BI 336: How the Bouqs Disrupted an Industry and Raised $75M

On the show with me today is John Tabis, founder and Chairman of TheBouqs.com; an online flower retailer that delivers flowers and plants fresh from eco-friendly, sustainable farms to doorsteps nationwide. Since their founding in 2013, the company has raised $75M and delivered millions of flowers around the world.

In our conversation, John and I talked extensively about three main themes. The first one is how to craft - and iterate - a story that gets people excited about your brand. In John's case, it took approximately 6 months to do this, and the story was so compelling that their first year ad spend was under $5K; yet their revenue rapidly climbed to six figures per month.

The second theme we talked about was about how to create mutually beneficial partnerships, and in John's case, these partnerships have had a significant impact on the growth of the company.

And finally, we talked about how his first attempt to raise money was a total flop, what he learned, and how he was eventually able to raise a total of $75M for the company.

If you are a D2C brand founder looking to start or scale your company, make sure you have a pen ready because when you listen to this interview, you are going to uncover plenty of actionable golden nuggets!

Today's episode is brought to you by Flowster. If you run an eCommerce business and are struggling to effectively delegate your highly repetitive routine work to your remote team, Flowster's process management software and pre-made ecommerce workflow templates make hiring, training, and delegating to your team a breeze. Check it out today at Flowster.app

Episode Highlights

[04:05] — John introduces The Bouqs Co.

The Bouqs Co.’s name comes from “bouquet,” and they are a simplified approach to the floral industry.
As an online retailer for flowers, they ship flowers directly from sustainable farms around the world to the customers, eliminating the middlemen.
They started off with $13,000 and now raised $75 million.
John realized that we now live in a world where manufacturers no longer need to go through extra hoops to get to the consumer.

[08:44] — Direct-to-consumer retail and The Bouqs Co.’s initial marketing

They sell retail and get the flowers directly from suppliers. They also cover the shipping fee.
They first validated the concept before pushing through.
The company started small and low-cost, eventually building up enough equity.

[11:56] — Hustling and telling a compelling story

Telling the benefits of your product may be informative but not exciting.
John used pure entrepreneurial hustle to sell their intriguing volcano story to everyone.
At a certain point, the company even advertised the story more than its service.
Listen to the full episode to learn more about The Bouqs Co.’s volcano story!

[16:12] — John tactics in selling a story

You don’t have to be a great storyteller. All you have to do is test repeatedly.
Consumers will show you through their reactions if they are interested.
Your story can come from lots of places, and make sure it has that “wow factor.”
Once you have a story, the challenge is putting it out there.
Start with people you’re close to who can give honest, detailed feedback.

[20:48] — Figuring out your golden nugget and developing it

Step one is to brainstorm for ideas and test them.
Figure out the angles of your potential stories, and create the most compelling version.
If you have no idea who your target audience is, check your current and potential clients, make a hypothesis, and find them.
Over time, your story will evolve and become broader.

[28:53] —The Bouqs Co.’s sales channels and traffic source

Their company is 100% direct-to-consumer.
Their biggest channels are organic and direct: SEO, brand awareness, and SEM.

[30:54] — Identifying potential partners and connecting with them

John worked the personal angle, found common ground, and exchanged favors with partners.
A swap of brand equity is a great way to use your network.
Having an interesting story leads to more press, and potential partners will come to you instead of you begging for their attention.
If you don’t have enough press yet, work in concentric circles.
It will take time, but it will be easier to partner with secondary connections than strangers.

[34:08] — E-commerce startup funding flop and learnings

They were initially rejected because they didn't know how to make a convincing pitch.
John didn't do enough research, and his timing was wrong.
The external factor of e-commerce fatigue and hangover at the time was also severe.
The company had to prove itself first through accelerating revenue growth, milestones, and the initial clamor of some investors.
Don’t be too concerned with the impact of short-term dilutions.

[40:55] — Bootstrapping vs. venture-backed financing

Founders will often face two extremes. Either raise a lot of money or raise only a little.
A small budget only works in the short-term, as problems with customer service and technology inevitably arise.
A small budget will take a toll on the energy of the founders and other full-time employees.
Once you get on venture-backed financing, you’ll have to raise the bar, go big every time, and lose more control.
Evaluate whether you need to rely on venture capitalists or you can raise money somewhere else.

[50:11] — How they manage peak flower seasons

They effectively utilize 140 farms with about 100 farmhands on holidays with high demand.
The Bouqs Co. also has a dedicated team that believes in the company's mission.