Chris and Jake Yap were two weeks from shutting down. A billion-dollar
retailer had copied every product they launched and sold them for one
tenth the price, then put it in the news - buy this coffee table from us
for $499, or from them for $49. They'd burned their business savings,
their personal savings, and taken out personal guarantee loans chasing
speed. Jake was telling his wife he wasn't sure he could make rent. Then
in those two weeks they made one switch that changed everything:
instead of testing designs, they started testing problems. Little Lively
launched last October, grew 30% compounding month on month, went
worldwide in the same month it launched, and now spends around $600,000 a
month on Meta.
In this interview, Chris and Jake break down the exact testing framework
that found their winning product, why they killed 700 SKUs to bet
everything on one, and how they built an internal AI agent that runs
across their entire company.
What you'll learn in this interview:
• The switch from testing designs to testing problems - and why it saved
the business in two weeks
• How they turned $10 wireless chargers off Alibaba into $300K cash in
their first year
• The Abundance Framework: testing up to 1,000 designs a week before
ever committing to production
• Why fast-fashion-style furniture drops became a vicious discount cycle
that nearly killed them
• How suppliers with 60-day payment terms effectively became their
investors - and the relationship approach behind it
• The 60 ROAS launch: what happens when you actually solve a real
problem
• Why they now welcome copycats - and how being 4-5 years ahead on the
roadmap makes competitors into free marketing
• Why they launched worldwide in the same month instead of proving one
market first
• "Australia is small and hard, the US is big and easy" - the contrarian
take on market selection
• Caesar: the company-wide AI agent living in their Slack that their
team used to build an entire ERP system from scratch
If you're running a DTC brand, drowning in SKUs and discounts, or trying
to figure out how to find the one product worth betting everything on,
this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about focus,
product testing, and what it takes to come back from the brink.
SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend using the code FOUNDR50.
Start here → https://your.omnisend.com/foundr
SAVE 95% ON XERO FOR 6 MONTHS
Simplify your business finances with 95% off Xero for your first 6
months. Start here → https://foundr.com/xero
WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS?
Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → https://foundr.com/operators
HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER
Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+
Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial
PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING?
→ Starting from scratch? Apply here →
https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application
→ Already have a store? Apply here →
https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application
CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/
CONNECT WITH LIFELY
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/lifelyhome/
LinkedIn →https://www.linkedin.com/company/lifelyhome/
Website → https://lifely.com.au/
CONNECT WITH JAKE YAP
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-yap/
CONNECT WITH CHRIS YAP
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-yap-185964198/
FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES
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Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast
