Secrets To Scaling Your Ecommerce Brand

Send us a textTaking risks is an important thing to do whenever an opportunity presents itself. However, it’s necessary to not take any shortcuts but to do your research before you launch a brand on a new channel.In this episode, Daniel and Edina of The Lion Group talk about their company, the mistakes they made along the way, and the wins they made throughout their journey. They also discuss the important things you need to know when launching a brand on Amazon and how to find the right partners. Listen and learn in this episode!KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODEIf you are launching a brand on Amazon, the very first step is to do your research and find the gaps (an opportunity in the space for your brand to penetrate and scale)You must do your research, and look at the competition and the price point within the space.You cannot launch with a much higher price point and hope for the best. You have to be competitively priced.Customers shop on Amazon for price points and convenience.Choose the right partner to get on Amazon- Amazon itself is not always the right partner.The secret to scaling is investing in finding great talents and helping them find their highest potential. Do your research and do not take any shortcuts.Take risks.Recommended Apps:Boomeranghttps://boomerangapp.com/ Helium10 https://www.helium10.com/ Today’s Guest:Daniel Rafael is the CEO and Founder of The Lion Group.Edina Vontobel is the Chief Merchandising Officer and Co-founder of The Lion Group.The Lion Group partners with brands and helps them with all the work and responsibilities on Amazon that they don’t want to do themselves.Connect and learn more about Daniel, Edina, and The Lion Group here: Website: https://www.theliongroup.net/ Daniel’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-rafael-10923075 Edina’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edina-vontobel-61702254 This month's sponsor is Triple Whale.  Triple Whale's powerful analytics platform clarifies your ad performance across channels, keeping you instantly in the know. Hit https://www.triplewhale.com/upgrowth and use promo code Upgrowth for 15% off today.***PROMO CODEUpgrowth  We love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:upgrowthcommerce.com/growJoin our community and connect with other eCommerce brand owners and marketers!https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretstoscalingpodcast

Send us a textIt’s pretty hard to be venture-qualified. It takes exceptional growth potential and the right company dynamics to earn the trust of venture capital investors.In this episode, Jordan West and Jesse Randall talk all about venture capital. They discuss what it means to be a venture-qualified company and how these types of investments usually work.Listen and learn in this episode!KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODETo be venture-qualified is in the DNA of the business opportunity itself. If the opportunity, technology and team don't have the right dynamics to be able to grow to the level of this type of investment, then you are not going to raise money from venture capital.   An Angel Investor is a wealthy individual that qualifies as an accredited investor and with that qualification, they can invest directly into companies. A venture capital fund aggregates individual contributions from lots of accredited investors and much bigger institutions. They pull that money into a fund and it is professionally managed by people.  Investors look at two big categories: (1) The product and the market opportunity itself & (2) The founding team and the capabilities of that team.The difference between acquiring a company in a venture setting versus a traditional business setting comes down to the momentum and the size of opportunity you have.There's a natural skepticism for something that seems too easy, so if you're doing something that's going to change the status quo, you often are going to get told "no" a lot. Founders have the incentive to maximize the value of their company, but if you overvalue your company too much, the numbers don't work and you become not acquirable.If you're going to get acquired, the acquiring company usually wants to see substantial growth opportunities after that acquisition to make it worth it.Recommended App: Shield Analytics https://analytics.shieldapp.ai/ Recommended Book: The Comfort Crisishttps://play.google.com/store/books/details/The_Comfort_Crisis_Embrace_Discomfort_To_Reclaim_Y?id=28L3DwAAQBAJ&gl=US Today’s Guest:Jesse Randall is the Founder and CEO of Sweater.Sweater specializes in offering a venture capital fund that anyone can invest in.Connect and learn more about Jesse Randall and Sweater VC here: Website: https://www.sweaterventures.com/ App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sweater/id1572894118 (Currently only available in the US) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deviantstrat/ This month's sponsor is Triple Whale.  Triple Whale's powerful analytics platform clarifies your ad performance across channels, keeping you instantly in the know. Hit https://www.triplewhale.com/upgrowth and use promo code Upgrowth for 15% off today.***PROMO CODE: UpgrowthWe love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:upgrowthcommerce.com/growJoin our community and connect with other eCommerce brand owners and marketers!https://www.fa

