Tim Ray, the founder and CEO of Carnivore Club, a speciality meat subscription business. Tim sold his first company, Foodscrooge, within 4 months of starting it. He’s currently the CEO of two companies and is hoping to double Carnivore Club’s profits this year. Listen as Nathan and Tim talk earning out and buying, bootstrapping a business, and how to get the most from podcast advertising.
Favorite Book? – 48 Laws of Power
What CEO do you follow? — Elon Musk
Favourite online tool? — None
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Almost
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be?— Swing for the fences. Be bold and swing big.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:01 – Nathan’s introduction
01:42 – Welcoming Tim to the show
01:58 – Tim started his first company, FoodScrooge, to allow consumers to buy bulk frozen food surplus
02:40 – Revenue in the first year was $150k - they were bought within 4 months
03:07 – Sold for $2.1 million on an earn-out scheme
03:45 – Tim acquired Broquet for $150,000
04:25 – Broquet’s a premium curated gifts company
05:30 – Carnivore Club has a subscription model, whereas Broquet is more traditional e-commerce
06:40 – Carnivore Club was launched via Indiegogo
07:10 – Crowdfunding raised $22,000
08:15 – First monthly order was 175 orders in the US and 250 in Canada
08:41 – The business is seasonal - in December 2015, they shipped around 8,000 boxes
08:51 – March 2016, sent just over 5,000 boxes
09:25 – Subscription is $55 per month - people often give gifts of a multi-month subscription
09:50 – Paid up-front and don’t have to ship for the next few months
10:40 – Around ⅔ of sales are fixed-term gifts - the other option is a rolling subscription
13:00 – In 2015, total revenue was $1.3 million
13:01 – Business was bootstrapped from an initial $100,000
13:24 – 35% average margin - currently investing all profits in the business
13:50 – 4 full time employees
14:15 – Currently focusing on podcast advertising
15:00 – The most successful podcast advertisement has been a 30-second midroll on Drinkin' Bros. Pay around $270 per episode.
17:34 – Connect with Tim on Linkedin
19:00 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Your consumer base might not be who you originally expected. Accept them and see how you can understand and serve them best.
Think big. Timidity doesn’t serve anyone.
You’ll benefit from creating a payment model that gives you cash up front. Traditional e-commerce requires sunk costs in inventory and storage - try being more creative.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives