SelfMade Stories

Adam Schwartz is a natural-born entrepreneur. From creating a candy ring in middle school to scaling his business to 8-digits, you could say it’s in his blood — even his wife is an entrepreneur. Adam is the co-founder and CEO of TeePublic and an advisor to Bombas. TeePublic is a marketplace for everything from apparel to home goods, all made by independent creators.

In Part II, Adam and Brian dig deep into how to break through $100k, the necessity of space when building your business, and the nuances of digital marketing in relation to your LTV. If you’re in the early stages of building your business this episode is full of actionable insights into how to best breakthrough to your next revenue benchmark.

Adam Schwartz is a natural-born entrepreneur. From creating a candy ring in middle school to scaling his business to 8-digits, you could say it’s in his blood — even his wife is an entrepreneur. Adam is the co-founder and CEO of TeePublic and an advisor to Bombas. TeePublic is a marketplace for everything from apparel to home-goods, all made by independent creators.

In Part I, Adam and Brian discuss what entrepreneurship means and why it’s so difficult, how to understand your wins and losses, and the importance of diving into problems one at a time. Adam is a master of discipline and company building and has a ton of insight into how to manage your business towards scale.

Nick Ling is the co-founder and CEO of Pattern Brands, formerly known as Gin Lane. Gin Lane was founded in 2015 and helped launch over 50 startups, creating $15B of market value over 4.5 years. At the peak of their entrepreneurial success, Nick and his co-founder Emmett took a step back to find a solution to the burnout they and their peers were collectively feeling. This is what ultimately led to Pattern.

Pattern Brands was founded with a central mission: to provide people with products and a community that creates space away from work and brings back a degree of mindfulness.

In Part II, Brian and Nick discuss Pattern’s launch strategy and how to turn your first customers into evangelists for your brand.

Pattern’s first brand, Equal Parts, launched in September of 2019. Its aim is to get more people in the kitchen and make home cooking an easily accessible activity for all. They provide thoughtfully designed, reasonably priced cookware and access to coaches who can give guidance from cooking tips to easy recipes based on what’s in your fridge.

Pattern’s next brand is set to launch early 2020.

Nick Ling is the co-founder and CEO of Pattern Brands, formerly known as Gin Lane. Gin Lane was founded in 2015 and helped launch over 50 startups, creating $15B of market value over 4.5 years. At the peak of their entrepreneurial success, Nick and his co-founder Emmett took a step back to find a solution to the burnout they and their peers were collectively feeling. This is what ultimately led to Pattern.

Pattern Brands was founded with a central mission: to provide people with products and a community that create space away from work and brings back a degree of mindfulness.

In Part I, Brian and Nick discuss the importance of mission in giving your brand a centralized focus and path towards success.

Pattern’s first brand, Equal Parts, launched in September of 2019. Its aim is to get more people in the kitchen and make home cooking an easily accessible activity for all. They provide thoughtfully designed, reasonably priced cookware and access to coaches who can give guidance from cooking tips to easy recipes based on what’s in your fridge.

Pattern’s next brand is set to launch early 2020.

Dave Heath is the co-founder and CEO of Bombas, the sock company that took the consumer market by storm. Over the past 8 years, Dave and his team have managed to scale the company to over $100 million in annual revenue. It all started with a simple mission, make a better sock that gives back. For every pair of socks purchased, Bombas donates a pair to communities in need. To date, Bombas has donated over 25 million pairs to homeless outreach programs all over the country.

The business Dave has built behind Bombas is almost as inspiring as their social mission. With an intense focus on product innovation and quality, investing in brand story, and putting together an amazing team, Dave has created something exceptional.

In Part 2 of Dave's story, he talks with Brian about what’s next for Bombas, the necessity of maintaining perspective and the struggles of adding additional channels distribution channels.

You can check out Bombas online at bombas.com or on Instagram @bombas to learn more about how to make your feet happy.

Dave Heath is the co-founder and CEO of Bombas, the sock company that took the consumer market by storm. Over the past 8 years, Dave and his team have managed to scale the company to over $100 million in annual revenue. It all started with a simple mission, make a better sock that gives back. For every pair of socks purchased, Bombas donates a pair to communities in need. To date, Bombas has donated over 25 million pairs to homeless outreach programs all over the country.