Send us a textBusinesses need to continue to grow and one of the ways that you can grow faster is by putting fuel in the fire that is your business. E-commerce companies are incredibly cash-intensive so sooner or later you’ll probably need to raise capital.In this episode, Jordan West talks about when and why you should raise capital for your e-commerce brand. He gives you different ways and different types of raising your capital.Listen and enjoy this episode!KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODEThe beginning of your business is going to be a very difficult time in the e-commerce space to raise capital.Getting investors as an e-commerce company is not difficult but you do need to have an incredible network and you need to build a lot of trust in your network.Good investors do not bet on companies; They bet on the people who run the companies.Raising capital is not a donation to your company. Investors are buying equity from your company for some future returns. You can start with friends and family.Angel Investors are high-net-worth individuals that are accredited investors that will come and invest in your business.  The size of angel investment is anywhere from 50,000 to 500,000. You can use angel investors, friends and family, and crowd-funding altogether.If you've already built an audience that loves you and believes in you, those are good people to potentially go on the investment side.Venture Capital is another great way to raise money.Getting private equity is not something that's going to happen until you're doing at least about a million dollars in profit. Wait until you're about 10 million in sales to go there.Keeping money in the bank is boring.If you aren't active on LinkedIn and you're not building a network, it's probably not the time to raise capital.If you've built a personal brand and people know your brand as well, this is the way to go when you're raising capital.Raising capital is all about relationships. Connect with Jordan here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-west-marketer/This month's sponsor is Triple Whale.  Triple Whale's powerful analytics platform clarifies your ad performance across channels, keeping you instantly in the know. Hit https://www.triplewhale.com/upgrowth and use promo code Upgrowth for 15% off today.***PROMO CODEUpgrowth We love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:upgrowthcommerce.com/growJoin our community and connect with other eCommerce brand owners and marketers!https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretstoscalingpodcast 

Send us a textYour consumers do not know the ins and outs of how things work in your business. By taking them on this journey with you, you can build dedicated and loyal customers.In this episode, Melodie Reynolds of Elate Beauty talks about her brand and how it grew from 2014 to now.  She also discusses her sales team, the balance between direct-to-consumer and wholesale, and about the importance of transparency.Listen and learn in this episode!KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODEPeople like it when you take them on a journey and it is important to recognize that we are all consumers.Too much transparency is not a bad thing as long as there is context. People that you are speaking to are not in your industry, they don't know who you are, and they don't know the ins and outs of how things work.When you try to show people who you are, you can't just open up your coat, you have to educate them on why you are telling them.It is important to understand what transparency means and how we take responsibility within that transparency.The key thing for Elate Beauty to continue growing is support.The secret to scaling any business is investing in your people.Recommended Tool:  Asanahttps://www.Asana.com Recommended Podcast: The Prof G Podcasthttps://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/the-prof-g-pod-with-scott-galloway/id1498802610 Today’s Guest:Melodie Reynolds is the founder and CEO of Elate Beauty.Elate Beauty is a brand of ethically-made and sustainable cosmetics.Connect and learn more about Melodie and Elate Beauty here:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melodieelatedhttps://www.instagram.com/elatecosmetics Website:https://www.elatebeauty.com This month's sponsor is Triple Whale.  Triple Whale's powerful analytics platform clarifies your ad performance across channels, keeping you instantly in the know. Hit https://www.triplewhale.com/upgrowth and use promo code Upgrowth for 15% off today.***PROMO CODEUpgrowthWe love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:upgrowthcommerce.com/growJoin our community and connect with other ecommerce brand owners and marketers!https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretstoscalingpodcast 

Send us a textMost independent brands can’t afford to test too many advertising opportunities due to budget constraints, but brand partnerships offer a great means of low-cost growth. In this episode, Lynn Power of Masami talks about the way she’s building a collective doing pop-ups around the country, what strategies work, and the ins and outs that go into making it successful.Listen and learn in this episode!KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODEWhen you are bootstrapped, you have to find your opportunities because you can't pay to play with the big boys. Brand partnerships could work well to leverage followings and grow businesses.Go into a space that's going to attract the right customer base.Some brands will be heavily engaged and some will be very transactional and will only care about the sales.Staffing is a critical piece in managing logistics.When a founder is in a store, the sales go up threefold.A community is a foundation that you need to scale.Recommended App: Canvahttps://www.canva.com/ Recommended Podcast: The Joe Rogan Experiencehttps://open.spotify.com/show/4rOoJ6Egrf8K2IrywzwOMk Today’s Guest:Lynn Power is a co-founder and the CEO of Masami.Masami is a brand of clean premium hair care.Connect and learn more about Lynn and Masami here: Website: https://www.lovemasami.com/ LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynn-power-02b8904 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lynnpowered/ This month's sponsor is Triple Whale.  Triple Whale's powerful analytics platform clarifies your ad performance across channels, keeping you instantly in the know. Hit https://www.triplewhale.com/upgrowth and use promo code Upgrowth for 15% off today. *** PROMO CODEUpgrowthWe love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:upgrowthcommerce.com/growJoin our community and connect with other eCommerce brand owners and marketers!https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretstoscalingpodcast 

