The Retail X Series Podcast

How to Institute a 4-Day Workweek at a Startup, Featuring Matt Hornbuckle of Stantt

How can a startup with a small, lean team institute a 4-day workweek? Especially one that has customer service at its core? Matt Hornbuckle, co-founder of Stantt, talks about how Stantt implemented a 4-day work week and what needed to change at his company to make it successful.  Topics: * How Stantt started the 4-day workweek as a trial * Why getting the team involved from the beginning was crucial * How Stantt set expectations with the team * What else need to change to make the 4-day workweek a success  * How the team manages customer service on Fridays * When and why the company goes back to a 5-day workweek temporarily * How Stantt is measuring success of the program * Why Matt wishes they had done this sooner Music by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com [http://kongano.com/]     Learn more at Retail X Series [https://www.retailxseries.com/] and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram. To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sapnaashah/], check out Red Giraffe Advisors [https://www.redgiraffeadvisors.com/].

How to Build a Marketplace with Innovation at the Core featuring Trisha Bantigue of Queenly

Everyone knows that markteplaces are hard to build. And apparel marketplaces are even harder. This episode features Trisha Bantigue [https://www.linkedin.com/in/trishabantigue/], CEO of formalwear marketplace Queenly [https://queenly.com/], who talks about how she built a fashion marketplace using tech innovation to create a better, stickier customer experience, in an apparel sector that has historically had low trust, low frequency and high return rates.  Topics: * How Trisha’s background made her uniquely qualified to start Queenly * Why starting with power users was important and why she chose to start with a P2P marketplace * Why and how adding brands to the marketplace made sense for Queenly * The various technologies that Queenly has built and incorporated into the app * Why Trisha believes the tech Queenly built works well for them * How Queenly started selling their virtual try-on as an API to other brands * Why your “why” is so important in the startup journey Music by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com [http://kongano.com/]     Learn more at Retail X Series [https://www.retailxseries.com/] and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram. To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sapnaashah/], check out Red Giraffe Advisors [https://www.redgiraffeadvisors.com/].

Building the Customer Journey featuring Louisa Schneider of Rowan

How do you craft a customer journey for brick and mortar retail? How do you get to know your customer deeply? How do you build a company with the customer at the center? This episode features Louisa Schneider [https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisa-schneider-b8b2519/], CEO and Founder of Rowan [https://heyrowan.com/], who will talk about how Rowan built a focus on the customer, from the earliest days through their retail expansion to over 40 locations. Topics: * How Louisa thinks about fundraising for a brick and mortar business * How the Rowan model evolved based on the need for better branding and customer focus * How product and service problem areas became opportunities to improve the customer experience * Why Rowan hired a firm to do customer research and the surprises they found * What the customer journey looks like * How the brand reflects the customer experience and how that consistency is maintained across 40+ stores * Which metrics Rowan uses to track their customer cohorts * Louisa’s advice to be present during the key foundational activities in your startup Music by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com [http://kongano.com/]     Learn more at Retail X Series [https://www.retailxseries.com/] and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram. To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sapnaashah/], check out Red Giraffe Advisors [https://www.redgiraffeadvisors.com/].

Getting to a Successful Exit Featuring Ju Rhyu of Hero Cosmetics

When you’re just starting up your company, it may feel too early to be thinking about a future potential exit. But how does that exit ultimately happen? This episode features Ju Rhyu [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jurhyu/], co-founder and CEO of Hero Cosmetics [https://www.herocosmetics.us/], who sold her company for $630 million dollars to a strategic acquiror. Ju will talk about the decisions she and her co-founders made along the way that ultimately led them to a great outcome. Topics: * Why a focus on what your ultimate outcome is important for how you set up your business from the beginning * How bootstrapping and a deep focus on profitability set up Hero for success * When and why Hero thought outside investors would be helpful  * The key metrics that the co-founders of Hero focused on to be ready for exit * How the co-founders decided it was time to exit * How the exit process works, including if founders stay post-acquisition or not * The emotional side of selling your startup * Why a focus on fundamentals is the most critical thing you can do in your own company Music by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com [http://kongano.com/]     Learn more at Retail X Series [https://www.retailxseries.com/] and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram. To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sapnaashah/], check out Red Giraffe Advisors [https://www.redgiraffeadvisors.com/].

How to Sell a Consumer Product into Costco, Featuring Michelle Razavi of Elavi

How can a startup with only two full-time employees sell their food product into Costco? This episode features Michelle Razavi [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellerazavi/], Founder & CEO of Elavi [https://elavi.co/], a startup that specializes in gut-friendly, low-sugar dessert spreads. Michelle will tell us all about her journey getting her product into Costco. Topics: * When in Elavi’s growth did Costco appear on their radar * Why Costco was a fit for Elavi, and how they got in the front door * How Elavi managed diligence and leaned on advisors for help * What steps Elavi had to take to be ready to sell into Costco * What is a Costco roadshow and how Elavi managed it * Key metrics that Michelle and her co-founder tracked during roadshow days * How Elavi turned the roadshow into a purchase order  * What launching in stores required – including more financing * Why doing the research and being prepared is so critical when considering wholesale sales Music by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com [http://kongano.com/]     Learn more at Retail X Series [https://www.retailxseries.com/] and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram. To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sapnaashah/], check out Red Giraffe Advisors [https://www.redgiraffeadvisors.com/].