Chris is a serial entrepreneur who has successfully invested in and launched eight businesses, two of which have been acquired.
As one of the creators of the wildly popular and recently acquired Gentleman's Box, a high-end subscription box for men, Chris has spoken to aspiring entrepreneurs and established industry professionals at events like Digital Summit, SubSummit and several academic institutions such as Columbia Business School and George Washington University.
His strong business acumen and understanding of the role of marketing and branding solidify him as a leading force in the realm of entrepreneurs.
Propelled by the notion that you can always give back, Chris regularly supports emerging brands by investing in and mentoring individuals and companies that lead with purpose over profit.
In This Conversation We Discuss:
- [00:00] Intro
- [00:51] What is SubSummit?
- [01:22] The start of Chris’s entrepreneurial journey
- [02:32] The tech they used for Gentleman’s Box
- [03:10] Launching own brand vs launching on a marketplace
- [04:20] Relationships and experiences before platforms
- [05:19] Amazon is always your competitor online
- [06:19] 3 things you should provide as a subscription
- [06:44] Finding the initial customers for Gentleman’s Box
- [07:45] Identifying the customer most likely to purchase
- [08:27] Figuring out where your customers attention is
- [09:17] Being “obsessed “ at your customer
- [09:47] Entrepreneurs should ask what the customers want
- [10:38] The point where you let the customers decide
- [11:51] How to implement a recurring revenue model
- [13:21] Example: subscription for a streetwear brand
- [13:53] An example from the customer’s perspective
- [14:39] Things to look forward to SubSummit 2023
- [15:50] SubSummit’s Hosted Buyer Program
- [17:05] Learn all about subscription models in SubSummit
- [17:54] There are so many resources to help you grow
- [18:19] Sometimes, the only barrier you have is yourself
Resources:
- Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
- The world’s largest meetup of subscription, membership, & recurring revenue brands subsummit.com
- Get your Tickets to SubSummit subsummit.com/tickets
- Connect with Chris linkedin.com/in/chrisgcertified
If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!
Transcript
Read more

On this podcast, we talk about why he developed a hatred for intrusive ads, how he met Tobi before even working with Shopify, the local customer behavior of pre-shopping, and so much more!

On this podcast, we talk about how Michael’s personal solution turned into a business, the importance of human connection in your products, why you almost always need to simplify, and so much more!