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Mar 7, 2016 · 22m · top-founders

How to Sell 10,000 Units of a Physical Product Fast with Cathryn and Allen Episode 192

Nathan Latka · 9m spoken Alan Brouwer · 3m 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 Episode 192 of The Top, host Nathan Latka interviews BestSelf.co co-founders Catherine and Alan about how they turned a personal productivity system into a high-margin stationery business, generating over $322,000 on Kickstarter and successfully scaling into a full-time e-commerce brand.

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 52.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.2 Guest teaching 2.5 Guest disagreement 1.0 Nathan pushing back 2.2
05100:0010:0020:001:10–5:13 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Introducing Catherine and Alan of BestSelf.co Nathan digs into the physical manufacturing details and playfully probes whether the co-founders have a romantic connection. Cathryn and Alan explain their origin story, validating demand through pre-orders rather than bootstrapping inventory upfront.5:13–7:55 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Unit Economics, Profit Margins, and Exclusive Listener Discount Nathan presses for specific unit economics and margins on the journal. Cathryn gives clear figures on landed cost and shipping, then improvises a promotional discount code live on air for listeners.7:55–12:45 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Why Shopify and the Build a Business Competition Nathan asks how a physical journal actually changes behavioral habits rather than acting as empty inspiration. Alan and Cathryn detail their undated 13-week framework and progress-tracking psychology.12:46–15:03 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Storefront Revenue Breakdown and Transitioning to Full-Time Nathan drills down into their early storefront revenue and total Kickstarter pre-order figures. Both guests readily supply their financial numbers and background ventures.15:03–18:00 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Audience Building Tactics, Giveaways, and Content Marketing Alan and Cathryn break down their lead-generation strategies, including a 1,000 dollar productivity giveaway and Medium publishing with content upgrades. Nathan validates their Medium distribution strategy and asks for the link.18:01–21:11 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Contest Entry Instructions and HostGator Sponsor Read The segment includes mid-roll sponsor reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire where Nathan playfully corrects Alan on the segment name.1:10–5:13 · Guest teaching 3/10 Introducing Catherine and Alan of BestSelf.co Nathan digs into the physical manufacturing details and playfully probes whether the co-founders have a romantic connection. Cathryn and Alan explain their origin story, validating demand through pre-orders rather than bootstrapping inventory upfront.5:13–7:55 · Guest teaching 2/10 Unit Economics, Profit Margins, and Exclusive Listener Discount Nathan presses for specific unit economics and margins on the journal. Cathryn gives clear figures on landed cost and shipping, then improvises a promotional discount code live on air for listeners.7:55–12:45 · Guest teaching 4/10 Why Shopify and the Build a Business Competition Nathan asks how a physical journal actually changes behavioral habits rather than acting as empty inspiration. Alan and Cathryn detail their undated 13-week framework and progress-tracking psychology.12:46–15:03 · Guest teaching 2/10 Storefront Revenue Breakdown and Transitioning to Full-Time Nathan drills down into their early storefront revenue and total Kickstarter pre-order figures. Both guests readily supply their financial numbers and background ventures.15:03–18:00 · Guest teaching 3/10 Audience Building Tactics, Giveaways, and Content Marketing Alan and Cathryn break down their lead-generation strategies, including a 1,000 dollar productivity giveaway and Medium publishing with content upgrades. Nathan validates their Medium distribution strategy and asks for the link.18:01–21:11 · Guest teaching 1/10 Contest Entry Instructions and HostGator Sponsor Read The segment includes mid-roll sponsor reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire where Nathan playfully corrects Alan on the segment name.1:10–5:13 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Catherine and Alan of BestSelf.co Nathan digs into the physical manufacturing details and playfully probes whether the co-founders have a romantic connection. Cathryn and Alan explain their origin story, validating demand through pre-orders rather than bootstrapping inventory upfront.5:13–7:55 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Unit Economics, Profit Margins, and Exclusive Listener Discount Nathan presses for specific unit economics and margins on the journal. Cathryn gives clear figures on landed cost and shipping, then improvises a promotional discount code live on air for listeners.7:55–12:45 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Why Shopify and the Build a Business Competition Nathan asks how a physical journal actually changes behavioral habits rather than acting as empty inspiration. Alan and Cathryn detail their undated 13-week framework and progress-tracking psychology.12:46–15:03 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Storefront Revenue Breakdown and Transitioning to Full-Time Nathan drills down into their early storefront revenue and total Kickstarter pre-order figures. Both guests readily supply their financial numbers and background ventures.15:03–18:00 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Audience Building Tactics, Giveaways, and Content Marketing Alan and Cathryn break down their lead-generation strategies, including a 1,000 dollar productivity giveaway and Medium publishing with content upgrades. Nathan validates their Medium distribution strategy and asks for the link.18:01–21:11 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Contest Entry Instructions and HostGator Sponsor Read The segment includes mid-roll sponsor reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire where Nathan playfully corrects Alan on the segment name.1:10–5:13 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Introducing Catherine and Alan of BestSelf.co Nathan digs into the physical manufacturing details and playfully probes whether the co-founders have a romantic connection. Cathryn and Alan explain their origin story, validating demand through pre-orders rather than bootstrapping inventory upfront.5:13–7:55 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Unit Economics, Profit Margins, and Exclusive Listener Discount Nathan presses for specific unit economics and margins on the journal. Cathryn gives clear figures on landed cost and shipping, then improvises a promotional discount code live on air for listeners.7:55–12:45 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Why Shopify and the Build a Business Competition Nathan asks how a physical journal actually changes behavioral habits rather than acting as empty inspiration. Alan and Cathryn detail their undated 13-week framework and progress-tracking psychology.12:46–15:03 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Storefront Revenue Breakdown and Transitioning to Full-Time Nathan drills down into their early storefront revenue and total Kickstarter pre-order figures. Both guests readily supply their financial numbers and background ventures.15:03–18:00 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Audience Building Tactics, Giveaways, and Content Marketing Alan and Cathryn break down their lead-generation strategies, including a 1,000 dollar productivity giveaway and Medium publishing with content upgrades. Nathan validates their Medium distribution strategy and asks for the link.18:01–21:11 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Contest Entry Instructions and HostGator Sponsor Read The segment includes mid-roll sponsor reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire where Nathan playfully corrects Alan on the segment name.

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

0:00 · Nathan 67.8% · guest 32.2%0:00 · Nathan 67.8% · guest 32.2%3:00 · Nathan 43% · guest 57%3:00 · Nathan 43% · guest 57%6:00 · Nathan 45.4% · guest 54.6%6:00 · Nathan 45.4% · guest 54.6%9:00 · Nathan 45.1% · guest 54.9%9:00 · Nathan 45.1% · guest 54.9%12:00 · Nathan 47.6% · guest 52.4%12:00 · Nathan 47.6% · guest 52.4%15:00 · Nathan 32.2% · guest 67.8%15:00 · Nathan 32.2% · guest 67.8%18:00 · Nathan 66.3% · guest 33.7%18:00 · Nathan 66.3% · guest 33.7%21:00 · Nathan 98.9% · guest 1.1%21:00 · Nathan 98.9% · guest 1.1%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 2:39 Blunt rejection of romantic connection

When Nathan asks whether there is a romantic relationship between the co-founders, Cathryn immediately and humorously shuts it down with 'Hell no.'

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 9:38 Challenging journal habit formation vs vanity motivation

Nathan pushes back against passive motivational products, asking how their book actually forces users to take real action daily.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 10:27 Explaining the psychology of undated planners

Cathryn educates Nathan on why conventional dated journals create guilt when missed, highlighting how their undated 13-week roadmap fixes this flaw.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 5:44 Deconstructing unit economics and manufacturing margins

Nathan examines the physical journal's bulk and production value, drilling into exact manufacturing, landed shipping, and retail profit margins.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Catherine and Alan of BestSelf.co 4312 Nathan digs into the physical manufacturing details and playfully probes whether the co-founders have a romantic connection. Cathryn and Alan explain their origin story, validating demand through pre-orders rather than bootstrapping inventory upfront.
Unit Economics, Profit Margins, and Exclusive Listener Discount 5212 Nathan presses for specific unit economics and margins on the journal. Cathryn gives clear figures on landed cost and shipping, then improvises a promotional discount code live on air for listeners.
Why Shopify and the Build a Business Competition 4413 Nathan asks how a physical journal actually changes behavioral habits rather than acting as empty inspiration. Alan and Cathryn detail their undated 13-week framework and progress-tracking psychology.
Storefront Revenue Breakdown and Transitioning to Full-Time 5212 Nathan drills down into their early storefront revenue and total Kickstarter pre-order figures. Both guests readily supply their financial numbers and background ventures.
Audience Building Tactics, Giveaways, and Content Marketing 4312 Alan and Cathryn break down their lead-generation strategies, including a 1,000 dollar productivity giveaway and Medium publishing with content upgrades. Nathan validates their Medium distribution strategy and asks for the link.
Contest Entry Instructions and HostGator Sponsor Read 3112 The segment includes mid-roll sponsor reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire where Nathan playfully corrects Alan on the segment name.

Statements from this episode (5)

Disclosure
BestSelf used Shopify specifically to enter its Build a Business competition
“The second reason is because Shopify does this competition where you, if you open up a new store it's called build a business competition, and whoever gets the most sales or the top three people who get the most sales, top three stores, they'll get some sort o…”
Alan Brouwer Mar 7, 2016 ▶ 8:23
Disclosure
BestSelf gave backers a full journal PDF before physical delivery
“We also gave away our the entire journal via PDF. So before they even received a physical copy, they could print it out and start using it right away.”
Alan Brouwer Mar 7, 2016 ▶ 12:26
Assertion Not checkable as stated
BestSelf generated $16,721 in Shopify sales in its first 12 days
“16,721 dollars and 43 cents.”
Alan Brouwer Mar 7, 2016 ▶ 13:24
Assertion Not checkable as stated
BestSelf generated $68,000 in pre-orders after its Kickstarter campaign
“And then post Kickstarter, we were accepting pre-orders. We did another 68,000 in pre-orders since September.”
Alan Brouwer Mar 7, 2016 ▶ 14:26
Assertion Not checkable as stated
BestSelf grew to 19,355 email subscribers in ten months
“Since May of 2015, we have over, we built, we went from zero to just under 8000 email subscribers. [922] Nathan Latka: How many? [924] Alan Brouwer: 19,355.”
Alan Brouwer Mar 7, 2016 ▶ 15:11
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