Dress Barn

Build for what people need when stuck at home: food, shelter, basics

Tai advises building businesses around fundamental needs rather than crushed categories. He points to his COVID-era brand buys (Dress Barn, Modell's) and to launching simple food products like grass-fed beef jerky and hemp protein riding paleo and vegan demand.

“So you really got to think, if people are trapped in home for prolonged periods of time, what do they want? They want food, they want home improvement, and they want those basics. I would stay away from a lot of the things that people envision— hospitality business, rest. These are crushed businesses that have a permanent shift on the curve.”

Steal thisBuild around fundamental needs (food, shelter, basics) and avoid categories with a permanent demand shift.

If your neighbor isn't suspicious of your idea, you're too late

Tai shares a heuristic from mentor Alan Nation: a genuinely good, early idea will make smart people suspicious. He treats Shaan's skepticism about Dress Barn as confirmation the opportunity is real, and signs off with 'be quick, see around corners.'

“my mentor Alan Nation said, Ty, if you have a good idea and you tell your neighbor about it, and they're not suspicious, it's too late. So the fact you're a smart guy and you're kind of suspicious of Dress Barn, it's beautiful.”

Steal thisTreat smart people's suspicion of your idea as a signal you're early, not wrong.

Tai Lopez spends $30M buying Pier 1's brand and database

Sam explains that get-rich-quick course seller Tai Lopez, via Retail Ecommerce Ventures, is spending $30M to acquire the IP of bankrupt Pier 1 (after earlier buying Dress Barn) to relaunch it as an e-commerce-only store.

“And so he's spending $30 million to buy Pier 1 along with other stuff. And we got ahold of his deck. I didn't even read it, but I read it. I've talked a lot and I've set the stage.”