Clearco’s CEO, Andrew Curtis was recently hosted on the eCommerce Fastlane podcast, along with Tim Marinello, the COO of The Adventure Challenge. These two discussed what excites them in the marketing landscape, how to drive a robust omnichannel approach, and why Clearco's unique approach to funding helps founders fuel their business. eCommerce Fastlane's episode Clearco’s Non-Dilutive Funding Powers eCommerce Success Stories Like The Adventure Challenge offered many interesting insights and below are the top 3 lessons that stood out to us.

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Ecommerce Fastlane Learnings: Having the right partnerships in place will help you succeed

Having strong partnerships in your business is crucial for success. Alliances can help you expand across diverse customer segments, and position yourself more strategically with new audiences. Partnerships can also help your business weather market volatility, which is especially important for seasonal businesses, such as The Adventure Challenge. 

Tim finds his funding relationship with Clearco to be helpful. Clearco is valuable to their Shopify ecommerce business as they support with funding marketing and inventory when financing from traditional banks may not be available. Having a working capital solution is important for The Adventure Challenge.

Tim states that being omni-channel and having different avenues to different markets presents new opportunities and challenges. He also attributes much of his success to working with retail partner agencies. Knowing that retail is not a straightforward business, he learned quickly that agency buyers could help him get through the door while strong relationships with category buyers could help ensure his accounts were well managed. 

Ecommerce Fastlane Learnings: Importance of sustainable business growth

Where rapid growth once fuelled the tech startup space, investors today are equally interested in businesses that are tracking towards sustainable growth and profitability. The EY Global IPO trends reports: “The IPO market has experienced a notable shift in investor focus toward financial sustainability and profitability of newly listed companies, reflecting a more discerning approach in an environment characterized by tight monetary conditions and market uncertainties.”

Tim emphasizes the importance of offering unique and meaningful products that set his brand apart in a market. He offers these products across many different channels, allowing for expansion. 

Clearco uses models to evaluate businesses in a way that remove bias. Andrew says: “For Clearco to be sustainable, we need to make sure that when funding goes out, it's going to come back.”  The focus for us at Clearco is to be profitable, and fund companies to enable them to generate cash flow to help with expansion and growth. 

Ecommerce Fastlane Learnings: Community and connection are at the heart of business

Cultivating human connection within your business can help your customers engage with your products while strengthening your brand identity. Tim’s startup has tapped into this innate desire and created products that inspire human connection and create lasting memories. 

We learned a lot from this engaging conversation, but don’t take our word for it! Check out the full episode, Clearco’s Non-Dilutive Funding Powers eCommerce Success Stories Like The Adventure Challenge, on the eCommerce Fastlane podcast.