The business Dave has built behind Bombas is almost as inspiring as their social mission. With an intense focus on product innovation and quality, investing in brand story, and putting together an amazing team, Dave has created something exceptional.

In Part I of Dave's story he talks with Brian about what inspired him to start Bombas, how he's scaled responsibly, and how attention and a willingness to learn have been key to his success.

You can check out Bombas online at bombas.com or on Instagram @bombas to learn more about how to make your feet happy.

Dave Heath is the co-founder and CEO of Bombas, the sock company that took the consumer market by storm. Over the past 8 years, Dave and his team have managed to scale the company to over $100 million in annual revenue. It all started with a simple mission, make a better sock that gives back. For every pair of socks purchased, Bombas donates a pair to communities in need. To date, Bombas has donated over 25 million pairs to homeless outreach programs all over the country.

The business Dave has built behind Bombas is almost as inspiring as their social mission. With an intense focus on product innovation and quality, investing in brand story, and putting together an amazing team, Dave has created something exceptional.

In Part I of Dave's story he talks with Brian about what inspired him to start Bombas, how he's scaled responsibly, and how attention and a willingness to learn have been key to his success.

You can check out Bombas online at bombas.com or on Instagram @bombas to learn more about how to make your feet happy.

Ean Murphy is the founder of Moxie Bookkeeping, a bookkeeping agency dedicated to serving small businesses. She grounds her practice in Mike Michalowicz’s concept of Profit First. She and Brian discuss the intricacies of finances and how to implement a Profit First mentality when thinking about your business. They cover everything from thinking about your cash flow to managing your bank accounts, Ean leaves no stone unturned.

If you need help with your small business finances you can reach Ean via email at [email protected] or online at moxiebookkeeping.com. Ean also provides some great resources throughout this episode that will help you get your bookkeeping on track.

Hubdoc for transcribing your financial documents into easy-to-understand data, Receipt Bank for logging and automatically digitizing receipts, and Xero for full-service online accounting.

Ean Murphy is the founder of Moxie Bookkeeping, a bookkeeping agency dedicated to serving small businesses. She grounds her practice in Mike Michalowicz’s concept of Profit First. She and Brian discuss the intricacies of finances and how to implement a Profit First mentality when thinking about your business. They cover everything from thinking about your cash flow to managing your bank accounts, Ean leaves no stone unturned.

If you need help with your small business finances you can reach Ean via email at [email protected] or online at moxiebookkeeping.com. Ean also provides some great resources throughout this episode that will help you get your bookkeeping on track.

Hubdoc for transcribing your financial documents into easy-to-understand data, Receipt Bank for logging and automatically digitizing receipts, and Xero for full-service online accounting.

Reza Moreno is the founder and Editor in Chief of Sustain, an online publication that looks at everything from fashion to culture through the lens of sustainability. Reza also does marketing for The Slow Factory, part e-commerce store, part R&D lab. They are changing the way product based businesses think about their production habits by limiting waste and optimizing for sustainability.

Reza is incredibly tuned in to how our choices affect the world around us. She provides tangible tips on how we can better ecommerce practices both as consumers and entrepreneurs. You can learn more on Instagram @sustainthemag and @theslowfactory or online at sustainthemag.com or slowfactory.global.

To better your practices check out some of the awesome resources mentioned in this episode below.

Repack provides an alternative to wasteful shipping methods through reusable packaging to D2C businesses. (originalrepack.com)

Terracylce is eliminating the idea of waste by partnering with businesses to collect and recycle all hard-to-recycle materials. (terracycle.com)

Fabscrap takes leftover textiles and recycles them for clothing manufacturers. (fabscrap.org)

Opus Mind uses upcycled high-quality leather to make bags made to last. (opusmind.com)

Leaf Shave is the no-waste stainless steel razor that’s changing the way people shave. (leafshave.com)

ARIELLE creates sustainably sourced and made garments in NYC. (shop-arielle.com)

Knickey provides a sustainable and organic underwear solution. (knickey.com)