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

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

How To Establish a Profitable Company Around Competitive Products with Luke Droulez

September 14, 2018

How do you build a brand around competitive products?

Luke Droulez is the CMO of Parachute Home, a modern bedding and bath product company. They have prioritized branding and profitability to stand out among the more well known competition.

In this episode, Luke talks about how Parachute Home has become a profitable bed and bath company. He explains the customer experience and customer relationship strategies they use to continue to grow their brand and social presence. He also walks us through their backend supply chain and technology and how Parachute Home uses it to automate as much of their processes as possible.

This is the Lean Commerce Podcast.

In this episode, Luke teaches us:

How to successfully transition from Head of Operations to Head of Digital to Chief Marketing Officer

The strategy Parachute uses to educate their customers on materials in bedding and ingredients in bath products, and how they use it to increase sales

How to optimize backend supply chain and technology for physical products

The techniques Parachute uses to acquire new customers

“Modern marketer is responsible for the full customer journey.”

“We are in this interesting time where, it’s easier than ever to start a business, but it’s harder than ever to stand out.”

Connect with Luke:

Luke on LinkedIN

How To Establish a Profitable Company Around Competitive Products with Luke Droulez

September 14, 2018

How do you build a brand around competitive products?

Luke Droulez is the CMO of Parachute Home, a modern bedding and bath product company. They have prioritized branding and profitability to stand out among the more well known competition.

In this episode, Luke talks about how Parachute Home has become a profitable bed and bath company. He explains the customer experience and customer relationship strategies they use to continue to grow their brand and social presence. He also walks us through their backend supply chain and technology and how Parachute Home uses it to automate as much of their processes as possible.

This is the Lean Commerce Podcast.

In this episode, Luke teaches us:

How to successfully transition from Head of Operations to Head of Digital to Chief Marketing Officer

The strategy Parachute uses to educate their customers on materials in bedding and ingredients in bath products, and how they use it to increase sales

How to optimize backend supply chain and technology for physical products

The techniques Parachute uses to acquire new customers

“Modern marketer is responsible for the full customer journey.”

“We are in this interesting time where, it’s easier than ever to start a business, but it’s harder than ever to stand out.”

Connect with Luke:

Luke on LinkedIN

How do you disrupt the $2 billion dollar sales industry?

Elyse is the Director of Integrated Marketing at Boxed, a wholesale online vendor for business. Boxed is disrupting the sales industry through the intersection of curated selection and novelty. Elyse’s marketing advice is simple, know your ideal customer.

In this episode, Elyse talks about Boxed’s target avatar and the marketing strategies they are using to retain them. She explains how they are improving their cart experience, the backend of their mass delivery system and why personalization has led to their success. Elyse also shows us how Boxed is communicating and working with their employees to ensure commitment and longevity.

This is the Lean Commerce Podcast.

In this episode, Elyse teaches us:

How to increase customer acquisition through branding and positioning

The biggest challenge she is facing right now and how she strategizes around it

Boxed’s strategy to retain more customers

How Boxed has created a positive environment for employees and motivated them to stay long term in the company

“What we are happy to know is most of our customers see that we and Amazon are complimentary.”

Connect with Elyse:

Elyse on Twitter

Elyse on LinkedIn

Boxed.com

How do you disrupt the $2 billion dollar sales industry?

Elyse is the Director of Integrated Marketing at Boxed, a wholesale online vendor for business. Boxed is disrupting the sales industry through the intersection of curated selection and novelty. Elyse’s marketing advice is simple, know your ideal customer.

In this episode, Elyse talks about Boxed’s target avatar and the marketing strategies they are using to retain them. She explains how they are improving their cart experience, the backend of their mass delivery system and why personalization has led to their success. Elyse also shows us how Boxed is communicating and working with their employees to ensure commitment and longevity.

This is the Lean Commerce Podcast.

In this episode, Elyse teaches us:

How to increase customer acquisition through branding and positioning

The biggest challenge she is facing right now and how she strategizes around it

Boxed’s strategy to retain more customers

How Boxed has created a positive environment for employees and motivated them to stay long term in the company

“What we are happy to know is most of our customers see that we and Amazon are complimentary.”

Connect with Elyse:

Elyse on Twitter

Elyse on LinkedIn

Boxed.com

Finding and Retaining Millennial Customers with Shani Syphrett

August 31, 2018

How do you acquire millennial customers?

