Ep. 31 How Gefen Skolnick’s Independent, Learning First Business Model Rocketed Couplet Coffee to Success in One Year

08/17/22 • 28 min

By the time Gefen Skolnick finished college she had already dipped her toes into the world of venture capital, and was well on her way to a tech career in Silicon Valley. But in 2021 she put down the laptop, founded Couplet Coffee, and became an immediately successful CPG entrepreneur. A year later, Couplet is wildly successful in both online DTC and on retail shelves and Gefen is exploring what it means to grow a business intelligently and intentionally, all while having fun and enjoying great coffee.

In this episode of Ecommerce Building Blocks, Jason picks Gefen Skolnick’s brain about why she founded Couplet, how she broke into the saturated coffee market, why package design and inclusivity go hand-in-hand, breaking into wholesale, and tips for founders who are looking for creative ways to self-fund. The most important takeaway from this wide-ranging interview is that Gefen figured out early on how to think in ways that work for her business. She asks a lot of questions, gathers tons of information, and then makes decisions for what works best for her bottom line. Listen ahead for inspiration and new perspectives on marketing, sales, growth, and more.

Topics Discussed:

-Couplet Coffee’s founding story

-Breaking into the saturated world of specialty coffee

-How Gefen decided what kind of product she wanted to sell

-The open space Gefen saw in the coffee market and how she filled it

-Why packaging design is half the battle in some markets

-How taking her time and asking questions influenced Gefen’s business plan

-The way Gefen approaches growth - in advertising budgets, sales, and seeking funding

-How wholesale can stabilize revenue

-Intelligent growth

Gefen's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gefenskolnick

Gefen's Twitter: https://twitter.com/chiefgayofficer

➡️ Building Blocks website: bbclass.co

🍍Jason’s twitter: https://twitter.com/EggrolI

Sign up for Jason's weekly newsletter: http://news.bbclass.co

Topics Discussed:

-Couplet Coffee’s founding story

-Breaking into the saturated world of specialty coffee

-How Gefen decided what kind of product she wanted to sell

-The open space Gefen saw in the coffee market and how she filled it

-Why packaging design is half the battle in some markets

-How taking her time and asking questions influenced Gefen’s business plan

-The way Gefen approaches growth - in advertising budgets, sales, and seeking funding

-How wholesale can stabilize revenue

-Intelligent growth

Gefen's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gefenskolnick

Gefen's Twitter: https://twitter.com/chiefgayofficer

➡️ Building Blocks website: bbclass.co

🍍Jason’s twitter: https://twitter.com/EggrolI

Sign up for Jason's weekly newsletter: http://news.bbclass.co

Previous Episode

Ep. 30 A Homemade Soy Candle Company’s Slow Burn to 7 Figures Through Storytelling & Community

Alicia Reisinger started Wax Buffalo Soy Candles out of her home and grew her business to be both a hub of community in her brick and mortar flagship store as well as a thriving DTC online business. In her seven years as a business owner, Alicia has defined her company through her willingness to be vulnerable and to share her story each step of the way, and it has paid off emotionally and financially. Here, she shares her story with Jason, talks about her community building approach and gets deep into 21st century content strategy.

Jason invited Alicia Reisinger onto Ecommerce Building Blocks to showcase an entrepreneur who is both a working mom, and who didn’t use the typical steps that many Ecommerce founders use to get their product out into the world. Alicia started extremely local, and still uses her local community as a foundation for her entire business. Having this home base allowed Wax Buffalo to grow at a slow and steady pace. This episode covers the intangible factors that go into how entrepreneurs scale their business, and Alicia’s journey as a storyteller, mom, and business founder. With a surprise detour to Google’s content strategy pyramid, Alicia and Jason conclude their conversation with Alicia sharing her most important lesson as a business owner.

Topics Discussed

-Wax Buffalo’s founding ethos and story from spending 100 on candle supplies to millions in revenue

-The toxic history of candles

-Why founders should think about the life they want when making business decisions

-Building a strong business foundation by growing slowly

-What it took for Wax Buffalo to build their community

-Is vulnerability a good content strategy?

-Jason’s TikTok 101 for businesses who haven’t joined yet

-The 3H approach to content

-Wax Buffalo’s middle path approach to making big decisions and long-term plans

Wax Buffalo: https://www.instagram.com/waxbuffalo/?hl=en

Alicia’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-reisinger/

➡️ Building Blocks website: bbclass.co

🍍Jason’s twitter: https://twitter.com/EggrolI

Sign up for Jason's weekly newsletter: http://news.bbclass.co

Next Episode

Ep. 32 Barry Hott on How to Get People Invested in Your Content

Barry Hott is a growth consultant with more than a decade of experience guiding brands through advertising and strategy on every social platform. After working with a who’s who of Fortune 500 companies and viral DTC brands like Harry’s and Keeps, he has branched out on his own as an Austin-based consultant. In this episode Jason picks his brain about how to get paid social to pull people into caring about your brand.

In this episode of Ecommerce Building Blocks, Jason and Barry Hott talk about why Barry is still excited about making ads even after the social media landscape has changed so much. He believes that meeting customers where they are is the #1 principal behind successful advertising no matter the medium. He and Jason talk about structuring a business to make sure this is always possible even when technology or trends change. Then they shift to Barry’s theory of getting around the brain’s ad-blockers by creating content that places attention and engagement above branding.

Topics Discussed:

-Differences between creating ads for startups and for Fortune 500 companies

-The challenge of shifting messages between platforms

-Why internal dev is not always the best for your marketing plan

-What every business owner should factor into their 10 year plan

-How to get people to care about your brand

-What it takes to break through the noise

-Making people feel something or getting them to want to solve a problem

-Differences between DTC twitter and mega-advertising twitter

-Stunt cars

Barry’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/binghott/

Barry’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/binghott