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Apr 18, 2016 · 21m · top-founders

Veteran and CEO Says Business, Not Bullets, Key To Winning Afghan War with Matt Griffin of CombatFlipFlops EP 242

Matt Griffin · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 8m 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 former Army Ranger and Combat Flip Flops CEO Matt Griffin about scaling a mission-driven consumer brand in conflict zones. Griffin details the company's financial unit economics, bootstrapping history, and the foundational 'business, not bullets' philosophy that funds girls' education in Afghanistan.

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 46.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 3.0 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 1.0 Nathan pushing back 2.0
05100:0010:0020:001:03–4:46 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Introducing Matt Griffin and Combat Flip Flops Revenue Nathan presses Matt on Combat Flip Flops' revenue, profit margins, and per-unit unit economics. When Matt's margin explanation gets ambiguous, Nathan stops him to re-tally the figures and calculate the exact gross profit per unit.4:47–8:53 · Nathan as informed peer 1/10 Philanthropic Mission and the "Business Not Bullets" Philosophy Nathan explicitly admits ignorance regarding import tariffs and asks Matt to educate him. Matt explains US tariff structures on war-zone manufacturing, micro-loan impact, and his 'business not bullets' thesis.8:53–12:38 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Bootstrapping Origins, Media Strategy, and Founding Team Nathan challenges Matt on how much capital he personally put in before his first sale versus selling off assets. Matt clarifies his phased testing strategy, prototype funding, and military blog media push.12:39–15:57 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Growth Goals and Economics of the Cashmere Shemagh Nathan explores future growth milestones and product economics for the cashmere shemagh. Matt explains the product utility and how the high gross margins subsidize girl schooling and company scaling.15:58–18:37 · Nathan as informed peer 1/10 Mid-Show Host Announcements and HostGator Sponsorship Break Segment features host mid-roll ad reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five question routine. Dynamic is light, cooperative, and promotional.1:03–4:46 · Guest teaching 2/10 Introducing Matt Griffin and Combat Flip Flops Revenue Nathan presses Matt on Combat Flip Flops' revenue, profit margins, and per-unit unit economics. When Matt's margin explanation gets ambiguous, Nathan stops him to re-tally the figures and calculate the exact gross profit per unit.4:47–8:53 · Guest teaching 7/10 Philanthropic Mission and the "Business Not Bullets" Philosophy Nathan explicitly admits ignorance regarding import tariffs and asks Matt to educate him. Matt explains US tariff structures on war-zone manufacturing, micro-loan impact, and his 'business not bullets' thesis.8:53–12:38 · Guest teaching 3/10 Bootstrapping Origins, Media Strategy, and Founding Team Nathan challenges Matt on how much capital he personally put in before his first sale versus selling off assets. Matt clarifies his phased testing strategy, prototype funding, and military blog media push.12:39–15:57 · Guest teaching 3/10 Growth Goals and Economics of the Cashmere Shemagh Nathan explores future growth milestones and product economics for the cashmere shemagh. Matt explains the product utility and how the high gross margins subsidize girl schooling and company scaling.15:58–18:37 · Guest teaching 0/10 Mid-Show Host Announcements and HostGator Sponsorship Break Segment features host mid-roll ad reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five question routine. Dynamic is light, cooperative, and promotional.1:03–4:46 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Matt Griffin and Combat Flip Flops Revenue Nathan presses Matt on Combat Flip Flops' revenue, profit margins, and per-unit unit economics. When Matt's margin explanation gets ambiguous, Nathan stops him to re-tally the figures and calculate the exact gross profit per unit.4:47–8:53 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Philanthropic Mission and the "Business Not Bullets" Philosophy Nathan explicitly admits ignorance regarding import tariffs and asks Matt to educate him. Matt explains US tariff structures on war-zone manufacturing, micro-loan impact, and his 'business not bullets' thesis.8:53–12:38 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Bootstrapping Origins, Media Strategy, and Founding Team Nathan challenges Matt on how much capital he personally put in before his first sale versus selling off assets. Matt clarifies his phased testing strategy, prototype funding, and military blog media push.12:39–15:57 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Growth Goals and Economics of the Cashmere Shemagh Nathan explores future growth milestones and product economics for the cashmere shemagh. Matt explains the product utility and how the high gross margins subsidize girl schooling and company scaling.15:58–18:37 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Mid-Show Host Announcements and HostGator Sponsorship Break Segment features host mid-roll ad reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five question routine. Dynamic is light, cooperative, and promotional.1:03–4:46 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Introducing Matt Griffin and Combat Flip Flops Revenue Nathan presses Matt on Combat Flip Flops' revenue, profit margins, and per-unit unit economics. When Matt's margin explanation gets ambiguous, Nathan stops him to re-tally the figures and calculate the exact gross profit per unit.4:47–8:53 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Philanthropic Mission and the "Business Not Bullets" Philosophy Nathan explicitly admits ignorance regarding import tariffs and asks Matt to educate him. Matt explains US tariff structures on war-zone manufacturing, micro-loan impact, and his 'business not bullets' thesis.8:53–12:38 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Bootstrapping Origins, Media Strategy, and Founding Team Nathan challenges Matt on how much capital he personally put in before his first sale versus selling off assets. Matt clarifies his phased testing strategy, prototype funding, and military blog media push.12:39–15:57 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Growth Goals and Economics of the Cashmere Shemagh Nathan explores future growth milestones and product economics for the cashmere shemagh. Matt explains the product utility and how the high gross margins subsidize girl schooling and company scaling.15:58–18:37 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Mid-Show Host Announcements and HostGator Sponsorship Break Segment features host mid-roll ad reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five question routine. Dynamic is light, cooperative, and promotional.

