Richard Mumby (Bonobos)

Richard is the head of marketing for Bonobos, a clothing company. He just moved to New Orleans and will be advising local start ups in the area. 

Start Up Observations and Things that Inform Success. 

• Identify and address a need in the market

1. Find friction in an industry and be disruptive where possible. Find the problem in the industry and set out to fix it. 
2. Fix the pain points in your own life. Where is there a lack of satisfaction?
3. Focus on a specific value proposition. In an effort to think broadly, think of all the benefits of your business and focus on the value of your company. The elevator pitch is VERY IMPORTANT.

• Target a very specific customer

1. Focus on a specific population first. Understand what their specific needs are and what you can do specifically to help them. 
2. Create an army of advocates and equip them with a referral tool to extend your brand reach over time. PR and referrals are the greatest way to grow a company.
3. Prove out economics with a favorable audience. This will help with attracting investors over time. 
4. Targeting audiences in advertising can help in figuring out who your customers are. 

• Utilize public relations

1. Distinguish launch from ongoing press. Create newsworthy activities over time. 
2. Actively manage your PR; consider a PR firm versus buying advertising. Maintain ongoing active conversations. Manage the PR firm like a direct report. 
3. Create stories. Make them creative. The company has to come up with these ideas just as much as the PR firm, who figures out how to use the event to push out to the media to create coverage. 
4. All Bonobos marketing channels have direct responses to the audience. It’s important to develop a true relationship with the customers. Facebook has a high volume of engagement. Nearly all marketing is web-driven.