If we told you fans would line up for hours in a liquor store for a photo opp with people with ‘No Job’, would you believe us?
Such is the case with Claudia Oshry and Ben Soffer - well known by their legion of ‘Toasters’ and ‘Spritzers’, respectively, as @GirlWithNoJob and @BoyWithNoJob.
The New York City-based power couple, who each got their start on social media in the mid-2010s, have ironically not only secured jobs for themselves, but built empires.
Claudia, 28, is both a podcaster (of the popular The Toast with her sister Jackie) and touring comedian, while Ben, 30, is the Founder & CEO of the premium canned cocktail line, Spritz Society.
Spritz Society, which launched in August 2021, has seen almost unprecedented growth in its just-over-one-year on the market – its success can be almost entirely attributed to the strength of the founder’s community.
Fans wanting to support both Ben & Claudia purchased Spritz Society ‘sight unseen’ at its launch, resulting in over six figures in DTC sales in the brand’s first 24 hours!
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Since then, the brand has skyrocketed – it’s available in eight US markets (and counting!), and the brand has had partnerships with United Airlines, GoPuff, and BLADE, to name a few.
Also joining the Spritz Society team are new investors including powerhouse podcast network, Dear Media, as well as Dear Media founders, Lauryn and Michael Bosstick, and Morning Brew’s Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, Alex Lieberman.
They join Spritz Society’s star-studded investor lineup which features pro golfer Will Zalatoris, ‘The Points Guy’ Brian Kelly, entrepreneur Ankur Jain, and more.
We sat down with everybody’s favorite social stars to discuss what’s next for the brand, and the power of authenticity and community online.
Despite your “Girl and Boy With No Job” personas, you have built huge social media empires, both separately and together. What advice would you give to aspiring career men and women?
B: When I first started my career, I wanted to be a dentist. Then I launched my Instagram account, Boy With No Job, which was always just meant to be a hobby, but led me to discover a passion for social media and influencer marketing. I was lucky to be able to make a career out of that passion working at VaynerMedia. After years of working with other brands, I realized I wanted to create my own, which led to Spritz Society. My background in influencer marketing undoubtedly helped when I became an influencer myself, and helps with Spritz Society today as we’re a brand powered by social marketing. So, my advice to people beginning their careers is to find something you have a passion and talent for to inspire your direction, but to pursue all avenues. You never know where it will lead you.
C: I think the idea of instant fame or success is a huge misconception in the digital age. It definitely exists but more often than not it doesn’t last very long. I’m super fortunate to have the platform that I do, but it’s important to remember that I have been doing this since 2012. Everything I have now - Girl With No Job, The Toast, Toast News Network (TNN), my comedy career – it all began with me in my dorm room writing blog posts to an audience of three. I was able to scale that over time by being consistent and staying authentic to myself. For people that feel stuck in their careers or don’t know where to start, my best advice is to recognize and capitalize on your strengths and remember that you can’t skip the small steps.
As pioneers in the digital age, how did you cultivate such strong communities on social media?
C: By being brutally honest with my audience, no matter how ugly it looked sometimes. I think over the years, my raw authenticity has really resonated with people. You don’t need to put on a persona for social media. I am @girlwithnojob and @girlwithnojob is me. I talk to my phone camera like I talk to my sisters. That energy bled into our podcast too – which is why we have such a powerful community of listeners!
B: In the case of Spritz Society, we reached out to a select group of my Instagram followers who were particularly engaged with my cocktail review content and consulted them on what would become the basis of the brand - flavors, packaging, messaging, and more. This close connection with my community of followers has helped Spritz Society massively - we’re lucky to have such a strong pulse on what our community is looking for in a canned cocktail, and we continue to engage with them on social media as we grow and expand.
You’re both praised for posting real, unfiltered content on social media. How have you managed to stay authentic online?
B: Staying authentic to our personal brands has always been at the forefront of our content and business strategy. I think that commitment to authenticity is what has allowed us to create the community that we have, and their continued support is what allows us to keep creating the content we are known for.
There is oftentimes a negative stigma surrounding the world of online influencing. How do your businesses serve as evidence that social media is not frivolous?
B: A lot of the stigma surrounding influencing is inauthenticity, which can be the case when influencers push a brand that doesn’t align with their values or speak to their community. I think that’s why we’ve been so successful in introducing Spritz Society to our community, because it is a very clear extension of us. Claudia, Jackie, and I are heavily involved in the brand not only promoting it on-the-ground, but meeting with the accounts in different states to sell the product, working with our production team to develop new flavors, and beyond. The power of the community Spritz Society has built is clear in the success of the brand and the partnerships we have been able to garner in just a year since we launched. I would love to be known as an entrepreneur who is also an influencer, rather than an influencer with a brand.
C: I genuinely believe that the work we do speaks for itself. You might not understand it, but you can respect it. Because at the end of the day, our business makes people happy. How many people can say that? So, while I am not a brain surgeon or a nuclear physicist, I know that the content I create helps people, even if it is in a tiny way. And I am very proud of that.
Spritz Society has recently expanded to New York! As New Yorkers yourselves, what is the personal significance of this? From a business perspective, what does this mean for the growth of your brand?
B: I’m so happy to finally bring Spritz Society to New York! It’s where we are from, and where the brand is headquartered. From a business perspective, it is our number one market for online sales, so expanding to retail here is a huge milestone for the company. I can’t wait for Spritz Society fans to be able to walk into a store and buy some.
Since launching in 2021, Spritz Society has quickly emerged as an industry leader in the field. What would you attribute this rapid success to?
B: Besides being a quality product that tastes delicious, we owe a lot of Spritz Society’s success to our fans. When we first launched, we earned over six figures in sales within the first 24 hours – which is almost unprecedented for a new brand. Spritz Society was built by the fans, for the fans, and we are constantly listening to them for what they want to see next, how we can improve, and which states to take the brand to.
What’s next for you two? Your brands?
B: The New York launch is our main focus right now, but we are working hard to continue to expand into retail in more states so ‘Spritzers’ throughout the US can get their hands on the cocktails. We also have an exciting collaboration in the pipeline with someone I know our audience loves, so we can’t wait to announce that!
C: The Toast and Toast News Network just announced our partnership with Dear Media, which has been amazing! I am still on tour and am recording a new comedy special in December! I can’t wait for the Toasters to see it.
Photography by: Courtesy of brand
