235: A Behind the Scenes Look at Pura Vida’s Multi-Million Dollar Exit

When someone asks about eCommerce best practices, we always hear, “well, what’s Pura Vida doing?”

Today we’re talking with Pura Vida CEO, Griffin Thall, to get an inside look at their current strategies, how the company’s grown over the last several years, the way his role has evolved, and what it's actually like to prepare your company for a multi-million dollar sale.

Andrew and I both worked with Pura Vida at the very beginning, and we’re so excited to reconnect and bring this episode to you today.

Enjoy!

Episode Highlights

• 6:25 What got Griffin and Pura Vida to where they are today.
• 7:28 How Griffin’s role has changed as the company’s grown.
• 9:02 Pura Vida’s unique influencer strategy and how it started.
• 12:45 Relentless innovation and how Pura Vida continues to increase customer lifetime value.
• 15:18 The moment Griffin realized the brand was going to be a success.
• 16:30 How Pura Vida’s growth strategy has changed over time.
• 17:57 The challenges Griffin’s faced over the years as CEO.
• 20:12 Where Griffin’s seen the most success in hiring.
• 22:12 How Pura Vida’s ambassador program started, and where it’s at today.
• 22:21 A day in the life of the Pura Vida CEO, and the value of growing a team.
• 24:25 Why you’ve got to stop wearing all the hats in your business if you want it to scale up.
• 28:14 What you should be focusing on as a founder, instead of getting enticed by the newest Shopify app.
• 29:28 A key approach for brands launching today vs 6 years ago.
• 31:53 Lessons learned about managing cash while scaling up.
• 33:47 How Pura Vida ended up making a deal with Vera Bradley, and the process of finding and securing that kind of partnership.
• 38:07 Griffin’s biggest takeaway from meeting with investors.
• 39:34 The expansive value Pura Vida’s gained from their partnership with Vera Bradley.
• 41:33 What Griffin’s excited about right now and some things in store for Pura Vida in 2020.

Links And Resources

• Pura Vida
• Attentive
• Griffin on LinkedIn
• Griffin on Instagram
• [e-mail]
• @a_brawn on Twitter
• @andrewfoxwell on Twitter
• Brand Growth Experts
• Foxwell Digital
• Review or subscribe on iTunes