Drew Fallon introduces Sean Riley, co-founder and Chief Executive Dude of Dude Wipes, a personal care brand born from a simple idea among friends in Chicago who wanted better hygiene solutions after college. Sean shares the story of building Dude Wipes "brick by brick," starting with selling individually wrapped flushable wipes designed especially for men. The interview covers Dude Wipes’ journey of bootstrapping early sales through Amazon and retail, leveraging creative marketing tactics, making deals like the Shark Tank investment with Mark Cuban, and scaling into a major consumer brand disrupting a traditional category. Toward the end, Sean discusses the financial strategy that fueled growth - focusing on solid unit economics, leveraging asset-based lending to manage inventory, avoiding early dilution from investors, and building a company banks want to fund through disciplined, profitable scaling.
Chapters
00:00 How a Group of Chicago Friends Invented Dude Wipes
00:45 From the South Side to the C-Suite: The Founding Team
01:50 “We Didn’t Even Know How to Sell Online” — The Early Hustle
03:00 Loading Pallets on Amazon and Hitting the First $1 Million
04:40 From Amazon Proof Point to Kroger, Target, and Walmart Shelves
07:15 Inside the Shark Tank Moment That Put Dude Wipes on the Map
09:00 Getting Rejected by Every VC and Learning to Bootstrap
10:05 Solving Inventory with Asset-Based Lending and Smart Margins
12:00 From Kabbage and PayPal Loans to Banking with Chase
14:00 Mark Cuban’s Advice: “If It’s Working, Don’t Take the Money”
18:45 Partnering with TSG: Finding the Right Private Equity Fit
33:40 Becoming Number One in Wipes and Building a Bankable Brand
40:00 What’s Next for Dude Wipes