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Small Business Equity

Combat Flip Flops - Business, Not Bullets

About Documents
37%
$44,205.27 Funded
Closed Time Left
$10,000 Min. Raise
$119,999.94 Max. Raise
Closed
Reg CF via Combat Flip Flops
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    This Reg CF offering is made available through Community Bond, LLC.
    This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment.

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About


Combat Flip Flops - Business, Not Bullets

Veteran-owned footwear and lifestyle brand using manufacturing to turn areas of conflict into places of hope and prosperity

We are a Veteran-Owned business turning areas of conflict into places of hope and prosperity. With every product we craft, we're changing the narrative – fighting against the 'Forever Wars' by creating lasting jobs and peace.

We are a positive example of America in today’s conflict areas. We share the stories of success that are contrary to main stream media. Combat Flip Flops demonstrates the most upstanding examples of those that live the mantra, “Be a Better Human.”  

Small business owners in conflict zones are THE leaders in their communities. Over the past 12 years of operations, these leaders perpetually improve the quality of their products, commitment to inclusion of the oppressed, and relentlessly work through problems to deliver.
We wanted to end radicalism through women’s education in Afghanistan. We felt this to be the most positive, sustainable, and ethical way to win the war on terror. Educated women create educated and employable families. Educated and employed families are significantly harder to radicalize. Until 2021, every product sold funded an Afghan girl in school for a day. Prior to the fall of Afghanistan in August 2021, CFF funded the education of over 1,000 Afghan women. After the Fall, CFF serves on the board of Aid Afghanistan for Education to fund educational opportunities for girls and orphans.

We’re doing what very few others dare.  We’re creating sustainable, peaceful change in a place where it’s more profitable to feed the war machine. 
How it Started: When we served in Iraq and Afghanistan as Army Rangers, then continued working in those areas as veterans, we saw what was possible when we replaced bullets with business. Leveraging our experience moving people and gear around the world, we simply reversed direction and started shipping flip flops and clothing. 
Products
Footwear [Bogota, Colombia]
Premium flip flops, sandals, slides, and shoes.
Textiles [Kabul, Afghanistan]
Cotton and Cashmere Shemaghs (square scarf).
Jewelry [Laos]
Jewelry made from UXO dropped during the Vietnam War.
Apparel [USA]
Direct-to-garment apparel for consumers.
Accessories
Stickers, keychains, patches, and other accessories.
Promotional Products
Custom promotional products.

Use of Proceeds

The number one historical problem for Combat Flip Flops has been inventory due to available operating capital. Due to the manufacturing locations and focus on direct-to-consumer web sales, financing institutions were unwilling to support our inventory needs. Without that kind of financial backing, Combat Flip Flops used all available cash to fund production and ship to the Combat Flip Flops warehouse. Products quickly sold through, then Combat Flip Flops had to wait another 30-60 days for a delivery. During this period of zero inventory, Combat Flip Flops would heavily discount product with a “pre-sale” model–securing the sale, yet sacrificing profit margin.

In our best years, we’ve only been able to support six (6) months of product availability. The use of proceeds from this investment will be used to cure the problem of product availability, support growth, and increase profit margin.

Main Street Bond Platform Expenses:

As intermediary, Community Bond, LLC shall receive 5% of the amount raised in the Offering, a $5,000.00 onboarding fee, and will be reimbursed for all expenses incurred by the Intermediary on behalf of the Company, including a $5 per Investor processing fee charged the Intermediary’s technology provider, Escrow Fees, and all fees associated with the use of any credit card or alternative considerations processors. The Company is charging each investor an Investment Fee of 2.85% to partially cover Offering Costs associated with each investment. The Investment Fee for credit card transactions is increased to 6.00% to cover the higher cost the Company incurs when such transactions are processed.

Ownership Structure & Rights of Securities

The Company is authorized to issue two classes of Interests, Common Units and Series Seed Preferred Units, with each Unit representing an equal share in the Company. Series Seed Preferred Units were created in March of 2016 to facilitate the investment by Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban (as seen on Shark Tank Episode 719). Preferred Units are designed to represent the same interest in the Company as Common Units, but have certain enhanced rights in other areas, including but not limited to on liquidation (Series Seed Preferred Units receive their original investment back first), the right to appoint a director to the Company’s board, and enhanced rights to information from the Company and inspection of Company records. The Company is also required to get majority written consent from the Series Seed Preferred Unit Holders prior to engaging in various major actions, including but not limited to the raising of additional capital, and issuing of additional units (including options), liquidation of the Company, declaring of distributions, changing the officers of the Company or their compensation, engage in certain transactions with Affiliates of the Company.  

