สำเนาบทสนทนา 🔗
WEBVTT
1
00:00:00.180 --> 00:00:07.880
Kyle, you are a commercial fisherman who built a direct consumer seafood brand that sells out its catch every season, I understand.
2
00:00:08.060 --> 00:00:16.239
And last year, Slow Ventures Creator Fund invested seven figures, undisclosed total amount, but seven figures in you and your business.
3
00:00:16.720 --> 00:00:30.800
We'll get to the content operation in a minute, but first, you initially told Slow, "I'm not your guy. I'm a fisherman, not a creator." And last year, you published a fairly low amount, you know, 16 short-form videos.
4
00:00:31.220 --> 00:00:41.580
They received millions of views combined, but only 16. Mm. All of which to say, my question is, why did you initially say no, and then w- how did that no become a yes? [laughs] Okay.
5
00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:46.800
You, you did your research, you did your homework, and that's [laughs] hilarious that they told you that. Yeah, when they...
6
00:00:46.900 --> 00:00:55.000
when we first had a discussion and they reached out about it, um, you know, it's incredible what they-- like, their thesis of this.
7
00:00:55.260 --> 00:01:07.360
I 100% see the space, because a lot of us creators or small business owners are very entrepreneurial. Mm-hmm. So there's gonna be multiple events, you know, throughout our lifespan. Um, but for me,
8
00:01:08.360 --> 00:01:16.440
you know, born and raised in Alaska, I've been commercial fishing for 10 years, so this is my one thing. Yeah. And their overall...
9
00:01:16.620 --> 00:01:29.460
You know, they're looking at the bigger picture of how they can sup- support that and what we could do, and that's when I was like, "Yeah, this... I'm not your guy. Like, I, I'm just, I'm just a fisherman.
10
00:01:29.880 --> 00:01:42.040
I'm gonna keep fishing. This is my one thing." Yeah. Well, on the topic of, like, why would a VC even invest in, in a fisherman, in a fish- in a fishing business, right?
11
00:01:42.120 --> 00:01:50.940
Like, whenever any VC invests in a business, they're expecting some sort of scale that will make their investment pay off, right? They believe that that's gonna be there.
12
00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:54.780
A business like yours, I'm not, like, so informed on the fishing business, right?
13
00:01:54.860 --> 00:02:06.100
But a business like yours seems to have some natural ceiling, like maybe you can get more boats, and there are people involved who then, like, each boat has a captain that has a license to get more fish. I...
14
00:02:06.220 --> 00:02:17.880
This is me just kind of conjecturing. I don't know. But I, I gu- I guess the question is, like, how far can your business scale, really? How does it scale? Alaska's fisheries, we're heavily managed by the state.
15
00:02:18.620 --> 00:02:33.280
They essentially give us a 16-hour notice, like, "Hey, you guys can go fish for 24 hours tomorrow based on what the daily count is." So there's that regulation, and then also a business entity can't own
16
00:02:34.340 --> 00:02:46.980
multiple fishing permits, right? So that's obviously a roadkill for a VC investment. You can't scale that part. Yeah. A business can only own one, and a boat can only catch as big as it can.
17
00:02:47.040 --> 00:02:57.180
And so, you know, all, all my best friends were all fishing out there, and I was like, "Hey, there's... I think there's an opportunity for us to sell direct to consumer." Hmm.
18
00:02:57.960 --> 00:03:08.060
All the technology is already built out there, Shopify, Facebook Ads, um, all these other tools that make it really easy to start a business. Someone just has to do it.
19
00:03:09.600 --> 00:03:23.400
Obviously, we learned there's a lot more operational st- work on the seafood side, but it was, okay, if we can come in and pay ourselves 30% better, skip the processors, skip the distributors,
20
00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:32.880
provide a better product at the same cost to our customer, in theory, seems like a no-brainer. Yeah. S- so that's how we started.
21
00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:41.380
And to answer your question of how big this can scale, you know, once we adopted that model is... Okay, one, salmon. Let's just focus on one product, salmon. Mm-hmm.
22
00:03:41.440 --> 00:03:53.800
Last year, Alaska harvested 800 million pounds commercially, right? So just, like, quick numbers. Salmon alone. Just salmon, not including any other seafood. 800 million pounds, which is insane.
23
00:03:54.220 --> 00:04:07.760
You know, we supply the world with wild salmon, right? So let's say, easy number, 20 bucks a pound. That alone is $16 trillion. Right? So it's a, it's a very, it's a very large market. Okay.
