Episode 102

Unbound Merino: From crowdfunding campaign to a $40M global ecommerce brand

Dan Demsky
Dan Demsky
CEO & Co-founder

In this episode we talked about:

  • How to use crowdfunding as both capital and product-market fit validation.
  • Why bootstrapping enforces smarter, leaner operations than raising capital.
  • How to pivot brand messaging when your core use case (like travel) disappears overnight.
  • Why authentic YouTube creators often outperform paid influencer campaigns.
  • How founder-led storytelling still converts and how to balance it with broader creative.
  • The systems and candor required to successfully build a business with friends.

🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube

Episode highlights:

[02:19] From Indiegogo to Shopify: validating demand and building early momentum.

[04:09] The discovery of merino wool as the ultimate travel hack.

[07:28] Bootstrapping vs. raising capital: Why Unbound has never taken outside money.

[08:25] COVID disruption: when a travel-focused brand faces zero travel.

[11:11] Founder-driven ads: Why Dan’s presence still converts.

[12:53] YouTube as an organic growth engine and the power of authentic creators.

[17:59] Minimalism, freedom, and the lifestyle behind Unbound Merino.

‍Brian’s bottom line: For digitally native brands like Unbound Merino, long-term success comes from authenticity and resilience. From using crowdfunding to validate product-market fit, to riding the organic wave of YouTube creators, to pivoting when global travel stopped, Dan shows that bootstrapping can scale when paired with lean operations, creative storytelling, and a relentless focus on product quality.

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