Meet Danielle Del Sordo and Brandegee Pierce | Founders of Pirani Life

We had the good fortune of connecting with Danielle Del Sordo and Brandegee Pierce and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Danielle Del Sordo and, what do you attribute your success to?
The support of all of our Pirani Heroes! And the tireless hours and dedication that we put into our brand. Just like life, there are ups and downs in business. The overwhelming and genuine support from all of our customers continuously feeds our passion towards Pirani Life and what we stand for. It’s currently 7:00 pm on a Saturday night the weekend before Christmas, and here we are behind our laptops, working as we enter into the final crunch of Christmas week. Fast forward to Spring 2022 and here we are finally finishing up these questions that Shout Out Miami has been so patient with us to answer!

As a small and growing business owner, there are no breaks (but it’s still important to find balance)! And we are also both lifelong learners. Without being open to learning new things, we would not be where we are today.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
In 2018, we started Pirani Life to help create a solution to the 500-billion single-use cups used around the world each year. If you live in or have ever visited South Florida, you know that there is an unprecedented amount of litter along our coasts and in our oceans and we saw it EVERY day. At the time, we lived one block from the ocean and as designers wanted to fulfill our dreams to start a company that made a difference in the world. We lived in a one-bedroom apartment where Brandegee designed the Pirani Party Tumbler on his 3d printer in the living room. Some things that set our tumbler apart from the many out there aren’t just the mission and message behind it, however it has some tricks up its sleeve.

It’s much lighter and thinner walled than most vacuum insulated tumblers which makes it easy to carry and be a part of the BYOC movement and a great everyday cup! The Pirani tumbler is super stackable, dishwasher safe, has measurement lines and comes with a leak proof lid.

I believe we got to where we are today through the support of our community in South Florida that believed in our mission and our product through and through. These are local non-profits that are taking care of our coastline, spreading awareness, and going after lawmakers to create change. They are the true guardians of the ocean for South Florida!

Challenges, what are those? Lol

I would say one of our biggest challenges was learning to run a business. They don’t teach you these things in school, and there are no tutorials out there that show you how to properly run your business. When one challenge is overcome, the next will arise, or they just all come at once. I think so many people are successful because they keep going because they are resilient, even when they want to quit.

If you want to run a startup, you need to be beyond dedicated to continue to push through the madness. You need to make friends with other businesses and ask questions. And it would be great to have a mentor. You need to be willing to hustle around the clock, take risks and make sacrifices!

Another challenge we’ve faced is Financial Hardship. One thing that they don’t teach people about companies is that as you grow, you need more capital for more product (which is the biggest expense), employees, software, etc. We bootstrapped the first 2.5 years of our business, but in 2021 we grew 1000% (this is because it was our first real year of business.) With that growth, we needed to find a way to afford our product, so we took out our first SBA loan which was a bit scary at first!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Our favorite place in South Florida is the ocean of course! We would start out with a day at Bill Baggs State park either hiking, kayaking, or just basking in the sun next to the lighthouse. Always picking up any litter in the sand or ocean. Then maybe head to downtown and eat dinner at CHE105 or Pub Belly in Miami, or a favorite Fort Lauderdale local spot for us is El Guanaco.

If our guests were visiting during a full moon, we would certainly take them to a full moon party on Miami Beach! Most of our activities take place in the water, so we’d try to get in a kayak through Coral Gables and then stop by Coconut Grove.

Other notable places to visit would include Riverbend Park, Everglades National Park (maybe a bike ride in Shark Valley!), The Keys. And for culture, we’d take them to Calle Ocho for some authentic Cuban food and Salsa dancing. Maybe stop in Wynwood, although it’s changed a lot since it’s grassroots days!

Now that we no longer live in South Florida, this list is making us nostalgic!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
To everyone who has been there to support us along the way. From our Kickstarter beginnings, to our growth from our one bedroom apt. in Lauderdale by the sea to our first warehouse in Asheville, NC. All these individuals have helped us get to where we are today! – There’s a lot and we will probably forget some! But here it goes:

The SFL Guardians of the ocean including – Fillabag, Sun of a Beach Cleanup, Free Our Seas and Beyond, Surfrider Foundation Broward and Miami, Clean This Beach Up, Clean Miami Beach, Boca Save Our Beaches, Lutom World, Free Plastic Org, Eco Codes, the whole Litter Free FL crew and more!

Also companies that have mentored us including Stream2Sea, Groove Life Rings, Twisted Ware, Marty Grief with SiteTuners and more! Plus our beloved family, ambassadors and friends who have been super supportive of our journey and always encouraging us to carry on  We are forever grateful!

Website: https://www.pirani.life/

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pirani-life

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PiraniLife

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/piranilife

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ9fXOiUuPkG6MwlhsuXr8g