Meat on Demand Does $1,200,000 in 2015, EP 280: Tim Ray
Tim Ray, the founder and CEO of Carnivore Club, a speciality meat subscription business. Tim sold his first company, Foodscrooge, within 4 months of starting it. He\u2019s currently the CEO of two companies and is hoping to double Carnivore Club\u2019s profits this year. Listen as Nathan and Tim talk earning out and buying, bootstrapping a business, and how to get the most from podcast advertising.
Favorite Book? \u2013 48 Laws of Power
What CEO do you follow? \u2014 Elon Musk
Favourite online tool? \u2014 None
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?\u2014 Almost
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be?\u2014 Swing for the fences. Be bold and swing big.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:01 \u2013 Nathan\u2019s introduction
01:42 \u2013 Welcoming Tim to the show
01:58 \u2013 Tim started his first company, FoodScrooge, to allow consumers to buy bulk frozen food surplus
02:40 \u2013 Revenue in the first year was $150k - they were bought within 4 months
03:07 \u2013 Sold for $2.1 million on an earn-out scheme
03:45 \u2013 Tim acquired Broquet for $150,000
04:25 \u2013 Broquet\u2019s a premium curated gifts company
05:30 \u2013 Carnivore Club has a subscription model, whereas Broquet is more traditional e-commerce
06:40 \u2013 Carnivore Club was launched via Indiegogo
07:10 \u2013 Crowdfunding raised $22,000
08:15 \u2013 First monthly order was 175 orders in the US and 250 in Canada
08:41 \u2013 The business is seasonal - in December 2015, they shipped around 8,000 boxes
08:51 \u2013 March 2016, sent just over 5,000 boxes
09:25 \u2013 Subscription is $55 per month - people often give gifts of a multi-month subscription
09:50 \u2013 Paid up-front and don\u2019t have to ship for the next few months
10:40 \u2013 Around \u2154 of sales are fixed-term gifts - the other option is a rolling subscription
13:00 \u2013 In 2015, total revenue was $1.3 million
13:01 \u2013 Business was bootstrapped from an initial $100,000
13:24 \u2013 35% average margin - currently investing all profits in the business
13:50 \u2013 4 full time employees
14:15 \u2013 Currently focusing on podcast advertising
15:00 \u2013 The most successful podcast advertisement has been a 30-second midroll on Drinkin' Bros. Pay around $270 per episode.
17:34 \u2013 Connect with Tim on Linkedin
19:00 \u2013 The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Your consumer base might not be who you originally expected. Accept them and see how you can understand and serve them best.
Think big. Timidity doesn\u2019t serve anyone.
You\u2019ll benefit from creating a payment model that gives you cash up front. Traditional e-commerce requires sunk costs in inventory and storage - try being more creative.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator \u2013 The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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
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