When the coronavirus pandemic hit last year, things started to fall apart for GoWild.
At the time, much of the revenue for the Louisville-based startup came from advertising, as brands used its social media platform to reach hunting, fishing and outdoor enthusiasts. And as advertising budgets shrank amid the crisis, GoWild's anticipated funding round was also in danger of dissolving.
"We had our worst quarter since I went full time," said Brad Luttrell, GoWild co-founder and CEO. "The funding round was not looking good, and transparently, we were like, 'Oh my God, we don't have time to wait this out.'"
Well you know what they say: Necessity is the mother of invention.
There was no big epiphany, Luttrell said, rather a simple conversation that led GoWild to become a hybrid social-commerce company, selling products directly intended for its community of users. Since launching direct sales a year ago this month, there's been renewed interest from brands and investors alike.
GoWild just closed on a $2.5 million capital fundraising round, adding to the $2.25 million it was able to secure in fall 2020 in spite of those pandemic-related challenges.
Here's the secret to that e-commerce-fueled success: Members can tag the gear they are using in posts to the social media platform and others can see the reviews, see notable people using the product and a discussion forum related to the product. It's better than reading through Amazon reviews, Luttrell said, because you know the feedback is coming from a real person engaged in that activity, whether it be deer hunting or bass fishing.
GoWild also recently launched a rewards program, incentivizing members to earn points for posting, shopping and interacting with others. The next step is to make it an experience, Luttrell said, as he believes brands look to work with creators and build communities in 2022.
"I am adamant that Instagram will eventually get to some level of what we're doing, even if we end up being the damn footnote that everybody is like, 'They started it.' I don't want to be the Friendster," Luttrell said. "I guarantee you, if we can't figure it out, somebody's going to figure out how to do this at scale."
That's where the recent capital infusion comes in to scale e-commerce operations.
Luttrell said he's been able to add three new hires to GoWild's team of 13, including two people locally. The new funds will also give the company a robust marketing budget for 2022, which includes bringing on new users by offering $10 to spend on the app just for signing up.
Investors in the most recent round include: Lunsford Capital, Strike Ventures, Render Capital, Kentucky Science & Technology Corp., Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York, Stadia Ventures, Tri State Angel Investor Group and Appalachian Investors Alliance, in addition to add-on funding from previous investors.
Luttrell credited Render Capital for helping GoWild build momentum for the final fundraising push. Render Capital, which recently awarded $800,000 to eight early-stage startups, had asked Luttrell to be a judge for its annual competition and he had to decline because of the fundraise.
"It was serendipitous — I didn't just want to say no, I don't have time, I wanted to give them a reason," Luttrell said. "I wasn't fishing, but as soon as they heard that I was fundraising, they wanted to know more."
Patrick Henshaw, managing director of Render Capital, said he sees GoWild as the place to go for an expert's opinion and to be on top of the trends in the outdoor industry.
"I had a music friend in high school and he was the guy that found the next new music — he found music nobody else had heard of it before, and then six, eight months later it took off," he said. "Now I've got GoWild for where I'm looking and seeing where all the trends are happening because I don't spend an infinite amount of my free time hunting and fishing or whatever, but when I do, I want to do it right."
Digital Editor David A. Mann and I talked with Luttrell on the Access Louisville podcast this week. Keep an eye out for the episode later this week to hear more of Luttrell's thoughts on the current social media environment.
