Give Back and Make Money (Yes, You Can Do Both)

0:00Really good modern companies are asking people to bring who they are and what they stand for and where they come from into the workplace rather than leaving it at the front door like you used to do it's a lot of the work. But very few are able to give back and be profitable too. But Bombas has the blueprint. Since launching in 2013, Bombas has donated over 100 million pieces of socks, undergarments, and other clothing essentials to those in need. Providing a solution for the homeless population in New York and beyond. Co-founder Randy Goldberg joins me now to share Bombas' journey of building an impactful multi-million dollar business.

0:58Brandy, thank you so much for joining me. Thank you for having me. So New York is actually a big inspiration for Bombas. Living in the city, seeing the disparity, interacting with the homeless population really allows you to create a company that put the community first and the product second. Talk to us about that. Yeah. You know, it's interesting. We didn't think that there was a business here first. We thought, how can we help solve this problem in our community that we found out about? So one of my co-founders, Dave, we were working together at another job at the time, and he saw a campaign that the Salvation Army was doing on Facebook, and it said that socks are the most requested clothing item in homeless shelters.

1:44And he asked me if I knew about this. I didn't. We called a shelter in New York called Bowery Mission, which is a pretty large institutional shelter that's been around for a long time. And they said, yeah, we don't let people donate used socks for hygiene reasons. And if you're sleeping on the street, a fresh pair of socks really means a lot. You may not change your shoes as often. Foot hygiene becomes a problem. You're walking a lot. And it's a massive problem because then we have to go buy new socks because people don't think to go and buy them and donate them.

2:22And we said, okay, wow. This is crazy. Something that you wear every day that you take for granted, socks, just hadn't really thought much about. And then as we started to think about it, we bought socks and we donated them. And we interacted with more people who were experiencing homelessness. And we started to realize maybe there's a business here. Maybe if we do something great, redesign socks, we started to look at the socks that we were wearing. We didn't really care about. But we realized that this is one of the first things you put on in the morning. It's something that has a big impact on your comfort.

2:56So if we can make something amazing and then donate a product for every product we sell, we could probably help solve a problem in our community that we didn't know about originally. And we bet a lot of other people didn't know about, but people would be interested in contributing to, especially if our product was great. And that's how the idea started. It was not product first, it was community first.

3:22I love that. And I think New York creates a great place for so many other resources that's needed to build a business as well. Do you think Bombas could have been started anywhere else? You know, it's interesting. I do think it could have been started somewhere else. Sure. I mean, homelessness is a problem on a national and global scale. but we're New Yorkers. We live here. You know, if you're a New Yorker, you have a relationship generally with the homeless community. And it's not always a choice that you make, but this is something that you see. And maybe it's more visible here because it's a city and it's a big city.

4:02People are on the streets. So I think New York played a role in the development of Bombas because we had a lot of opportunities to interact with and meet people who were experiencing homelessness, living on the street, people we'd walk to work and encounter and have conversations with. So we weren't just talking to the shelters and the organizations that support and donate our products. Now, in the beginning, we were having lots of conversations with people who we were meeting in the subway on the streets, et cetera, or a friend of a friend who was, you know, facing a hard time. And that certainly helped us develop the empathy, the compassion, and the way to approach the donation side of our business and how to talk about it as well to our customers.

4:50Yeah. And speaking to that customer education, I know the product itself took the team a couple years to develop, to perfect. On the brand language side, on the launch side, How much time should a founder spend to actually develop the brand ethos in the language? It's a very interesting question, and I think it's probably different for every founder. For me, my background is in copywriting and branding, and I think it came naturally to us to try and communicate well around this idea, knowing that you have to tell a good story in today's consumer world and you have to cut through everything else.

5:30that there's a lot of distractions, right? You know this, you get ads every day. You're inundated with things on social media. All the things that are competing for people's attention, how are you going to make your thing stand out in that? How are you going to make it so it's memorable in the moment that somebody's going to buy your product? So I think you have to spend a fair amount of time on it, but you cannot let that get in the way of having a good business, having a good idea, focusing on the fundamentals, and then telling a good story. And once you land on it, if you're confident about it, I really do think the key is saying the same thing over and over again, being consistent, not switching up the message too often.

