Startup Sphere Interviews #1

Hey it’s Vlad,

welcome back to Startup Sphere, a 5-minute weekly digest about online businesses selling for life-changing amounts of money.

I didn’t write the usual Wednesday newsletter this week, but I have something else that I think you’ll enjoy.

This edition is the first (of many) in a series of interviews with founders who built, scaled, and sold their businesses.

This is an interview with Bryn, founder of Race Day Prints.

Let’s get into it ⤵️

Who are you and what business did you start?

I’m Bryn, 26 from London, UK.

My business, Race Day Prints, made personalized running posters.

So customers who run a marathon or finish an Ironman can get a unique print of their route with their name and finish time.

How did you come up with the idea?

The idea came after I finished my first ultramarathon. It was just before my birthday and I wanted a way to remember the hard work of training and racing.

I knew that if I wanted a gift like this, other athletes would too.

What marketing channels did you use to get users?

I mostly used Instagram, boosting reels whenever I got a hit.

Why did you end up selling your business?

I listed the business on Acquire.com to test if there was any interest, I wasn't set on selling the store.

But I got an offer for the asking price and the buyer was incredibly easy to work with, so now I have more time to focus on other projects.

Describe the process of selling.

Acquire.com makes the whole process seamless, the platform and its trusted partners have everything you need to quickly sell a brand.

The private buyer had all the funds and was very responsive, so it couldn't have gone any smoother.

Very lucky to have received an offer and worked with him. Much easier than selling my first brand!

Any advice for entrepreneurs looking to start a successful business?

Just start.

I started my first business at university, I knew nothing but I just worked consistently. You never know what may happen but you can control how hard and how often you work, so stay consistent.

If the first doesn't work, it’s just a rep and you'll learn so much that you can apply to the next one.

Just start.

Talk about a failure you had and how you overcame it.

After selling my first e-commerce brand, I went through an accelerator and raised a small VC round.

My background is ecommerce and these are my strengths, not building tech products as a non-technical founder.

You just have to brush it off and refocus on your strengths.

What platforms/tools/tech do you use for your business?

The store was built on Shopify with custom-built tech to get data from Strava. Everything else was pretty standard Shopify apps.

Any announcements you have?

I'm looking for more D2C projects to get involved in, helping brands scale.

If you need any help or just have a question, hit me up on Twitter @BrynHassan.

I hope you enjoyed my first interview edition. Make sure to vote on the poll above and leave any feedback (questions I should ask, etc).

A lot of people told me they’re interested in this type of content, so I’ll try to interview more and more founders.

Next Wednesday I’ll be back with the regularly scheduled weekly newsletter.

Talk soon 👨‍💻

— Vlad Verba
Let’s connect on Twitter/X & LinkedIn