Application — Growth
Simply Earth already has 5,492 reviews and a $39.99 first box; that proof should lead every cold-buyer ad.
Who I am
- Former COO of Tabs. Built its creator program to 100M monthly social impressions, and the paid ad engine alongside it.
- Founded Mainstreet, a consumer home-services platform: a team of 70, $25M raised (Greylock, Khosla, YC, Tim Ferriss). It failed.
- Before that: Quintessential Ventures, an early seat at a high-growth startup, and entrepreneur-in-residence at Prehype.
- I'm moving into growth specifically. The creative and top-of-funnel work is what I want to be doing every day.
What I noticed
- The Recipe Box first box is listed at $39.99, down from $49.99, with free shipping. That one price is the cleanest hook for a cold buyer, and it deserves its own page.
- Clean & Fresh Essential Oil Blend sells for $13.99. A low-priced single oil like this is an easy first purchase for someone not ready for a box, and a test worth running.
- Simply Earth shows 5,492 reviews at five stars. That is proof an ad can carry in its first line, and a landing page can put it above the Recipe Box offer.
What I built
What I'd do here
- My KPI: scale ad spend, hold target CAC. Everything else follows from that, including which Recipe Box offer we push.
- Week to week: launching a bunch of different experiments, losers killed early. First tests compare the $39.99 first box against single oils.
- Creators: DIY makers filming the DIY Perfume Kit, parents trying the Kid's Roll-On Essential Oil Kit, soap crafters using the Large Wooden Soap Mold.
- Reporting so you never have to ask. Daily CAC. Weekly what we learned. Monthly cohort payback on the Recipe Box subscription.
- Event tracking I'd spec and work through with your team. That part isn't me. Subscription events need to be clean first.
Month one
| Metric | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creators live | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Creator videos / week | 0 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 56 | 70 |
| Landing pages live | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| New ads / week | 12 | 12 | 12–20 | 12–20 | 20 | 20 |
| Unique experiments | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
Creators come on two a week and each posts the same number of videos a week, so videos climb from 14 to 70. New ads and landing pages follow the creators, with experiments rising from 2 to 6. Proposed.
Creator videos a week = creators live × videos per creator. Week 1: 0 × 7 = 0; Week 2: 2 × 7 = 14; Week 3: 4 × 7 = 28; Week 4: 6 × 7 = 42; Week 5: 8 × 7 = 56; Week 6: 10 × 7 = 70.
How I'd start
- Build a hook library from the Recipe Box reviews, so every first ad starts from words customers already use.
- Recruit a first pair of DIY creators and ship them the box, then let them film unboxing and first-recipe videos in their own kitchens.
I'd love to chat if this makes sense. Grab a time here.
Danilo