Kate Joynt: The Founder Who Bet Everything on a Plug You Didn't Know You Needed

Kate Joynt co-invented a product nobody was searching for. Then one influencer post took her Amazon sales from 25 a day to 800 — and EZ Outlet landed in Home Depot.Full Show NotesKate Joynt is the founder and CEO of EZ Outlet, an electrical outlet extender now sold at Home Depot, on Amazon, on Walmart.com, and featured twice on NBC's Today Show.She didn't come from consumer products. She came from real estate, enterprise tech sales, and a lifelong fascination with inventions that started with a kid-invention show on Nickelodeon. When her co-founder Tony made an offhand comment one day — "wouldn't it be cool if you could just plug something into the original outlet and pull the power up here, above the couch?" — Kate's ear was already primed for it.What followed was years of prototyping, UL certification, factory sourcing, tooling and molding investments, and a brutal early period of paying for clicks that weren't there. Because nobody was searching for "electrical outlet extender." The category didn't exist yet.Then one influencer posted one video. Sales went from 25 a day to 800 in an hour. Home Depot followed.But the part of this conversation I keep coming back to isn't the wins. It's Kate describing her business as a "glass bubble" — fragile, vulnerable, something she had to protect through years where investors told her to keep going but nobody wrote a check until she didn't need one. It's her honesty about the stress that doesn't show up in pitch decks. And it's the specific, hard-won wisdom she has for the next founder standing where she was five years ago.If you're an operator with an idea you keep almost-pursuing, or a founder in the messy middle of building something real, this episode is for you.In this conversation:What EZ Outlet actually is, and why the problem it solves is so universal • Why it took years to get to market and what "overnight success" really looks like • The conversation that sparked the idea, and why Kate's ear was ready for it • Working with a co-founder who's your polar opposite • How she found engineers, factories, and a buying agent without a manufacturing background • The shocks of UL certification and consumer product compliance • Why pay-per-click failed and one influencer post changed everything • Getting on NBC's Today Show — twice • The copycat problem, the safety stakes, and protecting the brand • The emotional toll of being all-in on one product • Why investors only fund you once you don't need them • Three pieces of advice for the next generation of foundersAbout Kate Joynt Kate Joynt is the founder and CEO of EZ Outlet, a patent holder, and an ETL-certified entrepreneur. Her background spans a decade in real estate and enterprise technology sales. Find EZ Outlet at Home Depot, on Amazon, on Walmart.com, and occasionally on HSN. EZ Outlet website: https://ezoutlet.com/Kate Joynt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katejoynt/About The Bigger Stage The Bigger Stage is a podcast for founder-CEOs making the leap from operator to recognized authority. Hosted by Matt Stone, founder of The Bigger Stage. Learn more at thebiggerstage.com.If this episode landed for you, the best thing you can do is share it with one founder who needs to hear it — and leave a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It's how more people find the show.