How Sticking to One Core Product Drove Project Repat’s $12M eCommerce Success, with Nathan Rothstein

Speaker A: To stay in business, you have to find at least one thing that you do really well and then triple down on it. And I think try to figure out other things that you can do. But don't spend too much time and money trying to do something that maybe is just not the right fit for you.

Speaker B: It's the E Commerce Master Plan podcast here to help you solve your marketing problems and grow your e commerce business, cutting through the hype to bring you inspiration and advice from the e commerce sector and beyond. Here's your host, Chloe Thomas. Hello and um, welcome. It's great to have you here. Thank you for hitting play and choosing to listen to one of our inspiring guests. As part of our 10 years of podcasting celebrations, we've been catching up with some of our past guests and in this episode we've gone way back to our guest of episode 43. Yes, one of the first hundred guests. The first 50 guests in fact, and that's taking us all the way back to 2016. In this episode we'll be finding out how they've evolved their business over the last 10 years, how they handled, um, Covid and Post Covid why they're now just as focused on email marketing and Facebook ads as they always were, but how they've been pivoting to take advantage of those Facebook ad changes. We'll also be talking a bit about trust, about systems, lots of lots of interesting nuggets in this episode. Please do listen to the end so you don't miss out on my guest top tips and my own take on this episode.

Speaker C: Foreign.

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Speaker B: And now to introduce our, uh, special guest, Nathan Rothstein is co founder of Project Repat, who turn your favorite old T shirts into quilts. Founded in 2012, they now sell via a Shopify site and do around $12 million a year. Hello, Nathan.

Speaker A: Hello. Thanks for having me.

Speaker B: Great to have you back on the show. It's actually been 10 years madly since you were last on, your last on in 2016. So, uh, how's the last decade been?

Speaker A: Uh, well, we're still in business, so that feels great. Uh, we survived the pandemic and then the Apple privacy collateral damage marketing war between Apple and Mark Zuckerberg and so we feel good to still be here.

Speaker B: I think that a lot of our listeners totally get where you're coming from, are feeling very much the same way. Um, has there been any highlights, dare we say, over the last 10 years, other than pure survival?

Speaker A: Yeah, I think we've just solidified what we're doing and we've gotten just a lot better at everything. I mean, you would hope for doing this too long that there's some things you learn and we've tried to not make, make the same mistake twice, or at least not three times. And we've also brought on a, uh, technology consultant that we, who had built a lot of our Shopify tools and websites and operation systems. And we, we actually brought him on full time and so that feels really nice that we can iterate and make changes really quickly to improve conversions and operations.

Speaker B: One of the interesting things I find about having you back on the show is that, uh, sometimes when we have people back on the show, it almost looks like they've created a completely different business to the one they had three years ago or four years ago, depending on how long the time span's been. But it feels from my, you know, very, um, surface level view of what you're up to at the moment, that you're essentially doing the same thing. You've kind of stuck to your guns and this is a model that works. We're just going to do it better and better and better year by year. There's no crazy range expansion, no rebranding, no, oh, we've given up on websites and we're now doing everything on Twitter or something. It seems like you've really stuck to your guns. Was that a conscious decision with you and the other founders or is that something that's just kind of, you realize as you look backwards?

Speaker A: Yeah, I think we've always, every year we've tried to make some significant changes. And honestly, we have not found another product that really moves at scale. And when we're making these, we're doing them in a, uh, custom manufacturing. They're actually all done in North Carolina. And for us to work, we have to do things at scale. But we've built like a very complicated custom product and drilled it down to something that can be made in a factory line, which really had not been done before. And so we've now added more technology to that process to help improve operations, which, uh, helps with profit as well. So I think to stay in business, you have to find at least one thing that you do really well and then triple down on it. And I think try to figure out other things that you can do, but don't spend too much time and money trying to do something that maybe is just not the right fit for you. And that's the lesson that we've learned. And I can't say that we've made every decision in a strategic, thought out way, but that's running a business as you ride the roller coaster and, and, and try to figure things out.

