Start and Scale is a legit ecommerce course that teaches you a repeatable framework on how to create 7-figure private label products from scratch to sell on Shopify or other ecommerce platforms. The course is created by Foundr Magazine and is instructed by 4X millionaire ecommerce mentor Gretta van Riel. Start and Scale is a Shopify approved course. It takes 12 weeks or less to see results from Start and Scale. Some students have made thousands on their first day of launching their new brand.
Ecommerce businesses have an 80%-90% failure rate. There are many mistakes that cause even the more experienced ecommerce business owners to fail. In this Start and Scale review, you will find out if this course can deliver what you need to create a successful ecommerce business. You will learn who Start and Scale is for, what makes it different from other ecommerce courses, what you get with the course, and what the students say to determine if it's worth it. We will also talk about the platform which created the course and who the instructor is.
Gretta van Riel's Start and Scale Review: Pros and Cons
Pros
Gretta is a proven successful ecommerce expert.
24/7 support from the Foundr team.
Private Facebook group.
Cons
Some of the course materials are outdated.
No coaching calls.
Price
Start and Scale costs $1997 or 4 payments of $597/month.
Refund Policy
14 Day money-back guarantee
Origin
Start and Scale was created in 2018
Reputation
Mostly positive
What Makes the Start and Scale Course Different From Other Ecommerce Courses?
What makes the Start and Scale course different from other ecommerce courses is that while Shopify is the recommended platform, you can use the course for any other ecommerce platforms. The course also comes with social media marketing lessons and a 2 in 1 bonus where you get access to the course for 2. The course is also taught by the real-life successful ecommerce expert, Gretta van Diel.
Who Is Start and Scale For?
- Beginners who have no experience with ecommerce. The course is a step-by-step training on creating an ecommerce business from brand creation to scaling.
- Ecommerce store owners who want to learn how to scale their business. The included social media marketing lesson can prove very useful.
- Ecommerce business owners who have a store on other platforms who want to learn how to scale. The course does not limit you to selling on Shopify.
- The course applies to anyone in the world. Ecommerce allows you to sell in international markets.
What Are the Course Contents of Start and Scale?
Start and Scale has 8 step-by-step modules with over 50 training videos by Gretta van Riel and follow-along workbooks. You will have access to 24/7 customer support and a community of over 20,000 entrepreneurs to network with. You also get 7 bonuses on top of the main course.
The initial module will teach you the exact framework that Gretta used to create her successful ecommerce brand. This repeatable framework is how Gretta created million dollar brands.
Lesson #1: How To Come Up With An Idea
Lesson #2: The P.S.S.P. Framework For Ideation
Lesson #3: From Employee To Entrepreneur
Lesson #4: How To Make Your Product Different & Better: Design + Function
Lesson #5: How To Make Your Product Different & Better: Price + Time
Lesson #6: How To Find Your Target Customer
Lesson #7: Crafting Your Customer Persona
Lesson #8: How To Plan An Idea (Canvases)
Lesson #9: How To Validate Your Idea
Module 2 will reveal the secrets to crafting a unique brand that sets you apart from your competition. You will learn how to establish a business that attracts buyers and influencers who actively search for you.
Lesson #1: What Is a Brand?
Lesson #2: Minimum Viable Brand (MVB)
Lesson #3: Choosing a Name (Name storming)
Lesson #4: Brand Look & Feel (Logo, Color Palette, Fonts)
Lesson #5: Store Options
Lesson #6: Set Up Your Shopify Store
In the 3rd module, you will learn the process of developing your product from creating your first prototype to placing international orders. The in-depth lessons make up the bulk of the course and are broken down into two parts.
Lesson #1: Introduction to Start & Scale Manufacturing
Lesson #2: Validation (MVP)
Lesson #3: Designing Your Prototype
Lesson #4: Packaging Design, Look & Feel
Lesson #5: Finding a Manufacturer for Your Packaging
Lesson #6: How To Find A Local Manufacturer
Lesson #7: Finding A Global Manufacturer On Alibaba
Lesson #8: Shipping & Tracking
Module 4 is the 2nd part of the product development.
Lesson #1: Finance 101 (Costs, Margins, Profits)
Lesson #2: Product Pricing
Lesson #3: Placing Your First Stock Order With A Local Or Global Manufacturer
Lesson #4: Product Inspection
Lesson #5: Trademarks & Patents
Lesson #6: Breaking The Mold
Lesson #7: Profit Margin
Pre-launch marketing can make or break your store. In module 5, you will learn how to attract a following that would convert to sales on your first day of launching. You will learn the marketing strategy that Gretta used when she sold $100,000 on the launch day of one of her products.
Lesson #1: The Breakthrough Concept of "Market to Product Fit"
Lesson #2: The 3 C's Of Community
Lesson #3: Content Territories
Lesson #4: Content Weighting
Lesson #5: Content Curation
Lesson #6: Brand-Generated Content (BGC) vs. User-Generated Content (UGC) vs. Influencer-Generated Content (IGC)
Lesson #7: Post-Purchase Stage
Lesson #8: Giveaways
Lesson #9: Marketing Psychology
Lesson #10: Your Waitlist Landing Page
In module 6, you will go over Gretta’s Influencer Marketing Blueprint. You’ll know how to find, negotiate, and leverage influencers in order to increase your sales and brand awareness.
Lesson #1: Getting Started With Influencer Marketing (Part A)
Lesson #2: Getting Started With Influencer Marketing (Part B)
Lesson #3: Identifying The Right Influencers
Lesson #4: Audience Analysis
Lesson #5: Macro Vs. Micro Influencers
Lesson #6: How To Find Influencers
Lesson #7: Outreach To Influencers
Lesson #8: Negotiating With Influencers
Lesson #9: Leveraging Assets To Maximize Results
Lesson #10: Measuring ROI Of Your Campaign
Lesson #11: How To Use Hey To Scale Influencer Marketing
What Is The Start and Scale Facebook Group?
The Start and Scale Facebook group is a private community founded in 2017 where students of the course and support each other. Students post questions, answers, success stories, and failures. The group has over 22,000 members. It is a great place to find support for the course.
What Do Students of Start and Scale Say?
There are several examples of Start and Scale students finding success after taking the course. Their brands are displayed, so you can Google them and see how well they actually are doing.
Start and Scale reviews on Trustpilot are mostly positive. Most talk about the good customer service and community. Negative reviews talk about the outdated training and lack of experience in the community.
What Are the Start and Scale Course Reddit Reviews?
Reddit users have always been wary of courses created by "gurus". I've found 2 Reddit comments from those who actually claim they have taken the course. These reviews have also been positive.
Is Start and Scale Worth It?
Start and Scale is worth it for beginners who have the $1,000 and $15,000 besides the price of the course. The course teaches everything to create your brand and launch your store. The included social media marketing course teaches you a low-cost marketing method. There are over 22,000 students, but only less than 2 dozen highly successful brands. You should not expect to get rich quick with this business model, as the chances are quite low. That said, you can still avoid costly mistakes and lower the chance of failure by taking this course.
What Is Foundr?
Foundr is a global media and education company that aims to connect people with contemporary successful entrepreneurs. The platform offers a monthly magazine, weekly podcast, and several online courses. Nathan Chan is the owner and CEO of Foundr. Foundr was created in 2013 with the goal of giving aspiring entrepreneurs the knowledge to recreate the success of contemporary successful entrepreneurs.
What Is the Foundr Review on Trustpilot?
Foundr has a 4.6 rating on Trustpilot. Their customer service is quick to reply and they reach out to complaints in order to find an amicable solution. The only verified review is a complaint against Founder's Instagram Domination course.
What Are the Foundr Courses?
The Foundr currently has 30 courses. You can book a call with a course consultant with whom you can discuss your situation and get clarity on what direction you should take with your business and what course you are recommended to take. 1-on-1 ecommerce coaching is available for those who want fast and focused results.
Course List
Who is Gretta Van Riel?
Gretta van Riel is an Australian serial entrepreneur and ecommerce mentor from Melbourne, Victoria. She has created several successful ecommerce brands from scratch and currently spends her time mentoring new ecommerce entrepreneurs. Gretta is featured in many publications, including the Forbes 30 Under 30. She was born on July 7, 1990 and has a degree in media and communications from the University of Melbourne.
What Is Gretta Van Riel's Net Worth?
Gretta van Riel’s net worth is estimated to be over $5 million. She makes 8-figures a year in revenue from her businesses and investments combined.
What Businesses Does Gretta Van Riel Own?
Gretta Van Riel owns Hey Influencers, SkinnyMe Tea, and Drop Bottle. She is also the co-founder of The 5th Watches, which she exited after 3 years, and a board member of Hydralyte. Gretta also invests in several businesses, such as the healthcare technology company Eucalyptus.
What Is SkinnyMe Tea?
SkinnyMe Tea is a brand that sells detox and weight loss tonics that reduce bloating. SkinnyMe Tea started in 2012 when a 22-year-old Gretta van Riel started her first business with only $24 in her bank account. From a handful of sales on the first day of launch, it was earning $600,000 a month in revenue by half a year. Started by doing everything herself, from creating the tea mixture, printing shipping labels, and using Instagram for free marketing. Reinvesting her earnings, she outsourced the product to her manufacturer in Hong Kong, hired a marketing team, and automated her business.
