Tyler Sullivan is the founder of BombTech Golf, an eCommerce store with over $15 million sold online since 2012. Tyler also runs EcomGrowers where he and his team have helped countless Shopify owners add 6-7 figures in additional sales to their eCommerce stores by optimizing email systems and ad campaigns to find hidden revenue streams.
Tyler is hyper-focused on the customer experience and operating a lean business that doesn't just drive revenue but drives serious profit and cash flow.
On today’s episode, Kunle is joined by Tyler Sullivan, Founder of BombTech Golf – an 8-year-old DTC Golf equipment manufacturer. He is also a partner at EcomGrowers – a marketing agency specialising in email marketing, which is also a platinum agency for Klaviyo.
In previous episodes, we have had business owners who have spoken about building a self-sufficient team and bringing expertise in-house. On today’s episode, we’ll get the scoop on how to do the opposite – build a successful business with a super lean team. Tyler has built an 8-figure business, but still only has 2 employees. No, that’s not a typo error. Tyler shares his story about how passion, happenstance, smart decisions and (a lot of) hard work has let him build successful businesses that can now run without him.
Kunle and Tyler talk about how KPIs are more important than the number of employees you have, and how building a variable-cost business model boosts flexibility and scalability. Whether you’re a DTC manufacturer or someone working on an eCommerce side hustle, this show has value for you!
Here is a summary of some of the most important points made,
Hire people who are smarter than you, and get out of their way
Use KPIs to monitor & control your business
Trying to “control” fulfillment can burn a hole in your profits
Use emails to create hype before any new product launch
Creating more content in eCommerce is not necessarily better
Covered Topics:
On today’s interview Kunle and Tyler discuss,
Building a lean business
Choosing the right 3PL
Using Private FB groups for organic engagement
Email strategies for product launch
Timestamp:
07:05 – A bit about Tyler Sullivan:
DTC Golf manufacturer launched in 2012
Generate $5-7 million of sales per year with only 2 employees
Partner at eCom Growers, a platinum agency of Klaviyo
9:35 – Tyler’s mantra for hiring: find people who are smarter than you, and let them do the work
10:50 – How Bombtech does millions in sales with only 2 employees:
Invest in providing awesome customer service
3PL for logistics – phillogistics
Use their Agency for email & marketing
2 freelancers for video and photography
3rd party engineer
13:50 – Using KPIs to monitor and control the business
15:50 – Why use 3PL
Trying to have “control” will cost you a lot of money
3PL shifts your model to a variable cost model
Use data of where your customers are to finalise a 3PL location
20:10 – Bombtech Product Design and Strategy:
The 1st Bombtech driver was a capstone project for 4 engineering students
Create products that are priced well and perform well, and are designed for average golfers
Typically half price of established brands
26:10 – How getting fired from his job led to Tyler pursuing Bombtech full time
28:28 – What paid channels is Bombtech most active in:
Facebook and Instagram – ever since they offered ads
Google ads and SEO – Golf is trending up for the first time in 20 years
Email & SMS
29:55 – The HYPE Launch method:
Use 6-10 emails before launch to create hype
Focus on your engaged audience
Have only 1 clear CTA per email
32:25 – Email vs SMS for engagements:
Email leads the way
SMS is more intimate “If we’re going to send a text, it’s gotta be worth sending”
35:00 – Why Bombtech chose Postscript for SMS
36:00 – Ad spend strategy:
85% spend is on FaceBook
Spending more on Google as search volumes are trending up
37:10 – Shipping internationally is only worth it if you get the ROI
39:10 – “More content in eCommerce is not necessarily better”
43:00 – Platform of choice for organic engagement – Facebook Private Group
50:15 – Email list segmentation methods:
Product-based
Engagement based
58:05 – Impact of Covid:
Great boost for business
Golf is trending up after a long time
Agency numbers are booming
62:25 – Prediction for next year
“I think ecommerce has fast-forwarded 5-10 years”
Retail will never be the same again
63:40 – Lightning Round
Lightning Round:
Q: How do you hire people?
A: Test them first
Q: What advice would you give to yourself 5 years ago?
A: I would give advice but I wouldn’t listen
Q: What’s your daily morning routine?
A: Get the kids ready for school and leave at 8:30am
Q: What are your 3 indispensable tools for managing your business?
A: Basecamp, Zoom and Facebook workplace
Q: What’s been your best mistake till date? A set back that’s given you the biggest feedback?
A: Putting myself on Camera
Q: What one book/resource has had the greatest impact on how you run your business?
A: Michael Gerber – E Myth Mastery
Takeaways:
Use KPIs to monitor & control your business
Trying to “control” fulfillment can burn a hole in your profits
Use emails to create hype before any new product launch
Private Facebook groups are great for organic engagement
The eCommerce GrowthAccelerator Mastermind Facebook Group has just launched.
It is a community…
✔️ for founders and experts passionately involved in eCommerce
✔️ for the truly ambitious wanting to make an impact in the markets they serve
✔️ for those willing and open to help and share with other members
This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo – a growth marketing platform that powers over 25,000 online businesses.
Direct-to-Consumer brands like ColourPop, Huckberry, and Custom Ink rely on Klaviyo.
Klaviyo helps you own customer experience and grow high-value customer relationships right from a shopper’s first impression through to each subsequent purchase, Klaviyo understands every single customer interaction, and empowers brands to create more personalized marketing moments.
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An ecommerce advisor to ambitious, agile online retailers and funded ecommerce startups seeking exponentially sales growth through scalable customer acquisition, retention, conversion optimisation, product/market fit optimisation and customer referrals.
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