Heroes in Business - GRANDtable Exclusive Gayle Martz Founder Sherpa Bag and Sherpa Trading Company

Episode Date: November 3, 2022

Be a disruptor. GRANDtable Exclusive Gayle Martz Founder Sherpa Bag and Sherpa Trading Company is interviewed by David Cogan, famous host of the Heroes Show and founder Eliances entrepreneur community.  

Up in the sky, look, it's captivating, it's energizing, it's Eliance's Heroes. Eliance's is the destination for entrepreneurs, investors, CEOs, inventors, leaders, celebrities, and startups, where our heroes in business align. Now here's your host flying in, David Kogan, founder of Eliance's. Well, welcome to the Eliance's Hero Show. That's right. And you know, the only place you can go, there's only one place, that's Eliance's. That's E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S.com, where you can certainly check out many, many hundreds upon hundreds. I think we're what, 1,200 interviews plus and growing past recordings and that because the people that we interview are here to help you.

And that's right. And you can always learn something from someone. So with us, I have Gail Martz. Now, she is the founder of the iconic brand and bag, Sherpa Bag, and Sherpa Trading Company. She can be reached at gailmartz.com. That's G-A-Y-L-E-M-A-R-T-Z dot com. Now, you may be wondering, who's Gail and what did she do? Now, you may be wondering, who's Gail and what did she do? Well, let me just tell you.

If you have a pet and you have a dog, you'll know why, if you ever traveled, who to thank. So with that, Gail, go ahead and steal the thunder of what you did to the entire airline industry in regards to dogs.ized pet travel so we also have the cats oh and cats okay and cats but it first started with dogs well I started with Sherpa the queen of the Empire the Lhasa Opsal and then of course I had to name the company and the bag the Sherpa bag and it was cats and dogs and so in my first logo I said the cats out of the bag and into the logo was Sherpa and that's how I started the company with the cats and the dogs and helping people to learn how to be able to finally get on an airplane. That was the void in the marketplace. You could not get a pet on board inside the passenger cabin with you.

Now, people may not remember that time of when that took place and stuff. So what exactly do you mean? You were not allowed to bring a dog or a cat on the airplane at all, even if you had a backpack or something that you were putting them in? No. I had to get the Sherpa bag officially approved one by one with each individual airlines. So when I came to Phoenix to do this wonderful alliance heroes with you, I flew on American Airlines airlines and i said that you were the first airline i changed the policy on in 19 well it was really in 1990 and then i changed the policy

so that a pet was allowed on board underneath the seat in front of you and I worked on all the bulletins all the rules all the regulations so that people would know that they had to do this this was this started in well actually 88 I started but the first airline was in 1990 Gil first of all working with the airlines as far as, like, you know, customer service or a lost bag or anything like that is a nightmare. So how in the world can you get an airline to change anything, especially if it's not so much of an interest to them because it, quote, doesn't affect them, it's the passengers and of an interest to them because it, quote, doesn't affect them.

It's the passengers and that. People are already flying. They're already filling up seats. How did you get them to move at all? Heck, how do you even get a meeting with somebody there? Absolutely. Number one, the most important thing to the airlines, revenue and service. And then how could I find that person to get to, to get into the company?

Because I had to meet with reservations, in-flight policies, in-flight policies, all of the different segments of the airlines, like 15 people would be at a table and Sherpa the dog would be in the center of the table in her Sherpa bag, and we would work over what policies should be. And then people would say, or someone would say, but if they sneak their pet on board, I said they will not. So then I had to set up all the rules and regulations. So there was a fee involved. Now, the fee at that time to get a pet on board an airline was 45 dollars so that's how long ago it was now what is it oh it could be 200 but my flight here was 125 now remember your feet go under the seat for free the bag with the small pet it must be less than 10 pounds has to uh depending on where you're going

there's a fee involved now it was 125 on american airlines all right which is that's a standard 125 for domestic 200 for international okay so they were open to the conversation because it had to deal with you figured it out of the revenue part so now they were open to the conversation because it had to deal with, you figured it out of the revenue part. So now they're able to increase their revenue doing it. But even then for them to get a pass through legal, it must've been a nightmare of all the what ifs could happen. Well, we had to deal with all the what ifs and what if that pet got out of the bag. So the rule had to be set up, which I wrote with them, with all of the rules and regulations, policies. So that's really what I did, was to work on the policy with the airline,