6:09You know, the same thing that we said 10 years ago, we say today, right? The two key parts of our brand, our commitment to give back to the community where we work and live and our commitment to making the best products possible. A really high-quality product and a really authentic and important commitment to our community, those two ideas have been the centerpiece of our brand for 10 years. So product, community, the two pillars of the way that you're communicating about the mission for Bombas. Then how do you take that and also empower your customers and community to share the story as well?

6:59just because I think that's when the message gets amplified. Totally agree. I think that's a great point. And sometimes often overlooked, right? You know, you focus so much on being perfect or saying things a certain way. But what you have to remember is you have to create a messaging or a brand, a story that's compelling enough that somebody else wants to tell on your behalf for free, right? Right. So if I was like, all right, I started a sock company and here are these amazing socks and here's the seven things we reinvented about socks. You might think that's interesting. But if I told you socks are the most requested clothing item in homeless shelters.

7:41So we spent two years reinventing socks and for every pair we sell, we donate a pair and we feel like we make the most comfortable socks in the history of feed. That's much more interesting. So you're not going to go to a dinner party and tell somebody how excited you are about your socks. But you might go and say something like this. Hey, did you guys know that socks are the most requested clothing item in homeless shelters? Oh, there's this company, Bombas. I found out about it. And for every pair that I buy, they're donating a pair. It's a much more interesting story. And people are willing to say it because they believe in the community side of it.

8:17And once they try the product, they really believe in the product side. So both things were important to us, but you have to, I think, create messaging that's consistent and compelling. And the real key, like you said, for that magnifying effect is if you have something that's simple and memorable and that people are willing to say on your behalf, that's really powerful. Yeah. And especially for our listeners, the majority of them are aspiring founders. If they're going through the process of actually developing their brand story and fine tuning it, what are some exercises or elements that they should do or keep in mind when they're trying to craft that brand story?

9:00You know, I'm sure a lot of founders look at like Simon Sinek's. I think the way he talks about the why, I think that's super important, right? You know, why your company exists, why you have to put a product out into the world. Can you answer that question? Do you really, really know why what you're doing has to exist? The how and the what, those are important too, but those will change over time, right? For us, what was socks in the beginning and now it's socks, tees, underwear, and slippers. The what changes. And the how might change as well as technology changes, as the media landscape changes, as the advertising world changes.

9:37But the why, that is constant. And that is important. And being able to answer that is really something that all founders should be thinking about in the beginning, especially. At some point, you have to write down the things that you believe in as a company, your core values. You also should think about your core competencies, the things that you do well enough that you could teach other companies how to do them. If you understand your core values, you understand your core competencies, you understand your why, and then you set goals that you can work backwards from, that's a pretty good start.

10:09I don't think we need to get so wrapped up in nailing all the branding or having the perfect visual system or creating the most beautiful brand book in the world. You know, those things can come at times, but you do need to align your company around the words that you're using to talk about who you are and why you exist. And if everybody at your company understands it, you'll have a better chance of making sure that your customers and the people you're trying to communicate with understand it as well.

10:42and then just for some context for our listeners samus enix really popular tech talk from a while ago where he's talking about the importance of focusing on the why i think on the flip side of that are there certain mistakes or things that founders should be aware of when they're trying to develop their brand strategy or going through some of that exercise? I think one of the biggest mistakes that people make is around the idea of focus and consistency. And I know I mentioned this before, but I think it's worth repeating that if you're not sick of telling the same story over and over again, then you're not saying it enough.

11:25It's the kind of thing where how could you possibly expect somebody who's paying attention to a million other things to understand the thing that you hold deeply at the same nuance level that you're going to understand it. It's impossible. So you have to sort of repeat yourself with conviction time and time again. And I think people get distracted. You say one thing or, you know, it's obvious that you could take your business in a different direction and add on to your product line quickly or, you know, oh, what's next year's campaign look like? I think worry less about that and worry more about making sure the core message of who you are, why you exist, why it's compelling in the first place cuts through.

