What do you do when your e-commerce business gets crushed by Amazon sellers, COVID shutdowns, and skyrocketing overhead? You completely rewrite the rules of your industry.

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In this episode of Marketing Misfits, Norm Farrar and Kevin King sit down with Simon Booth, the founder of Kiddimoto, a company that single-handedly invented the wooden balance bike market 23 years ago. Simon shares his wild journey from hand-building 120 bikes in his backyard workshop to surviving a brutal grilling on BBC's Dragons' Den (the UK's Shark Tank).

Discover how a massive surge in TV publicity led to a nightmare of big-box retail demands and ruthless Amazon knockoffs, and the ultimate "epiphany" that saved his brand: ditching direct-to-consumer e-commerce entirely to secure exclusive licensing deals with Ducati, Honda, and Kawasaki.

If you are burnt out on Amazon PPC, dealing with Chinese copycats, or trying to figure out how to build a true lifestyle brand, Simon’s licensing playbook will change how you view product development.

📌 Main Topics Covered In This Episode
The Invention of the Balance Bike: How Simon went from cutting plywood in his garage to selling out his entire inventory at his first motorcycle show.

Surviving Dragons' Den (Shark Tank UK): Behind the scenes of a 2.5-hour unscripted grilling by billionaire investors, and why you should always know your balance sheet.

The Big Box Retail Nightmare: Why landing Toys "R" Us nearly killed the passion of the brand by forcing 120-day payment terms and endless accessory development.

The Problem with Amazon: Simon holds nothing back in a hilarious (but painfully true) rant about why Amazon's seller ecosystem is designed to squeeze brand owners dry.

The Licensing Epiphany: How abandoning traditional e-commerce to partner directly with massive brands (Honda, Kawasaki, MotoGP) created an un-copyable moat against knockoffs.

Storytelling & Brand Empathy: Why a Harley-Davidson rider will never buy a Chinese knockoff, and how to tap into the powerful psychology of personal identity brands.

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I turned down Dragon's Den... Then grew my business 400% | Simon Booth

The Marketing Misfits

I turned down Dragon's Den... Then grew my business 400% | Simon Booth