SelfMade Stories

Adam Schwartz is a natural-born entrepreneur. From creating a candy ring in middle school to scaling his business to 8-digits, you could say it’s in his blood — even his wife is an entrepreneur. Adam is the co-founder and CEO of TeePublic and an advisor to Bombas. TeePublic is a marketplace for everything from apparel to home goods, all made by independent creators. In Part II, Adam and Brian dig deep into how to break through $100k, the necessity of space when building your business, and the nuances of digital marketing in relation to your LTV. If you’re in the early stages of building your business this episode is full of actionable insights into how to best breakthrough to your next revenue benchmark.

Adam Schwartz is a natural-born entrepreneur. From creating a candy ring in middle school to scaling his business to 8-digits, you could say it’s in his blood — even his wife is an entrepreneur. Adam is the co-founder and CEO of TeePublic and an advisor to Bombas. TeePublic is a marketplace for everything from apparel to home-goods, all made by independent creators. In Part I, Adam and Brian discuss what entrepreneurship means and why it’s so difficult, how to understand your wins and losses, and the importance of diving into problems one at a time. Adam is a master of discipline and company building and has a ton of insight into how to manage your business towards scale.

Nick Ling is the co-founder and CEO of Pattern Brands, formerly known as Gin Lane. Gin Lane was founded in 2015 and helped launch over 50 startups, creating $15B of market value over 4.5 years. At the peak of their entrepreneurial success, Nick and his co-founder Emmett took a step back to find a solution to the burnout they and their peers were collectively feeling. This is what ultimately led to Pattern. Pattern Brands was founded with a central mission: to provide people with products and a community that creates space away from work and brings back a degree of mindfulness. In Part II, Brian and Nick discuss Pattern’s launch strategy and how to turn your first customers into evangelists for your brand. Pattern’s first brand, Equal Parts, launched in September of 2019. Its aim is to get more people in the kitchen and make home cooking an easily accessible activity for all. They provide thoughtfully designed, reasonably priced cookware and access to coaches who can give guidance from cooking tips to easy recipes based on what’s in your fridge. Pattern’s next brand is set to launch early 2020.

Nick Ling is the co-founder and CEO of Pattern Brands, formerly known as Gin Lane. Gin Lane was founded in 2015 and helped launch over 50 startups, creating $15B of market value over 4.5 years. At the peak of their entrepreneurial success, Nick and his co-founder Emmett took a step back to find a solution to the burnout they and their peers were collectively feeling. This is what ultimately led to Pattern. Pattern Brands was founded with a central mission: to provide people with products and a community that create space away from work and brings back a degree of mindfulness. In Part I, Brian and Nick discuss the importance of mission in giving your brand a centralized focus and path towards success. Pattern’s first brand, Equal Parts, launched in September of 2019. Its aim is to get more people in the kitchen and make home cooking an easily accessible activity for all. They provide thoughtfully designed, reasonably priced cookware and access to coaches who can give guidance from cooking tips to easy recipes based on what’s in your fridge. Pattern’s next brand is set to launch early 2020.

Dave Heath is the co-founder and CEO of Bombas, the sock company that took the consumer market by storm. Over the past 8 years, Dave and his team have managed to scale the company to over $100 million in annual revenue. It all started with a simple mission, make a better sock that gives back. For every pair of socks purchased, Bombas donates a pair to communities in need. To date, Bombas has donated over 25 million pairs to homeless outreach programs all over the country. The business Dave has built behind Bombas is almost as inspiring as their social mission. With an intense focus on product innovation and quality, investing in brand story, and putting together an amazing team, Dave has created something exceptional. In Part 2 of Dave's story, he talks with Brian about what’s next for Bombas, the necessity of maintaining perspective and the struggles of adding additional channels distribution channels. You can check out Bombas online at bombas.com or on Instagram @bombas to learn more about how to make your feet happy.

Dave Heath is the co-founder and CEO of Bombas, the sock company that took the consumer market by storm. Over the past 8 years, Dave and his team have managed to scale the company to over $100 million in annual revenue. It all started with a simple mission, make a better sock that gives back. For every pair of socks purchased, Bombas donates a pair to communities in need. To date, Bombas has donated over 25 million pairs to homeless outreach programs all over the country. The business Dave...

Ean Murphy is the founder of Moxie Bookkeeping, a bookkeeping agency dedicated to serving small businesses. She grounds her practice in Mike Michalowicz’s concept of Profit First. She and Brian discuss the intricacies of finances and how to implement a Profit First mentality when thinking about your business. They cover everything from thinking about your cash flow to managing your bank accounts, Ean leaves no stone unturned. If you need help with your small business finances you can reach...

Reza Moreno is the founder and Editor in Chief of Sustain, an online publication that looks at everything from fashion to culture through the lens of sustainability. Reza also does marketing for The Slow Factory, part e-commerce store, part R&D lab. They are changing the way product based businesses think about their production habits by limiting waste and optimizing for sustainability. Reza is incredibly tuned in to how our choices affect the world around us. She provides tangible tips on...

