Retail X Series is an ecosystem for retail startups. I ran Retail X Series from 2017 to 2024. Retail X Series began as a monthly boot camp for early stage, retail-related startups and founders as they launch their businesses. It became ecosystem for retail and consumer startups in New York and elsewhere. Retail X Series acted as “Retail 101,” an educational platform for pre-seed and seed stage startups in the retail tech, ecommerce, DTC, marketplaces consumer brand and consumer tech verticals. Retail X content has been focused on entrepreneurs learning from other founders, retailers, brands and investors.
- Podcast: Over 40 episodes of deep dive interviews with founders and funders featuring tactical advice, tips and stories aimed at early stage founders. Listen to the podcast here or on your favorite podcasting app (Spotify, Apple, etc).
- Connection: Slack channel for the Retail X community.
- Events: Webinars and IRL events featuring founders, funders & experts for pre-seed stage founders (B2B, DTC, marketplaces and more) who are revolutionizing the future of retail and consumer. Covering topics like customer acquisition, financial modeling, fundraising and more. Find previous webinars below or on YouTube
Previous Events & Webinars
B2B Retail Tech Sales, December 2, 2021
Topics:
- How to target your early customers
- How to sign the critical first pilot customer
- How to convert a pilot into a contract
- Pricing models for B2B companies
- Building and managing the sales pipeline
- Growth hacking strategies for retail tech and B2B companies
Fireside Chat with Zabe Agha, Founder of Metrical
Missed the event? Find the recording HERE
Navigating Customer Acquisition Post-iOS 14 Changes, October 28, 2021
Topics:
- Diversifying marketing channels
- Testing and incorporating new strategies
- Focusing on more than just top of funnel
- Expanding wholesale
- And more
Fireside Chat with Dave Spandorfer, Co-founder & CEO of Janji
Missed the event? Find the recording HERE
Physical Retail for DTC Brands, October 14, 2021
Topics:
- When to consider the first step into physical retail
- Pros and cons of various physical retail strategies including popups
- Key criteria for early physical retail locations
- How to measure early success in physical retail
- When a permanent store location make sense
Fireside Chat with Joy Fan, Founder & CEO of Re/Tell
Missed the event? Find the recording HERE
How I Raised My Seed Round, May 19, 2021 at 1pm ET
Topics:
- Timing of the seed round
- Deciding how much to raise
- Understanding necessary proof of concept/metrics/traction
- Best practices when pitching to investors
- How to run the fundraising process
- How to find a lead investor
Fireside Chat with Cynthia Plotch, Co-founder, Stix
Missed the event? Find the recording HERE
Early Stage Fundraising from VCs, April 29, 2021
Topics:
- Getting ready to fundraise – what you need to be ready with
- How to find the right investors for your business/stage
- Best practices for pitching your business to a VC
- How to be ready for due diligence
- Tips for virtual pitching/building relationships with investors
- Current environment for fundraising
- Best timing to start a raise
Fireside Chat with Amanda Herson, Investor, Founder Collective
Missed the event? Find the recording HERE
Early Stage B2B Pilots, Sales & Pipeline, April 21, 2021
Topics:
- Targeting enterprise versus SMB customers
- How to get the critical first pilots and customers
- Managing the sales process
- How to think through pricing for B2B customers
- Building and managing the sales pipeline
- Growth strategies for retail tech startups
Fireside Chat with Eytan Daniyalzade, Co-founder & CEO, Toolio
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
Launching a DTC Brand, March 18, 2021
Topics:
- Brand building and testing before launch
- Estimating customer demand and forecasting for launch
- Building pre-launch hype and buzz, email lists, etc.
- Planning launch marketing (especially in a pandemic)
- Thinking ahead to operations, customer service and more
- Fundraising pre-launch
Fireside Chat with Camille Varlet, Founder, Mouth Off Health
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
Building Wholesale Relationships, February 25, 2021
Topics:
- When offline strategies can make sense for DTC startups
- Creating wholesale relationships with medium and large retailers
- What retailers ask for in typical wholesale relationships – and what to be prepared with
- Key considerations for pricing, margins, packaging, etc. when selling wholesale
- Ensuring your brand message is clear at retail
- Managing wholesale relationships once they’ve launched
Fireside Chat with Cora Miller, Co-founder & CEO of Young King Hair Care
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
Raising a Preseed Round, February 18, 2021
Topics:
- Getting ready to fundraise – what are the key elements you need
- How to find the right investors for your business
- Can early stage companies raise money right now
- What sorts of companies, products, business models are interesting right now to investors
- What is happening in terms of valuation over the next 6-12 months
- Tips for virtual pitching/building relationships with investors
- Best timing to start a raise
Fireside chat with Jessica Peltz-Zatulove, Founding Partner, Hannah Grey
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
Fundraising from Strategic Investors, December 17, 2020
Topics:
- How to start early stage fundraising conversations with strategics
- Pros and cons of raising from strategic investors at the early stages
- How to put together a round including strategics and other investors
- Managing a strategic investor after the investment is made
Fireside chat with Alissa Baier-Lentz, Co-founder & COO of Kintra Fibers
Note: this webinar was not recorded
Early Stage B2B Sales, December 3, 2020
Topics:
- How to target your early customers
- How to sign the critical first pilot customer
- How to convert a pilot into a contract
- Various pricing models for B2B companies at the early stages
- Building and managing the sales pipeline
- Growth hacking strategies for retail tech and B2B companies
Fireside chat with Chelsie Lee, Co-founder & CEO of Shipsi
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
Early Stage Financial Modeling for Startups, November 12, 2020
Topics:
- How to model revenue assumptions for B2B and DTC startups
- How to accurately model costs
- How seasonality and other retail-specific factors play into a financial model
- Sample excel templates will be provided ahead of the session. Be ready with your laptop!
