Entrepreneurs share startup, ‘green rush’ advice

SUP-X expo tackles medical marijuana opportunities

FORT LAUDERDALE — About 1,000 people attended SUP-X, the startup expo, Thursday in Fort Lauderdale where new companies got advice on creating a successful e-commerce business from serial entrepreneur Alex Brown, and investors learned about opportunities in the marijuana industry in Florida and elsewhere.

At 31, Brown is co-founder of The Beard Club, an online subscription for grooming products, as well as other companies. His latest, Subscription Hacks, provides a blueprint to create an e-commerce business. Brown, who calls Toronto home, worked previously in California but now calls himself a “world citizen.”

The Beard Club grew its business and audience with humorous and helpful videos that people wanted to share.

“It opens up a lot of doors to focus less on sales and more on building relationships [with customers],” Brown said.

In building The Beard Club, Brown said he soon recognized that focusing on customer retention was more critical than constantly seeking new customers.

“We realized we were selling a lot more than brand products … people were listening to us,” Brown said. As a result, The Beard Club doesn’t just create videos about its products but also about relationships and other interests of its bearded customers.

He advised both new and existing businesses to “understand what customers really need — not what you think they need … put more money into the things that are working and scale back the things that are not.”

SUP-X visitors also learned about opportunities in the “green rush” from a

MARCIA POUNDS/STAFF Alex Brown, 31, co-founder of The Beard Club and other companies, talks about developing e-commerce businesses during SUP-x, a startup expo in Fort Lauderdale.