Speaker B: Definitely. Well, let's, let's. I should not assume that everyone's heard every episode of this podcast and can remember what you actually do. So let's expand on my tiny, terrible, um, intro. Uh, where in the world? Actually, no, let's, let's talk about the product first. Tell us about the product.

Speaker A: Yeah. So at least in the United States, most people, if they leave their house, they get a T shirt for every single thing that they do. So whether it's sports or theater, whatever you're into, there's a shirt for it. And people hold on to them for a reason that I think a lot of people can relate to, which is you just have memories attached to clothing and T shirt. You wear T shirts all the time and, and they, but then they end up sitting in a drawer and you can't wear 10 T shirts at the same time. And what's interesting is that the, the donation model in the United States of Goodwill or Salvation army, for the most part, they can't resell your T shirts. The resale market of T shirts is very specific for like a unique 40 years of 40 years ago sports shirt or a concert shirt. But everything else really has no value other than to yourself. So we've created, try, we've tried to create like a very accessible way to turn your T shirts into something and turn them into a patchwork blanket is what we're doing and what we found product market fit for.

Speaker B: I Still find. I find it such a fascinating model because it works on so many levels. You know, you've got like the, um, the recycling element of these T shirts. Rather than sitting in a drawer, they're given a new life as a useful item. But you've also got that, that memory part. And I still find it amazing that people would. And we don't, we don't have that same T shirt culture here in the uk. But I totally get the, you know, the few T shirts and jumpers I have from uni. I'm not separating myself from those. They're not going anywhere. They are staying in the cupboard in the box. They might occasionally get warm, but they're, they're very precious. So I find it, find it brilliant. You've built up that trust with the customer that they're willing to send those memories to you to be turned into something. Because I could see that that would be a big barrier in the sales process.

Speaker A: Definitely. I mean that, that's a lot of the work that we're doing from a marketing perspective is how do we convey trust? Is this real? I think there's just more scams and things that are nefarious out on the Internet. And so how do we get people comfortable with buying and then how do we get people comfortable with sending and receiving? And that's really what we're spending, uh, most of our marketing brain on.

Speaker B: And is it mainly self purchase or is it a lot of gifting going on?

Speaker A: Yeah, so I would say it's about 70% gifting and they're buying it for somebody in their family. So the, the typical customer is a mom buying it for their kid as a birthday gift, a holiday gift or a graduation gift.

Speaker B: With the added benefit of clearing out that drawer.

Speaker A: Exactly. Doing less, maybe doing less laundry, getting more space and, and having something meaningful that they can show off instead of just like, oh, I take this one T shirt out and tell you about it at a time.

Speaker B: And you mentioned that you've now hired, um, the technical expertise to be part of the team, which I guess makes so much sense because you've got inbound and outbound. You've got a lot of unique technical challenges going on.

Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. M. Shopify is really set up for drop shipping, where you see a pair of pants that you like and, and you press shop and then you just sit back and wait for something to arrive. I mean, the whole Internet e commerce world is set up like that. I think we're so different in the way that once you click buy, the customer has to do work for us to start the process. And so we built out our own operations admin system so customers can tailor the quilt and buy shipping through our system. And so it makes it easier to track everything, and they can see everything in their own portal. And that's been an awesome feature for us, but it is a lot of technology.

Speaker B: Wow. So they can track their parcel into you on the same system they'll use to track it coming back.

Speaker A: Exactly. Yeah.

Speaker B: Very cool. And I can definitely see how that would build the trust side of it. So the rest of the team, are you in house? Outsourced. How many of you are there? What are they up to?

Speaker A: Yeah, so we have a, uh, customer service person. We have a marketing social media person. And then we. We've worked for many years with a person who does, uh, Facebook and Google and email marketing. And it's. She's not an employee of ours, but she works very closely with us. But what's interesting is we. We have this small little office in Cambridge. We're in North Carolina. And then we have five or six people that we're talking to on a weekly basis, and they're all over the United States, different time zones. And that's the way it was before 2020. But it allowed us to stay relevant when everyone went home and did things virtual, is that we kind of understood that process before that. And we've been able to keep the team pretty much the same for a

Speaker B: long period of time, which is great when you're. It's great for stability generally, but it's great when you're on, you know, trying to ever improve those marketing messages to. To, uh, build that trust and to get those results. You mentioned about not being able to move around in 2020 so much in 2021. Did that lead to a spike for you? And I would assume people were at home staring at their T shirts, going, all right, I'll get around to turning that into a blanket. Did that have a positive effect for you, or are you kind of neutral from the COVID impact?

