#338 - Growth Strategies from Co-founder of Unicorn Ro

Rob Schutz is the co-founder of the unicorn Ro, a healthcare company that initially offered ED medications and later expanded into other products and services for sexual health, weight loss, fertility, hair, and skin. Prior to Ro, Rob was instrumental in the exponential growth of BARK/BarkBox, a now prominent subscription service for dog products. Currently, at Snagged.com, he is focused on helping businesses acquire premium domain names and digital assets.In this episode of the DTC POD, Rob shares valuable insights into the growth strategies that have contributed to the success of both BARK/BarkBox and Ro. He discusses the importance of focusing on core, consistent marketing channels such as paid search, paid social, and email, while also allocating a separate budget for testing and exploring new, experimental strategies and channels.Rob offers practical advice for founders and marketers, stressing the need to plan for scale, set and clearly communicate priorities, foster strong relationships between growth and marketing leaders, and structure teams effectively as the company experiences rapid growth. He also shares his expertise in domain brokerage, discussing strategies for acquiring and negotiating domain names to help build strong brand identities.Interact with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack.On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:1. DTC Marketing Strategies2. Optimizing Marketing Budget3. Testing Marketing Channels4. Digital Marketing Challenges5. Building and Structuring Teams6. Importance of Domain NamesTimestamps00:00 Rob Schutz’s DTC experience: BARK/BarkBox, Ro, Snagged.com07:37 Process of acquiring domain names11:10 Why Rob Schutz founded Snagged.com14:28 From User Acquisition Manager to VP of Growth at BARK/BarkBox16:27 Lessons from BARK/BarkBox’s growth journey20:56 Strategies for choosing and testing growth channels26:09 Transitioning from BARK/BarkBox to Ro29:00 Challenge with digital performance platforms in the early days of Ro31:33 Rolling out Ro’s ED medication state-by-state, launching other products35:47 Planning for scale around high quality of care35:51 Iterations around how to structure the team as Ro scaled41:47 Rob Schutz’s advice to founders46:35 Sports sponsorship as a performance channel48:10 Snagged.com’s domain servicesShow notes powered by CastmagicPast guests & brands on DTC Pod include Gilt, PopSugar, Glossier, MadeIN, Prose, Bala, P.volve, Ritual, Bite, Oura, Levels, General Mills, Mid Day Squares, Prose, Arrae, Olipop, Ghia, Rosaluna, Form, Uncle Studios & many more.  Additional episodes you might like:• #175 Ariel Vaisbort - How OLIPOP Runs Influencer, Community, & Affiliate Growth• #184 Jake Karls, Midday Squares - Turning Your Brand Into The Influencer With Content• #205 Kasey Stewart: Suckerz- - Powering Your Launch With 300 Million Organic Views• #219 JT Barnett: The TikTok Masterclass For Brands• #223 Lauren Kleinman: The PR & Affiliate Marketing Playbook• ​​​​#243 Kian Golzari - Source & Develop Products Like The World's Best Brands-----Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further?Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox?Check out our newsletter here.Projects the DTC Pod team is working on:DTCetc - all our favorite brands on the internetOlivea - the extra virgin olive oil & hydroxytyrosol supplementCastmagic - AI Workspace for ContentFollow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok  Rob Schutz - Co-Founder of Ro and Founder of Snagged.comBlaine Bolus - Co-Founder of CastmagicRamon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic