Bjarke Solgaard of Bogaard Designs
How Bogaard Designs doubled its ad budget and increased sales with revenue-based financing
A first-time founder chooses flexible funding with Valerian to ramp up online furniture sales
“If I’m not selling anything, I’m not paying anything. This is amazing for a small business.” – Bjarke Solgaard, Founder, Bogaard Designs
Business challenge: Plateaued sales, and not enough ad budget to change it
Valerian impact: Doubled ad budget and increased sales
The story
Around three years ago, the founder of Bogaard Designs, Bjarke Solgaard, took action on a big goal: to sell his original furniture designs directly to customers. The catch? All sales would be done online. Zero showrooms, no middlemen – only quality furniture, straight to customers’ doors.
It was an ambitious plan that took shape rather quickly. The Bogaard team took charge of the entire process, from designing the furniture, to sourcing materials, to building the pieces and ultimately selling them to customers who were enthusiastic about the company’s sleek Danish designs.
Around a half a year later, Bogaard opened its webshop and started working with Google and Facebook ads. Digital ads, after all, are the bread and butter of young eCommerce businesses.
At first, things were sailing along. But then Solgaard noticed that sales were plateauing.
“For a long time, we had almost the same sales month to month. We wanted to expand and grow the business, but we didn’t want to give away a part of our company to get financing. We needed a simpler way,” he said.
That’s when he discovered revenue-based financing (RBF) and linked up with Valerian. As it turned out, RBF was exactly the type of funding Bogaard needed to boost its primary means of marketing.
“What really caught my attention is the fact that RBF advances work differently than bank loans. Not just in the way they are repaid – as a percentage of future revenue – but also in the way that it’s completely attached to my business and not my personal finances,” Solgaard said. “If I’m the sole owner of a business, banks typically want me to be personally responsible if my company happens to go bankrupt.”
Solgaard emphasized how game-changing the repayment structure is for his small company, where money is always in short supply.
“If I’m not selling anything, I’m not paying anything. This is amazing for a small business,” he said.
The Bogaard team ended up hiring an expert to manage the company’s Facebook and Google ads. Without the advance from Valerian, he wouldn’t have been able to afford someone else to manage this vital piece of the Bogaard marketing puzzle.
“Because of the money we received with RBF, we could start ramping up our emphasis on digital marketing and really take it seriously. It’s been extremely helpful. Our independent marketing contractor has been working with us for about a month, and we’re seeing increased sales,” Solgaard said.
Bogaard Designs essentially doubled its budget with Valerian’s advance, and Solgaard is now feeling more comfortable in a competitive market. On top of that, he’s feeling more confident with his resources as a first-time founder.
“I didn’t have experience in starting companies, so I’m always learning something new. We’re a small but growing company, and it’s going better and better every day.”
For a long time, we had almost the same sales month to month. Because of the money we received from Valerian, we doubled our ad budget and could start ramping up marketing. Our independent marketing contractor has been working with us for about a month, and we’re seeing increased sales. Things are going better and better every day.
