Episode Summary

Adam Robinson, the founder & CEO of Retention.com. A Rice University graduate and former credit default swap trader, started building in the email marketing space until he found a way to get website visitors' email addresses. He rebranded the company as Retention.com and now has 50 employees and an ARR of almost $20 million.

Episode Notes

On this episode of DTC POD, hosts Blaine Bolus and Ramon Berrios bring on guest Adam Robinson to discuss a range of topics, including email marketing tactics, legal and ethical concerns around pixel retargeting, and the growth of Robinson's company Retention. Robinson shares how his company has developed a free product for server-side tracking and is beta-testing a disruptive B2B product. He also discusses the importance of a founder-led mentality and the frustration of successful, but stagnant businesses.

We cover:

1. Email marketing and privacy laws

2. Growth strategies and competition

3. Founder-led mentality and risk-taking

4. Sales and building a team

5. Compliance landscape and data privacy risks

[00:01:36] From finance to identity tech, scaling up.

[00:08:11] US laws allow for non opt-in emails.

[00:13:12] Affiliate program creates huge influx of revenue.

[00:15:38] Privacy risks mean less competition for entrepreneurs.

[00:19:20] Brands worry about legal and reputation concerns.

[00:22:29] Bigger brands doing it legally, no debate.

[00:25:48] Spamming strategy: target positive engagers and complaints.

[00:30:17] Shopify focus, server-side tracking, B2B data product.

[00:36:06] Company owner seeks expert to boost sales.

[00:39:21] Mentor to help scale company.

[00:45:13] Big businesses bring better rewards and people.

[00:48:49] People issues are biggest problem, messy.

[00:51:43] Founder-led mentality leads to success.

[00:56:48] LinkedIn retention focus, docuseries about Adam.

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Adam Robinson - Founder & CEO of Retention.com
Ramon Berrios - CEO of Trend.io
Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Seated

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