Speaker A: We did see a bump those first few months. I mean, exactly. People were just in their house, bored, trying to knock off projects that made them feel productive. And so we definitely did a spike. Our team actually started making masks as well. And so we stayed open and we tried to create as safe of a, uh, working environment as possible. Yeah. So we. We added masks. We sold about a million masks, like, within the first three weeks of April, which was kind of wild. And then we kept making. Making quilts. So that that did, that did help us and then we dipped for a few years uh, because of the, the iPhone changes. I mean that really took a jackhammer

Speaker B: to our business because when we first recorded it was your funnel was very much Facebook ads site purchase. And uh, with the, the war between Apple and um, Facebook, has that led you to diversify or has that led you to become even cleverer at Meta Ads?

Speaker A: Yeah, I think we've tried to diversify but it just didn't really work. I think we've gotten better and uh, the Andromeda changes in Meta's algorithm have actually helped us I think. But we always had a lead based focus on our ad spend and I think we're, we're trying to become more like other businesses where you try to get them to convert quickly. And so that, that's been a transformation for us is how to add a lot more content quickly, how to iterate, how to use the algorithm and the data to make changes quickly and to create a workflow for all of this which we're constantly figuring out and making changes to.

Speaker B: Because it's a lot easier to build that trust if you're sending someone a welcome series post, email sign up than it is in that quick passage from video on Facebook to website homepage.

Speaker A: Yeah, uh, Klaviyo has been a huge part of our business since the beginning and yeah, we're doing a lot of flows. We ah, and then we're doing a lot of campaigns and we're, I, I say we're in a nice way nagging people. It's just the kind of product where a lot of people are into it, they think about it, but it takes work. And so I, I get, you know, you're busy with your life and with all the things that people have going on and so uh, we like to remind people about it frequently.

Speaker B: Yeah, I can imagine it's one of those things that the customer goes, I want to do this but not this week.

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker B: And so it has to be because they've got to have the mental bandwidth to find the T shirts, select the right ones, package them up, take them to the store to post them. So you could kind of keep putting it off. Do you find that having a message like there's no delay, you know, there's no time limit on how long it needs to take you to get us the T shirts, is that a positive message to get the purchase?

Speaker A: Yeah, we, we try, we try to incentivize people to do it right away with urgency and discounting. And you are, if you want it done by a specific date. You know, the whole, the, uh, the Christmas holiday industrial complex helps us in the sense that there's a specific date that they need it by, and that is helpful to us. Same with graduation. Yeah, I think some people think that, well, when I buy, I have to, like, immediately go to the mail carrier that same day and do this. And we try to educate people that they could buy and they can spend time with their shirts and organize and they don't have to go right away. But it's, it's a marketing message. And no matter how many times you say something, uh, people are gonna miss it. And that's the other thing that we've really worked on over a decade, is how do you give instructions to people so that they prepare their shirts in a way that make it easiest for our operations team to create the greatest product they can and for the customer to be really happy with what they get, because T shirts were not created to cut them into squares. And so we've tried to create an organized system for this, but there's still a lot of variations. Uh, but our, our production team is really talented.

Speaker B: Yeah. I was going to ask you about ugc. Maybe we'll ask you about UGC in a bit. But looking at the UGC content on the homepage, you know, there's some, the blankets are all different sizes. There's some which have almost got like a pink stripe and a blue stripe of different T shirts. Is that something the, the customers informing you that they want, or is that something your team are going, oh, actually, if we look at what we've been sent, we could do a stripey blanket?

