In this special edition episode of Chew on This, recorded LIVE at Sub Summit 2024, Ben Yahalom, the CEO of True Classic, shares the company’s secrets to growth from zero to half a billion dollars in revenue. He emphasizes the importance of product quality, marketing that resonates with the target audience, and a strong focus on profitability. Ben also discusses the company’s journey from a single product, T-shirts, to expanding their product line and entering both retail and wholesale markets.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Consumer Empathy: True Classic built their brand around understanding and meeting the needs of their customer.

📈 Profitability First: Strive to be first order profitable, as it allows for sustainable growth and scalability.

📊 Deep Dive into Data: Utilize data to understand customer behavior, LTV, and product performance to optimize for growth.

🛒 Omni Channel Approach: Embrace an Omni Channel strategy by utilizing direct-to-consumer, marketplaces, retail, and wholesale partnerships.

🌎 International Expansion: Start with English-speaking countries, localize your product offerings and marketing materials, and gradually expand to new markets.

​1:59 - The company expanded from selling t-shirts to 15+ other categories like activewear, chinos, and denim.​

6:08 - Customer feedback played a crucial role in developing the product line and brand strategy.​

10:06 - Ben emphasizes the importance of striking an emotional chord with customers to create brand loyalty.​

16:14 - Focus on core e-commerce basics like homepage design, product listing, and post-purchase customer experience.

​21:06 - Discusses the importance of understanding customer lifetime value (LTV) and contribution profit in e-commerce.​

24:00 - Ben explains the significance of accumulating contribution profit and increasing customer orders for brand growth.​

29:17 - True Classic's decision to enter retail after four years and the impact of offline presence on brand credibility.​

30:42 - Creating break-even boxes for retail stores to increase awareness.​

31:21 - Focusing on acquiring customers with break-even boxes in direct-to-consumer strategy.​

33:14 - Discussing the challenges and benefits of retail expansion, including working with big box retailers.​

39:01 - Explaining the importance of maintaining brand integrity while expanding into different product categories.​

45:10 - Emphasizing product expansion as a key retention strategy.​

52:18 - Recommending the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) for team management.​

57:02 - Stressing the importance of having the right people in the team for business success.

1:00:33 - Final chew.