.Manly Bands is a direct-to-consumer seller of men's rings. The firm introduced in 2016 after John Ruggiero, the co-founder with his spouse Michelle, couldn't find an ideal wedding event band.This is actually Ruggiero's 2nd appearance on the podcast. In April 2021, we discussed the business's starting, distinct ring products, and also extra. Ever since, Manly Bands has actually acquired its maker. The production of rings from, say, Port Daniel's scotch barrels or even Fender guitar strands generates convincing online video, points out Ruggiero, perfect for storytelling on social media sites and somewhere else.The whole entire audio of our conversation is embedded below. The transcript is edited for duration as well as clearness.Eric Bandholz: Give our team a run-through of what you perform.John Ruggiero: My partner, Michelle, as well as I began an on the web ring firm called Manly Bands in 2016 to handle a concern of wedding bands for men. Our team were only married. I have huge fingers and also couldn't discover a ring that I just liked that was actually certainly not overpriced. My choices were ordering coming from a catalog or even having one thing custom-built.I ended up acquiring coming from a web site. The band got there in a level mailer, with no carton or even customer care. It was actually a dreadful adventure through today's ecommerce requirements.Our team acquired gotten married to, moved to Fla, and also needed a job. Our experts told our own selves, "Our company are actually both entrepreneurs. Why do not our experts produce our very own company?" Our experts explained the kinds of concerns our team 'd seen and also how to solve all of them. My ring adventure turned up, as well as our company opted to try to address it for other guys.Our goal when our experts started was actually to pay out rent. We believed creating a married couple thousand dollars a month from this would certainly be fantastic. Our company considered it a way of life service, not high-growth. It was only Michelle and me in our garage developing rings as well as sending all of them bent on clients. Our company had hit on something. Our message sounded along with customers.Michelle and also I create a superb team. I come up with ideas, and she's the implementer. A great deal of our effectiveness goes to her imaginative thoughts. She labels the bands as well as cultivates people. She connects the bands to clients. Defining a band entirely as "eight-millimeter black" didn't cut it.Our experts created bands coming from unique materials, including Port Daniel's gun barrels or exclusive steels. Your business removed. Ever since, our company've expanded greatly. We now have over 55 people in the Manly Bands family. About fifty percent of those are actually ring craftsmans that work in our just recently gotten manufacturing shop in Utah.Bandholz: When did you acquire a producer?Ruggiero: Concerning a year and an one-half earlier. Our company had actually been their consumer for years, so we knew all of them well. The majority of their organization was actually wholesale, which really did not enthusiasm our team-- going to mom-and-pop jewelry experts. They kept their wholesale customers as well as brand. Our experts got a number of their possessions and delivered over workers.Causing a production group has actually been one of the very best traits we've carried out. It's been actually unbelievable to go out there certainly and also watch all of them make bands out of Fender guitar strands or steel from an M1 Abrams container.Bandholz: How does internal production effect marketing?Ruggiero: It is actually been actually significant. Taking a cam to the opposite of the office and shooting the group using turrets to cut the metal rods or scotch gun barrels right into bands produces amazing video recording. Our experts possess our electronic camera workers on the market at all times. Our experts make use of that video footage on our social media as well as in our ads and also bulletins. Our experts attempt to ensure that since a lot of business in the guys's ring area do not manufacture. They fall ship or order coming from overseas and after that transport it out. Yet we wish it to last a life-time as well as be something individuals can easily take pride in.We've had a ton of results along with our armed forces heritage compilation, where we resource special army materials. Our company possess the M1 Garand rifle inventory, the hardwood component, coming from War of the nations I. Viewing our team put that in the lathe as well as reduced a part out for a band is fascinating.Our advertising and marketing for those rings talks about the record, the soldiers, where the item was used, and also things like that. My partner as well as I examined filmmaking in college. Our company utilize our skill-sets to educate as well as narrate. For example, I lately received an email from a consumer that discussed that his grandfather made use of to steer M1 storage tanks. The client gifted some of those rings to his gramps, as well as they had very an emotional swap. It behaves to assist consumers connect with their past times and also create something significant.Bandholz: Where can individuals acquire a band coming from you?Ruggiero: ManlyBands.com. Our company possess images on Instagram, as well. I get on Twitter and also LinkedIn.