Ridge CEO Sean Frank shares how the DTC brand scaled to nine figures, heavily leveraging influencer marketing. He emphasizes aggressive marketing spend for growth and outlines their in-house, data-driven approach to influencer campaigns, stressing the importance of solid unit economics to support high ad spend and achieve profitability at scale.
Key takeaways
To reach nine-figure revenue, be prepared for marketing spend to be 33-50% of revenue. Focus on maximizing EBITDA dollars over percentage by increasing spend.
Prioritize YouTube for influencer marketing, as it currently yields the best results for Ridge Wallet.
Build an in-house influencer team for better control and cost-efficiency. Utilize VAs for initial research and outreach, and focus on direct email communication over DMs for streamlined operations.
When starting in marketing, gain experience at an agency to learn across multiple brands with 'other people's money,' providing a broader perspective than a single brand.
Develop robust unit economics that can withstand high marketing spend (up to 50% of revenue) without breaking the business. This flexibility is crucial for scaling.
In this episode, we’ll be talking to Sean Frank the CEO of Ridge, and how he worked alongside a wide range of influencers and used the pay-for-post model with creators to scale Ridge to a nine-figure brand.
[01:27]: Introduction to Ridge
[02:17]: Joining Ridge
[03:39]: Agency Brand Dichotomy
[05:41]: Importance of working for an agency when starting up
[06:44]: Working with agencies at Ridge
[08:13]: Marketing budget of a 100-million-dollar brand
[09:51]: Percentage of marketing budget spent on influencer
[10:39]: How Ridge spends its influencer marketing budget on influencers
[12:16]: Team Dynamics
[14:03]: Reasons why influencer is Sean's favorite channel of marketing
[15:42]: Gaining influencers’ trust
[17:15]: Sean vs Cody. Who’s right? (Seeding vs Pay for Post
[19:43]: Leaning towards YouTube on pay-for-post ads
[22:40]: Losing money on pay for post
[23:18]: Importance of user-generated content (UGC)
[25:23]: Benefits of paying for post despite half the bids losing money
[26:45]: Number of creators Ridge has worked with long-term
[28:23]: Expanding into different products launches with community
[30:51]: Drawback of having consistent influencers to work with
[32:59]: People getting started with influencers but concerned about ROI
[34:29]: Word of mouth
[36:07]: Working with Macro Talent
[38:54]: Advice for a 10-million-dollar brand starting out with influencer marketing
[40:48]: Inherent risk of mark
Frequently asked about this episode
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
To reach nine-figure revenue, be prepared for marketing spend to be 33-50% of revenue. Focus on maximizing EBITDA dollars over percentage by increasing spend.
What does this episode say about finance & fundraising?
Prioritize YouTube for influencer marketing, as it currently yields the best results for Ridge Wallet.
What does this episode say about influencer & creator?
Build an in-house influencer team for better control and cost-efficiency. Utilize VAs for initial research and outreach, and focus on direct email communication over DMs for streamlined operations.
What does this episode say about paid acquisition?
When starting in marketing, gain experience at an agency to learn across multiple brands with 'other people's money,' providing a broader perspective than a single brand.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
Develop robust unit economics that can withstand high marketing spend (up to 50% of revenue) without breaking the business. This flexibility is crucial for scaling.
