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Jun 25, 2016 · 23m · top-founders

EP 336: Ash and Anvil Sells Clothes To Short Guys, 25% Ecommerce Re-Order Rate

Nathan Latka · 10m spoken Steven Mazur · 9m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of The Top, host Nathan Latka interviews Steven Mazur, co-founder and CEO of Ash and Anvil, about launching an e-commerce clothing brand tailored for shorter men, navigating early manufacturing and unit economics, and leveraging Detroit's startup ecosystem through Venture for America.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 51.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.3 Guest teaching 3.3 Guest disagreement 1.3 Nathan pushing back 2.5
05100:0010:0020:001:47–7:18 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Identifying Market Demand and Launching the Indiegogo Campaign Nathan drills down into Ash and Anvil's unit economics and margins, estimating gross margin at 55% based on COGS. When Steven provides high-level figures, Nathan pushes to clarify per-unit net margin versus company net margin.7:18–13:20 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Inventory Forecasting, Reorder Rates, and First-Year Revenue Nathan actively computes the math connecting batch sizes, total customers, and reorder rates, calling out a potential discrepancy. Steven patiently walks him through the two distinct production runs and actual customer ratios.13:24–16:36 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Venture for America Fellowship and Detroit's Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Steven gently corrects Nathan twice, first clarifying that Andrew Yang (not Steve Case) founded Venture for America, and then correcting Nathan's mix-up of Social Proof's CEO before Nathan recalls interviewing Nathan LeBenz.16:37–21:06 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Host Endorsements: FreshBooks Accounting and HostGator Web Hosting Segment includes host ad reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire, where Steven amiably shares his favorite tools, book, and sleep habits with zero friction.1:47–7:18 · Guest teaching 2/10 Identifying Market Demand and Launching the Indiegogo Campaign Nathan drills down into Ash and Anvil's unit economics and margins, estimating gross margin at 55% based on COGS. When Steven provides high-level figures, Nathan pushes to clarify per-unit net margin versus company net margin.7:18–13:20 · Guest teaching 4/10 Inventory Forecasting, Reorder Rates, and First-Year Revenue Nathan actively computes the math connecting batch sizes, total customers, and reorder rates, calling out a potential discrepancy. Steven patiently walks him through the two distinct production runs and actual customer ratios.13:24–16:36 · Guest teaching 6/10 Venture for America Fellowship and Detroit's Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Steven gently corrects Nathan twice, first clarifying that Andrew Yang (not Steve Case) founded Venture for America, and then correcting Nathan's mix-up of Social Proof's CEO before Nathan recalls interviewing Nathan LeBenz.16:37–21:06 · Guest teaching 1/10 Host Endorsements: FreshBooks Accounting and HostGator Web Hosting Segment includes host ad reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire, where Steven amiably shares his favorite tools, book, and sleep habits with zero friction.1:47–7:18 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Identifying Market Demand and Launching the Indiegogo Campaign Nathan drills down into Ash and Anvil's unit economics and margins, estimating gross margin at 55% based on COGS. When Steven provides high-level figures, Nathan pushes to clarify per-unit net margin versus company net margin.7:18–13:20 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Inventory Forecasting, Reorder Rates, and First-Year Revenue Nathan actively computes the math connecting batch sizes, total customers, and reorder rates, calling out a potential discrepancy. Steven patiently walks him through the two distinct production runs and actual customer ratios.13:24–16:36 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Venture for America Fellowship and Detroit's Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Steven gently corrects Nathan twice, first clarifying that Andrew Yang (not Steve Case) founded Venture for America, and then correcting Nathan's mix-up of Social Proof's CEO before Nathan recalls interviewing Nathan LeBenz.16:37–21:06 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Host Endorsements: FreshBooks Accounting and HostGator Web Hosting Segment includes host ad reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire, where Steven amiably shares his favorite tools, book, and sleep habits with zero friction.1:47–7:18 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Identifying Market Demand and Launching the Indiegogo Campaign Nathan drills down into Ash and Anvil's unit economics and margins, estimating gross margin at 55% based on COGS. When Steven provides high-level figures, Nathan pushes to clarify per-unit net margin versus company net margin.7:18–13:20 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Inventory Forecasting, Reorder Rates, and First-Year Revenue Nathan actively computes the math connecting batch sizes, total customers, and reorder rates, calling out a potential discrepancy. Steven patiently walks him through the two distinct production runs and actual customer ratios.13:24–16:36 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Venture for America Fellowship and Detroit's Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Steven gently corrects Nathan twice, first clarifying that Andrew Yang (not Steve Case) founded Venture for America, and then correcting Nathan's mix-up of Social Proof's CEO before Nathan recalls interviewing Nathan LeBenz.16:37–21:06 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Host Endorsements: FreshBooks Accounting and HostGator Web Hosting Segment includes host ad reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire, where Steven amiably shares his favorite tools, book, and sleep habits with zero friction.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 68.9% · guest 31.1%0:00 · Nathan 68.9% · guest 31.1%3:00 · Nathan 33.5% · guest 66.5%3:00 · Nathan 33.5% · guest 66.5%6:00 · Nathan 36.4% · guest 63.6%6:00 · Nathan 36.4% · guest 63.6%9:00 · Nathan 33.5% · guest 66.5%9:00 · Nathan 33.5% · guest 66.5%12:00 · Nathan 25.8% · guest 74.2%12:00 · Nathan 25.8% · guest 74.2%15:00 · Nathan 78% · guest 22%15:00 · Nathan 78% · guest 22%18:00 · Nathan 50.5% · guest 49.5%18:00 · Nathan 50.5% · guest 49.5%21:00 · Nathan 98.3% · guest 1.7%21:00 · Nathan 98.3% · guest 1.7%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 11:10 Polite rejection of host assumption