SkinnyMe Tea actually works in energizing and weight loss. However, there are several side effects that are warned by medical experts. In 2013, The Australian Medical Association Council of General Practice advised women to stay away from detox teas because of the mix of ingredients that can cause diarrhea, muscle cramps, dehydration, loss of vitamins and minerals, and more. Instagram even shut down the SkinnyMe Tea account after the allegations. SkinnyMe Tea opened another account and refuted the claims while maintaining that they follow regulatory standards.
What Is Drop Bottle?
Drop Bottle is a brand that sells eco-friendly fruit infuser water bottles and cold press juicers. It was as a solution for chronic dehydration and environmental concerns with plastic bottles. The thermal regulated borosilicate glass bottles allow you to infuse fruits and herbs to add flavor to your water. Drop Bottle also donates $1 for every bottle sold to the charity Drop4Drop.
What Is Hey Influencers?
Hey Influencer is an influencer marketing agency for ecommerce brands. The agency matches brands with influencers in the related niche. Hey Influencer also trains the influencers on how to promote the aligning products. Their omni-channel approach means you can have your brand marketed on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, or even Twitch.
What Is Gretta Van Riel's Claim?
Gretta makes 2 claims in that Start and Scale will help you create your niche product and that you do not need any marketing experience in order to promote your product. This claim makes it sound like you are guaranteed success. So just how likely are you to reach the level of success that the course advertises?
Why Start and Scale Does Not Guarantee Success With Ecommerce
First, Start and Scale will not come up with your unique idea for you, but they will rather analyze the idea you come up with and give advice. In a highly competitive business model, you need to come up with a unique product in a niche that is not congested yet has high demand. This will require a lot of research, especially if the niche you picked is something you are not highly knowledgeable or passionate about.
Second, marketing is one of the most important part of ecommerce that can spell success or failure. Start and Scale teaches you to use influencer marketing as your primary digital marketing strategy. This comes from Gretta's experiences with her first ecommerce brand. Gretta has a social media following and connections that made it easier for her to market. It would be very difficult for those without experience, connections, or even a social media presence to market their brand.
Is Ecommerce Worth It in 2024?
Ecommerce is worth it in 2024 if you understand the challenges and can mitigate the risks. According to Statista, global ecommerce is projected to grow to 8.1 trillion dollars by 2026, which is a 56% increase from 2014. This means that there is still potential for new entrepreneurs to enter the industry. However, you have to be aware of the changing realities of ecommerce.
China, which is the largest and fastest growing market, is expanding to other countries, such as the United States. With the influx of Chinese manufacturers selling directly on US markets, many sellers are finding it hard to compete with the low prices. A lot of ecommerce businesses rely on Chinese manufacturers for their products. This is one reason a lot of ecommerce businesses are not profitable. To find success with ecommerce, you need the proper skills, experience, and creativity, as well as invest a lot of time and money.
Which Niche Is Not Competitive to Start an Online Business?
- Solar energy products - Solar powered products are the number 1 fast-growing trend that has a high demand yet low competition. This is a great niche if you have the capital as solar powered products are expensive to manufacture.
- Eco-friendly products - Coming in second is the eco-friendly niche. As more and more people around the world are becoming environmentally conscious, biodegradable products have increased in demand.
- Health and beauty - Health and beauty has always had high demand and competition. You can find less competition if you create a product in a very specific sub-niche. Gretta van Riel's SkinnyMe Tea is an example of this.
- Pet products - A niche that only started rising in demand fairly recently. Goes with the saying "pets are the new kids." Now is a great time to get into the pet product niche.
- Indoor sports - Sports equipment has always been a highly competitive niche. Since the pandemic, the indoor sports niche has grown in popularity. The rise in demand for the indoor sports niche has shown steady increase even as the pandemic wanes.
Related Shopify and Private Label Courses
Local Lead Generation Is an Easily Scalable Business That Creates Passive Income
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With ecommerce you compete globally. You don’t have to worry about that with local lead generation as there will be little to none competition locally. Like a landlord, you simply need to maintain the website and collect the rent. And because the competition is low, your website can stay ranked on Google for years with no need for you to update it.
My tree care site hasn’t been updated in years and it’s been earning me $2,000 a month since 2015. Scaling your local lead generation business is as simple as repeating the process. There is no limit on how many websites you can make. You can earn $500-$2,000+ a month from each website. This means your potential to earn with a local lead generation business is limitless. These are the reasons local lead generation is my recommended business model to create financial freedom.
