I built the Pura Vida wholesale business over 14 years from $0 to $35,000,000/yr… but I just quit. Why?
I realized I love the building and growing stage. I love putting the pieces together, building the catalogs, training the sales team, designing the first trade show booth, hiring the first reps, building the leads list.
I’ve found that what fulfills me is helping other entrepreneurs and young brands build a wholesale program. Here were some of my highlights of what I did at Pura Vida:
💰Sold $150m+ of Pura Vida jewelry in 14 years
🌐Grew a sales team from 3 internal reps to 30 external reps throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico
📜Created countless line sheets, catalogs, order forms, dealer applications, resale certifications - you name it, we did it.
🏬Evolved our displays approximately 10x to keep up with the changing needs of our retailers
🤝Attended 150+ trade shows across the country
👀Grew our booth footprint from a 5x5 to a 30x30 and had one of the largest presences at two of the biggest shows in the space
📈Went from 0 to over 4,000 retailers at a time carrying the line (both big box and mom and pop)
Excited to join the X community and share tips and tricks highlighting all things wholesale + more!
SOLO TRAVEL TIP NOBODY TELLS YOU: the airport is part of the trip. don't rush through it. get the overpriced coffee. read at the gate. watch the planes. the magic doesn't start when you land, it starts the moment you're alone with your suitcase🤎
Every time a founder tells me agencies are too expensive, I ask what they think a $100K/year W2 media buyer actually costs. The answer is always wrong.
They quote the salary and maybe they add benefits, but never They never add the rest.
Here's what a $100K media buyer actually costs you in year one:
1. Recruiting costs. Agencies charge roughly 20-30% of first year salary to place someone. Even if you run the process yourself, your time, job board spend, and interview hours aren't free. Call it $15-30K depending on how long the search takes.
2. Payroll taxes and benefits. Health insurance, 401K match, employer-side taxes. You're adding another $20-30K easy on a $100K base.
3. Onboarding and ramp time. They're not fully productive on day one. You're paying full salary for weeks or months before they're actually moving the needle.
Add it all up and you're looking at roughly 160% of gross salary in true all-in cost (the model we use internally). That $100K hire is a $160K commitment before they've touched an ad account.
And that's assuming you hired well. Performance marketing has a massive talent deficit, and the hiring process is where professional bullshitters thrive.
Now compare that to an agency. Cleaner termination, no wrongful termination risk, and no severance negotiation. The contracts are defined and generally short-term. If it doesn't work, you move on.
Just something to keep in mind.
Anyway, if you want senior-level paid media expertise without the $160K gamble, feel free to DM me. Happy to walk you through what working with us looks like.
Random thought of the day: why did Apple make the 📈 stock going up emoji with a red line? And going down 📉 with a blue line?
Nobody in that entire company thought maybe to make it green for up and red for down?
@MehtabKarta Agree and disagree. I think Faire is good when you start - but not good to scale on. Breeds laziness because it takes the relationship building out of growing the sales process. When your sales team is directly calling/emailing retailers you can build way more trust and growth.
Who knows if this is the end for Aaron Rodgers, but if it is...
I will always be thankful for the 18 years in Green Bay and the 3 afterwards.
Nobody will ever convince me that he isn't the most talented QB to ever play this game.