In Pacvue’s new interview series, The Exit, Pacvue President Melissa Burdick talks with founders, executives, and agency leaders about their journey to partnering or merging with another company to take their business to the next level. Viewers will learn valuable tips on building and scaling companies directly from today’s top voices in retail media.
Wendi Mathis Held founded True Hero Sales in 2010 as a way to help brands with planning, inventory management, and forecasting. When she started the agency with her husband, the couple decided to sell everything they owned and live out of an RV. With a focus on video production, social media, and events, True Hero specialized in strategy for outdoor apparel brands and began to help brands navigate the Amazon and department store landscape. The hard work paid off: in January 2024, True Hero was officially acquired by Channel Key LLC , the full-service Amazon consulting agency. I got a chance to sit down and talk to Wendi recently about her journey from start to exit. You can listen to the interview here & here’s a summary of our conversation:
1. How did you get started with the agency?
I started the agency with my husband. I was originally a buyer at Macy’s as a merchant, so I understood the financial aspects of retail. I noticed a lot of changes happening as Amazon got more popular. Advertising hadn’t been developed yet and brands needed a lot of help. We were doing mostly outdoor apparel categories and we knew that you win where you focus. So we focused on Amazon. Originally, brands hired us to do events, social media, and video production.
2. What early lessons did you learn?
I knew that Amazon was very different compared to a department store like REI and Dick’s Sporting Goods. It’s an entirely different channel that needs a different way to approach it. I also knew that there was a lot of important data that had to be organized and used in campaigns. Back in the day, there was no tutorial on how to set a campaign up or even set up an ASIN.
People needed a lot of help and having those relationships were key – we learned so much just taking people to lunch.
3. How did things change in the market from 2006 to 2024? How did you start differentiating the business as more competition entered the space?
I never worried about what the competition was doing, because if I’m doing a great job, no one is looking for another agency. 98% of all of our business were referrals and we never had any business development teams. Our clients really needed the inventory management skillset – we help with forecasting and planning, which saves brands a lot of money.
What made us stand apart is that we are big enough to handle big clients, but small enough so that no one is getting lost. I always want the client to feel like they’re our only client.
4. What technology enabled you to grow?
We used Pacvue early on. Service industries are expensive and software allows you to scale. Being able to manage the amount of campaigns that we can and scale the data with pre-built reports makes the difference. It’s a requirement with our brands today. You look at the hours of what your team is doing & if they’re spending a lot of time just pulling reports, it’s inefficient. So the tools that are accurate and reliable are not replaceable. Pacvue allows us to focus on strategy instead of pulling the data.
5. Why did you decide to sell after so many years? How did you look for a partner? A lot of our outdoor brands exploded in growth in 2020 as people looked at products that would get them outside during Covid. We got to the point where we had to make a decision on trying to grow on our own with more funding or whether we needed to have a strategic partner acquire us. We really wanted to exit with someone who was a good cultural fit with us who could take our team further. I also wanted to make sure that everyone on the team could stay in tact with a good work/life balance and not overloaded. Finally, the partner had to be honest, very transparent, and we had to have a shared vision.
6. What steps did you take to understand the process?
I relied on a service called Exit DNA that helps founders get ready to exit or scale. You get access to all the team that you need. So having that guidance was the best thing that I did.
I also didn’t really appreciate how important it would be to have a tax attorney. Having an M&A attorney is incredibly important. You have to know your non-negotiables going into the meetings. It’s very easy to get deal fatigue. Your attorney can keep you honest.
Every founder needs a few advisors. It’s a lonely job being an entrepreneur.
7. What’s next for you?
I’m SVP of Strategy at Channelkey and I love it. I’ve also started a new firm called In The Black to help companies analyze their numbers, and am on a number of advisory boards.
Interested in being featured on The Exit? Want more advice on how to scale or how to start your own path to the Exit from Wendi? Message me or Wendi on LinkedIn to follow up!
Want to tell your story about your Exit plan or acquisition or learn more about how Pacvue can help drive success for your business? Send Melissa Burdick a message on LinkedIn. And be sure to subscribe to her newsletter!