Speaker A: Yeah, it's mostly what they, what they send. And we're, we're cutting the same size square out of every shirt in 90% of the cases. And so we try to make do with what they send us, and we, and we try to give instructions of, here's what we can work with, here's what we cannot. Like, if you want, uh, your grandmother's quilt that could be, uh, used in a museum were not the right fit. If you want a durable patchwork blanket quilt that you can easily throw in the wash and feels like a sweatshirt, that's we're the right fit for that.

Speaker B: That makes so much sense. So let's, let's come back to the UGC thing then, because you've. So you've got quite a lot of it on the homepage. Have you bought that into your Meta Ads creative as well, that UGC feel to up the trust element that early in the buying process.

Speaker A: Yeah, we, uh, we've, we've tried to have as many people go through this process and record it as possible. We've worked with a lot of athletes. We've, we've really focused on uh, women athletes where I think we, we had done Instagram deals with us, uh, women's soccer players back in 2016, 17, 18 before the women's sports really took off on a uh, financial scale. And so we, we, we've continued to do a lot of marketing partnerships with college athletes and women's pro sports leagues which just helps, just helps us, it creates trust and that's been an awesome part of our business. And then just finding Moms and UGC people and our audience gears a little bit older than uh, a lot of other Shopify stores. So we've tried to think about, well, what makes people want to do this, get a good reaction from the person they're gifting it to and make sure that they can trust something. And we're constantly thinking about that from a content perspective.

Speaker B: And uh, what's got you excited about 2026 and the year ahead? Is there anything you're particularly excited about, testing or that's coming up in the business?

Speaker A: I like the creative. Using creative as the way to find your audience mentality of uh, Meta now where it used to be like tinkering with lists and, and audiences and trying to find the right lookalike ad and now we can say, all right, I'm going to say in this video, I'm looking for moms of class, uh, of 2026 and meta will go out and find those parents, which is pretty amazing. And so as that algorithm gets better and as the robots get more efficient, that actually helps a small business like us a lot.

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Speaker B: It's time for the top tips round. Okay. I love this section because it gives me and our listeners some really quick ideas for taking our businesses to the next level. Nathan, uh, are you ready for the top tips?

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker B: Okay. The book Top Tip. If everyone listening to this podcast agreed to take Friday off and read a book to make their business better, which book would you recommend?

Speaker A: I just read Reset by Dan Heath and I'm really into operations and figuring out how to make systems work better. And it just gave a lot of really interesting examples. Like one example was how sweet green the salad maker in the US it was taking a lot of the time to mix all of their ingredients in these big bowls and then transfer them to go bowls. And so they figured out how to create a compostable bowl that you could also mix the salads in. So it cut five, six minutes almost out of every order. And that kind of stuff is just fascinating to me. And he and Dan, he just went through a lot of examples like that.

Speaker B: Oh, nice. Is when you, when you're dealing with that kind of thing, sometimes having a ton of examples is more useful than someone explaining the theory.

Speaker A: Exactly. Yes.

Speaker B: Very cool. I will have to have a look at that one.

Speaker D: Traffic.

Speaker B: Uh, top tip. Which marketing method do you either prize above all others or think doesn't get press it deserves?

Speaker A: I always think about email marketing people. People always are looking for the new thing, but email marketing is still the greatest tool to get people to buy from. I would have said this in 2016 and I still say this now.

Speaker B: Yeah, it remains so powerful if you actually put the effort in. Yes, totally agree. The tool. Top Tip. Maybe a collaboration tool, a social media plugin, a phone app, or just a way of working. Is there a cool tool you use that makes you and your team more efficient from day to day?

Speaker A: I think a lot of, like a lot of other people we're figuring out the next wave of the Internet, which is AI. And ChatGPT has helped us just create different systems for what we're doing and to iterate. And uh, I'm constantly using it to, as a brainstorming mechanism, being like, okay, here's what I want to do. Let's talk about this and work it out. And then I come up with a plan that I then share with my team. So as a brainstorming ideas for managers. It's a great tool.

Speaker B: Nice. And not an unpopular Top tip recommendation at the moment. Uh, carbon Top tip. What's your favorite way to reduce the carbon footprint of an E Commerce store.

