UV Skinz Uses C2FO’s Solutions to Fund Sun-Safe Products

Rhonda Sparks lost her first husband, Darren to melanoma at just 32 years old. They had three little boys at the time.

Sun protection immediately became an important part of family life as she searched for the best way to keep her children safe.

While on a family trip in Hawaii, Rhonda discovered that a type of surf apparel designed to protect against rashes also protects against the sun.

The apparel was called rash guards, but what they provided in convenience and safety, they lacked in fit, style, and comfort.

She realized that she had stumbled on a potentially massive business opportunity that could save lives. After two years of R&D, Rhonda launched UV Skinz.

Seasonality and cash flow gaps

As her business grew, Rhonda quickly discovered the challenges of operating a seasonal business.

For UV Skinz, it can take more than five months before the company makes any money on its latest run of products.

Apparel is manufactured in the winter but doesn’t start selling until the summer, and this often causes gaps in cash flow.

“Early on, we had to do production financing—which was painful, super painful. Factoring after that, which is not much better,” Rhonda said.

Throughout its history, Rhonda has had to use every funding source available—from personal savings to production financing—to keep the company operating smoothly.

Managing gaps in cash flow has been a constant challenge, and sources like factoring have proved to be costly solutions.

Discovering big savings on the cost of money

Rhonda was introduced to C2FO through a notice from Costco, and she remembers thinking that it seemed too good to be true.

She tried it on a few invoices, quickly realized the savings on the cost of money, and stopped using factoring soon after.

“We save four to five times more on the cost of money using C2FO instead of our factoring companies,” she said. 

It’s been over six years since the company has factored an invoice or waited for payment when it needed to improve cash flow.

“I told my accountant, my factoring company, and our bankers that if they don’t know about C2FO, they need to research. C2FO is going to disrupt the industry,” Rhonda said.

Impacting hundreds of thousands of lives

Rhonda started UV Skinz with the hope that no one should have to experience the pain of losing a loved one to skin cancer.

To date, the company has helped hundreds of thousands of families protect themselves from sun damage.

UV Skinz’s product portfolio now includes hats, tops, and bottoms for men, women, and children and can be found in major retailers like Costco and Target.

The company has also been featured on The View, the Today Show, and in People Magazine. You can learn more about UV Skinz here.