Today on Pass the Secret Sauce we have Evan Dash, a long-time retail executive in Department Store & Big Box retailing. He has developed a number of very successful products in the retail industry.
Evan and his wife, Rachel founded StoreBound, which develops housewares focused on better living under brands including Dash, Sobro, Chef Geoffrey Zakarian and others, and distributes its products through top-tier US retailers. The company has launched over 200 products through a strong omnichannel distribution model, combining offline retail, e-commerce and social media.
StoreBound was recognized on the INC List of Fastest-Growing Businesses for 4 consecutive years and in the Top 100 of the Entrepreneur 360 List in 2019.
We also touched on stories that he has realized how people try to get into retail, make mistakes and lose a lot of money. Evan has navigated these big problems successfully.
If you want to get into the retail business, learn the tips and tricks of this industry, putting up successful marketing campaigns… This episode is for you.
In this episode we discuss:
- How he made extra little cash doing gardening, lemonade stand, shovel snow [5:10]
- His rough academic journey, and his fascination with business [5:40]
- Getting his retail experience from working for big retail companies [7:15]
- Moving out of the corporate world and go into entrepreneurship [8:40]
- Their desire to do consumer-friendly and retailer-friendly business [9:25]
- What set apart Storebound from other companies [10:00]
- Inspirations he learned during his corporate and business journey [13:51]
- Biggest headaches when bringing new products in the market [16:30]
- Wacky ideas for products; doing crowdfunding campaigns [18:45]
- Getting lots of credits for multi-million dollars campaigns they’ve run [20:40]
- Not launching a campaign without a minimal viable product [23:10]
- How to run successful marketing campaigns [25:25]
- Suggestions in taking initial steps into retail business [27:40]
- Utilizing technology in a big company like Storebound [31:40]
- Where is the retail industry headed to [34:30]
- Book he’s writing for aspiring entrepreneurs [36:00]
- Get connected with Evan Dash [37:50]
Quotable Quotes
- We feel that you build a business by winning the hearts of the retailers, and in the process, you can win the hearts of your customers along the way.
- We sat in your seat, we understand retail, we understand your pressure, we know that everytime your phone rings, everytime you get an email, your day gets worse. We’re gonna be the opposite. We’re gonna buck that trend for you. We’re gonna be your partners in helping you achieve or exceed your goals.
Links to sources and tools
- Connect with Evan Dash on LinkedIn:
- Visit Storebound’s website:
- Get updated on their products:
Listen to other entrepreneurship episodes:
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