Lean Commerce

I'm consistently amazed at how competitive the apparel space is. Sure, it's a business with great potential for margins, but there are ZERO switching costs and a low barrier to entry. That's why it was so interesting to have Adam Sidney from Myles on this week. He's a heavy hitter in the DTC apparel world. He was a serious mover-and-shaker at a little place called Bonobos, has consulted with brands getting off the ground, and is currently CEO at Myles, a DTC men's clothing brand. We ran the gamut in terms of what's changing in DTC, useful experience from his time at Bonobos and how "boring" products can actually be fascinating. But the topic I believe you'll enjoy the most is authenticity in your brand. Myles is doing some great stuff in this regard. Easy to talk about, and easy to do (if you actually believe in what you're building). Take a listen, and leave a review!

I'm consistently amazed at how competitive the apparel space is. Sure, it's a business with great potential for margins, but there are ZERO switching costs and a low barrier to entry. That's why it was so interesting to have Adam Sidney from Myles on this week. He's a heavy hitter in the DTC apparel world. He was a serious mover-and-shaker at a little place called Bonobos, has consulted with brands getting off the ground, and is currently CEO at Myles, a DTC men's clothing brand. We ran the gamut in terms of what's changing in DTC, useful experience from his time at Bonobos and how "boring" products can actually be fascinating. But the topic I believe you'll enjoy the most is authenticity in your brand. Myles is doing some great stuff in this regard. Easy to talk about, and easy to do (if you actually believe in what you're building). Take a listen, and leave a review!

I've been blessed enough to talk to some fascinating folks on this show. In fact, the whole idea behind the podcast is that 90% are only talked about behind closed doors. Today's episode was even more interesting than normal. Meghan left GoPro to start RedThread - the very first women's apparel brand to ditch standard sizes once and for all and solve the apparel fit issue for all women, of every shape. The coolest thing about it is definitely the tech. Each woman takes a few selfies and her measurements are autogenerated to create clothing with the perfect fit. Think about the impact this could have on returns (if your size was right from the beginning you wouldn't need to send it back), not to mention the ease of shopping since you could ditch the sizing charts (which no one understands anyway). Meghan explains it much better than I can - hope you enjoy this episode.

I've been blessed enough to talk to some fascinating folks on this show. In fact, the whole idea behind the podcast is that 90% are only talked about behind closed doors. Today's episode was even more interesting than normal. Meghan left GoPro to start RedThread - the very first women's apparel brand to ditch standard sizes once and for all and solve the apparel fit issue for all women, of every shape. The coolest thing about it is definitely the tech. Each woman takes a few selfies and her measurements are autogenerated to create clothing with the perfect fit. Think about the impact this could have on returns (if your size was right from the beginning you wouldn't need to send it back), not to mention the ease of shopping since you could ditch the sizing charts (which no one understands anyway). Meghan explains it much better than I can - hope you enjoy this episode.

Distribution channels have been interesting to me for a long time. After all, amazing products DIE without distribution. A big reason I started this podcast was to figure out how independent product owners can stay free from the clutches of Amazon and their margin-slashing claws. But the more I look at their platform, the more I realize that it's quite similar to the wholesale or distributor model. I'll eat my own words here: rather than trying to "beat" Amazon, for some brands it makes sense to "join" them. If you're part of a brand that would benefit from Amazon's distribution channel, this episode for you. Dan Brownsher has been on the side of product development where he and his business partners invest their own capital into launching a brand on Amazon, and the service side, where he and his team help Amazon sellers to scale up. Enjoy the episode!

Distribution channels have been interesting to me for a long time. After all, amazing products DIE without distribution. A big reason I started this podcast was to figure out how independent product owners can stay free from the clutches of Amazon and their margin-slashing claws. But the more I look at their platform, the more I realize that it's quite similar to the wholesale or distributor model. I'll eat my own words here: rather than trying to "beat" Amazon, for some brands it makes sense to "join" them. If you're part of a brand that would benefit from Amazon's distribution channel, this episode for you. Dan Brownsher has been on the side of product development where he and his business partners invest their own capital into launching a brand on Amazon, and the service side, where he and his team help Amazon sellers to scale up. Enjoy the episode!

GUEST BIO: Dave Rodenbaugh is the founder of Recapture.io an automated abandoned cart recovery for Magento & Shopify. Dave started his entrepreneurial career by acquiring businesses and making the developmental changes that turned them into profitable companies. Dave is the host of the Rogue Startups Podcast alongside his co-host Craig Hewitt where they have weekly conversations about entrepreneurship, eCommerce, and marketing. SHOW SUMMARY: Dave Rodenbaugh is the founder of Recapture.io and the host of the Rogue Startups Podcast. His provides an automated abandoned cart recovery for Magento & Shopify businesses. Dave initially started his career acquiring small businesses, where he learned where businesses needed the most help to create profitability. In this episode, we talk about how much Dave acquired his first companies for, where to find those same deals today, and how he acquires new customers for Recapture.io. This is The Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: How did you get started in business acquisition? 1:46 I joined a group of micro-entrepreneurs over a decade ago. What we all had was a skill to build something but we didn't have an understanding of how to sell it and how to sustainably set up a business that can scale. Overtime, the founders of this group created a conference, called Micro Conf, which is now held in Miami. 4:42 I spent time looking around at various marketplaces, such as eBay, and found smaller businesses with potential and bought them at a low costs. Then I started figuring out what parts could be outsourced and how to scale these businesses. How much did you initially acquire these companies for? 5:46 I had a $2,000 budget. Now a days, you could do it for under $5,000. I bought a small business making $100 a month, tried to grow it and make it legit but it turned out there were a lot of fraudulent users on there. I cleaned up the platform, marketing, and sales page and then sold it for the same price. What I came out of it with was knowledge and experience. The second time I did that I found a bunch of Wordpress plugins and a business that was drowning in support. The women in charge wasn't systemizing it or funneling it, so I spent time setting up a pricing page, making a free version vs. premium version, and created a support forum and turned it into a $3,000 a month business from a $300 a month business in three years. Where would you find these smaller deals today? 15:00 I'm on a lot of little lists. Side Projectors is one for example. You'll find a lot of good businesses and some really bad ones. For example, people will rewrite Slack and want you to pay for it. 16:19 The only thing that truly adds value to a business if it's make money. If it's not generating money, it's not worth anything. In some cases, you might be able to say that it can be monetized. For example, a Shopify app that needs another distribution channel. Now, you can use that to cross promote your other Shopify app and use it to make the other one more money. How many acquisitions have you made? 29:50 I think I'm somewhere around eight or nine done deals, not including the ones that haven't worked out. What does it look like to acquire new customers for Recapture.io? 31:20 I won't lie, it can definitely be a struggle. We also have a high LTV. You have to find the right channel. You can try cold emails, pitch to agencies or store owners, etc. All of this takes time and money and as an individual founder there is no way I can do all of it by myself. I have to hire out to get it all done. 36:58 The hardest thing to overcome is trust. You need to show people that you know what you're doing and they can account for your services. Where are the distribution channels to get in touch with store owners today? 38:19 The problem is that there is no one answer to that. Even if you had an answer, it could change in 6-12 months and then change again. Communities come and go. I compare the l

GUEST BIO: Dave Rodenbaugh is the founder of Recapture.io an automated abandoned cart recovery for Magento & Shopify. Dave started his entrepreneurial career by acquiring businesses and making the developmental changes that turned them into profitable companies. Dave is the host of the Rogue Startups Podcast alongside his co-host Craig Hewitt where they have weekly conversations about entrepreneurship, eCommerce, and marketing. SHOW SUMMARY: Dave Rodenbaugh is the founder of Recapture.io and the host of the Rogue Startups Podcast. His provides an automated abandoned cart recovery for Magento & Shopify businesses. Dave initially started his career acquiring small businesses, where he learned where businesses needed the most help to create profitability. In this episode, we talk about how much Dave acquired his first companies for, where to find those same deals today, and how he acquires new customers for Recapture.io. This is The Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: How did you get started in business acquisition? 1:46 I joined a group of micro-entrepreneurs over a decade ago. What we all had was a skill to build something but we didn’t have an understanding of how to sell it and how to sustainably set up a business that can scale. Overtime, the founders of this group created a conference, called Micro Conf, which is now held in Miami. 4:42 I spent time looking around at various marketplaces, such as eBay, and found smaller businesses with potential and bought them at a low costs. Then I started figuring out what parts could be outsourced and how to scale these businesses. How much did you initially acquire these companies for? 5:46 I had a $2,000 budget. Now a days, you could do it for under $5,000. I bought a small business making $100 a month, tried to grow it and make it legit but it turned out there were a lot of fraudulent users on there. I cleaned up the platform, marketing, and sales page and then sold it for the same price. What I came out of it with was knowledge and experience. The second time I did that I found a bunch of Wordpress plugins and a business that was drowning in support. The women in charge wasn’t systemizing it or funneling it, so I spent time setting up a pricing page, making a free version vs. premium version, and created a support forum and turned it into a $3,000 a month business from a $300 a month business in three years. Where would you find these smaller deals today? 15:00 I’m on a lot of little lists. Side Projectors is one for example. You’ll find a lot of good businesses and some really bad ones. For example, people will rewrite Slack and want you to pay for it. 16:19 The only thing that truly adds value to a business if it’s make money. If it’s not generating money, it’s not worth anything. In some cases, you might be able to say that it can be monetized. For example, a Shopify app that needs another distribution channel. Now, you can use that to cross promote your other Shopify app and use it to make the other one more money. How many acquisitions have you made? 29:50 I think I’m somewhere around eight or nine done deals, not including the ones that haven’t worked out. What does it look like to acquire new customers for Recapture.io? 31:20 I won’t lie, it can definitely be a struggle. We also have a high LTV. You have to find the right channel. You can try cold emails, pitch to agencies or store owners, etc. All of this takes time and money and as an individual founder there is no way I can do all of it by myself. I have to hire out to get it all done. 36:58 The hardest thing to overcome is trust. You need to show people that you know what you’re doing and they can account for your services. Where are the distribution channels to get in touch with store owners today? 38:19 The problem is that there is no one answer to that. Even if you had an answer, it could change in 6-12 months and then change again. Communities come and go. I compare the level of interaction and engagement within groups to see if it’s hit or miss. Sometimes the moderators are cutting off the users and shifting groups, it doesn’t seem like they are ever sitting still. What eCommerce solutions are out there for businesses? 48:35 It’s the time of the No Code Movement, you can build something without having to be a programmer. All you have to do is assemble a bunch of things, like what Shopify has created and what WooCommerce attempted to do. Resources Mentioned in the Podcast: Recapture.io Rogue Startups Podcast Micro Conf Side Projectors Contact Dave: Dave on LinkedIn Dave on Twitter

GUEST BIO: Jordan Gutierrez is the COO of Wishpond, a B2B business that builds complete marketing funnels that get leads and customers for eCommerce businesses. He started his business career by buying a coffee machine and selling coffee and donuts on the streets of Mexico City and has now helped Wishpond grow into a 120 person company. Jordan now focuses on the operations of Wishpond and most importantly, pivoting to the wants of their customers to continue to provide the products and services they need to grow their own businesses. SHOW SUMMARY: Jordan is the COO of Wishpond, a campaign builder for eCommerce businesses. Since joining the COO team during its start up phase, he's helped the company grow to employ 120 people and work with Fortune 500 companies to create their marketing funnels. In this episode, we talk about Jordan's first experience with business, what makes products sell on Facebook, and how chatbots and Facebook Messenger are changing the marketing industry. This is The Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: How did you get into eCommerce? 2:15 Moving to Canada from Mexico City gave me my first introduction to Amazon and Best Buy. That summer, I went back to Mexico, bought a coffee machine, and started to sell coffee and donuts on the street. My customers were mostly doctors and I found out they were in Mexico just to buy medical books. I sold my coffee machine and started to sell the books they wanted online. 4:08 I decided that I needed a website and built an eCommerce website in 2007 selling medical books. At the same time, I came back to Canada and was studying in university. This was obviously really chaotic and when I was approached by a dropship partnership company, I agreed. 6:42 I started posting memes related to the medical community on Facebook, I interviewed doctors, and started to get some traction. 8:32 Then, I created a medical case page on Reddit. People could post symptoms and other users would diagnose them. This continued to grow and I started to expand to medical equipment, soaps, and tools. We started some campaigns, sold apparel, anything that medical professionals would want to buy. 11:46 Ninety percent of medical professionals in Mexico know of us and 70% have purchased medical equipment from us at some point. We have over 2,000 Google reviews and a 4.5 rating. It would make sense that adding to cart on Facebook was a seamless, easy decision—but it's not. Why? 19:42 Trying to promote a simple medical book on Facebook is really difficult. On Facebook you need to build a dream and then you need your landing page to have absolutely no distractions. The main mistake people make is they send people to a landing page with too many CTA's. Facebook is extremely distracting and it's hard to choose where to click when you can click anywhere. 22:40 At the end of the day, if your landing page looks professional, has a nice video, and looks authoritative, it builds people's confidence. 26:52 Once a week, we have a special product offer and we use it to grow our Facebook audience. We have contests and in order to be entered you have to get ten people to sign up. We started to just follow the market and got into more content marketing strategies. Do you operate as a SaaS company? 30:56 We are mostly a technology company but we see the need in clients needing a campaign. We have the software to build campaigns and so we offer that to our clients too. We also want to make it super affordable for small businesses. The idea is that you get the same resources as a Fortune 500 company (we work with both types of clients). How has Wishpond grown since you've been added to the team? 32:01 The company now employs 120 people. We've grown because we just focus on where the market is and then create products they want. We fix the problems our customers are having. What are some of the most interesting trends you've seen in the past year with conversion rate optimization?

GUEST BIO: Jordan Gutierrez is the COO of Wishpond, a B2B business that builds complete marketing funnels that get leads and customers for eCommerce businesses. He started his business career by buying a coffee machine and selling coffee and donuts on the streets of Mexico City and has now helped Wishpond grow into a 120 person company. Jordan now focuses on the operations of Wishpond and most importantly, pivoting to the wants of their customers to continue to provide the products and services they need to grow their own businesses. SHOW SUMMARY: Jordan is the COO of Wishpond, a campaign builder for eCommerce businesses. Since joining the COO team during its start up phase, he’s helped the company grow to employ 120 people and work with Fortune 500 companies to create their marketing funnels. In this episode, we talk about Jordan’s first experience with business, what makes products sell on Facebook, and how chatbots and Facebook Messenger are changing the marketing industry. This is The Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: How did you get into eCommerce? 2:15 Moving to Canada from Mexico City gave me my first introduction to Amazon and Best Buy. That summer, I went back to Mexico, bought a coffee machine, and started to sell coffee and donuts on the street. My customers were mostly doctors and I found out they were in Mexico just to buy medical books. I sold my coffee machine and started to sell the books they wanted online. 4:08 I decided that I needed a website and built an eCommerce website in 2007 selling medical books. At the same time, I came back to Canada and was studying in university. This was obviously really chaotic and when I was approached by a dropship partnership company, I agreed. 6:42 I started posting memes related to the medical community on Facebook, I interviewed doctors, and started to get some traction. 8:32 Then, I created a medical case page on Reddit. People could post symptoms and other users would diagnose them. This continued to grow and I started to expand to medical equipment, soaps, and tools. We started some campaigns, sold apparel, anything that medical professionals would want to buy. 11:46 Ninety percent of medical professionals in Mexico know of us and 70% have purchased medical equipment from us at some point. We have over 2,000 Google reviews and a 4.5 rating. It would make sense that adding to cart on Facebook was a seamless, easy decision—but it’s not. Why? 19:42 Trying to promote a simple medical book on Facebook is really difficult. On Facebook you need to build a dream and then you need your landing page to have absolutely no distractions. The main mistake people make is they send people to a landing page with too many CTA’s. Facebook is extremely distracting and it’s hard to choose where to click when you can click anywhere. 22:40 At the end of the day, if your landing page looks professional, has a nice video, and looks authoritative, it builds people’s confidence. 26:52 Once a week, we have a special product offer and we use it to grow our Facebook audience. We have contests and in order to be entered you have to get ten people to sign up. We started to just follow the market and got into more content marketing strategies. Do you operate as a SaaS company? 30:56 We are mostly a technology company but we see the need in clients needing a campaign. We have the software to build campaigns and so we offer that to our clients too. We also want to make it super affordable for small businesses. The idea is that you get the same resources as a Fortune 500 company (we work with both types of clients). How has Wishpond grown since you’ve been added to the team? 32:01 The company now employs 120 people. We’ve grown because we just focus on where the market is and then create products they want. We fix the problems our customers are having. What are some of the most interesting trends you’ve seen in the past year with conversion rate optimization? 33:19 For B2B, Facebook Lead Ads are doing really well and so are Chatbots. And of course, mobile. Do you see a massive difference in value between email and chatbots? 36:49 People have said that eCommerce is going to take over retail and every year it is increasing. Now, the same is happening with email and chat tools. I think the only difference is chat tools are going to be here to stay and it’s important to start using them as early as possible. 41:08 It’s important to note that you don’t control your data on Facebook. Facebook will tell you to pay for likes and followers and then a few months later tell you that you have to now pay to get in front of those followers. We have to be careful of this. You might build a list on Facebook Messenger and then Facebook is going to ask you to pay to access that list. Resources Mentioned in the Podcast: Wishpond Rework by Jason Fried Good To Great by Jim Collins Contact Jordan: jordan@wishpond.com Jordan on Twitter Jordan on LinkedIn

GUEST BIO: Alex Royzen is the Director of Supply Chain Management at Ecentria, OpticsPlanet, and CampSaver. He is an expert at supply chain management and has been part of OpticsPlanet's growth from $60 million in sales a year to $300 million. He is an experienced leader with brand, product, and project management background, using data to drive the decisions he makes for the companies that he works for. SHOW SUMMARY: Alex Royzen is the Director of Supply Chain Management at Ecentria, OpticsPlanet, and CampSaver. His expertise is in optimizing the supply chain of eCommerce companies and he has helped his companies grow by several millions of dollars. In this episode, we talk about how to compete with Amazon and where the eCommerce giant is failing, giving small business owners a chance to take their customers. We also talk about developing supplier relationships, how to turn your customer service representatives into experts of your products, and how to forecast your inventory. This is The Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: What is supply chain management? 0:53 In the eCommerce industry, it's a very ambiguous term. It can range from warehouse operations to inventory management. In my world, it's inventory management. We're not intimately involved in the warehouse side of things, that's a totally separate operation that we don't touch. How did you get into eCommerce? 2:24 I studied economics in college and it was the first subject I ever felt really passionate about. Microeconomics just clicked in my brain. After college, I ended up in the mining industry in Milwaukee. After a year, I decided to leave and come home to Chicago, where I had grown up. I heard about a company called OpticsPlanet, an online retailer, that needed somebody in their merchandising department. I applied, got the job, and now I've been here for ten years. I've watched OpticsPlanet grow from $60 million in sales to $300 million. What are some of the main levers that you look at to improve the supply chain of a business? 9:13 The first thing I do is evaluate the inventory they have. A lot of companies lack detailed reporting and access to data. This is crucial information to know. The top three elements to understand and be working on are: inventory quality, inventory strategy, and supplier relationships. How can you develop a supplier relationship? 10:29 It's really a personal thing. For example, we have a team of buyers and they manage the relationships with our suppliers. In the long term, we develop personal relationships that go beyond business with our suppliers—we go on vacation together, they come to our holiday parties, and our families spend time together. 13:24 Especially in eCommerce, the most important thing a supplier can give you is priority in terms of allocation of products, shipping, results, issues, and their time. Also, if they can give you data, and do so by going above and beyond, you'll be in a really good place. 14:50 Each relationship is case by case so I can't necessarily give a one size fits all template for creating this relationship. What kind of competitive advantage do you see available to eCommerce companies selling products that other companies are already selling? 18:06 It comes down to, How do you compete with Amazon? There are two ways that people search for eCommerce products, they Google it or they search it on Amazon. 50% of product searches are on Amazon. What makes our companies successful is that they are niche markets and they aren't everyday products or products that every person needs. For example, CampSaver is specific to the outdoor market, similar to REI. People willing to spend $600 on a jacket are not your typical consumers and that niche market gives you advantage. 20:57 Where Amazon fails is that you can't ask them a question—trying to talk to somebody on Amazon is a struggle. With us, and other smaller companies, we have a knowledgeable customer service team that can a

