🧪 The Einstein of Ecommerce: Bootstrapping to 9-Figures in Revenue with Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge Wallet)

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Aug 31, 2023

Sean Frank, CEO of Ridge Wallet and known as the 'Einstein of Ecommerce', discusses topics such as the challenges of selling wallets, Ridge's 80% gross margins, the decision to not raise venture capital, hiring a new CEO, marketing strategies including Twitter advertising and influencer sponsorships, the future of women's return rates in fashion, vertical integration through investing in a watch manufacturer and building a factory, the importance of core competency, Ridge's tech stack, and the challenges and potential future of e-commerce penetration.

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Introduction

00:00 • 4min

Challenges of Running a Men's Wallet Brand

03:38 • 2min

The Growth and Size of the Company

06:08 • 16min

Production, Competitive Advantage, and Expansion

22:36 • 6min

Building a Business in a Competitive Market

28:58 • 10min

Tech Stack, Challenges, and E-commerce Penetration

38:31 • 21min

Opinions on Machines, Admirations for CEOs, and Podcast Recommendations

59:39 • 2min

Approach to Hiring and Motivations

01:01:11 • 4min

Sean Frank is the CEO of Ridge Wallet, a men’s wallet and accessories brand that does over 9-figures in annual revenue. The company started in 2012 and raised $266,000 in a Kickstarter campaign to sell the first 5,200 wallets. Ridge hasn’t raised a single dollar of outside capital since, and has also expanded into new categories like rings, knives, watches, backpacks, and keys, with dozens of more products coming soon. Sean is known in some circles as the “Einstein of Ecommerce”, and he gives us an inside look at running a consumer brand in 2023.

Brought to you by Packsmith, better fulfillment for growing brands: https://bit.ly/PacksmithBanana

In this episode, we discuss:

Why wallets are a terrible product category
How Ridge has 80% gross margins
Why brands should generally not raise venture capital
When a founder should step down as CEO, and how to hire a new one
Why Ridge is one of the top 10 advertisers on Twitter
When and how to hire a marketing agency
Why Ridge never raised outside capital
Closing clients in a 1991 Honda Civic
A crash course on the men’s and women’s fashion markets
Why Sean thinks women’s fashion will have 50% return rates this holiday season
Investing in a watch manufacturer and building a factory in Arizona to vertically integrate
Why every company needs a core competency
The simple tech stack Ridge uses to run their business
Why Crocs is a great business
Sponsoring 5,000+ influencers
Why Amazon shut down its private label program and every brand should sell on it
Why influencer marketing performs so well, and how to start and scale an influencer marketing program
Why more companies should incorporate creators in their content
How FTX and other crypto companies inflated influencer marketing prices
Paying $1,000,000 to hire a creator in-house
How the Ridge Wallet has saved customers from a bullet and a chainsaw

Where to find Sean:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SeanEcom
Substack: http://seanecom.substack.com/
Podcast: https://9operators.com/

Where to find Turner:
Newsletter: https://www.thespl.it
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TurnerNovak

Referenced:
https://www.amazon.com/Great-CEO-Within-Tactical-Building-ebook/dp/B07ZLGQZYC
https://www.theloganbartlettshow.com/
https://www.maryruthorganics.com/

Production and distribution by: https://www.supermix.io

For sponsorship inquiries: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSebvhBlDDfHJyQdQWs8RwpFxWg-UbG0H-VFey05QSHvLxkZPQ/viewform