Founder Friday: Drew Sanocki, Founder of PostPilot 📬
Issue #21
Founder Friday is a content series from SuperAngel.Fund highlighting companies in our portfolio and the inspiring founders behind them.
In our 21st edition, we are featuring Drew Sanocki, Founder & Executive Chairman of PostPilot, the leading direct mail platform built specifically for DTC/eCommerce brands.
Drew Sanocki has been deeply engrained in eCommerce for more than 20 years, both as an operator and investor. In 2003 he founded his first company, DesignPublic.com, grew it into one of the premier online design retailers, and sold it in 2011 after eight profitable years. Most recently, he led the acquisition and turnaround of AutoAnything.com, an online retailer of auto accessories, before exiting the business in 2021.
Along his journey, Drew witnessed more and more what brands really needed to break through the clutter and create deeper, more profitable relationships with customers. What came about was an elegant blend of an old-school, proven marketing tactic, with updated technological capabilities. Enter PostPilot, the only vertically-integrated direct mail platform designed by eComm vets, for the eCommerce and DTC marketer. Their mission is to make sending direct mail just as easy email, enabling customers to send one-off and lifecycle postcard campaigns in a cinch (watch their explainer video here).
In just the last 18 months, direct mail has become significantly more attractive vs. digital channels as industry-wide privacy initiatives, including Apple’s iOS changes, have hindered retailers’ ability to reach their target audiences. PostPilot, however, fills that gap by utilizing direct mail which has a significantly higher ROI than email and other tactics. No wonder their business is exploding, up over 500% in the past year! Try it for free or email Drew with additional questions, drew@postpilot.com, and let us know what you think!
Describe your company in 5 words or less.
Drew: Direct mail platform for eCommerce/DTC
What was your primary motivation for starting your business?
Drew: I've run DTC brands for 20 years. Direct mail has always been my secret weapon--the only way to reach customers who don't open my emails or see my ads. But it's always been a bit of a pain to design, build, and run campaigns. I wanted direct mail to be as easy as email. Last year when iOS cut Facebook out at the knees, DTC brands started flailing looking for a new channel. It led to an absolute surge in interest in direct mail because it works. Right place right time, I guess.
What piece of advice would you give an entrepreneur starting a business today?
Drew: Consider buying a business or bit of tech. You drastically reduce risk and save literally years by acquiring something that already has customers and product market fit and optimizing that. It's what we did with PostPilot--we bought the tech off the founder who is now the CTO.
What do you love to do in your free time?
Drew: Does hanging with my family and kids count as free time or work time? That is by far the #1 time I spend outside of working on my business. But outside of that I (like 99% of founders) am into biohacking, zettlekasten, and animal husbandry.
What is the most interesting place you’ve visited recently and why?
Drew: If we have a spare weekend, my wife and I drive down to the Valle de Guadalupe in Mexico. It's Mexico's wine country, right on the Pacific Ocean, and feels like Napa probably did 50 years ago before it became popular. We'll stop in small towns on the coast to take down Pacific Coast lobsters, then head inland to prefab hotels designed by emerging Mexican architects. There you will find the best Mexican food outside of Mexico City. We will sit out in the vineyards and pull pork off an open fire, pound tacos, and enjoy the sunset over the Pacific. BTW, this place is undiscovered so tell no one. Don't even Google it. Especially don't Google "Cuatro Cuatros" and stay there.
What is your favorite app or tool in your work life and in your personal life?
Drew: Joe Girard is in the Guinness Book of World Records as World's Greatest Salesman. Other car salesmen sell one a week while Joe sold 400. To what does he attribute his success? Handwritten notes to customers. So my favorite work tool is automated-but-incredibly-realistic handwritten cards from Handwrite.io. I loved Handwrite so much, we acquired the business in 2021 and added the functionality to PostPilot. I tee them up once and they do an amazing job of closing new customers for PostPilot and increasing the LTV of existing users. Personal life--I swear by the X3 resistance band set. Best $500 I ever spent was on the X3 pre-Covid. Haven't stepped foot in a gym since all the while adding to my deadlifts, squats, and overall muscle mass. Great for entrepreneurs who want max return for min time.
What do you believe is the most important skill or attribute of a successful founder?
Drew: I really think the most important skill is leadership. I'm amazed that so many founders just take on the CEO role, as in my mind it's so rare that a good founder could also be a good leader. Leadership is what I learned over my time as an officer in the Navy. As a leader, you can build a team, scale up, and execute. Without it you will struggle recruiting, motivating, and ultimately succeeding. So if I were a founder with no leadership experience, I'd start digging in and trying to develop that skill set.
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