GUEST BIO: Alex Royzen is the Director of Supply Chain Management at Ecentria, OpticsPlanet, and CampSaver. He is an expert at supply chain management and has been part of OpticsPlanet’s growth from $60 million in sales a year to $300 million. He is an experienced leader with brand, product, and project management background, using data to drive the decisions he makes for the companies that he works for. SHOW SUMMARY: Alex Royzen is the Director of Supply Chain Management at Ecentria, OpticsPlanet, and CampSaver. His expertise is in optimizing the supply chain of eCommerce companies and he has helped his companies grow by several millions of dollars. In this episode, we talk about how to compete with Amazon and where the eCommerce giant is failing, giving small business owners a chance to take their customers. We also talk about developing supplier relationships, how to turn your customer service representatives into experts of your products, and how to forecast your inventory. This is The Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: What is supply chain management? 0:53 In the eCommerce industry, it’s a very ambiguous term. It can range from warehouse operations to inventory management. In my world, it’s inventory management. We’re not intimately involved in the warehouse side of things, that’s a totally separate operation that we don’t touch. How did you get into eCommerce? 2:24 I studied economics in college and it was the first subject I ever felt really passionate about. Microeconomics just clicked in my brain. After college, I ended up in the mining industry in Milwaukee. After a year, I decided to leave and come home to Chicago, where I had grown up. I heard about a company called OpticsPlanet, an online retailer, that needed somebody in their merchandising department. I applied, got the job, and now I’ve been here for ten years. I’ve watched OpticsPlanet grow from $60 million in sales to $300 million. What are some of the main levers that you look at to improve the supply chain of a business? 9:13 The first thing I do is evaluate the inventory they have. A lot of companies lack detailed reporting and access to data. This is crucial information to know. The top three elements to understand and be working on are: inventory quality, inventory strategy, and supplier relationships. How can you develop a supplier relationship? 10:29 It’s really a personal thing. For example, we have a team of buyers and they manage the relationships with our suppliers. In the long term, we develop personal relationships that go beyond business with our suppliers—we go on vacation together, they come to our holiday parties, and our families spend time together. 13:24 Especially in eCommerce, the most important thing a supplier can give you is priority in terms of allocation of products, shipping, results, issues, and their time. Also, if they can give you data, and do so by going above and beyond, you’ll be in a really good place. 14:50 Each relationship is case by case so I can’t necessarily give a one size fits all template for creating this relationship. What kind of competitive advantage do you see available to eCommerce companies selling products that other companies are already selling? 18:06 It comes down to, How do you compete with Amazon? There are two ways that people search for eCommerce products, they Google it or they search it on Amazon. 50% of product searches are on Amazon. What makes our companies successful is that they are niche markets and they aren’t everyday products or products that every person needs. For example, CampSaver is specific to the outdoor market, similar to REI. People willing to spend $600 on a jacket are not your typical consumers and that niche market gives you advantage. 20:57 Where Amazon fails is that you can’t ask them a question—trying to talk to somebody on Amazon is a struggle. With us, and other smaller companies, we have a knowledgeable customer service team that can answer your questions and give advice. How are you able to take new customer service representatives and make them competent on 1,000’s of products? 25:33 On a monthly basis, we have supplier visits where they come and train our customer service reps. We also have a Product Intelligence Team that is the point of escalation for our reps, these people are ex-army, police officers, former gun shop owners, etc.. What do marketers get wrong about supply chain? 31:58 The biggest problems we have with marketing is they think we have a larger amount of leverage over the supply chain than we really do. For example, even if we are the largest retailer for a company and they come out with a new product—that company still has to give that new product to other companies. They can’t only favor us. What is the inventory forecasting process? 40:22 This is very much category dependent. For example, OpticsPlanet sells hard goods—products available year round, that don’t often change, and are physically hard products. Soft goods are apparel and footwear—products that have seasonal changes, shorter product life cycles, and a prediction of how colors and styles will sell. 42:41 There is no need for us to bring in ninety-days of product. Instead, I can churn twenty days of product and not get stuck with having too much money stuck in inventory. Where do you see eCommerce going in the future? 49:13 It’s obvious that eCommerce is going to continue to grow. My personal opinion is that there will be consolidation in the industry. I’m predicting that Amazon is going to buy CostCo. As for small business owners who can’t afford Google Ads or an SEO strategy, they can win by niching down and creating a relationship with their clients in a way that Amazon just cannot. Resources Mentioned in the Podcast: Ecentria OpticsPlanet CampSaver Contact Alex: Alex on LinkedIn alex.roysen@gmail.com

GUEST BIO: Kathy Ando is the Head of Direct Consumer at GoPro with a huge focus in digital and eCommerce. After graduating college, she realized she didn't want to pursue the path of her biotechnology degree. Kathy worked at the GAP Headquarters in San Francisco and found herself in the right place at the right time. With the rise in marketplaces and eCommerce, she learned about the consumer industry and how digital technology was affecting it. Kathy then transitioned to run merchandising at Apple and then began her career at GoPro. Kathy focuses on improving the customer experience with the goal of increasing conversions and customer lifetime value. SHOW SUMMARY: Kathy is the Head of Direct Consumer at GoPro. She's previously worked for GAP and Apple, transitioning to GoPro to focus on their consumer experience. Kathy's focus on a seamless and frictionless consumer experience, particularly on the GoPro website, is helping the company continue to grow their customer base and keep their current customers loyal to the brand. In this episode, we talk about what GoPro is testing to improve their conversions, the special offers they are promoting, and how GoPro differentiates their online experience from Amazon. Kathy also explains the 180 degree shift we've seen in brick-and-mortar vs. eCommerce stores, who large companies are hiring to work in their stores, and the GoPro's biggest challenge in the current eCommerce market. This is The Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: What is your role at GoPro? 1:14 My role is to drive the direct to consumer experience. I call it an experience because it's both a commerce experience as it is a marketing experience. I manage shopping at GoPro.com and experiencing GoPro for what it is on our website. How did you start working with GoPro? 2:12 I graduated with a degree in biotechnology but in my senior year I realized I wasn't passionate about it. I moved into retail and started my career at the GAP Headquarters in San Francisco. Over time, I've been in the right place at the right time. At the time that marketplaces and eCommerce were starting, I was in Silicon Valley and I took a smart, but calculated risk to move into retail. I transitioned over to Apple to run merchandising for their online store. What does your GoPro's consumer testing look like? 5:35 When I first came on board, I was all for testing EVERYTHING. What I found out was that we were lacking the most fundamental element—how our customers were engaging with our website and what that experience was like for them. We've recently onboarded partners that help us see how our customers interact with our website and we're now able to test smarter. What have you seen as the most important element of improving the customer experience? 9:38 We look at a couple of metrics. At the end of the day, the most important metric for us is conversion. Yes, we are a marketing experience but we are mostly a commerce experience. We want conversions. So, we have been looking at hesitation rate, scroll rate, conversion rate, and lifetime value. 12:50 We test hesitation rate by watching customers interact with our website. For example, if a consumer hovers over the Add to Cart button for 10 seconds, that's a hesitation rate. 14:10 That's when we start to dive in and ask ourselves, “Did we build this part of the website correctly?”. If the consumer can't find the promo code or shipping price, then they'll have this hesitation. We then bring consumers in and ask them, “What is making you hesitate at this specific point?”. How did you test your special offer of two bonus products? 15:30 We had a special offer for a GoPro beanie and SD card with the purchase of any product on the GoPro website. As a brand, we wanted to give you a really great experience. Recently, we've decided to give a free SD card with every camera purchase. And then, from time to time we like to give a surprise bonus. In this case, it was the beanie.

GUEST BIO: Kathy Ando is the Head of Direct Consumer at GoPro with a huge focus in digital and eCommerce. After graduating college, she realized she didn’t want to pursue the path of her biotechnology degree. Kathy worked at the GAP Headquarters in San Francisco and found herself in the right place at the right time. With the rise in marketplaces and eCommerce, she learned about the consumer industry and how digital technology was affecting it. Kathy then transitioned to run merchandising at Apple and then began her career at GoPro. Kathy focuses on improving the customer experience with the goal of increasing conversions and customer lifetime value. SHOW SUMMARY: Kathy is the Head of Direct Consumer at GoPro. She’s previously worked for GAP and Apple, transitioning to GoPro to focus on their consumer experience. Kathy’s focus on a seamless and frictionless consumer experience, particularly on the GoPro website, is helping the company continue to grow their customer base and keep their current customers loyal to the brand. In this episode, we talk about what GoPro is testing to improve their conversions, the special offers they are promoting, and how GoPro differentiates their online experience from Amazon. Kathy also explains the 180 degree shift we’ve seen in brick-and-mortar vs. eCommerce stores, who large companies are hiring to work in their stores, and the GoPro’s biggest challenge in the current eCommerce market. This is The Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: What is your role at GoPro? 1:14 My role is to drive the direct to consumer experience. I call it an experience because it’s both a commerce experience as it is a marketing experience. I manage shopping at GoPro.com and experiencing GoPro for what it is on our website. How did you start working with GoPro? 2:12 I graduated with a degree in biotechnology but in my senior year I realized I wasn't passionate about it. I moved into retail and started my career at the GAP Headquarters in San Francisco. Over time, I’ve been in the right place at the right time. At the time that marketplaces and eCommerce were starting, I was in Silicon Valley and I took a smart, but calculated risk to move into retail. I transitioned over to Apple to run merchandising for their online store. What does your GoPro’s consumer testing look like? 5:35 When I first came on board, I was all for testing EVERYTHING. What I found out was that we were lacking the most fundamental element—how our customers were engaging with our website and what that experience was like for them. We’ve recently onboarded partners that help us see how our customers interact with our website and we’re now able to test smarter. What have you seen as the most important element of improving the customer experience? 9:38 We look at a couple of metrics. At the end of the day, the most important metric for us is conversion. Yes, we are a marketing experience but we are mostly a commerce experience. We want conversions. So, we have been looking at hesitation rate, scroll rate, conversion rate, and lifetime value. 12:50 We test hesitation rate by watching customers interact with our website. For example, if a consumer hovers over the Add to Cart button for 10 seconds, that’s a hesitation rate. 14:10 That’s when we start to dive in and ask ourselves, “Did we build this part of the website correctly?”. If the consumer can’t find the promo code or shipping price, then they’ll have this hesitation. We then bring consumers in and ask them, “What is making you hesitate at this specific point?”. How did you test your special offer of two bonus products? 15:30 We had a special offer for a GoPro beanie and SD card with the purchase of any product on the GoPro website. As a brand, we wanted to give you a really great experience. Recently, we’ve decided to give a free SD card with every camera purchase. And then, from time to time we like to give a surprise bonus. In this case, it was the beanie. How do you guys differentiate yourselves from Amazon? 16:58 For the most part, we align with all of our partners—obviously we don’t want to undercut our customers. We sell on Amazon because it’s a familiar brand and a lot of our consumers have Amazon Prime. But, when consumers shop directly with brands it’s a totally different experience. Our differentiation is in being able to build a relationship with the people who purchase through us. 29:53 We’ve come to the realization that Amazon is our friend. They are a huge partner for us and they sell a lot of cameras for us. We don’t undercut each other, we have a level playing field and charge the same price on our website as we do on Amazon. What are you most excited about in direct to consumer right now? 21:21 This has been a very interesting year for direct to consumer. The industry is continuously getting disrupted by big brands, like Nike. What’s really interesting is that we are seeing a 180 of what we used to see. Five years ago, the online eCommerce part of a business was viewed as the gallery or marketing channel but then you went into the brick-and-mortar store to purchase. Now, this model is flipped. For example, Dyson allows you to test products out in store and the store has become the gallery. You purchase everything online. What do you see as the biggest challenge in eCommerce and direct to consumer right now? 26:44 Two things, the first is the large companies (Walmart and Amazon) that are taking over small businesses. Second, is customer loyalty. We have to understand our customers and gain their trust. Sticking to your original customer base is so important, just as trying to acquire new customers is. What is the top book that you continue to go back to for business help? 34:12 I am a large podcast listener over book reader. For me, listening to podcasts is easier than reading books (I’m a mom of three). My favorite podcast is The Total Retail Talks Podcast. Resources Mentioned in the Podcast: GoPro The Total Retail Talks Podcast Retail Disruptors: The Spectacular Rise and Impact of the Hard Discounts Contact Kathy: Kathy on LinkedIn kando@gopro.com

GUEST BIO: Jordan Gal is the founder and CEO of CartHook. CartHook serves eCommerce business owners to maximize average order value and give back control to merchants on Shopify by directing customers to high-converting checkout pages. Jordan's career started on Wall Street, where he discovered that he wasn't happy and decided to pursue a new career. He joined his family's eCommerce business and was able to scale to $70,000 in revenue per month. Shortly after, he sold the company and created CartHook to solve the pain points of eCommerce that he had experienced as an eCommerce business owner. Jordan is also the host of The Bootstrap Podcast. SHOW SUMMARY: Jordan Gal is the founder and CEO of CartHook, helping eCommerce business owners increase their order values with high-converting checkout pages. His eCommerce expertise is increasing sales by over 30% for eCommerce businesses around the world. In this episode, we talk about Jordan's initial leap into entrepreneurship and how he was able to identify a pain point in the eCommerce industry. Jordan explains checkout upselling strategies, how to capitalize your most popular product, and the future of eCommerce marketing. This is The Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: What does CartHook provide customers? 0:55 Our mission is to help eCommerce merchants thrive by providing them with control over the most important pages of their website, aka where the payment happens. Our app gives merchants complete control over their checkout process. How did you figure out this was a pain point in eCommerce? 3:14 It has been an eight year process. I started off on Wall Street, hated it and left. Then, I joined my family's business and brought it online. Within a span of six months, we were making $70,000 a month and we sold the company a year later. 5:16 Customers are more likely to convert when an entire store is dedicated to the product they are interested in purchasing. For example, instead of being an entire sports store, we were just a fishing rod store. We remained extremely niched. 6:25 After selling that business, I started CartHook as a cart abandonment app that triggered an ad campaign if a user didn't purchase the items in their cart. After two years, I realized this wasn't the only problem on the check out page and I asked myself, “How do we reduce the amount of people abandoning their cart in checkout?” How do customers experience post purchase upsells? 11:28 The eCommerce businesses that create relationships with their customers are the ones that last the longest. When approaching post purchase upsells, ask, “How do we respect the relationship with the customer?”. Offer products that are genuinely useful to the customer, for example, a second unit of the same product at a discounted price. 14:38 Upselling into subscription is another popular upsell. For example, ordering a product weekly, monthly, quarterly etc. 15;13 Our software lets you identify which upsell funnel should be seen by the shopper based on what product they are buying. 16:35 The only thing that individual merchants can do that Amazon can't, is build up a relationship with them. What are the best current practices for post purchase upsells? 17:17 Start off on the checkout page, ad trust symbols, a testimonial, identify the design that is congruent with your website and fan base. Then, create a simple upsell funnel of more of the same product and then an adjacent product. Generally speaking, upsells do better when they are lower priced than the original purchase. 21:14 Set up a stand alone landing page for your winning products and load it up with copy, video, testimonials, images, etc. We have a big feature launching in a few months that is a template for these dedicated landing pages. How do you approach post purchase upsells? 24:03 We see three main strategies: Video with a buy button, Short-form, above-the-fold Offer, Long-Form (correlating to a higher priced product).

GUEST BIO: Jordan Gal is the founder and CEO of CartHook. CartHook serves eCommerce business owners to maximize average order value and give back control to merchants on Shopify by directing customers to high-converting checkout pages. Jordan’s career started on Wall Street, where he discovered that he wasn’t happy and decided to pursue a new career. He joined his family’s eCommerce business and was able to scale to $70,000 in revenue per month. Shortly after, he sold the company and created CartHook to solve the pain points of eCommerce that he had experienced as an eCommerce business owner. Jordan is also the host of The Bootstrap Podcast. SHOW SUMMARY: Jordan Gal is the founder and CEO of CartHook, helping eCommerce business owners increase their order values with high-converting checkout pages. His eCommerce expertise is increasing sales by over 30% for eCommerce businesses around the world. In this episode, we talk about Jordan’s initial leap into entrepreneurship and how he was able to identify a pain point in the eCommerce industry. Jordan explains checkout upselling strategies, how to capitalize your most popular product, and the future of eCommerce marketing. This is The Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: What does CartHook provide customers? 0:55 Our mission is to help eCommerce merchants thrive by providing them with control over the most important pages of their website, aka where the payment happens. Our app gives merchants complete control over their checkout process. How did you figure out this was a pain point in eCommerce? 3:14 It has been an eight year process. I started off on Wall Street, hated it and left. Then, I joined my family’s business and brought it online. Within a span of six months, we were making $70,000 a month and we sold the company a year later. 5:16 Customers are more likely to convert when an entire store is dedicated to the product they are interested in purchasing. For example, instead of being an entire sports store, we were just a fishing rod store. We remained extremely niched. 6:25 After selling that business, I started CartHook as a cart abandonment app that triggered an ad campaign if a user didn’t purchase the items in their cart. After two years, I realized this wasn’t the only problem on the check out page and I asked myself, “How do we reduce the amount of people abandoning their cart in checkout?” How do customers experience post purchase upsells? 11:28 The eCommerce businesses that create relationships with their customers are the ones that last the longest. When approaching post purchase upsells, ask, “How do we respect the relationship with the customer?”. Offer products that are genuinely useful to the customer, for example, a second unit of the same product at a discounted price. 14:38 Upselling into subscription is another popular upsell. For example, ordering a product weekly, monthly, quarterly etc. 15;13 Our software lets you identify which upsell funnel should be seen by the shopper based on what product they are buying. 16:35 The only thing that individual merchants can do that Amazon can’t, is build up a relationship with them. What are the best current practices for post purchase upsells? 17:17 Start off on the checkout page, ad trust symbols, a testimonial, identify the design that is congruent with your website and fan base. Then, create a simple upsell funnel of more of the same product and then an adjacent product. Generally speaking, upsells do better when they are lower priced than the original purchase. 21:14 Set up a stand alone landing page for your winning products and load it up with copy, video, testimonials, images, etc. We have a big feature launching in a few months that is a template for these dedicated landing pages. How do you approach post purchase upsells? 24:03 We see three main strategies: Video with a buy button, Short-form, above-the-fold Offer, Long-Form (correlating to a higher priced product). What does the check out process look like for an upsell over a product landing page? 28:42 There is a Tag Funnel that let’s the software know what product to show to upsell and there is a Product Funnel where people go from product page to checkout page (there is no checkout summary page). What failures have you faced in your business? 34:14 We are consistently facing failure. The highlights are boring, the best moments are in your failures. I have a podcast, The Bootstrapped Web Podcast, where I pretty much only talk about my failures. What are you looking forward to for the future of eCommerce in 2019? 42:30 We’ve hit, what feels like, a peak in direct to consumer advertising. The ads for B2C are becoming really expensive. We’re starting to see the war for ad dollars and customer acquisition. That’s what’s going to happen in 2019. Resources Mentioned in the Podcast: CartHook The Bootstrapped Web Podcast Ryan Caldbeck on Twitter Wilson Hung on Twitter Contact Julie: Jordan on LinkedIn

GUEST BIO: Julie Lyle is the non-executive director and digital advisor to Evolus. She is a global executive, board member, advisor, investor and entrepreneur. During her career, she has established brands and organized teams for startups and the world's largest companies, like Walmart. She is a leader in integrated marketing, eCommerce, merchandising, operations, digital media, CRM, branding and social engagement programs. Her record for growing sustainable profits for public and private enterprises has placed her as one of the top business leaders in the world. SHOW SUMMARY: Julie Lyle is the Non-Executive Director and Digital Advisor to Evolus. She has worked in high management positions for global companies and is a highly sought after business leader. In this episode, we talk about Julie's transition from the entrepreneurial world to corporate. She explains what the transition was like and how the corporate world is much easier to navigate than the entrepreneurial. Julie also talks about the importance of learning in an organization and her spot on prediction for the future of AI. This is The Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: What is the difference between running your own firm and working in a corporation? 1:14 The largest difference is that you have to learn self sufficiency when you have your own business. You're required to be so resourceful. The definition of an entrepreneur is someone who has floated payroll on their personal Visas's first. That is leadership. What made you decide to start helping a larger organization over growing your own business? 5:15 Honestly, I got a great offer from a company. For about a year and a half before the offer, I was working on a huge project with the Smithsonian, nicknamed “Julie's Baby”. At the time, I talked to an intern who told me that from watching me, she wouldn't want to be an agency owner. It opened my eyes to see that I wasn't able to practice my craft because I was so busy running the entire project. 8:03 It's much easier to have a single set of KPI's, one boss, and a refined focal vision instead of 40-50 clients. The basics were the same, the dynamic was a little trickier but it's so much easier to work in a corporate environment. What is your advice for somebody transitioning from entrepreneur to corporate? 9:20 The most important skill to practice is listening. When I joined Walmart, it had a history of a challenging work culture. People only lasted six weeks to six months. I went to meet with my upper management and he sat me down and told me I was doing a great job because of one reason, I was asking more questions than I answered. What do you think separates individuals that reach high management versus getting stuck in middle management? 15:21 I'm a huge fan of mentorships. I always identify somebody in an organization that can (and will) give me blunt feedback. We always need it. How do you deal with failure when it affects a lot of people? 21:17 Own it fast, own it publicly, and then fix it. How can you help your organization, small or large, get better at learning? 29:11 He who learns fastest, wins. While that's the macro conversation, it's a culmination of micro, individual employees. If individuals don't map out their own learning plan, the organization can't move forward. For me, this means that I understand what the future of blockchain, AI, and deep learning is to implement that into our work today. How do you build a network and find a mentor outside of your organization? 34:35 Show up. Make a point of attending networking functions and integrating into the community. If there aren't networking events near you, be the one to start the conversation and have your own event. What trends in marketing are you most excited about? 39:31 The fact that eCommerce will hit $2 trillion in revenue yet, the industry is slowing down says a lot about the customer experience. We're not harnessing current technology at

