BROADCASTS.com

b"

Blake Smith, CEO of Cladwell - a SaaS business that helps you to dress exceptionally well with the smallest possible wardrobe. Blake and his team tried over 20 different revenue models before they perfected their business - and they\\u2019re hoping to hit $1 million in revenue this year. Listen in to hear how to stay friendly with ex-co-founders, why you need to test and test your ad channels, and why Blake wishes he\\u2019d bootstrapped his company.

Famous 5:

Favorite Business Book? \\u2013 Anything in the HBR series
What CEO do you follow? \\u2014Sheryl Sandberg
Favorite online tool? \\u2014 Google Calendar
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?\\u2014 No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? \\u2014That it was okay to follow my curiosity

Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:30 \\u2013 Nathan\\u2019s introduction
01:47 \\u2013 Cladwell helps you do more with fewer items of clothing
02:11 \\u2013 They sell a tool that helps you to dress each day and cut down your wardrobe
03:19 \\u2013 Founded 2 \\xbd years ago
03:20 \\u2013 Over 200k people have filled out their initial questionnaire
03:42 \\u2013 A B2C SaaS business - women\\u2019s side pays $15 per quarter and men\\u2019s side pays $21 per quarter
03:55 \\u2013 Launched as a men\\u2019s business but women now make up 60% of business
04:15 \\u2013 11,500 customers in March 2016
04:46 \\u2013 Customer Acquisition Cost is about $17
05:05 \\u2013 Almost profitable - currently spending $30k per month on marketing
05:30 \\u2013 Monthly Revenue Per User is about $6
05:40 \\u2013 MRR is about $70k per month
05:57 \\u2013 Have raised $1.8 million in funding
06:22 \\u2013 Started with 3 other founders, and ended up with 1 other
07:00 \\u2013 \\u201cMy closest co-founder...we both realized that we were made to lead companies. We\\u2019re still really good friends\\u201d
07:55 \\u2013 \\u201cIf I could do it over again, I would have started bootstrapping\\u201d
08:54 \\u2013 First year revenue was $1000
09:12 \\u2013 Started out trying affiliate marketing and drop-shipping
10:00 \\u2013 \\u201cWe tested 22 different permutations of a business model until we came up with one that worked\\u201d
11:04 \\u2013 First year revenue was really about $10k; second year $100k; \\u201cWe\\u2019re planning to hit a million this year\\u201d
11:24 \\u2013 They advertise in places where people are looking for advice
12:00 \\u2013 Monthly churn is 5% - \\u2018It\\u2019s our worst number at the moment\\u2019
12:43 \\u2013 Based in Cincinnati, Ohio
13:10 \\u2013 6 employees
14:16 \\u2013 What valuation would Blake want for his first priced round? \\u201cAround $10 million\\u201d
15:37 \\u2013 Blake doesn\\u2019t want to scale ad spend until he\\u2019s seriously tested each channel
16:13 \\u2013 \\u201cWe killed it on YouTube last summer by doing revenue shares with all the influencers in men\\u2019s fashion\\u201d
14:17 \\u2013 Connect with Blake via email
18:55 \\u2013 The Famous Five

3 Key Points:
Spend smart. Don\\u2019t put more money into ad spend until you really understand every channel you\\u2019re using.
Test and test and test and pivot.
It\\u2019s okay to follow your curiosity and see where you end up
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator \\u2013 The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages \\u2013 The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible \\u2013 Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.

Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

\\xa0