Lucas Lappe, co-founder of Canopy and Doris Dev, joins Hot Takes, Big Stakes to share how he built a successful wellness brand from the ground up without raising venture capital. From launching his first absurd product (a hot glue gun for string cheese) to designing mold-resistant humidifiers now sold at Sephora, Lucas explains what it really takes to launch and scale a physical product.

This episode covers how Canopy focused on solving real user problems, stayed profitable from day one, and turned a bootstrapped product into a trusted beauty and wellness brand. Whether you're building in DTC, design, or consumer goods, there's something in here for you.

Key Takeaways:

• Bootstrapping forced every dollar to count, which shaped the company’s focus on ROI
• Canopy reimagined the humidifier as a beauty and wellness product
• Sephora helped position the brand as more than an appliance
• The team avoided flashy packaging to cut costs and reduce waste
• Doris Dev was created as a learning platform and support system for launching Canopy
• Having a founding team with clear strengths in product, ops, and brand was key
• Spending time with manufacturers was critical for building better products

More Hot Takes Big Stakes

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hottakesbigstakes/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hottakesbigstakes/

More on Lucas Lappe

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucaslappe/

“Canopy” Website: https://getcanopy.co/

X Profile: https://x.com/lucas_lappe

More on Natalie Holloway:

Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/

“Bala” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bala/

“Balacize” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balacize/

Substack,

“Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.com

Book a 1-on-1 Call: https://intro.co/NatalieHolloway

More on Lana Elie-Meyers:

Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lanaelie/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/

Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:15 - Lucas’s Engineering Roots & Startup Beginnings

03:40 - Quirky, Goby & Lessons from Failing Fast

07:10 - Launching Doris Dev to Solve Real Problems

09:45 - How Canopy Was Born from an Idea & a Bad Humidifier

13:00 - The Beauty Consumer Deserves Better

14:45 - Getting Into Sephora Without Funding

17:30 - The Real Benefits of a Humidifier

19:15 - Their Strategy Across Sephora, Amazon, & Baby Retailers

21:00 - Expanding into Shower Heads & Bathroom Wellness

23:30 - Why Canopy Doesn’t Do Fancy Packaging

26:00 - Scaling a Business with a 20-Person Team

29:00 - Why ROI Dictates Every Business Decision

33:00 - Advice for Product-Based Startup Founders

36:30 - Hot Takes: Reinventing the Pet Industry?

38:15 - The Product That Shouldn’t Exist