279 | The Impact of Word of Mouth for Product Growth | with Kevin Lavelle

Kevin Lavelle is the CEO and Co-Founder of Harbor. He brings a wealth of experience from his role as the Founder and Chairman of Mizzen+Main, having invented the world’s first performance fabric dress shirt.

With a successful growth round raised from L Catterton, partnerships with world-renowned athletes like Phil Mickelson and JJ Watt, and a background in omnichannel retail, Kevin is not only a dedicated entrepreneur but also a loving husband and father of two.

In This Conversation We Discuss:

• [00:44] Intro
• [00:55] Building a secure and reliable baby monitor
• [02:24] Creating a performance-fabric dress shirt
• [03:23] Debunking "if you build it, they will come"
• [04:11] Seeking technology to enhance family life
• [05:01] The unreliability of phone apps for monitoring
• [05:54] Striving to improve early parenting years
• [06:39] Improving novel ideas into successful products
• [07:16] Validating demand through actual sales efforts
• [08:48] Generating awareness with creative marketing
• [09:41] Building customer bonds with thoughtful gestures
• [10:33] Navigating incorrect assumptions confidently
• [11:04] Electric Eye: Your true Shopify expert
• [12:01] Finding customers where they are
• [12:38] Acknowledging the flaws of initial products
• [13:14] Valuing friends' early support in business
• [14:15] Benefits of membership-based relationships
• [15:57] The cost of building quality products
• [17:56] Prioritizing innovation and customer experience
• [18:42] Marketing challenges of one vs. multiple products
• [19:36] The constant influx of new customers
• [20:59] The power of parent-to-parent endorsements
• [22:16] The evolution of influencer marketing
• [24:53] Engaging with celebrity moms and influencers
• [25:36] Acknowledging the value of wholesale partners
• [26:29] Maintaining organic audience engagement
• [27:37] Cutting through the noise with authentic content
• [28:45] Connecting with Kevin and Harbor

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Reliable baby monitoring system harbor.co/
• Follow Harbor on socials instagram.com/harborsleep/
• Follow Kevin Lavelle on LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/kevinlavelle/
• Follow Kevin Lavelle on X x.com/kevinslavelle
• Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect

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