Entrepreneurship Unveiled|Taylor Offer from FEAT Socks - a podcast by Cody of Fly to FI and Justin aka Saving Sherpa
from 2019-09-24T07:00:54
In today's episode, Cody and Justin are joined by Taylor Offer from FEAT Socks.
This 26-year-old has been making millions since he was 22 from selling socks.Yes, you heard us right...Socks. But FEAT Socks aren't your average socks and Taylor isn't your average entrepreneur.
Taylor gave up a prestigious investment banking internship to follow his dreams and create a business.There was failure and even an unhealthy amount of success. Today Taylor has streamlined business and his life and ready to show you how.
Listen and read below to hear his amazing journey.Episode Summary
We welcome Taylor from FEAT SocksThis business now makes millions annually
From a young age, Taylor was fascinated about price arbitrage -- this is where you can buy something and sell it for a big markupTaylor doesn’t remember one moment that made him interested in money
He was more focused on value even as a childGoing into college he was only focused on a lucrative degree
He got a coveted internship in bankingThen realized how unhappy everyone in this business was
That made him realize that entrepreneurship was going to be his pathPeople were hard on him for dropping his coveted internship
His first business venture was a marketplace for college kidsIt was called Market Loco and got over 500k hits in a month
The infrastructure costs were too expensive, so it failedHis next venture was making custom print t-shirts for frats / sororities
He started door-to-door but did a huge cross-country spreeIt was really successful at the beginning and seemed too easy
Then one of his orders got ruined by the manufacturer on a $7k orderTaylor realized custom business was really tough
Great quote – “There’s a million ways to get it wrong, and only one way to get it right”He meets his soon-to-be business partner his senior year
His partner parker had done $1M+ in custom lacrosse jersey salesThey brainstormed and settled on crazy socks as the next idea
This would become FEAT SocksThey sold $2k worth of socks out of a backpack on campus the first day
Over their senior year they sold 20k pairs of socksThey were making these by hand with a heat press
Eventually they hired out college friendsImagine college kids in an unheated workspace, drinking and making socks
They really grew their list through Instagram and FacebookThings really turned when they got their angel investor
Overnight they get $250k as seed money and FEAT Socks is legitThen through some connections they get Aly Raisman as an influencer
It was during the Olympics and she sells $500k worth of socks and FEAT Socks goes viralOriginally, they were going to give away 50% of the company for $50k
Instead they raised the $250k at a $1.5M evaluationThen we start talking about how the business got away from them
At age 23 they are making millions, move to LA and hire 20 entry-level employeesThey get a 5k square foot warehouse all decked out
Taylor and Parker get named to Forbes 30 under 30 and life seems perfectThen, their logistics company misses Christmas delivery dates for a ton of customers
They also spiraled into depression and worked 16 hour days all weekTaylor just broke down one day and took a one way to Thailand
He saw these poor kids in the streets who were happyThat moment made him really realize what was important
They also realized they had $75k in overhead -- this caused them to let go of more than 75% of their workforce and to automate everythingIt was cheaper, better quality, and way less stressful
FEAT is now very successful with only 1 hour of work per day for the foundersWith FEAT Socks running on its own, they started a marketing company
Taylor actually has like three other businesses going on (serious entrepreneur!)He feels like he’s happy but always finding the balance
Oh,
Further episodes of The Financial Independence Show
Further podcasts by Cody of Fly to FI and Justin aka Saving Sherpa