Launching a Customer-First Merch Company with No Industry Experience | Ethan Dowie

#690 Ready for a masterclass in grit, customer service, and unconventional scaling — all from a founder who built a booming merch company from scratch? In this episode, host Brien Gearin chats with Ethan Dowie, founder of Indigo Promotions, who went from making 400+ cold calls with zero traction to landing Zappos as one of his very first clients. Ethan breaks down how he bootstrapped his business, navigated fulfillment before he had any systems, built a powerhouse customer-first team, and eventually brought manufacturing in-house to compete with massive players like 4imprint and VistaPrint. If you want to understand what it really takes to build a product-based business that stands out, this conversation delivers! What we discuss with Ethan: 0:00 The Merch Mistake That Sparked a Business 3:48 Cold Calls and the Zappos Breakthrough 7:36 Learning the Ropes: Fulfilling the First Big Order 11:24 Building Supplier Relationships and Going In-House 15:12 Bootstrapping and Financial Foundations 19:00 The First Hire and Building a Team 22:48 Customer Service as a Core Value 26:36 Organic Growth: Referrals and Social Media 30:24 Custom Projects, Margins, and Scaling Up 34:12 The Future of Indigo Promotions Thank you, Ethan! Check out Indigo Promotions at ⁠IndigoPromos.com⁠: https://www.indigopromos.com/ Follow Ethan on ⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indigopromos/⁠ and ⁠LinkedIn⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/company/indigopromotions/posts/?feedView=all To get access to our FREE Business Training course go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MillionaireUniversity.com/training (https://www.millionaireuniversity.com/training)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And follow us on: Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/millionaire_university_mu/) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MillionaireUniversityMU/) Tik Tok (https://www.tiktok.com/@millionaireuniversity_mu?lang=en) Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyG31bPcrqhbjvGsuz-JaXw) Twitter (https://twitter.com/Millionaire_Uni) To get exclusive offers mentioned in this episode and to support the show, visit millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors (https://www.millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors) . Want to hear from more incredible entrepreneurs? Check out all of our interviews here (https://www.millionaireuniversity.com/podcast) ! #entrepreneurship #merch #merchandise #productbusiness #promotionalproducts