24
00:04:07.940 --> 00:04:16.040
Then the way that the content changes the business, right? I imagine there are many people like you who are, who are out there fishing in Alaska, but not making content.
25
00:04:16.100 --> 00:04:26.240
In fact, I know there are, because you just said it's 800 million pounds of fish per year, and, and I'm not s- [laughs] I've, I've maybe seen, like, three other people making content about it besides you.
26
00:04:26.640 --> 00:04:38.360
So how does that part of your business... Like, what does that change about the way you do business? What does it enable that your peers who aren't making content, um, like, that they don't have? Does it enable DTC?
27
00:04:38.680 --> 00:04:47.280
Does it increase the amount you're able to charge? How does making- Yeah... content about your fishing to, you know, millions of viewers, how does that change your business relative to your peers?
28
00:04:47.760 --> 00:04:52.800
There's so many aspects that it improves and affects, but from a high level, it's increased distribution.
29
00:04:53.380 --> 00:05:02.440
You know, because we're able to post on social media essentially for free, it just takes our time, we can compete with these larger companies with million-dollar marketing budgets.
30
00:05:02.780 --> 00:05:14.000
'Cause if we
Load full transcript
just create content that is compelling and entertaining, it'll-- the algorithm's gonna do its job and find the right people. And so it has unlocked a lot of awareness for us.
31
00:05:15.340 --> 00:05:20.080
You know, I was very naive when I started the, the e-commerce company. I was like, "Oh, you build a website, everyone's gonna come."
32
00:05:20.140 --> 00:05:32.240
But that's just not the case, and so social media has unlocked that distribution for us and awareness. Yeah. What, so, like, if you stopped posting tomorrow, let's say, does that sort of kill, kill your business model?
33
00:05:32.640 --> 00:05:44.760
No, not at all. So you, you mentioned earlier, last year we only posted 16 times, and so we aren't-- I'm not a creator by trade. Uh, even up till now, like,
34
00:05:45.840 --> 00:05:55.060
I need to be better about this, but social content has kind of been an afterthought. I don't know what it is, but I can plan to shoot all the content,
35
00:05:56.240 --> 00:06:07.036
but when I get on the boat and we actually start fishing, I don't c- like, that doesn't matter. Yeah. You have to catch the fish. My focus is keeping the crew safe and find the fish. Yeah. That's my only job, right?
36
00:06:07.076 --> 00:06:19.876
And so that's why our content production has been really slow, even though I know I need to be better about it. But, um, yeah, those are just some of the, the internal struggles that we go through. And also- Yeah...
37
00:06:19.916 --> 00:06:27.756
you know, because of that, it's just hard to get content. If you're not filming... You have to film everything, right? Yeah. And if you're not capturing that, you're not gonna be able to put out good content.
38
00:06:28.176 --> 00:06:37.056
Well, well, tell me about that because when I watch the videos, it's clear that you are filming a lot of it. I don't know if I would say most, but you're filming a lot of it, and then sometimes you are being filmed.
39
00:06:37.476 --> 00:06:43.696
And I, I, I, I'm assuming it's, like, there's just another crew member, and in a moment you're like, "Oh, take my phone. Quick, film this." Um, I don't...
40
00:06:43.716 --> 00:06:49.456
Like, I don't get the impression that there's somebody on the boat for your short-form videos who's, like, there just to film.
41
00:06:49.856 --> 00:06:57.836
Um, s- so yeah, I guess the question is, like, this, the actual we're on the boat, we're filming, how does that happen? Yeah. That's, that's a great observation. That's true.
42
00:06:58.116 --> 00:07:01.196
It, it's just me on my phone, and it's honestly
43
00:07:02.996 --> 00:07:13.976
w- when it's a stressful day, maybe fishing's good or it's, like, a bluebird's sunny day, maybe I had a great cup of coffee, and like, okay, like, we can start filming, and I'll just pull out my iPhone and s- just start recording.
44
00:07:14.616 --> 00:07:24.516
Yeah. And then you're editing it yourself later. Yes. Yeah. Okay. Uh, I guess, uh, uh, sort of a question about the origin story, right? Why you started doing this. You said that you started...
45
00:07:24.976 --> 00:07:36.296
You know, you figured out, "I wanna do direct-to-consumer e-com model for selling Alaskan wild seafood," right? Mm-hmm. And you set up the website. This is when it's still called Alaskan Salmon Company.