Send us a textMachine learning is going to be everywhere soon. It can potentially solve your hardest business problems and help you scale even faster.In this episode, Evan Dolgow of Jarvis ML talks about machine learning and warehouse logistics. He discusses what to look out for in machine learning solutions since not all of them are created equal.Listen and learn in this episode!KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODEMachine learning is in the background of things. It's what spoon feeds us what we want to see when we go on Amazon or social media.Visit the facility that you are going to contract.Look at the facility and what's within the 12-hour drive of where your core customers are.Machine learning is a sector of AI. It takes infinite amounts of data that a human can't possibly process, puts it all in one place, draws connections, and takes actions.Not all machine learning is created equally. The best way to discover the quality of a machine learning solution is to check their company on LinkedIn and see whether their team is 80% sales or 80% machine learning engineers.Jarvis is here to democratize machine learning for smaller businesses.Machine learning can potentially solve any business hurdle that you are experiencing specifically regarding scaling.The lowest hanging fruit in the world of machine learning is for every business to drive more customers to their website. The more people you drive to the website, the faster the machine can build models, and you can start essentially converting people faster.        The secret to scaling is to leverage growth.Data is an asset that should be invested in.Recommended Tool:  Sales QLhttps://www.salesql.com Recommended Book: Atomic Habits by James Clearhttps://www.jamesclear.com/atomic-habits The Rise of Super Man by Steven Kotlerhttps://www.stevenkotler.com/book-pages/the-rise-of-super-man Today’s Guest:Evan Dolgow is a machine learning expert at Jarvis MLJarvis ML is a prediction engine that’s always learning. Its mission is to be the most accessible and easy-to-use end-to-end machine learning platform.Connect and learn more about Evan Dolgow here: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evandolgow This month's sponsor is Rep AI. Rep is the world’s first-ever AI-powered sales associate for e-commerce websites. It’s a sales-focused chatbot that uses AI to automatically identify and approach disengaged customers with a contextual and personalized conversation to upgrade customer experiences and increase sales. Just like in brick-and-mortar, it recommends products, answers product-related questions, and even upsells. So hit https://hellorep.ai/upgrowth and get a 2-week free trial + 50% off for your first 12 months.We love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:upgrowthcommerce.com/growJoin our community and connect with other ecommerce brand owners and marketers!https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretstoscalingpodcast 

Send us a textThings are getting tougher these days but as brand owners, it’s our job to always figure out the things that we can do to get sales to go back up. Sometimes, the solution needed is to go back to what we do best and focus on our connection with customers.In this episode, Jordan interviews the founder of Wax Buffalo, Alicia Reisinger. She talks all about her brand story, the rise and fall of organic Instagram, and what’s working for her company now.Listen and learn in this episode!KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODEWhen the numbers are down, you just have to go back to what you do best.Everything has a story to it and those stories are what connect us.As you are growing your brand, you have to find different ways to connect to your audiences.E-mail newsletters and SMS marketing now perform better than organic Instagram marketing when it comes to connecting more to your audience.Always know your margins well.You are way more effective when you take time for yourself.Recommended App:  Shopifyhttps://www.shopify.com Recommended Book: Amish Murder booksToday’s Guest:Alicia Reisinger is the founder and Artistic Director of Wax Buffalo.Wax Buffalo produces hand-poured pure soy wax candles for modern homes.Connect and learn more about Alicia and Wax Buffalo here: Website:  https://www.waxbuffalo.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waxbuffalo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aliciareisinger This month's sponsor is Rep AI. Rep is the world’s first-ever AI-powered sales associate for e-commerce websites. It’s a sales-focused chatbot that uses AI to automatically identify and approach disengaged customers with a contextual and personalized conversation to upgrade customer experiences and increase sales. Just like in brick-and-mortar, it recommends products, answers product-related questions, and even upsells. So hit https://hellorep.ai/upgrowth and get a 2-week free trial + 50% off for your first 12 months.We love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:upgrowthcommerce.com/growJoin our community and connect with other ecommerce brand owners and marketers!https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretstoscalingpodcast 