GUEST BIO: Julie Lyle is the non-executive director and digital advisor to Evolus. She is a global executive, board member, advisor, investor and entrepreneur. During her career, she has established brands and organized teams for startups and the world’s largest companies, like Walmart. She is a leader in integrated marketing, eCommerce, merchandising, operations, digital media, CRM, branding and social engagement programs. Her record for growing sustainable profits for public and private enterprises has placed her as one of the top business leaders in the world. SHOW SUMMARY: Julie Lyle is the Non-Executive Director and Digital Advisor to Evolus. She has worked in high management positions for global companies and is a highly sought after business leader. In this episode, we talk about Julie’s transition from the entrepreneurial world to corporate. She explains what the transition was like and how the corporate world is much easier to navigate than the entrepreneurial. Julie also talks about the importance of learning in an organization and her spot on prediction for the future of AI. This is The Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: What is the difference between running your own firm and working in a corporation? 1:14 The largest difference is that you have to learn self sufficiency when you have your own business. You’re required to be so resourceful. The definition of an entrepreneur is someone who has floated payroll on their personal Visas’s first. That is leadership. What made you decide to start helping a larger organization over growing your own business? 5:15 Honestly, I got a great offer from a company. For about a year and a half before the offer, I was working on a huge project with the Smithsonian, nicknamed “Julie’s Baby”. At the time, I talked to an intern who told me that from watching me, she wouldn’t want to be an agency owner. It opened my eyes to see that I wasn't able to practice my craft because I was so busy running the entire project. 8:03 It’s much easier to have a single set of KPI’s, one boss, and a refined focal vision instead of 40-50 clients. The basics were the same, the dynamic was a little trickier but it’s so much easier to work in a corporate environment. What is your advice for somebody transitioning from entrepreneur to corporate? 9:20 The most important skill to practice is listening. When I joined Walmart, it had a history of a challenging work culture. People only lasted six weeks to six months. I went to meet with my upper management and he sat me down and told me I was doing a great job because of one reason, I was asking more questions than I answered. What do you think separates individuals that reach high management versus getting stuck in middle management? 15:21 I’m a huge fan of mentorships. I always identify somebody in an organization that can (and will) give me blunt feedback. We always need it. How do you deal with failure when it affects a lot of people? 21:17 Own it fast, own it publicly, and then fix it. How can you help your organization, small or large, get better at learning? 29:11 He who learns fastest, wins. While that’s the macro conversation, it’s a culmination of micro, individual employees. If individuals don’t map out their own learning plan, the organization can’t move forward. For me, this means that I understand what the future of blockchain, AI, and deep learning is to implement that into our work today. How do you build a network and find a mentor outside of your organization? 34:35 Show up. Make a point of attending networking functions and integrating into the community. If there aren’t networking events near you, be the one to start the conversation and have your own event. What trends in marketing are you most excited about? 39:31 The fact that eCommerce will hit $2 trillion in revenue yet, the industry is slowing down says a lot about the customer experience. We’re not harnessing current technology at the level that we could. The excitement comes from how we extract value from AI, and learn to leverage voice and bring data sets together. What book do you read on a regular basis? 44:55 The First 90 Days, Exponential Organizations, and The Lean Startup. Resources Mentioned in the Podcast: The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter Exponential Organizations: Why New Organizations Are Ten Times Better, Faster, and Cheaper Than Yours The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation To Create Radically Successful Businesses Contact Julie: Julie on LinkedIn

Guest Profile: Cassie Fossum is a self-confessed shoe addict. Naturally, she loved how designer heels made her look but was less enthusiastic about how they made her feet feel. A particularly painful night on the town set her on the path to find her ideal shoe, a pair that was as comfortable as it was fashionable. Her research revealed that the technology of women's shoes had not changed in decades, so she assembled a team of experts who have developed a patent pending 360° comfort system which is incorporated into every pair of Mavettes. At Mavette, fashion and comfort are synonymous. They create shoes which not only look fabulous but feel fabulous as well. This meant giving high heels and flats a much-needed makeover based on their patent-pending 360° comfort technology. This wizardry is combined with a custom fit process to ensure customers a terrific buying experience from Mavette. Every pair of shoes are handmade by Italian craftsmen with generations of experience and shipped directly from the factory in Europe. Presently, Mavette fittings are done in person, however, Cassie and her team are working to develop an online app which will allow custom fitting of each foot from home. Show Summary: Today's guest is Cassie Fossum, CEO, and co-founder of [Mavette.com](https://mavette.com/), a company which is exploring a new way to sell women's shoes which are as comfortable as they are fashionable. In this episode, Cassie explains how she discovered Mavette's niche, her journey in launching her start-up, and how she integrates online sales with custom fittings and untraditional retail marketing using Pop-Up Stores. Topics: I know you have a whole laundry list of cool experiences from starting Mavette, could you walk us through how you got started on this journey? 00:54 I've always been interested in the intersection between creativity and business. Throughout my career o have always sat at that intersection, working with creative people on the business side. 01:45 In my last job I was just bored and not feeling challenged anymore. I was running a business within a business, which challenged me but there was a promotion which was not coming through as quickly as I wanted, so I started thinking, what do I want to do next? 02:05 I opened myself up to problems in the world that I wished I could solve, and one of them was uncomfortable shoes. When you go out in high heels, after about 20 minutes your feet are stinging and hurting. I love wearing high heels, but it was something that was prohibitive if you are at a long conference and something is hurting your feet. 02:30 I started asking my other girlfriends, and it is something that many women experience, anyone who has worn high heels. As I looked, I realized that the high heel hadn't really been redesigned since the 1900s. 03:10 I took my idea and decided to go look for an accelerator program and found one that took people who just have an idea, most of the accelerators want to see that you have an idea and have already started building traction behind it. 03:30 I found the [Founder Institute](https://fi.co/) and they were willing to take on companies that just had an idea. The program is about three months long. You meet every week, they bring in different experts; one week it might be about legal, what do you need to know about legal to start a company, another week it might be about market strategy, what are ways to go to market with your idea. Then, you have homework, you meet with a working group and brick by brick you start building your company. Right after I graduated, I found my designer, headed over to Italy, and have been building Mavette ever since. How did you go from Silicon Valley to moving over to Italy, or finding a designer in Italy and sourcing the product there? 04:42 When I was working on the idea, I knew I did not want to do a Made in China shoe. There are so many shoes out there that are low quality and I kn

Guest Profile: Cassie Fossum is a self-confessed shoe addict. Naturally, she loved how designer heels made her look but was less enthusiastic about how they made her feet feel. A particularly painful night on the town set her on the path to find her ideal shoe, a pair that was as comfortable as it was fashionable. Her research revealed that the technology of women's shoes had not changed in decades, so she assembled a team of experts who have developed a patent pending 360° comfort system which is incorporated into every pair of Mavettes. At Mavette, fashion and comfort are synonymous. They create shoes which not only look fabulous but feel fabulous as well. This meant giving high heels and flats a much-needed makeover based on their patent-pending 360° comfort technology. This wizardry is combined with a custom fit process to ensure customers a terrific buying experience from Mavette. Every pair of shoes are handmade by Italian craftsmen with generations of experience and shipped directly from the factory in Europe. Presently, Mavette fittings are done in person, however, Cassie and her team are working to develop an online app which will allow custom fitting of each foot from home. Show Summary: Today's guest is Cassie Fossum, CEO, and co-founder of Mavette.com, a company which is exploring a new way to sell women's shoes which are as comfortable as they are fashionable. In this episode, Cassie explains how she discovered Mavette's niche, her journey in launching her start-up, and how she integrates online sales with custom fittings and untraditional retail marketing using Pop-Up Stores. Topics: I know you have a whole laundry list of cool experiences from starting Mavette, could you walk us through how you got started on this journey? 00:54 I've always been interested in the intersection between creativity and business. Throughout my career o have always sat at that intersection, working with creative people on the business side. 01:45 In my last job I was just bored and not feeling challenged anymore. I was running a business within a business, which challenged me but there was a promotion which was not coming through as quickly as I wanted, so I started thinking, what do I want to do next? 02:05 I opened myself up to problems in the world that I wished I could solve, and one of them was uncomfortable shoes. When you go out in high heels, after about 20 minutes your feet are stinging and hurting. I love wearing high heels, but it was something that was prohibitive if you are at a long conference and something is hurting your feet. 02:30 I started asking my other girlfriends, and it is something that many women experience, anyone who has worn high heels. As I looked, I realized that the high heel hadn't really been redesigned since the 1900s. 03:10 I took my idea and decided to go look for an accelerator program and found one that took people who just have an idea, most of the accelerators want to see that you have an idea and have already started building traction behind it. 03:30 I found the Founder Institute and they were willing to take on companies that just had an idea. The program is about three months long. You meet every week, they bring in different experts; one week it might be about legal, what do you need to know about legal to start a company, another week it might be about market strategy, what are ways to go to market with your idea. Then, you have homework, you meet with a working group and brick by brick you start building your company. Right after I graduated, I found my designer, headed over to Italy, and have been building Mavette ever since. How did you go from Silicon Valley to moving over to Italy, or finding a designer in Italy and sourcing the product there? 04:42 When I was working on the idea, I knew I did not want to do a Made in China shoe. There are so many shoes out there that are low quality and I knew that for this product which has a footbed in it, it is very technical in order to help you be more comfortable all day. For a custom-fitted shoe, I did not want the perception of Made in China. I wanted the Made in Italy perception because Made in Italy, for shoes, is the gold standard. 05:42 While I was still in Founder's Institute, I was introduced to someone who is now an advisor on my team. He has a lot of experience in the fashion world but not a ton of experience in shoes. He helped me run a job search for a fashion designer. I am not really familiar with the accelerator programs. Is it something where they offer you funding when they like your idea, then say "here's what you need to do to pitch investors, here's what you need to do to build the team", or do they want you to find funding first and then go to the Founder's Institute? 06:43 It depends on the different accelerator programs out there. This particular program was not offering money, you actually give them a little bit of equity in your company to be in their program. Other accelerators are out there if you are further along, you are not just coming in with just an idea, these companies might give you a little bit of funding and also take a little bit of equity. So, did you raise money from outside investors afterward, or are you bootstrapping the whole thing? How did you approach funding your business? For funding right now we are bootstrapping, and we want to bootstrap for as long as possible before we consider institutional investment. My strategy is that the further along we can be, the more traction we can show, the better position we'll be in and the better-negotiating terms we'll have when or if we decide to approach institutional investors. I know that you have pop-up events, how are you selling the shoes right now? 09:00 We just started our sales a few months ago, in October, actually. We've been doing it solely through our pop-up shops. What we do is either partner with an event or partner with the store or run our own space. We bring our shoes in, bring women in, measure their feet and take them through our whole fitting process to get them fit into the right pair of shoes for them. Once we know their sizing, we have their shoes made for them in Italy, so if you have two different sized feet, left and right foot that are different, we can accommodate you. For right now, we are measuring in person. Something we are working on for next year is selling online, so we'll probably just sell regular sizes online with our comfort technology. If you want the custom piece, we'll see you in person to fit you. Something we are also working on is an application where you'll take a few pictures of your feet and from that, we can take all your measurements and make a custom shoe for you. Let's dive into that idea of an app to measure your foot, how are you approaching that and what's that going to look like? It seems like it could be applicable to any shoe retailer in a big way if you can figure out your shoe sizing before you go into a store. 10:35 Sizing is a big issue, especially when you sell online. The more we can help our customers and help people know what size they are before they buy, that's a big thing for all retailers. Not only can we figure out the right sizing for you, but we can also fit specifically to your individual feet. 60% of women have a left and right foot that are different sizes, it means that they really should be wearing two different sized shoes. We are actively building the app right now, so once it comes out, we'll have more to share but I think it is exciting that the technology is catching up to the idea of mass customization. I am surprised that no other retailers have implemented it, it seems like it could be a huge, huge thing. 12:18 It might sound easy when I am talking about it, but it is something that is hard to do, and I think that is why other retailers haven't done it. That is an advantage of being a start-up, you can be nimble and flexible. I am sure other retailers will be excited once we get this going. You are trying a couple of different sales channels and you have the cost of doing custom work, so it is not like you can buy a huge amount of inventory to bring over and then sell it all out. From a business perspective, how have you managed that kind of multi-channel and customized products with international shipping? 13:06 I have the benefit of my co-founder who used to work with the Marines, he also happens to be my husband. He used to get things over the border from Pakistan and Afghanistan, so I like to say if he could do that, he can get my shoes from Italy to the United States. Really, it is all about making sure that you have a very clear communication with your supply chain so that when an order comes in they can directly start the process of getting the shoe made and directly shipped to the customer. 14:18 Right now, we're saying around eight to ten weeks for delivery, but we feel pretty confident that as we get going and selling more, we can get that down to around four to six weeks. There's a lot of movement trying to take online presences and make them work offline as well. What kinds of things do you see happening to the future of retail? 15:21 I think that the "Amazon effect" is only going to grow, people want things faster, they want two-day shipping to their doorstep, but I see that growing for commoditized items where the brand does not matter so much. That is where smaller brands with a strong voice can distinguish themselves. Amazon can win if your product does not have something special to distinguish itself. If you are offering something really unique, you can get customers to come to you, and that is where I see the future of retail. You already do the pop-up shops and you are moving into the online space. Do you think of retail as a channel Mavette will ever pursue? Perhaps Nordstrom or a similar distribution plan? 18:01 Right now, we don't have plans to directly go into a Nordstrom retail, I think we're so new right now that we have to stay open to opportunities. If Nordstrom came knocking at our door and said, hey, we love what you are doing, let's have a collaboration together, we would. There is a lot of talk that retail is dead. I mean, big-box retailers are struggling, but we are seeing a lot of companies starting online and moving into a physical retail space. 21:41 As I mentioned, we've done pop-up shops, and our customers there need to talk in person, the fittings need to be done in person. We've learned invaluable data just from being there and actually talking to our customers. Even when we are not actively talking to them, just listening in to them, we capture feedback we would never get online. Can you tell me how you got started with the pop-up shops? How did you approach pop-up shops and what's the process to it? 22:49 For us, the pop-up shops are very opportunistic. The very first one was a partnership with a women's conference that I was just planning to attend. I knew we were to the point where we wanted to start making sales, and the conference mentioned in the signup that "if you want pop-up shop space here and you're a conference attendee. You will be welcomed". I thought, "Maybe this would be a good idea, they aren't charging us extra for it". As a start-up, we are always looking for the opportunity which doesn't cost any extra money. After that, it's just a matter of the nuts and bolts of making sure you have a nice display, something you can set up and take down quickly and easy to pack in the car. What sort of investment needs to go into a pop-up shop? 26:17 I think it really depends on what your product is. If you are selling jewelry a pop-up can be very minimalist, you need a tablecloth and a couple of display racks. For our shoes, we bring over a hundred pairs with us and we have to figure out a way to display them all. In the end, it only cost us about a thousand bucks for wooden display racks and it is all stuff we can use over and over again. As a guy, I don't know anything about picking out high heels. Has there been anything surprising that you have learned? 30:12 For me, it is surprising how few women have had their feet properly measured since they were in their teens. After you have a baby, or if you gain or lose 10 pounds, your feet can change. I've met women who say they have wide feet, but it turns out they are on the narrow side. More women need to reassess their sizing. What is the driver behind the best Mavette customer? Will she be a raging fan of the comfort, or is it the look plus the comfort, the price? What do they love the most about Mavette? 31:37 I think what women love about Mavette is that it is a comfortable shoe which has the technology for all-day comfort but does not look like a comfort shoe, they are beautiful designer high heels. Links: [Mavette.com] [Founder Institute]

Guest Bio: Jon MacDonald is passionate about ridding the web of bad eCommerce experiences until only the good remain. Beginning as a web designer/developer during the dot-com boom, he has worked with dozens of brands such as Autodesk, Apple, Columbia Sportswear, Comcast, Linksys/Cisco, General Electric, Harley-Davidson, HP, Intel, Microsoft, Nationwide Insurance, Nike, Nokia, Red Bull, UPS, Vodafone and Xerox. Jon's company, The Good, has turned online browsers into buyers for some of the biggest brands in business. The Good has become one of Oregon's top 20 fastest growing private companies three years in a row, and its founder has been recognized with a Forty Under 40 Award. Based in Portland, Oregon, Jon volunteers for several causes which affect the eCommerce community and the Pacific Northwest as a whole. Show Summary: Today's guest is Jon MacDonald, founder of The Good, a Conversion Rate Optimization firm. Beginning a decade ago, they have been collecting, analyzing and evaluating the data which goes into CRO since before CRO became a buzz term. In this episode, Jon explains that while data gathered from site metrics and A/B Testing are vital, sometimes they do not tell the entire story of a company's eCommerce presence. He demonstrates how business practices between the Brick and Mortar world and the eCommerce arena are even closer than they appear and shares how he has helped several traditional Brick and Mortar concerns to not only expand into eCommerce but to use connectivity to enhance the physical shopping experience. Topics: How did you get involved in Conversion Optimization? 00:48 We started as a digital marketing firm, building eCommerce sites mainly. Most of our customers were not too concerned with how their site was built, technically, they were mainly concerned with making sure that site would perform after it launched. 01:45 We found we were winning contracts by adding a clause that we would be allowed to optimize the sites for three months after launch, while our competition was using a "launch and forget" model. 02:30 A few years later, we decided to pivot and focus exclusively on Conversion Rate Optimization. We found that there were dozens of firms who could develop sites for cheaper than us, and the clients never looked at the source code and didn't care as long as it worked. Where we provided the most value was in optimizing the site. Who are your clients in general? 03:20 We have worked with clients of all sizes but find that a minimum of 10,000 visitors/month is necessary for testing to provide a return on investment for the client. We've worked with Xerox, Adobe, The Economist, Nike, Swiss Gear, as well as some smaller brands that have a retail presence but maybe their online presence is not as big. When I think of eCommerce I usually only think of pure-play eCommerce that does not have any retail presence, it is just a store that is digital. It seems that the brick and mortar retailers are getting much bigger in the eCommerce space to support retail rather than compete with retail. 04:50 One of the things about CRO that is coming down the line is Personalization and optimizing to have a more personalized site for your visitors. When you combine that with retail data, it's like the perfect gold mine. You are able to track somebody in store in terms of what they purchase and what they like so that when they visit your website you already have a basis and foundation of information to build on. If you know that people in-store often buy a complementary product and they always like that product, you can serve the same on your website. You can use the gains form online to help offline offers, it's an easy testing environment. 06:20 Testing has become much easier over the years; the tool sets are much easier to work with. We often work with brands that have been doing their own testing for a year, have been trying A/B Testing on their website. Most people who I talk to abou

