten feet away from your desk. We prioritize dental care by proximity and entertainment. The best part is that it’s essentially free for our customers because their insurance covers the dental cleaning.
What was the turning point in your life that made you decide you wanted to start this company?
I feel like everything is always gradual. It didn’t hit me one morning. It’s who you surround yourself with. You become the average of the five people you hang out with. My partner did entrepreneurship on the side when he worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He sold an online liquor company as a pet project for 7 figures. His success made me realize that I can start my own company too. In a way, a little bit of a competitive inspiration pushed me to start Floss Bar.
It’s who you surround yourself with. You become the average of the five people you hang out with.
What was a challenges you faced in creating your business? How did you overcome these challenges?
The biggest challenge was regulation. Regulation just needed more research. There’s two types of lawyers. One type of lawyer is someone who will be super conservative and make your business model constrained. There is the second type of lawyer who will make your business model work. You need the type of lawyer who thinks about how you can structure your company to comply with all the existing regulations. I found lawyers who were strict and creative. That was what it took to overcome this challenge and a painful amount of money before I received any funding.
When you are working in industry that’s hard to do everything. There’s a lot of start-up costs. I was and still am young and scrappy, it definitely helped that I worked at a hedge fund so I had good savings.
Where do you envision your business expanding?
I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve. I see it being a national brand that is prevention focused. It’s dentistry and it’s not aggressive or treatment focused. I want people to think of us as the “Kleenex for dental care.” The first thing people should think when I need a dental cleaning is “I should go to Floss Bar.”
I want people to think of us as the “Kleenex for dental care”. The first thing people should think when I need a dental cleaning is I should go to Floss Bar.
How would you encourage other ambitious individuals to leave a traditional workplace and pursue their passions?
I tell them you are going to live to one hundred years old with modern medical technology. It’s good to take risks when you are young, you have a lot of time.
