Author: Tracy McCoy
James and I often talk about how some of the best business ideas start with a pretty simple question: Why are we still doing it this way?
In Episode 14 of The Fish Slap Effect Podcast, Not Your Ordinary Toothpaste with Dr. Jordan Harper, I got to explore that idea through a conversation that was a little different from our usual episodes. While attending the Florida Association of Cosmetic Dentistry Conference, I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Harper, one of the founders of ENML, a company that's taking something most of us probably haven't thought twice about and completely reimagining it.
That something is toothpaste. Yes, toothpaste.
Jordan and his longtime best friend, Kyle, created a luxury oral care brand built around toothpaste tablets instead of the traditional tube most of us have used our entire lives. When I first heard about it, I was curious but maybe a little skeptical too. Then I tried it.
By the time we sat down to talk, they had converted me.
But what really stuck with me wasn't just the product. It was the story behind it and what business owners can learn from two friends who looked at an established industry and decided there might be a better way.
Great Ideas Can Start with a Crazy Conversation
Jordan and Kyle have been friends since middle school, and the idea for ENML didn't begin in a corporate strategy meeting or with a massive research team.
It started during a conversation between two friends on a boat.
Kyle suggested they should start a toothpaste company. Jordan, who is a practicing dentist, initially thought the idea sounded a little crazy. Instead of dismissing it, though, they started talking it through. Jordan spent time trying to poke holes in the idea, and somewhere along the way they realized there really was an opportunity.
That's one of my favorite parts of their story. Not every idea you have with a friend, partner, or colleague is going to become a business. Some probably shouldn't. But I think there's something valuable about having people around you who give you the freedom to explore ideas without immediately shutting them down.
Sometimes the idea that sounds a little crazy at first is exactly the one worth investigating.
Look for What Everyone Else Has Accepted
One thing Jordan said during our conversation really stayed with me: toothpaste hasn't fundamentally changed much in decades.
Most of us never question that. We buy a tube, squeeze some onto a toothbrush, and move on with our lives. Jordan and Kyle questioned it.
They saw growing interest in fluoride-free oral care and an opportunity for hydroxyapatite products. They also noticed that luxury branding wasn't really part of the oral care category in the way it exists in beauty, skincare, fragrance, and other consumer products.
Then they started thinking about the experience itself.
Could toothpaste be better for the environment? Could the packaging be something you actually wanted sitting on your bathroom counter? Could brushing your teeth feel different?
That's where disruption really begins. It doesn't always mean inventing an entirely new category. Sometimes it's looking at something people have accepted for years and asking whether there's a better way to deliver it.
The Details Become Part of the Brand
What impressed me immediately about ENML was how intentional the brand felt.
The toothpaste tablets come in beautiful glass packaging designed to stay on your counter rather than being hidden in a drawer. Refills allow customers to reuse the containers. Even their toothbrush was designed with sustainability in mind.
Jordan talked about wanting the packaging to feel like something that could sit next to a luxury fragrance bottle, and when you see it, that intention makes sense.
That's an important branding lesson.
Your brand isn't just your logo. It's every detail of the experience. It's the packaging, the product, the website, the words you use, how something feels when a customer holds it, and even where they want to put it when they bring it home.
When all of those pieces reinforce the same story, a product becomes much more memorable.
Know What Your Customers Actually Value
Another thing I appreciated about Jordan and Kyle's approach is that they didn't innovate simply for the sake of being different.
There was a reason behind the decisions.
Their tablets eliminate the need for traditional toothpaste tubes, and their packaging was intentionally designed around materials that can be reused or recycled. The tablet format also allowed them to rethink ingredients and the overall experience.
Those choices speak directly to customers who care about ingredients, sustainability, design, and quality.
That's something every business can learn from. You don't need to change everything about what you offer because something new is trending. You do need to understand what your customers increasingly value and decide whether there's an opportunity to serve them better.