Guest Bio: Jon MacDonald is passionate about ridding the web of bad eCommerce experiences until only the good remain. Beginning as a web designer/developer during the dot-com boom, he has worked with dozens of brands such as Autodesk, Apple, Columbia Sportswear, Comcast, Linksys/Cisco, General Electric, Harley-Davidson, HP, Intel, Microsoft, Nationwide Insurance, Nike, Nokia, Red Bull, UPS, Vodafone and Xerox. Jon's company, The Good, has turned online browsers into buyers for some of the biggest brands in business. The Good has become one of Oregon’s top 20 fastest growing private companies three years in a row, and its founder has been recognized with a Forty Under 40 Award. Based in Portland, Oregon, Jon volunteers for several causes which affect the eCommerce community and the Pacific Northwest as a whole. Show Summary: Today's guest is Jon MacDonald, founder of The Good, a Conversion Rate Optimization firm. Beginning a decade ago, they have been collecting, analyzing and evaluating the data which goes into CRO since before CRO became a buzz term. In this episode, Jon explains that while data gathered from site metrics and A/B Testing are vital, sometimes they do not tell the entire story of a company's eCommerce presence. He demonstrates how business practices between the Brick and Mortar world and the eCommerce arena are even closer than they appear and shares how he has helped several traditional Brick and Mortar concerns to not only expand into eCommerce but to use connectivity to enhance the physical shopping experience. Topics: How did you get involved in Conversion Optimization? 00:48 We started as a digital marketing firm, building eCommerce sites mainly. Most of our customers were not too concerned with how their site was built, technically, they were mainly concerned with making sure that site would perform after it launched. 01:45 We found we were winning contracts by adding a clause that we would be allowed to optimize the sites for three months after launch, while our competition was using a "launch and forget" model. 02:30 A few years later, we decided to pivot and focus exclusively on Conversion Rate Optimization. We found that there were dozens of firms who could develop sites for cheaper than us, and the clients never looked at the source code and didn’t care as long as it worked. Where we provided the most value was in optimizing the site. Who are your clients in general? 03:20 We have worked with clients of all sizes but find that a minimum of 10,000 visitors/month is necessary for testing to provide a return on investment for the client. We've worked with Xerox, Adobe, The Economist, Nike, Swiss Gear, as well as some smaller brands that have a retail presence but maybe their online presence is not as big. When I think of eCommerce I usually only think of pure-play eCommerce that does not have any retail presence, it is just a store that is digital. It seems that the brick and mortar retailers are getting much bigger in the eCommerce space to support retail rather than compete with retail. 04:50 One of the things about CRO that is coming down the line is Personalization and optimizing to have a more personalized site for your visitors. When you combine that with retail data, it's like the perfect gold mine. You are able to track somebody in store in terms of what they purchase and what they like so that when they visit your website you already have a basis and foundation of information to build on. If you know that people in-store often buy a complementary product and they always like that product, you can serve the same on your website. You can use the gains form online to help offline offers, it's an easy testing environment. 06:20 Testing has become much easier over the years; the tool sets are much easier to work with. We often work with brands that have been doing their own testing for a year, have been trying A/B Testing on their website. Most people who I talk to about Conversion Optimization come to us knowing what it is. If there is one message, I can get across today, it is that everybody should be doing some form of A/B Testing, even if you do not have the traffic levels, you should be collecting data. 08:40: Consumers are only coming to your site for two reasons. The first is that they have a pain, or a need and they think that your product or service can solve that pain or need, so they are doing the research around that. They want to determine if there is a good mutual fit, and second, if there is, they want to convert. They want to buy your product and leave. It is interesting how much brands want to communicate that fall outside those two points. They are always trying to push some kind of content. There is one main goal of every eCommerce website, to generate more revenue. What kind of approach do you take when there are so many things wrong that there isn't time to A/B Test all of them? 12:46 We always want to start with the highest impact areas first, so we look at what is flat-out stopping people from conversion. While the goal is to get that conversion, we also believe that there are dozens of what we call micro-conversions, things that ultimately lead to that big purchase. The first thing we do is a comprehensive audit of a site to understand what those influencing factors are, and what percentage of people are falling off the funnel or Adding to Cart and completing a purchase. Once we have that data, then we can sort what areas we want to fix based on return on investment. 15:45 If you Google enough about Conversion Optimization there is one case study that is pretty famous, and in my point of view full of a lot of B.S., that they changed one button and it resulted in $10 million in additional sales. That's just not true. It is unlikely that is going to happen, but that is the expectation. Think of it as a savings account, we want the small gains to compound from month to month. Do you ever see a regression in the mean? Do you ever feel the need to retest after an improvement appears temporary or seasonal? 18:00 This is part of the reason we always start with a comprehensive audit, we want to look at things year over year, we want to look at trends. By tracking a year at a time, we can see seasonality. The amount of times we have gone back and retested something is fairly minimal, the reason being that we are usually moving on to some other area looking for that compounding effect. Some of your clients have pretty high traffic numbers. What tactics have you pulled away from having a lot more traffic to test with? 20:05 That is where we get to start testing really small items. We are able to test things that are further down the funnel that have less traffic. For instance, the more traffic you have, the easier it is to test something in your Cart, changing your Cart layout or Check Out page. It also helps where we don't have to run tests on groups of pages. We can really get down and focus on the page templates for the most popular products. 21:30 Working with Easton Baseball, parents would be faced with a page showing hundreds of bat models which all looked identical. The parents would have a good idea what kind of hitter their kids were, and the coaches would have mentioned some feature to look for. By testing and surveying, we were able to concentrate on the pages of the most popular bat models and translate that to the rest of the site, developing a language that parents would understand and avoiding technical speak. What has been the biggest surprise your testing has revealed in the past year or two? 25:10 We find that there is always something surprising for us, part of that is because we want to always leave the doors open, we don't want to come in with our vision clouded. When we were working with Xerox, we found that the company optimized selling the actual machines, but the more we optimized in that direction the more we were opening the site for people shopping for ink and supplies. So, we presented to the company that we should be optimizing more to help consumers find specific model numbers which needed supplies. Customer Lifetime Value 27:45 It is interesting that we are in an industry call Conversion Rate Optimization, so people think that we are only interested in influencing conversion rates, but that is a short-sighted view. If we have to stick with C.R.O. as the acronym, I think it should be Continual Revenue Optimization. This takes the focus off a single metric and encourages thinking on how we can continuously and iteratively improve all these metrics over time. 29:45 That's where I come in again with the comprehensive audit being the most helpful process. Starting with the data, collecting the right data and having that data to make decisions from is really imperative. Working with the retailers who have an online and retail presence, what kind of things do you see that these highly successful businesses are bringing that those in the pure-play eCommerce world may be missing? 30:45 Usually what we are seeing in those instances is the importance of Search. Most of the time in these retail locations, people are going on their phone, bringing up products, and looking for more information about the product. This may be about technical specification of the product or simply available sizes not available at the retail site, but it can be a powerful tool to have shoppers on the store's website. 33:50 I think that paying attention to the personas of the brands we work with is very important. We have worked with brands which are going after multiple personas, but they don't have them defined, or they have too many defined. There is a danger of trying to be everything to everyone online which is extremely difficult, if not impossible to optimize for. Complimentary Landing Page Assessments Jon has offered LeanCommerce listeners a landing page assessment of their site over a fifteen-minute phone call. Just go the TheGood.com and push the button on the page.

GUEST BIO: David James is the founder of TotalCarCheck.co.uk, a vehicle background check website. David started this company as successful entrepreneurs do, by solving a problem he encountered. After his parents bought a stolen car and found themselves at a $5,000 loss, he created a website that wouldn't allow this to happen again. David's focused and realistic mindset has supported TotalCarCheck.co.uk in running background checks on almost two thirds of all the vehicles in the United Kingdom. The parallel app has become one of the top utility apps in the UK and David continues to use forward thinking, innovation, and his customers to grow his company and create transparency in the car buying process. SHOW SUMMARY: David James, founder of TotalCarCheck.co.uk, is an entrepreneur with a laser focus on simplicity and great results. His vehicle background check website has become the most successful website in the UK in his niche. David has built the foundation for his software based of seven lean principles, which he'll discuss during our conversation. In this episode, David explains how he runs his company with only two employees, his advice for new software entrepreneurs and the books that have given him the insight for this accolade of success. This is The Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: How did you get started with your business? 0:57 I had a more normal career starting off, but I always had an entrepreneurial spirit. My parents accidentally bought a stolen car and I realized there was a problem that needed to be solved, people needed to be able to run a background check on a car. 4:17 Once you get the wheels rolling, you start to get momentum. Very quickly people started to realize what we were doing was different than what other vehicle background check websites were doing and business started to grow from there. 6:33 Even in darker times, there is opportunity. It sounds spiritual, but the experience of my parent's buying the stolen car was an epiphany for me. When I look back, it all seems kind of unbelievable that something so fortunate was built from such a negative experience. If you have a passion for something and genuinely enjoy doing it, it really helps you to become successful. 13:06 I think if you are consistent in what you want to do, you generally get results in the end. If you stay consistent in those principles and approach, you come out well in the end. You're checking two thirds of all of the vehicles in the UK, what does the backend of your business look like? 15:55 Pretty much from day one, we've done this with only two staff members (including myself). This works because of two rules. The first is, we automate ruthlessly. People tend to skip over this because the initial effort is difficult, but the cost saving over five years is incredible. The second is, outsource wherever you can. Our accounts, legal, HR, design and development are all outsourced. This gives you much more flexibility. What are your lean development principles? 20:22 My lean business strategy comes from the seven principles outlined in Lean Software Development by Mary Poppendieck. First, eliminate all waste. Second, amplify learning by teaching your entire team, not just yourself. Third, make decisions as late as possible. Fourth, deliver as quickly as possible. Fifth, empower the team. Sixth, build integrity. Seventh, see the whole picture. Marketing techniques that worked before, don't always work now. How do you work around this problem? 35:56 It's frustrating because you don't know if it's the market changing or if you did something wrong. But, that's the beauty of what we do. It was formulaic, it would be easy. That's how the best have their advantage because they are able to discover the variables to focus on and the variables to ignore. 38:40 Whenever I'm pouring over the numbers, I try to ground myself by asking, “What am I doing this for?” and remind myself that I'm doing this so I can

GUEST BIO: David James is the founder of TotalCarCheck.co.uk, a vehicle background check website. David started this company as successful entrepreneurs do, by solving a problem he encountered. After his parents bought a stolen car and found themselves at a $5,000 loss, he created a website that wouldn't allow this to happen again. David's focused and realistic mindset has supported TotalCarCheck.co.uk in running background checks on almost two thirds of all the vehicles in the United Kingdom. The parallel app has become one of the top utility apps in the UK and David continues to use forward thinking, innovation, and his customers to grow his company and create transparency in the car buying process. SHOW SUMMARY: David James, founder of TotalCarCheck.co.uk, is an entrepreneur with a laser focus on simplicity and great results. His vehicle background check website has become the most successful website in the UK in his niche. David has built the foundation for his software based of seven lean principles, which he'll discuss during our conversation. In this episode, David explains how he runs his company with only two employees, his advice for new software entrepreneurs and the books that have given him the insight for this accolade of success. This is The Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: How did you get started with your business? 0:57 I had a more normal career starting off, but I always had an entrepreneurial spirit. My parents accidentally bought a stolen car and I realized there was a problem that needed to be solved, people needed to be able to run a background check on a car. 4:17 Once you get the wheels rolling, you start to get momentum. Very quickly people started to realize what we were doing was different than what other vehicle background check websites were doing and business started to grow from there. 6:33 Even in darker times, there is opportunity. It sounds spiritual, but the experience of my parent's buying the stolen car was an epiphany for me. When I look back, it all seems kind of unbelievable that something so fortunate was built from such a negative experience. If you have a passion for something and genuinely enjoy doing it, it really helps you to become successful. 13:06 I think if you are consistent in what you want to do, you generally get results in the end. If you stay consistent in those principles and approach, you come out well in the end. You're checking two thirds of all of the vehicles in the UK, what does the backend of your business look like? 15:55 Pretty much from day one, we've done this with only two staff members (including myself). This works because of two rules. The first is, we automate ruthlessly. People tend to skip over this because the initial effort is difficult, but the cost saving over five years is incredible. The second is, outsource wherever you can. Our accounts, legal, HR, design and development are all outsourced. This gives you much more flexibility. What are your lean development principles? 20:22 My lean business strategy comes from the seven principles outlined in Lean Software Development by Mary Poppendieck. First, eliminate all waste. Second, amplify learning by teaching your entire team, not just yourself. Third, make decisions as late as possible. Fourth, deliver as quickly as possible. Fifth, empower the team. Sixth, build integrity. Seventh, see the whole picture. Marketing techniques that worked before, don't always work now. How do you work around this problem? 35:56 It's frustrating because you don't know if it's the market changing or if you did something wrong. But, that's the beauty of what we do. It was formulaic, it would be easy. That's how the best have their advantage because they are able to discover the variables to focus on and the variables to ignore. 38:40 Whenever I'm pouring over the numbers, I try to ground myself by asking, “What am I doing this for?” and remind myself that I'm doing this so I can

GUEST BIO: David James is the founder of TotalCarCheck.co.uk, a vehicle background check website. David started this company as successful entrepreneurs do, by solving a problem he encountered. After his parents bought a stolen car and found themselves at a $5,000 loss, he created a website that wouldn’t allow this to happen again. David’s focused and realistic mindset has supported TotalCarCheck.co.uk in running background checks on almost two thirds of all the vehicles in the United Kingdom. The parallel app has become one of the top utility apps in the UK and David continues to use forward thinking, innovation, and his customers to grow his company and create transparency in the car buying process. SHOW SUMMARY: David James, founder of TotalCarCheck.co.uk, is an entrepreneur with a laser focus on simplicity and great results. His vehicle background check website has become the most successful website in the UK in his niche. David has built the foundation for his software based of seven lean principles, which he’ll discuss during our conversation. In this episode, David explains how he runs his company with only two employees, his advice for new software entrepreneurs and the books that have given him the insight for this accolade of success. This is The Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: How did you get started with your business? 0:57 I had a more normal career starting off, but I always had an entrepreneurial spirit. My parents accidentally bought a stolen car and I realized there was a problem that needed to be solved, people needed to be able to run a background check on a car. 4:17 Once you get the wheels rolling, you start to get momentum. Very quickly people started to realize what we were doing was different than what other vehicle background check websites were doing and business started to grow from there. 6:33 Even in darker times, there is opportunity. It sounds spiritual, but the experience of my parent’s buying the stolen car was an epiphany for me. When I look back, it all seems kind of unbelievable that something so fortunate was built from such a negative experience. If you have a passion for something and genuinely enjoy doing it, it really helps you to become successful. 13:06 I think if you are consistent in what you want to do, you generally get results in the end. If you stay consistent in those principles and approach, you come out well in the end. You’re checking two thirds of all of the vehicles in the UK, what does the backend of your business look like? 15:55 Pretty much from day one, we’ve done this with only two staff members (including myself). This works because of two rules. The first is, we automate ruthlessly. People tend to skip over this because the initial effort is difficult, but the cost saving over five years is incredible. The second is, outsource wherever you can. Our accounts, legal, HR, design and development are all outsourced. This gives you much more flexibility. What are your lean development principles? 20:22 My lean business strategy comes from the seven principles outlined in Lean Software Development by Mary Poppendieck. First, eliminate all waste. Second, amplify learning by teaching your entire team, not just yourself. Third, make decisions as late as possible. Fourth, deliver as quickly as possible. Fifth, empower the team. Sixth, build integrity. Seventh, see the whole picture. Marketing techniques that worked before, don’t always work now. How do you work around this problem? 35:56 It’s frustrating because you don’t know if it’s the market changing or if you did something wrong. But, that’s the beauty of what we do. It was formulaic, it would be easy. That’s how the best have their advantage because they are able to discover the variables to focus on and the variables to ignore. 38:40 Whenever I’m pouring over the numbers, I try to ground myself by asking, “What am I doing this for?” and remind myself that I’m doing this so I can spend more time with my family. I don’t want to get lost in my work and have it be the center of everything that I do. This work has that effect on us and if we’re not careful, it can become addictive and habitual. 43:46 Throwing hours at a project doesn’t fix anything. It doesn’t achieve anything. You need to be creative and innovate. Spend your time wisely instead of in this false culture of hustle and working nine hours a day for six days a week. What tactics do you use to get reviews? 45:38 We incentive people to leave reviews by giving them a check voucher for $199, using copy that asks users to leave a review and we giveaway free information to users who create an account with us. Resources mentioned in the Podcast: Lean Software Development by Mary Poppendieck The Power of Persuasion: How We’re Bought and Sold Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene M. Schwartz The Four Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join The New Rich Browser Stack Browser Shots Webpagetest.org Google Lighthouse Contact David: David on Twitter David on LinkedIN Total Car Check Total Car Check on Twitter

GUEST BIO: David James is the founder of TotalCarCheck.co.uk, a vehicle background check website. David started this company as successful entrepreneurs do, by solving a problem he encountered. After his parents bought a stolen car and found themselves at a $5,000 loss, he created a website that wouldn’t allow this to happen again. David’s focused and realistic mindset has supported TotalCarCheck.co.uk in running background checks on almost two thirds of all the vehicles in the United Kingdom. The parallel app has become one of the top utility apps in the UK and David continues to use forward thinking, innovation, and his customers to grow his company and create transparency in the car buying process. SHOW SUMMARY: David James, founder of TotalCarCheck.co.uk, is an entrepreneur with a laser focus on simplicity and great results. His vehicle background check website has become the most successful website in the UK in his niche. David has built the foundation for his software based of seven lean principles, which he’ll discuss during our conversation. In this episode, David explains how he runs his company with only two employees, his advice for new software entrepreneurs and the books that have given him the insight for this accolade of success. This is The Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: How did you get started with your business? 0:57 I had a more normal career starting off, but I always had an entrepreneurial spirit. My parents accidentally bought a stolen car and I realized there was a problem that needed to be solved, people needed to be able to run a background check on a car. 4:17 Once you get the wheels rolling, you start to get momentum. Very quickly people started to realize what we were doing was different than what other vehicle background check websites were doing and business started to grow from there. 6:33 Even in darker times, there is opportunity. It sounds spiritual, but the experience of my parent’s buying the stolen car was an epiphany for me. When I look back, it all seems kind of unbelievable that something so fortunate was built from such a negative experience. If you have a passion for something and genuinely enjoy doing it, it really helps you to become successful. 13:06 I think if you are consistent in what you want to do, you generally get results in the end. If you stay consistent in those principles and approach, you come out well in the end. You’re checking two thirds of all of the vehicles in the UK, what does the backend of your business look like? 15:55 Pretty much from day one, we’ve done this with only two staff members (including myself). This works because of two rules. The first is, we automate ruthlessly. People tend to skip over this because the initial effort is difficult, but the cost saving over five years is incredible. The second is, outsource wherever you can. Our accounts, legal, HR, design and development are all outsourced. This gives you much more flexibility. What are your lean development principles? 20:22 My lean business strategy comes from the seven principles outlined in Lean Software Development by Mary Poppendieck. First, eliminate all waste. Second, amplify learning by teaching your entire team, not just yourself. Third, make decisions as late as possible. Fourth, deliver as quickly as possible. Fifth, empower the team. Sixth, build integrity. Seventh, see the whole picture. Marketing techniques that worked before, don’t always work now. How do you work around this problem? 35:56 It’s frustrating because you don’t know if it’s the market changing or if you did something wrong. But, that’s the beauty of what we do. It was formulaic, it would be easy. That’s how the best have their advantage because they are able to discover the variables to focus on and the variables to ignore. 38:40 Whenever I’m pouring over the numbers, I try to ground myself by asking, “What am I doing this for?” and remind myself that I’m doing this so I can spend more time with my family. I don’t want to get lost in my work and have it be the center of everything that I do. This work has that effect on us and if we’re not careful, it can become addictive and habitual. 43:46 Throwing hours at a project doesn’t fix anything. It doesn’t achieve anything. You need to be creative and innovate. Spend your time wisely instead of in this false culture of hustle and working nine hours a day for six days a week. What tactics do you use to get reviews? 45:38 We incentive people to leave reviews by giving them a check voucher for $199, using copy that asks users to leave a review and we giveaway free information to users who create an account with us. Resources mentioned in the Podcast: Lean Software Development by Mary Poppendieck The Power of Persuasion: How We’re Bought and Sold Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene M. Schwartz The Four Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join The New Rich Browser Stack Browser Shots Webpagetest.org Google Lighthouse Contact David: David on Twitter David on LinkedIN Total Car Check Total Car Check on Twitter