Send us a textIt is important to always remember that you are selling to people and not to robots. People want to see all the different ways that your products can make their day better. This is what makes your conversion rate higher.In this episode, Jordan talks about a conversion rate optimization case study that he and his team did to their brands. He walks us through why and how they were able to up their conversion rate by 79% month over month, and how you can apply these learnings to test in your brands.Listen and enjoy this episode!KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODEYou can hire expensive agencies to do CRO for you, but it’s only recommended to do that if you are above the $5M mark.Conversion rate optimization is not just simply changing the color of a button.Big levers that you can pull to up your conversion rate on your website:1. Best practice is to have between 4 and 6 photos per product. The more, the better.In the fashion/apparel world, make sure that people see your items in everyday use with lifestyle images. The more that you can do to explain your products, the better. 2. Make all of your product descriptions better.Search through every single descriptor of your product and put it in there.Give people a reason to purchase.Use triggers to sell products.3. Having a saleDuring sale seasons, your conversion rate is higher because your prices are lower.4. Feature your best-sellers on every brand page.Tell people what other people buy and why they should love your brand.Connect with Jordan here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-west-marketer/This month's sponsor is Rep AI. Rep is the world’s first-ever AI-powered sales associate for e-commerce websites. It’s a sales-focused chatbot that uses AI to automatically identify and approach disengaged customers with a contextual and personalized conversation to upgrade customer experiences and increase sales. Just like in brick-and-mortar, it recommends products, answers product-related questions, and even upsells. So hit https://hellorep.ai/upgrowth and get a 2-week free trial + 50% off for your first 12 months.We love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:upgrowthcommerce.com/growJoin our community and connect with other ecommerce brand owners and marketers!https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretstoscalingpodcast 

Send us a textIt is important to always keep in mind that you are not selling just your products but also your brand. Sharing your unique brand story and keeping your brand’s quality are the things that bring up your sales.In this episode, Ata Sari of Mama Luma talks about their brand’s growth and the massive moves they had to make moving from California to Istanbul Turkey. He also shares what is working and not working for their brand in 2022.Listen and learn in this episode.KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODEAt the end of the day, there is no secret but hard work.Brand identity brings the sales. Product quality and brand story are parts of the brand identity.There comes a time when you have to stop working with an agency.Build a team to organize everything and have a healthy distribution channel to make better operational costs and bring up sales.The D2C operations also have a big impact on B2B for a brand. Every single transaction is an added value to the brand equity.You need to work harder, learn, and never be comfortable where you are. Recommended Tool: Klaviyohttps://www.klaviyo.comRecommended Book: The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitzhttps://www.amazon.com/Hard-Thing-About-Things-Building/dp/0062273205 Today’s Guest:Ata Sari is a co-founder and the CEO of Mama Luma.Mama Luma is a designer kids’ clothing brand based in Sta. Barbara, California.Connect and learn more about Ata and Mama Luma here:Website: https://www.mamaluma.com E-mail Address: Ata@Mamaluma.comThis month's sponsor is Rep AI. Rep is the world’s first-ever AI-powered sales associate for e-commerce websites. It’s a sales-focused chatbot that uses AI to automatically identify and approach disengaged customers with a contextual and personalized conversation to upgrade customer experiences and increase sales. Just like in brick-and-mortar, it recommends products, answers product-related questions, and even upsells. So hit https://hellorep.ai/upgrowth and get a 2-week free trial + 50% off for your first 12 months.We love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:upgrowthcommerce.com/growJoin our community and connect with other ecommerce brand owners and marketers!https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretstoscalingpodcast 

Send us a textYou’ve probably heard a lot about the amazing results Performance Max can deliver, but who would be the best people in your team to run PMax campaigns?In this episode, Jordan talks about why your Google department may not be the best choice to run your Performance Max campaigns and explains other strategies to run highly profitable Performance Max campaigns.Listen and enjoy this episode!KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODEPerformance Max is made for Facebook marketers. It's similar to the kinds of campaigns that you set up for years on Facebook but you leave it untouched for a longer period of time to let the robot learnPmax is essentially a Facebook CBO campaignFacebook marketers are used to testing campaigns exactly like this.They can target specific intent audiences, or go broad.Connect with Jordan here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-west-marketer/This month’s sponsor is Parker, the first card built exclusively for eCommerce. Free up cash flow and grow your business with Parker by getting net-60 terms on every transaction. Parker is currently offering a $1000 sign-up bonus for Upgrowth listeners. Go to getparker.com to chat with the team today - and make sure you mention where you came from! We love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:upgrowthcommerce.com/growJoin our community and connect with other ecommerce brand owners and marketers!https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretstoscalingpodcast