How I Built This with Guy Raz
Advice Line with Chris Riccobono of UNTUCKit
· Summarized
Key takeaways
- Diversify marketing strategies beyond paid social media, including traditional media, PR, and community engagement.
- Leverage endorsements and strategic partnerships, even offering equity, to build credibility and long-term brand advocates.
- Persistence and enjoying the entrepreneurial journey are crucial, as setbacks are part of the process.
- Focus on creating a strong narrative and story around your brand to resonate with target audiences and media outlets.
- Testing different marketing channels and measuring ROI are key to optimizing growth strategies.
- Building meaningful relationships with community and industry stakeholders can accelerate recognition and trust.
Summary
Introduction to the Advice Line Format and Guest
The episode features an Advice Line format where Guy Raz, with the help of industry guest Chris Riccobono, founder of Untuckit, offers advice on various business challenges from startup founders. The episode is opened by introducing the concept and acknowledging sponsors.
Main Themes and Business Challenges Discussed
The episode covers three entrepreneurial stories and questions: Adrian’s effort to scale his apparel brand Eras Shorts, Preet’s challenge in raising awareness for his senior safety app Snug Safety, and Derek’s marketing strategies for his hockey visors business. Each entrepreneur shares their business backgrounds, current status, and specific questions about growth, marketing, and strategic partnerships.
Insights from Chris Riccobono on Building Brands and Overcoming Challenges
Chris Riccobono shares his experience building Untuckit and discusses how he approached brand growth amidst changing digital marketing landscapes. He emphasizes the importance of diversifying marketing channels beyond paid social, utilizing offline media like radio and traditional PR, and engaging directly with communities. He also offers practical advice on leveraging endorsements and strategic partnerships, including the potential for equity-sharing with ambassadors, as well as the importance of persistence and enjoying the entrepreneurial journey.
Specific Business Advice for Entrepreneurs
For Adrian, Chris suggests focusing on defining a clear target tribe and engaging in strategic marketing, possibly including raising initial funding to accelerate growth. For Preet, the advice involves utilizing earned media, local newspapers, and community events to build awareness for Snug Safety, while considering radio advertising targeting seniors or their children. Derek is advised to test influencer partnerships with lower-tier hockey players and to consider partnerships with equipment managers and community-based endorsements to build credibility and visibility. Both emphasize measuring ROI and being strategic with resource allocation.
Reflections and Lessons from Chris Riccobono
Chris reflects on the emotional resilience needed in entrepreneurship, emphasizing persistence over setbacks, enjoying the journey, and valuing direct storytelling and earned media over solely digital advertising. He encourages entrepreneurs to focus on good product and marketing, pursue partnerships thoughtfully, and consider the long-term vision for brand growth.
Sponsors
- Anthropic · Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Anthropic, they make Claude an AI built for the problems that take real thinking, research, strategy, planning, and making sense of a lot of moving pieces. Give it a try for the next thing you can't quite stop turning over on your head. For problems worth solving, get started with Claude at Claude.ai-h-i-b-t.
- Shopify · Seeing your business idea come to life is exciting, but it's also incredibly complex. Shopify can make it simple. They provide all the tools you need to launch from day one. Whether you're nervous about building a website or need help troubleshooting, Shopify's templates, AI tools, and AI assistant sidekick are here to help. Shopify Checkout makes buying easy for customers with just one click. With Shopify handling setup and checkout, you can focus on growing your business. Shopify powers millions worldwide, from household names to startups. All you need is an idea; Shopify handles the rest. Start your free trial at Shopify.com slash built.
- NetSuite Next · Every day your business is late to AI, you fall two days behind. NetSuite Next is the biggest leap in how business gets done because AI is integrated into everything. It provides custom insights and AI agents to work alongside you, solving problems and handling routine work. Whether you're managing HR, commerce, inventory, CRM, or financials, NetSuite Next is for companies earning millions or hundreds of millions. Try NetSuite Next for free if your revenues are in the 7 figures at NetSuite.ai-built.
Show notes
Today’s callers: Adrian from California wants to grow his apparel company to complete with big-name athletic brands. Then, Preet from the Rockies looks for strategies to reach seniors and their children with his daily check-in app. And Derek from Virginia considers social media and professional partnerships to advertise his hockey equipment brand.
Plus, Chris talks about launching a new athletic apparel brand while continuing to grow UNTUCKit.
Thank you to the founders of Eras Shorts, Snug Safety, and Hockey Ninja for being a part of our show.
If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode—where Guy and former show guests take questions from early-stage founders—leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298.
And be sure to listen to UNTUCKit’s founding story as told by Steve on the show in 2017.
This episode was produced by Chris Maccini with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Annlie Huang.
You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy's free newsletter at guyraz.com and on Substack.
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