Start-up Exits, Social Impact in Surf & Venture with Bradley Harris
07/15/23 • 66 min
Bradley Harris is the principal and CEO of A-Frame - a venture studio built for sustainable growth. Brad and I met on acquire.com, an online marketplace for buying and selling startups. I was looking to purchase the surf and board sports business that he had founded. I loved what he had built and his focus on being a socially minded entrepreneur. Brad ultimately sold the business to someone else, but we have stayed in-contact and have helped each other on our respective entrepreneurial journeys.
Brad is a 3x founder and advisor with a deep understanding of go-to-market strategies, brand management and mobile technology. His super-power, however, is being able to position brands for social impact in ways that are authentic and resonate with consumers.
We talk about how he positioned his surf eCommerce business Good Wave to meet an underserved portion of the market, namely surf parents. We geek out hard on surf culture and board sports and how brands can be better leaders of social impact.
Brad is a great guy with a lot of wisdom to share. I hope you enjoy.
Discussion Topics:
(1:14) Brand archetypes in action sports.
(6:18) The best winter ever and finding your why post-exit.
(11:42) Building a business for surfing parents and families.
(28:32) Product development process.
(37:40) Advice for selling on acquire.com.
(52:17) Vision for A-Frame ventures.
(54:40) Rapid fire.
Bradley Harris is the principal and CEO of A-Frame - a venture studio built for sustainable growth. Brad and I met on acquire.com, an online marketplace for buying and selling startups. I was looking to purchase the surf and board sports business that he had founded. I loved what he had built and his focus on being a socially minded entrepreneur. Brad ultimately sold the business to someone else, but we have stayed in-contact and have helped each other on our respective entrepreneurial journeys.
Brad is a 3x founder and advisor with a deep understanding of go-to-market strategies, brand management and mobile technology. His super-power, however, is being able to position brands for social impact in ways that are authentic and resonate with consumers.
We talk about how he positioned his surf eCommerce business Good Wave to meet an underserved portion of the market, namely surf parents. We geek out hard on surf culture and board sports and how brands can be better leaders of social impact.
Brad is a great guy with a lot of wisdom to share. I hope you enjoy.
Discussion Topics:
(1:14) Brand archetypes in action sports.
(6:18) The best winter ever and finding your why post-exit.
(11:42) Building a business for surfing parents and families.
(28:32) Product development process.
(37:40) Advice for selling on acquire.com.
(52:17) Vision for A-Frame ventures.
(54:40) Rapid fire.
Previous Episode
Investment Crowdfunding & the Future of Fundraising with Will McGuire
Will McGuire is a seasoned entrepreneur with a passion for helping startup founders raise capital. Will and I take a deep dive into the JOBS act and how equity crowdfunding came to be in the United States. We talk about a bill that just passed in the house of representatives that would improve access to capital and how accredited investors are defined.
We also talk about how his business Incolo.io is leading the charge for helping level the playing field for who gets funding. We discuss whether adding influencers to your cap table is a good idea or not and a step-by-step guide for raising money through equity crowdfunding and whether it is the right choice for your business.
Discussion Topics:
(2:40) Icebreaker Multipotentiality
(7:42) The Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act
(16:10) The growth of equity crowdfunding.
(17:20) Incolo’s origin story.
(25:29) Traits that make founders investible.
(28:36) Step-by-step guide to raising investment crowdfunding.
(35:52) To use influencers or not on your cap table.
(42:30) Building the best outdoor music venue in the southeast.
(46:13) Rapid fire questions.
Next Episode
Product Development, Market Fit & Minimum Viable Businesses with Chris McKleroy
Chris McKleroy is the founder and CEO of Nocs Provisions, a company which has reinvented binoculars. Chris is a successful entrepreneur with a proven track record of designing disruptive products and bringing them to market.
Prior to Nocs, Chris was the Head of Product and Co-Founder of Boombotix, one of the original Bluetooth personal speaker brands to enter the market. Chris helped scale the business from $200k to over $13 million in annual revenue. We discuss the lessons learned from massive growth, raising venture capital and what it was like partnering with Wu-Tang.
Chris and I discuss product development, prototyping and why product market fit is so critical. He shares his insights on how to bootstrap a business idea and talks about the importance of finding your MVB “Minimum Viable Business.” He shares his advice for overseas manufacturing and how to disrupt established markets with innovatively designed products.
If you like product development, direct-to-consumer marketing and design then I am sure you will love this episode.
Discussion Topics:
(1:28) Working with Wu-Tang.
(10:08) Business & design programs for Entrepreneurs.
(17:12) Scaling Boombotix to a $13 million business.
(24:12) Bootstrapping Nocs Provisions.
(30:51) Advice for Entrepreneurs.
(36:45) Product design process.
(44:46) Manufacturing products in China during COVID.
(58:10) Minimum Viable Business.
(59:00) Rapid fire questions.
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