237: 50 Team Members & Growing: How this Former Fighter Pilot Built a Unique Business

One of the keys to successful growth is hiring a team that keeps the business running, whether the founder is there or not.

Over the last 14 years, Cory Bower, founder of Aviator Gear, has built a multi-million dollar business with a team of 48 full-time employees.

When Cory was in the Air Force, he saw a need, launched a company, and to this day uses some of his military systems and structure to keep things running smoothly.

It’s always a pleasure to chat with Cory, and I hope you enjoy our conversation about growth, hiring, and critical tools for success.

Episode Highlights

• 5:55 Introducing Cory Bower and the birth of Aviator Gear.
• 8:12 The unique custom nature of Cory’s products.
• 10:20 Cory’s journey to becoming a fighter pilot.
• 13:53 Transitioning from fighter jets to ecommerce.
• 16:05 How Cory applies lessons learned in the military to his business.
• 18:42 The team structure Cory’s built that lets his business run even when he’s not around.
• 23:55 Engines for Aviator Gear’s growth over the last year and how they communicate about the custom nature of their products through different parts of the funnel.
• 26:43 The role Cory wishes he would have gotten off his own plate sooner, but why you have to have balance as you grow so the wheels don’t fall off.
• 29:18 Tools Aviator Gear uses to keep things running smoothly.
• 35:07 What it looks like to hire and manage a 50-person team.
• 39:29 Cory’s learning process and how he finds useful information to help his growth.
• 42:07 Do this simple thing right now to be more productive.

Links And Resources

• Aviator Gear
• Klaviyo
• Dropbox
• OnSite by Shopworks
• Pipedrive
• Cory on Twitter - @TrapBower
• [e-mail]
• @a_brawn on Twitter
• @andrewfoxwell on Twitter
• Profit Summit
• Brand Growth Experts
• Foxwell Digital
• Review or subscribe on iTunes