Investing in the sock market

About the project

I launched the world's first fashion-conscious compression hosiery company, Nabee Socks, by crowdfunding $13K on Kickstarter.com.

Challenge #1 - Limited Capital

The $13K raised on Kickstarter went entirely into manufacturing our initial inventory of products, leaving no additional capital for marketing.

Solution #1 – Guerilla Marketing Strategies

I utilized zero-cost and low-cost marketing strategies to drive traffic to our Shopify e-Commerce store and email list.

First, I put out press releases with strategic copywriting that were easy to transform into content for journalists. The press releases included quotes from myself and key opinion leaders to connect Nabee Socks with trending news topics. These press releases quickly led to features in major media outlets such as The LA Times, Chicago Tribune, InStyle Magazine, and countless blogs.

Next, I utilized low-cost pay-per-click (PPC) advertising platforms like Bing, Reddit, and Instagram. A//B testing was done with over fifty ads in the first month until I saw a ROAS of 16:1.

Challenge #2 – Limited Headcount and Capacity

Nabee Socks was launched as a solo venture while I worked full-time as an ICU nurse. I ran all aspects of the business, including sourcing products from Taiwan, shipping products to customers, website design, and digital marketing.

Solution #2 – Outsourcing and Automation

After six months of sales and 70-hour weeks, I utilized geographic arbitrage and the newly budding virtual assistant market to scale Nabee Socks.

Two virtual assistants in the Philippines were equipped with a robust wiki and handled all customer service. Polish contractors managed large design and website projects at a relatively low cost. As the business rapidly scaled, all logistics were done by a 3rd party logistics company in New Jersey that specialized in low-cost services for businesses launched on Kickstarter.

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Outcome

Nabee Socks immediately experienced exponential growth, with $350K of revenue in year one and $1M in year two. I maintained an average gross profit margin of 70% on all sales for the duration of my ownership. I accomplished this while running the business debt-free and without full-time employees.

Meijer grocery stores and QVC distributed Nabee Socks. They were also sold on Amazon as one of the first products in their vendor program.
Fashionable compression hosiery is now commonly seen in e-Commerce marketplaces and store shelves worldwide. This entire category of products started with Nabee Socks in 2012.