The Company’s total authorized units consist of 10,555,565 total Units (just under 20% of which are Series Seed Preferred Units) of which 10,312,500 Units are currently issued and outstanding. As of the date of this offering, our largest members, Matthew Griffin, Andy Sewrey, and Donald Lee collectively own 6,650,145 Common Units or approximately 63.76% of our units currently outstanding. The Common Units being sold in this offering will constitute up to 1.2% of the Company (if the Maximum Offering Amount is sold). Each investor’s stake in a company will be diluted in the future due to the company issuing additional units.

Risks & Disclosures

A crowdfunding investment involves risk. You should not invest any funds in this offering unless you can afford to lose your entire investment. In making an investment decision, Investors must rely on their own examination of the issuer and the terms of the offering, including the merits and risks involved. These Securities have not been recommended or approved by any federal or state securities commission or regulatory authority. The Securities should only be purchased by persons who can afford to lose all their investment.

Before making an investment decision with respect to the Securities, we urge you to carefully consider the risk factors described set forth in the Section entitled “Risk Factors” in our Form C.

For example, the Company’s business model involves intentionally manufacturing its products in unstable war zones, which creates substantial supply chain challenges which the Company may not be able to overcome. These products are at an unusually high risk of being stolen, set on fire, lost in transit, or held indefinitely. Products which are destroyed or held up cannot be sold, which may negatively impact the profitability of the Company and may also restrict the Company’s ability to purchase new products from its manufacturers, resulting in fewer products for sale, higher manufacturing costs, and longer wait times for consumers, all of which would negatively impact the Company, and which could cause an Investor to lose all or a portion of their investment.

Previous Funding

Combat Flip Flops previously raised funding for operations starting in 2014.
2014: Two (2) Angel investors for $18,000. Common Shares
2015: TA Group, veteran-owned VC firm, $82,355, Preferred Series Seed Shares
2016: Shark Tank, Mark Cuban's Radical Investments for $100,000, Preferred Series Seed Shares
2022: Two (2) Private investors for $125,000, Preferred Series Seed Shares
2023: One (1) Private investor for $100,000, Convertible Note for Preferred Series Seed Shares

View our
Offering Documents

Meet the Combat Flip Flops - Business, Not Bullets team

Business, Not Bullets.

CEO
Matthew Griffin

West Point Graduate, Army Ranger, Combat Veteran, Henry Crown Fellow, Entrepreneur, Father, Husband.

President
Andy Sewrey

30 years experience in the construction industry, product design, project management, and logistics.

CMO
Donald Lee

20 years of online marketing experience. Army Ranger. Combat Veteran.

KPIs

 

 

KPI 2018 KPI 2019
Conversion Rate 2.92% Conversion Rate 3.01%
Cart Abandonment 51.1% Cart Abandonment 44.34%
Average Order Value $53.71 Average Order Value $46.98
Return on Ad Spend 8.88 Return on Ad Spend 4.88
Cost per Acquisition $7.87 Cost per Acquisition $11.72
Gross Revenue $839,202 Gross Revenue $1,036,813
Gross Margin $297,332 Gross Margin $415,338
Net Income ($133,760) Net Income ($172,597)
Gain/Loss Loss Gain/Loss Loss
       
KPI 2020* KPI 2021**
Conversion Rate 4.44% Conversion Rate 3.91%
Cart Abandonment 36.71% Cart Abandonment 30.28%
Average Order Value $51.16 Average Order Value $52.70
Return on Ad Spend 10.99 Return on Ad Spend 6.37
Cost per Acquisition $5.05 Cost per Acquisition $9.03
Gross Revenue $1,361,277 Gross Revenue $1,292,725
Gross Margin $731,665 Gross Margin $628,001
Net Income $146,508 Net Income ($15,583)
Gain/Loss Gain Gain/Loss Loss
       
KPI 2022*** KPI 2023 YTD
Conversion Rate 2.63% Conversion Rate 2.71%
Cart Abandonment 32% Cart Abandonment 42.92%
Average Order Value $52.21 Average Order Value $63.26
Return on Ad Spend 5.86 Return on Ad Spend 4.72
Cost per Acquisition $10.42 Cost per Acquisition $15.02
Gross Revenue $755,010 Gross Revenue  
Gross Margin $279,160 Gross Margin  
Net Income ($79,100) Net Income  
Gain/Loss Loss Gain/Loss  

 

Combat Flip Flops focuses on direct to consumer sales through our website, www.combatflipflops.com. As an online retailer, Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) are reviewed daily and weekly to measure the health of the business. Additionally, advertising expenses for platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter) are required in order to acquire new customers, generate sales, and grow brand awareness. These platforms constantly change algorithms and ads fatigue. To ensure responsible use of advertising dollars, Combat Flip Flops reviews ad KPIs multiple times per day to cut poor performing advertisements and reallocate funds to performing ads. The previous KPIs feed into the overall health of the business measured in revenue, expenses, and profit/loss. These metrics are measured weekly and finalized monthly.

Seasonality plays a large roll in a summer footwear business--metrics rise in the Spring through the end of Summer, decline slightly in the fall, peak at the holiday season, then decline for the early winter headed into Spring. The annual rollup shown below shows the health of the business without ever having a full year's worth of inventory.

Conversion Rate:
A conversion rate is the percentage of the total number of visits to a website that result in a conversion action. It's expressed as a percentage and calculated via a simple formula: Conversion rate = number of specific actions taken in a period of time / total number of visits to your site in the same period of time. An accepted healthy ecommerce conversion rate ranges between 2.5% to 3%.

Cart Abandonment Rate:
The Cart Abandonment Rate is the percentage of online shoppers who add items to a virtual shopping cart but then abandon it before completing the purchase. It shows the rate of interested potential customers who leave without buying anything compared to the total number of shopping carts created. An accepted average ecommerce conversion rate is 56%-81%.

Average Order Value:
Average Order Value (AOV) is an ecommerce metric that measures the average total of every order placed with a merchant over a defined period of time. Average order value varies by industry and products.

Return on Ad Spend:
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is a marketing metric that measures revenue earned for each dollar you spend on advertising. An accepted healthy ROAS is 4:1.

Cost per Acquisition:
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) is a marketing metric that measures the total cost to acquire one paying customer. It must include the cost of marketing campaigns or other spending to get a new customer. CPA values by industry and product.

Gross Revenue:
Gross revenue is the dollar value of the total sales made by a company in one period before deduction expenses. This means it is not the same as profit because profit is what is left after all expenses are accounted for.

Net Income:
Net income refers to the money left over after business expenses have been paid.

*2020 Was considered a banner year for online businesses. Combat Flip Flops saw the early indicators of shutdowns in 2019 and frontloaded inventory in Q1 to reduce risk of supply chain closure. The decision created a profitable scenario the company.

**2021 Growing on 2020’s success the company was positioned to grow to $1.6MM in Gross revenue, then the Afghan withdrawal caused over $300,000 in product to be stuck in Kabul and loss of our most profitable products during peak sales season.

***2022 The unforeseen loss of holiday inventory in Q4 2021 caused cash shortages for Q1/Q2 2022 Spring inventory. To compensate, Combat Flip Flops cut owner/operator wages, ad spends, and all other expenses to mitigate losses.

2023 Not ones to take a beating, Combat Flip Flops leveraged a small fundraising round in late 2022 to fund 60% web sales growth and 1100% Amazon.com growth. Combat Flip Flops raised an additional $100,000 in cash with a convertible note and secured a $150,000 line of credit to fund 2024 production.

As of December 5, 2023 the Company has $52,866.36 in cash and cash equivalents.

Advisors

Mark Cuban
is an American billionaire businessman, film producer, investor, and television personality. He is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), co-owner of 2929 Entertainment, and one of the main "sharks" on the ABC reality television series Shark Tank.

Paul Litchfield
was the Vice President of Advanced Concepts at Reebok from 1986 to April 2015. Mr. Litchfield began working in the athletic footwear industry at Reebok more than 30 years ago and is regarded as one of the most influential product creation experts in the industry

Pete Kadens
is a serial entrepreneur and dedicated philanthropist who currently serves as the Chairman of The Kadens Family Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to closing the pervasive wealth and education gaps in the U.S.. Pete was a co-founder and served as CEO of Green Thumb Industries, currently the second largest cannabis company in the world with a current market capitalization of over $6 billion. Green Thumb industries went public in 2018 and transitioned to full time efforts at The Kadens Family Foundation.

Sheryl Tullis
is a success technology leader. From military information systems to tech marketing leader, her career spans P&G, Microsoft, mobile experience agencies, staffing, and technology consulting. Sheryl automated the first decision support system for the Army Directorate of Information Management in Germany, then created and led Procter & Gamble’s first e-commerce business. At Microsoft she served as Chief of Staff to the Chief Marketing Officer, helping transform the company’s shift to digital marketing. She then led the Marketing Excellence group, responsible for talent, training and development for 7,700 marketers, digital capabilities, and World Class Marketing practices.

Key Customers & Partners

Direct to Consumer Website
www.combatflipflops.com is the primary revenue source for Combat Flip Flops. Using efficient online advertising, the website creates the highest profit sales with the least fees.

