How Ben Leonard grew an e-commerce side hustle to nearly $6M ARR

A severe heart condition derailed Ben Leonard for months before he became an entrepreneur.

“Docs said they had to nip it in the bud this time before it became chronic and life-altering,” he said. “Cocktail of drugs for 6 months.”

While on the road to recovery, Leonard realized he wanted to invest in his health and fitness.

But to do that he needed better gear — so he designed it himself.

It ultimately led him to launch a side hustle: Beast Gear, a Scotland-based e-commerce fitness brand.

Leonard grew it for 3 years to nearly $6 million in annual revenue derived largely from Amazon. He marketed and built the brand in part through Instagram.

He sold Beast Gear in 2019 for more than $2 million.

Now Leonard is building Ecom Brokers, a marketplace to sell e-commerce businesses.

I spoke with Leonard about his journey, what he’s learned, and his advice.

Why did you get into e-commerce specifically?

I realized it was an easy way for my brand to reach a disproportionately high number of people.

###How’d you navigate the financial risk?
I was able to bootstrap the whole thing. Invested several thousand pounds of my own money, which felt scary at first but was fine after the business was going well and I knew it was a good investment. I borrowed about £10,000 from my dad all across the 3 years. I was very fortunate to be able to do that.

Any advice for people taking on a risk like this?

Take risks, but take sensible risks. Test the concept first with an amount you are willing to lose. If it works, then take bigger risks.

What was your mindset when initially launching Beat Gear?

Slow and steady wins the race. For example, I have been developing a new brand now for 2 years and we are STILL not ready to launch. That is fine.

You need to launch a great brand and great products. If it takes time to get it right, so be it. Passion is key. You MUST have a passion for what you are doing otherwise you will have no drive to push the business on. You might as well just go work for the man.

What’d you learn through the multi-year build?

Where there are obstacles, climb over them. 90% of others will just give up. When you reach the otherwise of the obstacle you emerge into rich valleys of opportunity devoid of competitors who all gave up.

What were some mistakes you made?

I had a huge challenge when someone tried to sue me. Get your intellectual property position checked and strengthened by great IP lawyers — luckily I did that. Stand your ground if you are in the right! Don’t be bullied.

Get your IP position audited and then get all TMs and patents done by top IP lawyers from the start.

What’d it feel like to hit $1M in annual revenue?

To be honest, I didn’t notice. Revenue is a vanity metric. I was more focused on growing profitably.

Any advice for founders setting a million-dollar goal?

Don’t. A million-dollar goal is pretty arbitrary and meaningless. Focus on a goal that makes more sense like your business achieving a goal related to your mission or if you are looking to exit, then a valuation goal.

As a solo founder, how did you balance your time?

No getting away from it, it is a grind at first. Evenings and weekends. When I was able to quit my job, the business rocketed.

What are common founder mistakes you see?

Their business has no compelling brand identity. They transform into boring “acme corp” speak.

Or they don't tell anyone. The best brand in the world will achieve nothing without marketing. This is why marketing is more important than branding.

Any advice for founders or aspiring entrepreneurs?

Give yourself permission to try things you are not technically qualified to do. I had no business experience, no marketing experience, and no product development experience. I just tried.

Analyze results, make changes, and test, test, test.

Build strong relationships with everyone: Customers, team members, manufacturers, and other entrepreneurs.