Robert Hamm

Robert Hamm: Coder & Founder @HatLaunch @ShirtLaunchUsa Utilizing technology to revolutionize the archiac industry of custom apparel.

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

Elon I am following in your footsteps... #LetThatSinkInChallenge

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

Can you sit in front of a camera and just talk about yourself or your business?

I remember the first time I sat in front of a camera to record a video for a social media ad. It was incredibly uncomfortable and awkward. Just me and the camera. You’d think it would be easy but for me it felt almost impossible. I got too much in my own head and the words stumbled out awkwardly. My body language was off and honestly I didn’t even believe in myself or my own story at that point.

But I didn’t quit. A couple of years ago I challenged myself to start a YouTube channel. At first I just wanted to show the real side of entrepreneurship and push back against all the online gurus selling get rich quick schemes. What I didn’t expect was how much confidence I would gain from it. I started learning how to be comfortable with myself and how to share my story. The more I told it the more I started to believe in it. And when people began leaving comments about how I was inspiring them it was such an incredible feeling.

It’s still easier for me to be silly or playful in ads than to sit down and seriously talk about my life or business. I still feel awkward on camera sometimes and I still have a long way to go but I am so much better now than when I first started.

So here’s my challenge to you Start documenting your journey Even if only a few people are watching it might end up being one of the most rewarding things you do for your own self belief and confidence!

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

This is mah lady ❤️

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗸̶𝗲̶𝘆̶ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱.

I challenged myself to post every Friday about my journey as an entrepreneur. I made it 3 weeks before I missed one. But that’s 3 more weeks than I would’ve done without the challenge.

The truth? Life doesn’t care about your plans. Business throws curveballs. Kids need rides. Priorities shift. But the key isn’t perfection... it’s getting back on track when you fall off.

A few years ago, I wrote out a checklist called “𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵’𝘴 𝘋𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘛𝘰 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘉𝘦 𝘢 𝘗𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘩!𝘵.” I never followed it. It sat in a drawer and collected dust… until I found it recently. And weirdly enough, my life had started to look a lot like that list... even without me consciously trying.

These days, I wake up by 7AM (thanks to my wife giving me a solid “time to get up” slap lol). I take my daughter to school, get to the office by 8:15, and try to be home by 5 or 6. I’m still glued to my phone more than I should be, but my routine is 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 better than it used to be.

And I owe that to having kids… a really good wife… and my business... Not a perfect schedule, not a cold plunge, not some podcast hack.

Just life forcing me to level up. One day at a time.

You don’t need to be perfect… just keep showing up.

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

@AndrewMolz Same here man - I've tried to use it but... my experience is the same lol.

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

Sometimes what you think is the worst moment in business leads to your most meaningful one...

It was 3AM and I was staring at my computer screen, heart racing, trying to come up with a new name for the company I had poured my soul into. We had just received a cease and desist from a retail giant claiming trademark infringement. At the time, we were called LidLaunch.... I was terrified.

I had spent years building it. Hundreds of thousands invested. Countless hours sacrificed. The thought of starting over crushed me.

But in that dark basement, something shifted. I stopped trying to save what was and started thinking about what could be. I wanted more than just a name. I wanted a brand with soul. Something timeless. Something powerful. Something that meant something.

I dove deep into language and meaning. I searched for translations, symbols, and emotions. That’s when I found the word “Kodo.” In Japanese, it means heartbeat. And I felt it. Because that’s what this business has always been to me. The heartbeat of our physical operation and team... The heartbeat of our customers' small businesses that are all interconnected driving our nation's economy... The heartbeat of something greater than just hats.

To me, Kodo came to represent forward motion. Progress. Purpose. ADVANCEMENT. The rhythm that drives us to keep going, no matter how hard things get.

However, I didn’t change the company name to Kodo that night. I went with HatLaunch. It made more sense at the time. But I never let go of the name and I knew it was just a matter of time before I started using the Kodo name.

Today, Kodo is no longer just an idea. It's a reality. We’ve launched our own headwear line under that name with styles like the 618 and 636. After sending over a million hats made by other companies, it was time to create something of our own. Something that reflected who we are and why we exist.

Every Kodo hat has a message inside: Advance Your Life. That’s not just a slogan. It’s what I wake up trying to do every day.

Be a better father. A better husband. A better leader. Build a better business. Create better products. Push further than we did yesterday.

Kodo started as a desperate search for a name. But it became a mindset. A mission. And now, it’s the heartbeat of everything we do.

Even in the darkest times you can find light. Everything happens for a reason.

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

Growing a business too fast is a quick way to destroy it…

Corners cut, unhappy customers, sub par products, chargebacks, you name it… It’s a recipe for disaster.

Keeping up with growth has been one of the biggest challenges at @HatLaunch . Since starting in 2018, we’ve had to scale rapidly.. more machines.. more staff.. more space.. more inventory.. and more capital. But we have always pulled back when things have gotten too much to handle. I want to briefly walk through a few key moments and how we managed to keep delivering through it all.

Late 2020-2021:
Our first major surge hit after partnering with an ad agency (@AndrewMolz ) to run our Meta ads. We went from $50K a year to $50K a month almost overnight. I had one part-time employee and quickly realized we needed more space and machines. Within 3 months, we upgraded from a 900 sq ft space to 2,500 sq ft, even paying for both leases to not slow down growth. We scaled to four 6-head machines and up to 8 employees, eventually hitting north of $200K/month and finished 2021 at $2.4M in revenue.

