Career Profile: Erika Rayman, Founder of The Dream Butt

Erika Rayman is the founder of the new exercise machine, The Dream Butt. We connected through my friend Courtney and I instantly understood why Courtney recommended we meet. Erika is bright, determined, and has a vision. We met for coffee, stayed until they closed, and ventured back uptown together. I’m not sure that I could have met with Erika at a better time. To be perfectly honest, I was having a difficult day at work and was feeling a bit down on myself – but then I heard Erika’s stories about learning from failure and I left feeling energized and more confident. She really is wonderful and I’m so thrilled to share her story with you!

What inspired you to start The Dream Butt?

I was inspired to build The Dream Butt out of a personal need and desire.  I have always done cardio workouts, mainly running, but I knew I needed to do strength and toning exercises, particularly for the butt….however the typical exercises – getting on all fours and kicking your leg up in the air every which way –  were such a bore for me.   Inspiration jumped out at me after I worked out with a trainer who taught me a series of exercises from which I truly saw results. I thought to myself, if I could recreate the essence of these exercises and build a machine that I could use at home after a run – that would be huge.  I also thought I couldn’t possibly be alone in wanting this so I was confident there was a market for the machine.  The $4 billion annual market for home exercise equipment in the US alone supported my assumption.

Please tell me about what The Dream Butt is and why it’s unique.

The Dream Butt is unique because it’s an actual machine versus resistance bands or a dvd workout routine.  I like to think about The Dream Butt as the yoga chair pose meets the squat, and in that you have the optimal workout for the butt.  The machine is designed to align the body correctly to safely perform the exercise and take away the stress on the knees.  What’s really cool about the machine is that it’s something you have at home and use at your convenience – set it up in front of the tv and get a great butt workout while watching your favorite show.  A complete workout can take less that 10 minutes – this is an intense workout and you can be on your way to getting a great butt in just minutes a day.  Because it’s an at-home device it was essential for us to make it fold down to go under the bed or in the closet for storage – convenient all-around.

 I love the DB FitPact! How did that come about?

We came up with the DB FitPact because we wanted to share our philosophy.  Happy, healthy, fit living.  DB Fit Pact is about supporting and encouraging oneself to be their best.  Perfect does not exist, only one’s personal best. We believe in moderation and enjoyment.  No fad diets or torturing oneself.  We are about building a lifestyle of moderation, health and wellness, not extremes.  The DB FitPact is about doing great things for yourself because you actually feel better, look better and perform better when you fuel yourself well and keep your body moving.  Developing those healthy habits is actually addicting so you want to eat well and exercise because of how great it makes you feel.  I want any woman to use The Dream Butt machine and be inspired to work towards the best version of her.  We are all built differently — and that’s why we are all about health, happiness and moderation.  The Dream Butt machine is a tool to help you sculpt, tone, and strengthen your behind so that you can have the best possible butt for you own body — your own personal Dream Butt.

You invented The Dream Butt. I’m always so fascinated by how people start businesses and especially how they create an idea or product and turn it into a reality. Can you walk me though the process of coming up with an idea, making a prototype, getting it patented, and turning it into a business?

For me, once the idea popped into my head I could not get it out of my head…and if you can’t get something out of your head it must be there for a reason.  I did not have the faintest idea how to build a product so I started doing research – literally googling “how to build a product”.  I started educating myself, reading as much as possible and identifying product designers and engineering firms in and around New York that I could meet with to explore their capabilities and costs. From there I received quotes on what it would cost me to build the prototype.  The range was incredible – from $20,000 to $200,000.  I built my first prototype with one company, which was a fun and exciting experience but once I had the prototype sitting in my living room I did not know what to do next.  By that time I had started a new job and did not have much money to move forward nor any clue on how to proceed.  That’s when I met Declan, my business partner.  Declan had launched a successful brand of cycling studios in Brazil and was interested in further investing in businesses in the fitness space.  Together, Declan and I came up with a plan – educate ourselves about the industry, talk to as many top people in the space as possible – whoever would talk to us.  With each phone call and each meeting we were learning – it was a steep learning curve but we felt we were on our way.  Once we had identified key individuals and companies to work with we refined the design, found a manufacturer, further refined the design to make it commercially viable, then we patented it.  I’m skipping a lot of steps here but the whole story would be an entire book.  Starting a business is the first step – there is a whole lot of work, sweat and tears that goes into then launching said business.  And in the final days before we launch our Kickstarter campaign, Declan and I feel very proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, even before we sold our first Dream Butt.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to start their own business?

