How David Heath Built Bombas into a $100M E-commerce Business

Introduction

In this post, we dive deep into how to build a 100 million dollar business from scratch. We’re extracting the exact Q&A from a Foundr podcast interview with David Heath and Randy Goldberg, the founders of Bombas. They share their journey from a simple idea to a nine-figure e-commerce brand, their experience on Shark Tank, and the power of integrating a mission into your business model from day one.

Founder Success Story QnA

How did you guys get your job, aka how did you find yourself doing the work you’re doing today?

It does feel like a job sometimes. It’s funny to say that you know. I don’t ever really think of this as our job, right? Well, sometimes I feel like I work for everybody a different person every week at the company or it’s like, “God, this week it really feels like I work for Kate” or something like that, you know? But yeah, I think our stories are shockingly somewhat similar. You know, my story is that I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. My dad’s an entrepreneur, first generation immigrant. I watched him build a business in the basement of our house into a multi-million dollar business over 35 years. He just retired at 75, and I think whether through genealogy or osmosis, I was destined to be an entrepreneur. I was the kid in the neighborhood who had lemonade stands, walked dogs, cleaned gutters, anything I could do to hustle for a buck. When I was little, I would do that. But then when it was time to go to college, I went to school for entrepreneurship, majored in management and entrepreneurship and marketing. I think I always knew that eventually I wanted to start and run my own company. I didn’t have the eagerness right out of school to be like, “Okay, this is what I’m gonna go and do.” I wanted to go work for startups and learn what it’s like to be a part of a fast-growing, early-stage company. That path ultimately led me to meeting Randy, where we were both early-stage employees at a media startup.

I mean, I guess it was sort of similar for me in that my parents owned a business together. My father was an entrepreneur, and I guess I had that bug early on. I washed cars and shoveled snow around the neighborhood, but I didn’t major in entrepreneurship like Dave. I don’t know, I guess I didn’t think it was going to be part of my career path. Dave probably knew it when he met me, but maybe I didn’t. I think we’re both pretty entrepreneurially minded. I worked in the ad world as a copywriter and a strategist and built my career that way after some other weird right and left turns. We ended up, like they said, working at a company together and we just became friends. A shared outlook on the world and appreciation for similar things, although coming at the work from different disciplines, made us good friends and good potential partners. There was a moment where we were like, “Yeah, we’re going to do something together at some point.” It wasn’t socks; that wasn’t our, “We have to start a sock company.” I don’t think anyone grows up dreaming of that. But you talk to a lot of entrepreneurs, ideas come from anywhere, right?

So how did this idea come about? How did you guys start Bombas socks?

As Randy mentioned, we became kind of fast friends and spent five years working together. We had this shared experience at a fast-growing organization and commiserated over the things that we thought were done poorly and celebrated the things we thought were done great. We found ourselves oftentimes eating lunch together, going to the gym together. When you spend a lot of time with somebody, especially if you’re interested in entrepreneurship, the randomness of ideas start flowing. You’re like, “What if we sold popsicles to just children?” And I’m like, “I don’t know.” And we’re like, “What? That already exists, it’s called an ice cream truck.” You’re like, “Oh, right, bad idea.” So we walked around with our eyes open, our ears to the ground, always looking for opportunity. Opportunity strikes when you least expect it. I was scrolling on Facebook one day and came across a post that said, “Socks are the number one most requested clothing item in homeless shelters.” I remember immediately feeling both surprised and sad. It was upsetting that an item of clothing that I personally never spent more than a few seconds a day thinking about is perceived as a luxury item for hundreds of thousands of people here in the United States. I went over to Randy’s desk and shared the quote with him, and I saw a similar look come over his face. At that moment, we weren’t like, “We’ve got it, we’re gonna do a one-for-one sock company.” We sat with it. We were like, “What can we do? Let’s go out and buy some socks.” We carried some socks around in our bags to and from work and handed them out. This was early 2011. The light bulb went off when we connected the growth that Tom’s Shoes had been experiencing. They were in their fifth year of business doing hundreds of millions of dollars. Warby Parker had just launched and took the one-for-one shoe idea from Toms and applied it to eyewear. We were like, “Maybe this is the solve. Maybe we can donate a pair of socks for every pair of socks that we sell.” We never had aspirations of it being this massive thing. We were like, “This could be a fun little hobby, maybe we’ll create some cool, fun socks on our path to our real business idea.” We just started working on it, and as they always say, the rest is history.

