Navigating Growth and Challenges at BarkBox

In this episode of Chew On This, Ash and Ankit are joined by Rob Schutz, a serial entrepreneur, as he discusses his experiences building marketing teams and scaling businesses across various industries, including pet products (BarkBox), men’s health (Ro), and domain acquisition (Snagged). He emphasizes the importance of initially focusing on a few key marketing channels that are already showing promise, rather than diversifying too early. He also shares insights into navigating regulatory hurdles in the healthcare industry and the challenges (and rewards) of acquiring valuable domain names. The conversation touches on building strong teams, the role of community in brand building, and the importance of data-driven decision-making in marketing. 📈 Focus on High-Performing Channels Early: Rob stresses the importance of identifying and aggressively pursuing a few key, successful marketing channels in the early stages of a business, rather than spreading resources too thin. This allows for rapid growth and scaling before diversifying. 🐶 BarkBox Experience: His early role at BarkBox provided valuable experience in leveraging Facebook’s emerging advertising platform and building a strong visual brand presence crucial for social media success. He learned to identify, exploit, and then delegate successful channels. 💊 Navigating Healthcare Regulations: Rob shares the challenges of marketing products in the sensitive men’s health space (Ro), highlighting the complexities of regulatory compliance and the need for a conservative, compliant approach. 🌐 Domain Acquisition (Snagged): His current venture, Snagged, focuses on acquiring domain names for businesses. He emphasizes the intricate processes involved, often requiring creative negotiation and leveraging unique incentives beyond simple monetary transactions. 🤝 Building High-Performing Teams: Rob advocates for building marketing teams incrementally, starting with individuals skilled in channels already proving effective. This avoids costly mistakes of hiring senior-level managers before validating the need for their expertise in specific areas. 0:00 - Intro ​1:04 - Rob's experience in Virginia and healthcare sales ​2:16 - Transitioning to growth marketing in New York ​5:11 - Early days of Facebook advertising and its impact on marketing strategies ​6:41 - Importance of experimenting with different marketing channels ​9:07 - Leveraging Instagram influencers for brand growth ​10:03 - Insights on building a marketing team and hiring strategies ​14:01 - The significance of measuring results and accountability in hiring ​19:30 - Exploring taboo topics in healthcare marketing ​24:29 - Navigating regulations and reputation management in the healthcare space ​25:14 - The importance of a structured approach in a competitive landscape ​26:02 - Challenges faced during data migration and the need for optimization ​27:01 - Benefits of healthy competition ​30:09 - The role of community in product innovation ​32:25 - Brand evolution and community engagement ​34:07 - The importance of adapting to new trends and consumer needs ​39:04 - Insights on personal branding and visibility in the industry ​41:03 - Rob's passion for securing domain names and social handles ​46:00 - The importance of understanding client motivations ​53:02 - Final chew Sponsored by: 📨 Sendlane - Tired of paying for hosting unnecessary contacts on your email list? Thats why we switched to Sendlane where we are only charged for the number of contacts we send to. You will unlock huge savings by signing up with them. 🔗 https://sendlane.com/chewonthis Follow us, subscribe to our newsletter, and to see our exclusive merch check out https://chewonthis.io/ Ron Shah -  x.com/obviceo   Ash Melwani -   x.com/ashvinmelwani   Chew On This -   x.com/chewonthisdtc