Sarah Kauss is the CEO of water bottle company S'well. Her small idea has turned into one of the most successful female-run businesses. She joins Kristen Schoeler at the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Summit to discuss how to build a brand and why S'well is doing so well.
In terms of advice on how to grow a small business, Kauss says to build a strong brand and then try to understand what your product and service can bring to other big companies and brands.
On what is next for S'well, Kauss says S'well is exploring new ways to further product innovation. As they move into new product categories and countries, Kauss does anticipate changing their marketing strategy. At this point, S'well has not spent any money on marketing and instead relies on consumers to be brand ambassadors. Kauss also says that more is spent on legal issues than she would like to deal with copycats.
S'well has not announced any numbers for 2017, but Kauss explains that the company has continued to grow since 2015 and the goals just continue to get higher with each year.
We may not be headed for a 2008-esque disaster, but increased geopolitical tension paired with the end of the tech boom means volatility could stick around.
The dreaded Netflix crackdown on profile sharing translated into a major boost in subscribers while the promised rate cuts seem to be a far off fantasy.
After the 2021 boom, IPO activity slowed down significantly, in part due to monetary policy – but things are getting moving again with tech-friendly companies like Iboutta and Rubrik making a public debut.