You had an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign and raised $140,000. What happened next? How did that happen? Was that the pilot to launch and validate the product?

I guess we had validation from our parents and some friends and some strangers at the gym, but this was our first public moment with the product. The whole point of it was, “All right, let’s see if some strangers are interested in this idea.” When we wrote the script for the video for our Indiegogo campaign, that was kind of writing the covenant of the Bombas brand. We took three months to write that script. It was the wrenching work of making sure everything was in the right order and the ideas were written down and memorialized the right way. That was an important step for us. It gave us confidence. We had that video and we worked that campaign like it was a full-time job. It took a lot of elbow grease to create the success in that campaign. That got us to a point where we had a couple thousand people who had believed in it and signed up. The nice thing about that was we got those email addresses. We launched our website from there, got it live, and were like, “Okay, now what?” A lot of founders have that moment where they were fighting hard for something, it happens, and then you go, “Oh, right, now what?” How do you get people to come shop here? We were like, “Okay, what do we know? Email. We worked at a company that was pretty good at email. We’ve got this list, let’s start there. Let’s build it and be smart about where we spend our money because we don’t have any. Let’s think about the things that all four founders do really well and use those skill sets as sort of free labor until we can afford to hire more people.” The early work looks the same at a lot of companies. You’re pushing really hard on things that seem so important, and further into it, those things become easier. You’re building the foundation of something great that’s appreciated in the marketplace and has good timing and a good fit. You get a little lucky, you’re a little good, you surround yourself with really smart people and advisors. That was the early days.

With your buy-one-give-one model, how did you balance the desire to give back while remaining profitable in those early days? Were there many mistakes?

A little bit of this was luck in terms of the margin structure of the category we’re in, but from day one, we were donating a product for every product that we sold. There was no chance we would compromise that. We understood the power of that. We started this business to help solve a problem in our community, so if we weren’t donating, it wouldn’t be Bombas. It couldn’t exist without it. When we would meet an investor who would say, “You’re giving away half of my profits by donating a pair,” as Mr. Wonderful said on Shark Tank, a lot of people said this to us along the way, we had built it into the unit economics from the beginning. I like to think of it like learning a foreign language. The earlier you learn it, when you’re a kid, the easier it is and the more fluent you are. You can’t remove it later on. Because we started so early, because it’s so foundational to who we are, the business benefits are clear to us. It’s a flywheel for our business. It’s the number one reason people purchase our products. It is who we are. The investors who got it, got it, and those were our people. For us, profitability had to come with that included. There was no way around it, so that just made us figure it out. If we weren’t able to figure that out, we wouldn’t be sitting here today. We would have abandoned it and just been a sock company with crazy designs. That wasn’t interesting to us.

Can you take us through what the Shark Tank process looked like in the early stages?