GUEST BIO: Tyler, “Sully” Sullivan is the CEO of Bomb Tech Golf, a premium golf product ecommerce website. Sully has grown Bomb Tech Golf into a seven-figure ecommerce business and has since opened a marketing agency to help other ecommerce businesses find the same success. Sully's initial interest in ecommerce was sparked when his very first product sell came while he was on a boat. He immediately realized the ability to capitalize off of ecommerce, while continuing to live the lifestyle he wanted. Sully's mindset is, “unless there is room for improvement, quality, or innovation I won't do it.” He continues to use this mentality as he improves golf club designs and elevates ecommerce businesses using his own innovative email marketing techniques. SHOW SUMMARY: Today's guest is Sully Sullivan, the CEO of Bomb Tech Golf and founder of Ecom Growers. Sully has grown his ecommerce business, Bomb Tech Golf, into a seven-figure business. His success became the platform for which he has now grown his marketing agency on top of, Ecom Growers. His focus is on helping other ecommerce businesses sell products solely through email marketing. In this episode, Sully explains how he uses email marketing to drive traffic and sell millions of dollars worth of products. He foreshadows the most important strategy of 2019 and shows us how it is already working to his benefit. Lastly, he walks us through his strategy buying inventory without over purchasing. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: How did you get started in ecommerce businesses? 0:48 It was an accidental business. I wanted to make the best long drive clubs, and the entire business stemmed from that. I started by making niche, long drivers. 2:27 I got my first sail while on my boat and it blew my mind, this idea that I could sell something while I was physically on a boat. It was my ah-ha moment, and I thought, “I need to do more of this.” 5:30 We also have an agency, where we don't do ads. We drive more revenue without spending more on ads. We run email through Playdio better than anyone else. What's your strategy on Playdio? 10:20 There are three main strategies. First, don't get too fancy with your emails. Second, have a conversation with your email list by placing a question in the subject line (this helps us get 65% open rate). Third, follow the question with a scarcity model (time, quantity, etc.) 17:14 Email is simple, but it's hard. The hardest part is that everybody as an ecommerce owner thinks they need the latest and greatest strategies. What actually moves the needle? You need traffic. You need email. And you'll increase your revenue. Where should you invest talent and money within your business? 20:56 Our customers are everything to us, both in agency and ecommerce. We used to send out handwritten notes, and now we send out thank you voicemails, because they are scalable. Customers freak out about it. If you had limited resources, how do you suggest store owners find a good agency? 23:49 It's tough because everybody is selling the dream, but 99% of agencies don't have the skill. 25:33 I hire agencies for a one hour screenshare where we will create campaigns together. This let's me learn the process and vet them. If that campaign goes well, then I'll invite them in for another one hour call. If they do a great job again, then I can hire them. What are you excited about in the ad and email space for 2019? 29:28 I'm not sure that I'm the guy to ask because I'm so boring about this stuff. I only focus on what drives the lever, not messenger, Snapchat, etc. I believe every business is different and strategies are worth testing if you have the budget, but at the end of the day it's traffic, email and offer. If you can get those three components to be better, then you're going to be successful. 33:05 I think there will be a bigger shift in attaching a person to every brand. Faceless brands are already losing, but in 2019, if th

GUEST BIO: Tyler, “Sully” Sullivan is the CEO of Bomb Tech Golf, a premium golf product ecommerce website. Sully has grown Bomb Tech Golf into a seven-figure ecommerce business and has since opened a marketing agency to help other ecommerce businesses find the same success. Sully’s initial interest in ecommerce was sparked when his very first product sell came while he was on a boat. He immediately realized the ability to capitalize off of ecommerce, while continuing to live the lifestyle he wanted. Sully’s mindset is, “unless there is room for improvement, quality, or innovation I won’t do it.” He continues to use this mentality as he improves golf club designs and elevates ecommerce businesses using his own innovative email marketing techniques. SHOW SUMMARY: Today’s guest is Sully Sullivan, the CEO of Bomb Tech Golf and founder of Ecom Growers. Sully has grown his ecommerce business, Bomb Tech Golf, into a seven-figure business. His success became the platform for which he has now grown his marketing agency on top of, Ecom Growers. His focus is on helping other ecommerce businesses sell products solely through email marketing. In this episode, Sully explains how he uses email marketing to drive traffic and sell millions of dollars worth of products. He foreshadows the most important strategy of 2019 and shows us how it is already working to his benefit. Lastly, he walks us through his strategy buying inventory without over purchasing. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: How did you get started in ecommerce businesses? 0:48 It was an accidental business. I wanted to make the best long drive clubs, and the entire business stemmed from that. I started by making niche, long drivers. 2:27 I got my first sail while on my boat and it blew my mind, this idea that I could sell something while I was physically on a boat. It was my ah-ha moment, and I thought, “I need to do more of this.” 5:30 We also have an agency, where we don’t do ads. We drive more revenue without spending more on ads. We run email through Playdio better than anyone else. What’s your strategy on Playdio? 10:20 There are three main strategies. First, don’t get too fancy with your emails. Second, have a conversation with your email list by placing a question in the subject line (this helps us get 65% open rate). Third, follow the question with a scarcity model (time, quantity, etc.) 17:14 Email is simple, but it’s hard. The hardest part is that everybody as an ecommerce owner thinks they need the latest and greatest strategies. What actually moves the needle? You need traffic. You need email. And you’ll increase your revenue. Where should you invest talent and money within your business? 20:56 Our customers are everything to us, both in agency and ecommerce. We used to send out handwritten notes, and now we send out thank you voicemails, because they are scalable. Customers freak out about it. If you had limited resources, how do you suggest store owners find a good agency? 23:49 It’s tough because everybody is selling the dream, but 99% of agencies don’t have the skill. 25:33 I hire agencies for a one hour screenshare where we will create campaigns together. This let’s me learn the process and vet them. If that campaign goes well, then I’ll invite them in for another one hour call. If they do a great job again, then I can hire them. What are you excited about in the ad and email space for 2019? 29:28 I’m not sure that I’m the guy to ask because I’m so boring about this stuff. I only focus on what drives the lever, not messenger, Snapchat, etc. I believe every business is different and strategies are worth testing if you have the budget, but at the end of the day it’s traffic, email and offer. If you can get those three components to be better, then you’re going to be successful. 33:05 I think there will be a bigger shift in attaching a person to every brand. Faceless brands are already losing, but in 2019, if there isn’t a face attached to your brand you’re going to be done. It’s super authentic. People buy from people. Where are ecommerce businesses wasting money? 39:30 Fulfillment and shipping. Look at your product offerings and make them as simple as possible. It’s hard because you’re going to think your customer wants all of these options, but it’s not true. Then, outsource shipping to a third-party. How do you approach product launches? 45:05 I’m a big fan of pre-orders because it takes a long time for us to get the product. Last year at this time, we had so much inventory it was almost scary. Now, we do a step by step process. We create a product page (not a landing page), we use a signup tool, and based off of how many people have signed up we know about 30% will purchase. 45 days out we’ll do pre-orders and give people the option for an early price, and that gives us a chance to see if the product is going to be a winner. Resources mentioned in the Podcast: Bomb Tech Golf Sully’s Website Ecom Growers Playdio | Better Media For Business Contact Sully: Sully on LinkedIN sully@ecomgrowers.com

GUEST BIO: Kami York-Feirn, Social Media Specialist. VP of Product Design and Marketing and Rob BonDurant are part of the marketing team behind Osprey Packs. Osprey Packs is one of the largest outdoor backpack brands in the USA, found in REI and other major outdoor brick and mortar stores. Recently, they have launched their e-commerce store and in 2019 they will officially launch their ambassador program. Osprey packs was started in 1974 as a personally customized backpack company. Customers could come in, have their measurements taken and purchase a backpack completely designed for them. Osprey now has 50+ backpack designs for commuters, mountain bikers, snowboarders and more. SHOW SUMMARY: Today's guests are Kamie York-Feirn, Social Media Specialist, and Rob BonDurant, VP of Design and Marketing at Osprey Packs. Osprey Packs is a leading backpack brand in the outdoor space, with products ranging from weekend warrior backpacks to 80L backpacks for long term travelers. Cammie and Rob have geared up for 2019 and are going to share with us what to expect from Osprey in the coming year. In this episode, they explain how to tackle educating the market on how to find the right backpack, the difference in their brick and mortar marketing strategy versus their e-commerce strategy, and the 2019 trends they foresee in e-commerce. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: Who is Osprey? Osprey packs has been around since 1974, originally started as customized backpacks for every customer. Now, we offer bags for hikers, car campers, long term backpackers, etc. As a social media specialist, my job is to target those individuals on social media platforms. Our target audience is anybody who enjoys being outdoors and shares our love of nature. Osprey exists and provides solutions to people living a life close to nature and who want to travel for the adventure. How do you tackle educating a market on how to wear a backpack? We put a tremendous amount of effort into training, and I think that's where we start. From REI to a Mom and Pop shop selling Osprey, employees have been fully trained by us to ask the right questions to find the right backpack for the customer. We also have a Pack Finder online that will show you a range of products to choose from depending on what you need your backpack for. How do you balance brick and mortar marketing versus online marketing? We are fairly new to e-commerce, we just started selling from our website in February. It's been a learning experience. We market products on the website very differently than they are marketed in store. We try to be localized with all of our marketing efforts, so marketing online in Arizona is much different from marketing in New York. The e-commerce store has been an amazing tool to show us what is working with our customers and what isn't, there is so much data that we are able to learn from and become granular with. We can find customers, retarget and then get them to convert onsite, which is something we didn't have access to prior. In two weeks, we are launching our 2019 ambassador program. It's been a long time coming. Our athletes are influencers and in 2019 we'll tap more into those influencers to gather more data, photos, blog posts and understand how we can motivate people to buy the products. With ambassadors, we're utilizing their tremendous talents to improve our sales tactics. We also free up there time so they can push their sport forward. We have a strategic way of going about who we want to work with and why we want to work with them. We want customers to see somebody promoting our product and believe the message that the influencer is relaying. What is the conversion you are looking for from social media? The beauty of social media is that, if done right, it's not a conversion tool. It's high and middle funnel. We utilize our athletes and influencers for brand awareness and engagement. We want to get the product out in

GUEST BIO: Kami York-Feirn, Social Media Specialist. VP of Product Design and Marketing and Rob BonDurant are part of the marketing team behind Osprey Packs. Osprey Packs is one of the largest outdoor backpack brands in the USA, found in REI and other major outdoor brick and mortar stores. Recently, they have launched their e-commerce store and in 2019 they will officially launch their ambassador program. Osprey packs was started in 1974 as a personally customized backpack company. Customers could come in, have their measurements taken and purchase a backpack completely designed for them. Osprey now has 50+ backpack designs for commuters, mountain bikers, snowboarders and more. SHOW SUMMARY: Today’s guests are Kamie York-Feirn, Social Media Specialist, and Rob BonDurant, VP of Design and Marketing at Osprey Packs. Osprey Packs is a leading backpack brand in the outdoor space, with products ranging from weekend warrior backpacks to 80L backpacks for long term travelers. Cammie and Rob have geared up for 2019 and are going to share with us what to expect from Osprey in the coming year. In this episode, they explain how to tackle educating the market on how to find the right backpack, the difference in their brick and mortar marketing strategy versus their e-commerce strategy, and the 2019 trends they foresee in e-commerce. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: Who is Osprey? Osprey packs has been around since 1974, originally started as customized backpacks for every customer. Now, we offer bags for hikers, car campers, long term backpackers, etc. As a social media specialist, my job is to target those individuals on social media platforms. Our target audience is anybody who enjoys being outdoors and shares our love of nature. Osprey exists and provides solutions to people living a life close to nature and who want to travel for the adventure. How do you tackle educating a market on how to wear a backpack? We put a tremendous amount of effort into training, and I think that’s where we start. From REI to a Mom and Pop shop selling Osprey, employees have been fully trained by us to ask the right questions to find the right backpack for the customer. We also have a Pack Finder online that will show you a range of products to choose from depending on what you need your backpack for. How do you balance brick and mortar marketing versus online marketing? We are fairly new to e-commerce, we just started selling from our website in February. It’s been a learning experience. We market products on the website very differently than they are marketed in store. We try to be localized with all of our marketing efforts, so marketing online in Arizona is much different from marketing in New York. The e-commerce store has been an amazing tool to show us what is working with our customers and what isn’t, there is so much data that we are able to learn from and become granular with. We can find customers, retarget and then get them to convert onsite, which is something we didn’t have access to prior. In two weeks, we are launching our 2019 ambassador program. It’s been a long time coming. Our athletes are influencers and in 2019 we’ll tap more into those influencers to gather more data, photos, blog posts and understand how we can motivate people to buy the products. With ambassadors, we’re utilizing their tremendous talents to improve our sales tactics. We also free up there time so they can push their sport forward. We have a strategic way of going about who we want to work with and why we want to work with them. We want customers to see somebody promoting our product and believe the message that the influencer is relaying. What is the conversion you are looking for from social media? The beauty of social media is that, if done right, it’s not a conversion tool. It’s high and middle funnel. We utilize our athletes and influencers for brand awareness and engagement. We want to get the product out in front of the audience and educate them about each product through influencer’s customers trust. Our role is not to create the experience, it’s to document it. How do past results factor into current marketing strategies? Every department of every retail organization should be collecting as much data as possible. That being said, we have industrial designers with a passion for the outdoors-yes we look at the best and worst reviews-but at the end of the day we are looking for a user to put the backpack on and know it has the right features. We begin with ourselves, overlay with customer data, test and refine, remain humble and constantly move forward. As a SMS, I take feedback to product development and tell them, “Take this review at face value”. Yes, customer feedback has to be taken seriously and at the same time with a grain of salt. What kinds of trends do you see developing in e-commerce for 2019? Facebook and Instagram are becoming bigger players in the space. There are going to be a lot more purchases made from mobile devices and social in general. With Instagram’s feature to tag a product’s buy now page, there’s going to be a different interaction. I’m excited to see where that goes next year. If we can understand how a customer chooses to go through the different touch points of Osprey, I believe we’ll be successful. We also have a two way street now, we can just post an image and have instant feedback from thousands of voices that wasn’t available before. We look at e-commerce as a sales tool but also a learning vehicle. How are you tracking your customer journey? We’re trying to figure out how to capture add to cart consumers and convert them as an end goal. It’s about understanding top, middle and bottom funnel relationships and the difference between the three. We have to target adds to the right customer in the right place of the customer journey. How do you tackle different outdoor verticals? We’ve created personas and we also have employees who do a lot of everything. For example, I’m a hiker, mountain biker, snowboarder, and backpacker-so I understand who those people are and what their personas are. The development is a methodology of looking at the individual trades and then apply those to how we develop our products and marketing messages. Resources mentioned in the Podcast: Osprey’s Pack Finder Osprey on Facebook Osprey on Instagram Osprey’s Website Contact Kamie and Rob at: Kamie on LinkedIN Rob on LinkedIN

GUEST BIO: Charles Palleschi is the founder and CEO of Spark Shipping, an ecommerce company that acts as a third party between vendor and manufacturer. The idea for Spark Shipping came from Charles' initial drop shipping business. After finding that there wasn't a virtual tool to organize orders and vendors, he created one to help his business. Shortly after, he discovered the business opportunity of making this tool public and shifted his focus from dropshipping to Spark Shipping. Spark Shipping works with all vendors and has partnerships with Spotify, Amazon, eBay, Woocommerce, Magento, Big Commerce and more, helping dropshipping companies to increase their volume and margins. SHOW SUMMARY: Today's guest is Charles Palleschi, founder and CEO of Spark Shipping. Spark Shipping acts a third party between vendor and manufacturer for ecommerce businesses. Born from a solution Charles created for his dropshipping business, Spark Shipping is now partnered with Spotify, Amazon, eBay, Woocommerce and more. In this episode, Charles explains how the idea of Spark Shipping was a direct result of a pain point he experienced during the early days of his dropshipping business. He shows us how to create our own solutions and then, how to make them public as a SaaS product. We also talk about how to improve your dropshipping business, how to finagle lower shipping rates, and the vendors you should prioritize. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: What was the inspiration behind Spark Shipping? 0:25 I started as a freelance consultant, using my development background, but I decided totally out of the blue to buy an e-commerce website. I started with FBA, drop shipping, and worked with a lot of vendors and that's what made me think of creating a tool to organize orders and vendors. We named it Spark Shipping, made it public and about three years ago we started to fully focus on it instead of our e-commerce website. 6:05 Spark Shipping sits between the retail side and the vendor and we automate inventory quantities, take order requests and get tracking data. Essentially we automate the day to day tasks of an e-commerce business. What is a hybrid drop shipping model? 8:56 Not a lot of people talk about the boring backend of e-commerce, especially when it comes to processing data. Hybrid drop shipping involves one product being fulfilled by multiple vendors (manufacturer, distributor, internal warehouse). This creates layers of inventory and you can use the cheapest vendor for that moment. What improvement can you make on dropshipping and returns? 14:10 A lot of dropshippers are listing products even though they don't have live numbers from their vendors. I get that if you have hundreds of thousands of products you can't do it on your own, but you need to find a tool that helps you keep track of those numbers. 18:30 Once you're deep within a given niche, you can start giving value based off of that specific product and increase your volume. Do you have dropshippers on your platform doing significant volume? 22:37 We see people move from drop shipping to manufacturing and manufacturing to drop shipping. It's not very black and white, it's more of a holistic approach. If you're manufacturing a product, it doesn't make sense to manufacture all of the accessories for it. But it does make sense to stock all of them. 26:06 There's a ton of large companies doing this and customers don't realize it. If you order a product and have it delivered in one box and then have the accessory delivered in a different box, on a different day, this is a company that is executing this strategy. How can you get lower shipping rates on ecommerce products? 29:13 The normal shipping rates from UPS or FedEx aren't typically paid once you are doing volume, you can easily negotiate a better rate. Once you've done that, go to your manufacturer and try to get them to negotiate with their carrier. Then, you'll have a cheaper rate on b

GUEST BIO: Charles Palleschi is the founder and CEO of Spark Shipping, an ecommerce company that acts as a third party between vendor and manufacturer. The idea for Spark Shipping came from Charles’ initial drop shipping business. After finding that there wasn’t a virtual tool to organize orders and vendors, he created one to help his business. Shortly after, he discovered the business opportunity of making this tool public and shifted his focus from dropshipping to Spark Shipping. Spark Shipping works with all vendors and has partnerships with Spotify, Amazon, eBay, Woocommerce, Magento, Big Commerce and more, helping dropshipping companies to increase their volume and margins. SHOW SUMMARY: Today’s guest is Charles Palleschi, founder and CEO of Spark Shipping. Spark Shipping acts a third party between vendor and manufacturer for ecommerce businesses. Born from a solution Charles created for his dropshipping business, Spark Shipping is now partnered with Spotify, Amazon, eBay, Woocommerce and more. In this episode, Charles explains how the idea of Spark Shipping was a direct result of a pain point he experienced during the early days of his dropshipping business. He shows us how to create our own solutions and then, how to make them public as a SaaS product. We also talk about how to improve your dropshipping business, how to finagle lower shipping rates, and the vendors you should prioritize. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: What was the inspiration behind Spark Shipping? 0:25 I started as a freelance consultant, using my development background, but I decided totally out of the blue to buy an e-commerce website. I started with FBA, drop shipping, and worked with a lot of vendors and that’s what made me think of creating a tool to organize orders and vendors. We named it Spark Shipping, made it public and about three years ago we started to fully focus on it instead of our e-commerce website. 6:05 Spark Shipping sits between the retail side and the vendor and we automate inventory quantities, take order requests and get tracking data. Essentially we automate the day to day tasks of an e-commerce business. What is a hybrid drop shipping model? 8:56 Not a lot of people talk about the boring backend of e-commerce, especially when it comes to processing data. Hybrid drop shipping involves one product being fulfilled by multiple vendors (manufacturer, distributor, internal warehouse). This creates layers of inventory and you can use the cheapest vendor for that moment. What improvement can you make on dropshipping and returns? 14:10 A lot of dropshippers are listing products even though they don’t have live numbers from their vendors. I get that if you have hundreds of thousands of products you can’t do it on your own, but you need to find a tool that helps you keep track of those numbers. 18:30 Once you’re deep within a given niche, you can start giving value based off of that specific product and increase your volume. Do you have dropshippers on your platform doing significant volume? 22:37 We see people move from drop shipping to manufacturing and manufacturing to drop shipping. It’s not very black and white, it’s more of a holistic approach. If you’re manufacturing a product, it doesn’t make sense to manufacture all of the accessories for it. But it does make sense to stock all of them. 26:06 There’s a ton of large companies doing this and customers don’t realize it. If you order a product and have it delivered in one box and then have the accessory delivered in a different box, on a different day, this is a company that is executing this strategy. How can you get lower shipping rates on ecommerce products? 29:13 The normal shipping rates from UPS or FedEx aren’t typically paid once you are doing volume, you can easily negotiate a better rate. Once you’ve done that, go to your manufacturer and try to get them to negotiate with their carrier. Then, you’ll have a cheaper rate on both vendor and manufacturer side. What other areas should we work on with our clients? 36:52 Every vendor is using a different format and this makes people hesitant to bring on different vendors, even though they may be able to upsell better or bring in more data. Overcoming this hesitation can really move the needle for your business. 38:26 Vendors in the “quirky” part of the internet usually have the best products and rates. Don’t shy away from them, chances are you should lean into them. 39:08 Once you’re in a niche, it gets easier to find these particular vendors. Another bonus of these vendors is that you can create better relationships with them which can help you in the future. Contact Chris Palleschi at: Spark Shipping | Dropship Ecommerce Automation, Inventory Management and Third Party Order Fulfillment The Business of Ecommerce Podcast Chris on LinkedIN

