Best Self Co. co-founders share their journey from a single product—a daily planner—to winning the Shopify Build a Business Competition and achieving 100,000 orders in their first year. This episode is packed with actionable insights on rapid growth, niche product development, and leveraging platform opportunities for direct-to-consumer brands.
Key takeaways
Focus on a single, compelling product to validate market demand before diversifying, as Best Self Co. did with their daily planner.
Actively participate in platform-specific competitions like the Shopify Build a Business Competition to gain exposure, validation, and accelerate growth.
Implement robust fulfillment strategies from day one to handle rapid scaling, anticipating growth beyond initial projections.
Cultivate a strong brand narrative around your product's core value (e.g., productivity and self-improvement) to resonate deeply with your target audience.
Cathryn Lavery and Allen Brouwer are the co-founders of Best Self Co. It’s an online only eCommerce business that started by selling just one product, and is now branching out into digital content. The product is a daily planner to help you optimise your day. There are 2 reason’s I’m very excited to have them on – obviously I’m a big fan of planning and goals so it’s great to be able to bring this to you, especially right at the start of 2017! But, more importantly they’ve just won the “People’s Choice” award in the 2016 Shopify Build a Business Competition. The website launched on 1st January 2016, and as we record they have sold over 28,000 journals globally (by the time you listen to this we reckon it’ll be over 100,000). ---
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What does this episode say about shopify & ecommerce platforms?
Focus on a single, compelling product to validate market demand before diversifying, as Best Self Co. did with their daily planner.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
Actively participate in platform-specific competitions like the Shopify Build a Business Competition to gain exposure, validation, and accelerate growth.
What does this episode say about brand & content?
Implement robust fulfillment strategies from day one to handle rapid scaling, anticipating growth beyond initial projections.
What does this episode say about founder & leadership?
Cultivate a strong brand narrative around your product's core value (e.g., productivity and self-improvement) to resonate deeply with your target audience.