I think this is probably one of those moments of luck, but again, I think we created the scenario in which luck decided to knock on our door. We randomly got an email one day. It was from a weird Gmail address, and they were like, “Hey, would you be interested in applying for Shark Tank?” I shared it with Randy and was like, “This can’t be real.” He was like, “Just reply, let’s see.” We replied, and it turns out they used freelance casting agents. They said, “We discovered your Indiegogo campaign, we loved the mission, we loved the brand. Clearly you had some success. You and Randy seem really comfortable on camera. We’d love for you guys to skip the formal audition process and move into the casting process.” We were on a conference call with these people, and every call got realer and realer over a four-month period. We were really pragmatic about it. We were like, “Look, if this happens, great, but the likelihood of us actually filming and then actually airing and then actually getting a deal… we’re not gonna bet our business on it.” Let’s just approach this the way we approach everything else: get super prepared, know our information, give it the best shot we can, but set ourselves up to run a great business without it. A lesson for early entrepreneurs is that they think if they just get that one break, that’s all they need. You can’t bank your company’s success on capturing lightning in a bottle. So we prepared incredibly well, did our research, watched a ton of episodes, saw the ones that did well and the ones that didn’t, and just grinded it out. We ended up getting a deal in the tank, but weren’t sure if they were gonna air our episode. Two weeks before the season premiere, we got a phone call: “Your episode’s gonna air.” We were like, “Cool, we are not ready for this at all.” We had a janky little website, no team. We went from zero customer service—I was our customer service person—to ramping up 40 freelance customer service people overnight. Our site still crashed many times. But it was an awesome experience. We did $900,000 in sales pre-Shark Tank in the first year, and then in two months, we did $1.8 million. It was a massive growth engine for us. We sold out of all of our inventory. They ended up re-airing our episode on Black Friday. It was a massive moment for us, a big catalyst for helping us get off the ground.

Can you tell us about your relationship with Daymond John and what is the best piece of advice he’s ever given you?

Our relationship is great. He’s been an incredible mentor and friend to us. Interestingly enough, he spotted us early on and was like, “You guys have all of the things that are great about your direct-to-consumer businesses, which are all the things that I see wrong with running a wholesale business,” which is what he had been known for. Every time we call to ask for advice, he’s like, “You’re the new generation, you’re the experts. Keep leaning into what you’re doing.” There was a moment where we wanted to expand into other things faster, whether it was selling into wholesale stores or moving into new product categories. He was just like, “Guys, your business is growing 300-400% year-over-year. Just keep doubling down on what you’re doing. Stay focused, stay diligent, just keep doing the thing that you’re doing really well. That’s what’s gonna continue to fuel your growth for the future. If you ever find yourself at a point where growth is slowing, then we can talk about these other options. But don’t be distracted.” Then he always says something like, “Rise and grind.” That’s his advice.

What advice would you give to founders thinking about going on Shark Tank?

Be prepared. Go through the exercise. Whether you get on it or don’t get on it, it’s a kind of a mountaintop experience. It’s not something you can control. Even if you get into the application and screening process, about every other call that we had with them, they were like, “Just because we’re talking about this doesn’t mean you’re gonna get on the show.” They’re really, really careful. We showed up to set with 140 other businesses, and they were like, “By tomorrow, 70% of you will be gone, and by the next day, another 30% of you will be gone.” So even people that they flew out to LA to pitch would get cut. Go through the exercise, know your business incredibly well inside out, have the hard conversations, talk about the things that you might be avoiding. Then apply, and hopefully you get on. It’s a crapshoot, but knowing your business inside and out is probably the best piece of advice we can give you.

What is the biggest mistake you believe e-commerce founders are making today?

I think one of the biggest mistakes is that anybody believes that just because something is not sold online, that’s their opportunity. It’s like, “Guys, there’s no branded direct-to-consumer basketball company, we’re going to be the biggest direct-to-consumer basketball company.” You can’t just put “direct-to-consumer” in front of a product and then think it’s revolutionary. The other thing is, when we started, we were in this interesting moment where the Facebook advertising algorithm was starting to get sophisticated enough where it was powerful, but it wasn’t widely adopted, so it was cheap. When we were first spending money on Facebook, we were getting CPAs for like two to six bucks to acquire a customer. Today, you’re in the 20s and 30s. Brands need to spend so much more to get to that point of finding out who their customer is or what ad works. We had a tremendous amount of runway from being able to test very cheaply on Facebook to hone in and see what worked. If you 10x the cost of that, we would have run through capital so much faster and probably wouldn’t have been able, on the small budget that we had, to get to that proof point. Some of the pitfalls today are people thinking, “Oh, Bombas is selling socks at scale, well I can sell toothbrushes or hair brushes.” It’s a challenging environment. If we were starting over right now, we wouldn’t do it the same way. There was a model in direct-to-consumer brands where it was raise a bunch of VC money, dump it into Facebook ads, transferring money from VC to Silicon Valley to try and build up a customer base. Then you run out of money and raise more money. It’s a different environment now.