GUEST BIO: [Nathan Hirsch](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhirsch) is a 28 year old serial entrepreneur who is an expert in hiring online and building eCommerce businesses. He co-founded his first eCommerce company out of his dorm room in 2009, drop shipping products on Amazon.com and built it to sell over $25 million worth of product over 5 years. While scaling, Nathan discovered the power of outsourcing and ended up building a remote army of freelancers. In 2015, Nathan co-founded and became the CEO of [FreeeUp](https://freeeup.com/), an online hiring marketplace that allows business owners fast access to a hand-picked network of top talent freelancers in eCommerce, digital marketing, web development, and much more who have already been vetted for skill, attitude, and communication. FreeeUp interviews hundreds of freelancers each week and only allows the top 1% of applicants into the network. The company has been growing at rapid paces (500%+ YoY) and has quickly become a top destination to hire online for over 3,000 businesses around the world. Nathan has built his personal brand to be synonymous with online hiring and entrepreneurship through 75+ guest appearances on top podcasts: Entrepreneur on Fire with John Lee Dumas, Eventual Millionaire, and more. Nathan has also become a regular speaker at industry conferences where he teaches other business owners how to hire freelancers and gain back more time in their growing businesses. SHOW SUMMARY: Today's guest is Nathan Hirsch, founder of the freelance platform Freeeup. Freeeup differs from other freelance platforms because they don't allow every single freelancer to join. They have an intense vetting system and only allow 1% of the freelancers who apply to become a member. The idea for Freeeup came from Nathan's struggles with having to go through over twenty applications each time he posted a job to a freelance platform. In this episode, Nathan tells us how he went from selling textbooks, to baby products to building his own freelancer platform. He talks about the current demands of the freelance world, from the perspective of client and freelancer, as well as how he views marketing trends as they pertain to his business. Lastly, Nathan gives us the secret sauce of a great job posting and freelancer first outreach message. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: How did you become an entrepreneur? 1:06 I always imagined I'd work a “regular job” but found that I hated working for other people and didn't want to make this my entire life. I saw college as a ticking clock and my chance to start a business. 1:52 I bought textbooks at the end of each semester, becoming a competitor for my school's bookstore. By creating a referral program I was able to get so much business to my “bookstore” that I received a cease and desist order from my college. 2:30 I started to sell on Amazon and was really excited to work with customers and have my own business, but knew that books weren't the future. So, I experimented with outdoor products, computers, etc. Nothing else would sell until I branched out of my comfort zone and got into the baby product industry. What is Freeeup? 4:28 Hiring on Fiverr, Upwork and other freelance platforms didn't help me, as I needed a faster way to go through applicants. I created Freeeup and then made it so clients have immediate access to any freelancer they need. 6:45 The difference between Freeeup and Upwork is that Freeeup only allows one freelancer to enter per one hundred applications. Freeeups onboarding process is faster and gives clients a a no turnover guarantee, paying for the inconvenience of having to hire a new freelancer if an issue arises. 7:59 Freeeup freelancers are 40% USA, 40% Philippines and 20% scattered. Freeeup is very picky about who they allow on the platform because Freeeup is only as good as the freelancers and only as successful as how happy freelancers are when using the p

GUEST BIO: [Nathan Hirsch](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhirsch) is a 28 year old serial entrepreneur who is an expert in hiring online and building eCommerce businesses. He co-founded his first eCommerce company out of his dorm room in 2009, drop shipping products on Amazon.com and built it to sell over $25 million worth of product over 5 years. While scaling, Nathan discovered the power of outsourcing and ended up building a remote army of freelancers. In 2015, Nathan co-founded and became the CEO of [FreeeUp](https://freeeup.com/), an online hiring marketplace that allows business owners fast access to a hand-picked network of top talent freelancers in eCommerce, digital marketing, web development, and much more who have already been vetted for skill, attitude, and communication. FreeeUp interviews hundreds of freelancers each week and only allows the top 1% of applicants into the network. The company has been growing at rapid paces (500%+ YoY) and has quickly become a top destination to hire online for over 3,000 businesses around the world. Nathan has built his personal brand to be synonymous with online hiring and entrepreneurship through 75+ guest appearances on top podcasts: Entrepreneur on Fire with John Lee Dumas, Eventual Millionaire, and more. Nathan has also become a regular speaker at industry conferences where he teaches other business owners how to hire freelancers and gain back more time in their growing businesses. SHOW SUMMARY: Today's guest is Nathan Hirsch, founder of the freelance platform Freeeup. Freeeup differs from other freelance platforms because they don't allow every single freelancer to join. They have an intense vetting system and only allow 1% of the freelancers who apply to become a member. The idea for Freeeup came from Nathan's struggles with having to go through over twenty applications each time he posted a job to a freelance platform. In this episode, Nathan tells us how he went from selling textbooks, to baby products to building his own freelancer platform. He talks about the current demands of the freelance world, from the perspective of client and freelancer, as well as how he views marketing trends as they pertain to his business. Lastly, Nathan gives us the secret sauce of a great job posting and freelancer first outreach message. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: How did you become an entrepreneur? 1:06 I always imagined I'd work a “regular job” but found that I hated working for other people and didn't want to make this my entire life. I saw college as a ticking clock and my chance to start a business. 1:52 I bought textbooks at the end of each semester, becoming a competitor for my school's bookstore. By creating a referral program I was able to get so much business to my “bookstore” that I received a cease and desist order from my college. 2:30 I started to sell on Amazon and was really excited to work with customers and have my own business, but knew that books weren't the future. So, I experimented with outdoor products, computers, etc. Nothing else would sell until I branched out of my comfort zone and got into the baby product industry. What is Freeeup? 4:28 Hiring on Fiverr, Upwork and other freelance platforms didn't help me, as I needed a faster way to go through applicants. I created Freeeup and then made it so clients have immediate access to any freelancer they need. 6:45 The difference between Freeeup and Upwork is that Freeeup only allows one freelancer to enter per one hundred applications. Freeeups onboarding process is faster and gives clients a a no turnover guarantee, paying for the inconvenience of having to hire a new freelancer if an issue arises. 7:59 Freeeup freelancers are 40% USA, 40% Philippines and 20% scattered. Freeeup is very picky about who they allow on the platform because Freeeup is only as good as the freelancers and only as successful as how happy freelancers are when using the p

GUEST BIO: Nathan Hirsch is a 28 year old serial entrepreneur who is an expert in hiring online and building eCommerce businesses. He co-founded his first eCommerce company out of his dorm room in 2009, drop shipping products on Amazon.com and built it to sell over $25 million worth of product over 5 years. While scaling, Nathan discovered the power of outsourcing and ended up building a remote army of freelancers. In 2015, Nathan co-founded and became the CEO of FreeeUp, an online hiring marketplace that allows business owners fast access to a hand-picked network of top talent freelancers in eCommerce, digital marketing, web development, and much more who have already been vetted for skill, attitude, and communication. FreeeUp interviews hundreds of freelancers each week and only allows the top 1% of applicants into the network. The company has been growing at rapid paces (500%+ YoY) and has quickly become a top destination to hire online for over 3,000 businesses around the world. Nathan has built his personal brand to be synonymous with online hiring and entrepreneurship through 75+ guest appearances on top podcasts: Entrepreneur on Fire with John Lee Dumas, Eventual Millionaire, and more. Nathan has also become a regular speaker at industry conferences where he teaches other business owners how to hire freelancers and gain back more time in their growing businesses. SHOW SUMMARY: Today’s guest is Nathan Hirsch, founder of the freelance platform Freeeup. Freeeup differs from other freelance platforms because they don’t allow every single freelancer to join. They have an intense vetting system and only allow 1% of the freelancers who apply to become a member. The idea for Freeeup came from Nathan’s struggles with having to go through over twenty applications each time he posted a job to a freelance platform. In this episode, Nathan tells us how he went from selling textbooks, to baby products to building his own freelancer platform. He talks about the current demands of the freelance world, from the perspective of client and freelancer, as well as how he views marketing trends as they pertain to his business. Lastly, Nathan gives us the secret sauce of a great job posting and freelancer first outreach message. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: How did you become an entrepreneur? 1:06 I always imagined I’d work a “regular job” but found that I hated working for other people and didn’t want to make this my entire life. I saw college as a ticking clock and my chance to start a business. 1:52 I bought textbooks at the end of each semester, becoming a competitor for my school’s bookstore. By creating a referral program I was able to get so much business to my “bookstore” that I received a cease and desist order from my college. 2:30 I started to sell on Amazon and was really excited to work with customers and have my own business, but knew that books weren’t the future. So, I experimented with outdoor products, computers, etc. Nothing else would sell until I branched out of my comfort zone and got into the baby product industry. What is Freeeup? 4:28 Hiring on Fiverr, Upwork and other freelance platforms didn’t help me, as I needed a faster way to go through applicants. I created Freeeup and then made it so clients have immediate access to any freelancer they need. 6:45 The difference between Freeeup and Upwork is that Freeeup only allows one freelancer to enter per one hundred applications. Freeeups onboarding process is faster and gives clients a a no turnover guarantee, paying for the inconvenience of having to hire a new freelancer if an issue arises. 7:59 Freeeup freelancers are 40% USA, 40% Philippines and 20% scattered. Freeeup is very picky about who they allow on the platform because Freeeup is only as good as the freelancers and only as successful as how happy freelancers are when using the platform. Did you build the demand side first or the supply side of Freeeup first? 11:29 We did $1 million in our first year, $5 million in our second and our third year will reach $9 million. I had the advantage of being an Amazon seller, so I had freelancers working for me, so I was able to bring them to Freeeup and use them to meet the demand. Where is the demand in e-commerce freelancing? 13:12 Amazon is the core of e-commerce and it’s how we started, but now these entrepreneurs are driving traffic to their Shopify stores and thinking from a long term mindset. Amazon is still an option but having your own headquarters, outside of Amazon, is more important so you can own your customer data. If you were going to become a freelancer today, what services would you offer? 15:45 E-commerce isn’t going anywhere. If you can write listing, write SEO, understand PPC, there is a demand. A higher paying job is helping clients with external traffic through Facebook ads, email sequences, etc. Bookkeepers and content writers aren’t going anywhere either. What shows you that somebody is a Top 1% Freelancer? 17:32 We realized that the skill is only one component of being a freelancer. You’re not actually looking for a 10/10 for every skill. What you’re looking for is skill, communication and attitude. How do you vet skills? 20:45 I tell my clients that even the best Facebook ad person can’t sell every single product in the world. With skill, we hired experts that helped us come up with skilled questions. What are the different project prices for varying projects? 25:50 I stay as far away from the estimates as possible. The freelancers set their estimates and we let them choose their options based off of their price points. How do you create a great job post? 28:46 First off, titles don’t matter. The details of the job are what actually matters, then the type of freelancer you are looking for and then defining what is successful and what is not successful. This is where a lot of people go wrong and assume that each freelancer or client wants the same results as their previous client or freelancer did. This information about your business and the project is key. How does a freelancer maximize their chance of winning a project? 30:27 Write an introduction that shows why you are a good fit for that particular project, providing samples and backgrounds that are relevant. Don’t just write your skills and assume the client wants to look through them. Then, make sure that the client is a good fit for you and get information that wasn’t placed on the job posting. What's your iteration process to figure out what strategy works best, specifically on LinkedIN? 46:52 I’m not a hardcore data head. We don’t do something for six months and then change it. We usually do week long trials with small amounts of money to test what is working and what is not working. We don’t always know how to calculate the ROI because who knows where that person heard about us or how big the ROI was. 48:00 It’s a lot more of asking for feedback from freelancers, talking with our internal team, looking at requests and response rate. All of this is prioritized over data. There is a lot going on with Chatbots and messenger right now, have you seen anything on the client/freelancer end that is a big area of opportunity? 38:50 We look at it as fads, not that they are going to end, but what is popular now. For example, when we started Freeeup, nobody was running Facebook ads. Now, Manychat is taking over. For us, it’s tough to forecast that but we have definitely seen more requests for this type of work and more freelancers with certificates in this industry. 40:37 Non-stop content everyday, every week is the newest trend as well. We see more clients interested in personal brands and curating their own content to increase their social presence. What funnels are you using on LinkedIN to get clients on to Freeeup? 42:27 For us, our funnel is to get somebody on the phone with myself or my business partner. We want to get them into our community and become part of our network. So, we’ll have a VA use my LinkedIN to send messages to people and I’ll answer the users who answer that message. Other people hire a content writer to come up with sales pitches or have an entire team of people reaching out to different communities and different networks. There is a creativity and flexibility there. There is no right or wrong. Is the average value of a client pretty wide? 49:23 It’s very wide because we have million dollar clients and then total startups. Hiring Credit just for You! We have collaborated with Freeeup to offer you a $50 credit on your account, through this affiliate link. Freeeup is confident they can help you hire top level freelancers for your various business needs. Resources Mentioned in the Podcast: FreeeUp.com Skill Sets Rates for FreeeUp How FreeeUp Works Infographic Free Up Your Business: 50 Secrets to Bootstrap Million Dollar Companies Contact Nathan Hirsch at: Nathan on LinkedIN Nathan on Facebook Online Hiring Mastermind

GUEST BIO: Nathan Hirsch is a 28 year old serial entrepreneur who is an expert in hiring online and building eCommerce businesses. He co-founded his first eCommerce company out of his dorm room in 2009, drop shipping products on Amazon.com and built it to sell over $25 million worth of product over 5 years. While scaling, Nathan discovered the power of outsourcing and ended up building a remote army of freelancers. In 2015, Nathan co-founded and became the CEO of FreeeUp, an online hiring marketplace that allows business owners fast access to a hand-picked network of top talent freelancers in eCommerce, digital marketing, web development, and much more who have already been vetted for skill, attitude, and communication. FreeeUp interviews hundreds of freelancers each week and only allows the top 1% of applicants into the network. The company has been growing at rapid paces (500%+ YoY) and has quickly become a top destination to hire online for over 3,000 businesses around the world. Nathan has built his personal brand to be synonymous with online hiring and entrepreneurship through 75+ guest appearances on top podcasts: Entrepreneur on Fire with John Lee Dumas, Eventual Millionaire, and more. Nathan has also become a regular speaker at industry conferences where he teaches other business owners how to hire freelancers and gain back more time in their growing businesses. SHOW SUMMARY: Today’s guest is Nathan Hirsch, founder of the freelance platform Freeeup. Freeeup differs from other freelance platforms because they don’t allow every single freelancer to join. They have an intense vetting system and only allow 1% of the freelancers who apply to become a member. The idea for Freeeup came from Nathan’s struggles with having to go through over twenty applications each time he posted a job to a freelance platform. In this episode, Nathan tells us how he went from selling textbooks, to baby products to building his own freelancer platform. He talks about the current demands of the freelance world, from the perspective of client and freelancer, as well as how he views marketing trends as they pertain to his business. Lastly, Nathan gives us the secret sauce of a great job posting and freelancer first outreach message. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: How did you become an entrepreneur? 1:06 I always imagined I’d work a “regular job” but found that I hated working for other people and didn’t want to make this my entire life. I saw college as a ticking clock and my chance to start a business. 1:52 I bought textbooks at the end of each semester, becoming a competitor for my school’s bookstore. By creating a referral program I was able to get so much business to my “bookstore” that I received a cease and desist order from my college. 2:30 I started to sell on Amazon and was really excited to work with customers and have my own business, but knew that books weren’t the future. So, I experimented with outdoor products, computers, etc. Nothing else would sell until I branched out of my comfort zone and got into the baby product industry. What is Freeeup? 4:28 Hiring on Fiverr, Upwork and other freelance platforms didn’t help me, as I needed a faster way to go through applicants. I created Freeeup and then made it so clients have immediate access to any freelancer they need. 6:45 The difference between Freeeup and Upwork is that Freeeup only allows one freelancer to enter per one hundred applications. Freeeups onboarding process is faster and gives clients a a no turnover guarantee, paying for the inconvenience of having to hire a new freelancer if an issue arises. 7:59 Freeeup freelancers are 40% USA, 40% Philippines and 20% scattered. Freeeup is very picky about who they allow on the platform because Freeeup is only as good as the freelancers and only as successful as how happy freelancers are when using the platform. Did you build the demand side first or the supply side of Freeeup first? 11:29 We did $1 million in our first year, $5 million in our second and our third year will reach $9 million. I had the advantage of being an Amazon seller, so I had freelancers working for me, so I was able to bring them to Freeeup and use them to meet the demand. Where is the demand in e-commerce freelancing? 13:12 Amazon is the core of e-commerce and it’s how we started, but now these entrepreneurs are driving traffic to their Shopify stores and thinking from a long term mindset. Amazon is still an option but having your own headquarters, outside of Amazon, is more important so you can own your customer data. If you were going to become a freelancer today, what services would you offer? 15:45 E-commerce isn’t going anywhere. If you can write listing, write SEO, understand PPC, there is a demand. A higher paying job is helping clients with external traffic through Facebook ads, email sequences, etc. Bookkeepers and content writers aren’t going anywhere either. What shows you that somebody is a Top 1% Freelancer? 17:32 We realized that the skill is only one component of being a freelancer. You’re not actually looking for a 10/10 for every skill. What you’re looking for is skill, communication and attitude. How do you vet skills? 20:45 I tell my clients that even the best Facebook ad person can’t sell every single product in the world. With skill, we hired experts that helped us come up with skilled questions. What are the different project prices for varying projects? 25:50 I stay as far away from the estimates as possible. The freelancers set their estimates and we let them choose their options based off of their price points. How do you create a great job post? 28:46 First off, titles don’t matter. The details of the job are what actually matters, then the type of freelancer you are looking for and then defining what is successful and what is not successful. This is where a lot of people go wrong and assume that each freelancer or client wants the same results as their previous client or freelancer did. This information about your business and the project is key. How does a freelancer maximize their chance of winning a project? 30:27 Write an introduction that shows why you are a good fit for that particular project, providing samples and backgrounds that are relevant. Don’t just write your skills and assume the client wants to look through them. Then, make sure that the client is a good fit for you and get information that wasn’t placed on the job posting. What's your iteration process to figure out what strategy works best, specifically on LinkedIN? 46:52 I’m not a hardcore data head. We don’t do something for six months and then change it. We usually do week long trials with small amounts of money to test what is working and what is not working. We don’t always know how to calculate the ROI because who knows where that person heard about us or how big the ROI was. 48:00 It’s a lot more of asking for feedback from freelancers, talking with our internal team, looking at requests and response rate. All of this is prioritized over data. There is a lot going on with Chatbots and messenger right now, have you seen anything on the client/freelancer end that is a big area of opportunity? 38:50 We look at it as fads, not that they are going to end, but what is popular now. For example, when we started Freeeup, nobody was running Facebook ads. Now, Manychat is taking over. For us, it’s tough to forecast that but we have definitely seen more requests for this type of work and more freelancers with certificates in this industry. 40:37 Non-stop content everyday, every week is the newest trend as well. We see more clients interested in personal brands and curating their own content to increase their social presence. What funnels are you using on LinkedIN to get clients on to Freeeup? 42:27 For us, our funnel is to get somebody on the phone with myself or my business partner. We want to get them into our community and become part of our network. So, we’ll have a VA use my LinkedIN to send messages to people and I’ll answer the users who answer that message. Other people hire a content writer to come up with sales pitches or have an entire team of people reaching out to different communities and different networks. There is a creativity and flexibility there. There is no right or wrong. Is the average value of a client pretty wide? 49:23 It’s very wide because we have million dollar clients and then total startups. Hiring Credit just for You! We have collaborated with Freeeup to offer you a $50 credit on your account, through this affiliate link. Freeeup is confident they can help you hire top level freelancers for your various business needs. Resources Mentioned in the Podcast: FreeeUp.com Skill Sets Rates for FreeeUp How FreeeUp Works Infographic Free Up Your Business: 50 Secrets to Bootstrap Million Dollar Companies Contact Nathan Hirsch at: Nathan on LinkedIN Nathan on Facebook Online Hiring Mastermind

