Connor Saeli was one such viewer who looked at the franchise and thought it could be a fruitful venture.
Here’s everything he said during an exclusive interview with The List.
Connor Saeli dishes about his new business
So you mentioned a little bit your company.
It’s called Waterboy.
I know you’re in what seems like a transitional point.
So tell me a little bit about that.
And I knew I loved doing entrepreneurial business stuff.
And Mike had this idea for essentiallya hangover hydration product.
And essentially when you look at like Liquid I.V.
which are the really popular brands right now, they’re loaded with sugar.
Obviously it can help with taste great, but you don’t need it.
I wasn’t even in any of the [videos] as this was all Mike.
But it evolved from just working in a coffee shop to what it is now.
And it’s just kind of grown since then and now we have two more flavors.
In two weeks, we’ll probably have two additional products as well.
So that’s pretty exciting.
And Austin seemed to be a really good spot to be.
And so it’s exciting.
It’s something I’d always dreamed of starting a business and hopefully turning it into a successful thing.
None of them really ever worked out, but it’s cool to actually, like, do it.
And it’s finally, like, working.
So it’s crazy how it’s come full circle and that dream is starting to finally be realized.
Where do things stand with his business now?
What was that like?
Were you guys at all anxious?
… What was that like?
And we officially launched, it was March 3, 2020, which was like
Ouch.
literally the day before COVID started.
There was a lot of fear and everything.
And so, we were all locked in and didn’t want to spend any money.
And people started buying.
It was cool to be able to provide products for people that really helped during that time too.
And so we just knew there was so much interest in all these other hydration products in particular.
And I think there’s really only one brand that really had taken over the sugar-free part of it.
You’re narrowing in on a specific area.
And then we have some other different areas we want to target as well.
I think with some other things too, we knew that we had a really good opportunity and product.
It was just marketing [in] the right way.
Like musicians are taking over on TikTok, products are taking over on TikTok.
It’s such a direct-to-consumer way of doing things, which is …
Even Instagram can’t even really do that in the same capacity, it seems like.
But now it’s just so flooded with influencers posting stuff.
And I’m one of those people myself.
And I think that’s why it does so well for businesses.
And so we want people to view us as like, “Oh, that’s a cool person.
I’d love to get a drink with them at a bar” throw in of thing.
We’re friendly, we’re approachable.
And in all of our videos, it’s super low production.
And I think people just like that and they relate to it more.
And I think that shines through when it comes to actually purchasing products and supporting the business.
I feel like the pandemic has just changed everything.
And I know for myself, I’ve really missed that one-on-one kind of interaction with people.
And I think too, people are more inclined to support a small business versus
Absolutely.
And I think when people see that, they just feel more connected to it.
It feels more of like a small business, even though it’s growing into hopefully a big one.
Connor’s ambitions have allowed him to give back
Definitely.
And I know that the product is made in the United States.
And that’s something I did with my last business.
We gave a portion to, I think it was, No Kid Hungry.
And then also the children’s hospital in Dallas.
So I love doing that.
And they’re all non-GMO and all that good stuff.
It helps it dissolve into the water.
And what we realized is that we really didn’t need it.
And so in our version two that we launched in August, we ended up removing that.
And so, essentially it’s a very clean label, which we love, I love.
And that’s been my thing since the beginning, just with starting businesses.
I think that’s where the best ideas come from is look at your own life.
What problems do you have?
How can you solve them?
Yes, I have the same approach with my work as well, as an editor.
I think, well, what stories do I want to read?
Yes, for sure.
It makes it seems like a far more authentic way of going about it.
Why Connor finds The Bachelorette a little ‘traumatic’ to watch
Okay.
I’ve got to talk to you about “The Bachelor” because
Let’s do it.
I want to pick your brain about it.
I’m going to talk to a couple of “Bachelor” people.
I’m trying to think.
So that was a while ago.
I know; it’s been crazy.
And I feel like there’s been so many seasons too.
Well, I feel like last year were there four?
There’s been so
And … it was “Paradise” in between that too?
“Paradise” was in between that.
So let’s go all the way back.
I was going to ask, what’s it like?
Have you watch yourself on TV?
And if I do watch it, I just want to be alone.
And my parents love it now.
And so when I was home for Christmas, they were trying to watch it.
And I think I just went to the other room.
The Chris Harrison stuff, that’s tough.