46
00:07:36.356 --> 00:07:45.396
Now it's Outer Seas. You sort of quickly realize if you build it, they will not come. "I have to figure out distribution." And then you're like, "Well, I guess I'll start making content."
47
00:07:45.456 --> 00:07:54.296
Tell me a little bit more about, like, about the, the impetus and, like, is it you, you just go out there with a camera, like, "I guess I'm just gonna start filming this and posting"? How did it all happen? Yeah.
48
00:07:54.336 --> 00:08:10.096
So we started, [clears throat] we started on all marketing channels. Hmm. Facebook ads, Google ads, organic content, email marketing, SEO. And then quickly we real- we found the winner. So SEO worked really well for us.
49
00:08:10.196 --> 00:08:20.236
It was free. All it took was my time to write content. And so that's actually where we started and where a lot of the core business comes from. Hmm. And so in the early days, I would just write
50
00:08:21.296 --> 00:08:29.796
about topics that people were looking, searching on Google, and I think even though I wasn't formally trained, I think the authenticity resonated with people.
51
00:08:30.776 --> 00:08:41.216
And so some of those first articles are still generating 4,000 or 5,000 views every month, which is incredible, right? You make it once and then it continues to, uh, to work for you. Mm-hmm.
52
00:08:41.516 --> 00:08:56.336
That's where we started, and then, you know, three years later, two years later, I started consuming more content and seeing that this was the next trend. We hired a social media manager. Hmm.
53
00:08:56.896 --> 00:09:06.776
She would post recipes and other related content to seafood, but it just wasn't working. And the next thing we wanted to create or test was creator seating. Hmm.
54
00:09:07.856 --> 00:09:19.136
But then again, hey, we, we are about to send out 30 boxes tomorrow on Monday, but these people have, these creators have no idea who we are. We're a brand with 20 followers. They're all my friends and family.
55
00:09:19.616 --> 00:09:32.456
And so I need... I, I honestly just recorded, it was 11:30 at night on Sunday. I'm on my couch. I just record pretty much a snippet of who I am, what I'm trying to do. Mm-hmm. "Hey, I'm a fisherman in Alaska.
56
00:09:32.996 --> 00:09:43.356
You know, we wanna skip the middleman and ship directly to you guys." And that was our first video that, you know, to us, like, went viral, like a couple hundred thousand views overnight. I was like, "Oh, this is crazy."
57
00:09:44.056 --> 00:09:54.836
Yeah. All right, so that was, like, our first, um, I guess, step and realization of the influence- That this works...
and power, uh, yeah, of social media- Yeah... content.
58
00:09:55.776 --> 00:10:10.096
Uh, sort of on that topic, I noticed that one of your most recent videos, short-form videos, I think it's from October 8th, you did an ad for Meta 1, which short-form video ad, which I think is the first time I've seen you do an ad for another business.
59
00:10:10.176 --> 00:10:20.056
You know, all your- Yeah... content's an ad for your own business. On Instagram it has 5.8 million views. Um, likes are only around 2,200, which tells me that Instagram boosted this as a paid ad.
60
00:10:20.096 --> 00:10:26.996
That's typically where that, where that comes from, right? Um, uh, tell me about this. Like, how did this come to be? You know, you're talking about, like, other things will come up.
61
00:10:27.035 --> 00:10:33.776
Like, this seems like you getting out of your comfort zone. I imagine they paid you well. How did this come to be? Why d- why did you decide to do it?
62
00:10:34.196 --> 00:10:41.436
It was actually perfect timing because we had actually just signed up for Meta 1. We were actually a customer. Hmm.
63
00:10:41.536 --> 00:10:51.636
So I think, you know, they've got so many data points, I'm sure they had a filter of like, "Okay, what business owners are actually purchasing with us?" Then they sort through what, what creators have the right audience.
64
00:10:52.256 --> 00:11:03.936
You know, I, I'm, I'm very data-driven. Like I said earlier, we, we tried all marketing channels, but then we followed the data of what was reasonable for us at the time. And same thing with our content is we were...
65
00:11:04.436 --> 00:11:17.616
We, we try to track everything as detailed as we can. Um, and our behind-the-scenes day-in-the-life fishing videos get... Some of them get great reach.
66
00:11:17.956 --> 00:11:28.156
We reach a lot of new followers, a lot of new people, a lot of clicks, but it doesn't convert. It's crazy. Like, yeah. It's always gonna attract- Entertainment, it's a TV show... a different audience. Yeah.
