Chad Dime, Co-Founder of DIFF Charitable Eyewear was raised in Los Angeles California. He was born into the eyewear industry thanks to his father who owned and operated an eyewear business for over 40 years. His dad passed down the knowledge of product design, import, manufacturing and wholesale to him throughout his entire life. 

On the manufacturing side, he was traveling to China by the time he was 15 years old to learn the ins and outs of what it takes to work with partners overseas. In wholesale he was attending major markets as a teenager to learn the ins and outs of what it takes to sell to major retailers both nationally and internationally. 

He was fortunate enough to know at that very young that he would be following in his family's footsteps. While attending college at San Diego State University he was the President of the nationally ranked SDSU Surf Team. His role there allowed him to work with many notable brands like Red Bull, Rip Curl and TOMS as he obtained sponsorship from each of these businesses. 

After years of building campus rep programs with these brands he learned the importance of both social media marketing along with social enterprise. The partnership with TOMS shoes was his motivation to build a business that gave back, and it became his dream to start a sunglasses brand that could help change the world. After graduating from SDSU he met his business partners. 

Together they began selling sunglasses at electronic music festivals across the country. It was here that they realized there was a massive void in the eyewear industry that they knew they could fill. Eager to disrupt the monopolized eyewear industry they founded DIFF with a mission to create affordable designer eyewear that gives back. 

In This Conversation We Discuss:

• [00:00] Intro
• [00:50] Blending value and mission to drive impact
• [04:00] Partnering purpose with product
• [06:09] Leveraging past experiences for team balance
• [08:56] Nurturing partnerships for smarter growth
• [11:44] Stay updated with new episodes
• [11:55] Embedding responsibility into brand DNA
• [14:11] Sponsors
• [19:43] Influencer partnerships for early marketing strategy
• [22:54] Prioritizing finance to avoid early pitfalls
• [24:57] Understanding finances for loss prevention
• [26:06] Highlighting first products for brick and mortar
• [28:42] Following your why to create impact

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/HonestEcommerce?sub_confirmation=1
• Charitable designer sunglasses that give back www.diffeyewear.com/
• Follow Chad Dime www.linkedin.com/in/chad-dime-59550258
• Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect
• Reach your best audience at the lowest cost! discover.taboola.com/honest/
• Easy, affordable coverage that grows with your business www.nextinsurance.com/honest/  
• Turn your domestic business into an international business www.freightright.com/honest

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