Justin Baer – Wild Business Growth Podcast #259: Prolific Tailor, Founder of Collars & Co.

It might take lots of good ideas to find one that really pops. That’s the story of this week’s Wild Business Growth Podcast guest, Justin Baer. Justin is the Founder and CEO of Collars & Co. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

• Episode Summary & Player
• Full Transcript
• Show Notes
• Wild Business Growth Podcast Summary

Episode 259: Justin Baer – Prolific Tailor, Founder of Collars & Co.

Justin Baer, the Founder and CEO of Collars & Co., joins the show to share his journey from 50 business ideas to creating The Original Dress Collar Polo. Hear how to add styles to your line, drive revenue through email, go viral on TikTok, come up with business ideas, and raise entrepreneurial children. This episode covers everything from collars to coupons. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• What other business ideas was Justin most excited about
• How do you raise money for a cause
• Where did the idea for Collars & Co. come from
• What email formats and designs work best
• Did Justin know the different types of collars when he started designing them
• What’s the best lesson he learned from his parents
• DC Food Tourism by Justin
• What’s Mark Cuban like in person

Connect with Justin at CollarsAndCo.com and Instagram and TikTok @CollarsAndCoClothing.

Enjoy the shoooooow! Check out the show notes below for much more detail. You can also find the full transcript here.

Show Notes

• Intro & Serial Entrepreneurship
  • [0:31] Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool
  • [0:40] Connect with Justin at CollarsAndCo.com and Instagram and TikTok @CollarsAndCoClothing
  • [2:10] Justin Bauer – Wild Business Growth Podcast #1: Wild Inventor of Clip Grip and BakeSplit
  • [2:51] Cinnamon Toast Crunch (CTC)
  • [2:57] What other business ideas was Justin most excited about
  • [3:21] His LinkedIn
  • [3:28] The Cure Card
  • [3:38] CVS, Rite Aid, Duane Reade
  • [4:05] Entertainment Book, Groupon
  • [4:34] Nonprofits
  • [5:03] Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF)
  • [5:27] How do you raise money for a cause
  • [6:05] How did Justin get into the text message and communication business space
  • [6:59] Charity Happenings
  • [7:29] Eventbrite
  • [8:16] iPad 2
  • [8:28] Excel
  • [8:55] QR Code (Quick Response)
  • [9:52] Google
  • [10:44] Guggenheim
  • [10:53] Check In Easy, Certain Software, Oracle

• The Collars & Co. Story
  • [11:24] C what I did there
  • [11:41] Where did the idea for Collars & Co. come from
  • [12:35] Dress Collar Polo
  • [13:04] Shopify
  • [13:52] Shark Tank
  • [14:11] Dopamine
  • [14:34] Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
  • [14:51] How do you go viral on TikTok
  • [16:12] Instagram
  • [17:04] How do you add styles to your line
  • [17:39] Cutaway Collar, Semi-Spread Collar
  • [18:19] Revenue
  • [19:01] “They’ve gone to plaid!” from Spaceballs
  • [19:24] Social Media
  • [19:32] Email List
  • [19:39] How do you drive revenue through email
  • [20:12] Top of Funnel
  • [20:52] What email formats and designs work best
  • [21:48] Interesting
  • [21:52] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity
  • [22:38] Drip Campaigns
  • [22:57] Smooth
  • [23:01] Did Justin know the different types of collars when he started designing them
  • [23:47] Working From Home (WFH)
  • [24:16] Shoutout, Dana & Andrew!
  • [24:51] How did Justin learn how to build an apparel business
  • [25:04] Chris Riccobono from UNTUCKit
  • [25:21] Marketing
  • [25:34] Ralph Lauren by Ralph Lauren, American Dreamer by Tommy Hilfiger
  • [26:11] What can entrepreneurs learn from Justin’s Collars & Co. journey
  • [26:42] Liquid Death
  • [27:41] Such an honor speaking at Podcast Movement ’23 in Denver! Sign up to grab the slides from my session at MaxPodcasting.com/PM23
  • [27:42] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity
• Inspiration & Creativity
  • [28:46] How do you come up with business ideas
  • [29:08] Entrepreneurship
  • [29:22] United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
  • [29:33] Toys”R”Us
  • [30:12] Monster.com
  • [30:27] Media Kit
  • [30:31] Yellow Pages
  • [30:48] Koons Ford
  • [33:27] What’s the best lesson Justin learned from his parents
  • [33:41] Cold Calling

• Rapid-Fire Q&A
  • [35:16] What board game idea did Justin have as a kid
  • [35:37] Indiana University (IU)
  • [35:45] What’s Mark Cuban like in person
  • [36:18] Peter Jones, Dragons’ Den
  • [37:48] Pickleball
  • [38:11] Uber
  • [38:35] What does Justin miss most about living in NYC
  • [39:01] DC Food Tourism by Justin
  • [39:19] Carmine’s, Shun Lee
  • [40:03] Shoutout, Spense & Jason!
  • [40:19] Carmine’s at The Trop
  • [41:23] Connect with Justin at CollarsAndCo.com and Instagram and TikTok @CollarsAndCoClothing
  • [42:15] What are Justin’s Final Thoughts
  • [42:31] Follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about the podcast. And show love (or roast me) by leaving 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify
  • [42:47] Check out the Wild Business Growth Podcast on Goodpods, where you can see what your favorite people are listening to
  • [42:49] Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter (aka X), and LinkedIn @MaxBranstetter
  • [42:51] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool
  • [42:56] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity
  • Theme music: Freestyle Percussion Magik – “Jungle Tribe” – provided by Jamendo

What is the Wild Business Growth Podcast?

Wild ideas. Wild growth. Every Wednesday morning a new entrepreneur joins the Wild Business Growth Podcast to share the wildly creative and unusual ways they grew their business – and teaches you how to do it, too. Hear the minds behind WordPress, Stacy’s Pita Chips, Drybar, NFL RedZone, Big Mouth Billy Bass, the voice of Bart Simpson, and more Wild stories. Hosted by Max Branstetter (that’s me), Founder and Podcast Producer at MaxPodcasting.

How do you start a podcast?

Interested in starting a professional-sounding podcast for your brand, but don’t want to deal with the time commitment of all those behind-the-scenes details? I’ve got you covered. Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool.

Thanks for listening to Justin Baer on the Wild Business Growth Podcast. To hear more Wild stories like this one every Wednesday morning, follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about it. And try out some new shirts with them. Until next time, Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!