Application — Growth
Gymreapers sells a $295.00 Champions Gold Varsity Jacket, yet the review count I found sits on a $40.00 tank pack.
Who I am
- Former COO of Tabs. Built its creator program to 100M monthly social impressions, and the paid ad engine alongside it.
- Founded Mainstreet, a consumer home-services platform: a team of 70, $25M raised (Greylock, Khosla, YC, Tim Ferriss). It failed.
- Before that: Quintessential Ventures, an early seat at a high-growth startup, and entrepreneur-in-residence at Prehype.
- I'm moving into growth specifically. The creative and top-of-funnel work is what I want to be doing every day.
What I noticed
- Men's Ribbed Tank 3-Pack - Gray costs $40.00 and shows 4.1 stars from 88 reviews. That proof is useful for a basic, and it is worth carrying into ads and other pages.
- The site claims 100,000+ lifters and a 4.9/5 rating, while the tank pack page shows 4.1 stars from 88 reviews. Two ratings side by side invite doubt.
- Free shipping starts at $75+, so a Helix V2 Quick Lock Belt at $59.99 falls short while a Champions Gold Zip-Up Hoodie at $95.00 clears it. Bundling is the gap.
What I built
What I'd do here
- My KPI: scale ad spend, hold target CAC. Everything else follows from that, starting with the Helix V2 Quick Lock Belt.
- Week to week: launching a bunch of different experiments, losers killed early. One variable per test. Tank packs and varsity jackets get their own angles.
- Creators: powerlifters testing the Helix V2 belt and Freedom Leather grips, bodybuilding fans in Olympia tees, women lifters in Axis bras and Olympia leggings.
- Reporting so you never have to ask. Daily CAC. Weekly what we learned. Monthly cohort payback, split by tank pack buyers and varsity jacket buyers.
- Event tracking I'd spec and work through with your team. That part isn't me. Free shipping over $75 orders need their own tag.
Month one
| Metric | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creators live | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Creator videos / week | 0 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 56 | 70 |
| Landing pages live | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| New ads / week | 12 | 12 | 12–20 | 12–20 | 20 | 20 |
| Unique experiments | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
Creators come on two a week, ten live by week six. Each posts the same number of videos a week, so 14 videos in week two grow to 70. New ads and landing pages follow the creators. Proposed.
Creator videos a week = creators live × videos per creator. Week 1: 0 × 7 = 0; Week 2: 2 × 7 = 14; Week 3: 4 × 7 = 28; Week 4: 6 × 7 = 42; Week 5: 8 × 7 = 56; Week 6: 10 × 7 = 70.
How I'd start
- Read every review on the Ribbed Tank pack and turn repeated phrases into a hook library, so ads borrow customer words, not mine.
- Brief the first two creators on the lever belt and the Freedom Leather grips, one angle each, so the first tests stay clean.
I'd love to chat if this makes sense. Grab a time here.
Danilo