1. What’s the quick origin story of your brand, and what makes your product or positioning genuinely different from other options in your niche?

Jason Richardson: I grew up in a golf town but outside golf culture, my family didn’t play, and my earliest exposure came caddying at an ultra-traditional Top 100 course. I loved the game, but I also felt the stigma: golf felt proper, exclusive, and a little intimidating. Even when I started playing seriously in my teens and 20s, I gravitated toward par-3 courses and casual rounds because the culture never quite felt like me.

In my 20s, I built a career in advertising and production, working with founders and challenger brands. That combination — being inside creative culture but outside traditional golf sparked the idea for Bad Birdie. Driving home from a golf tournament one day, I realized I shouldn’t have to dress like someone else to play the game. There was no brand that reflected how my generation actually wanted to show up, so I decided to build it.

Bad Birdie launched with 100 shirts, self-funded, and built on our own scrappy supply chain from scratch — knocking on factory doors, sourcing materials, printing designs, sewing locally, and learning everything by doing. From day one, the positioning was clear: premium quality and performance, but with personality and cultural relevance. We treated golf apparel like a lifestyle brand, not a uniform, combining bold design instincts, test-and-learn marketing, early influencer seeding, and a strong visual identity.

What makes Bad Birdie genuinely different is that we didn’t come from golf; we came from culture. We built a brand for people who love the game but don’t feel the need to fit an old mold, proving you can respect golf’s tradition without being constrained by it.

2. Since launch, what have been the 1–2 real turning points for your brand-specific decisions, pivots, or experiments that noticeably changed your growth or profitability-and what did you learn from them?

Jason Richardson: One early turning point was committing to Instagram as a primary marketing channel and our testing ground. Instead of over-planning, we adopted a test-and-learn mindset, putting product into the world with funny, irreverent copy, strong visuals, and premium packaging, then watching what resonated. Early influencer seeding sparked organic word-of-mouth, and when people started asking “What brand is that?” we knew the product and positioning were cutting through. That experience reinforced an important lesson: if you create something visually distinctive and culturally relevant, your customers will do a lot of the marketing for you.

A second major inflection point came from an unintentional experiment – wearing an early prototype to the WM Phoenix Open. The response was immediate and overwhelming; more than 100 people stopped to ask me about the shirt I was wearing. That moment validated the product in the most honest way possible, in a real-world environment where golf culture and energy collide. It taught us that product-market fit shows up fastest in the wild, not in focus groups, and that bold design paired with confidence can accelerate demand before you ever even spend a dollar.

3. Which 2-3 channels drive most of your revenue right now (for example SEO, paid social, email, marketplaces, influencers), and what have you learned about making those channels work in your category?

Jason Richardson: Right now, the bulk of our revenue is driven by paid social, email, and our retail partnerships. What we’ve learned is that when you build a brand people genuinely love for its style and comfort, the channel matters less than the consistency of the experience. Customers don’t just discover us on social media and then disappear. They’re just as happy buying us through social commerce, in a pro shop, or walking into a retail store. Our job is to show up cohesively everywhere, tell the same story, and make it easy for them to buy wherever they already are.

4. How are you thinking about search in 2025 – Google, AI assistants like ChatGPT, and other discovery platforms? What, if anything, have you changed in your content or site to stay visible as AI search grows?

Jason Richardson: Search is evolving quickly, and we’re evolving with it. Rather than trying to out-optimize algorithms, we’re focused on SGO, ensuring our brand, story, and values are clearly represented across credible, authoritative platforms. As AI-driven discovery grows, we believe being present in trusted environments and telling a consistent story matters more than any single technical tweak.

5. What do you do to turn first‑time buyers into repeat customers and advocates? Are there specific experiences, content, or community touches that work especially well for you?

Jason Richardson: Turning first-time buyers into repeat customers and brand loyalists starts with delivering more than they expected the moment the product arrives. We put a lot of care into the end-to-end experience – from premium packaging to tone of voice to small details that signal you didn’t just buy a golf polo, you joined something. That first impression sets the bar for trust.

From there, we focus on staying culturally present rather than transactional. We use content to reinforce how the product fits into real life – on the course, at tournaments, traveling with friends – so customers see themselves in the brand beyond a single purchase.

One of the most powerful accelerators for us has been co-branded partnerships. For instance, our recent collaboration Taco Bell x Bad Birdie surprised people, sparked conversation, and signaled that the brand doesn’t take itself too seriously while still delivering quality. Those moments create cultural credibility, give existing customers something to talk about, and make them proud to wear and share the brand.
When customers feel seen and aligned with the brand’s point of view, advocacy happens naturally.

6. If you had to write a short playbook for an ecommerce founder one stage behind you, what would you double down on over the next 12 months – and what would you stop doing entirely?

Jason Richardson: I’d double down on getting your product right, especially the details customers actually experience. Early on, I didn’t know how to dial fit perfectly, but obsessing over it and pushing through the learning curve made everything else work better. Product solves more problems than marketing ever will, and perseverance through those early challenges is non-negotiable.

I’d also commit to a “pivot, learn, adjust” mindset. Treat product, content, and channels as living systems. Launch imperfectly, listen closely, and iterate fast. The brands that win aren’t the ones that get it right the first time; they’re the ones that stay curious and keep moving.

On the flip side, I’d stop trying to please everyone or justify the brand to people who aren’t the customer. That includes overreacting to outside opinions, chasing validation from retailers, platforms, or trends, and second-guessing your point of view. Learning to filter that noise is critical. One of the most important realizations for us was accepting that we’re not for everyone. Sticking to our brand ethos unlocked a smaller but far more loyal audience, and that loyalty compounds faster than broad but shallow appeal.

The biggest lesson is this: clarity and conviction create leverage. When you know who you’re for, stay disciplined about the details, and give yourself permission to learn in public. When you do, growth and profitability follow much more naturally.