Launching a Hardware Brand: How Ergatta Got Their First 500 Customers

<p>Tom Aulet is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ergatta, the leading game studio for home fitness.</p><p>A graduate of Vanderbilt University with a degree in Spanish and Economics, Tom began his career teaching English in Spain before moving into economic consulting at Cornerstone Research. He then joined MediaMath, a marketing technology company, signing new business deals, overseeing revenue EMEA and LATAM, and ultimately building and running their global Media Agency business.</p><p>Amid the demands of his career, Tom struggled to find a fitness routine that was both practical and engaging.</p><p>Teaming up with two trusted former colleagues, he co-founded Ergatta and introduced the world's first game-based cardio machine – winner of Health's 2024 Fitness Awards and 2022 Men's Health Home Gym Awards – and the leading game studio for the fitness industry.</p><p><b><strong>In This Conversation We Discuss:</strong></b></p><ul><li>[00:00] Intro</li><li>[01:34] Peloton-style rowing with games, not classes</li><li>[02:46] Finding co-founders before the idea</li><li>[03:30] Shaping the idea with primary market research</li><li>[04:35] What makes a great co-founder team</li><li>[05:50] Complementary strengths vs. getting along</li><li>[06:50] Date before you marry: co-founder commitment</li><li>[07:15] Klaviyo</li><li>[09:20] How to find people for customer interviews</li><li>[10:00] Approaching strangers at the gym</li><li>[11:16] Why your network gives you biased data</li><li>[11:45] Timeline from concept to launch</li><li>[12:45] The WaterRower manufacturing partnership</li><li>[14:00] Hire people who've done it before</li><li>[14:20] Intelligems</li><li>[16:00] Know your special sauce (and what isn't)</li><li>[17:10] Apple wasn't vertically integrated at first</li><li>[18:00] Building the gaming MVP</li><li>[19:45] Testing game concepts before writing code</li><li>[21:04] Pre-sales during holiday 2019</li><li>[21:30] First 500 customers with zero ad spend</li><li>[23:15] Launching days before the COVID lockdown</li><li>[23:40] eFulfillment Service</li><li>[25:26] Owned, earned, then paid media</li><li>[26:00] Non-brand search as the discovery trigger</li><li>[26:50] The "How did you hear about us" survey</li><li>[28:45] Using survey data for CRO and ad copy</li><li>[30:05] Biggest mistake: raising too much money</li><li>[31:15] Raise for your realistic outcome</li><li>[33:01] Brand matters as much as the quant game</li><li>[34:30] Building a premium, design-forwa