{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The 7 Laws of Scaling with Jim Huffman","title":"Meet My Neat Business Partner: Claudio’s Journey from Wall Street to Apparel - The Shopify Growth Show (#16)","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/017cd980\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2716,"description":"This episode takes me back to the early days of Neat Apparel, when Claudio and I were just getting started.\nFor those who don’t know, Claudio is my business partner on Neat - our sweat-proof Shopify brand and he has one of the most fascinating backgrounds of anyone I’ve ever worked with.\n\nHe graduated from Stanford at 20. Climbed to the top of Wall Street. Then pivoted into entrepreneurship—first with a soccer brand, and now with me in performance apparel. In this conversation, we talked through the moment we decided to go all in on Neat.\n\nWe broke down the actual negotiations that brought us together, why we decided to buy IP before launching, and how we thought about scaling the brand through content, storytelling, and founder alignment. Looking back, it’s wild to see how much of that conversation still shapes how we run Neat today.\n\n📋 What we cover:\nThe power of complementary business partnerships\nHow we negotiated (even when it was awkward)\nWhy we bought IP before building the brand\nWhy we decided to skip Amazon and retail—for now\nClaudio’s leap from Wall Street to founder life\nThe “goalie mindset” he brings to our business\nHow we planned to scale Neat through storytelling and content\n👉 If you’ve ever thought about taking on a co-founder, starting a brand from scratch, or buying IP—this episode gives you the raw behind-the-scenes of how it really comes together.\nResources:\nNeat Apparel\nStorelli\nGrowthHit\nJim Huffman website\nHow We're Growing Neat (Build in Public)\nAdditional episodes you might enjoy:\nStartup Ideas by Paul Graham (#45)\nNathan Barry: How to Bootstrap a Company to $30M in a Crowded Market (#41)\nHow I Met My Biz Partner and Less Learned Hitting $2M ARR (#44)\nRyan Hamilton on his Netflix special, touring with Jerry Seinfeld, & how to write a joke (#10)\nHow We're Validating Startup Ideas (#51)\n ","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/o2LQlWgTbns0mw3pkbfZyyACZ_ssUafgaoXrX9iPDv0/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS85N2Mx/ODFkMzBjZjA2M2Uy/OTRiZTgwYjRhZmMx/YmE1YS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}