Bob Verlaat's Guide to Building a Brand

Most e-commerce brands are boring. They copy each other, lead with product specs, and wonder why nothing sticks. Bob Verlaat, co-founder of Hears and Dore & Rose (OOAK Brands), has spent two years doing the opposite, building brands that people talk about without being paid to.Everything from this episode, structured into a free playbook:https://www.elevatorgoods.com/talks/bob-verlaatIn this episode:- How to define your brand's reason for existence and use it as a filter for every event, partnership, and content decision you make- Why Bob argues that 5K on an offline event returns faster than 5K on a Meta awareness campaign, and the logic behind it- Why most brands are boring, and the specific mistake Bob says operators make when they try to stand out- The one signal Bob looks for to know his brand is working, and why it has nothing to do with followers, ROAS, or engagementFollow Elevator:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevatorgoodsX: https://x.com/elevatorgoodsWebsite: https://www.elevatorgoods.comFollow Monish Sabnani (Host):Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msabnani93/X: https://x.com/msabnani93Follow Bob Verlaat:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobverlaatX: https://x.com/bobverlaatChapters:00:00 Introduction02:00 What brand actually means, and what it is not06:00 Product first or vision first: how Bob thinks about launching10:00 Why a worryless life became Hears' north star14:00 Events vs. Meta ads: which one returns more20:00 How to know when your brand is working26:00 Most brands are boring. Here is why.30:00 LTV, post-purchase surveys, and the retention play most operators ignore34:00 Rebrands: when they are worth it, when they are not38:00 Rapid fire: Pinterest, new project, micromanaging, and freedomMentioned in this episode:- Hears - https://hears.com/- Dore & Rose - https://doreandrose.com/- OOAK Brands - https://ooakbrands.com/#ecommerce #dtc #brandbuilding #dtcmarketing #elevatortalks #operatormindset #ecommercebrand