67
00:11:28.496 --> 00:11:42.136
Yeah, exactly. But, you know, how, how do we shorten that gap, um, from decision to pr- and to action, right? I think especially on social, you know this, that the attention span is so short.
68
00:11:42.176 --> 00:11:51.976
So even a small amount of friction, they're al- they can already be distracted and, like, scroll up and go to a different platform or scroll to somewhere else. You know, so that, um,
69
00:11:53.356 --> 00:12:03.596
that seemed like a very, very natural partnership there. A little, you know, the timeline was kind of tight with our end of season, but I, I think it's a really powerful tool for a lot of business owners. Yeah.
70
00:12:03.616 --> 00:12:12.576
You know, it's like 49 bucks, so one conversion really pays for itself. And I'm sure whatever they paid you paid for itself as well. [laughs] Uh, not that you have to tell me how much it was. Um-
71
00:12:13.688 --> 00:12:22.688
Can
you say anything about, like, how much of your business's sales now, like, what, um, percentage, whatever, how much comes through the organic content versus other channels?
72
00:12:22.748 --> 00:12:31.688
I know you also, like, turn some of your organic content into paid ads, uh, but, but how effective is the content, the organic videos for your sales?
73
00:12:31.868 --> 00:12:40.688
Y- y- you know, true attribution, that's the, that's the billion-dollar question, right? It's... Yes. So the direct sales that, what we can measure and track is very small,
74
00:12:41.628 --> 00:12:52.228
maybe le- maybe less than 5%, but it has overflowed to all of our other channels. So when- Yeah... there's no direct correlation, but we can, right, we can just see if we look back at the overall CAC.
75
00:12:52.548 --> 00:12:58.168
When a video performs and does well, CAC decreases across the board. That makes sense.
76
00:12:58.388 --> 00:13:04.688
I mean, I can say that, you know, w- when I first saw your content, probably I watched a couple videos, and then I was like, "Well, what is this Outer Seas?"
77
00:13:04.708 --> 00:13:13.068
And I go to the site, and, like, in preparing for this interview, I've gone to the website a couple times. [laughs] I'm yet to check out, but I'm like, "Man, this fish looks really good. I'm gonna try it."
78
00:13:13.128 --> 00:13:19.848
So, so, you know- Wait, wait... probably in like three months- Wait, quick question. You said you like to cook. What, what kind of seafood? What's your favorite seafood? [laughs] I, you know, I, I like it all.
79
00:13:19.928 --> 00:13:25.748
I do like to cook salmon, though. Okay, you, you're just saying that for the, for the show. I know. I like to cook salmon. Really, it's your favorite? I...
80
00:13:26.128 --> 00:13:35.408
Look, I, I mean, I, I come from a, you know, w- I grew up in Northern California, where it, where it's like, there's... Salmon's big there, so I grew up eating salmon. Hey, so s- something's not adding up, okay?
81
00:13:35.828 --> 00:13:44.268
What, what do you mean? You love salmon. You saw our content. You've been to our website. Why haven't you converted? Because, um, because I, because it... I'll tell you why, actually.
82
00:13:44.468 --> 00:13:54.828
For me, it's like, I, it's hard for me to get around, like, ordering salmon online when I could go to this local fishmonger, right? Yes. But I see the quality there, right? It's even like,
83
00:13:56.768 --> 00:14:01.488
like, I, I like going to the grocery store and buying, like, I just like going to the grocery store. Um, but
84
00:14:02.488 --> 00:14:11.668
the other side of it is I've seen your video where you're comparing, uh, you know, this, like, really shitty grocery store salmon to y- your guys' salmon, and it's, and it's, it's a great video.
85
00:14:11.708 --> 00:14:20.108
The comparison's very strong. Um, but I have a local fishmonger whose salmon looks much better than that. Yes. So, so that's why, right? It's like- I see. Okay. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
86
00:14:20.148 --> 00:14:26.788
But, but, um, you know, uh, there's like, there's, there's stuff on there where it's like, maybe I'm not gonna be able to get as nice of halibut here, right? Yeah, yeah.
87
00:14:26.888 --> 00:14:34.868
Or I, I wanna do a little Nobu miso black cod, right? [laughs] I'm gonna- Yeah, I... No... check that out. But that's an excellent point. I'm glad you brought that up because,
88
00:14:36.168 --> 00:14:47.168
you know, you mentioned, h- hey, I've got a local fish guy that I have- Yeah... this relationship with. I've been buying from him for a long time, and then also buying seafood online, it's a new consumer behavior. Yeah.