12:08And if that doesn't work, well, maybe try something new. But that focused effort is super important. Yeah, it's definitely the foundation for the rest of the business. And we're excited to get into more of our conversation. conversation. But first, I wanted to take a moment to thank you, our listeners, for tuning in to Shopify on location. The best way to support the show is to hit that subscribe or follow button wherever you're listening now and leave a comment or review so we can continue making great episodes that you love. Thank you so much. So as you're growing the team at Bombas and there's still this very important balance between purpose and profit.

12:54How do you ensure that the two sides are, you know, working in a harmonized way? And also it's something that extends to all the team members as well. Great questions. Something we think about a lot. I do think the earlier you integrate purpose into your business, the better chance you have of making it stick as something that's important, something that you're good at, something that you're able to communicate around effectively, and something that everyone on your team is bought into. It's kind of like learning a foreign language, right? The earlier you learn it, the easier it's going to be.

13:31So for us, having this idea from the beginning and integrating it into how we think about our margin and how we think about building a team is super important. And then since we're so vocal about our mission and it's so front and center around our company and our brand. The other nice thing about it is we tended to attract people to come and work for this company who want to contribute to something greater than just profit or just a company. So it adds to the sense of purpose and community within the company. And then everybody does a really good job of keeping each other in check and making sure that the giving side of our business is really well integrated and isn't just a department off to the side.

14:14It's not just something that we add on, but it's central to who we are. Yeah. And also for founders who are wanting to create a business with social impact, you really have to work with partners and organizations who are in the nonprofit field. What are some things you need to look out for when you're looking for those partnerships? Listen, our job is to make sure that we're getting product, for Bombas at least, product into the hands of people who need it the most. And the way that we do that is through building up a network of giving partners, shelters and organizations, small and large, across all 50 states.

14:48We have around 3 ,500 giving partners. But we started with one, right? We Googled sock donations and found an organization in Ohio. And then we worked with them and we learned from them. And we used what they had to say to help change the way we talked about homelessness on our website. and changed how we manufactured the giving, the donation product that we're making and distributing. So I think you want partners who are going to be engaged and helpful. And then the rest of the burden is on us, right? It's like, how can we support the needs of these giving partners who are built their whole life around helping other people?

15:29And I think if you take that responsibility on yourself, you can do way more than if you're waiting for the perfect partner. There are going to be the partners that you work with that are super helpful, that teach you a lot, that are engaged, that pass things on. And then there are ones that are less so, and that's fine too. I mean, but those key partners, I think you know your people when you find them. Yeah. And just like any relationship, you're learning from each other as you're developing this network as well. And then, you know, similarly on the employee front, I'm sure there's a great talent pool in New York.

16:06Tell us about building and expanding the team as well. I think, you know, when we meet people at Bombas and we interview them, if they're not proactively mentioning our mission, they're probably not a great fit here. That's the nice thing about having a business that's so focused on community and giving back is that it tends to self-select and weed out people who really care about the world that we live in, about where we live in New York, about helping out around our core issue of homelessness. So New York is an amazing place filled with ambitious people, talented people, and across all walks of life, all backgrounds.

16:46That's another huge benefit of New York, right? We get a lot of people who come from a lot of different places. And those unique perspectives are a huge part of why we have a great team.

16:59I think really good modern companies are asking people to bring who they are and what they stand for and where they come from into the workplace rather than leaving it at the front door like you used to have to do. I think a lot of companies it used to be hey this is the way we do things here this is how we dress this is how we carry ourselves learn our way and now it's more for us it's like so many unique perspectives. And that can only make us stronger and more interesting as we talk through the problems and the, you know, the business problems and what we have to deal with on a day-to-day basis.

17:33That's just, it's an amazing benefit if you can tap into it. And that's one of the beauties of New York City.

17:47And growing the team is just one side of it. We talked about expanding into new product categories in addition to socks and other clothing items. Has there been challenges and learnings about how to expand, where to expand, and how to really grow with the audience? For sure. We have our challenges like any other business. And I talk a lot about focus, but we've had moments where we got ahead of ourselves or we launched a product. We launched T-shirts before underwear. And that was probably a mistake. Things like that where we look back on it and we think, okay, we probably could have done things differently.