Speaker: Sapna Shah, Principal, Red Giraffe Advisors
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
Fundraising 101, October 29, 2020
Topics:
- Getting ready to fundraise – what are the key elements you need
- How to find the right investors for your business
- Can preseed/seed companies raise money right now
- What sorts of companies, products, business models are interesting right now to investors
- What is happening in terms of valuation over the next 6-12 months
- Tips for virtual pitching/building relationships with investors
- Best timing to start a raise
Fireside chat with Erica Duignan Minnihan, Founder & Managing Partner of 1000 Angels & Founder of Reign Ventures
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
Building a Curated Marketplace, October 22, 2020
Topics:
- How to build a differentiated offering via curation and exclusives
- How to manage both sides of a marketplace both pre- and post-launch
- Leveraging technology to create unique customer experiences
- Offline strategies/wholesale
Fireside chat with Michelle Reeves, Co-Founder & CEO of The Accessory Junkie
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
Customer Acquisition for Early Stage Brands, October 8, 2020
Topics:
- Building hype before launch
- Channels that work best or customer acquisition at the launch and beyond
- Offline channels like wholesale, press, pop-ups and more
- Finding success in paid channels/social
- Measuring early customer acquisition efforts and scaling them
- Customer acquisition in the current environment
Fireside chat with Heide Iravani, Co-Founder of Piccolina
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
A Founder’s Perspective on Equity Crowdfunding with Republic, October 1, 2020
Topics:
- How equity crowdfunding works
- Kobi’s experiences with the Republic platform
- Pros and cons of equity crowdfunding
- And more
Fireside chat with Kobi Wu, Founder & CEO, Visuwall
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
How to Build a Brand From Scratch, Thursday, July 30, 2020
Topics:
- How to build your brand and product in the earliest days
- Thinking through naming and early logos, branding, packaging
- Building brand awareness right from the beginning
- Defining a realistic product roadmap
- Targeting early customers and customer acquisition techniques
- Evolving the early successes to scale the brand
Fireside chat with Rooshy Roy, Founder & CEO, Aavrani
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
Fundraising in the Current Environment, Thursday, July 23, 2020
Topics:
- Can pre-seed and seed companies raise money right now?
- What sorts of companies, products, business models are interesting right now to VCs?
- What is happening in terms of valuation over the next 6-12 months?
- Tips for virtual pitching/building relationships with investors given that many face to face meetings aren’t happening
- Best timing to start a raise?
- What can companies do now if they can’t raise?
Fireside chat with Aubrie Pagano, Partner at Corigin Ventures
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
How to Raise a Preseed Round, June 25, 2020
Topics:
- When do I raise my preseed round?
- What proof of concept/metrics/traction are necessary
- Should I target angels, angel groups, VCs?
- How do I know how much to raise?
- What are the best practices for fundraising?
- Should I use convertible debt, a SAFE or preferred stock structure?
Fireside chat with Kobi Wu, Founder & CEO of Visuwall
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
Early Stage DTC Customer Acquisition: Kickstarters & More, June 18, 2020
Topics:
- Channels for customer acquisition at the early stages
- Building a successful Kickstarter campaign
- Leveraging early successes
Fireside chat with Adrian Solgaard, Founder & CEO of Solgaard
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
Building Teams: Working with Consultants & Freelancers, May 28, 2020
Topics:
- How to think about hiring employees versus using freelancers
- Best practices in managing consultants and freelancers
- Managing teams of employees and freelancers remotely
Fireside chat with Claire Humphreys, Co-founder of Wethos
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
Equity Crowdfunding 101, May 21, 2020
Topics:
- How equity crowdfunding works
- What types of businesses make sense for equity crowdfunding
- Does equity crowdfunding make sense in the current environment
Fireside chat with Nico Leeper, Senior Associate at SeedInvest
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
Social Media Advertising in Today’s Environment, May 14, 2020
Topics:
- What the social media advertising landscape looks like right now
- How early stage first should think about social media advertising
- Do’s and don’ts of paid advertising
- Managing social media advertising at the early stages
Fireside chat with Chris Franco, Founder & CEO of Woodridge Growth
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
Building & Managing Teams – Even When Remote, May 7, 2020
Topics:
- How to hire your first, most critical hires
- Pros and cons of full-time vs. part-time hires and how to make those choices
- Best practices for managing teams remotely
- Growing a team while in lockdown
Fireside chat with Gertrude Allen, CEO of Pet Plate
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
Fundraising in an Uncertain Environment, April 30, 2020
Topics:
- What the fundraising landscape looks like right now
- Who’s investing and who might not be
- How to think about creating relationships and pitching virtually
- Which business models may become most attractive to investors
Fireside chat with Nnamdi Okike, Managing Partner, 645 Ventures
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
How to Build a Beauty Brand (Especially In Uncertain Times) , April 23, 2020
Topics:
- What makes a beauty brand successful
- Tips on how to build a brand for today’s customer
- How beauty brands can be resilient in uncertain times
Fireside chat with Susan Naci (beauty expert, advisor, investor & operator)
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE
Fundraising in an Uncertain Environment, April 16, 2020
Topics:
- What the fundraising landscape looks like right now
- Who’s investing and who might not be
- How to think about creating relationships and pitching virtually
- Which business models may become most attractive to investors
Fireside chat with Robin Li, Principal at GGV Capital
Missed this event? Find the recording HERE