What It REALLY Takes To Build A $400M Business (With Sunil Agrawal)
The Andrew Faris Podcast
Experimentation, Capitalizing on Failures, and Fundraising
Andrew asks about repeated failures; Sunil recounts seven failures before success and using public equity to fund experiments.
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Sunil Agrawal is the founder and CEO of VGL Group, a $400 million holding company that includes Shop LC, a $240 million/year brand. Reach out to Sunil at sunil@vglgroup.com if you want to work with him.
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How do you scale a publicly traded, $400M holding company while keeping margins healthy and brand trust intact?
Sunil Agrawal (CEO, VGL Group / Shop LC) breaks down the real playbook: a “deep discount” value strategy that doesn’t nuke brand equity, a vertical advantage with 60% in-house manufacturing in India, and a TV-first engine transitioning to DTC with disciplined Meta and OTT investment. We get specific on pricing architecture (e.g., “everything under $10” days), how value perception feeds LTV, and when a premium assortment can coexist with promotion without eroding positioning.
For operators, this episode is a masterclass in scale mechanics and leadership: setting a goal of $500k–$1M/month per brand on Meta (and how to learn enough to hire well), allocating ~$250k/month to OTT while TV still performs, and building an org that executes—RSUs for 250 leaders, formal training hours, succession planning, and a bureaucracy-free culture built on continual learning. If you’re wrestling with profitable growth, discount anxiety, or the TV to DTC bridge, this is an hour that will sharpen your roadmap.
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CHAPTER TITLES:
00:01:47 - Breaking Down Shop LC
00:05:45 - Setting The Right Expectations For A $400M Holding Company
00:08:24 - Significance of a “TV First” Brand
00:09:36 - Deep Discount Model
00:17:05 - Marketing Strategy For All Shop LC Brands
00:24:28 - Importance of Owning The Manufacturing & Sourcing
00:25:57 - Sunil Pinpoints This Key To Success
00:36:55 - Learning Opportunities & Work Conferences
00:39:35 - Importance of Learning & Information
00:42:16 - Goal Setting For Each Brand
00:45:41 - Why DTC Didn’t Work At First
00:47:02 - Successful Team = Successful Business
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ADMISSION
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Email: podcast@ajfgrowth.com
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