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Ben Williamson. Ben went from teaching himself to code, to working with Steve Jobs. After 10 years at Apple, Ben\u2019s building Yoshirt - a custom apparel tool that\u2019s priced at $5 million after just two years. Listen as Ben and Nathan talk through fundraising, insecurities, and building an incredibly successful startup.

Famous 5
Favorite Book? \u2013 The Way of the SEAL
What CEO do you follow? \u2014 Nathan Latka
What is your favorite online tool? \u2014 Periscope
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?\u2014 Recently, no
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? \u2014 You don\u2019t need anyone else\u2019s permission.

Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:30 \u2013 Nathan\u2019s introduction
02:17 \u2013 Welcoming Ben to the show
02:25 \u2013 Ben\u2019s second time on the show - he was here in episode 23
02:53 \u2013 Yoshirt was founded in 2014
03:00 \u2013 \u201cCustom, on-demand apparel from your iOS device\u201d
03:08 \u2013 Last year ran an over-subscribed fundraising round that closed at $1.1 million
03:30 \u2013 Priced round at a post-money valuation of $5 million
04:10 \u2013 13 full-time employees
04:25 \u2013 They make money from the physical product - $36 per shirt
05:30 \u2013 Cost of goods is $15-18; gross margin of 50%
06:12 \u2013 Unique point: Yoshirt prints image on a single piece of fabric before they cut and sew
07:02 \u2013 Running Facebook ads and retargeting current customers
07:30 \u2013 Over 3 million people have downloaded the app
07:43 \u2013 Over 100k paying customers
08:30 \u2013 Focus on delivering fantastic customer experience
08:50 \u2013 \u201cWe make garments so unique that no one can walk by without saying something\u201d
09:20 \u2013 Topline revenue was $3 million in 2015
09:25 \u2013 Shooting for $10 million in 2016
09:55 \u2013 Working with bands to generate growth - partnered with Fall Out Boy
11:00 \u2013 Sold over 1,000 units from the Fall Out Boy activation
11:30 \u2013 The goal is to see how far they can push the idea
12:00 \u2013 \u201cWe really look at ourselves as a technology company\u201d
12:50 \u2013 Wouldn\u2019t sell Yoshirt for $10 million in cash today
13:30 \u2013 People are looking for attention: we\u2019re building a company around that
14:00 \u2013 Connect with Ben through email, Linkedin and Twitter
17:55 \u2013 Famous Five

3 Key Points:
Satisfied customers are your best growth tool. Deliver a fantastic product and people will return and refer.
Deal with your own insecurities. You don\u2019t need to seek permission or validation from the people around you.
Get the best data you possibly can. Successful entrepreneurs need facts, not stories.

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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