GUEST BIO: [Annie Mosbacher](https://www.linkedin.com/in/anniemosbacher/) is the Vice President of Customer Engagement at [NationBuilder](https://nationbuilder.com/), a software for political candidates, non-profit organizations and brands. Their customers are individuals who are working with organizations, building a community, or advocating for a cause. Annie's day to day involves the long term health and retention of their customer base. Annie's passion for non-profit organizations and the power political candidates have to make change led her to work with and found her own non-profit organization prior to NationBuilder. Her first endeavor was in helping underserved communities. This inspired her to co-found a non-profit connecting high school students with career paths they weren't aware of. Her mission was to fill the large gap between the fields students were blindly pursuing and careers the workforce actually needed. Annie continues to pursue change, regardless of it benefiting her own political beliefs, through her VP position at NationBuilder. SHOW SUMMARY: Today's guest is Annie Mosbacher, the Vice President of Customer Engagement at NationBuilder. NationBuilder is a SaaS company offering non-profits, political candidates and brands help in building their communities. Annie oversees their client acquisition and retention, which is an incredibly interesting position as her political consumers don't necessarily need the product, a campaign builder, after election day. In this episode, Annie explains how NationBuilder acquires customers and retains them after they've finished using the product. She walks us through their non-partisan view and explains why it continues to be a fundamental part of their business, despite backlash. Lastly, she explains the future of digital political and fundraising campaigns and how any business can learn from these industries to grow their own dedicated community. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: How did you initially start working with non-profits and political campaigns? 1:44 I have a deep and profound connection with higher education. I served as an executive director at the beginning of my career, helping underserved communities. Afterwards, I co-founded a startup to help young high school students connect with future careers they may not have been aware of. There's a large gap in what people are pursuing and what the workforce actually needs, and I wanted to close it. What careers did you find students most often followed? 4:46 Students often followed a liberal arts degree or went to college and used it to initially explore their future career. Yet, plumbing, welding, and more technical fields had the most opportunities. Students weren't choosing these careers because they weren't aware of the option. We explained to them that in three years, they would make six figures in these fields and if they were interested we showed them how to follow through. What does customer acquisition look like when your customers are political candidates? 10:05 We have always provided a free voter file to people interested in running for office but don't have the experience or connections to show them how to build a campaign. Our campaign courses are certainly there to drive customer acquisition, but they are also designed to help candidates build their first campaign. How do you advance your mission and financially keep NationBuilder afloat? 13:44 It's multifaceted, but the grounding principle is that we are extremely non-partisan. We'll work with any customer regardless of their political beliefs or backgrounds, which is unprecedented in the tech and software political space. We also have a lot of diversification in the scale of customers we support, ranging from large international campaigns to local school board candidates. 15:24 We offer different engagement paths, so whether a customer wins or loses their campaign, there are ways for them to c

GUEST BIO: Annie Mosbacher is the Vice President of Customer Engagement at NationBuilder, a software for political candidates, non-profit organizations and brands. Their customers are individuals who are working with organizations, building a community, or advocating for a cause. Annie’s day to day involves the long term health and retention of their customer base. Annie’s passion for non-profit organizations and the power political candidates have to make change led her to work with and found her own non-profit organization prior to NationBuilder. Her first endeavor was in helping underserved communities. This inspired her to co-found a non-profit connecting high school students with career paths they weren’t aware of. Her mission was to fill the large gap between the fields students were blindly pursuing and careers the workforce actually needed. Annie continues to pursue change, regardless of it benefiting her own political beliefs, through her VP position at NationBuilder. SHOW SUMMARY: Today’s guest is Annie Mosbacher, the Vice President of Customer Engagement at NationBuilder. NationBuilder is a SaaS company offering non-profits, political candidates and brands help in building their communities. Annie oversees their client acquisition and retention, which is an incredibly interesting position as her political consumers don’t necessarily need the product, a campaign builder, after election day. In this episode, Annie explains how NationBuilder acquires customers and retains them after they’ve finished using the product. She walks us through their non-partisan view and explains why it continues to be a fundamental part of their business, despite backlash. Lastly, she explains the future of digital political and fundraising campaigns and how any business can learn from these industries to grow their own dedicated community. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: How did you initially start working with non-profits and political campaigns? 1:44 I have a deep and profound connection with higher education. I served as an executive director at the beginning of my career, helping underserved communities. Afterwards, I co-founded a startup to help young high school students connect with future careers they may not have been aware of. There’s a large gap in what people are pursuing and what the workforce actually needs, and I wanted to close it. What careers did you find students most often followed? 4:46 Students often followed a liberal arts degree or went to college and used it to initially explore their future career. Yet, plumbing, welding, and more technical fields had the most opportunities. Students weren’t choosing these careers because they weren’t aware of the option. We explained to them that in three years, they would make six figures in these fields and if they were interested we showed them how to follow through. What does customer acquisition look like when your customers are political candidates? 10:05 We have always provided a free voter file to people interested in running for office but don’t have the experience or connections to show them how to build a campaign. Our campaign courses are certainly there to drive customer acquisition, but they are also designed to help candidates build their first campaign. How do you advance your mission and financially keep NationBuilder afloat? 13:44 It’s multifaceted, but the grounding principle is that we are extremely non-partisan. We’ll work with any customer regardless of their political beliefs or backgrounds, which is unprecedented in the tech and software political space. We also have a lot of diversification in the scale of customers we support, ranging from large international campaigns to local school board candidates. 15:24 We offer different engagement paths, so whether a customer wins or loses their campaign, there are ways for them to continue to use NationBuilder to keep the momentum and to work with like minded candidates in their area. What is the future of online campaigns? 18:14 There was a big report that came out of the Obama campaign, in the success they had using staged donation pages. For example, a donation page with one type of information capture per page (email, phone number, credit card, etc.). The theory was that people didn’t get fatigued filling out all of their information on one page. The landscape of digital campaigning now is that we’ve reverted to putting everything back on one page. 19:27 The digital campaign industry could go a lot of ways. Our society is very partisan right now and it’s infused into technology. For example, we currently have candidates banned from social platforms. There is a conversation we have to have in the tech industry about the service we are providing to democracy as technology is changing the roots of political organizing. Do you think the playing field for candidacy is leveled now that you can run campaigns for a much cheaper price than ever before? 21:37 Certainly. The amount of virality that exists around candidates now has totally changed who goes into office. What processes do you have in place to find new customers? 23:15 Averaging out, we have about equal amounts of political customers as we do fundraising and non-profits organizations. We also work with a few brands, which is the smallest sublet of our consumers. 24:17 We prospect into communities that have had success with NationBuilder. We also have a robust sales engine that focuses primarily on enterprise sales. A lot of our acquisition is inbound through word of mouth and the PR space. 27:40 Run For Office is our platform that collects all of the open seats that people can run for around the country. A lot of people are wondering how they can get involved in their community, and through the platform we use their address to find what seat they could run for. Anybody that doesn’t know how to run for office can come to NationBuilder and get an understanding of the landscape, have a conversation with our customer engagement team, and build out a campaign. This option didn’t exist ten to fifteen years ago. What holds NationBuilder together and pushes the company forward? 31:23 I think that across the board, there isn’t anybody who works at NationBuilder that isn’t in some way deeply connected to the mission. Most of us are sold on working here because of the mission. Why is NationBuilder non-partisan, and so open about this choice? 34:13 It has been a fundamental part of our company since day one. Everywhere that we talk about our values online, we fiercely explain that we are facilitators of the leaders in the world, pursuing what they believe is the most important thing. It’s not up to us to be the decider of who gets access to these resources. What developments are on the rise for non-profits and fundraisers? 40:32 Organizations that recognize leadership and responsibility are going to win their campaigns. For example, by letting members of your community advocate for you can drastically spread the word about your mission or organization. This is proven to net out more donations. We are also seeing that long term community members give higher donations than short term, so focusing on relationships over time, versus building a large list, can be more fruitful. 43:40 There is so much that each industry can learn from other sectors. For example, political candidates can learn from non-profits. Look at different ways that communities are being built and see how those tactics and strategies can be used to build your community. Resources mentioned in the Podcast: NationBuilder: Software for Leaders RunForOffice.Org Contact Annie Mosbacher at: Annie on LinkedIN

GUEST BIO: [Travis Kessel](https://www.linkedin.com/in/traviskessel/) is the Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at [Jet](https://jet.com/), acquired by [Walmart ECommerce](https://corporate.walmart.com/galleries/ecommerce). His initial job as an accountant motivated him to move from Virginia to Chicago, where he landed his first recruiting job. Shortly after, he confidently opened his own staffing agency only to be shut down two months later by the collapse of the [Lehman Brothers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehman_Brothers). After one more short stint as a recruiter at another agency, Travis became the Vice President of recruiting at [Edelman](https://www.edelman.com/), the world's largest PR firm.At Edelman, Travis learned a new side of recruiting and started to place companies with candidates that paralleled their brand. Craving a tech focused company, Travis left Edelman to work at Jet, which was previously acquired by Wal-Mart E-commerce. As The Senior Director of Talent Acquisition, Travis focuses on the systems of the hiring process and the future of acquisition as it meets advancements in artificial intelligence. SHOW SUMMARY: Today's guest is Travis Kessel, the Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at Jet, owned by Walmart E-commerce. Travis connects candidates with the right job, spending his days building new companies or extending branches of established corporations. As a talent acquisitions expert, he has used marketing and psychology to become one of the best recruiters in his field.In this episode, Travis explains the do's and don'ts of applying for a job, how to get noticed amongst hundreds of other applicants and the new technology that is automating the recruiting process. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: What is the process you look at for e-commerce talent acquisition? 1:00 The process is similar to how we move people through to hire, such as collecting resumes, assessing them, phone screens, outside vendor tests and then an offer. 1:58 Artificial intelligence is creating a streamlined process that allows us to bring on new talent and Travis is looking forward to the future of AI in talent acquisition. What kinds of roles do you usually recruit for? 2:33 My team is broken into three main areas: category management (retail),technology, and business/customer care (supply chain, marketing, customer care, high level positions). 3:36 My favorite part of my job as a talent recruiter is the variation in my responsibility,where one day I am building a company from nothing and the next I am scaling part of the world's largest company. 5:11 One of the largest challenges in hiring is that a director at one company has a different role than a director at another company which means hiring for each position involve two totally different people.How has your career brought you to this point? 6:20 I started in accounting, and admittedly was terrible at it. I found myself in Chicago where I started as a recruiter and then started my own staffing industry two months prior to the Lehman Brothers collapsed. This forced me to work for another recruiting company where I was later laid off. 9:27 I moved to Vice President of Recruiting at Edelman, the world's largest PR firm, where I first started to understand branding as it is related to talent acquisition. 10:15 I decided to move from Edelman to Jet, where I wanted a company involved intech, scaled quickly and had the opportunity for him to put a mark on the company in a unique way. What is currently happening in the top of funnel resume attraction space? 17:33 We have a big focus on building our brand in a way that it seems you can only do when you are face to face with somebody. We've found that our story resonate best when other people tell it, so I look at interesting acquisitions to bring people into our funnel and have them apply. 18:40 One time we built out an RV with technology on it that was true to Jet, placed

GUEST BIO: Travis Kessel is the Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at Jet, acquired by Walmart ECommerce. His initial job as an accountant motivated him to move from Virginia to Chicago, where he landed his first recruiting job. Shortly after, he confidently opened his own staffing agency only to be shut down two months later by the collapse of the Lehman Brothers. After one more short stint as a recruiter at another agency, Travis became the Vice President of recruiting at Edelman, the world’s largest PR firm.At Edelman, Travis learned a new side of recruiting and started to place companies with candidates that paralleled their brand. Craving a tech focused company, Travis left Edelman to work at Jet, which was previously acquired by Wal-Mart E-commerce. As The Senior Director of Talent Acquisition, Travis focuses on the systems of the hiring process and the future of acquisition as it meets advancements in artificial intelligence. SHOW SUMMARY: Today’s guest is Travis Kessel, the Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at Jet, owned by Walmart E-commerce. Travis connects candidates with the right job, spending his days building new companies or extending branches of established corporations. As a talent acquisitions expert, he has used marketing and psychology to become one of the best recruiters in his field.In this episode, Travis explains the do’s and don’ts of applying for a job, how to get noticed amongst hundreds of other applicants and the new technology that is automating the recruiting process. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: What is the process you look at for e-commerce talent acquisition? 1:00 The process is similar to how we move people through to hire, such as collecting resumes, assessing them, phone screens, outside vendor tests and then an offer. 1:58 Artificial intelligence is creating a streamlined process that allows us to bring on new talent and Travis is looking forward to the future of AI in talent acquisition. What kinds of roles do you usually recruit for? 2:33 My team is broken into three main areas: category management (retail),technology, and business/customer care (supply chain, marketing, customer care, high level positions). 3:36 My favorite part of my job as a talent recruiter is the variation in my responsibility,where one day I am building a company from nothing and the next I am scaling part of the world’s largest company. 5:11 One of the largest challenges in hiring is that a director at one company has a different role than a director at another company which means hiring for each position involve two totally different people.How has your career brought you to this point? 6:20 I started in accounting, and admittedly was terrible at it. I found myself in Chicago where I started as a recruiter and then started my own staffing industry two months prior to the Lehman Brothers collapsed. This forced me to work for another recruiting company where I was later laid off. 9:27 I moved to Vice President of Recruiting at Edelman, the world’s largest PR firm, where I first started to understand branding as it is related to talent acquisition. 10:15 I decided to move from Edelman to Jet, where I wanted a company involved intech, scaled quickly and had the opportunity for him to put a mark on the company in a unique way. What is currently happening in the top of funnel resume attraction space? 17:33 We have a big focus on building our brand in a way that it seems you can only do when you are face to face with somebody. We’ve found that our story resonate best when other people tell it, so I look at interesting acquisitions to bring people into our funnel and have them apply. 18:40 One time we built out an RV with technology on it that was true to Jet, placed it in a college campus and then let people experience the brand through interacting with it through VR, etc. How will AI be used in top of funnel resume screening? 22:45 I think it’s the future of recruiting because AI can learn what a recruiter wants to look at and then can take over that job. LinkedIN is currently doing this, pulling candidates that are most likely to resonate with a recruiter to the top of the funnel after the recruiter has interacted with several profiles. 24:35 In turn, the recruiter has more facetime with the business and can move away from the administrative tasks that don’t move the needle. The candidate experience becomes better because the recruiter knows where to go to nurture relationships and put the company’s best foot forward. How do you get noticed amongst other candidates? 26:50 I think there is a lot of value to reaching out to other people working in that business and building those relationships, even if they aren’t in the job you would like.Try to approach the business in a smart and tactful way, such as making strategic introductions. What tips do you have for somebody aspiring to be a recruiter? 31:12 Focus on marketing and psychology, because those two things combined are what a great recruiter does well. Be interested in the creative side and in having long term relationship with your clients. Have you seen anything interesting happening for inbound marketing for candidates? 34:48 The traditional career page and what that looks like to our prospects is extremely important. It’s important to show people that they want to work with you, they understand what that would imply and that it’s easy to go through your application process. 35:55 The search is very important as well because most people are Googling jobs based on title and location, so you want to make sure to SEO test your jobs to make sure you’re one of the first jobs that appear. Should you be able to use mobile to apply to a job? 38:19 With any career page, you have to be able to pull it up on mobile. You have to be able to view and place an application through mobile, and that experience is mandatory. Do’s and Don’ts for applications: 39:20 DO proofread your resume, DON’T go too far into the personal aspect of your life(don’t lead with your hobbies), DO make it one full page (not over), DO have an appropriate email address, DO clean up your social profiles Resources mentioned in the Podcast: Walmart.com/careers Jet.com/careers Travis Kessel email: travis.kessel@jet.com Dr. Travis Kessel LinkedIn Dr.Travis Kessel Twitter

GUEST BIO: [Mike Hoffman](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nycicon/) is the Head of Operations at popular women and children's clothing brand, [Rainbow](https://www.rainbowshops.com/). At fourteen years old, Mike convinced his mother to let him get a fake ID so he could start working. His hustle continued through college, where he studied computer science and business. After graduating, Mike became a real estate agent and shortly after started his first company helping real estate agents utilize technology. When the opportunity for Mike to open an online book company came, he took it. He began buying books and selling them online through [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/) and [eBay](https://www.ebay.com/) for three times the amount. During this time, Mike became one of Amazon's first best sellers. Mike fulfilled one of his dreams to travel through England for six months and after moved to New York City. He started to work as a strategist at the [GAP](https://www.gap.com/), learning the inner workings of a massive public company. Quickly he found that his voice couldn't be heard unless he was in the C-Suite and chose to leap, leaving his job in hopes of finding a better opportunity. His next endeavor was at [Paragon Sports](https://www.paragonsports.com/), where Mike created the foundation of his expertise in customer service. After ten years, he moved on and took on the title as Head of Operations at Rainbow. SHOW SUMMARY: Your business doesn't revolve around anyone, or anything, but your customer. Today's guest is Mike Hoffman, the Head of Operations at Rainbow. Mike implemented and currently runs the operations and systems that drive Rainbow's e-commerce and brick and mortar stores. His job boils down to one of the most important business practices, listening to his customers. In this episode, Mike talks about how he built the Rainbow customer service team and the reason they rarely see a turnover of agents. He walks us through the wins and losses of his time as Head of Operations and showcases the blueprint of a successful product company. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: How did you end up as the Head of Operations for Rainbow? 2:45 Mike graduated college and initially became a real estate agent. This is where he started his first company, helping agents utilize technology to grow their business. 4:34 Mike talks about his second entrepreneurial venture of selling books online, which lead him to become one of Amazon's first best sellers. 13:53 Individuals who find success are the ones who are willing to take the first step and leap off of the bridge. If you're not willing to jump, you miss tremendous opportunity. How important is customer service to e-commerce? 14:24 The voice of the customer is what is driving your e-commerce channel. Make sure all of the segments of your company (such as marketing, HR, engineers, etc.) work together so the customer voice is brought into every part of your company. 16:32 Mike built the Rainbow customer service team, creating a well recognized brand with customers who have become brand ambassadors. He explains how he built a happy and thriving team that has only seen one customer service agent leave in the last thirteen years. 20:30 Mike talks about a technical issue Rainbow encountered with customers adding products to cart on tablets and how it was initially discovered because of their strong focus on customer service. What other tactical wins have you experienced by talking with customers? 22:07 Working with the various versions of Android, and working through the bugs of each version so customers can access and properly use the website regardless of what device they are using. Do you use paid acquisition campaigns or use organic traffic to sell product? 26:40 Most product sales are driven from brick and mortar stores, although Rainbow does using paid acquisition campaigns. They also practice SEO and other avenues. As Mike explains, i

GUEST BIO: Mike Hoffman is the Head of Operations at popular women and children’s clothing brand, Rainbow. At fourteen years old, Mike convinced his mother to let him get a fake ID so he could start working. His hustle continued through college, where he studied computer science and business. After graduating, Mike became a real estate agent and shortly after started his first company helping real estate agents utilize technology. When the opportunity for Mike to open an online book company came, he took it. He began buying books and selling them online through Amazon and eBay for three times the amount. During this time, Mike became one of Amazon’s first best sellers. Mike fulfilled one of his dreams to travel through England for six months and after moved to New York City. He started to work as a strategist at the GAP, learning the inner workings of a massive public company. Quickly he found that his voice couldn’t be heard unless he was in the C-Suite and chose to leap, leaving his job in hopes of finding a better opportunity. His next endeavor was at Paragon Sports, where Mike created the foundation of his expertise in customer service. After ten years, he moved on and took on the title as Head of Operations at Rainbow. SHOW SUMMARY: Your business doesn’t revolve around anyone, or anything, but your customer. Today’s guest is Mike Hoffman, the Head of Operations at Rainbow. Mike implemented and currently runs the operations and systems that drive Rainbow’s e-commerce and brick and mortar stores. His job boils down to one of the most important business practices, listening to his customers. In this episode, Mike talks about how he built the Rainbow customer service team and the reason they rarely see a turnover of agents. He walks us through the wins and losses of his time as Head of Operations and showcases the blueprint of a successful product company. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: How did you end up as the Head of Operations for Rainbow? 2:45 Mike graduated college and initially became a real estate agent. This is where he started his first company, helping agents utilize technology to grow their business. 4:34 Mike talks about his second entrepreneurial venture of selling books online, which lead him to become one of Amazon’s first best sellers. 13:53 Individuals who find success are the ones who are willing to take the first step and leap off of the bridge. If you’re not willing to jump, you miss tremendous opportunity. How important is customer service to e-commerce? 14:24 The voice of the customer is what is driving your e-commerce channel. Make sure all of the segments of your company (such as marketing, HR, engineers, etc.) work together so the customer voice is brought into every part of your company. 16:32 Mike built the Rainbow customer service team, creating a well recognized brand with customers who have become brand ambassadors. He explains how he built a happy and thriving team that has only seen one customer service agent leave in the last thirteen years. 20:30 Mike talks about a technical issue Rainbow encountered with customers adding products to cart on tablets and how it was initially discovered because of their strong focus on customer service. What other tactical wins have you experienced by talking with customers? 22:07 Working with the various versions of Android, and working through the bugs of each version so customers can access and properly use the website regardless of what device they are using. Do you use paid acquisition campaigns or use organic traffic to sell product? 26:40 Most product sales are driven from brick and mortar stores, although Rainbow does using paid acquisition campaigns. They also practice SEO and other avenues. As Mike explains, it’s important to continue to grow the business by finding new customers using these different avenues. What’s a practical way to keep your customers front and center, despite everything else you have to focus on? 28:27 You have to see your customer as number one, the reason you exist. It’s not keeping them front and center, it’s establishing your company and all of your operations around them being front and center. What process do you have in place to create new products on a continuous basis? 31:13 We have hundreds of new products come out each week, and have established processes that allow for that to happen. Everything moves at a fast pace, including product development, product photos, etc. What’s the largest problem you need to solve in the next 6-12 months? 35:48 Our biggest goal is to get in front of new people and convert them into customers, so we are continuously looking for the avenues that can introduce our brand to new consumers. What changes are you seeing in the e-commerce space? 37:30 Amazon drives the expectation of what online consumers are looking for. We have to keep up with Amazon and make sure we give the same experience when it comes to delivery. As a retailer, you have to provide an experience or a product to your customer that Amazon can’t provide in order to compete with them. 38:10 In general e-commerce will continue to build, and with new technologies like Voice Search, via Alexa or Siri, there is a new way to experience shopping. How much do you utilize heat mapping and screen recording of customers using your website? 41:42 We use a lot of analytics, including heat mapping and screen recording and other data we have running in the background. You can’t only get your information from your customers. You want to get information from the data as well. Resources mentioned in the Podcast: Rainbow Amazon Contact Mike Hoffman at: mike@nycicon.com

