Kind of confused with your question - are you asking how the orders were generated or how to fulfill them (pack/ship)? In my most recent project, Prospurly, it wasn't sudden - it was 60 days of pre launching and 20-30 days of milking an email list. That got me to about 150 subscribers (since then, it's grown to about 250-300/month and is mostly run without me). In my VC backed business, Conscious Box, we achieved 10s of thousands of subscribers by building a company with dozens of employees, affiliate networks, working with deal sites, strategic partnerships, and getting great at Facebook advertising.
I wouldn't call either viral.
In Prospurly's case, the orders were packed and shipped for a cost using a fulfillment center (NW Paper Box). In Conscious Box's case, we mostly self packed - ie. literally us founders, sometimes with a team - for about 1.5 years, then used a warehouse in Portland with 40-60 part time packers after we raised capital.
If I had to point to one "trigger" for success, it'd be time. Time spent learning, time spent testing, and time spent doing. If you go viral, you probably won't have a problem getting the orders out the door. Getting product and packaging, then getting all that packed is as simple as putting money toward it - after all, those costs are built into your price.
I wouldn't call either viral.
In Prospurly's case, the orders were packed and shipped for a cost using a fulfillment center (NW Paper Box). In Conscious Box's case, we mostly self packed - ie. literally us founders, sometimes with a team - for about 1.5 years, then used a warehouse in Portland with 40-60 part time packers after we raised capital.
If I had to point to one "trigger" for success, it'd be time. Time spent learning, time spent testing, and time spent doing. If you go viral, you probably won't have a problem getting the orders out the door. Getting product and packaging, then getting all that packed is as simple as putting money toward it - after all, those costs are built into your price.
Yes, totally. If you ever scale too quickly, be proactive with updating subs on their ship date, products, etc. Usually your customers will be flexible as long as you keep them in the loop
This is interesting to me because of a competitor in my space who grew too quickly and went from 50 subscribers to 650 after launching a "successful" groupon campaign. The problem was that he did not anticipate such rapid growth and as a result he couldn't fulfill orders or stay profitable. This is a tough lesson but an important one. Dany I think your fear is legit which is why I personally set monthly maximums and once I hit them I go into sold out mode until the next month.
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