Pay attention to the questions people ask. Pay attention to what they're frustrated by. Pay attention to changing preferences and behaviors. Sometimes your next opportunity is hiding inside something your industry considers normal.
The Right Partnership Can Make an Idea Stronger
This episode also brought James and me back to something we know pretty well: partnerships.
Jordan is a dentist. Kyle is an attorney. They're best friends, but they also bring very different strengths to the business.
I understand that dynamic because James and I are the same way in many respects. We know each other incredibly well, we're best friends, and our skills often balance each other out. There are areas where I'm more analytical and areas where James is going to see something creatively that I may not see immediately.
The goal isn't for business partners to think exactly alike. In fact, I think that would probably make things harder.
The value comes from trusting each other enough to disagree, challenge an idea, explore it from different angles, and eventually figure out whether it's worth pursuing.
The best partnerships don't eliminate different perspectives. They make those differences useful.
Don't Be Afraid to Enter a Difficult Market
Here's another part of ENML's story that business owners should pay attention to.
Toothpaste is not exactly an easy category to break into. Consumers tend to be loyal to products they've used for years, and the industry has some very established players.
Jordan and Kyle knew that going in. They launched anyway. And now their products have made their way into Whole Foods.
I love that because it's a reminder that a crowded market isn't automatically a reason to stay out of it. Sometimes it means you need a stronger reason for people to notice you.
What are you doing differently? What problem are you solving? Why should someone change a habit they've had for years?
If you can't answer those questions, entering a crowded market is going to be difficult. But if you have a meaningful differentiator and you're willing to consistently tell that story, there may still be room for you.
Let People See the Story Behind the Product
Something else happened during my conversation with Jordan that I think matters from a marketing perspective.
I liked the product before I knew the whole story.
I liked it even more after I heard the story behind it.
Suddenly, it wasn't just a pretty bottle of toothpaste tablets. It was two best friends who had known each other since middle school, challenging a category that hadn't changed much and building something together.
Stories give products context.
That's why I'm always encouraging business owners to tell people where they started, introduce the people behind the company, explain why they made certain decisions, and share the experiences that shaped what they're building.
Your customers aren't always just buying the thing you're selling. They're deciding whether they connect with the people, values, and story behind it.
That connection can be incredibly powerful.
The Real Competitive Advantage
What I took away from meeting Dr. Jordan Harper wasn't that every business needs to go out tomorrow and completely disrupt its industry.
It's that we should stay curious.
Look at what your customers are doing. Look at what they're asking for. Look at the parts of your industry that haven't changed in years and ask whether they still make sense.
Then surround yourself with people who are willing to explore those ideas with you.
Some ideas won't work. Some will sound better in theory than they do in practice. But occasionally you'll find one that's worth testing, building, refining, and putting into the world.
Innovation doesn't always start with knowing you have the answer. Sometimes it starts with being willing to question the answer everyone else has accepted.
Watch the Full Episode & Join the Conversation
If you've ever had an idea that sounded a little crazy at first, I invite you to watch Not Your Ordinary Toothpaste with Dr. Jordan Harper, Episode 14 of The Fish Slap Effect Podcast. You'll hear my complete conversation with Jordan about how he and his best friend Kyle turned an idea into ENML, what went into creating the product and brand, and what they've learned while breaking into an incredibly established industry.
James and I also dig into some of the practical lessons we took from their story, including the value of strong partnerships, understanding changing customer preferences, leaning into what makes your business different, and being willing to explore ideas before deciding they're impossible.
Follow The Fish Slap Effect Podcast on your favorite podcast platform or subscribe on YouTube. We release new conversations every week covering marketing, leadership, business growth, innovation, and the unexpected lessons that help businesses move forward.
If you enjoy the show, subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a fellow business owner, entrepreneur, marketer, or leader who might have a crazy idea of their own sitting on the back burner.
Because sometimes disrupting an industry starts with looking at something completely ordinary and deciding it doesn't have to stay that way.
Discover ENML’s innovative oral care products at enml.com