Michael Mente

Michael Mente dropped out of an entrepreneur program at the University of Southern California to become an entrepreneur by profession. He’s Currently the CEO and Co-Founder of Revolve and is set to bring in $400 million in sales this year. His company is considered the one-stop shop for clothing items designed by some of the hottest emerging designers.

Over the years, Michael began developing organic relationships with bloggers to represent the brand on a more realistic level. To do so, Revolve regularly holds trips for influencers to gather, relax, and recreate the lifestyle of an ideal Revolve customer.

Michael saw a gap between affordable and high end items, which provided grounds for him to create an online shopping experience that falls in the middle. Supporting up-and-coming designers and digital influencers has become the core of Revolve’s growth and they decided to expand their digital offerings by launching a sister company, FORWARD, in 2008. Since then FORWARD has grown to become a powerhouse in fashion and has become the go-to place for premier luxury fashion.

I loved Michael’s humble wisdom about what it has taken to create this kind of success in such a competitive industry.

Discover all of that and much more, on Episode 583.

Some Questions I Ask:

• Would you say a lot of your sales come from Instagram? (10:46)
• In the beginning were you buying clothes wholesale? (13:41)
• What were you doing before REVOLVE? (15:40)
• What would you say is your biggest inspiration right now? (18:12)
• When did you realize you had a business that would take off? (21:38)
• How much money did you raise from one investor? (24:54)
• Do you think more people should be tapping into influencers for their brand? (28:41)
• What’s a good way to start approaching influencer marketers and celebrities? (36:54)
• How do you deal with the competition of other brands? (42:00)
• How have you evolved from being an entrepreneur by yourself to running an organization with so many employees? (45:39)
• What do you still need to learn in order to take your business where you want it to be? (49:00)
• How have you kept consistently excited about your business for 15 years? (50:42)

In this episode, you will learn:

• Just how long REVOLVE has been around (8:53)
• What made Michael say, “I want to get into women’s clothing.” (11:41)
• How they launched the same year as Zappos (14:56)
• When he knew he wanted to start his own business (17:24)
• The biggest risks he’s taken (19:41)
• When they decided to take on investors (23:39)
• The point when it becomes challenging for a company to continue its growth (26:06)
• How an influencer trip works (33:12)
• The biggest challenge for Michael right now (43:55)
• The most influential person in Michael’s life growing up (47:00)
• Michael’s advice to young entrepreneurs who want to start their own thing (53:00)
• Plus much more…

Show Notes:

REVOLVE.com

FWRD.com