Hey.

Wanted to talk about something near and dear to my heart today.

Most people think building a brand starts with a deck and a dream.

Mine started with a volleyball net, a beach, and $7,000 I yanked from my 401k. No investors. No fancy office. No clue what I was doing.

But here’s the truth most founders won’t tell you: Scrappy, wins in the beginning. But if you don’t eventually build systems, it’ll break you.

Here’s the full story, how we turned a product nobody asked for into a multi-8-figure brand. 

And what I’d do differently if I had to do it all over again.

From $7k to Selling on the Sand

When we came up with CROSSNET, this crazy four-way volleyball idea, we weren’t thinking about scale.

We were thinking: how do we sell one?

That first $7K went straight to inventory. We didn’t spend on branding, websites, or even ads. 

We bought nets. Because if we didn’t have product, we didn’t have a business.

So we hit the beach. Literally.

We’d set up the net, get people to play, and by the end of the day, a few folks would ask, 

“Where can I buy this?”

We’d say: right here. On Venmo. We’d pop the trunk, hand them a box, and reinvest that money right back into the next batch. It was old-school. It was gritty. But it worked.

At first, we’d sell one net a day. Maybe one every other day.

They cost $150, and our profit was about $70.

Split between three co-founders? I was pocketing $20 a day.

Not exactly "quit your job" money. We had to make a decision: either treat this like a hobby and let it fade, or get serious and figure out how to scale without burning out.

Sliding into Retail (And DMs)

The next obvious move was retail. But we didn’t have industry contacts. We weren’t ex-Nike or backed by a VC firm with “warm intros.”

So I did what every scrappy founder should do more of: I hit LinkedIn.

I cold-DM’d buyers. But I didn’t pitch like a robot full of corporate jargon. I used clear language and a personal tone. That’s what worked.

One by one, they replied. And over time, we broke into stores we never dreamed of, including a launch into Target.

We didn’t have the budget to outspend our competitors, so we had to outsmart them.

Some of the most effective growth tactics we used were also the most unconventional:

• We leaned on Amazon: We became the #1 volleyball net on Amazon and started funneling paid traffic there instead of our site. The conversions were just better.

• We bought billboards in the middle of nowhere: For small-town retailers, we ran hyper-local billboard campaigns: “Now Selling CROSSNET, Exit 82.” They cost nothing. And half the time, no one bought the space after us, so we’d get free months of exposure.

The Most Underrated Growth Lever: Know Your Numbers

This might not be sexy, but it’ll save your business: Know your numbers better than anyone.

We track every dollar. Daily.

Because if you’re spending on ads and logistics and partnerships, and you’re not deeply in tune with your margins, CAC, LTV, and net profit, you’re guessing.

And guessing kills good businesses.

We had weeks where we thought we were printing money, but after cost of goods, shipping, returns, and discounts, we were barely breaking even. That wake-up call hurt. But it made us sharper.

Now I recommend founders build in a daily money pulse and a weekly cash health check-in. That rhythm alone changed everything.

If I could do it all over again, I’d do a few things differently:

I’d build systems sooner.

I’d get obsessive about operations and supply chain earlier.

I’d document what worked in real time, instead of trying to remember later.

I’d protect my energy. (Running a business will burn you out fast if you let it.)

And I’d ask for help, way more often than I did.

Financial Spotlight: Mercury

When we were bootstrapping CROSSNET, every dollar mattered. 

And once we started scaling, we needed a banking service provider that actually understood what modern founders go through.

Introducing: Mercury.

It’s the product I wish we had from day one. Real-time cashflow views, zero hidden fees, virtual credit cards with 1.5% cashback, and FDIC-insured accounts through their partner banks.

It’s banking built for the way we actually run businesses today: scrappy, global, fast-moving.

If you're a founder scaling a real company, don’t let your backend slow you down. 

Mercury makes it easy to keep up.

Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. Deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank.

You Don’t Need a Perfect Plan. You Need a Real One.

Everyone wants to build the next big thing. But most aren’t willing to go to the beach and sell it out of the trunk of their car.

That season taught me more about customer psychology, brand loyalty, and resilience than any MBA ever could. And it gave me the perspective to appreciate everything that came after, retail, press, partnerships, scale. None of that matters if your foundation isn’t strong.

If you’re early-stage, here’s your playbook:

Get scrappy and find a low-cost, high-impact way to get your product in real hands.
Start logging every dollar. Know your margins. Daily.
Don’t skip the personal touch, whether it’s a retail pitch or a customer email, real always wins.
Build a repeatable funnel that’ll take you from traffic to nurture to conversion, map the journey.
Most importantly: Ask for help. You’re not supposed to have it all figured out.

You can build something massive without raising money.

You just need discipline, creativity, and the willingness to get weird in the name of growth.

That original $7K decision? It changed my life.

And if you’re willing to go all-in, yours might be one decision away, too.

To your success,
Chris