Episode 260 - Lessons From Chubbies with Co-Founder Preston Rutherford

eCommerce Evolution

Few DTC brands have been as polarizing or as successful as Chubbies.

The Chubbies story is a wild one. It started with humble beginnings, selling shorts one by one in parks around the Stanford campus, leading to an IPO.

Four Stanford college students had 3 things in common:

1. They were tired of working for the man.

2. They didn't fit the "Abercrombie" fashion mold of the late 2000s and

3. They loved shorter shorts - BEFORE the short shorts trend.

And so, Chubbies was born.

This is a deep dive with Co-founder Preston Rutherford on what Chubbies got right, what they got wrong, and how to think about building a brand.

Here's a look at what we cover:

• Feedback loops. This started when the co-founders were selling their shorts in person. They could immediately read customers' reactions and hear what they liked, what they didn't like and what needed to be tweaked. As the company grew, this shifted to digital and online feedback loops tied to ad creatives, social posts, and user experience.
• Downplaying vanity metrics. We all want to brag about ROAS and revenue. But, these metrics can be misleading. If you maximize ROAS, you sacrifice long-term growth for a sale today. And you get into a trap that squeezes profits and becomes hard to break.
• Obsessing over core metrics. We should focus on metrics like contribution margin, total profits and branded search growth (as a sign of a growing, healthy brand).
• Building a brand. Want to have a big exit? Want to charge a premium? Want to drive consistent demand? It's all about brand.