Founder and strategic powerhouse behind Wethrift.com, I am Nick Drewe, using my digital marketing prowess to innovate the e-commerce landscape.
Company: Wethrift
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company
Nick Drewe: Thank you so much for having me here at ValiantCEO Magazine! It’s a pleasure to share my story with your readers. I’m Nick Drewe, the founder of Wethrift.com, and I have a deep-seated passion for the digital world, especially in the e-commerce industry.
My journey began in Melbourne, Australia, with a vision to create a platform that would not only serve online shoppers looking to save money but also to help businesses, both big and boutique, connect with consumers in a meaningful way. Wethrift.com was born out of this vision in November 2017, and since then, we have been at the forefront of aggregating real and working coupon codes that benefit both shoppers and retailers.
With my background in Media, Communications, and Journalism from the Queensland University of Technology, I’ve been able to leverage my skills in communication and strategic thinking to position Wethrift as a go-to resource for savvy shoppers. My professional experience ranges from roles in search and innovation to digital strategy and marketing, which has given me an edge in understanding the nuances of the digital landscape and shopper behavior.
Wethrift isn’t just about saving money; it’s about creating an efficient shopping experience and facilitating a thriving online community. We currently attract around 3.2 million monthly visitors, predominantly among the 18 to 34 age group, who are eager to make the most of their online shopping sprees.
We’re proud to support and uplift small-to-medium-sized online stores as well as showcase big brands, as we believe in creating a balanced ecosystem that benefits the entire e-commerce space. It’s crucial for us here at Wethrift to maintain a clear and transparent operating model, which is why we don’t have ads on our platform nor do we sell personal or shopping information. Our revenues are generated through affiliate partnerships.
Besides my entrepreneurial endeavors, I’m also a bit of a linguist, speaking English and dabble in Russian. I love to write and have had several articles published where I provide insight derived from my various experiments and analyses in marketing and data.
Overall, I strive to lead Wethrift with a strategic mindset, a transparent approach, and a constant curiosity to explore and share money-saving hacks and shopping tips that keep our millions of users coming back for more.
How does your company integrate purpose and impact into its overall business strategy?
Nick Drewe: My approach to integrating purpose and impact into our business strategy begins with the foundational vision of the company, which is to empower consumers to shop smarter and more effectively. To achieve this, we’ve rooted our business model in providing real value to our users—helping them save money through access to genuine coupon codes and discounts.
From the outset, we recognized that for Wethrift to have a positive impact, we had to align our business objectives with the needs and values of our audience. This audience primarily comprises attentive online shoppers aged between 18 and 34 who value savings but also appreciate transparency and ethical practices.
Our overall business strategy includes several key elements:
Building Trust: We’ve made it a priority to build trust with our audience. By ensuring all coupon codes on our platform are verified and working, we save customers the frustration of going through endless non-working codes, which is a common pain point in the savings space. Trust also comes from transparency about our revenue model. We’re upfront about earning through affiliate partnerships, making it clear we don’t sell data or rely on intrusive ads.
Enhancing User Experience: We’ve tailored Wethrift to ensure that the user experience is seamless and user-friendly. Whether it’s the website’s design, its functionality, or the way we present information, we’ve kept the end-user in the forefront to ensure they can find deals with ease and efficiency.
Supporting Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs): While we showcase big brands, a significant part of our strategy involves uplifting SMEs. We provide these smaller online stores with a platform to reach a broader audience, enabling them to compete in the e-commerce space effectively. This not only contributes to economic diversity but also offers consumers a greater range of choices.
Sustainability and Ethical Choices: We also encourage sustainability by partnering with brands that have ethical practices or offer eco-friendly products. By promoting these brands, we’re helping to create a platform that’s not just about savings, but also about making purchasing decisions that can have a broader positive impact on society and the environment.