89
00:14:47.768 --> 00:15:01.148
Right? Which is also the upside, which is very exciting to think about because every single day, the amount of people we can sell to increases. Yeah. People are becoming more and more comfortable with this habit.
90
00:15:01.648 --> 00:15:11.488
Think of, like, shoes and apparel. I buy all my clothes online now, all my stuff. Yeah, but that took a long time. Took a long time, and so I th- you know, we really are on the leading edge of food and beverage online.
91
00:15:12.048 --> 00:15:23.408
You know, it only makes up 3% of sales, but, uh, yeah, there's definitely a lot of, lot of growth to be had. Yeah. No, certainly. On the content topic, different channels, right?
92
00:15:23.788 --> 00:15:36.808
When I look at Instagram right now, you've got 169,000 followers. Uh, when I look at TikTok, you're actually bigger, 100 or 463,000 followers, 12.5 million lifetime likes. You're also on YouTube Shorts. Mm-hmm.
93
00:15:36.848 --> 00:15:45.928
Is there functionally any difference in these platforms for you? You seem to post, you know, the same videos to each one. I think, like, uh, TikTok, there's some early videos.
94
00:15:45.988 --> 00:15:55.588
I get the sense you might've started there first. I don't know. Is there any difference in these for you, or it's kinda just like we post to all of 'em, and they all kinda give us some business? Francis, I love it.
95
00:15:55.648 --> 00:16:05.968
You, you did a deep dive. That- It's my job... yeah, and you, yeah, good deduction. Yeah. TikTok was our first platform. That's where I posted that first video, like, "Hey- Yeah... I'm Kyle. This is what we do."
96
00:16:06.088 --> 00:16:18.548
Um, so yeah, posted more there. There are differences in the community and the reach and kind of the benefit you get from each channel. Hmm.
97
00:16:19.368 --> 00:16:28.388
Unfortunately, we just ha- we're not at that level where we're able to tailor the content for each specific audience. Yeah. So right now we're just cross posting across all.
98
00:16:29.388 --> 00:16:37.928
My, my sense, my guess would be that Instagram is probably the best for your business because it's more where, like, on Instagram, people are, you know, sharing in the DMs, right?
99
00:16:37.968 --> 00:16:47.768
They're like, "I'm sending this to my mom. Hey, we should buy this," whatever it is, right? "I'm sending this to my roommate. You wanna go in on a box with me? Let's get this fish." Whatever it is, um, I would guess.
100
00:16:47.808 --> 00:16:56.088
I don't know. Yeah. No- If it makes sense... no, that, yeah, that's true. Yeah. Meta, Facebook, Instagram, core, like our core buyer, TikTok is, you know, they're...
101
00:16:56.708 --> 00:17:12.888
Our high ALV just doesn't bode well with that community, but it helps with top-of-funnel awareness. Um, but you're right. Currently Meta performs well for us. Yeah. You're also doing long-form YouTube videos as of July.
102
00:17:13.068 --> 00:17:17.148
You've posted- We just... Yeah, we just, uh- Yeah, you just started. You've got, you've got four long-form videos.
103
00:17:17.368 --> 00:17:25.728
Um, first one, first video, when I, when I recorded this the other day, only has 9.4 thousand views, then the second hit 106,000.
104
00:17:26.288 --> 00:17:40.088
The third hit 627,000, and then, uh, the last one, the most recent one, has been up now for three weeks, 116,000. Uh, this seems a little bit more involved.
105
00:17:40.148 --> 00:17:48.568
When I look at these, it's clear there's a professional shooter. Yeah. Uh, it's not just, like, you and your crew on the boat passing the phone around. Clearly it's an investment.
106
00:17:48.728 --> 00:17:59.808
I'm guessing it probably comes, you know, post-Slo, the, the investment from Slo helping you f- like, get some of, like, supply chain, all the other, like, parts of the business that I'm not seeing, getting that nailed down, and now- Yes...
107
00:17:59.828 --> 00:18:07.308
we have more time for content. We have more budget maybe to hire a shooter. Tell me about this, why you started investing in YouTube after just years of just doing short-form.
108
00:18:07.688 --> 00:18:23.748
I believe that if you grow the community on YouTube, because we're, the content is more thorough, and there's just more for the viewer to sink their teeth into, you can-... build a deeper relationship. Mm-hmm.
