![]() But instead of following an old-school marketing approach, he decided to take BarkBox on a different route entirely. How did he grow from a small startup into a dog-loving, multibillion-dollar brand?Īt the age of 44 (that's 308 in dog years!), Henrik is no longer a spring chicken. Today it serves more than a million happily wagging tails each month. When Henrik first launched BarkBox, it was a unique brand-one of the first of its kind. Turns Out You Can Teach an Old Dog New Marketing Tricks And with a bit of savvy marketing, BarkBox would become unstoppable. The monthly subscription box would send out a range of dog-related goodies, including innovative BarkBox toys, all-natural treats, and yummy chews.Īfter the first box shipped out in May 2012, dogs began asking for it by name. In 2012, Henrik, Matt, and Carly Strife launched BarkBox. Little did Henrik know he was about to put his own observations to the test. Henrik spent a lot of time figuring out a better, more organic way to scale brands. Instead, they would all fall into the red without much to show for their endeavors. ![]() Brands would shell out tons of cash in the hopes of growing, but it rarely panned out. Overspending was a problem Henrik noticed in nearly every company Prehype managed. It advises companies looking to scale and provides seed money. He founded Prehype-a business focused on supporting startups. In 2010, Henrik decided to test the entrepreneurial waters a bit. That memory would stick with Henrik and help shape every company he launched. But as he looked around the room, he quickly realized everyone else was just as clueless. As he sat at a conference room table intimidated by much older bigwigs, Henrik worried they would discover he was just making it up as he went along. He was an eager 20-something-year-old at the time.ĭuring his time at MTV, Henrik realized how much people bullshitted their way to the top in the corporate world. In the 90s, he left that job to join MTV Networks, where he climbed his way up the corporate ladder to become Vice President of Product Development and Strategy. He began his professional career as a BBC radio producer. As he told Foundr Magazine, "I've definitely learned that you can work yourself to death and not necessarily become successful." But just because you've done something before doesn't make you an expert. "They're All Just Making This Stuff Up!"īuilding companies was nothing new to Henrik. The idea emerged to put together a box stuffed full of cool things for dogs, and they would call it BarkBox. Henrik was adopting dogs at the time, and Matt owned a Great Dane named Hugo. While getting to know each other in bed, Henrik and Matt discovered they shared many of the same interests-namely dogs. But instead of participating in NSFW activities, the two started brainstorming business ideas. After a few drinks, Matt didn't hesitate to jump into bed with Henrik. He thought it would be hysterical to put them back together. Henrik was the first to the room and found the two halves of the heart-shaped bed pushed apart. But they both did sign up for the same conference on a cruise ship, and they did choose to share a room with a stranger to get a cheaper ticket. In fact, Henrik and Matt didn't even know each other. No, the duo wasn't on a romantic getaway. Henrik's idea for a dog-worthy brand came to life while lying on a romantic, heart-shaped bed with soon-to-be co-founder Matt Meeker. And that unstudied, somewhat risky method fetched the Danish entrepreneur a fortune. After all, everyone does it, but no one wants to admit it. What's Henrik's proprietary marketing secret? Just make up shit as you go along. Little did he know that his love for these four-legged animals would grow into the $1.6B BARK company empire. And this was indeed the case for Henrik Werdelin, the co-founder of BarkBox. How Henrik Launched a Brand that Grew to $1.6B Even Though He Had No Clue about Marketingĭogs are man's best friend.
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