18:27And there are tough moments in a business, in any business, where you have to make a decision. And you probably have to say, I'm making this decision for the long-term health of the business. I'm going to take a short-term hit on revenue or I'm going to eat some costs here to do the right thing. And hopefully it pays off in the long run. That's the kind of, I think, decision-making that every founder faces. And it's important in those moments if you can really test yourself and say, these are the things that we believe in. These are the things that we've said. Am I really following that or am I trying to take less pain here?

18:59Sometimes you just have to make a tough decision and be honest and communicate about it and then move on. Yeah. So then looking forward, how are you assessing which new projects or which new initiatives to take on, like, from those learnings? I think we've taken some of the mystery out of it for ourselves, right? We know for our products, at least, socks are the most requested clothing item in homeless shelters, underwear is number two, and T-shirts are number three. And those are the, not surprisingly, the three products that we make and sell the most and the three products that we donate. So sticking to that versus getting excited about launching something outside of that, I think that's the key for us.

19:45and making sure that we're being honest and holding each other in check, especially in the executive team around what's coming up and why we're making a certain decision and being really clear about the roadmap, the goals, where we want to get to in three years, five years, ten years, and working backwards from that. It gets a little bit clearer and it gets a little bit easier to make a decision if you know exactly what you're trying to accomplish. You know you're not going to do it the exact way that you said you would. You have to have some flexibility. You have to be nimble. You've got to be human about the decisions that you make.

20:15But it's really helpful to have a really clear plan and run after it as fast as you can.

20:28So at the beginning of the show, we mentioned that Bombas has donated over 100 million pieces of much needed clothing, which also means that the team has reached that sales metric. It's something that so many founders dream of hitting. What do you think about the longevity side of the business and, you know, having both product, brand story to sustain that longevity? I mean, that's the goal, right? That's the dream is to create something that outlasts you as a founder that, you know, the idea that like our grandkids could be wearing Bombas. That's an idea that I think about, you know. A company that will be around for a very long time, continuing to push the envelope of what it means to be both profitable and purpose-driven and do both things really well and grow and change and adapt and be an amazing corporate citizen.

21:26These are the things that I think about in terms of legacy, but that doesn't mean you can get too far ahead of yourself, right? it. You got to stay focused on what you're trying to achieve in the next few years on the team and building out a team that can push things beyond where you think you could take it. And those are really the focuses for me at the moment. I love the idea of thinking long term. I love the idea of decision making that's centered around long term thinking. But you also have to stay focused. So that's the balance. Yeah, for sure. A lot of the times the heavier investment for long term goals takes away from the day-to-day.

22:05So it's definitely a delicate balance. To close off the show, I would love to hear about any new initiatives or new projects that you can share with us. I guess to continue with the theme, I mean, we are pretty excited about where we are with our product roadmap. So our socks and continuing to grow within that category. Our underwear offering is growing every season and every year. We have some amazing slippers coming out. Our t-shirts are really high quality. So we're not adding anything that falls outside of those categories, but within those categories, we're going a little wider and launching new stuff.

22:42And then we're continuing to focus our giving efforts on making sure that we're serving the needs of the homeless community in the United States. And like you mentioned, we hit a hundred million and items donated, which was a milestone. And, you know, to celebrate that moment, we released a campaign that was centered around awareness of some of the issues and people facing homelessness. It wasn't a product campaign. It didn't talk about what we make or what we do. It talked about who we advocate for in their own words and the people's words. We interviewed people and we thought it was a nice moment just to focus on our community versus focus on what we do and what we sell.

23:23And I think that's the kind of long-term thinking that we love. And that's also the type of project that I hope to be new and more of in the next couple of years. We're going to be very excited to see all the impact and growth with Bombas. So thank you so much for joining us, Randy. Thank you, Schwang. So nice to meet you and talk to you. That's Randy Goldberg, co-founder of Bombas. Shopify Masters is produced by Gogo Zoger and Megan Coyle. Our engineers are Matt Shorts and Miku Betlam. Benjamin Golib is our supervising producer. And I'm your host, Shuang Esershan. Catch us next week with another episode of Shopify On Location from New York.