GUEST BIO: Chris Squires is the Co-Founder of [Ten55 Brewing Co](http://1055brewing.com). Together with his co-founder, JP Vyborny, he brews and sells his own craft beer, called Ten55. In 2018, they expanded their business and opened a house-made sausage and beer food restaurant in downtown Tucson, Arizona. SHOW SUMMARY: Myth: New businesses think they need massive distribution to be profitable. Today's guest is Chris Squire, the Co-Founder of Ten55 Brewing Co. in Arizona. Chris has proven successful in maneuvering a saturated market of craft beers. He attributes Ten55 Brewing Co.'s success to being able to invite customers into their brewery and create long term brand advocates. In this episode, Chris explains how to exploit marketing gaps in loud markets and why he isn't fighting for shelf space at franchised grocery stores. He walks us through Ten55 Brewing Co.'s expansion into the restaurant space and gives aspiring entrepreneurs advice they may have never expected. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: 00:00:47 Chris began brewing beer as a hobby prior to his entrepreneurial pursuit with JP. When you first started, how did you tackle supply chain problems? 00:02:45 Chris couldn't stress more about the advantages of regulation and distribution of liquor sales in Arizona. Using their regulations, he has been able to deliver beer directly to his consumers, expanding his brand's reach and advocacy. 00:06:39 A highly competitive market is forcing local brewers to hire sales representatives. The advantage of signing a contract with a distributor, like Hensley, is they already have sales representatives ready to advocate for your brewery. What percentage does the distributor want if you have your own sale reps? 00:08:17 Chris provides a simplified version of a real case study, showcasing how it can change depending on the situation, state and market. Where does the biggest sale volume comes from, direct selling or restaurant? 00:11:00 Contrary to most of Arizona packaging breweries, who focus on selling through bars and restaurants, Ten55 generates most of their revenue from on-premise selling. Chris explains how the in person interaction is better in terms of profitability and branding perspective. How do you compete with big brands? 00:14:36 The real competition for him was with other local breweries as the craft beer trend has drastically risen. 00:17:30 Craft beer has a “local face”, helping consumers to relate to the brewery and the people who work for and created it. What is the long term goal of a microbrewery? Do you want to scale up? 00:23:25 Chris doesn't believe in fighting for shelf space. Following the path of Karl Strauss and Gordon Biersch, the business model for Ten55 is to sell directly to consumers by increasing their locations. This model also provides better control and higher margins. What was your experience opening a new restaurant? 00:29:22 Restaurants are extremely more capital intensive than brewing facilities. Once the foundation is set, restaurants differ from breweries in allowing for juicy investment returns and increased creativity. Chris also adds how Ten55 took advantage of a new state law, creating a lot of media attention and motivated investors, as well. 00:36:43 The first phase is to direct the best customer experience. Then, build a system that allows for easy replications. What advice do you have for the Lean Commerce audience? 00:38:29 Figure out how distribution systems work and be cautious of placing them as your end goal. Sometimes smaller, is better. In this case, it has been the reason for Ten55's success. Resources mentioned in the Podcast: [Ten55 Brewery and Sausage House:](http://1055brewing.com) [Hensley Beverage Company:](http://hensley.com/) [Anheuser Busch Beer:](https://www.anheuser-busch.com/) [New Belgium Beer:](https://www.newbelgium.com/) [Karl Strauss Brewing Company:

GUEST BIO: Chris Squires is the Co-Founder of Ten55 Brewing Co. Together with his co-founder, JP Vyborny, he brews and sells his own craft beer, called Ten55. In 2018, they expanded their business and opened a house-made sausage and beer food restaurant in downtown Tucson, Arizona. SHOW SUMMARY: Myth: New businesses think they need massive distribution to be profitable. Today’s guest is Chris Squire, the Co-Founder of Ten55 Brewing Co. in Arizona. Chris has proven successful in maneuvering a saturated market of craft beers. He attributes Ten55 Brewing Co.’s success to being able to invite customers into their brewery and create long term brand advocates. In this episode, Chris explains how to exploit marketing gaps in loud markets and why he isn’t fighting for shelf space at franchised grocery stores. He walks us through Ten55 Brewing Co.’s expansion into the restaurant space and gives aspiring entrepreneurs advice they may have never expected. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. TOPICS: 00:00:47 Chris began brewing beer as a hobby prior to his entrepreneurial pursuit with JP. When you first started, how did you tackle supply chain problems? 00:02:45 Chris couldn’t stress more about the advantages of regulation and distribution of liquor sales in Arizona. Using their regulations, he has been able to deliver beer directly to his consumers, expanding his brand’s reach and advocacy. 00:06:39 A highly competitive market is forcing local brewers to hire sales representatives. The advantage of signing a contract with a distributor, like Hensley, is they already have sales representatives ready to advocate for your brewery. What percentage does the distributor want if you have your own sale reps? 00:08:17 Chris provides a simplified version of a real case study, showcasing how it can change depending on the situation, state and market. Where does the biggest sale volume comes from, direct selling or restaurant? 00:11:00 Contrary to most of Arizona packaging breweries, who focus on selling through bars and restaurants, Ten55 generates most of their revenue from on-premise selling. Chris explains how the in person interaction is better in terms of profitability and branding perspective. How do you compete with big brands? 00:14:36 The real competition for him was with other local breweries as the craft beer trend has drastically risen. 00:17:30 Craft beer has a “local face”, helping consumers to relate to the brewery and the people who work for and created it. What is the long term goal of a microbrewery? Do you want to scale up? 00:23:25 Chris doesn’t believe in fighting for shelf space. Following the path of Karl Strauss and Gordon Biersch, the business model for Ten55 is to sell directly to consumers by increasing their locations. This model also provides better control and higher margins. What was your experience opening a new restaurant? 00:29:22 Restaurants are extremely more capital intensive than brewing facilities. Once the foundation is set, restaurants differ from breweries in allowing for juicy investment returns and increased creativity. Chris also adds how Ten55 took advantage of a new state law, creating a lot of media attention and motivated investors, as well. 00:36:43 The first phase is to direct the best customer experience. Then, build a system that allows for easy replications. What advice do you have for the Lean Commerce audience? 00:38:29 Figure out how distribution systems work and be cautious of placing them as your end goal. Sometimes smaller, is better. In this case, it has been the reason for Ten55’s success. Resources mentioned in the Podcast: Ten55 Brewery and Sausage House: Hensley Beverage Company: Anheuser Busch Beer: New Belgium Beer: Karl Strauss Brewing Company: Gordon Biersch: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.: Follow Ten55 Brewing Company on Facebook Twitter

[Irina Rosca](https://www.linkedin.com/in/irinarosca) is a Senior Director of Global Supply Chain Operations [SKLZ](http://http://www.sklz.com). She has been working on supply chain operation for about 15 years, on various products from wine, spirit, food to textile, and now sporting goods at SKLZ, San Diego, California. Irina oversees an end to end global supply chain operations and strategy including inventory procurement and optimization at various locations, global logistics, and transportation, contract negotiations, systems implementation, customer service, reverse logistics and warehouse operations. Irina's website [www.sustainscm.com](http://www.sustainscm.com) covers high-quality articles on e-planning or e-commerce planning. Irina best described the whole process of supply chain operation for e-commerce business. How important the analysis was done at the product level, the product strategy; the understanding on customer & marketplace, and, finally, the acceptable price on that market. From there, your organization would draw up possibilities on products (or components) sourcing, sourcing agents or marketplaces to work with, correct forecasting and having a partnership for last mile customer order delivery. While presenting basics of supply chain operation, Irina also covered overviews on recent trends such as kick starter, pre-order product launch, new model warehousing systems and key points to thriving on [amazon.com](http://amazon.com). At the end of the show, Irina kindly listed links to e-commerce global supply chain resources for further readings and consultation. **Topics: ** · The first thing you consider for supply chain optimization? 03:07 Addressing the first thing to look at on supply chain optimization, Irina shared her recent experience when visiting an e-commerce company. Like most organization, there was a huge gap between back-end and front-end of the supply chain. · What's the common mistakes people are making? 04:42 The drawback is not having many schemes of supply chain procedure, but the inability to forecast correctly. 05:45 Understanding who the customer really is and looking at the trends are the main challenge in making correct forecasts because it related to cash tied in the inventory. · What is the overall process Irina go through to build the supply chain for the company? 08:00 It started with an analysis done on the product level, the possibilities of products manufacturing and its impact on the market. 08:53 Irina shares process for Sunglasses 10:03 Revealed the importance of aggregate production for similar products production. 10:49 Key items to start with are always: do you understand the consumer, the trends, the marketplace and the acceptable price. Irina also draws her opinion upon pre-order product kick starter. · What are the benefits of sourcing internationally v/s sourcing domestically? 13:20 International sourcing has the advantage of the cost factor 14:26 Why sourcing in the United States become less negotiable, especially in minimum order quantities. · How do you go about finding competitive vendors? 16:08 Irina mention Alibaba marketplace to be a good starting point and asking referrals to a sourcing agent or local resources 19:30 You as importer have full responsibility for what you bring into this country, to make sure it's a quality product. · How do you approach the negotiation part, when you are trying to scale up? 21:00 The importance to share forecasts with suppliers and the visibility of each product components. 23:45 Understanding cost components, forecast the and cutting cost across the supply chain · What's the best ways to start co-branding? 25:05: Give a visit to your vendor, check the line, get as many details about the product as you can. 26:55 Avoid mistake of promising something you cannot deliver 27:40 How to man

Irina Rosca is a Senior Director of Global Supply Chain Operations SKLZ. She has been working on supply chain operation for about 15 years, on various products from wine, spirit, food to textile, and now sporting goods at SKLZ, San Diego, California. Irina oversees an end to end global supply chain operations and strategy including inventory procurement and optimization at various locations, global logistics, and transportation, contract negotiations, systems implementation, customer service, reverse logistics and warehouse operations. Irina's website www.sustainscm.com covers high-quality articles on e-planning or e-commerce planning. Irina best described the whole process of supply chain operation for e-commerce business. How important the analysis was done at the product level, the product strategy; the understanding on customer & marketplace, and, finally, the acceptable price on that market. From there, your organization would draw up possibilities on products (or components) sourcing, sourcing agents or marketplaces to work with, correct forecasting and having a partnership for last mile customer order delivery. While presenting basics of supply chain operation, Irina also covered overviews on recent trends such as kick starter, pre-order product launch, new model warehousing systems and key points to thriving on amazon.com. At the end of the show, Irina kindly listed links to e-commerce global supply chain resources for further readings and consultation. *Topics: * · The first thing you consider for supply chain optimization? 03:07 Addressing the first thing to look at on supply chain optimization, Irina shared her recent experience when visiting an e-commerce company. Like most organization, there was a huge gap between back-end and front-end of the supply chain. · What’s the common mistakes people are making? 04:42 The drawback is not having many schemes of supply chain procedure, but the inability to forecast correctly. 05:45 Understanding who the customer really is and looking at the trends are the main challenge in making correct forecasts because it related to cash tied in the inventory. · What is the overall process Irina go through to build the supply chain for the company? 08:00 It started with an analysis done on the product level, the possibilities of products manufacturing and its impact on the market. 08:53 Irina shares process for Sunglasses 10:03 Revealed the importance of aggregate production for similar products production. 10:49 Key items to start with are always: do you understand the consumer, the trends, the marketplace and the acceptable price. Irina also draws her opinion upon pre-order product kick starter. · What are the benefits of sourcing internationally v/s sourcing domestically? 13:20 International sourcing has the advantage of the cost factor 14:26 Why sourcing in the United States become less negotiable, especially in minimum order quantities. · How do you go about finding competitive vendors? 16:08 Irina mention Alibaba marketplace to be a good starting point and asking referrals to a sourcing agent or local resources 19:30 You as importer have full responsibility for what you bring into this country, to make sure it's a quality product. · How do you approach the negotiation part, when you are trying to scale up? 21:00 The importance to share forecasts with suppliers and the visibility of each product components. 23:45 Understanding cost components, forecast the and cutting cost across the supply chain · What’s the best ways to start co-branding? 25:05: Give a visit to your vendor, check the line, get as many details about the product as you can. 26:55 Avoid mistake of promising something you cannot deliver 27:40 How to manage to visit a factory through sourcing agents regarding cultural differences. 29:00 The collaborative management between you, sourcing agent and suppliers. The importance of sharing data. 29:25 utilization of data to educate them 30:00 What a sourcing agent wants in general. Their compensation and fee. 31:48 How to create symbiotic collaborative work between manufacturer, sourcing agent and you. 35:09 Especially when you invested in high engineering or molding equipment managed by a certain factory or a sourcing team. 36:19 How to manage supply chain along with a series of product lifecycle, shelf life, and market trends. 39:21 Second part: transportation and delivery side of the supply chain. 40:33 Why outsourcing delivery service is important when you don’t have the core competence in distribution. Case Study of San Diego Company. 43:15 Irina explains how impactful the good delivery system to the whole brand perception. 46:37 specific components to look at when finding the partner to handle the delivering part. 50:50 prons and cons of launching your product on your site before listing it on Amazon. 54:00 The importance of having product strategy before launching any product on Amazon.com. It will control the data around our products and make sure that the extra cost of Amazon is covered. MENTIONED PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RESOURCES www.alibaba.com www.amazon.com www.flexe.com: Transportation company recommended for small-medium businesses. www.supplychain247.com Transportation company recommended for small-medium businesses. www.sustainscm.com : Irina’s website where she writes a lot about last mile delivery https://ecomadvisory.com: for a detailed overview of supply chain https://cscmp.org: an organization providing education and connects the supply chain professionals Connect with Irina: Linkedin Twitter

Today, we are talking with Bryan VanDyke, a digital expert who has led digital teams at Morgan Stanley and Prudential. His career journey began in a basement when he started his first dial-up BBS at the age of 13. He first began advising companies on digital practices while in college. He continues to lead teams involved in digital transformation, more than 20 years later. The biggest challenge that he faces is understanding the psychological matrix and creating a product that is useful for the end user. In this episode, Bryan explains how to use the psychological matrix to create useful and attractive products. We also talk about how to use probability to increase marketing success, how he increases revenue for multimillion dollar companies and why he advocates for all marketers to become comfortable with failure. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. In this episode, Bryan teaches us: The digital potential of virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home How to overcome office politics Why marketers are burning out today more than they ever have previously How he guides large corporations into curating multimillion dollar products “It is harder to accept the risk because the fear of loss is stronger than most other feelings.” “The biggest challenge to any individual marketer is the crisis of confidence.”

Today, we are talking with Bryan VanDyke, a digital expert who has led digital teams at Morgan Stanley and Prudential. His career journey began in a basement when he started his first dial-up BBS at the age of 13. He first began advising companies on digital practices while in college. He continues to lead teams involved in digital transformation, more than 20 years later. The biggest challenge that he faces is understanding the psychological matrix and creating a product that is useful for the end user. In this episode, Bryan explains how to use the psychological matrix to create useful and attractive products. We also talk about how to use probability to increase marketing success, how he increases revenue for multimillion dollar companies and why he advocates for all marketers to become comfortable with failure. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. In this episode, Bryan teaches us: The digital potential of virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home How to overcome office politics Why marketers are burning out today more than they ever have previously How he guides large corporations into curating multimillion dollar products “It is harder to accept the risk because the fear of loss is stronger than most other feelings.” “The biggest challenge to any individual marketer is the crisis of confidence.”

How To Make Five Figures in Revenue Per Day with Andy Mai September 21, 2018 It's not a myth, you can maintain a five-figure sale per day with drop shipping. Andy Mai is here to tell us how. He attributes his drop shipping success to patience, angles and social advertisements. Andy has completely automated his income and has now expanded to consulting e-commerce B2B businesses. His advice to new entrepreneurs is to focus on personal branding and quality content. In this episode, Andy talks about his first few months of drop shipping and the pivotal lessons that shaped his business model. He also explains his strategies for item testing and walks us through his campaign structure. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. In this episode, Andy teaches us: How to transition from a B2C CEO position to a B2B consulting business The mindset you need to maintain when your business initially fails What lessons his first eBay shop taught him that he is implementing today How to make five figures in revenue per day “The reason 99% of people don't succeed in drop shipping is because they give up too early.” “What yields the best results is working on yourself and creating content, building a brand and focusing on yourself.” Connect with Andy: Andy on Youtube Andy on Facebook Andy on Instagram Resources Mentioned: eBay – The platform Andy started his first business on Facebook ads – Where Andy tests his advertisements MapleStory – RPG game A Platform: Where to buy and sell virtual goods Aliexpress – A distributor Andy does not use The Hard Thing About Hard Things – Book Recommended by Andy Gary Vaynerchuk – Andy's Virtual Mentor

How To Make Five Figures in Revenue Per Day with Andy Mai September 21, 2018 It’s not a myth, you can maintain a five-figure sale per day with drop shipping. Andy Mai is here to tell us how. He attributes his drop shipping success to patience, angles and social advertisements. Andy has completely automated his income and has now expanded to consulting e-commerce B2B businesses. His advice to new entrepreneurs is to focus on personal branding and quality content. In this episode, Andy talks about his first few months of drop shipping and the pivotal lessons that shaped his business model. He also explains his strategies for item testing and walks us through his campaign structure. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. In this episode, Andy teaches us: How to transition from a B2C CEO position to a B2B consulting business The mindset you need to maintain when your business initially fails What lessons his first eBay shop taught him that he is implementing today How to make five figures in revenue per day “The reason 99% of people don’t succeed in drop shipping is because they give up too early.” “What yields the best results is working on yourself and creating content, building a brand and focusing on yourself.” Connect with Andy: Andy on Youtube Andy on Facebook Andy on Instagram Resources Mentioned: eBay – The platform Andy started his first business on Facebook ads – Where Andy tests his advertisements MapleStory – RPG game A Platform: Where to buy and sell virtual goods Aliexpress – A distributor Andy does not use The Hard Thing About Hard Things – Book Recommended by Andy Gary Vaynerchuk – Andy’s Virtual Mentor

How To Convince Mark Cuban to Invest in Crickets, or any unconventional product, with Pat Crowley September 14th, 2018 Would you eat crickets for protein? Pat Crowley is the founder and owner of Chapul, the first US company to sell insect protein. Chapul's goal is to reduce the environmental footprint of agricultural protein by replacing meat with crickets. His entrepreneurial story is unique, as he took an extremely unconventional product and grew a profitable business from it. In this episode, Pat talks about his initial inspiration to switch to insect protein. He explains how Chapul bootstrapped themselves to profitability and then landed investment from Mark Cuban when they were featured on Shark Tank. This is the Lean Commerce Podcast. In this episode, Pat teaches us: Why crickets are the answer to stop the harmful effects of the agricultural protein industry How to run a successful kickstarter project Chapul's strategy to market an unconventional product to the masses What Pat has learned from having Mark Cuban as his investor “The food distribution system in the USA is designed for big companies.” Connect with Pat: Pat on LinkedIn Chapul Cricket Protein Chapul on Instagram Chapul on Facebook Chapul on Twitter Chapul on Youtube