Speaker A: Since we last talked, we figured out how to partner with an organization in North Carolina that can turn the scraps that we create into yarn that can be spun into socks. So we are creating tons and tons of textile waste and then upcycling that all into yarn. And we're selling socks that are made from T shirt scraps.

Speaker B: How cool. Because like, as we spoke about earlier, there's a huge part of the product which is about recycling and keeping things out of landfill. But you are, uh, left. Once you've cut that square out, you've got a lot of T shirt fabric left over.

Speaker A: Exactly. And since we started, we've always had this waste problem where when we were starting, we were literally going around the country trying to find people who could recycle this. And we spent a lot of money on textile recycling. And so this was a way to create, uh, a functional product from that,

Speaker B: from the waste and a functional product where not only are you making money and spend instead of spending money, but you're also, you know, 100% that that product is being recycled because you're physically selling it and turning into another product and everything else.

Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. And it's a great sock.

Speaker B: Yeah, I saw the reviews on the website, actually. People love it, don't they? Yeah, they love it. Uh, Nathan, before we say goodbye, could you please let the listeners know where they can find you and your business on the web and social media.

Speaker A: So we are@projectrepat.com and I created a, uh, discount, 30% discount called Master plan for any listeners. Unfortunately we're only in the United States and Canada, but if you're there or happen to know anyone there, hope you can buy from us. And then we're on. Our Instagram account is projectrepad usa.

Speaker B: Lovely. Thank you very much for the discount code. I'm sure our American and Canadian listeners will be all over it, digging out those T shirts and uh, getting their orders in. So Nathan, uh, thank you very much for that and thank you so much for coming back on the show. It's been lovely getting to catch up with you again and I wish you huge success for the next 10 years.

Speaker A: Thanks so much.

Speaker B: I find it is equally interesting with our guests we're bringing back for these 10 year celebrations, what people haven't changed as much as what they have changed. And great chatting to Nathan there about how at Project Repat they are continuing to improve their solutions to the same challenges and they are continuing to build that trust with the consumer. So as they will place the order and send in the goods to narrow down who their target customer is and how to get in front of them. They are continuing to get better and better and better at the Facebook ads conundrum and at the email marketing conundrum. So great to get to chat to him about all of that. And I love that carbon Top tip about taking your own waste product and finding a way to turn it into another product that you can sell. You can get your hands on our notes from this episode, including all those top tips and the links to what we mentioned by heading over to ecommercemasterplan.com you can also use our direct to episode short links. Just put ECMP of this episode into the URL bar and you'll be redirected straight to the right page of the site. When you get there, go on. Add yourself to the email list. If you like this episode, then make sure you check out our first chat with Nathan episode 43. Yes, you're gonna have to scroll almost all the way back to the beginning, but it's well worth hearing about how they got the business up and running and how they dealt with their first growth spurts. And then if you want more episodes about homewares and blankets and things like that, then head to ecmp.info home thank you for tuning into this and every episode that you do of the Ecommerce Master Plan Podcast. I bring you a new one every week because I want to inspire and help e commerce business owners like you to succeed and thrive with your businesses, including progressing along that path to sustainability. So if you know someone this show can help, please tell them to listen to the Ecommerce Master Plan podcast. Hope you have a great week and don't forget to keep optimizing. Thank you for listening to the E Commerce Master Plan podcast. Find out more@ecommercemasterplan.com podcast.

Speaker D: Pros Save more on what you need to get the job done right Right now at Lowe's, get 50 15% off select custom entry and interior doors plus save $80 on the DeWalt 20 volt max 2 tool combo kit. Now just $169. And at the Lowes Pro desk bring us your materials list and get a quote in minutes. Handwritten, a photo or even a sticky note is all you need. Keep your jobs moving faster and on budget at Lowes. Valid through 78 while supplies last selection varies by location.

Speaker C: When you're a maintenance engineer in a beverage manufacturing plant, you keep production lines moving and quality on track because there is no room for slowdowns. With Grainger's vast selection of high quality motors, sensors, belts and hard to find parts, you can get what you need fast and all in one place so nothing gets in the way of getting the job done. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickranger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.