I did a podcast w @moizali - founder of @native_cos. His story is bananas. Created & Sold a new deodorant brand $100M to P&G in 2.5 years and only raised ~$500k... my top 10 gems from the episode THREAD 👇
1/ “It was like taking an Advil every morning when all you needed was a glass of water”
Core insight = trend to natural/organic products, but popular deodorants used a ton of chemicals (aluminum etc).”
Core insight = trend to natural/organic products, but popular deodorants used a ton of chemicals (aluminum etc).”
2/ they did A/B testing like a software co, except on physical products
Version A went to 1000 customers
Version B went to 1000 customers
Which version gets higher reviews and higher repeat purchase rate?
Version A went to 1000 customers
Version B went to 1000 customers
Which version gets higher reviews and higher repeat purchase rate?
3/ “today I don’t know anything about deodorant. But in 6 months I’ll be an expert”
^this is how a founders brain is different than the avg person. Avg ppl get scared off bc they assume you need to “know about x” before doing x
^this is how a founders brain is different than the avg person. Avg ppl get scared off bc they assume you need to “know about x” before doing x
4/ Funny story. The day they sold, he called one of his angel investors who’s $50k was now $1M. The investor said “this is the best news of the day... and my wife just gave birth!”
5/ “I got 1 sale on launch day” on @ProductHunt
I went and dig up the post (producthunt.com/posts/native-d…). Interestingly he was doing subscription then, but a few commenters asked for single unit testers so took that feedback and added it. 1 sale, but valuable feedback
I went and dig up the post (producthunt.com/posts/native-d…). Interestingly he was doing subscription then, but a few commenters asked for single unit testers so took that feedback and added it. 1 sale, but valuable feedback
6/ Manufacturer Problems.
- tested a bunch of samples off Etsy. He and @sulemanali would put diff deodorant under each arm then go run around soma. Check which one worked better
- one manufacturer bailed. Had to give her $5k bonus just to fill orders
- tested a bunch of samples off Etsy. He and @sulemanali would put diff deodorant under each arm then go run around soma. Check which one worked better
- one manufacturer bailed. Had to give her $5k bonus just to fill orders
7/ manufacturer problems cont..
A whole batch of orders melted in the truck. He touched it and it was liquid. So many “almost deaths” due to manufacturing problems
A whole batch of orders melted in the truck. He touched it and it was liquid. So many “almost deaths” due to manufacturing problems
8/ He was a one man band. He ran ads, filled orders, shipped them, answered customer support tickets, and handled the supply chain himself.
Hired 1st employee after 1 year. he ran the fb ads all the way till after acquisition. Don’t outsource your superpower
Hired 1st employee after 1 year. he ran the fb ads all the way till after acquisition. Don’t outsource your superpower
9/ July 2015 - hundreds in revenue
Jan 2016 - $50k/month
November 2016 - $1M/mo
20X in 11 months 🦾
Jan 2016 - $50k/month
November 2016 - $1M/mo
20X in 11 months 🦾
Funny line during the sale process. The buyer wanted to know how big this could be, beyond deodorant:
“Do you know how to write ‘Native’ on other things?” Shampoo, lotion, toothpaste etc.. painted a blue sky
“Do you know how to write ‘Native’ on other things?” Shampoo, lotion, toothpaste etc.. painted a blue sky
Ok a few bonus pics, because I love pics from early days.
1) hand labeling 24k units per day at one point
2) manually pouring formula into bottles
3) ensuring packaging is under 16oz for mailing
@moizali show us your rawest early days pic from the dining table
1) hand labeling 24k units per day at one point
2) manually pouring formula into bottles
3) ensuring packaging is under 16oz for mailing
@moizali show us your rawest early days pic from the dining table