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

0:00 · Nathan 74.8% · guest 25.2%0:00 · Nathan 74.8% · guest 25.2%3:00 · Nathan 47.5% · guest 52.5%3:00 · Nathan 47.5% · guest 52.5%6:00 · Nathan 20% · guest 80%6:00 · Nathan 20% · guest 80%9:00 · Nathan 13.7% · guest 86.3%9:00 · Nathan 13.7% · guest 86.3%12:00 · Nathan 23.6% · guest 76.4%12:00 · Nathan 23.6% · guest 76.4%15:00 · Nathan 72.4% · guest 27.6%15:00 · Nathan 72.4% · guest 27.6%18:00 · Nathan 83.4% · guest 16.6%18:00 · Nathan 83.4% · guest 16.6%21:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%21:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 7:28 Pushing economic warfare philosophy over skeptics

Matt forcefully argues against critics of trade-based foreign policy, arguing that national economies are the ultimate weapon.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 3:41 Host halts guest to reconcile conflicting margin numbers

Nathan refuses to move forward when the numbers don't add up, challenging Matt to explain where the rest of the margin went on a 50 dollar flip-flop.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 6:50 Educating host on 17% import tariffs from conflict zones

After Nathan asks to be educated, Matt details the tariff penalties American companies face importing goods from countries like Afghanistan.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 4:15 Real-time P&L breakdown from product pricing to CPA

Nathan synthesizes Matt's disparate unit cost data in real time, calculating COGS, shipping, and CPA to deduce the true gross margin of 27 dollars per unit.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Matt Griffin and Combat Flip Flops Revenue 6214 Nathan presses Matt on Combat Flip Flops' revenue, profit margins, and per-unit unit economics. When Matt's margin explanation gets ambiguous, Nathan stops him to re-tally the figures and calculate the exact gross profit per unit.
Philanthropic Mission and the "Business Not Bullets" Philosophy 1711 Nathan explicitly admits ignorance regarding import tariffs and asks Matt to educate him. Matt explains US tariff structures on war-zone manufacturing, micro-loan impact, and his 'business not bullets' thesis.
Bootstrapping Origins, Media Strategy, and Founding Team 3323 Nathan challenges Matt on how much capital he personally put in before his first sale versus selling off assets. Matt clarifies his phased testing strategy, prototype funding, and military blog media push.
Growth Goals and Economics of the Cashmere Shemagh 4312 Nathan explores future growth milestones and product economics for the cashmere shemagh. Matt explains the product utility and how the high gross margins subsidize girl schooling and company scaling.
Mid-Show Host Announcements and HostGator Sponsorship Break 1000 Segment features host mid-roll ad reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five question routine. Dynamic is light, cooperative, and promotional.

