How Our Sustainable Clothing Business Hit 7-Figures [Update]
This is a follow up story for Oliver Charles. If you're interested in reading how they got started, published over 1 year ago, check it out here.
Hello again! Remind us who you are and what business you started.
My name is Slater McLean. I’m the co-founder of Oliver Charles. We sell a single sweater for all of life made from Seaweed and Yak Wool - the ultimate sustainable materials.
Every Oliver Charles sweater is made in Brooklyn, NY, on advanced 3D-knitting machines that seamlessly "print" each sweater in a single piece, making them lighter and stronger while reducing waste. Made from world-renowned materials, they are known for being temperature-regulating and odor-resistant, ideal for repeat wear, and simplifying life. It's not just a sweater; it's a single item for all of life.
Since launching our first sweater on Indiegogo in the fall of 2020, we’ve grown to well over 7 figures a year in revenue. You can read more about how we got started from my original Starter Story.
Tell us about what you’ve been up to. Has the business been growing?
In the last two years, we’ve grown a ton! We’ve successfully started and grown a wonderful community of sweater enthusiasts. You can check it out here. It’s the most positive corner of the internet filled with folks sharing their adventures in our sweaters.
Our Facebook community has been integral to our growth, but more importantly, to our product development efforts. Before we launch any new products, we simply ask our community what they’d like and then do what they tell us. It takes much of the risk out of product development and gives our customers a voice and a chance to get a free sweater or two.
Since we last talked to Starter Story, we have released 100s of new SKUs, including a line of 100% Yak Wool sweaters. We source the yarn for these sweaters from a very special co-op dedicated to providing extremely high-quality traceable yak wool from a community of over 4000 nomadic herders.
Last year we were able to grow our online sales by 7x, and we believe we can do the same this year by increasing ad spend. We’ve been highly focused on creating a flywheel for our marketing efforts. Since we sell a high-priced product, we need all our marketing efforts to work in tandem. Customers need roughly 10-15 touch points on average before making a purchase which means we need to find ways to consistently stay top of mind.
A potential customer might see an ad on Facebook and join our community. They’ll then see lots of folks sharing their experiences with the sweaters. Hopefully, after that, they’ll join our email lists where we share weekly blogs and have a newsletter called the New Yak Times. Then maybe they see another ad or read a blog, and so on and so forth until they are eventually ready to purchase a sweater.
Our goal is to simply increase the number of touchpoints we have with customers. So that when they are ready to buy, we can meet them where they are. This year our growth efforts are focused on affiliate and PR. More articles written and more influencers posting will ultimately lead to more touch points with more customers.
We are using platforms like Impact.com and Linkby to attract more publishers to not only drive sales but also increase social proof. In other words, we are making a push to get written up by well known publishers so we can add their logos to our site. The more social proof, the fewer touch points we’ll need to convert someone to a die-hard sweater enthusiast.
Most notably, we’ve had to learn how to be comfortable spending money on marketing. It seems obvious, but when you’re bootstrapped, cash is always tight. Which leads to frugality. In most cases, this is good, but it can also lead to slower growth.
What have been your biggest challenges in the last year?
Our biggest challenge continues to be the seasonality of the business. It’s hard to sell a Yak Wool sweater in the heat of summer. Expanding our summer line is proving difficult, given the lower price point that non-wool products demand and the cost of producing high-quality clothing ondemand in the United States.
We have two core summer sweaters made from seaweed and cotton that are fantastic, but there is a clear need for an expansion of summer products to help even out the revenue in the summer months.
Nearly 45% of our revenue comes in Q4, which leads to a tough cash position towards the end of summer when sales are slower. Right when we need to outlay the most cash for inventory to satisfy the Q4 demand is right when we have the least amount of cash.
This continues to be our biggest challenge, and we hope the addition of new products like T-shirts and socks will help increase revenue in the summer and ease the burden on our cash flow.
There is no substitute for talking about the business with other folks building a business. I wish we would have done it sooner, we would have avoided a lot of mistakes.
What have been your biggest lessons learned in the last year?
We’ve certainly learned a lot in the last 4ish years of running the business. Most notably, we’ve had to learn how to be comfortable spending money on marketing. It seems obvious, but when you’re bootstrapped, cash is always tight. Which leads to frugality. In most cases, this is good, but it can also lead to slower growth.
In 2023 we increased our ad spend by 10X, and it led to our first profitable year. What’s the old saying? You gotta spend money to make money?
Finally, we’ve embraced our customers. Initially, we imagined selling sweaters to young folks working in tech and finance in New York and SF. Just look at our Indiegogo video…
Turns out our customers are much older, often retired, and far removed from the trendiness of the big cities. After coming to this realization, we reoriented our marketing efforts to accommodate their interests. We focused on the materials, sustainability, and the concept of simplifying your wardrobe. It’s done wonders for the business!
What’s in the plans for the upcoming year and the next 5 years?
Our plan for the next five years is to continue growing via channel expansion and hopefully become less reliant on meta ads.
We also hope to introduce new product categories that will allow us to achieve higher margins and higher AOVs. Things like t-shirts, socks, and bags that can be included with a sweater. Eventually, moving into new categories that we can innovate, like pants and custom clothing.
What’s the best thing you read in the last year?
We’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts about eCommerce and successful fashion entrepreneurs. The Operator’s podcast has been particularly useful from a tactical perspective. We get a lot of inspiration for new marketing initiatives and operations optimization.
The Founder’s podcast is another good one. Particularly the episodes on the folks who started fashion brands. In the world of Twitter and Instagram where everyone seems to find success instantly. It’s nice to be reminded that it took the folks who created the most well-known brands years of work.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who might be struggling to grow their business?
Join a founder's community! We’ve joined a few communities like Hampton and eCommerce Fuel. There is no substitute for talking about the business with other folks building a business. I wish we would have done it sooner, we would have avoided a lot of mistakes.
Finally, try to ignore the barrage of successful people on the internet. There will always be someone out there who did it better or faster, and that’s ok. Just focus on yourself and put one foot in front of the other. It’s so easy to get down on yourself when you compare yourself to others. In reality, you’re probably doing better than you think.
Where can we go to learn more?
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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