If you’re starting a direct to consumer product business there’s the traditional way of paying for advertising or there’s the (more difficult) way by starting a movement. If you have a message that resonates, #2 is worthwhile. Lets dive in!

See The Way I See

See The Way I See was started by Sophie Nistico in 2020 when she took her $500 in savings and bought a printer to start making stickers. She had been suffering from anxiety and designed stickers with positive affirmations. Her goal was to create a brand that would de-stigmatize mental health issues.

She eventually saved up enough to order her first batch of sweatshirts. They had a message on the front, but she added in a positive message on the cuff of the sleeve.

With no advertising See The Way I See had impressive sales:

• Year 1: $900k revenue ($115k profit)

• Year 2: $640k revenue ($235K profit)

• Year 3: On track for $1 million in revenue

It’s a great example of a company building a brand around a movement instead of just a name and a product. She’s also the only employee for the first two and a half years. Super impressive.

Dad Gang

Dad Gang is an amazing story that is just getting started. Bart, Ejay and Grant were new dads and had a group text sharing dad stories and would often end a note with #dadgang. They thought that a lot of dads could probably relate to the late nights, running kids to sports and everything else in between.

So in May 2022 they launched the Dad Gang with $750. It started with a website and an Instagram page and 100 hats. They sold out in 36 hours.

Since then the growth has been astounding. Remember, they only sell hats. A lot of them. Last month they made $250k in revenue (with a $50k ad spend). Since they started 14 months ago they’ve sold $1.5 million in hats.

A powerful part of the brand is that it’s built on a community of dads. It’s not limited to one person that people may not be a fan of. As Bart notes below, if someone’s not a fan of the person behind the brand then they won’t buy the product.

But Dad Gang is built on a community and they build the brand. It’s more inclusive. People can feel that they are part of the brand. Brilliant!

Birds Aren’t Real

Okay I don’t have revenue numbers for Birds Aren’t Real but it’s an amazing case of a movement. It started as a joke at a protest. From there it grew into a satirical conspiracy theory that birds are actually drones that are spies for the American government. It has some of the best taglines “If it flies, it spies” and is a great example showing how something different will get noticed.

The video below tells the story better than I ever could.

And they sell some awesome merch! Send me a note if you know the revenue behind the brand/consipriacy.