Steven directly refutes Nathan's assumption that every customer purchases every shirt, explaining variations in buying habits.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 11:17 Nathan pauses interview over inventory math

Nathan halts the flow to challenge Steven's numbers, demanding an explanation because the customer count and batch volume don't immediately add up.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 13:25 Correcting VFA founder identity

Steven immediately corrects Nathan's mistaken belief that Steve Case founded Venture for America, pointing out it was founded by Andrew Yang.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 5:25 Nathan deduces gross margins

Nathan quickly translates Steven's raw COGS and selling price into a precise 55% to 65% gross margin estimate on the fly.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Identifying Market Demand and Launching the Indiegogo Campaign 5213 Nathan drills down into Ash and Anvil's unit economics and margins, estimating gross margin at 55% based on COGS. When Steven provides high-level figures, Nathan pushes to clarify per-unit net margin versus company net margin.
Inventory Forecasting, Reorder Rates, and First-Year Revenue 6424 Nathan actively computes the math connecting batch sizes, total customers, and reorder rates, calling out a potential discrepancy. Steven patiently walks him through the two distinct production runs and actual customer ratios.
Venture for America Fellowship and Detroit's Entrepreneurial Ecosystem 4622 Steven gently corrects Nathan twice, first clarifying that Andrew Yang (not Steve Case) founded Venture for America, and then correcting Nathan's mix-up of Social Proof's CEO before Nathan recalls interviewing Nathan LeBenz.
Host Endorsements: FreshBooks Accounting and HostGator Web Hosting 2101 Segment includes host ad reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire, where Steven amiably shares his favorite tools, book, and sleep habits with zero friction.

Statements from this episode (7)

Assertion Supported
Mazur: 40 million US men under 5'8" struggle to find clothes
“There's forty million adults in our country that are five and below. That's a third of men that have trouble finding clothes that fit well.”
Steven Mazur Jun 25, 2016 ▶ 2:15
Assertion Supported
Mazur: Ash and Anvil raised $26K in Indiegogo pre-orders
“Our goal was 10,000 dollars. That's the point where we said, alright, if we raise 10,000, we know we can submit an order and get this thing off the ground, there's enough traction. We ended up raising 26,000 dollars in pre-orders.”
Steven Mazur Jun 25, 2016 ▶ 3:12
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mazur: Ash and Anvil's landed cost is $20 to $25 per shirt
“Our pricing at low volume is anywhere from 20 to 25 dollars to get the shirts to our door.”
Steven Mazur Jun 25, 2016 ▶ 5:11
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mazur: Ash and Anvil operates at 50% to 55% gross margin
“Closer to 55 once you, especially once you add everything else, like that packaging fulfillment, but about a 50%, 55% margin at this point with that lower volume.”
Steven Mazur Jun 25, 2016 ▶ 5:40
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mazur: Ash and Anvil sold out initial 1,000 shirts in five weeks
“Our first round of shirts that we ordered that ended up selling out in five weeks, that was a thousand units.”
Steven Mazur Jun 25, 2016 ▶ 5:57
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mazur: Ash and Anvil held a 25% reorder rate while sold out
“We ended up selling out in our first five weeks, we sold out of inventory in January, and we're just now getting our next batch in a couple weeks. So, we've been sold out for a few months, and even with being sold out and only taking pre-orders now, we still h…”
Steven Mazur Jun 25, 2016 ▶ 10:20
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mazur: Ash and Anvil generated $50K in first two months post-launch
“Yeah, so I think we launched in November and obviously weren't around too much, but we're looking at about 50,000 dollars.”
Steven Mazur Jun 25, 2016 ▶ 12:30
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