Jun 19, 2020
What you’ll learn:
In this episode of the Page One Podcast, your host Luke Peters talks with Jules Pieri, the co-founder and CEO of The Grommet, a managed marketplace. Jules begins by describing how the company works and touches on how coronavirus has impacted The Grommet and different ways that Jules is working hard to care for her team during the crisis.
In the second half of the episode, Jules discusses the main differences between The Grommet and Amazon, her perspective on using social media like Pinterest and Facebook, and the opportunities that Amazon’s shortcoming open up for businesses like The Grommet. Finally, she and Luke talk about the takeover of large companies like Amazon and changes that need to happen to protect smaller businesses.
About our guest:
Our guest, Jules Pieri, is the co-founder and CEO of The Grommet. Educated at the University of Michigan and Harvard Business School, she has gone on to compete with huge companies like Amazon and start The Grommet, a site that has launched more than 3000 innovative consumer products since 2008. The company's citizen commerce movement is reshaping how products are discovered, shared, and bought.
Jules is one of Fortune's most powerful women entrepreneurs in 2013 and won Goldman Sachs 100 most interesting entrepreneurs in 2014. She is an Entrepreneur in Residence Emeritus at Harvard Business School and an investing partner at XFactor Ventures.
She also happens to be an author! Jules’ first book, “How We Make Stuff Now: Turn Ideas into Products That Build Successful Businesses,” was published by McGraw-Hill in April 2019.
Key takeaways from this episode:
- How The Grommet has handled coronavirus and Jules’ strategies for taking care of her team during this time
- The differences between The Grommet and Amazon
- The centrality of product videos on The Grommet’s website
- Jules’ view of using social media like Facebook and Pinterest
- How Amazon’s shortcomings open opportunities for companies like The Grommet
- How to protect against cheap, counterfeit manufacturers and
changes that need to take place to protect businesses
Episode Timeline:
0:55 – Luke introduces today’s guest, Jules Pieri
1:50 – A description of Jules’ company, a managed marketplace
3:58 – How coronavirus has impacted Jules’ and The Grommet
6:38 – Business changes during the pandemic, meetings, and communication
12:43 – The Grommet staff and warehouse locations
14:48 – Jules’ personal strength: designing and creating
15:28 – The differences between The Grommet and Amazon
20:49 – The Grommet’s site traffic and conversion rate
24:00 – How The Grommet uses product videos on their website
25:12 – How The Grommet uses social media like Facebook and Pinterest
27:03 – Jules talks about the best consumer product opportunities
29:00 – What opportunities does Amazon open up for competitors?
31:09 – Jules’ perspective on the changes needed to protect companies
37:00 – “How We Make Stuff Now” by Jules Pieri