Sean Riley, CEO and co-founder of Dude Wipes, shares the story of how he and his friends started the company from their apartment with the goal of creating a better way to wipe. He discusses the challenges of bootstrapping the business, building the bold and irreverent Dude Wipes brand, and scaling the company to over $150 million in revenue. Sean dives into topics like viral marketing, focus and saying no, hiring, company culture, and his long-term vision for Dude Wipes. An insightful and entertaining look at building an iconic CPG brand.

[00:00:00] - Intro and Origin Story
[00:04:21] - Starting Dude Wipes
[00:08:12] - Bootstrapping Out of Necessity
[00:11:10] - Founder Dynamics and Goals
[00:13:00] - Developing the Dude Wipes Brand
[00:18:25] - Hiring Consultants vs Employees
[00:23:15] - Dude Wipes Company Culture
[00:25:11] - Word of Mouth Marketing
[00:28:46] - Making Butt Wipes Fun
[00:31:13] - Brand Positioning and Moats
[00:33:00] - Evolving Brand and Gender Dynamics
[00:36:56] - Defining the Dude Wipes Enemy
[00:39:30] - Personal Branding Benefits
[00:42:51] - Building to Sell vs Cash Flow
[00:48:00] - Acquisition Interest and Market Trends
[00:52:06] - Focusing on the Core Business
[00:57:45] - Rapid Fire Questions
[01:04:56] - Wrap Up

ABOUT THE HOSTS:

Will Nitze is the Founder & CEO at IQBAR - America's leading "brain + body" nutrition startup. With minimal funding, Will has taken IQBAR from zero locations and zero in revenue in 2018 to 10,000+ doors and a projected $50 million in sales in 2024.

Joe Lemay founded Rocketbook with business partner Jake Epstein. After being featured on “Shark Tank”, where the sharks passed on a chance to invest – Joe would go on to grow Rocketbook and sell it to BIC for 40 million dollars just three years later.

Connect with Sean Riley:

DUDE Wipes: https://dudewipes.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spriles/