Episode Summary

Mike Xhaxho, an Albanian-American entrepreneur, started his career in finance and investment banking. After leaving finance, he created one of the first creator led fitness app business, which he scaled and sold, before finding his way into e-commerce and importing rattan bags. In 2020, he noticed a whitespace in the market around hydration products, and Waterboy was born.

Episode Notes

On this episode of DTC POD, join hosts Blaine Bolus and Ramon Berrios as they chat with Mike Xhaxho, creator of Waterboy, a popular TikTok account and brand. Mike shares his unexpected journey from starting a personal TikTok account to gaining millions of views and launching a successful product. We chat about the power of storytelling in his videos and the importance of using the right strategies to establish your brand online. We also talk about partnering with creators in consumer businesses, testing before scaling, and how to run effective pre-sales and product drops.

We cover:

1. Viral TikTok to launch brand

2. Building a brand and community

3. Creator as a Co-Founder

4. Product development and variety

5. TikTok, Meta, and Amazon for sales and growth

6. Transparency & Authenticity with customers

7. Retail expansion plans

Timestamps

02:13 Entrepreneur journey: finance, fitness, Amazon.

05:06 TikTok success to product launch.

10:01 Shopify site, simple SMS-targeted page.

12:22 First successful video: personal story.

15:43 Packaging issues, flavor change, delays.

19:10 Similar background, variable metrics, creator role.

23:02 TikTok, Meta ads, Amazon reliance.

27:52 Ignored algorithm, focused on engagement.

31:21 Hero product lacked variety, differentiation.

33:17 Transparency, mistakes, cautious growth.

36:18 Over-involved in sourcing, logistics.

39:54 Product expansion, brand building, retail success.

43:35 Waterboy.com bought after six-month pivot.

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Past guests & brands on DTC Pod include Gilt, PopSugar, Glossier, MadeIN, Prose, Bala, P.volve, Ritual, Bite, Oura, Levels, General Mills, Mid Day Squares, Prose, Arrae, Olipop, Ghia, Rosaluna, Form, Uncle Studios & many more.

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• #184 Jake Karls, Midday Squares - Turning Your Brand Into The Influencer With Content

• #205 Kasey Stewart: Suckerz- - Powering Your Launch With 300 Million Organic Views

• #219 JT Barnett: The TikTok Masterclass For Brands

• #223 Lauren Kleinman: The PR & Affiliate Marketing Playbook

• ​​​​#243 Kian Golzari - Source & Develop Products Like The World's Best Brands

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Mike Xhaxho - Co-Founder of Waterboy
Ramon Berrios - CEO of Trend.io
Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Seated

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