I didn’t follow it too closely because I …
So I didn’t watch it basically after Peter [Weber]’s season.
I think I watched one episode of Clare when her and Dale got engaged, which was fascinating.
And then I just started watching this season.
So I’ve seen the two episodes for this season.
I feel like he has a good presence and everything.
What does Connor Saeli think about The Bachelor’s host drama?
I think [Jesse Palmer] going through the process himself, I’m sure only helps.
I just feel like he’s got a good hosting voice and everything.
I feel like if he is the permanent host, I think he will do a pretty good job.
I didn’t really see Kaitlyn [Bristowe] and Tayshia host.
I know some people liked them, some people didn’t, but I do like Jesse.
Do you like Jesse?
And I really liked Kaitlyn and Tayshia.
It seems like it’s just such a unique experience to go through.
So question for you do you think that …
I think for Jesse, it didn’t work out for him.
I think he’s with a different …
He’s married to someone else.
And then it did work out with Kaitlyn, but not with the person that she chose.
And I’m thinking on “The Bachelorette.”
I’m trying to think now.
I’m recalling who … Because Zach and Tayshia are no longer together.
Kaitlyn got engaged to Shawn [Booth].
They were together for a long time.
Gosh, who else?
I want to say, is Desiree [Hartsock] … That was a while ago.
Oh, that was a while ago.
I think he might be.
Yes, I guess it’s a small pool to choose from.
It’s a small pool.
So I don’t know.
So I think we’re in that new realm of seeing where they’re going to go.
It seems like they’re in a bit of a limbo.
A little bit, yes.
Like trying to find their identity a little bit.
But yes, I don’t know.
I do think it would be cool to almost have a couple host the show.
I think it creates a cool dynamic of like, if you had a Sean-and-Catherine-pop in situation.
How did Connor come to star on The Bachelorette?
Rachel and Bryan would be good.
So I would like that.
In the last season?
I feel like it almost made it more of a comedy show or just … And I feel like they didn’t even do anything too.
They … just appeared.
Wells was definitely steering the ship.
Yes, which just confuses me.
It’s like, why not just make him the host.
But I feel like it took away from what the show’s actually about.
And I feel like that’s where they’re struggling a little bit now.
And so when I was younger, she loved the show.
She would watch it and I would watch it with her.
I remember watching Ben Higgins' season and JoJo’s season.
And I was like, “Wow, this seems like such a fairy tale.
It just seems so like real to me.”
But now when I watch it, maybe part of it is because I’ve been on it.
You’ve seen it from the other side.
And I think it’s just …
There’s always the person, there’s always
The villain.
It’s just the same stuff.
I don’t know what it is.
It’s tough to find different things to do.
And I think the tough thing too …
I know when the show first started, they would pick random people to be the Bachelor.
It would just be a totally unknown person.
And I think maybe there was more of like because social media wasn’t really around.
So I think people were maybe more curious to tune in and see who that person was.
I don’t know anything about the guy.
Like that’s where all the excitement and drama comes from and everything.
I feel like they’ve literally have not done that over the last few years.
And I feel like when they have done it, they’re making up for a mistake.
I feel like a lot of people wanted it to be Tayshia originally.
It would just seem like a weird, out-of-left-field choice.
So it was just a little weird.
I don’t know.
There’s ways they can make it better and more engaging.
Would Connor ever return to the franchise?
I’ve been asked that a lot over the years.
I feel like it’s changed.
Right now, probably not.
I don’t know.
I think it was a really fun thing to do at the time.
And I definitely believed in the love story.
So [I] don’t necessarily need to.
But I don’t know.
I was like, “Dude, you got to do it.
It’d be so fun.
And I think it’d be selfishly fun for me to watch him go on there.
But he ended up not going.
And I think at the time I was all about recommending people to go on.
Now I don’t know if I would.
I watched the show the other night.
You sit there like, “Ah, why’d you do that?”
And you almost take the human out of this person, just turn them into a character.
Just that it’s so like life-altering.
Well, I do think it’s what you make it, a little bit.
And that was just a really crazy time in my life.
But I would say that most are really good people.
And some of them maybe, but I would say the collective whole, we’re all just humans.
We all make mistakes.
We all do stupid things.
And maybe think about your own life too.
Because I would say a lot of people have probably made mistakes.
Waterboy products are available for purchase online atWaterboy.com.
