Martin Bispels·June 15, 2023

How to Buy a DTC E-Commerce Business | Martin Bispels Interview

Martin Bispels is a former big-company executive turned entrepreneur who, along with business partner Jim, acquired Upper Park Disc Golf in September 2020 — a direct-to-consumer e-commerce brand designing and selling disc golf bags. The business had zero inventory and zero sales at acquisition but had strong product reviews and a passionate customer base. This episode is an update interview roughly two and a half years post-acquisition: revenues have eclipsed $1m but have not yet reached the $2m milestone that was the target at the prior interview, as the broader e-commerce environment has become bumpy. Martin has leaned heavily into brand authenticity (sponsoring 60+ players, building community), moved manufacturing from China to Vietnam for quality and sustainability reasons, and uses EOS to maintain structured planning across a fully remote team of four. The most persistent operational headache has been 3PL — he is now on his fourth provider. Martin retains the original founder John with an equity stake, focused on design and factory relationships, which he considers one of his best decisions. He is exploring inorganic growth through adjacencies and potential strategic partners in the disc golf/sporting goods space, while also adding product lines organically (launching disks, adding drop-ship apparel via the Cairo app).

Deal facts

revenue: eclipsed $1m (approaching $2m target)
notes: Acquired Upper Park Disc Golf in September 2020 with business partner Jim. Business had zero inventory and zero sales at acquisition. Founder John retained with an equity stake. Parent company is Small Cap Ventures. This is an update episode (original interview was September 7, 2021). At time of original interview revenues were approaching $2m; by this June 2023 update revenues have eclipsed $1m but have not yet reached $2m target.

Why this business

Martin and his business partner saw good bones in the business — happy customers, a proven track record, solid products, a passionate founder — in a sport (disc golf) that was exploding in popularity. Martin had 30 years of personal experience playing disc golf. The business was a DTC e-commerce brand with its own designed products, not a commodity, and had strong customer reviews despite having zero inventory and sales at acquisition. Martin was looking for a next chapter after leaving a big-company executive career and running his own consulting practice.

What's working

Strong brand identity tied to authentic passion for disc golf — founder and new owners are genuine players, which customers feel and trust
98% customer satisfaction score
Email list doubled from ~8,000 at acquisition to ~16,000
Moved manufacturing from China to Vietnam, improving quality, sustainability credentials, and supply chain optics
All bags now made from certified recycled materials — a meaningful differentiator
Retained original founder John with an equity stake; he continues contributing on design and factory relationships
EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) used to maintain structured planning (1/3/10-year goals, quarterly priorities) despite lumpy e-commerce environment
Remote team of ~4 people with clear accountabilities and core values built into hiring
Sponsoring 60+ disc golf players gives deep community insight and brand visibility
Launched drop-ship app (Cairo/CAO) on Shopify to broaden product assortment without acquisitions
Introduced new ~$100 entry-level bag model to expand addressable market
Discord community channel built with help from sponsored players

What's hard

Revenue growth has stalled — business eclipsed $1m but has not reached the $2m target set at the first interview; overall e-commerce environment described as 'bumpy' and 'inconsistent'
3PL (third-party logistics) has been a persistent challenge — on their fourth 3PL in two and a half years; still experiencing issues
Paid advertising is difficult to optimize — has cycled through in-house staff, agencies, and doing it himself
Team has shrunk from ~7 to ~4 as Martin took on some roles himself, suggesting operational strain
As a smaller player, convincing quality manufacturers (in Vietnam) to take on their account required proving long-term partnership intent

Notable quotes

I'm running the entire business from my barn none of my team — my supply chain guy was here once but everyone has worked remotely. I only met my developer last summer because we were at both at an event that I invited her to.

What can only I do — it's not an ego thing, it sounds egotistical to say what can only I do, it's not that — it's really how is my time best spent right and therefore what am I spending the time on that truly only I can do: the big strategic relationships, the bigger decisions, the setting of the annual goals.

Amazon is very much a buying — any deodorant I go on I'm on there for 30 seconds I click and I'm done. That's not a shopping experience. An e-commerce business on a Shopify platform can tell the story better, can relate to the community, there's a real sense of brand that comes through that you just can't replicate on Amazon.

The way we buy products most humans is we have an emotional connection and then we justify it. A lot of that has to do with identity — who am I as a person, how do I want to portray myself to the world, and we do that through the products we buy.