109
00:18:23.888 --> 00:18:34.628
Whereas short form it's the retention edits, and it's just like quick, boom. Like what's gonna keep them to watch this next one-second clip, right? Whereas on YouTube, if they care they're gonna stick and watch. Mm.
110
00:18:34.668 --> 00:18:47.368
And so that incentivizes us to get deeper into the product or whatever experience or method of fishing that we're getting into because the people who are staying are the ones who want to know.
111
00:18:48.228 --> 00:19:00.988
And it, honestly it's, it's really fun to be able to build that relationship. So now when I travel, sometimes we run into people who have seen our content, and yeah, you know, exchange numbers.
112
00:19:01.028 --> 00:19:12.008
We go out and like grab dinner or a drink. So it's, it's really cool because previously with fishing no one saw what we did. Mm-hmm. We just fished and we delivered to a processor.
113
00:19:13.228 --> 00:19:22.268
Consumers would just go to their local fishmonger, which is also a great relationship, but a lot of people were, they don't have that. I think you're, you're, you know, one of the select few.
114
00:19:22.308 --> 00:19:31.688
But it, it's cool because they're also interested in it too, so it's a lot of fun connecting over that. Yeah. Which I'll just, since, since there's only four videos I'll just read out the topics.
115
00:19:31.748 --> 00:19:36.388
You've got My New Fishing Boat Has a Massive Problem, How Much I Made in a Day Fishing Salmon in Alaska.
116
00:19:36.728 --> 00:19:47.608
The, the most popular one, I Ask Strangers to Cook Seafood in Their Home, which is such like a YouTube style format- Yes... right? Yeah. And then the last one is I Almost Sank My $500,000 Boat.
117
00:19:48.048 --> 00:19:54.288
Uh, the, the production of, of this, much more involved. Like how are you fitting this into your schedule?
118
00:19:54.628 --> 00:20:06.968
How, how, like how, how is this part of your, your working life compared to the short form video where you're just passing it around? Yeah. So yeah, w- with the long form there's a lot more production to it. So we have
119
00:20:08.028 --> 00:20:19.908
our videographer, we have our editor, and we have our producer for that. And we want to, right, we want to build that relationship and deeper connection. So the topics are varied at the moment. We're testing,
120
00:20:21.408 --> 00:20:31.328
testing what works, but also what is available, like what I can actually do given the seasons. Mm. Yeah. And so a, a big delay was, um, yeah, the,
121
00:20:32.288 --> 00:20:43.488
the boat build had some delays and we actually missed half the season which was- Oh, God... pretty tough on, on the income. But um, yeah. What can you tell me about this deal?
122
00:20:43.548 --> 00:20:56.208
I know you can't tell me like exact amounts, whatever, but um, I, you know, I've talked to a couple other people who Slow has, who the Slow Creator Fund has invested in, and I'm always interested in the varying answers for like this is what...
123
00:20:56.528 --> 00:21:02.888
Just like you, they all say, "I wasn't really looking for investment. I didn't really think I needed investment," but they're convinced.
124
00:21:02.928 --> 00:21:10.348
What can you tell me about like, you know, in the time since you have accepted this investment and you've built these relationships, like what is it giving you?
125
00:21:10.668 --> 00:21:18.748
And so your question is what has changed for us since we partnered with Slow? Mm-hmm. To, to be completely honest, nothing.
126
00:21:20.108 --> 00:21:29.388
We already had things that we needed to solve, inventory and supply chain being the biggest one 'cause you, again, there, there's,
127
00:21:30.448 --> 00:21:43.108
it's inefficient to spend your time and resources on building new or bringing in new clients and new
customers if you can't even satisfy your existing. Mm-hmm. So the business has not changed at all.
128
00:21:43.748 --> 00:21:55.028
Their capital has helped us purchase more inventory during seasons. Hmm. So seafood is a very cash flow intensive industry. Salmon is a three to five-month season.
129
00:21:55.108 --> 00:22:04.628
Outside, outside of that you cannot purchase because it's not that, there's no regulation to fish, the fish are out in the middle of the ocean. Y- you know, you're just not fishing out there.
130
00:22:04.668 --> 00:22:11.128
And it's only during the summer months that they return home to fresh water near shore where we can catch them. Mm-hmm. Right?
