Forte’s launched in 861 Target stores.

I took out a $1.5M loan to make this happen. It's the biggest risk I've ever taken. I break down the full story in today’s email.

But first - two things:

Your first purchase is free. The first 300 people who grab Forte at Target and send us a photo with the product + receipt get fully reimbursed up to $26.95

Want a free trip to NYC? One person who picks up Forte in the first two weeks of launch gets flown out to hang with me - dinner, meet the team, be in the vlog

I've never done anything like this.

LFG!

This year I want to help you hit your goals. And I mean it.

Fill out this quick survey so I know who you are and how I can help.

One reader gets a call with me this month. I hope it’s you!

Recently Forte Series hit 800+ Target stores nationwide.

I took out a loan for $1.5M to make this happen.

If we don't sell enough, we're f*cked.

I still can't fully process it.

So I want to walk you through how we got here - step by step.

I think a lot of this is useful if you're building something of your own.

Just like me you might be somewhere on this.

Six years ago, I was working at Google with a YouTube channel on the side.

I was posting gameplay videos in Portuguese.

Then something weird happened in my comments.

Guys started asking about what I was wearing, my daily habits, and especially my hair.

They didn’t care about gaming.

So I leaned in. Started making videos about style, confidence, looking your best.

And honestly, I fell in love.

I felt like I was actually helping guys feel better about themselves.

The momentum got so strong that I did something a lot of people thought was crazy.

I quit Google to do YouTube full time.

But here's the thing I didn't realise until later - 500K YouTube subscribers sounds massive, but I didn't own that audience.

YouTube did.

If their algorithm changed my income would be gone.

So I started building an email list which I shared in every video and description.

By the time I launched Forte, I had tens of thousands of people who actually wanted to hear from me, not just on YouTube.

That list became my launch pad.

Before Forte, I was promoting other brands' hair products in my videos. Women's products, mostly - because there weren't good options for men.

But I paid attention.

Which products got the most questions?

Which affiliate links got clicked?

Which videos had guys asking "where can I buy this?"

The data was clear. Guys wanted hair products designed for them.

I didn't have to come up with a ‘genius business idea’.

The proof was already in my comments.

So by the end of 2019, I launched Forte with $50K of my own savings.

No investors. No e-commerce experience. I just went for it.

I had to learn Shopify, email marketing, product margins - all of it on the fly.

The first batch looked terrible.

Cheap plastic packaging. Wrong fonts.

But I shipped it anyway.

I needed real data from real customers, not opinions from friends.

And thank God. We sold out in 3 weeks.

That ‘ugly’ first batch gave me

Something most don’t know - I've never taken a paycheck from Forte.

Every dollar goes back in for better formulas. Better packaging. Bigger team.

I’ve setup my systems so my social media content generates income separately from ad revenue, brand deals and affiliates.

It’s freed me up to play long term games with my product businesses without the pressure to cash out early.

And fortunately, Forte now has a team of 12 in Vancouver and the business runs whether I'm filming or not.

One of our first retailers Nordstrom didn't reach out because of my subscriber count.

They saw our Amazon numbers and email list size and realised Forte has a built-in customer base that actually buys.

Same with Target.

But getting the deal isn't the finish line. Let me explain.

About a year ago, I got a meeting to pitch Forte to Target - in 17 minutes.

I was nervous but it went well. After the call, my team and I were all smiles.

Target said they'd get back to us in 3 weeks.

But three weeks went by.

Then another three.

Radio silence.

Then one morning, an email popped up asking us to fill out paperwork.

We made it!

But there was a catch.

We needed $1.5 million of inventory upfront.

And the best way to get the funds was for me to personally take it out as a loan.

I won't lie - I thought it’d be a mistake.

But I thought about everyone who's been rocking with me since the gaming days.

You guys have been part of this from the start. Every comment, every purchase, every subscribe - that's what got us to this point.

And it's what pushes me to make sure these products are the best they can possibly be for you.

So I said f*ck it.

I took out the loan - and 12 months later, we're here.

If you're in the US, grab Forte at your local Target. It would mean the world to me and the team.

And don't forget - first 300 get reimbursed, and you might be coming to NYC!

I’ll keep sharing EVERYTHING in my vlogs.

The real numbers, real challenges, no BS.

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