
Launching a Hardware Brand: How Ergatta Got Their First 500 Customers
Tom Aulet is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ergatta, the leading game studio for home fitness. A graduate of Vanderbilt University with a degree in Spanish and Economics, Tom began his career teaching English in Spain before moving into economic consulting at Cornerstone Research. He then joined MediaMath, a marketing technology company, signing new business deals, overseeing revenue EMEA and LATAM, and ultimately building and running their global Media Agency business. Amid the demands of his career, Tom struggled to find a fitness routine that was both practical and engaging. Teaming up with two trusted former colleagues, he co-founded Ergatta and introduced the world's first game-based cardio machine – winner of Health's 2024 Fitness Awards and 2022 Men's Health Home Gym Awards – and the leading game studio for the fitness industry. In This Conversation We Discuss: [00:00] Intro [01:34] Peloton-style rowing with games, not classes [02:46] Finding co-founders before the idea [03:30] Shaping the idea with primary market research [04:35] What makes a great co-founder team [05:50] Complementary strengths vs. getting along [06:50] Date before you marry: co-founder commitment [07:15] Klaviyo [09:20] How to find people for customer interviews [10:00] Approaching strangers at the gym [11:16] Why your network gives you biased data [11:45] Timeline from concept to launch [12:45] The WaterRower manufacturing partnership [14:00] Hire people who've done it before [14:20] Intelligems [16:00] Know your special sauce (and what isn't) [17:10] Apple wasn't vertically integrated at first [18:00] Building the gaming MVP [19:45] Testing game concepts before writing code [21:04] Pre-sales during holiday 2019 [21:30] First 500 customers with zero ad spend [23:15] Launching days before the COVID lockdown [23:40] eFulfillment Service [25:26] Owned, earned, then paid media [26:00] Non-brand search as the discovery trigger [26:50] The "How did you hear about us" survey [28:45] Using survey data for CRO and ad copy [30:05] Biggest mistake: raising too much money [31:15] Raise for your realistic outcome [33:01] Brand matters as much as the quant game [34:30] Building a premium, design-forward brand [35:25] Apple and perceived value [36:15] Final thoughts Resources: Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube Rowers that make you want to work out ergatta.com/ Follow Tom Aulet linkedin.com/in/tom-aulet-85493127 Book a demo today at intelligems.io/audit Get your free demo klaviyo.com/honest Lower scale costs today eFulfillmentService.com/honest If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts . It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!