131
00:22:11.228 --> 00:22:24.048
So there's that cash, cash flow where we have to forecast and buy a year's worth of inventory in really two-month window 'cause early on the fish are kind of small, and on the tail end the fish start to spawn.
132
00:22:24.108 --> 00:22:39.668
So there's like a prime time where to harvest peak quality and freshness. So that, that's helped us grow a lot by just, um, being able to buy more seafood while we're, while we're in the seasons. Yeah. That makes sense.
133
00:22:39.967 --> 00:22:42.748
So s- still true to my word, like, hey, I'm a fisherman.
134
00:22:43.488 --> 00:22:51.608
You know, we're, we're slowly building up the content and putting more effort into it, but again, found a c- found a couple leaking holes that we need, we need to patch. Yeah.
135
00:22:52.048 --> 00:22:59.368
The, you know, you just said that, you know, still, "Hey, I'm just a fisherman." Like now you're doing the YouTube, you're, the, the content is scaling up.
136
00:22:59.528 --> 00:23:04.448
You're still, it sounds like you're still a bit of a reluctant creator. And I kind of hate the term creator to be honest with you.
137
00:23:04.488 --> 00:23:12.908
Like the, the, the way I really use it, the way I use it at Creator Spotlight is it means digital media entrepreneur or it might mean like somebody who makes YouTube videos, somebody who makes short form videos, right?
138
00:23:13.188 --> 00:23:17.008
I'm, I'm, I, I'm, I try to get more specific about like what's the practice- Sure... what's the medium.
139
00:23:17.248 --> 00:23:30.948
With you, you are a, you know, y- the business isn't entirely direct to consumer, but you are a fisherman selling fish, and you use content to increase the market for your fish and convert more people to buying fish, right?
140
00:23:30.948 --> 00:23:32.268
Yeah. Like that's what you are.
141
00:23:32.308 --> 00:23:42.368
But like this, this term creator, this identity of, this work of being somebody who hosts videos and who publishes these videos, tell me like how your relationship with that work has developed.
142
00:23:42.368 --> 00:23:55.168
That, that, that's funny that that's your standpoint 'cause I, I'm striving to become a better creator. Okay. Same here. Like I can, I can h- head into gale force storms and fish. Like
I'm very confident behind the wheel
143
00:23:56.128 --> 00:24:10.368
and my equipment and my crew. But when it comes to recording content I get nervous. Yeah. And so it, I, I think it's, um, you know, 'cause before I would only make it when I was in a really good mood, right?
144
00:24:10.408 --> 00:24:15.588
Like I, I had, I didn't have a bunch on my plate. I had time to make it. It was like more leisurely. But to be able to,
145
00:24:16.548 --> 00:24:24.968
you know, sup- support your community with it, right, the business, but also put out valuable content either if it's educational, entertaining, you have to be consistent.
146
00:24:25.568 --> 00:24:33.976
You know, it's like with you and your fishmonger- You have that relationship where you're gonna see them every single time. I'm sure you guys have conversations like, "Oh, how's your family doing?"
147
00:24:34.016 --> 00:24:45.116
"Oh, I just got back from this beautiful wedding at my, my sister's farm or flower farm," right? And so, yeah, I, I'm trying to get over my own personal, like,
148
00:24:46.336 --> 00:24:57.176
adversities about making content, but it's really impressive the creators who can do this at scale- Yeah... and consistently build toward. And they're just not just talking about nothing, but that it's very clear,
149
00:24:58.236 --> 00:25:08.816
you know, their program is very, uh, intentional. To, to that point is, like, you know, y- you've started making the YouTube videos, and it sounds like that's something you put yourself out of the comfort zone.
150
00:25:08.856 --> 00:25:19.276
This is something you wanted to do. Are there, like, forms or models of, of video, of whatever type of content that you, like, would like to make, but you're not quite there yet? It's a good question.
151
00:25:19.456 --> 00:25:29.496
I'm open to all types of content as long as it's still serving the purpose- Mm-hmm... by providing education and entertainment around seafood.
152
00:25:30.276 --> 00:25:38.876
I've been trying to-- I've been consuming more content to learn what's successful and what's not, and so that's where we have to balance. What's working- Yeah...
153
00:25:39.756 --> 00:25:51.596
what people obviously want to watch and see, but then how do we add our own flair and taste to it? But, but there's a video of yours that you uploaded to Instagram on May 19th, 2025.
