Gregory Davidson’s Post

Direct-to-consumer startups that went public over the past couple of years are still trying to figure out how to adapt to the post-Covid retail environment. That was the biggest takeaway from the last two weeks of earnings season, in which Warby Parker, Allbirds, FIGS, Brilliant Earth, Solo Brands, Purple, Hims and others all reported their quarterly earnings. In this piece by Anna Hensel, we speak to Simeon Siegel, CFA of BMO Capital Markets, Trina Spear, Jeff K. and Dave Gilboa.

To pivot or not to pivot? That’s the question many businesses grapple with. Here’s a case that you might find interesting: an e-commerce startup specializing in custom-made clothing. Challenge: Despite initial success, the company faced a funding gap to scale its operations. Pivot Strategy: Shifted from a direct-to-consumer model to a B2B approach by offering custom clothing solutions for corporate clients. Results: • Before Pivot: $500,000 in annual revenue with a declining growth rate. • After #Pivot: In the first year, secured contracts with five major corporations, resulting in $1.2 million in revenue. • By the end of year two, revenue reached $3.5 million, and the company was able to attract additional funding from venture capitalists. From my experience, strategic shifts can make all the difference in attracting investors and securing the capital needed for growth. That’s my job, that’s what I do.

This is Softwalls doing things right 👇 "Free trial" is not something only SaaS companies should use. But we already see this with many online stores. Companies like Zalando allow you to buy and pay once you decided what you keep, or try your clothes at home and send back if they don't fit. Others like GARNIER CLUB give you the possibility to try on your hair color shade through camera or by uploading your picture. Do these strategies solve ALL the problems? No, but they make customers feel more comfortable with their choices. Here's my example in the picture: My husband can't touch velvet or velvet-like surfaces, it gives him goosebumps 😅 so having the opportunity to order 4 material and color samples not only simplifies our decision, but it also makes the company's life easier: - faster purchase - less indecision - no returns - no refunds You can use this time to boost customer acquisition 💥 Almost every product sold online can use one of these solutions. Have you thought of that? How could you make your customers' purchase journey shorter, simpler and more personal? #customerjourney #freetrial #freesamples #digitalamarketing #digitalmarketingstrategy #digitalmarketingexpert #startups #founders #entrepreneurship

From Practical eCommerce: Commerce Drives Culture, Says Media CEO ------------------------------- Future Commerce founder Phillip Jackson sees the good in commerce as a societal stabilizer. The post Commerce Drives Culture, Says Media CEO appeared first on Practical Ecommerce . #responsive #digitalagency #website #business #ecom #ecommercemarketing #ecommercebusiness #entrepreneur #startups #businesstools #marketingstrategy #businessowner #startuplife #ecommercedevelopment #ecommercesolutions #ecommerce #sidehustle #onlinebusiness #ecommercetips #businessadvice #businessgrowth

🗺 Navigating an Early Stage Startup while creating an MVP is like single parenting baby-twins that never sleep, cry incessantly for attention and can never be put down for a single second - basically overwhelming to the Tee, yet incomparably rewarding. 🏀 At Design Burrito, we've got your back! We're the MVP champions you've been looking for to catapult your million-dollar-idea from Zero to One. 🌯 We've rolled up a burrito of Product Innovation Consulting services for you including - Product Strategy & Ideation - Market & Customer Research - Product Design - Launch Support - or whatever it takes to get your MVP out of your head and into this world :P 🌶 So far, we've teamed up with entrepreneurs from the USA, UK, and India spanning exciting industries like food-delivery, ecommerce, lab jewelry, fintech, QSR, edtech, and real-estate (add yours to the mix). Together, we've cooked up some game-changing products that cater perfectly to their end customers' needs - isn't that the hottest goal in business anyway? ☕ As a team, we thrive on collaborative charettes, design-thinking frameworks, and a 'we'll figure it out' attitude. We recognize you're the expert on your product, while we're simply your idea-bouncing enablers ready to push boundaries for you. 🕊 Most importantly, we embrace your mission as sacrosanct because we know you're going to change the world and we certainly want to be part of your journey! 🍽 Let's get cooking ASAP, shall we? #mvp #product #innovation #strategy #designburrito

