meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
BiggerPockets Business Podcast

12: Step-by-Step Case Study: Manufacturing, Marketing and Selling a Physical Product with Cody Berman of Arsenal Discs

BiggerPockets Business Podcast

BiggerPockets

Business, Careers

4.8 • 696 Ratings

🗓️ 16 July 2019

⏱️ 51 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How do you go about creating a product line out of thin air? In this episode, Cody Berman breaks down the process from start to finish -- and opens up about his exact costs and profit margins.  Cody grew up playing this disc golf (think of it as “golf with frisbees”), and by the time he was 19 years old the game was growing FAST. He spotted a big opportunity in the equipment market… and decided to do something about it. You’ll learn how Cody and his partner went about their market research (cost per unit, engineering, official regulations, margins, markup, MSRP), how they launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise seed money, and their process for calling 200 (!) prototyping and molding companies to get the best deal possible. We also talk about the moments that almost made them quit -- from being told they would need $100,000 to start (they wouldn’t) to surviving a disastrous early production run that led to an all-nighter and a lot of wasted capital. Cody also reveals how he markets Arsenal Discs in online groups, how he handles packaging and shipping, and his tips for entrepreneurs thinking about selling via Amazon.  Don’t miss this action-packed episode, and subscribe so you won’t miss the next one! In This Episode We Cover: The story behind Arsenal Discs How to start a business in college Meeting his business partner in college The story behind how they built the actual discs How to get from a product idea to an actual product The other hidden processes when starting a business Handling obstacles and rejections Doing whatever it takes to launch a product And SO much more! Links from the Show BiggerPockets BiggerPockets Money Podcast 26: Graduating College on Track for Financial Independence with Cody Berman BiggerPockets Money Podcast 17: Building a Lean Business With (Almost) No Capital with Alan Donegan Amazon Kickstarter Fiverr UpWork Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

So, you want to be a marketer. It's easy. You just have to score a ton of leads and figure out a way to turn them all into customers. Plus manage a dozen channels, write a million blogs and launch 100 campaigns all at once. When that's done, simply make your socials go viral and bring in record profits. No sweat. Okay, fine. It's a lot of sweat. But with HubSpot's AI-powered marketing tools,

0:23.2

launching benchmark-breaking campaigns is easier than ever. Get started at HubSpot.com slash marketers.

0:30.5

Hello, blue skies. Hello moving onwards and upwards. Hello, taking control of your money.

0:37.9

Say hello to tax-free investing.

0:40.7

Open a Stocks and shares, ICER,

0:42.8

and act by the 5th of April to get 100 to 3,000 pounds cash back.

0:47.8

Cargreaves lands down.

0:49.4

Hello Life.

0:51.6

Register and add or transfer ÂŁ10,000 plus.

0:54.1

You may get back less than you invests and tax benefits vary.

0:56.7

For terms and conditions, see hl.com.uk.org slash ISA.

1:00.9

This episode is brought to you by Vanta. Stressing over cybersecurity, whether you're a startup, growing fast, or already established.

1:08.7

Vanta can help you get ISO-27,001 certified and more.

1:13.7

Plus, it allows your company to centralize security workflows, complete questionnaires up to

1:18.8

five times faster, and proactively manage vendor risk to help your team stay compliant.

1:24.4

Head to vanta.com slash Spotify to learn more.

1:28.8

Welcome to the Bigger Pockets Business Podcast, show number 12.

1:36.0

Just because everyone's like, oh, you're such a rock star, but it was honestly just taking

1:39.9

action. Like, I didn't know more than other people. I wasn't like some super genius.

1:43.4

I was still like drinking four nights a week being a piece of crap sophomore in college. But it was just the fact that

1:47.7

I went in and started the business that I'm here today. Welcome to a real world MBA from the

1:55.8

School of Hard Knocks where entrepreneurs reveal what it really takes to make it. Whether you're

...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -2081 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BiggerPockets, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BiggerPockets and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright Š Tapesearch 2025.