After being laid off in 2014, Toyiah Marquis turned her passion for patches into a thriving business built on cultural representation and authentic connection. Patch Party Club started as an in-store experience and single-product experiment on Temu. But it quickly evolved into a scalable business model that now reaches audiences Toyiah never expected to serve.

How do you transform personal passion into global reach? And what happens when a marketplace's algorithm becomes your best marketing tool?

We sit down with Toyiah to explore how she leveraged Temu's platform to test, learn, and scale strategically, while sticking with her mission and vision as a founder. From creating a special patch for customers battling cancer to discovering unexpected demographic opportunities, Toyiah's journey shows how marketplace success comes from staying true to your brand ethos while remaining flexible enough to evolve.

Connection Wins Every Time

Key takeaways:

Starting small works: Toyiah launched with one product on Temu, using marketplace dynamics to test viability before scaling strategically.
Temu's marketplace exposure brought her patches to a diverse audience beyond her traditional target market, revealing unexpected growth opportunities.
Emotional connection drives commerce: Products created with genuine care and cultural representation resonated deeply, building loyal customer relationships at scale.
Marketplace testing provides real-time validation: Marketplaces like Temu can serve as laboratories to gather data insights before committing to broader expansion.

In-Show Mentions:

Learn more about Patch Party Club’s journey on Temu
Explore Temu's seller services and marketplace solutions

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297: Bryan and Rob – Discuss the five foundations of customer experience design