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 e

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 a