This episode features Gordon Seabury, CEO of Toad&Co, who shares his 30-year journey building a responsible lifestyle apparel brand. He delves into balancing intuition with data-driven decisions and the grit required to succeed in the evolving e-commerce and retail landscape. Gordon offers valuable insights on navigating challenges and adapting business strategies to thrive with a triple bottom line approach.
As an outdoor industry leader for nearly 30 years, Gordon has committed his career to building brands that practice a triple bottom line (people, planet and profit) approach to business.Gordon launched Toad&Co, a responsible lifestyle apparel brand in 1996. Now headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, he remains the CEO of the growing global brand. He also co-founded Planet Access 27 years ago, a social enterprise committed to providing life skills, vocational training and travel experiences for people with disabilities. Gordon spent 17 years on the Outdoor Industry Association Board including a 6-year stint as Chairman and Vice Chairman. He is currently a Board member for the Adventure Travel Conservation Fund, the Santa Barbara Film Festival and Chairs the advisory board of the Eco-Entrepreneurship Advisory Council at the Bren School Environmental Solutions graduate program at UCSB. He also serves as advisor to several early-stage responsible business start-ups. He received a BA in Psychology from Hamilton College and an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from Wharton School of Business. Married with two 20 something daughters, between family and work Gordon enjoys just about anything the outdoors has to offer, especially if it is in the ocean, on a river or in the mountains near his family cabin in June Lake in the Eastern Sierras. Travel, film and birds are some of his other passions.In This Conversation We Discuss:[00:46] Intro[01:58] Thriving with responsible consumers[03:47] Handling first collection without ecommerce in '96[05:08] Pivoting business strategy after 9/11 crisis[06:25] Building best in class before expanding[08:34] Balancing retail and ecommerce strategies[10:08] Promoting brand awareness through various channels[12:26] Adapting brand for Gen Z and millennials[13:59] StoreTester: done-for-you conversion rate optimization<l