EP221: Your Yearly Goal in Four Months: The E-commerce Strategy (Curtis Fairweather)
Across The Table With David MelseShow Notes
For episode 221, we sat down with Curtis Fairweather to dissect the exponential growth of his Tallow Skincare business, which launched only ten months ago and has scaled at a record-breaking pace. Curtis shares the core strategy that fueled this fire: keeping his processes aggressively streamlined, launching with only four key products for the first seven months, and leaning heavily into paid ads to generate quick cash flow that could be immediately reinvested for maximum acceleration. It’s a masterclass in how to build a high-growth e-commerce brand designed for velocity. The conversation dives into the unlikely origin story of the product, which started as a bone broth venture before pivoting after a customer mentioned using the residual animal fat (tallow) to treat a hand rash. Curtis explains how he intentionally shifted the brand's focus from general 'beauty' to solving real-world problems like eczema, a move that gave his business instant credibility. This approach was cemented by working closely with the Eczema Association, which helped the product cut through the crowded market and gave his rapidly growing 19-person team a powerful sense of mission. Finally, Curtis gives us the honest truth about the grind required to sustain this scale. He reveals he stayed too long at his day job in a software company and was "way burnt out" before taking the leap, which ultimately accelerated his growth. We cover the logistical nightmare of running manufacturing and shipping 100% in-house, and how he just signed a lease for a new space three times bigger to hold inventory. This chat is packed with hard-won lessons on the necessity of simplifying your product line, focusing on the most important, high-leverage task, and accepting that your yearly goals will likely be met in four months.
Check out Primal Pantry:https://www.primalpantry.co.nz/ ___________________ We’d like to thank our sponsor for this episode, Rosefern Homes. Check them out here:https://www.rosefernhomes.co.nz/ ___________________ Across The Table with David Melse has taken a dramatic increase in production value thanks to the team at Distinct. Looking for content partners to take your brand to the next level? Get in touch with them here:https://www.distinctagency.co.nz
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