How Kindness and Smart Scaling Built a $92 Million Skin Care Business
Beekman 1802’s founders turned crisis into opportunity, building a $92 million skin care brand by starting small, staying disciplined, and leading with heart.For more on Beekman 1802 and show notes click here
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How to Run a Successful Kickstarter Campaign (From a $60M Pro)
Peak Design has raised over $60 million on Kickstarter across multiple campaigns, making them one of the most successful crowdfunding brands in history. Their most recent campaign alone generated $13.5 million. Founder Peter Dering shares the exact strategies, lessons, and controversial decisions behind building a $100M+ business entirely without venture capital.For more on Peak Design click here. In this episode, Peter reveals:The Kickstarter Strategy: Peak Design uses crowdfunding as a fundamental building block of their brand, not just a sales channel.The "Omnichannel Sandwich" Approach: For their $13.5M campaign, Peak Design launched in retail stores at full price before fulfilling all Kickstarter orders, despite the backlash, they'd do it again.Building Without Investors: Kickstarter's upfront payment model solved cashflow challenges and allowed Peak Design to stay completely investor-free while reaching $100M in revenue.The Origin Story: A four-month motorcycle trip through Southeast Asia sparked the idea for a camera clip. That idea would evolve into an entire ecosystem of gear for photographers and adventurers.Company Culture & Transparency: The stated purpose of Peak Design is for employees to live happy and meaningful lives, and Peter shares all financial figures with his team.The Climate Change Project: Peter co-founded the Change Climate Project, creating the most robust climate certification now used by over 300 companies including REI, with Peak Design spending $350,000 annually on carbon mitigation.Chapters:00:00 Introducing Peter Dering, Founder of Peak Design 3:13 How Peter Pivoted from Construction Engineering to Being His Own Boss 4:00 Where to Find Life & Business Inspiration 5:27 Peter’s First Invention: How to Bring a Product to Life 6:55 Breaking Down One of the Most Successful Kickstarter Campaigns Ever 8:28 The Steps for Scaling Sales From $700,000-$100M 10:22 The Best (Timeless) Kickstarter Tips 13:40 How Peak Design Hit Their Best Crowdfunding Campaign To Date: $13M17:00 Peter’s POV On VC Dollars 19:10 Company Culture: The Key to Team Building & Being a Successful, Meaningful Leader 24:20 The Impact of Climate Change & The Creation of The Change Climate Project 28:10 Peak Design’s Lifetime Warranty & How They Maintain High Customer Lifetime Value 30:00 Immersive Community Tactics That Create Value
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How a College Injury Sparked an 8-Figure Shoe Startup
How Haley Pavone turned a college injury into an eight-figure convertible footwear brand built on curiosity, grit, and smart, sustainable growth.For more on Pashion Footwear and show notes click here
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How Two Friends Built a Multimillion-Dollar Business While Keeping Their Day Jobs
Rachel Hochhauser and Jena Wolfe didn’t quit their jobs to build Piecework Puzzles—and that’s exactly why it worked. The cofounders share how they turned a stormy weekend experiment into a multi-million dollar lifestyle brand, all while maintaining full-time careers. As VP of Marketing for Goop Kitchen, and renowned Author and creative agency owner, the duo are mastering the art of balancing everything, in real time. From starting with just four puzzle designs shot in Rachel’s grandmother’s garage, to spawning an entire aesthetic movement in the industry, Rachel and Jena have made their mark. They aren’t afraid to do things differently, constantly learning and iterating from production nightmares and successful campaign launches. Discover their unconventional approach to entrepreneurship, product development, and world building in this candid interview. They both reveal why bootstrapping gave them the creative freedom they craved, how they navigate being business partners and best friends, and the unexpected pivot that led to their viral cocktail napkin line.For more on Piecework Puzzles click here. In This Episode You’ll Learn: Why NOT taking investor money gave them complete creative controlThe “advice tour” strategy that helped them solve business problemsHow they went from puzzles to viral tomato napkins (and why that shouldn’t have worked)What happened when their manufacturer dropped them during the pandemicWhy working with your best friend can actually be brilliantTheir approach to brand partnerships with everyone from Goop to Better Homes & Gardens Chapters:00:00 Introducing Piecework Puzzles and The Stormy Weekend That Started It All 3:30 How to Find Your Gap In the Market & Stand Out6:00 Design Philosophy 101: How to Create Products That People Connect With8:40 The Importance of Creative Freedom & How to Obtain It!10:45 How to Run a Successful Business with Your BFF13:50 Starting Cultural Moments: The Origins of The Tomato Craze16:20 The Product Expansion That Shouldn’t Have Worked (But Did)20:15 Advice for Overcoming Manufacturing Nightmares23:00 The “Advice Tour” Strategy That Has Saved Piecework Puzzles26:49 Brand Partnerships: From Goop to Broccoli Magazine29:15 Addressing Dupe Culture… 32:45 Leadership Tips For Building a Lean & Productive Team
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How to Win Black Friday Cyber Monday
Discover the best Black Friday Cyber Monday strategies from 13 successful founders. Get actionable tips on sales, inventory, marketing, and more for 2025.For more on BFCM and show notes click here.
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Ready to build your business, but not sure where to start? Shopify Masters gives you the real stories and strategies behind successful entrepreneurship. Each week, we talk with founders and e-commerce experts who have launched, grown, and scaled real businesses. Learn how to turn your first idea into a product, run ads that actually work, and find suppliers you can trust. Our guests share lessons learned so you can avoid common mistakes and move faster.
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