100 Percent Bootstrapped 10 Million Dollar E-Commerce Company: WaterFilters.Net CEO Jamin Arvig (Part 7)

Sramana: How many employees do you have today?

Jamin Arvig: We have 25 employees and five contractors.

Sramana: You did not mention how your website is managed or how you do search engine optimization. Are those still important to you?

Jamin Arvig: Of course. I talk a lot about customer service because that has helped our business to become what it is. Under business development we have both sales and marketing. We have a specialist who works full time developing content. We have specialized contractors for specific tasks.

Sramana: What is your acquisition strategy today? Is it still centered on search engine optimization?

Jamin Arvig: We will continue to use e-commerce and search engine optimization to fuel our growth. We also get a lot of seed generation from B2B. Our B2C has also led to referral acquisition. Beyond that, we are now focused on developing our sales force. That is very exciting. We are taking our B2B marketing to the next level. We are going out and establishing ourselves as an industry leader. We are doing proactive sales opportunities.

Sramana: Are you selling to resellers?

Jamin Arvig: We are focused on both resellers and end users. We do work with a lot of resellers, and we are going to continue growing that. We have a lot of interest from various institutions that need a strong, stable source for products we supply. They demand strong pricing and solid customer support, and we deliver both.

Sramana: What kinds of organizations are these?

Jamin Arvig: There are a lot of different verticals. We have a lot of government agencies, and we have worked with a lot of universities and colleges. We also have a lot of cities and large office buildings such as hotels. There are a lot of different verticals to address.

Sramana: What are you future plans? Do you want to keep the company or sell it?

Jamin Arvig: I love the challenges and growing a business. I love the unexpected that comes up. It is exciting to develop a team and grow a company with great people. We have been on the Inc 500 list, and we will be there again because of our growth. That has resulted in our being contacted by more VCs and investment firms. There are opportunities out there.

Some of our newer managers are able to contribute in some of those decisions, which is fortunate. Most of those offers have not been attractive at all. The thing that would be attractive is a strategic partnership. There may be opportunities to work with a synergistic niche company. We are looking for a 1+1 = 3 scenario. I do not have a specific end goal, and I am sure a lot of things will happen along the way. That is what I love. For now, we continue to be self-funded. We are able to be conservative and take calculated risks.

Sramana: Very good. I really enjoyed your story. Good luck!

This segment is part 7 in the series : 100 Percent Bootstrapped 10 Million Dollar E-Commerce Company: WaterFilters.Net CEO Jamin Arvig
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