Mike Beckham sees the benefits of competitive markets. Simple Modern, a company he co-founded in 2015, sells insulated beverages, competing with Yeti and other major suppliers. According to him, markets are competitive because many consumers value these products.
He told me, “Capturing a small percentage of a competitive market can bring you incredible success.” »
Beckham and I recently spoke. We discussed his journey in e-commerce, Amazon, physical store sales, etc.
The audio of our entire conversation is embedded below. The transcript is edited for length and clarity.
Eric Bandholz: Tell us about your journey.
Mike Beckham: I grew up in Oklahoma and earned a degree in finance. I took a nonprofit ministry job after college. I thought I would work there for a year, but a year turned into 10 years. When I turned 30, around 2009, my brother approached me with a business idea. This case [QuiBids, a retail auction site] became big and quickly reached $1 million in revenue. The business had many ups and downs, but I gained experience and learned a lot about e-commerce.
Around 2014, we realized that competing with Amazon was an uphill battle. We started looking for companies that could buy into this market. The more we looked, the more we thought, “We can do this.” We have the skills. » I helped my brother start the business – the Beckham Hotel Collection, selling mainly pillows – on Amazon. We have almost 300,000 reviews. It’s been the best-selling pillow for years.
In mid-2015, a group of guys I had worked with contacted me about starting a side project. We had no idea what we wanted to do or sell. We just knew we wanted to sell on Amazon as our first channel and have a culture and commitment to giving. We decided to sell insulated drinks. We started the company and called it Simple Modern. I invested all my savings and we grew quickly. We now sell in many places, including our own e-commerce site, major retailers, and Amazon.
Bandholz: Why Amazon?
Beckham: We have had several years of competition with Amazon [with QuiBids], spending a lot of money to attract people to our website. I don’t know of any retail brand that spent more than us between 2010 and 2014 on direct response advertising. We learned the trials and challenges of generating traffic and awareness every day, especially when competing with Amazon.
With Simple Modern, our posture was to let Amazon do the heavy lifting. We would optimize their system because we have built websites and understand algorithms.
Bandholz: Insulated drinks are super competitive.
Beckham: Yes. When we launched, Yeti was crushing it. Hydro Flask, Corkcicle and S’well were also present. But they all focused on physical retail and raising prices. We focused on a premium insulated water bottle at an affordable price, available online. Many of these competitors had built their business model around physical distribution. We built ours around digital.
We sold multiple sizes, SKUs and colors. These have become a competitive advantage with more choice, better prices and the same quality as the big brands. Competition is a two-sided coin. Most entrepreneurs only see the disadvantages. But there are highly competitive markets because many people want to buy that product or service. Capturing a small percentage of a competitive market can set you up for incredible success.
I teach entrepreneurship at the University of Oklahoma. Students almost always aim for something with little competition. I always tell them that there is no competition because their idea is unique, which is unlikely, or because something about this market makes it toxic.
Certainly, you are more likely to succeed in a small market. Simple Modern wasn’t my first rodeo. I learned the benefits of starting and focusing on a niche. As you develop your operational skills, challenge yourself in larger, more competitive markets.
When we launched Simple Modern, a head-on attack on Yeti would have been disastrous. We could never have won. But we have gained market share in several ways. Yeti didn’t focus on colors. The average guy has a black Tumbler. When your market is big, there is room for many winners.
We have competitors who are better than us in certain areas. But there are things we are better at. You need a sense of humility and precision and to take stock of what you can do at an exceptional level. Do you have something that the market will reward you for? We have successfully transformed digital success into physical retail placement. We built Simple Modern around this.
Bandholz: Where can people follow and support you?
Beckham: The website is SimpleModern.com. Check out my podcast. Follow me on Twitter And LinkedIn.