We had the good fortune of connecting with Chrystle & Catherine Cu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chrystle & Catherine, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
As an entrepreneur, admittedly my work has always extended beyond the traditional 40 hour per week schedule. Some might call my schedule “unbalanced”… it is a lot of work, and it does spill over into my life with my husband and two kids. You’ll often find me taking product photography wherever I go, or responding to Slack messages while nursing my newborn. My frequent work-related travel now doubles as fun family adventure time!

My personal definition of balance is knowing that I’m spending my time in a way that makes me happy and fulfilled. I feel extremely fortunate to truly love the work I do. I love being a dentist, love working with the Cocofloss, and love helping people. When our customers share how our products helped them achieve their best smiles and better oral health overall, that fuels my flossy fire.

[Chrystle Cu]

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Between my work in private practice in San Mateo, California, and in underprivileged, rural areas, and as a dentist who saw patients of all ages, I can confidently say I’ve seen every type of mouth there is. Unfortunately among the “worst” of them were the fully edentulus – those that no longer have any teeth remaining.

But even in Silicon Valley, most of my patients had some form of gum disease. I filled thousands of cavities in areas between teeth that proper flossing may have prevented. My patients were brushing regularly. They would even spend 20 minutes swishing coconut oil at home, but they weren’t flossing.

I kept wondering: What ways could a provider, brand, or product have helped prevent these folks from getting cavities and gum disease — or at the extreme end — losing all of their teeth?

I started to wonder if the problem was the oral-care products themselves: bland, boring, and, when it came to floss, mostly inefficient. At Cocofloss, we’re making oral-care products that are so delightful and effective that you actually look forward to using them.

Our textured, woven floss actually removes sticky, stubborn plaque. And our toothbrush features ultrafine bristles that clean where other bristles can’t — including between teeth and under the gumline. Plus, both products look and feel amazing.

Our big dream is to help everyone have healthy teeth for life. I love that my company provides me with a way to help change habits on a bigger scale than I ever could have with my private practice.

[Chrystle Cu]

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?
There is so much to do in the LA area, and so it’s hard to choose! Since LA is such a vast area, I usually plan each day to focus on activities within a ~45 minute radius. My favorite areas include Malibu, for hiking, lazy beach days, and drinks on the coast; Venice for lollygagging around the boardwalk and window shopping on Abbot Kinney; and downtown to catch some art, urban culture, and delicious meals.

Here’s quick mock itinerary for a day downtown:
– Queue up early at Republique to load up on coffee and pastries – ube coconut bundt cakes, kouign amanns, chocolate croissants…
– Visit LACMA to see some of my fav artists – Hockney, Matisse, Ai Wei Wei – and then stroll the La Brea tar pits where direwolves and saber-toothed cats rest.
– For lunch, meander to Silverlake where there’s so much diverse food and fun, artsy shops. I love Playita Mariscos for quick and fresh fish tacos and Spoon & Pork for modern Filipino.
– After lunch, head to Griffith park to stroll through the chaparral and head up to the observatory. Catch a free tour and learn about our galaxy or just hang to enjoy stunning views of downtown LA and the Hollywood hills.
– Before dinner, head to the LA arts district to see the murals and check out the rotating art exhibitions at Hauser & Wirth.
– For dinner, snag a reservation at Bestia for some of the best pizza, pasta, and cocktails.
– And the night is still young!

[Catherine Cu]

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shoutout goes to Dr. Dely Young Cu, aka Mom. A dentist herself, she’s committed to dental and oral health and we couldn’t help but get obsessed with it too. Mom continues to be our biggest supporter and cheerleader.

When she’s not doing dentistry at Young Dental Group, you might find her at a dental continuing education course, where she proudly shares “I’m the Cocofloss mom!”

[Chrystle Cu]

Website: www.cocofloss.com

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cocofloss

Twitter: https://twitter.com/getcocofloss

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

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQRo3aSwDQ2uAUjqI3d_1Sg

Image Credits
Camilla Brown

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