The Retail X Series Podcast

Hosted by Sapna Shah

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Latest episode

Jun 2024

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About the show

Are you an early stage founder revolutionizing the future of retail? Then you’re in the right place. My name is Sapna Shah and I’m an angel investor investing at the preseed stage in retail tech, ecommerce, marketplaces and consumer. I’m also the founder of Retail X Series, an ecosystem to help early-stage founders in the retail sector. Retail X Series includes events, a YouTube channel, a Slack community, resources for founders, and this podcast. In this podcast, I interview founders, investors and experts in the retail space, and we dig deep into the tactics around key topics that early-stage founders want to hear about. Welcome to the Retail X podcast.

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45 recent

June 25, 2024Episode 4422 min

How to Institute a 4-Day Workweek at a Startup, Featuring Matt Hornbuckle of Stantt

How can a startup with a small, lean team institute a 4-day workweek? Especially one that has customer service at its core? Matt Hornbuckle, co-founder of Stantt, talks about how Stantt implemented a 4-day work week and what needed to change at his company to make it successful. Topics:How Stantt started the 4-day workweek as a trialWhy getting the team involved from the beginning was crucialHow Stantt set expectations with the teamWhat else need to change to make the 4-day workweek a success How the team manages customer service on FridaysWhen and why the company goes back to a 5-day workweek temporarilyHow Stantt is measuring success of the programWhy Matt wishes they had done this soonerMusic by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com Learn more at Retail X Series and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram.To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah, check out Red Giraffe Advisors.

June 4, 2024Episode 4327 min

How to Build a Marketplace with Innovation at the Core featuring Trisha Bantigue of Queenly

Everyone knows that markteplaces are hard to build. And apparel marketplaces are even harder. This episode features Trisha Bantigue, CEO of formalwear marketplace Queenly, who talks about how she built a fashion marketplace using tech innovation to create a better, stickier customer experience, in an apparel sector that has historically had low trust, low frequency and high return rates. Topics:How Trisha’s background made her uniquely qualified to start QueenlyWhy starting with power users was important and why she chose to start with a P2P marketplaceWhy and how adding brands to the marketplace made sense for QueenlyThe various technologies that Queenly has built and incorporated into the appWhy Trisha believes the tech Queenly built works well for themHow Queenly started selling their virtual try-on as an API to other brandsWhy your “why” is so important in the startup journeyMusic by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com Learn more at Retail X Series and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram.To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah, check out Red Giraffe Advisors.

May 23, 2024Episode 4237 min

Building the Customer Journey featuring Louisa Schneider of Rowan

How do you craft a customer journey for brick and mortar retail? How do you get to know your customer deeply? How do you build a company with the customer at the center? This episode features Louisa Schneider, CEO and Founder of Rowan, who will talk about how Rowan built a focus on the customer, from the earliest days through their retail expansion to over 40 locations.Topics:How Louisa thinks about fundraising for a brick and mortar businessHow the Rowan model evolved based on the need for better branding and customer focusHow product and service problem areas became opportunities to improve the customer experienceWhy Rowan hired a firm to do customer research and the surprises they foundWhat the customer journey looks likeHow the brand reflects the customer experience and how that consistency is maintained across 40+ storesWhich metrics Rowan uses to track their customer cohortsLouisa’s advice to be present during the key foundational activities in your startupMusic by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com Learn more at Retail X Series and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram.To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah, check out Red Giraffe Advisors.

May 1, 2024Episode 4130 min

Getting to a Successful Exit Featuring Ju Rhyu of Hero Cosmetics

When you’re just starting up your company, it may feel too early to be thinking about a future potential exit. But how does that exit ultimately happen? This episode features Ju Rhyu, co-founder and CEO of Hero Cosmetics, who sold her company for $630 million dollars to a strategic acquiror. Ju will talk about the decisions she and her co-founders made along the way that ultimately led them to a great outcome.Topics:Why a focus on what your ultimate outcome is important for how you set up your business from the beginningHow bootstrapping and a deep focus on profitability set up Hero for successWhen and why Hero thought outside investors would be helpful The key metrics that the co-founders of Hero focused on to be ready for exitHow the co-founders decided it was time to exitHow the exit process works, including if founders stay post-acquisition or notThe emotional side of selling your startupWhy a focus on fundamentals is the most critical thing you can do in your own companyMusic by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com Learn more at Retail X Series and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram.To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah, check out Red Giraffe Advisors.

April 8, 2024Episode 4036 min

How to Sell a Consumer Product into Costco, Featuring Michelle Razavi of Elavi

How can a startup with only two full-time employees sell their food product into Costco? This episode features Michelle Razavi, Founder & CEO of Elavi, a startup that specializes in gut-friendly, low-sugar dessert spreads. Michelle will tell us all about her journey getting her product into Costco.Topics:When in Elavi’s growth did Costco appear on their radarWhy Costco was a fit for Elavi, and how they got in the front doorHow Elavi managed diligence and leaned on advisors for helpWhat steps Elavi had to take to be ready to sell into CostcoWhat is a Costco roadshow and how Elavi managed itKey metrics that Michelle and her co-founder tracked during roadshow daysHow Elavi turned the roadshow into a purchase order What launching in stores required – including more financingWhy doing the research and being prepared is so critical when considering wholesale salesMusic by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com Learn more at Retail X Series and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram.To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah, check out Red Giraffe Advisors.

