Dave Heath: Bombas Socks - a purpose driven startup success story

Summary:

In this episode, Dave interviews David Heath, CEO and Founder of Bombas, a company that sells premium leisure athletic socks that do more than make your feet feel good—the make your feet have an impact. For every pair of socks sold, Bombas donates a pair to homeless shelters. Listen as David shares his thoughts on helping out the homeless, how Bombas actually got started, and why you should take little steps to make BIG leaps.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:35 – Introducing David 02:01 – There are 22 employees in David’s company right now 02:20 – Hitting $12M revenue this 2016 03:05 – Bombas’ 3000 sq ft office is based in Manhattan 04:34 – Dave lives 3 blocks from his office 04:53 – They pay about $43/square foot in monthly rent 05:48 – Order fulfillment is done by a third party 07:00 – Dave’s expectations for the business 08:18 – When you’re in fast-growth mode, it’s hard to say where you’ll be in 12, 18 or 24 months 08:32 – Dave on Tech vs Textile companies 10:58 – How Dave started donating to homeless shelters 11:46 – Dave didn’t start Bombas to create wealth for himself 12:28 – Build a business to create impact 13:35 – The multiples in a textile business 15:10 – Gross margin at 60% 16:01 – Operating margin at 30% 16:35 – Dave and his partner, Randy’s exit strategy 19:08 – It’s not about the $ figure, it’s more about where the potential business can go 20:09 – 90% of people leave jobs not because of money 21:07 – Dave raised $140K at Indiegogo 3 years ago to start Bombas 22:17 – The product, story, and the brand just resonated 24:17 – How Shark Tank found Dave 25:51 – Details on the Shark Tank feature 27:47 – “We had every intention of making a deal with any ‘shark’ we could” 28:14 – Damon from Shark Tank as an advisor to Bombas 30:08 – Dave, Randy, and Damon’s equity agreement 31:10 – Negotiating and the diligence process 32:18 – Starting the due diligence process 33:44 – Dave did product development for 2 years 34:35 – “It’s not easy but it’s not that difficult either” 36:09 – All great things are achieved through little steps 38:37 – Check out Dave’s website 38:47 – Use code: EOVL25 to get 25% OFF of any 4 pairs on your first order

3 Key Points:

Good business is about more than wealth accumulation–it’s about helping others. Exiting a business is all about deciding if you’re ready—it’s not a numbers thing. Little steps—across a long enough roads—will carry you a great distance.

Resources Mentioned:

Entrepreneur's Organization – The EO Network Bombas – Dave’s company Indiegogo – Where Dave started fundraising for Bombas Shark Tank – A TV show where Bombas was featured

Credits:

Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives