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Jan 21, 2016 · 15m · top-founders

Secret Art of Getting Your Product Into Walmart with Vincent van de Poll of GROM

Vincent Vanderpool · 7m spoken Nathan Latka · 5m 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' podcast, host Nathan Latka interviews Grom co-founder Vincent van de Poll about scaling an on-demand 3D-printed accessory business through major enterprise partnerships with Walmart and iconic entertainment brands like Disney and Universal.

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 45.4% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 3.4 Guest teaching 1.8 Guest disagreement 1.0 Nathan pushing back 2.8
05100:0010:000:59–4:21 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Introducing Vincent van de Poll and the Grom Value Proposition Latka immediately pushes into revenue specifics and interrupts when Vincent's explanation of Walmart design revenue is ambiguous, forcing clear clarification.4:22–7:35 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Manufacturing Strategy, On-Demand 3D Printing, and Profit Margins When Vincent declines to disclose contract specifics due to NDA penalties, Latka refuses to drop the topic and constructs a hypothetical unit pricing model to extract margin percentages.7:35–11:54 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Grom's Origin, 50/50 Co-Founder Equity, and Governance Structure Latka probes the co-founder dynamic, asking tough questions about 50/50 equity splits, veto departments, and convertible note valuation caps.11:54–14:36 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Mid-Roll Sponsorship Announcement and Listener Giveaway Standard mid-roll ad read followed by the friendly 'Famous Five' rapid-fire questionnaire with zero conflict.14:37–15:20 · Nathan as informed peer 1/10 Episode Conclusion, Summary of Key Metrics, and Upcoming Teasers Host monologue outro summarizing Grom's key financial numbers and teasing the next guest episode.0:59–4:21 · Guest teaching 2/10 Introducing Vincent van de Poll and the Grom Value Proposition Latka immediately pushes into revenue specifics and interrupts when Vincent's explanation of Walmart design revenue is ambiguous, forcing clear clarification.4:22–7:35 · Guest teaching 3/10 Manufacturing Strategy, On-Demand 3D Printing, and Profit Margins When Vincent declines to disclose contract specifics due to NDA penalties, Latka refuses to drop the topic and constructs a hypothetical unit pricing model to extract margin percentages.7:35–11:54 · Guest teaching 3/10 Grom's Origin, 50/50 Co-Founder Equity, and Governance Structure Latka probes the co-founder dynamic, asking tough questions about 50/50 equity splits, veto departments, and convertible note valuation caps.11:54–14:36 · Guest teaching 1/10 Mid-Roll Sponsorship Announcement and Listener Giveaway Standard mid-roll ad read followed by the friendly 'Famous Five' rapid-fire questionnaire with zero conflict.14:37–15:20 · Guest teaching 0/10 Episode Conclusion, Summary of Key Metrics, and Upcoming Teasers Host monologue outro summarizing Grom's key financial numbers and teasing the next guest episode.0:59–4:21 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Vincent van de Poll and the Grom Value Proposition Latka immediately pushes into revenue specifics and interrupts when Vincent's explanation of Walmart design revenue is ambiguous, forcing clear clarification.4:22–7:35 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Manufacturing Strategy, On-Demand 3D Printing, and Profit Margins When Vincent declines to disclose contract specifics due to NDA penalties, Latka refuses to drop the topic and constructs a hypothetical unit pricing model to extract margin percentages.7:35–11:54 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Grom's Origin, 50/50 Co-Founder Equity, and Governance Structure Latka probes the co-founder dynamic, asking tough questions about 50/50 equity splits, veto departments, and convertible note valuation caps.11:54–14:36 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Mid-Roll Sponsorship Announcement and Listener Giveaway Standard mid-roll ad read followed by the friendly 'Famous Five' rapid-fire questionnaire with zero conflict.14:37–15:20 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Episode Conclusion, Summary of Key Metrics, and Upcoming Teasers Host monologue outro summarizing Grom's key financial numbers and teasing the next guest episode.0:59–4:21 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Introducing Vincent van de Poll and the Grom Value Proposition Latka immediately pushes into revenue specifics and interrupts when Vincent's explanation of Walmart design revenue is ambiguous, forcing clear clarification.4:22–7:35 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Manufacturing Strategy, On-Demand 3D Printing, and Profit Margins When Vincent declines to disclose contract specifics due to NDA penalties, Latka refuses to drop the topic and constructs a hypothetical unit pricing model to extract margin percentages.7:35–11:54 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Grom's Origin, 50/50 Co-Founder Equity, and Governance Structure Latka probes the co-founder dynamic, asking tough questions about 50/50 equity splits, veto departments, and convertible note valuation caps.11:54–14:36 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Mid-Roll Sponsorship Announcement and Listener Giveaway Standard mid-roll ad read followed by the friendly 'Famous Five' rapid-fire questionnaire with zero conflict.14:37–15:20 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Episode Conclusion, Summary of Key Metrics, and Upcoming Teasers Host monologue outro summarizing Grom's key financial numbers and teasing the next guest episode.

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

0:00 · Nathan 71% · guest 29%0:00 · Nathan 71% · guest 29%3:00 · Nathan 23.6% · guest 76.4%3:00 · Nathan 23.6% · guest 76.4%6:00 · Nathan 22.8% · guest 77.2%6:00 · Nathan 22.8% · guest 77.2%9:00 · Nathan 31.8% · guest 68.2%9:00 · Nathan 31.8% · guest 68.2%12:00 · Nathan 70.8% · guest 29.2%12:00 · Nathan 70.8% · guest 29.2%15:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%15:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 5:42 Guest cites contractual fine to refuse disclosure

Vincent stands his ground against Latka's direct inquiry regarding wholesale pricing to Walmart by citing a significant financial penalty in his contract.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 5:50 Latka bypasses NDA refusal with hypothetical framework

Latka refuses to abandon the line of questioning after the guest cites NDA constraints, cutting off the objection and establishing a hypothetical $10 price to extract the underlying margin structure.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 4:32 Guest details hybrid supply chain advantage

Vincent explains the company's proprietary operational model, detailing how splitting manufacturing between Asia and local on-demand 3D printing cuts base costs by 80%.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 7:23 Latka translates margin percentages into dollar unit economics

Latka immediately translates Vincent's broad European wholesale percentage margins into precise net dollar profit per unit to verify the business viability.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Vincent van de Poll and the Grom Value Proposition 4214 Latka immediately pushes into revenue specifics and interrupts when Vincent's explanation of Walmart design revenue is ambiguous, forcing clear clarification.
Manufacturing Strategy, On-Demand 3D Printing, and Profit Margins 5336 When Vincent declines to disclose contract specifics due to NDA penalties, Latka refuses to drop the topic and constructs a hypothetical unit pricing model to extract margin percentages.
Grom's Origin, 50/50 Co-Founder Equity, and Governance Structure 5314 Latka probes the co-founder dynamic, asking tough questions about 50/50 equity splits, veto departments, and convertible note valuation caps.
Mid-Roll Sponsorship Announcement and Listener Giveaway 2100 Standard mid-roll ad read followed by the friendly 'Famous Five' rapid-fire questionnaire with zero conflict.
Episode Conclusion, Summary of Key Metrics, and Upcoming Teasers 1000 Host monologue outro summarizing Grom's key financial numbers and teasing the next guest episode.

Statements from this episode (7)

Assertion Supported
Grom launches 100 phone case designs on Walmart.com
“Customers on Walmart.com have access to a hundred different designs for six to eight different smartphone models.”
Vincent Vanderpool Jan 21, 2016 ▶ 2:33
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Sourcing case bases from Asia cut Grom's costs by 80%
“So the protective part comes from Asia, which has reduced our cost price with about 80%.”
Vincent Vanderpool Jan 21, 2016 ▶ 5:00
Disclosure
Grom Partners with 3D Systems for US On-Demand 3D Printing
“So in the U S we've partnered up with three D systems and three D systems, three D prints, all the designs on demand.”
Vincent Vanderpool Jan 21, 2016 ▶ 5:08
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Van de Poll: Grom's Product Margins Range Between 40% and 60%
“And then, you know, we have our cost price of the bumper, we have our cost price of three D printing, packaging, and fulfillment, and other stuff. And our margins typically range between 40 and 60%.”
Vincent Vanderpool Jan 21, 2016 ▶ 7:11
Disclosure
Grom founders resolved 50/50 deadlock by splitting vetoes across ten departments
“We have divided the company, let's say, in 10 different departments. So I have a veto in five departments and Kuhn has a veto in five departments.”
Vincent Vanderpool Jan 21, 2016 ▶ 8:38
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Van de Poll projects Grom to hit $2M-$2.2M revenue in 18 months
“Yeah, and that should take us to a revenue between two and 2.2 million within 18 months.”
Vincent Vanderpool Jan 21, 2016 ▶ 10:28
Opinion
Van de Poll says Dutch culture's fear of failure slows startup learning
“Yeah, the Dutch culture is sort of the opposite, you know, make sure that you never fail. So learning goes a lot slower there, I think.”
Vincent Vanderpool Jan 21, 2016 ▶ 14:15
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