Bob Verlaat and Nick Nijhof are Amsterdam-based entrepreneurs and Co-Founders of Hears, the fast-growing hearing protection brand redefining earplugs through premium design and industry-leading sound clarity. Prior to Hears, the duo successfully scaled luxury sleep wellness brand Dore & Rose to $30M in revenue, building deep expertise in branding, Ecommerce, and consumer behavior. Their entrepreneurial journey has been shaped by creating products that solve real consumer problems while building emotionally resonant brands. After Bob experienced hearing damage and persistent tinnitus from loud music, the pair became increasingly aware of the global problem of noise-induced hearing loss and the lack of earplugs people actually wanted to wear. Existing products compromised sound quality, looked unattractive, and failed to fit seamlessly into modern lifestyles. Driven by that personal frustration, Bob and Nick spent 1.5 years researching and developing Hears from scratch, investing in patented filter technology and an award-winning heart-shaped design focused on preserving natural sound while protecting hearing. Since launching in 2024, Hears has generated $7M in first-year revenue, won the Red Dot Design Award, and partnered with globally recognized brands and venues including Yves Saint Laurent and Pacha Ibiza. In This Conversation We Discuss: [00:32] Intro [00:58] Launching products with clear positioning  [01:31] Solving everyday problems through Ecommerce  [03:14] Leveraging past mistakes to scale faster  [06:33] Episode Sponsor: Klaviyo [08:32] Finding product ideas through personal pain  [09:49] Testing creatives to accelerate growth  [11:01] Balancing brand building with direct sales  [11:57] Leveraging organic content before paid scaling  [13:51] Episode Sponsor: Intelligems [15:52] Optimizing products for global scalability  [19:14] Episode Sponsor: Electric Eye [20:23] Designing products customers instantly notice  [22:20] Protecting products through patented innovation  [23:25] Callout [23:34] Using social proof to increase conversions  Resources: Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube Engineered for maximum sound blocking, reduce disruptive noise, helping you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer and wake up fully rested hears.com/ Follow Bob Verlaat linkedin.com/in/bobverlaat/ Follow Nick Nijhof https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicknijhof/ Book a demo today at intelligems.io/ Migrate and grow more klaviyo.com/honest  Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!