Sam Shames is the Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Embr Labs, the company behind the Embr Wave: a wristband that heats and cools to help people manage comfort, sleep, stress, and hot flashes.What started as a project in an MIT prototyping competition turned into a 12-year journey building a hardware company from scratch. Along the way, Sam and his co-founders grew Embr Labs to 200,000+ units sold, $50M+ in lifetime revenue, and $66M in venture funding. A $100K Kickstarter goal became $630K in sales, powered by a loyal community they engaged long before launch.Sam’s path blends technical innovation with customer-driven growth. From proving the science behind their product, to surviving on $2K a month while raising capital, to pivoting into a hardware subscription model, he’s learned what it really takes to scale an ecommerce hardware brand.Whether you’re building a DTC product, validating a new idea, or evolving your business model to better serve customers, Sam offers an unfiltered look at the grind, the pivots, and the lessons behind turning a student prototype into a category-defining company.In This Conversation We Discuss:<ul><li>[00:42] Intro</li><li>[01:03] Sharing early lessons in subscription</li><li>[01:34] Connecting through founder communities</li><li>[02:26] Brainstorming solutions to real pain points</li><li>[03:21] Receiving thousands of customer emails</li><li>[03:58] Deciding to sell when demand was clear</li><li>[04:52] Realizing experience changes decisions</li><li>[05:14] Understanding the customer segments</li><li>[06:34] Raising angel and pre-seed funding</li><li>[07:41] Building community through early feedback</li><li>[08:53] Episode Sponsors: Electric Eye, Heatmap, Grow</li><li>[12:05] Preparing manufacturing before crowdfunding</li><li>[14:10] Adapting playbooks as channels change</li><li>[15:36] Spotting misalignment in value capture</li><li>[18:00] Screening customers to limit fraud</li><li>[19:08] Partnering with experts on subscriptions</li><li>[19:51] Highlighting temperature as a daily pain point</li><li>[21:32] Showing value instantly on first try</li></ul>Resources:<ul><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/HonestEcommerce?sub_confirmation=1">Subscribe</a> to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube</li><li>Personal temperature control <a href="https://embrlabs.com/">embrlabs.com/</a></li><li>Follow Sam Shames <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/samshames">linkedin.com/in/samshames</a></li><li>Schedule an intro call with one of our experts <a href="https://electriceye.io/connect">electriceye.io/connect</a></li><li>Clear, real-time data built for ecommerce optimization <a href="https://www.heatmap.com/honest">heatmap.com/honest</a></li><li>The Premier Conference for Ecommerce Operators <a href="https://www.joingrow.com">joingrow.com</a></li></ul>If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you <a href="https://getpodcast.reviews/id/1447700156">left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts</a>. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

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345 | Finding Hidden Opportunities in Customer Behavior | with Sam Shames

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