It all started with a racket.
At 21, I graduated from the University of Memphis and began my career on the ATP Tour! As exciting as it was, competing around the world, tennis isn’t the most forgiving sport. I finished my first year ranked around 535 in the world, with no savings to show for it. Desperate to fund my childhood dream, I pooled a few hundred bucks with a couple other friends (also tennis players) and invested in an e-commerce store in the micro-mobility space, hoping the returns would support our careers. It seemed like a great idea, until I realized that balancing tennis and business was merely sustainable, especially as the business was barely profitable. By the end of 2019, I decided I needed a break from the game and took the time to explore my options. I was in Houston, a long way from London, for job interviews when lockdown hit the city and all my interviewees were cancelled immediately. Oil hit negative that same week….
When it all changed for us…
However, day by day, with nearly the whole world instructed to stay at home, shopping behavior started to change. Long story short, our small reseller business, that we’d nearly shut down, went from 5-figures p/month in revenue, to $1m+ p/month within 8 weeks.
Fast-forward 2 years, to the summer of 2021, Agora Brands, a D2C roll-up approached us to acquire the company. The deal closed November that same year. After the buyout, Alex and I were asked to consult for other D2C brands struggling with their fundamentals, which were holding them back financially from potential acquisitions. With the blessing of our parent group, we decided to create an agency to help these companies, both combat rising agency fees and ultimately improve performance. Two years later, here we are with Igloo Media Group. We’ve helped nearly 200 businesses and even managed our first presidential campaign!
So why start a newsletter?
There’s never a perfect time for anything - is my thesis. What I do know is that time is limited, and the best way to achieve what you want is to simply start. After spending the last five years in e-commerce and a past life as an athlete, I figured this might be a good time (though perhaps not the perfect time) to start a newsletter!
