From Fired to Acquired with Chris Tolles, Co-Founder and CEO of Sundaily
Stairway to CEO
· with Chris Tolles
· July 21, 2020
· 87 min
Summary
Chris Tolles, co-founder of Sundaily, shares his journey from being fired to building and selling an ingestible skincare brand. This episode provides a blueprint for D2C founders on launching a product via crowdfunding, scaling a wellness brand, and ultimately achieving a successful acquisition by a major e-commerce platform.
Key takeaways
Leverage crowdfunding not just for capital, but as a robust validation and marketing tool for your D2C product, as Sundaily did to raise over $100,000.
Focus on product-market fit and a compelling brand story to attract acquisition interest, demonstrating a clear path to exit as Sundaily achieved with Grove Collaborative.
Embrace unconventional career paths and setbacks as opportunities to pivot and innovate, transforming challenges like being fired into foundational experiences for entrepreneurial success.
Prioritize finding a co-founder whose skills and vision complement yours, which was crucial for Sundaily's development from SunDots to a successful acquisition.
Understand the nuances of the acquisition process from a seller's perspective, preparing for integration and leveraging the acquisition to scale your impact.
Originally called SunDots, Sundaily provides ingestible skincare gummies that protect and repair your skin. In this episode, Chris shares with us his entrepreneurial journey from studying Furniture Design at Rhode Island School of Design to getting fired from his job and meeting his co-founder, to crowdfunding over $100,000 to launch his business, and ultimately getting acquired by the leading eCommerce platform for natural home and personal care products, Grove Collaborative. Tune in to hear about all of this and more.
Frequently asked about this episode
What does this episode say about acquisition strategy?
Leverage crowdfunding not just for capital, but as a robust validation and marketing tool for your D2C product, as Sundaily did to raise over $100,000.
What does this episode say about d2c brand building?
Focus on product-market fit and a compelling brand story to attract acquisition interest, demonstrating a clear path to exit as Sundaily achieved with Grove Collaborative.
What does this episode say about entrepreneurial journey?
Embrace unconventional career paths and setbacks as opportunities to pivot and innovate, transforming challenges like being fired into foundational experiences for entrepreneurial success.
What does this episode say about product innovation?
Prioritize finding a co-founder whose skills and vision complement yours, which was crucial for Sundaily's development from SunDots to a successful acquisition.
What does this episode say about acquisition strategy?
Understand the nuances of the acquisition process from a seller's perspective, preparing for integration and leveraging the acquisition to scale your impact.
