Find Out Podcast: Online Store with POD Flexibility

Built By and For Democratic Values

Kris Goldsmith, a former US Army sergeant, has dedicated his post-military life to safeguarding fellow veterans from far right ideologies and championing democratic values. He first partnered with F.I.I. to launch a successful online fundraising store for his nonprofit, Task Force Butler. “We wanted to live our values. Everything had to be Made in USA by a Union shop. F.I.I. fit the bill perfectly,” Kris says. 

When he launched the for-profit Find Out Podcast, Goldsmith wanted to again use branded merch to drive awareness. He returned to F.I.I. to help source and design their merch, launching a second Shopify store.

Not your Average Political Podcast

Find Out is described as a different kind of political podcast:
“It’s a no-bullshit discussion of political strategists, a combat veteran, digital organizers, and unapologetic progressives who are done playing defense.” 

The new podcast has grown to reach over 10,000 listeners per episode. Their guests include names like Governor Gavin Newsome, Stormy Daniels, Susan Rice, and Congressman Eric Swalwell and they’ve reached #1 or #2 on Apple’s government podcast list. “We even beat Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro on the right,” Kris chuckles. 

Launch Strategy for a Startup’s Online Store

As a startup podcast, Kris had a small merch budget and no idea how much he might sell. Plus he wanted the brand to react quickly to current events with simple and powerful messaging. Using print-on-demand merch was a great solution for Find Out’s brand awareness goals. 

With the podcast’s goal of helping to get men in this country to gravitate from their far right views to other opportunities, the organization is “impact-first.” Goldsmith credits the merch he creates with F.I.I. for playing a big role in introducing their work to more people.

Each Find Out podcast episode includes the host giving a plug for merch at the end. The footer of their episodes even places a link to merch above their social handles.

“The store is really our main web presence,” says Goldsmith. “It’s been exciting to see a brand new brand, this podcast, starting to catch up in sales with the nonprofit store we started years ago,” Kris told us.

Using Merch as a Conversation Starter 

“Our merch isn’t a driver of revenue, but a driver of awareness and community building,” he explains. “We set prices low. We want to serve listeners and make them feel like part of the team. We’re relative unknowns, even though the podcast is very successful. So our merch is meant to be a conversation starter.” 

Kris generally himself avoids wearing anything with a graphic on it, but makes an exception for Find Out Podcast branded t-shirts. “They’re comfy, they get the message across, and it’s part of my brand-building strategy to wear the merch in the podcast. I count on F.I.I. to help me decide what people would find attractive to wear on their own,” he explains. “Even when commissioning an artist, I don’t always know how to direct them.”

He says he’s thankful for the personal help he gets from F.I.I., particularly for design help or selecting new products. “I trust our partners at F.I.I. like Kevin and Tom. I can ask them whether to add an item or not, and they’re not afraid to give me an honest opinion. If they say it won’t sell, I don’t add it. That’s not something many drop shippers would do. It’s part of what makes me a loyal customer.” 

Designing the Most Popular T-Shirts

Kris has been a public persona for two decades now. While the nonprofits he launched are more faceless, he really is the face of the Find Out brand. “I’m comfortable in a public-facing role, but actually putting our faces on a t-shirt… it was out of my comfort zone. But it turns out, that’s the most popular item people want!” he says with a tinge of disbelief. (That’s Kris in the second image from the Left.)

Even so, he explains, “I’m on the t-shirt, but it’s not about ‘me’. I wear this merch out to walk my dogs, people stop me, say they know who I am, and the shirt becomes the excuse to start a conversation.”

The podcast doesn’t have a budget for paid ads, so they work hard at organically earning an audience. “We see the most traffic is coming from people listening to the podcast and Googling us. We connected Instagram and YouTube recently, and our podcast hosts have the biggest audience on Tik Tok,” Kris elaborates. 

Building a Movement via Merch Sales

Initially, Goldsmith worried about managing inventory. “It would take me off the field, which is why I’m glad I found F.I.I. They’ve made the whole experience fantastic and stress free, so I can use my time for what I’m most passionate about,” Goldsmith says.

The way Kris sees it, there are two approaches to running a store. “The first is, you can try to make money by using child labor to make stuff for pennies. The second is, you can make the world a better place by living your values. Ask yourself, do I use a union shop? Or sell on Amazon using a random shop in China?” suggests Goldsmith. 

“Are you in it to make money or build a movement? In living our values by working with F.I.I., which we know is sourcing ethically, we know we’re making a difference in real people’s lives with the sale of every piece of merchandise,” says a proud Kris Goldsmith.