Building a Fashion E-commerce Business and Surviving Covid: Go Dash Dot CEO Hannah Fastov (Part 7)

Sramana Mitra: Did revenue take a hit in 2020?

Hannah Fastov: It did. That was when we were able to see the benefits of the direct to consumer business that we had built. It remained equal to the year prior.

Sramana Mitra: You did $2 million in 2020?

Hannah Fastov: Yes.

Sramana Mitra: What happened in 2021?

Hannah Fastov: In 2021 and 2022, our private label business was key. One of the challenges was that we had to rebuild our e-commerce business. Not only were marketing costs getting so expensive, a lot of the business relationships that we had built with wholesale partners were also changing. A lot of these department stores weren’t operating in the same way as pre-pandemic. A lot of department stores were following the Amazon business model of developing marketplaces.

We had to adjust in order to accommodate and keep up. Our private label business started to drive the business. We also started to hop on the train and adapt. We are on different marketplaces now. We also started to tap into the dropship model between us and other smaller midsized brands. For us, that has been great. You’re getting a lot more brand awareness and reach without having to take the brunt of all the advertising cost.

Sramana Mitra: The private label business, what kind of companies were placing these orders?

Hannah Fastov: We worked with a beauty company. They were smaller. It wasn’t necessarily our bestselling bags. We worked on a program with them. It’s a multi-year contract. They place orders for cosmetic cases that they give out. We also work with another in-office dermatological procedure providers. They would use it as sales tools for their sales reps. It spans the gamut, but it’s more promotional type products.

Sramana Mitra: How did you do the business development for those deals?

Hannah Fastov: We got pretty lucky. One of the influencers that I had worked with also did consulting work for a beauty magazine. They did one collaboration with a beauty brand. That was how we started to get into the beauty space. One of the partners within this big network is a huge promotions company that does promotions work for everyone. By tapping into that network, I was able to drive that part. We’ve done some work for wireless providers. It’s cool to develop products that they like and use.

Sramana Mitra: These have been tough times.

Hannah Fastov: You got to do what you got to do.

Sramana Mitra: In 2022, your revenue went back to where it was?

Hannah Fastov: Yes. This year, we’re projected to do just over $5 million in revenue. We really tapped into the marketplace business model. We were launching on Macy’s marketplace. We’re on Walmart. We’re talking to Target. There are a lot of avenues there. Within these marketplaces, you own the business. It’s a dropship model. You can use their platforms. It is just like an Amazon.

Sramana Mitra: Are you on Amazon?

Hannah Fastov: Yes, we are. It’s not huge for us. There’s a lot of room for growth there.

Sramana Mitra: Being successful in marketplaces is not automatic. You need to learn.

Hannah Fastov: For sure. It is not plug-and-play. We’ve taken it slow to be able to be successful in these platforms. We have been finding success with them.

Sramana Mitra: One of the keys in Amazon is finding a gap like you did. Same thing. Fabulous story! Thank you for your time.

This segment is part 7 in the series : Building a Fashion E-commerce Business and Surviving Covid: Go Dash Dot CEO Hannah Fastov
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