King Marketing
Email Dan
Maya Ortiz
maya@sunhollow.co
to Dan
Mon 4:12 PM
Hi Dan,
I run Sunhollow, a mineral sunscreen brand. One of our investors said I should reach out. We’ve grown fast, but lately growth has gotten expensive and I can’t tell what’s working anymore. Would you have time to talk in the next couple of weeks?
Maya
Dan King
dan@kingmarketing.la
Hi Maya, Would love to chat. What’s going on in the business?
Mon 5:03 PM
Maya Ortiz
maya@sunhollow.co
to Dan
Mon 10:47 PM
Sorry, I don’t have a lot of time to wait around, so I’m just going to unload on you here. Hope that’s okay.
We started Sunhollow in my kitchen. People love it, and we found product-market fit when most never do. For a while, everything just worked.
Then the business changed shape. Revenue is still growing, but margin isn’t, and nobody on the team agrees on why. We have more channels, more agencies and more opinions than ever, and somehow less clarity. Now there’s a big retail deal in front of us, and I’m not sure we’re built for it.
Honestly, I’m not sure what I’m asking for.
Some nights I wonder if I’m the problem.
Maya
Dan King
dan@kingmarketing.la
to Maya
Tue 6:58 AM
Maya,
Never apologize for this. Most founders wait a lot longer to say it out loud. Answers inline.
Revenue is still growing, but margin isn’t, and nobody on the team agrees on why.
That’s the tell. Brands rarely stall because of one bad tactic. They stall when the story and the numbers stop talking to each other.
Now there’s a big retail deal in front of us, and I’m not sure we’re built for it.
Then let’s find out before you sign, not after.
Honestly, I’m not sure what I’m asking for.
That’s fine. Figuring that out is my job, not yours.
Some nights I wonder if I’m the problem.
You’re not. You did the hard part. The decisions that got you here just stopped being enough. That isn’t failure. It’s a stage, and every stage asks for a different way of thinking.
Imagine a year from now. Your team knows exactly what matters this quarter, and why. Every growth conversation starts from numbers everyone trusts. Your brand stops renting attention and starts earning it. And you get back to the work only you can do.
Dan
Maya Ortiz
maya@sunhollow.co
to Dan
Tue 9:14 AM
Okay, I read that twice.
Two honest questions. Have you actually sat in my seat, or do you advise from the outside? And what would this look like? We’ve been burned by agencies, and we have dashboards for everything and still no answers.
Maya
Dan King
dan@kingmarketing.la
to Maya
Tue 11:32 AM
Fair questions. Inline again.
Have you actually sat in my seat?
Three times. I was young when MeUndies handed me the marketing seat, long before the DTC playbook was free to learn online (we figured it out as we went). Then Ritual. Then Sundays for Dogs. All three went on to $100M revenue years. I’m proud of my part, and clear-eyed that it took great founders and great teams.
Since then I’ve advised the founders behind Thrive Market, Olipop, Mud\Wtr, Four Sigmatic and Mosh.
we have dashboards for everything and still no answers.
Information is cheap. Judgment isn’t. I’ve built my own AI systems that take in your numbers, your customers and your team’s thinking in days, not months. So our time goes to deciding what matters.
And what would this look like?
It starts with a month (I call it a Bootcamp). I get inside your business: your numbers, your team, your customers. It ends with a day together and a plan you can run with, whether or not we keep going.
If we keep going, that’s Embedded Advisory. Weekly with you and your team, and in Slack between meetings. Your team does the work, and gets better at it. I’m not here to make you need me.
Occasionally I take the seat as an Embedded Fractional CMO. One brand at a time, by invitation. From what you’ve told me, you don’t need that. Not yet.
Dan
Maya Ortiz
maya@sunhollow.co
to Dan
Tue 2:06 PM
From what you’ve told me, you don’t need that. Not yet.
Not what I expected. Everyone else pitches me the biggest package.
Can I talk to someone you’ve worked with?
Maya
Dan King
dan@kingmarketing.la
to Maya
Tue 2:21 PM
Of course. Here’s how Patrick (COO at Outer) put it:
“Dan has nudged us away from our worst impulses, brought clarity to chaos, and provided invaluable counsel as we navigated our toughest challenges. His strengths come not only from his command of consumer marketing, but from his deep understanding of business, startups, and people.”
And if we’re not a fit, I’ll tell you, and usually point you to someone better.
Dan
Maya Ortiz
maya@sunhollow.co
to Dan
Wed 7:40 AM
Okay. Where do we start?
And thank you. I haven’t said most of this to my team yet.
Maya
Dan King
dan@kingmarketing.la
to Maya
Wed 7:52 AM
Let’s start with a Bootcamp. It costs you one day in person. I spend the weeks before it inside your numbers, your team, your customers and your competition.
No long-term commitment. I guarantee it’s worth it, whether we keep going or not.
Does Thursday work?
Dan
