Nish Samantray (Arrae) - Using Wedding Savings to Start Arrae, Landing Retail, and Winning TikTok

On this episode, Arrae CEO and co-founder Nish Samantray joins us to unpack: 

• Using wedding savings instead of throwing an actual wedding to start Arrae with his wife and co-founder, Siff, right as the world shut down for Covid 
• Why Nish and Siff called their breakout product "Bloat" instead of overthinking a clever name 
• How Arrae brute-forced its way into the top of the TikTok Shop category before anyone had figured out a playbook 
• Why Target and four other major retailers all came to Arrae first 
• Going from fully DTC to five of North America's biggest retailers in five months 
• Nish's biggest regret 
• Running a company that's roughly 90% women as one of only two men on the team, and how staying data-driven instead of personal made product decisions easier 
• The "find your lanes" rule that keeps Nish and Siff from stepping on each other as co-founders, and why he says arguing hard, and often, is the key to a healthy partnership 
• Why the entire team still works out of Nish and Siff's house, closets and all, and the second home they just bought to make a little more room for it 
• What Nish learned about speed working across the US, India, and Japan earlier in his career, and how that shaped the culture he built at Arrae