What are other channels that are working for you guys right now?

It’s the same kind of mentality; we want to look to where there are opportunities and spaces that people wouldn’t think about. We’re a new direct-to-consumer company, okay, let’s advertise on the radio. Let’s send out direct mailers. Let’s see what TV looks like for us. Let’s explore these places. Let’s create partnerships with very few select retailers even though we’re a direct-to-consumer company and meet their customers where they are. We want to find where people are spending their time and be there to provide them with the right message at the right time. We have the traditional success with Facebook and Instagram. We’re exploring all the new digital platforms and testing and learning in those places as well. But we’re not afraid to do things that seem a little bit older or left of center or experimental just to try and find customers and make people put some Bombas in front of them and see what happens.

How would you recommend founders communicate their mission to their consumers in the early days?

Why it was so successful for us but also so easy is that it was built into the DNA of the company. It was the spark that lit the flame. We didn’t sit there saying, “We want to build a multi-million dollar sock company and, oh by the way, let’s find a way to give back.” We were like, “Hey, there’s a problem in our community, how can we solve this? Oh, we like business, maybe business can help solve this problem.” It was very organic and authentic. If that moment doesn’t hit you right away, digging deep on the authenticity thread is super important. Get close to something and figure out how to create meaning to you personally. If you are able to connect to it personally, you can show up super authentically every single day. Don’t just look something up online that sounds good. If it’s interesting, go volunteer, go get close to it. We didn’t know how to donate a pair of socks, so we called a homeless shelter and were like, “Hey, is this sock thing a real problem?” They were like, “It’s a tremendous problem, we can’t get enough.” We were like, “Well, what if we created a company where we sent you socks whenever we sold them that you could hand out?” They were like, “That would be amazing.” We understood the problem, and that allowed us to talk about it to our customers, employees, and partners in such an authentic and genuine way that they then bought into it because they wanted to be a part of that story.

Hot Seat Round: When you were going on to your Shark Tank episode, who did you have your eye on and why?

That’s easy, it was Daymond John because he’s a New Yorker and he was in the fashion industry.

Hot Seat Round: What’s the one trait every single entrepreneur needs to have?

Resilience. Empathy.

Hot Seat Round: What’s the one word you could use to describe your journey as an entrepreneur?

Mine’s exciting. Mine is winding.

Hot Seat Round: What excites you the most about the future?

I think it’s the team. The fact that we have a group of people who care tremendously about what we’re building and the issues that we’re plugged into, and that I get to work with Dave and the other founding group, it’s just an amazing group of people. Continuing to build that team and work with this group is what I’m most excited about. For me, it’s the idea that I can see a path for the next five to ten years where coming to work every day still feels like we’re just getting started. We’ve been for seven-plus years a single product category on a single channel of distribution in a single geography. 2021 marks the year where we’ve expanded into underwear and t-shirts as new product categories, and we’re launching international later this year. Once those things have proof of concept, what other product categories, what other markets, what other channels? It’s wild to think that we’ve been doing this for almost eight years, and it really just feels like we’re just getting started in a lot of ways.

Hot Seat Round: When was the last time a brand truly impressed you, and if so, what was it and why?

It was a while back, but I still think what Warby Parker did with the virtual try-on at home. The ability to turn a camera on your computer and see eyewear on your face and watch it move with your head, the fact that a direct-to-consumer brand did that was wild to me. I also think there’s a tremendous amount of brands that have done really amazing things with inclusivity around marketing. What Starface has done with acne, celebrating skin blemishes rather than telling teenagers that they’re ugly and they’ve got to hide them, they’re calling them out and putting these yellow stickers on a zit. I think that’s crazy.

Bombas Business Stats

Bombas has grown into a powerhouse in the e-commerce space, driven by a strong mission and smart business strategy. Here are some key stats that highlight their impressive journey and how they built a business that does over a hundred million dollars a year.

