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HOT TOPICS
- The Accelerator Conundrum
- The Startup Velocity Question
- Platform as a Service
- Man and Superman
- Web 3.0 = (4C + P + VS)
- The Future: End of Capitalism
- Capitalism 2.0
Bootstrapping a Niche E-Commerce Brand: Big Barker CEO Eric Shannon (Part 4)
Sramana Mitra: How long did it take you to get to a million dollars in revenue, and was that how you got to a million dollars in revenue? Eric Shannon: The first 12-month period in which we did a million dollars in revenue was probably 75% Amazon. Sramana Mitra: Got it. What was the second
Bootstrapping a Niche E-Commerce Brand: Big Barker CEO Eric Shannon (Part 3)
Eric Shannon: In my previous business, we had worked with a guy who has a workshop in California. This guy is just a world-class expert when it comes to polyurethane, which is what foam is made of. In his workshop, he’s been making furniture and bedding since the late 1970s. I went to him and
Bootstrapping a Niche E-Commerce Brand: Big Barker CEO Eric Shannon (Part 2)
Sramana Mitra: What kind of trajectory was that company on? You were doing e-commerce? Eric Shannon: Yes, exactly. It was strictly dog supplies and things that you couldn’t find at the pet store. Sramana Mitra: For example, what were you selling? Eric Shannon: The same categories that you would find at a pet store. We
Bootstrapping a Niche E-Commerce Brand: Big Barker CEO Eric Shannon (Part 1)
If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. We’ve talked about niche, proprietary e-commerce brands and how entrepreneurs are building businesses around different concepts. Eric shares the story of Big Barker, a dog bed for large dogs. Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were
Building a Fast-Growth Marketplace: Stefania Mallett, CEO of EZCater (Part 7)
Sramana Mitra: Any other strategic moves that you made in building the company that are worth going over? Stefania Mallett: We made the choice from the start to deliberately build a culture of insane helpfulness. I can’t say that we use that phrase. We didn’t articulate that into those two words. We focused on providing
Building a Fast-Growth Marketplace: Stefania Mallett, CEO of EZCater (Part 6)
Sramana Mitra: But then you got to get them to come. That’s the tricky part. It’s usually true about marketplaces that one side adopts faster. If I’m thinking about your business, these caterers wanted the marketing angle that you provide. That’s the draw why these caterers would come. Stefania Mallett: Very much so. The story
Building a Fast-Growth Marketplace: Stefania Mallett, CEO of EZCater (Part 5)
Sramana Mitra: How long did it take you to take an MVP out and when did you bring that to market? Stefania Mallett: We started by leasing software from a consumer residential food ordering platform. We thought, “How different can corporate catering orders be from consumer residential orders?” We were quite naive about that because
Building a Fast-Growth Marketplace: Stefania Mallett, CEO of EZCater (Part 4)
Sramana Mitra: How did you get involved with EZCater? Stefania Mallett: In early 2000 when people were looking for someone with gravitas, the investors of a company called BuzzPad reached out to me and asked me if I would come in as someone with gravitas to help the younger entrepreneurs who had founded that company.
