Coffee at Scale with Michael Mayer, Co-Founder and CEO of Bottomless
Stairway to CEO
· with Michael Mayer
· September 28, 2021
· 68 min
Summary
This episode offers a deep dive into building a unique DTC subscription business. Michael Mayer, CEO of Bottomless, shares how he identified a common consumer pain point—running out of coffee—and engineered an innovative IoT solution. Ecommerce operators will learn about persistent fundraising strategies, the power of niche social media networking for investor relations, and scaling a technology-driven subscription service to over $2M in revenue.
Key takeaways
Persistence pays off: Bottomless applied to Y Combinator three times before being accepted, demonstrating the importance of perseverance in securing accelerator spots and funding.
Leverage unconventional fundraising channels: Michael successfully used an anonymous Twitter account to build relationships with investors, ultimately securing over $6.8M. This highlights the potential of niche online communities for fundraising.
Solve real customer pain points with innovative tech: Bottomless's Wi-Fi enabled scale automatically reorders coffee, directly addressing a common inconvenience and showcasing how IoT can enhance customer experience in subscription models.
Master the subscription model for recurring revenue: The episode illustrates how a well-executed subscription service, driven by convenience and smart technology, can achieve significant revenue milestones ($2M+).
Focus on problem-solution fit: The genesis of Bottomless stemmed from Michael's personal experience with home inventory management, emphasizing the value of developing solutions for genuinely felt consumer problems.
Michael Mayer is the Co-Founder and CEO of Bottomless, the first smart coffee subscription. They help you build a custom coffee subscription, ship you a simple Wi-Fi scale to store your coffee on, and then send you your next bag of coffee in perfect time, never arriving too soon or too late. In this episode, Michael shares with us his entrepreneurial journey from growing up in Oregon as a triplet with dreams of becoming an inventor like his uncle, to studying engineering and economics in college, to landing a job at Nike and experiencing challenges as a consumer with his wife around restocking their home, which led to the idea for Bottomless. He talks with us about how they applied to YCombinator three times until finally being accepted, how his anonymous Twitter account helped him build relationships with investors and raise over $6.8M, and how he's grown the business to over two million in revenue.
Frequently asked about this episode
What does this episode say about dtc growth?
Persistence pays off: Bottomless applied to Y Combinator three times before being accepted, demonstrating the importance of perseverance in securing accelerator spots and funding.
What does this episode say about product innovation?
Leverage unconventional fundraising channels: Michael successfully used an anonymous Twitter account to build relationships with investors, ultimately securing over $6.8M. This highlights the potential of niche online communities for fundraising.
What does this episode say about startup fundraising?
Solve real customer pain points with innovative tech: Bottomless's Wi-Fi enabled scale automatically reorders coffee, directly addressing a common inconvenience and showcasing how IoT can enhance customer experience in subscription models.
What does this episode say about subscription economy?
Master the subscription model for recurring revenue: The episode illustrates how a well-executed subscription service, driven by convenience and smart technology, can achieve significant revenue milestones ($2M+).
What does this episode say about dtc growth?
Focus on problem-solution fit: The genesis of Bottomless stemmed from Michael's personal experience with home inventory management, emphasizing the value of developing solutions for genuinely felt consumer problems.
