His company, Moment, started out making and selling mobile photography gear. Now, a decade on, Moment is a marketplace catering to the entire creative journey, encompassing camera equipment, bags, lenses, online courses, and more.
Here are some of Marc’s insights from a long career of finding the next customer.
Capture hearts, not minds
In Marc’s first company, an action sports camera business called Contour, he learned that the best product doesn’t always win. He found Contour’s competitors were better at capturing the hearts of consumers because they focused on showcasing people’s passion and talent for photography, instead of pushing camera features.
That’s why Marc now embraces consumer hobbies as good business opportunities. He suggests entrepreneurs consider the activities that people like to do on weekends. “I think those are easier to build brands around. You really have to connect at the heart level and not the mind level,” Marc explains.
Moment reflects that adage in its marketing and even its product offerings. “We really found it’s about getting out, going places, being with our friends, and so very much tied to the emotions of just doing the activities,” Marc says.
Return to effective customer acquisition strategies
To stay in business and keep growing long-term, companies have to adapt constantly, whether it’s the rising price of online ads or the growth of a new social media platform. The consolidation in online customer acquisition channels have diminishing returns.
Moment combats this by returning to a proven channel for the company: in-person events. “We’re seeing a cycle where what worked five or six years ago is coming back,” he says. The company is now holding more workshops and events to get out and connect with customers.
Moment has also come back to Kickstarter. The crowdfunding platform that helped Moment get started still has a valuable community that can provide insight when Moment is considering a launch and help find backers for new products. For example, Moment launched the Everything Bag, a daily backpack, as the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2023.
Offer products to grow along with the customer
Marc says expanding beyond mobile photography was key to growing Moment. A majority (80%) of Moment customers start by buying mobile photography gear, but because those enthusiasts may get a new phone only once every two years, focusing on this niche limited Moment’s growth. “If we had stayed with probably the original five or six products, I’m not sure we’d still be here,” Marc says.
When the company expanded into other products and an entire creative marketplace, Marc says he’s heard from customers who have advanced much further in their photography journey. Some have become filmmakers and directors, and they still use Moment because they trust the brand and the other creators that share and sell products there.
Learn from heartbreak
Marc speaks openly about the emotional strength that’s necessary in entrepreneurship. It’s a two-way street building a customer-centric company. “You need to get your heart broken to figure out how to truly build something you love,” Marc reflects.
To learn more about Marc’s business journey from camera company to creative marketplace, listen to the full interview on Shopify Masters.
