Alex sold couches online before IKEA did. He grew to $40M in revenue and exited for millions. | Alex Back, Co-Founder of Apt2B

A Product Market Fit Show | Startups & Founders

Alex started Apt2B in 2010. He sold couches online before IKEA did. It took him over 3 years to make as much money as he used to as a furniture salesperson. But it paid off. After growing the business to $6M in revenue, he sold the company.
Post-acquisition he grew the company to $40M in sales. In this episode, we dive deep into what Alex did to get started, how he closed his first few customers and what he did to grow to $1M in revenue.
From landing a Super Bowl ad to selling couches at Costco, this episode is full of sales and marketing anecdotes you can steal. You don't want to miss it.
Following the sale, Alex is now back at it as the founder and CEO of couch.com, a platform to help people find great furniture.

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Chapters

1. Alex sold couches online before IKEA did. He grew to $40M in revenue and exited for millions. | Alex Back, Co-Founder of Apt2B (00:00:00)

2. Selling Furniture Online before IKEA (00:01:36)

3. The Story of Wayfair (00:05:07)

4. The First Iteration of Apt2B (00:06:19)

5. The Superbowl Pre-Game Ad (00:09:13)

6. The Logistics of Early Drop shipping (00:12:08)

7. Getting Customers Early on with Groupon and Costco (00:15:13)

8. Crossing the Million Dollar a Year Threshold (00:20:23)

9. Pitching to Shark Tank (00:21:44)

10. The Power of Being Promotional (00:26:44)

11. Getting Acquired (00:28:28)

12. Finding True PMF (00:34:28)

13. One Piece of Advice (00:36:31)