In summary, our business strategy isn’t just about growth—it’s about growing right. It’s about making a tangible impact on our user’s lives by helping them make informed decisions that save money, supporting the growth of smaller businesses, and fostering a more ethical and sustainable shopping culture. And as someone with a passion for communication and digital strategy, I ensure that these values are clearly communicated to our audience and are ingrained within our company culture.
Can you share an example of how your business has successfully balanced profitability with social responsibility or sustainability?
Nick Drewe: Sure, Wethrift.com has always been deeply committed to balancing profitability with social responsibility and sustainability. From the outset, our business model was designed to support not just our financial goals but also to ensure we make a positive impact on the society and the environment.
One example of how we live up to this mandate is through our support for smaller, eco-friendly brands. By providing these brands with exposure on our platform, we not only aid their growth but also encourage sustainable consumer practices. These brands often produce locally, use sustainable materials, and adopt ethical labor practices. By promoting their coupons and deals, we’re driving traffic and sales their way, which in turn supports their initiatives and spreads awareness about sustainable alternatives to a broader audience.
Furthermore, we have integrated a stringent policy for partnerships, particularly emphasizing ethical business practices. Before we engage with a new brand, we ensure that they align with our values concerning sustainability and responsible consumerism. This is a conscious decision that might limit our short-term profitability but strengthens our long-term commitment to social responsibility.
Sustainability isn’t just about what we advocate externally; it’s also about our internal practices. We aim to create a minimal carbon footprint as a digital platform. Since our operations are predominantly online, we have a lean approach to resource management, minimizing paper usage, and opting for green hosting solutions for our site to reduce our impact on the environment.
To add, we firmly believe in transparency, which is a core element of social responsibility. Our customers have clear insights into how we generate revenue. We avoid inundating them with ads, prioritizing a clean user experience, while also staying away from selling personal or shopping information.
By taking these steps, we’ve not only witnessed the consistent financial growth of Wethrift.com but have also built a brand that stands for much more than just savings. We’ve cultivated a community that shares our passion for doing good, whether that’s by saving money or by supporting brands that make a difference.
In this way, we’ve proven that it’s possible to run a successful business without compromising on the values that matter most to us and to our audience. Our aim has always been to create a positive effect through our work, and this philosophy will continue to drive our efforts in the future.
What role does philanthropy or community involvement play in your company’s mission, and why is it important to you as a leader?
Nick Drewe: Philanthropy and community involvement are integral to our company’s mission. We’re not just about helping consumers save money through coupons and discounts; we’re also deeply committed to giving back to the community that supports us. To me, as a leader, this is incredibly important for several reasons.
Firstly, it’s about gratitude and reciprocation. We’ve been fortunate to build a platform that millions rely on for savings, and with success comes the responsibility to help others who are less fortunate. By contributing to charitable causes and getting involved in the community, we seek to express our thanks and support those who need it most.
Secondly, it fosters a strong company culture. Encouraging our team to engage in philanthropy helps to build a sense of purpose and camaraderie. It’s rewarding to see our employees take pride in making a positive impact. It instills a sense of belonging and connection not just within the company, but with the wider community as well.
Moreover, as a digital marketer by trade, I understand the power of communication and building relationships. Our involvement in community initiatives is a way of strengthening bonds with customers and partners alike. By aligning our brand with social causes, we not only contribute to societal welfare but also resonate deeper with our target demographic, particularly millennials and Gen Z who value social responsibility.
Finally, we operate in the e-commerce space, an industry that has exploded in growth partly due to the convenience it offers. However, it’s also important to balance this by using our position to promote sustainable and ethical consumption. We aim to support small-to-medium-sized online stores, helping them to thrive alongside bigger players. Encouraging ethical shopping habits and supporting a diverse range of businesses contribute to a more vibrant and healthy economy.
In essence, philanthropy and community involvement are not peripheral activities to us; they are as crucial to our mission as providing savings to shoppers. They reflect our company’s values and my personal belief that businesses should play an active role in shaping a better society. As Wethrift.com grows, we will continue to seek out and support initiatives that align with these values and contribute positively to our community and beyond.