Shani is the Head of Marketing and Brand for Beam, a social impact application that allows users to donate part of their everyday purchases to impact social issues they care about. Beam’s target audience is the millennial generation and their marketing strategies revolve around finding and retaining them.

In this episode, Shani explains why Beam chose millennials as their target customer and what it means to grow a business with impact. She walks us through their customer acquisition campaigns and the backend of influencer marketing. She also talks to us about the lack of women of color in marketing and how they are a massive part of the future of innovative brands.

This is the Lean Commerce Podcast.

In this episode, Shani teaches us:

How Beam takes millennials into consideration throughout their product design process

What advertisements millennials respond to best

Strategies to retain millennial customers long term

Why millennials are the best audience to target for an impactful product

“Just like architecture, when you design a product you need to consider the third dimension, called user.”

Connect with Shani:

Shani on LinkedIN

Beam: Impact in One Touch

Resources Mentioned:

Jasmine Bina on brand strategy

Finding and Retaining Millennial Customers with Shani Syphrett

August 31, 2018

How do you acquire millennial customers?

Shani is the Head of Marketing and Brand for Beam, a social impact application that allows users to donate part of their everyday purchases to impact social issues they care about. Beam’s target audience is the millennial generation and their marketing strategies revolve around finding and retaining them.

In this episode, Shani explains why Beam chose millennials as their target customer and what it means to grow a business with impact. She walks us through their customer acquisition campaigns and the backend of influencer marketing. She also talks to us about the lack of women of color in marketing and how they are a massive part of the future of innovative brands.

This is the Lean Commerce Podcast.

In this episode, Shani teaches us:

How Beam takes millennials into consideration throughout their product design process

What advertisements millennials respond to best

Strategies to retain millennial customers long term

Why millennials are the best audience to target for an impactful product

“Just like architecture, when you design a product you need to consider the third dimension, called user.”

Connect with Shani:

Shani on LinkedIN

Beam: Impact in One Touch

Resources Mentioned:

Jasmine Bina on brand strategy

What would your business look like with thousands of dollars in funding?

Joshua Suh is the Accounts Director of Crowdcreate, the world’s #1 blockchain marketing agency. Crowdcreate has raised over $40 million dollars in crowdfunding campaigns for kickstarters around the world.

In this episode, Joshua explains how to run a successful kickstarter campaign that returns thousands of dollars in investment. He shows us how to create a pre-launch strategy and the formula to estimate how much you will make in sales on launch day. He also talks about the demographics of kickstarters and how to curate campaigns around their interests.

This is the Lean Commerce Podcast.

In this episode, Joshua teaches us:

Why you shouldn’t launch a kickstarter campaign with only prototype images

The three steps of a pre-launch strategy for a successful launch

What demographic to market to on kickstarter websites

How to estimate what launch day sales will be based off of email opens and click throughs

“Our company was interested in building products, helping creators present the product to a crowd, and utilizing a crowd to the highest advantage they can.”

“If you have a set budget, allocate more of the budget to prelaunch over launch. It’s a lot easier to get conversions when you are engaging them through the pre-launch phase, than a cold conversion during the launch phase.”

Connect with Joshua:

Joshua on LinkedIN

Crowdcreate

Resources Mentioned:

Andesign.com

Sparkhouse.com

Indiegogo.com

What would your business look like with thousands of dollars in funding?

Joshua Suh is the Accounts Director of Crowdcreate, the world’s #1 blockchain marketing agency. Crowdcreate has raised over $40 million dollars in crowdfunding campaigns for kickstarters around the world.

In this episode, Joshua explains how to run a successful kickstarter campaign that returns thousands of dollars in investment. He shows us how to create a pre-launch strategy and the formula to estimate how much you will make in sales on launch day. He also talks about the demographics of kickstarters and how to curate campaigns around their interests.

This is the Lean Commerce Podcast.

In this episode, Joshua teaches us:

Why you shouldn’t launch a kickstarter campaign with only prototype images

The three steps of a pre-launch strategy for a successful launch

What demographic to market to on kickstarter websites

How to estimate what launch day sales will be based off of email opens and click throughs

“Our company was interested in building products, helping creators present the product to a crowd, and utilizing a crowd to the highest advantage they can.”

“If you have a set budget, allocate more of the budget to prelaunch over launch. It’s a lot easier to get conversions when you are engaging them through the pre-launch phase, than a cold conversion during the launch phase.”

Connect with Joshua:

Joshua on LinkedIN

Crowdcreate

Resources Mentioned:

Andesign.com

Sparkhouse.com

Indiegogo.com