You know you’re ready to start your own business when there’s passion driving you forward – a force that’s telling you you have to do this.  You need that passion to keep you going during the ups and downs (particularly the downs) of starting your own business.  It’s not easy….if it were easy everyone would be doing it.

I know you’re at Columbia Business School while launching The Dream Butt. What is a typical day like for you?

There really is no typical day for me – what is typical is that all my time is spent working or studying…We are busy preparing for our launch and I eat, sleep, breathe The Dream Butt right now.  I find it so exciting and inspiring (also exhausting) to be in business school while launching a business – I’m learning skills each day that I’m implementing into my business life immediately. I have also learned that if something is important to you, you make time for it, no matter how busy you are, you make the time.

What are some of the best things, and on the flip side the most challenging things, about starting your own business?

Starting a business is like getting on a roller coaster – a very steep roller coaster.  The highs are so high and lows are low – and when you’re taking that deep dive you question everything – especially yourself.  You have to believe in yourself and what you’re doing because it will test you – day after day.  The best thing that I’ve learned in this whole experience is just how strong and determined I am.  With that, it’s changed the way I look at the world – I feel so capable and that excites me so much about the future and what I can accomplish.

What is one thing that you wish you had known when you were starting out your career?

I wish I had known that I didn’t have to be and wasn’t expected to be perfect, know everything or do things perfectly.  I was afraid to fail and therefore ran away from challenging opportunities.  I wish I had just gone for it – never be afraid to fail, be afraid of passing up opportunities and missing out on opportunities to learn, even and especially your failures.

 What advice would you give to someone who is in the first five years of their career?

Don’t be afraid to try new things that interest you and do not be afraid to fail.  It’s what I wish I had known when I was just starting out and trying to figure out who I was and what I wanted to do with myself.  You have to go out there and explore – and there’s no better time than when you’re young and just starting out.  Go for it – whatever IT is to you.

 What is on your desk right now?

I’m completely sentimental – on my desk I keep momentos from some of my favorite days, most of which involve beach days with my nieces and nephew.

Where do you turn for inspiration?

Great inspiration for me is to hear the stories of successful entrepreneurs – how they got started, challenges they faced and how they powered through, learned and ultimately were successful.

 Who is your mentor?

My mentor is Charlie Costenbader – my first friend I made when I started working in the power generation space. He took me under his wing and taught me so much, helping me throughout my career and being my strongest supporter.  My career would have been entirely different without him.  The best thing that Charlie ever did for me was push me to go to business school.  It’s the best decision I’ve made for myself.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

Invest in yourself. If you have the opportunity to further your education – take it.  Building yourself up and giving yourself an arsenal of tools, skills and knowledge to go out into the world to go after anything and everything you want is the greatest thing you can do for yourself.  It will prepare you for the tough times – they will come.  Be ready, don’t be afraid, be prepared to power forward.

What advice do you have for other young professional women?

Believe in yourself and have the courage to go after something with all your heart is inspirational to others – and once you have the taste for it it propels you forward.

What is your favorite quote?

I love quotes and I have a board above my desk filled with quotes.  One of my absolute favorites is by Henry Ford, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right.”  Such a basic tenant of life.

See what I mean? If you are as inspired by Erika Rayman as I am (and/or longing for your perfect butt) follow along!