March 25, 2024Episode 3933 min

Building a Brand without VC Dollars Featuring Sarah Kauss of S’well and Amanda Herson of Founder Collective

How do you build a successful large consumer brand without raising any VC dollars? Is VC the best fit for consumer brands? This episode features Sarah Kauss of iconic water bottle brand S’well and Amanda Herson, General Partner at Founder Collective – a founder and investor both talking about when VC is right for consumer brands, and when it isn’t.Topics:How Sarah started her brand S’well and how Amanda become a VCWhy Sarah didn’t raise VC funding for her company – and how she thinks about that nowWhat Sarah had to do since she had no VC dollars (spoiler – she had to get to profitability)All the ways in which Sarah had to be scrappy How Sarah got into retail accounts early on Why Amanda and Founder Collective say that VC can be dangerous and is a “VC is a hell of a drug”When VC is a good fit for a consumer brand in the early daysWhat needs to change in the ecosystem to change the current investor hesitation around consumer businessesGreat advice from Sarah and Amanda on other options if VC doesn’t work for your consumer companyWhy picking the right partners is so important – in venture and other areas Music by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com Learn more at Retail X Series and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram.To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah, check out Red Giraffe Advisors.

March 4, 202436 min

How to Sell into Nordstrom, Featuring Niki & Ritika Shamdasani, Co-founders of Sani

Selling into wholesale accounts is a really different proposition than selling through your own DTC channel. This episode features Niki & Ritika Shamdasani of Sani, an apparel brand inspired by South Asian culture. They walk us through how they built their brand, pitched to Nordstrom, made their launch at Nordstrom successful and so much more. Topics:How two sisters started the Sani brandHow they turned a warm intro into a pitch meeting by utilizing their strengthsHow they prepared for the first meeting at Nordstrom – and what went into their deckHow working with a big brand can be different than your expectationsWhy studying the Nordstrom supplier website was so critical for their successHow Sani set up their manufacturer for successHow Sani supported the Nordstrom launch How much time and effort it takes to work with a wholesaler like NordstromWhat’s next for SaniMusic by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com Learn more at Retail X Series and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram.To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah, check out Red Giraffe Advisors.

February 22, 2024Episode 3733 min

How to Raise a Preseed Round, Featuring Ann Wehren Founder & CEO of In-seam

Fundraising at the early stages is hard, and it’s been especially difficult over the last year or so – and even more so for a solo founder. This episode features Ann Wehren of In-seam, a private marketplace and sourcing toolkit for connectors whose relationships power the luxury fashion industry. She walks us through her step-by-step guide to raising a pre-seed round from VCs, from how she found warm intros, dealt with all the no’s, confirmed a lead investor and filled out her round. Note: this episode was recorded in November 2023.Topics:How Ann launched her company with friends and family fundingWhy she decided to raise outside capital versus bootstrapping – and managing timingWhy the financial models she built were critical in her decision-makingHow Ann prepared for the fundraising process as a solo founder How she built a list of 250 warm intros and how she sent them out How Ann managed the process (including the no’s) with investors to gauge interestHow she secured the lead investor she wanted - not the first one that offered termsWhat Ann did to keep herself motivated through the processResources Ann recommends:Class Rebel: Fundraising 101 ($99)Kelly Nyland’s How to Fundraise (free)Financial modeling help (hire someone if you don’t have the excel skills)Music by Eino Toivanen, kongano.comLearn more at Retail X Series and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram.To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah, check out Red Giraffe Advisors.

January 9, 2024Episode 3639 min

Doing Stakeholder Research Pre-Launch, Featuring Ana Rosenstein, CEO of Amante 1530

How do you do customer research before launching your product? This episode features Ann Rosenstein, CEO of Amante 1530, a newly launched aperitif brand. Ana tells us how she developed Amante 1530 from the ground up, based on the research she did early on – both with bartenders and end customers. How Ana’s background led her to launching an aperitif brandHow she identified a hole in the aperitif marketThe critical research insights Ana gained from talking to bartenders and learning from them – on the product and the packagingHow Amante 1530's brand identity came out of intense study of other brands How Ana and the founding team came up with the name of the brandAna’s previous startup failure – and how that helped her with Amante 1530How you should build a product that all the stakeholders (not just the end consumers) will loveMusic by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com Edited by Deven ShahLearn more at Retail X Series and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram.To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah, check out Red Giraffe Advisors.

October 23, 2023Episode 3539 min

How Brands Think About Retail Tech Featuring Monica Royer of Monica & Andy

Ever wondered how brands make the decision to implement a particular retail tech product? This episode features Monica Royer, Founder & CEO of Monica & Andy, a baby & children’s apparel brand. Monica gives us an inside look into how she thinks about technology, what types of solutions are interesting to her as a founder, and tips for retail tech founders in selling to brands. The criteria for incorporating new tech products at various stages of the brand’s growthMonica & Andy's build vs. buy decision with technology productsWhy retail tech companies need to understand the brand’s internal stakeholders and capabilities when selling – and why alignment is keyHow the brand thinks about holistic cost analysis when contemplating new tech tools (long-term vs. short-term)When Monica & Andy is open to working with very early-stage retail tech vendors How the internal process at Monica & Andy works when evaluating tech productsHow tech vendors need to communicate during implementation, discuss expected ROI, and define success metricsHow retail tech providers should think about pricing their productTips for when the sales process or implementation gets stalledMusic by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com Edited by Deven ShahLearn more at Retail X Series and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram.To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah, check out Red Giraffe Advisors.