SelfMade Stories

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)

Ben Parr is the co-founder and President of Octane AI, an automated messenger bot service that connects directly to Shopify. He was also a co-editor at Mashable by the time he was 24 and wrote the book Capitovology about the science and psychology of attention.

Ben and Brian dig into how to think about integrations in your marketing stack and the importance of capturing the attention of your customers and maintaining lasting relationships with them.

You can learn more about Ben and his book Captivology at benparr.com. Check out Octane AI at octaneai.com or on Instagram @octane_ai.

Ben Parr is the co-founder and President of Octane AI, an automated messenger bot service that connects directly to Shopify. He was also a co-editor at Mashable by the time he was 24 and wrote the book Capitovology about the science and psychology of attention.

Ben and Brian dig into how to think about integrations in your marketing stack and the importance of capturing the attention of your customers and maintaining lasting relationships with them.

You can learn more about Ben and his book Captivology at benparr.com. Check out Octane AI at octaneai.com or on Instagram @octane_ai.

Cat Bradley is the founder of SewEthico, a consulting firm dedicated to empowering women through entrepreneurship with a focus on sustainability.

Cat works with primarily post-launch founders to build systems for understanding and managing their business. She gives entrepreneurs the necessary tools to build everything from a working financial model to a full-fledged marketing plan.

Brian and Cat discuss the importance of systems and principles in order to provide founders with the clarity and space necessary to make the decisions that are best for their business.

You can learn more about Cat and SewEthico at sewethico.com.

Cat Bradley is the founder of SewEthico, a consulting firm dedicated to empowering women through entrepreneurship with a focus on sustainability.

Cat works with primarily post-launch founders to build systems for understanding and managing their business. She gives entrepreneurs the necessary tools to build everything from a working financial model to a full-fledged marketing plan.

Brian and Cat discuss the importance of systems and principles in order to provide founders with the clarity and space necessary to make the decisions that are best for their business.

You can learn more about Cat and SewEthico at sewethico.com.

KJ and Amanda are the founders of Mented Cosmetics, one of the first cosmetics brands to prioritize women of color.

After searching for a nude lipstick that worked for their complexion they set out to make the first nude lipstick for dark-skinned women. They watched a YouTube tutorial and started experimenting with their own formulations in Amanda’s apartment in Harlem. Shortly after they perfected their product and launched Mented’s first line of nude lipsticks in 2017, which remains their brand staple.

They began fundraising and in that same year, Amanda and KJ became the 16th and 17th black women to raise a million dollars in funding. Since then they’ve raised additional capital and scaled their business into the millions. The key to their success was formulating an exceptional product that answered a pain point the majority of women of color have felt at one time or another. They bet big on organic channels and influencer partnerships. And most importantly, they always put their customers first, making them the priority after so many other beauty brands treated them like an afterthought.

KJ and Amanda are the founders of Mented Cosmetics, one of the first cosmetics brands to prioritize women of color.

After searching for a nude lipstick that worked for their complexion they set out to make the first nude lipstick for dark-skinned women. They watched a YouTube tutorial and started experimenting with their own formulations in Amanda’s apartment in Harlem. Shortly after they perfected their product and launched Mented’s first line of nude lipsticks in 2017, which remains their brand staple.

They began fundraising and in that same year, Amanda and KJ became the 16th and 17th black women to raise a million dollars in funding. Since then they’ve raised additional capital and scaled their business into the millions. The key to their success was formulating an exceptional product that answered a pain point the majority of women of color have felt at one time or another. They bet big on organic channels and influencer partnerships. And most importantly, they always put their customers first, making them the priority after so many other beauty brands treated them like an afterthought.

On this special edition of SelfMade Stories, Brian sits down with Becky, SelfMade’s Content Marketer and the producer behind SelfMade Stories. Over the past few months, they have been working on a series of blog posts that they published on Medium titled, 9 Principles for Growing a Healthy E-commerce Business. Together they talk through their learnings and about the current e-commerce landscape.

This one covers everything from coming up with your product idea to growth strategies, to how to maintain operational excellence from a financial model to self-care. Whether you are just starting out or looking to break 7-figures this episode is full of great takeaways. Check out the full article on Medium under @BSchech.

On this special edition of SelfMade Stories, Brian sits down with Becky, SelfMade’s Content Marketer and the producer behind SelfMade Stories. Over the past few months, they have been working on a series of blog posts that they published on Medium titled, 9 Principles for Growing a Healthy E-commerce Business. Together they talk through their learnings and about the current e-commerce landscape.

This one covers everything from coming up with your product idea to growth strategies, to how to maintain operational excellence from a financial model to self-care. Whether you are just starting out or looking to break 7-figures this episode is full of great takeaways. Check out the full article on Medium under @BSchech.

Danny Taing is the founder and CEO of Bokksu, a monthly subscription service that delivers curated boxes of Japanese snacks and teas to your door. Danny was the first guest of SelfMade Stories back in October of 2018. Almost a year later he’s back to share how he has scaled his business to 7-figures without Venture dollars and built an even better product without changing the price. In 2019 they raised $1 million, expanded to Amazon, and built an engaging Facebook group of over 1,000 customers.

He’s made some key hires that were essential to his growth and has really shifted his focus to telling the story behind Bokksu to his community of fans. Check them out on Instagram @bokksu or online at bokksu.com. Keep an eye out for all of the new and exciting things Bokksu has on the way and order yourself a box before they finally raise the price.