This year, it seems that more startups like Aurate New York and Ritual are recalibrating their physical retail strategies thanks to the tough economic environment. We looked into how brands are approaching physical expansion. In this piece by Anna Hensel, we speak to Anish Shah, Katerina Markov Schneider, Aaron Luo of CARAA, and Rebekah Kondrat of rekon retail.

Embarking on a Journey of Insights and Inspiration! Thrilled to share the latest edition of "Brand with Ecommerce" newsletter, where we're delving into the heart of effective branding for e-commerce startups. From the art of crafting connections to the power of authenticity, this edition is a treasure trove of strategies that resonate. Whether you're a business enthusiast, a startup owner, or simply curious about the world of branding, this read promises insights that will fuel your journey. Step into a world where every pixel carries a story, and every connection matters. Read now! #EcommerceBranding #StartupJourney #AuthenticConnections #BrandWithEcommerce

creating a subcategory is an excellent thing to do. getting your prospect to know that there is an existing category and also making them aware of what you do more than the existing category = SUBCATEGORY

Here is the reason why brands give heavy discounts on their products- I was scrolling through an e-commerce platform, and something caught my attention: heavy discounts of 60-70% on products. For instance, an item with an original MRP of 10k was slashed down to 3k/4k after the discount. So, why do so many brands employ this strategy nowadays, and what’s the logic behind it? At its core, this strategy is about portraying the true value of the product as much higher (the perceived value) while offering discounts as a hack for consumers to access a higher-value product at a low cost. This not only makes the customer feel like they've acquired a product worth 10k, but it's also a savvy move to boost the Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of startups. Next time you're scrolling through those tempting offers, take a moment to consider the psychology and strategy behind those discounts. #RetailPsychology #ConsumerBehavior #EcommerceTrends #MarketingStrategy #PerceivedValue #BrandStrategy #SmartConsumers #startup #business #finance #strategy

I’ve made some start-up investments I regret. Recognition just shut down shop, but it was still not one of them. One should always know the risks when investing in pre-revenue or pre-product start-ups. Even though you believe in the team, the market and the product vision, there are 10,000 reasons why it could ultimately fail to materialise. As a founder myself, I can empathise. For Recognition and the team, it came to a close this summer. But they shut down in a way that left all investors in awe. 🙌 As one of their Board members, I know first-hand how much they fought for it and their commitments over that past year, but ultimately, they hit wall after wall, disproving hypothesis after hypothesis. At some point, the right decision was to throw in the towel when neither the market pull nor the team's conviction was strong enough to continue. They were, however, afraid of what their investors, a lot of whom were friends and family, would say – they had, after all, accepted their money after presenting their lofty ideas and hairy goals. But as it turned out, they were pleasantly surprised. Why? Because Michael Svensen and the team had kept all investors in the know throughout the last year – both the ups and downs. Therefore, when they called them up with the “bad news”, nearly all investors offered to continue to back them if they had it in them for a pivot or another business idea. They all felt that they had been part of the journey; they knew how the team had fought to extend the runway and test that final hypothesis, and they all knew how the start-up life started to take a toll on other important aspects of life. I think all investors, and not only the ones representing them on the Board, appreciated and admired their efforts and the honest attempt. But one must also respect the mature choice of calling it quits when the motivation to proceed is not strong enough. Especially when they did this at a stage where they could still return fifty cents on the dollar to investors as they ceased operations❗ To me, that’s returns earmarked for their next venture 💸 Michael Svensen - Brede Bjørhovd - Henning Andre Åsgård - Anders Kvalvik Kvernberg - Erik Lange - Jonas Faizi