Let’s Laugh About It From Garage to 9-Figure Brand: How MacCoy Merkley Scaled PLG with Community & Retention | Let's Laugh About It
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Aug 14, 2025 MacCoy Merkley, the Chief Marketing Officer at Portland Leather Goods, shares how he transformed a garage startup into a nine-figure brand. He discusses his unique journey from wedding photography to D2C marketing and the importance of consumer perspective. The conversation dives into building a thriving community on social media, handling a chaotic Black Friday crisis, and overcoming employee turnover challenges. MacCoy also highlights the significance of customer loyalty through a repair program, showcasing the brand’s commitment to sustainability and quality.
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Make The Brand Feel Cool
- Be cool: prioritize making ads and brand content that feel genuinely interesting over over-optimized creative.
- MacCoy says people will click on 'cool' things even when the marketing execution is imperfect.
Facebook Group Sparked From Ad Comments
- Portland Leather Goods' active Facebook community started organically from comments on an ad and an unofficial fan group.
- The brand later launched its own group and grew it to hundreds of thousands of members while letting fans drive conversations.
Unicorn Mystery Boxes Fueled Resale Culture
- A surprise 'unicorn' mystery-box drop created one-of-a-kind colorways that ignited a buy-sell-trade market among fans.
- The rarity and resellability de-risked purchases and fueled intense community trading and demand.