• Annual Revenue: Over $100 Million
• Total Capital Raised: $5 Million ($1M Seed, $4M Series A)
• Shark Tank Deal: Secured investment from Daymond John
• Business Model: Buy One, Give One (One purchased = one donated)
• First-Year Sales (Pre-Shark Tank): $900,000
• Sales in Two Months Post-Shark Tank: $1.8 Million

Metric	Value
Year Started	2013
Founders	4
Initial Validation	$140,000 on Indiegogo
Early Customer Acquisition Cost	$2 – $6
Key Investor	Daymond John

Bombas Method

The success of Bombas wasn’t an accident. It was the result of a deliberate, methodical approach to building a brand that matters. Here’s a breakdown of the core methods they used to achieve massive growth while staying true to their mission.

• Identify a Real Problem: Founders discovered socks were the #1 most requested item in homeless shelters.
• Validate with Crowdfunding: Used an Indiegogo campaign to prove market interest before a full-scale launch.
• Bootstrap to Proof: Operated leanly in the early days, focusing on profitability without large VC investment.
• Mission-First Foundation: Integrated the “buy one, give one” model into the business DNA from day one.
• Leverage a Catalyst: Prepared meticulously for Shark Tank, which acted as a massive growth engine.
• Maintain Focus: Resisted distractions and focused on scaling the core product before expanding.

Bombas Tools

Bombas utilized a combination of modern digital tools and strategic platforms to build their brand and connect with customers. Their tech stack was focused on efficiency and direct-to-consumer growth, especially in the early, capital-conscious days.

• Email Marketing: Built their initial customer base by leveraging the email list from their Indiegogo campaign.
• Facebook/Instagram Ads: Capitalized on low-cost Facebook ads in the early days to test and find their audience.
• E-commerce Platform: Built their website on a standard e-commerce platform (implied to be Shopify given the era).
• Indiegogo: Used crowdfunding for initial capital, market validation, and building a community of early adopters.
• Traditional Media: Exploited non-traditional channels like radio and direct mail to find new customers.

Key Notes

The interview with the Bombas founders is filled with invaluable lessons for any entrepreneur. Their journey underscores the importance of a strong mission, strategic patience, and the discipline to build a sustainable business. Here are the most critical takeaways.

• Authenticity is Your Flywheel: A genuine, integrated mission is not a cost center; it’s a powerful marketing and retention tool.
• Bootstrapping Builds Muscle: Solving problems without a checkbook forces creativity and builds a stronger, more resilient business.
• Prepare for Your Lucky Break: You can’t control opportunities like Shark Tank, but you can control your preparation to maximize them when they arrive.
• Stay Focused on What Works: Avoid the temptation to diversify too early. Double down on your core product and channel until growth slows.
• The Landscape Changes: The strategies that worked ten years ago (like cheap Facebook ads) may not work today. Adapt to the current environment.

Get Started in Just 5 Steps

Inspired by the Bombas story? Here’s a simplified roadmap for how you can apply their principles to start your own mission-driven business. These steps will guide you from idea to a validated, growing enterprise.

• Find a Problem You Care About: Look for a genuine, underserved need in a community you want to help.
• Validate Your Solution Cheaply: Use a crowdfunding platform or a simple landing page to see if people will pay for your solution.
• Build Your Mission In: Don’t tack on a mission. Design your business model so that your success directly contributes to solving the problem.
• Bootstrap and Focus on Unit Economics: Keep costs low and prove your business can be profitable on its own before seeking significant outside capital.
• Prepare for Your Catalyst: Identify what a “Shark Tank moment” could be for you (a major feature, a viral campaign, a key partnership) and prepare obsessively for it.

Conclusion

The story of Bombas is a masterclass in how to build a 100 million dollar business with soul. By focusing on a real problem, staying true to their mission, and executing with discipline, David Heath and Randy Goldberg created more than just a successful company; they created a movement. Their journey proves that with the right combination of heart and hustle, you can achieve extraordinary success while making a tangible impact on the world.