Ben Parr is the co-founder and President of Octane AI, an automated messenger bot service that connects directly to Shopify. He was also a co-editor at Mashable by the time he was 24 and wrote the book Capitovology about the science and psychology of attention. Ben and Brian dig into how to think about integrations in your marketing stack and the importance of capturing the attention of your customers and maintaining lasting relationships with them. You can learn more about Ben and his book...

Cat Bradley is the founder of SewEthico, a consulting firm dedicated to empowering women through entrepreneurship with a focus on sustainability. Cat works with primarily post-launch founders to build systems for understanding and managing their business. She gives entrepreneurs the necessary tools to build everything from a working financial model to a full-fledged marketing plan. Brian and Cat discuss the importance of systems and principles in order to provide founders with the clarity...

KJ and Amanda are the founders of Mented Cosmetics, one of the first cosmetics brands to prioritize women of color. After searching for a nude lipstick that worked for their complexion they set out to make the first nude lipstick for dark-skinned women. They watched a YouTube tutorial and started experimenting with their own formulations in Amanda’s apartment in Harlem. Shortly after they perfected their product and launched Mented’s first line of nude lipsticks in 2017, which remains their...

On this special edition of SelfMade Stories, Brian sits down with Becky, SelfMade’s Content Marketer and the producer behind SelfMade Stories. Over the past few months, they have been working on a series of blog posts that they published on Medium titled, 9 Principles for Growing a Healthy E-commerce Business. Together they talk through their learnings and about the current e-commerce landscape. This one covers everything from coming up with your product idea to growth strategies, to how to...

Danny Taing is the founder and CEO of Bokksu, a monthly subscription service that delivers curated boxes of Japanese snacks and teas to your door. Danny was the first guest of SelfMade Stories back in October of 2018. Almost a year later he’s back to share how he has scaled his business to 7-figures without Venture dollars and built an even better product without changing the price. In 2019 they raised $1 million, expanded to Amazon, and built an engaging Facebook group of over 1,000...

Brittany Carbone is the founder of Tonic CBD. Tonic uses the power of CBD combined with adaptogens like ashwagandha to ease stress and anxiety and naturally elevate your mood. Brittany discovered the formulation for Tonic after years of self medicating with marijuana. She wanted something that would give her the same effect without the high, that’s when she started researching CBD. While working as a personal trainer she created the first formulations for Tonic. After seeing amazing results...

Brittany Carbone is the founder of Tonic CBD. Tonic uses the power of CBD with adaptogens like ashwagandha to ease stress and anxiety and naturally elevate your mood. Brittany discovered the formulation for Tonic after years of self-medicating with marijuana. She wanted something that would give her the same effect without the high, that’s when she started researching CBD. While working as a personal trainer she created the first formulations for Tonic. After seeing amazing results with both...

Metta Murdaya is the CEO and co-founder of JUARA Skincare. Juara uses the Indonesian philosophy of Jamu by using ingredients found in traditional herbal medicine to create formulations that work for all skin types. Founded in 2005, JUARA initially followed a traditional retail model but after they successfully faring the recession, Metta realized she lacked a connection with the people buying her products. She pulled out of retail completely and went to a direct-to-consumer model so she...

Claire and Erica are the founders of Of A Kind and the authors of Work Wife. They met in college at the University of Chicago and quickly connected over their love of fashion and discovery. 9 years ago they founded their company Of A Kind which combined the two passions that brought them together. They feature various artisans and designers and their one of a kind creations on their e-commerce platform Of A Kind. They bet big on content and invested in Tumblr, something no one else was doing...

Mark Shami is the founder and CEO of The M Jewelers, co-founder of SHAMI OFFICIAL and LAVAL, and an all-around hustler. Mark grew up in a family of jewelers learning how to cast and make jewelry as a kid in his grandpa’s studio. He spent his 20s touring the country with his band. He stepped away from the stage in 2014 to start his own company with a focus on customizable jewelry. He got his start on Instagram, finding influencers to send free pieces to in exchange for a post. He put every...

Megan Auman is the designer and maker behind her jewelry line, Megan Auman, and the founder of Designing an MBA, an online business course specifically for artists and makers. She graduated with a masters in metalsmithing and naturally made the transition into making and selling her own jewelry. After successfully scaling her practice, she founded her online education course to provide artists and makers with the tools necessary to become profitable and build a healthy business. You can...

Vincent Biscaye is the founder of Step Two Advisors (CPG advisory) and a partner with Love Grace (organic cold-press juice). He started his career in financial trading, feeling unfulfilled he took a sabbatical and started advising his friend on the finances of his juice company. Inspired by the entrepreneurial journey, he decided to commit to the company full-time. After two years he took all the knowledge he acquired (including the mistakes he made) and started Step Two - a consulting firm...