How do you ensure that purpose-driven initiatives resonate with both your employees and your customers?
Nick Drewe: Ensuring purpose-driven initiatives resonate with both employees and customers involves a multifaceted approach that aligns with both the values of the company and the interests of its stakeholders. Here’s how I approach it:
First, it’s important to create initiatives that stem directly from the core values of the company. For Wethrift.com, our purpose revolves around helping consumers make savvy shopping decisions, getting the best deals, and supporting a diverse range of businesses. Any initiative we launch must reinforce these principles.
In terms of resonating with employees, I believe that genuine engagement starts from within. That’s why we involve our team in the development and execution of these initiatives. I hold brainstorming sessions, invite feedback, and encourage active participation. This way, they feel a sense of ownership and commitment because they’ve directly contributed to the shaping of these activities.
For our customers, communication is key. As an adept communicator with a background in Media, Communications, and Journalism, I ensure our messaging is clear, relatable and transparent. We present our initiatives in a way that illustrates their direct benefits to our customers, demonstrating how they align with their interests and values.
We also leverage the data we collect to better understand our customer demographics, preferences, and behaviors. This data-driven approach allows us to tailor our initiatives to address the specific needs and concerns of our target audience, which primarily comprises online shoppers aged between 18 and 34.
I’ve always emphasized the importance of community. By promoting initiatives that support both local and upcoming online stores, we create a balanced ecosystem that resonates with our customers. They appreciate contributing to the success of smaller businesses, which adds a human touch to the shopping experience.
To heighten engagement, we integrate interactive and shared experiences wherever possible. Social media campaigns, user-generated content, and real-time interactions are just some of the methods we use to foster community involvement.
Lastly, we track the performance of our initiatives meticulously. Using various metrics, we assess their impact both internally amongst our team and externally among our customers. Based on this feedback, we iterate and refine our efforts, improving their effectiveness and resonance over time.
By combining these strategies, I ensure that our purpose-driven initiatives strike a chord with both our employees and our customers, ultimately leading to a more engaged workforce and a loyal customer base.
What advice would you give to other leaders looking to embed purpose and impact into their organizations?
Nick Drewe: Embedding purpose and impact into an organization is something that I hold in high regard, and there are a few key approaches I advocate for when it comes to this vital aspect of leadership.
-Clear articulation of the vision is paramount. It’s crucial that your team understands not just what the company does, but why it does it. At Wethrift.com, we strive to save people money, but our deeper purpose is to fuel a more sustainable economy by ensuring consumers have access to discounts and deals that make it easier to shop smarter and more economically. This fundamental drive is communicated across our teams to ensure every decision aligns with that mission.
-Make purpose and impact a core aspect of your operations. We ensure that the deals we provide are real and valuable, fostering trust with our users, and we support small-to-medium-sized online stores alongside well-known brands to create an equitable platform for all players in the e-commerce field. This sense of fair play and support for underdogs is woven into the fabric of our daily operations.
-Involvement and empowerment are key. Empowering employees to make decisions and take actions that align with the organization’s purpose encourages a culture of responsibility and pride in their work. We aim to involve our team in the decision-making process, valuing their input and insights, which often leads to initiatives that enhance our service and further our impact.
-Accountability is non-negotiable. We are transparent in how we generate revenue, opting for affiliate partnerships rather than advertisements or the sale of personal information. This level of integrity is maintained throughout the company and serves as an example of how businesses can operate successfully while upholding their principles.
-Measure and communicate impact. At Wethrift, we constantly review our analytics not just for business performance but to gauge our impact on consumers’ savings. We share these achievements with our team and audience because celebrating collective successes reinforces our shared commitment to our purpose.
To sum it up, a leader looking to embed purpose and impact into their organization should articulate their vision clearly, integrate purpose into operations, involve and empower their team, remain accountable, and regularly measure and communicate their impact. That’s the blueprint I follow, and it’s led to meaningful progress for us in the realm of e-commerce.
