If you ask Sean Frank, the future looks bleak. But if you go beyond that surface-level feeling of doom, you’ll actually find a guy who is thinking ahead and coming up with creative, innovative, and effective ways to build a durable business that can stand the test of time. Sean is the CEO of Ridge.com, a $100-million brand, which you might know for its popular Ridge Wallet, but it’s much more than that, and Sean has plans to keep the company growing. On this episode of Up Next in Commerce, Sean and I talked about how to stand out in the competitive world of ecommerce and what it means to have a good influencer and sponsor relationship. Plus, we go deep on what we think is coming down the pike in terms of inflation, supply chain, and more. Enjoy the conversation!

Main Takeaways:

• The Only Way To Survive: In a hyper-competitive landscape, you have to control your own destiny, which means you have to try to do as much as you possibly can really well and put yourself in a position to get in front of the most eyes. Partnerships, owning your content and having exclusive access to your consumers are all ways to build a business that can stand the test of time.
• Let Them Run: The best way to get a high ROI from influencers is to take a hands-off approach. When brands try to control exactly what their influencers say or post, it comes off as inauthentic. Although it is hard, brands have to relinquish control to the influencers who know their audiences the best and allow the influencers to connect with those audiences in their own ways.
• Localized Manufacturing: In the next few years, technology is likely going to advance to a place where localized, automated manufacturing will be available to brands. Taking advantage of those technological advances will insulate brands from many of the supply chain issues that have crippled businesses.

For an in-depth look at this episode, check out the full transcript below. Quotes have been edited for clarity and length.

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For a full transcript of this interview, click here.