Reusable cup company Frank Green has built a social media following that businesses usually only dream about. Founder Benjamin Young can comfortably rattle off its TikTok metrics: the #frankgreen hashtag has 300 million views on the app. That’s about the population of America, he points out.
However, the success of the sustainability-focused brand isn’t just down to good fortune and opportune timing. Instead, it’s the result of a strategy of taking customer feedback to heart. The reusable cup’s lid alone has had 19 modifications since its launch. “I did the internal strategy for those businesses [in utilities, transport, waste]. Part of that is buying and selling businesses,” says Young. “I was lucky that I had exposure to marketing, sales, finance, all the requisite things. If you’re an entrepreneur, you can’t be one thing, you’ve got to be really good at everything … That gave me a great grounding about all the tough situations that you get in business.