Welcome to the first very first Be Brave podcast brought to you by Brave the Skies. We're launching this podcast to showcase and celebrate ecommerce merchant stories, to find out about founders' motivation to start their business and allow them to tell their brand story and their ecommerce journey.
In this episode, we meet John Larkin, founder of TheBlackStuff.com, a brand that sells handmade natural soap for men from Ireland and other male products. John discusses the experiments that brought him to find his first soap, discovering a new use for Guinness and the lightbulb idea for his brand name, The Black Stuff. We delve into his experiences launching the business, cracking the US market, and being a solopreneur, how marketing and ecommerce technology is helping him grow and realise his ambitions for The Black Stuff.Â
Learn key insights from John and learn about his story of being brave and launching an online brand.Â
Topics include:
- How 'The Black Stuff' began
- The first steps in launching a business
- Making soap from beer
- The light bulb moment of finding The Black Stuff's name
- Lab coats, ingredients, and a shed
- Selling internationally first, into the US market
- Finding a fulfilment partner
- Marketing strategy and tools
- How Tiktok is helping brands navigate the market.
- Turning the business inside out
- How Shopify has helped
- How email marketing has helped turn customers into advocates
- Biggest challenges and opportunities
Thank you to our guest, John Larkin, for sharing his story.
Hosted by Stephen Kenealy, Interim Managing Director, Brave the Skies
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