2022:
Outgrew that space too and bought our first building which was 8,400 sq ft. I renovated it myself (my first construction project) and expanded our capacity. By the end of 2022, we hit $3.9M in revenue. This level of growth required constant coding, systemization, and automation across all areas of the business.

2023:
I knew once we moved into our new building it still would not be enough space, so I started searching for a bigger building. In December, we closed on a 64,000 sq ft facility. I decided to spearhead the entire construction project myself so I could ensure as expedited a timeline as possible. While under construction, we launched a midnight shift to keep up with demand and ran 24/7 operations. We finished the year at $7.9M.

2024:
Flat growth due to space limitations. We ended the year at $8.4M while construction dragged on. We still stayed committed to doing everything we could in-house to maintain quality and customer experience.

2025:
We finally moved into our new facility. For the first time, we have room to grow into, not immediately out of a building. We are in the next growth cycle… which is scary, exciting, stressful and extremely rewarding all at the same time. We’re relentlessly building custom software to improve operations and scaling out our production footprint.

The biggest pain of growth?
Delays. Missing our 10–14 day turnaround eats me alive and is honestly the thing that keeps me up at night. My goal for 2025 is 5–7 business days… and we’re working hard to make that happen with more software and innovation.

At our core, we live by three words: Delegate. Automate. Innovate.
Delegate what you shouldn’t be doing. Automate what slows you down. Innovate what isn’t good enough.

We’re in this for the long haul.. relentlessly, passionately, and wholly committed to our customers. Without them, none of this would’ve been possible. I’ll never take that for granted.

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

Starting and growing @HatLaunch wasn’t something I ever envisioned when I launched our website in 2018 to sell hats. I thought it’d just be a fun side project with help from family and friends—something I could manage alongside a 9–5 job.

But as the saying goes, “once you pop, the fun don’t stop.” I caught the bug—the drive to go all in.

I’ve never been content with “good enough,” and that mindset quickly turned into writing our own website from scratch, buying our first machines, moving out of my house, hiring a team, and eventually quitting my day job. Fast forward to today: nearly 50 employees, a massive new production space, millions in equipment, and over 1 million custom hats made for tens of thousands of badass customers across the country. A LOT has happened—and fast.

This journey hasn’t been easy, but it’s been the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done... second only to becoming a father.

I’m a husband and dad to an amazing family I’m beyond grateful for. The same week our first $42,000 embroidery machine arrived in our driveway, our daughter was born. I had to learn how to be a business owner, a dad, and a better husband—all at once. I’m still learning, still growing.

Because the truth is: nothing worth doing is easy. Success in business—or life—isn’t instant. It’s a process.

Had I not taken the leap and bought that machine, I may not have pushed as hard to find the work needed to pay for it. Discomfort fuels growth. You have to get comfortable being uncomfortable.

Just like having a kid—you’re never fully “ready.” You just do it, and figure it out as you go. That’s one of the most important lessons I’ve learned: not knowing how to do something now doesn’t mean you can’t learn.

Balancing family and business has taught me that the old saying, “you can do anything if you set your mind to it,” is 1000% true. It takes risk, hard work, and the willingness to keep pushing, no matter what.

#Entrepreneurship #Entrepreneur #design #SmallBusiness #Hatlaunch

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

The state of “aRTrIFiciAl InTEligEnCE” today… Laughably bad….

@Yahoo can’t even discern an extremely easy to spot phishing email… EVEN gets the company wrong (albeit it is a scam email and not actually from Netflix) AND Yahoo is so kind enough to provide me the link to download the spyware 📷 😑

@Paul__Walsh will get a kick out of this one 😂

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

@nocapmedia The entire interaction was gross from all parties lol.

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

@RobertFreundLaw “Shoot the shot! Run the ad!” Just as long as it doesn’t in any way somewhat, kind of, resemble Alex Hormozis likeness (if you squint and turn your head).

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

@VoteHarrisOut lol…… anything to get likes and shares. Pathetic.

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

@ElonMNews B

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

Has been happening to us on and off for quite some time now.

Meta support puts us through the meat grinder of “send us statements showing charges…we don’t see evidence of fraud…how did we do? please complete this survey”

We use invoiced monthly billing so there should be no charges from ads hitting our Amex.

I hate meta.

Don’t want to fight the $1-300 worth of fraud monthly charges via a chargeback due to the fear of our ad account being shut down - we spend a lot on ads.

Has anyone gotten anywhere on this.

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

What happens when you combine your approach with a powerful tech stack?

Being a consumer of home services, I desperately wish it was more automated and tech driven. I don’t want you to text me a hand written invoice that I have to pay via hand written check. I don’t want to have to reschedule because you double booked because you don’t use a calendar to track appointments.

Tech when applied correctly can insanely improve a customers experience. Using tech just for the sake of being able to say “tech first” is stupid. Actually execute it to solve problems, innovate customer experience and streamline processes.

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

Customer funded here - fighting for table scraps capital to continue to grow the business as fast as possible. From me and my basement in 2018 to over 40 employees. We hit $8mil in revenue last year. I get so much satisfaction reading about the VC backed companies lighting their money on fire and spinning their wheels getting aboslutely no where.

Great message!

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

#NewProfilePic

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

#NewProfilePic

[Robert Hamm @thelaunchdude]

@BrynicSolutions Gonna have to get me one of these!