Launching a Customer-First Merch Company with No Industry Experience | Ethan Dowie

Nov 26, 2025

Ethan Dowie, the founder of Indigo Promotions, shares his inspiring journey from making hundreds of cold calls to securing Zappos as a client. He discusses the importance of a customer-first approach, navigating early fulfillment challenges, and the decision to bring production in-house. Ethan emphasizes building a dedicated team, leveraging big clients for credibility, and the role of organic marketing in growing his business. Additionally, he reveals tips on managing complex custom projects and his vision for future expansion.

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ANECDOTE

Founding From Nonprofit Frustration

Ethan discovered the business by repeatedly ordering merch for a nonprofit and noticing frequent mistakes.
He quit his job and launched Indigo because he believed he could do it better and learned by doing.

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ADVICE

Cold Call To Learn, Not Just Sell

Do cold call persistently to learn market language and what clients actually need.
Use each call to refine your pitch rather than to immediately close deals.

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ANECDOTE

Persistence Paid Off With Zappos

After 496 cold calls Ethan reached Zappos and that single call produced about 50 orders in year one.
Zappos guided him through early processes and became a long-term anchor client.

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How Ethan discovered the merch opportunity

02:08 • 2min

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First steps: cold calling and learning quickly

03:53 • 4min

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Landing Zappos after 496 calls

07:45 • 2min

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Early fulfillment and tooling mistakes

10:04 • 2min

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Finding and vetting factories

11:49 • 2min

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Bringing production in-house

Pricing, margins and customization approach

18:25 • 2min

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Bootstrapping the business

20:12 • 1min

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Hiring first employees and buying back time

21:13 • 1min

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Leveraging big clients and obsessing over service

22:42 • 3min

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Organic marketing and social content

26:10 • 1min

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Managing margins and complex bids

27:39 • 2min

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Types of complex projects they handle

Delivering memorable experiences with merch

32:56 • 1min

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Building SOPs and a CSR playbook

34:10 • 2min

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Onboarding clients through questions

35:51 • 2min

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Ideal clients and focus on custom bags

37:27 • 1min

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Ethan's role: sales, storytelling, and staying in the weeds

38:54 • 2min

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Scaling goals: deliver more for big clients

41:01 • 3min

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#65

• Mentioned in 206 episodes

Buy Back Your Time

Dan Martell

Buy Back Your Time is a definitive guide for entrepreneurs at every level, teaching them how to scale their business quickly while avoiding burnout. The book introduces the 'Buy Back Principle,' which emphasizes hiring people to do repetitive and low-value tasks, allowing entrepreneurs to focus on high-value activities that bring energy and fulfillment. Dan Martell provides practical steps, frameworks like the 'replacement ladder' and 'DRIP matrix,' and strategies for outsourcing, automation, and prioritization to enhance both professional and personal life. The book is structured around key frameworks and tools, making it a valuable resource for entrepreneurs looking to achieve a better work-life balance and build a thriving business empire.

#690 Ready for a masterclass in grit, customer service, and unconventional scaling — all from a founder who built a booming merch company from scratch? In this episode, host Brien Gearin chats with Ethan Dowie, founder of Indigo Promotions, who went from making 400+ cold calls with zero traction to landing Zappos as one of his very first clients. Ethan breaks down how he bootstrapped his business, navigated fulfillment before he had any systems, built a powerhouse customer-first team, and eventually brought manufacturing in-house to compete with massive players like 4imprint and VistaPrint. If you want to understand what it really takes to build a product-based business that stands out, this conversation delivers!

What we discuss with Ethan:

+ Bootstrapping Indigo Promotions

+ Landing Zappos after 496 cold calls

+ Early fulfillment challenges

+ Finding reliable factories and partners

+ Bringing production in-house

+ Building a customer-service-first culture

+ Leveraging big clients to win bigger clients

+ Organic marketing and behind-the-scenes content

+ Handling complex custom projects

+ Scaling the team and future growth vision

Thank you, Ethan!

Check out Indigo Promotions at IndigoPromos.com.

Follow Ethan on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Watch the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠video podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ of this episode!

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