because it's a policy. It's not governed by a government agency. So on this particular airline, So on this particular airline, the pet must be, all airlines, underneath the seat in front of you, safely, comfortably, with ventilation, said the Sherpa bag is the only soft-sided pet carrier allowed on board. So you had the whole market. I had the whole market. So you created something that didn't exist, an industry that didn't exist. The category. The category that didn't exist and locked it up completely where nobody had no competitors in that well in the beginning and then they would say it's identified

by sherpa zipper pulls okay and because people were trying to sneak their pets on do whatever they could do and i just had to you know set up the standard on how you would travel with a pet. So what advice do you have, though, because for others that are trying to break into an industry that, quote, may not be open to whatever it is. I mean, you did it with creating a whole new industry, but trying to even get a product maybe they have something right now they're trying to market to the airline industry or you know a new type of special you know clean blanket type things where maybe you could charge extra for a blanket throwing this out somebody may steal that idea but that's fine um you know where it can only be the quote kind of maybe sherpa blanket thing or that yeah because they have they have the Sherpa, you know, we have Sherpa everything. Okay, so there.

So, but how do you, what secrets can you share of what they could do? Because they're going to get a note, right? And you try to, well, even try to get someone on the phone. Well, I think what I always suggest to people that has helped me was to do your research. And you need to find a void in the marketplace. So find the void, and then you have to, I have to have a cause, and then a solution. And so there was a big void in the marketplace. And the cause was so people could be able to travel with their beloved,

as you have a beloved uh dog with you and people have they're they're just it's it's there is no limit to the love people have for their pets and their animals and their family and this it's part of the family right so why can't i take part of my family with me what's going on here right right absolutely and you flew in uh to attend the alliances grand table you presented in front of hundreds upon hundreds of entrepreneurs and leaders in all different industries um also not even including many that were online watching also too you had a line of people that wanted to talk to you afterwards what was what was going through your mind coming to alliances what did you think i thought it was fabulous and i felt that i was in a world that was so interesting

stimulating educational with the people that i, we don't have to say, but we can always say with your organization, all the people that were there to help. And it's a way to really help the alliance of a group, of a community that we might not know this person or that person or that industry but we all came together and we learned and we were inspired and we were motivated and it really was uh it's it's one of my most fabulous experiences because it's growing in a community that is there to help others. Well, we were honored by having you coming and we look forward to having you more involved. I can't thank you enough for what you've done in the industry, but I heard that you may also have a special guest with us today now. Is that correct? Oh, yes. Well, you know, I wouldn't leave home without my loving, loving companion who is with me everywhere I go for every second.

And this is Coco. What? Coco? Yeah, K.O-K-O. Here she is coming out of her Sherpa bag. Wow, look at this. Oh, my gosh, so cute. Yeah. And let's show the Sherpa bag, too, here.

Yeah, this is the tote around town. So I've done, I would have to say millions of bags. I have another bag that's on another table. But the pet carrier is the biggest seller in the world. It's the Sherpa bag is the number one global soft-sided pet carrier in the world. And this is the tote around town because I'm going around town today. So here we are with Coco and of the keys to my room and everything that's there. And Coco is three years old, and she is the Sherpa spokesdog.

Gail, what goes through your mind? We've got time for one more question. What goes through your mind when you see others that are using the Sherpa bag at the airport and that? What goes through your mind. Like, because you know how much work and dedication and how many gazillion knows. And yet now here you are and you see people using it. Yes.

I am the most proud when I see someone and they have their beloved companion with them in a Sherpa bag. It really touches my heart. That is what touches my heart. I love it. Well, you definitely touched our heart today. So thank you so much for creating something now that we can all use and take our pets on, take our dogs, cats on an airplane. Or in the car. But what we want to really talk about is the, it's the safety. So in the car, you want to be safe.

In the home, you want to be safe. The plane was the first. So that's like the smallest. The car is larger than in the home. And it's because of her. So make sure you reach out to Gail Martz by going to GailMartz.com. That's G-A-Y-L-E-M-A-R-T-Z.com because you've been watching, listening to me, host of the Alliance's Hero Show. So you know where to go.

E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S.com. Why Gail? Because Alliances is the only place where entrepreneurs align. We're unstoppable. That's right. We're unstoppable. That's right. Is that correct? Yes.

We're unstoppable.