Case Study: How We Made the Business Work
Introduction
In the world of startups, success is often elusive, and the journey to profitability can be filled with challenges. This brief explores how Atlica, a startup in the product creation platform space, navigated its initial stages to become profitable. The focus is on the marketing initiatives led by me the project manager and designer. At the time I was inexperienced in marketing.
Early Challenges
At the outset, Atlica faced the common dilemma of how to attract partners and clients to a novel platform. The startup's journey began with just 5 manufacturers and 10 product designers—individuals who believed in the concept and agreed to test the platform. These early testers were individuals known to the team through our existing professional networks. The primary challenge was how to scale and gain more partners and clients to make the platform sustainable.
Exploring Marketing Strategies
Atlica's journey started with a research-based approach. Members of the team, including individuals like Tracy and John who were already in Asia, conducted covert factory inspections while also promoting the Atlica concept. However, the cost-to-success ratio proved to be less than favorable, prompting a shift in strategy.
The team experimented with cold calling and mass emailing, reaching out to hundreds of factories daily. This approach yielded a success rate of less than 2% over two months. Simultaneously, Facebook advertisements failed to gain significant traction or interest.
I recognized that marketing was consuming valuable time and resources. The limited budget, following significant development costs, left us understaffed and unable address atlicas needs fully. I was also concerned that a lack of growth might dampen enthusiasm among early adopters.
The Shift in Strategy
To tackle these challenges, I proposed a fundamental shift in approach: instead of actively selling the idea of Atlica, we would focus on informing and educating potential clients and designers via social media. The goal was to build credibility and a potential client and designer base that would, in turn, attract factories and more designers.
This shift was executed through two primary strategies:
1. Educational Facebook Ads: Rather than traditional advertisements or campaigns, we began publishing informational articles. Examples included "How to Build a Sneaker Brand in 10 Steps," "Eco-Friendly Fabrics Used in Products Today," and "What to Know Before Hiring a Manufacturer." These articles aimed to provide value and knowledge to the target audience. Our most successful articles that helped the company gain interest and traction were the “how to build a sneaker in 10 days and an article on a new a leather fabric made 100% from pineapples.”
2. Creative Designers of New York Meetup Group: To organically engage with new designers, the we created a Meetup group named "Creative Designers of New York." This group organized town hall-style meetups focused on networking, mentoring, and information sharing. While the underlying goal was to onboard the best designers to the Atlica platform, the primary objective was to foster a community of like-minded individuals.
Measuring Success
The success of these initiatives became evident through several indicators:
Engagement: Published articles led to an increased engagement on Atlica's social media channels and website of over 90%. Users began actively participating in Instagram DMs, comment sections, and the help/contact page on the website.
Meetup Group Growth: The "Creative Designers of New York" Meetup group flourished. Events featured designers from renowned brands like Nike, Champion, Adidas, Coach, and JCPenney. Membership in the group swelled to 4,000 people within two years.
Partnership Growth: By the end of 2017, Atlica had successfully onboarded 70 low to medium manufacturers, adding to the initial 5, for a total of 75 factories that either manufactured footwear, apparel or accessories. These manufacturers were chosen for their quality standards, commitment to environmentally friendly practices and their ethical treatment of employees. The platform also attracted 30 highly skilled product designers in the footwear, apparel, and accessory categories.
Revenue Growth: What began as $19,000 in earnings from 75 manufacturers and 30 designers evolved into a substantial $146,000 in revenue by the end of 2020.