154
00:25:51.856 --> 00:26:00.256
You're on a new boat, you say, and you say that the crew has already been working together for five to 10 years. Mm-hmm. I'm gonna slightly paraphrase this, but you say at one point, "I'm not off to a great start.
155
00:26:00.356 --> 00:26:07.016
I'm not sure these guys like social media or a camera in their face." Say more about that. Like, you are not the only character in this.
156
00:26:07.156 --> 00:26:19.476
You're usually the only speaking character, but, like, going out and filming and there's all these other people and, like, I, you know, I imagine sometimes it's like-- Like, you, you said it, you know, it's, you try to, like, film more, like, blue skies, we're doing good, we're happy.
157
00:26:19.836 --> 00:26:23.536
But I'm sure there's times where it's like, "Won't this guy get off his phone? Damn," like that kinda thing, right?
158
00:26:23.616 --> 00:26:32.556
Tell me about, like, filming in this environment with other people who, like, they might not feel like it's not their job to be in content. Right. Exactly.
159
00:26:32.576 --> 00:26:43.436
Yeah, that was definitely, uh, that was a fun one, but also tough at the beginning 'cause you have to imagine these guys-- So that was long lining, and we're working 20 hours a day. It's very physical.
160
00:26:43.496 --> 00:26:55.936
We wake up very early, and we're-- it's just really hard work. And so you don't wanna have to put on a face for the camera, nor do you wanna look poorly on the camera, right?
161
00:26:55.996 --> 00:27:06.776
You wanna represent yourself, your family well, and so I completely get where they're coming from. Like, one, one, joining a crew is hard enough as is- Yeah... especially a big crew.
162
00:27:06.816 --> 00:27:17.736
They've already got their ties and relationships. But then second, someone who comes in with, like, a phone in their face, th- yeah, they're not gonna like that. And so, um,
163
00:27:18.996 --> 00:27:25.516
but a- after doing it, just explain to them what we're doing. Like, "Hey, I, I know it's tough and it's uncomfortable for you, but if you don't want to be in it, just let me know.
164
00:27:25.556 --> 00:27:37.096
We'll remove it or I won't be filming- Yeah... more." But getting th- what's important is getting them bought in on our mission and vision. Like, "Hey, we wanna show people the hard work that you're doing.
165
00:27:38.196 --> 00:27:44.176
They're gonna appreciate it more, and we have this opportunity to sell direct to them, which customer gets a better product.
166
00:27:44.676 --> 00:27:51.116
They get to connect with us, which is entertaining, but then us, as fishermen, we get paid more." So it's a win-win for everyone.
167
00:27:51.676 --> 00:28:02.296
And so once they come around to that idea, yeah, they're still a little s- like grumpy, but, you know, they say they hate it and they're annoyed, but deep down they love it, you know? Yeah. Makes sense.
168
00:28:02.296 --> 00:28:09.756
Especially when their friends start sending them like, "Oh, dude, I saw you on Instagram or TikTok." Then it feels good. Then, then, yeah. Then they're laughing. Then they're like, "No, let me get in this one."
169
00:28:09.756 --> 00:28:19.896
[laughs] Yeah. Yeah. But I, I can definitely understand it's still not fun, especially when you're exhausted. Yeah. Right? Ev- everyone wants to be, uh- Yeah. Something more... you know, represent themselves well.
170
00:28:20.576 --> 00:28:30.436
Yeah, yeah. Um, I don't really have any more questions, but I, I'll give you this opportunity to, uh, pi- you know, anybody who's been listening to the whole episode, I imagine they're a little bought in on you.
171
00:28:30.936 --> 00:28:37.896
Uh, maybe you could pitch me too. Why, why should people buy your fish? You know, [sighs]
172
00:28:37.956 --> 00:28:47.796
the, it-- I'm actually really bad at the direct pitch, but if you're- [laughs] But look, if, if, if you're, if you're into seafood, right, and you have some, like,
173
00:28:48.755 --> 00:28:56.136
you're not sure where exactly the seafood's coming from, the ones at the grocery stores don't look that great, you know, we would love to be your f- personal fisherman.
174
00:28:56.196 --> 00:29:06.936
We can ship directly to you from Alaska overnight, two-day shipping anywhere in the country. So if, yeah, if, if you want access to better seafood, we'd, we'd love, love to be your fisherman.
175
00:29:07.856 --> 00:29:15.196
There he is, fishermankyle on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Give him a follow. Kyle, thank you for coming on. And listener, we will see you next week.