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Season 3 · Episode 139 Entrepreneurship
Building a business around books
Grace Kim turned a reading habit into an independent bookshop, a subscription box and a community of 9,000 readers.
GuestGrace Kim — Founder, Chapter & Verse
Episode 139 Building a business around books
0:00 57:30
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Show notes
Grace Kim was a research librarian who ran a reading group on the side. Seven years later, that group has become Chapter & Verse: a bookshop, a subscription box and a community of thousands of readers.
Jordan and Maya ask Grace about the economics of a business with famously thin margins, and why she believes curation is the most valuable thing a small shop can offer.
What we cover
- Starting with community before product
- Subscription businesses and cash flow
- Competing with giant online retailers
- Staying close to customers as you grow
Key takeaways
- The subscription box funded the shop, not the other way round.
- Grace's community started as a single reading group of eight people.
- Margins in books are thin; experiences and curation are where value lives.
- She reads every book in the box before it ships.
Timestamps
About the guest
Grace Kim
Founder, Chapter & Verse
Grace Kim is the founder of Chapter & Verse, an independent bookshop and monthly book subscription with readers in 30 countries. Before opening the shop she worked as a research librarian.
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