The $1M s#x toy business

Hey - It’s Farzan & Guy,

I (Guy) have been in bed for the past few hours working through this newsletter hanging out with Enzo (my lazy Cavoodle). Lovely rainy Sunday morning here in Manly Beach, Australia. Let’s get into it.

Estimated reading time:  9 mins

In the mail today :

1. Founder story: Viv & Jo’s $1M sex toy business 🔥

2. Founder story: Rahul’s $825M email business 💪

3. Founder playbook: The Billion dollar story of Do Wong Chang 🚀

4. Founder ideas: 6 businesses that rarely fail 🤩

5. Founderoo feedback: Win US$50 by leaving us a testimonial 🙏

Founder story

How two friends are redefining female pleasure with Girls Get Off and making over $1M in revenue.

A few notes about Viv and Jo:

🚀 Founders of Girls Get Off
💼 Based in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, and Sydney, Australia
📈 Revenue of over $1 million annually
📱 96K Instagram followers
💪 Empowering women to explore and enjoy their sexuality

Our top 5 takeaways from the Girls Get Off story:

👉 Identify gaps in the market where existing solutions feel outdated or uncomfortable.
👉 Build a brand that normalizes taboo topics and creates a positive experience for your audience.
👉 Leverage social media and influencer partnerships to grow your community.
👉 Be prepared for challenges and setbacks, but stay focused on your mission.
👉 Invest in multiple marketing channels, including ones you can own, like email lists.

Viv and Jo, two friends with a passion for empowering women, turned a driveway chat during the COVID lockdown into a thriving business. With a mission to normalize female pleasure, they launched Girls Get Off, creating a fun and safe space for women to explore themselves.

Founder story

See how Rahul built a $825M email revolution.

Superhuman's CEO, Rahul, shares his exciting journey of building an $825M startup. In this interview, he breaks down the key strategies that helped him stand out against giants like Gmail and Outlook. Rahul talks about how they found product-market fit, achieved rapid growth, and kept users happy. His practical tips for new founders and entrepreneurs offer plenty of inspiration. This video is one to watch if you’re trying to find product market fit.

Founder playbook

The Billion dollar story of Do Won Chang and Forever 21 

(founder playbooks are the strategies used by successful founders).

A few notes about Do Won and Jin Sook Chang:

🚀 Founders of Forever 21.
💼 Started with one small store in Los Angeles in 1984.
📈 Forever 21 reached $4.4 billion in annual revenue by 2015.
🏪 Expanded to over 600 stores in more than 40 countries.
💸 Filed for bankruptcy in 2019, but still maintained a $1.6 billion net worth.

Our top 5 takeaways from the Changs' story:

👉 Hard work and persistence can turn humble beginnings into global success.
👉 Rapid expansion can lead to overwhelming challenges—grow sustainably.
👉 Stay adaptable and learn from your customers to maintain success.
👉 Be cautious of market trends and shifting consumer behaviours.
👉 Reflect on your strengths and weaknesses regularly to avoid pitfalls.

Do Won Chang wasn’t born into wealth, but he worked tirelessly, starting with 19-hour days in LA to support his family. His keen observation of successful individuals led him to the fashion industry, where he and his wife, Jin Sook, turned a modest store into a global empire.

Founder ideas

6 businesses that rarely fail

Codie Sanchez gives her insights into six steady businesses that normally go well.

Founderoo feedback

Win US$50 by giving Founderoo a cracking testimonial. 💪

Lots of testimonials are boring and we want cracking ones. Your testimonial for Founderoo can be funny, it can be in a wild location or it can be just downright crazy.

The wildest video testimonial wins US$50 and the wildest written testimonial for those shy on camera wins US20. One winner for each. We will run this for. few more weeks to get a winner.

(By leaving us a testimonial you’re permitting us to use it in our marketing of the newsletter.)

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See you next Sunday.

Guy + Farzan
Founderoo