Statements from this episode (15)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Combat Flip Flops generated over $300,000 in sales in 2015
“In 2015, we did over 300,000 dollars in sales.”
Matt Griffin Apr 18, 2016 ▶ 2:24
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Combat Flip Flops broke even on 2015 sales
“Yeah, we just broke even on that.”
Matt Griffin Apr 18, 2016 ▶ 2:31
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Combat Flip Flops hit over $400,000 in sales by March 2016
“This year we're already capping 400 and change and we're in the first week of March.”
Matt Griffin Apr 18, 2016 ▶ 2:33
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Griffin projects Combat Flip Flops will achieve ~8% net margin in 2016
“No, we should be at about net eight this year. Net eight percent.”
Matt Griffin Apr 18, 2016 ▶ 2:49
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Combat Flip Flops' AK-47 sandals cost $17.50 to make, $3.90 to ship
“It costs us 17 50 to make that. And right now we're air shipping in men. So that costs about three 90 to land.”
Matt Griffin Apr 18, 2016 ▶ 3:17
Disclosure
Combat Flip Flops to cut shipping costs to $0.89 via ocean freight
“By July, we're going to go over to ocean shipping. So we'll be shipping them via container and they're going to cost us about 89 cents a piece to land. So we're going to make about another three bucks on each of those per sale.”
Matt Griffin Apr 18, 2016 ▶ 3:23
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Griffin: Combat Flip Flops maintains $8 CPA threshold and 37% repurchase rate
“We have a eight dollar threshold on our CPA and we just try to drive as many customers. Through our funnel as possible. And we have about a 37% repurchase rate right now.”
Matt Griffin Apr 18, 2016 ▶ 4:04
Disclosure
Combat Flip Flops donates 10% of margins to Afghan women's education
“So we take 10% of our margin. Of our products that we sell, and then we contributed to an organization called Aid Afghanistan for Education that educates women to read, write, and do math, and have employable skills, so that way they can provide for their fami…”
Matt Griffin Apr 18, 2016 ▶ 5:05
Insight
Griffin: Educating Women Is Key to Defeating Radicalism
“If you really want to defeat radicalism in the recruitment base forum, you just have to educate women.”
Matt Griffin Apr 18, 2016 ▶ 5:37
Assertion Contradicted
Combat Flip Flops pays a 17% tariff on Afghan imports
“I pay a 17% tariffs on all my products that I bring in.”
Matt Griffin Apr 18, 2016 ▶ 6:48
Disclosure
Griffin: Combat Flip Flops ran as cash-based pre-order business for 3 years
“So for the first three years of our business, we were a completely cash-based pre-order business.”
Matt Griffin Apr 18, 2016 ▶ 9:39
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Griffin: Combat Flip Flops sold about 2,000 units in its first month
“And then we got our first samples and then we took some photos of it and then we started selling product and I sold about 2000 of them on the first month that we released.”
Matt Griffin Apr 18, 2016 ▶ 10:26
Disclosure
Griffin personally invested roughly $100k into Combat Flip Flops
“I've put in roughly a 100,000 dollars into the business.”
Matt Griffin Apr 18, 2016 ▶ 12:00
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Griffin targets $100M revenue in five years and $1B in ten
“I have an internal goal of being a hundred million dollar company in five years, and I'd like to be at a billion in 10 years.”
Matt Griffin Apr 18, 2016 ▶ 12:51
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Griffin: Combat Flip Flops generates ~$100 gross margin per cashmere shemagh
“We pay about 45 bucks each to get those through the door. And then it costs about five or six bucks to ship them. We do them in runs of 50. And, you know, we make about a hundred dollars gross margin on them. And then we contribute 15 bucks to aid Afghanistan …”
Matt Griffin Apr 18, 2016 ▶ 15:05
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