Amazon.com
Combat Flip Flops is a registered and protected brand with Combat Flip Flops. FBA sales grew 1100% in 2023. Coupled with the new "Buy with Prime" Shopify integration, Amazon.com is a good margin platform that sells where the majority of customers shop online.

Army/Air Force Exchange Service (Post Exchange/Base Exchange)
Every Army and Air Force Base has a department store serving the servicemembers, family, and veterans. The store provides an average 20% discount and tax free for the military affiliated customers. There are over 275 permanent global locations in addition to mobile Exchanges that deploy with service members during operations. These stores directly serve our target customers.

Marine Corps Community Services (Base Exchange)
Every Marine base has a department store to serve Marines. Similar to the Army, prices are discounted in addition to being tax free for customers. These stores directly serve our target customers.

Amazon Military
Amazon Corporate has a dedicated team to hire military servicemembers and dependents to provide training, education, and employment after service. Over the past five years, Combat Flip Flops custom manufactured promotional items for the Amazon Military team at the military hiring events.

Comcast
In addition to Amazon, Comcast has a team dedicated to hire military servicemembers and dependents. For the past four years, Combat Flip Flops developed custom promotional items for the Comcast team at military hiring events.

Testimonials

5-STARS EVERY TIME
I love the combat flip flop products and these do not disappoint. I have had my last pair of flip flops for years and they're still going strong. I am hard on my footwear and CBFF are one of the few brands that hold up.

-Dede H

WORK OF ART
This Afghan shemagh is a work of art. It's soft--just like I remember the one I purchased overseas was--and it's beautifully woven. It keeps me warm, but not uncomfortably so. I use mine to keep the wind off my neck while riding my motorcycle, and I often sleep with it loosely around my neck on chilly SoCal nights when I keep the window open. I plan to add a black one, and the green and black when it comes back in stock. You guys have fantastic quality products (I own a pair of Combat Flip Flops.) I highly recommend both products.

~David S

BEAUTIFUL CRAFTSMANSHIP
There’s a noticeable difference in quality between this product and the cheap shemaghs sold in the tactical section of any base MCX/NEX/PX. It’s so beautifully made that I’ll hold on to my cheap “made in China” one that I bought as a boot to use in the field and only use this one for travel and vacations to cold places.

~ Jason Y

AK-47 IT'S, THE KING OF ALL FLOPS! ♥️
AK-47! Combat Flip Flop, I love this Flip Flop, it's so comfortable durable and stylish. Over the years I have proudly owned three pairs of them. I have never found any comparison......ever! With their comfort. Every time I put them on after a long day in steel toed,heavy ass work boots. It's my little piece of heaven, floating on a cloud that is constantly reminding me that retirement is only 20 years away!

~David W

OUTSTANDING PRODUCT..... AS USUAL.
This is the NINTH pair of (various styles) flip-flops I've purchased from this company since 2018. All are still operational and standing the test of time. I live on a tropical, mountainous island where I require the comfort and durability that this footwear provides..... Not to mention the best arch support I've ever seen in a flip-flop. My Combat Flip Flops are my go to on a daily basis. Thanks for yet another outstanding pair of flip-flops!

~Andrew K

BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK!
This is my second pair of floporators and I’ll be back to buy more. I literally these bad boys every day for over a year until the strap broke between my toes. I totally forgot about the lifetime warranty and unfortunately chucked them in the can. No big deal though, I happily purchased more. Next time I’ll claim the warranty. 100% would recommend if you have a wider forefoot. Perfect fit and high quality!

~Anthony S

EXCELLENT FLIP FLOPS
Bought these a couple of years ago and they are holding up excellent. I see very little wear in them which makes me happy for the price I paid. I bought a pair for my wife some years ago and cringed at paying so much. Worth it!

~Adam W

Project FAQs

Question: Hi there, a) What is your most recent monthly burn rate? b) What is your most recent monthly cash on hand? c) Are you raising a parallel angel or VC round simultaneously? If yes, who is investing in this round?

Answer: Hello, A) 2023 Average Monthly Burn Rate (with marketing) : $46,296.44 A2) 2023 Average Monthly Burn Rate (without marketing and commissions): $24,251.72 B) Cash on hand: Ranges around the $35K range depending on sales deposits and ad expenses. We're in the low cash time of year as we're bringing in Spring inventory. C) At the current time, Main Street Bond is our only round. We are talking to a couple angels for investment after this round closes. VC firms have been 100% unsupportive over the last 18 months of fundraising, so we're not going to invest our time there any longer.
Question: The email I received from Combat Flip Flops indicates

Answer: Hi There, Had a couple technical difficulties with the platform (user error) getting the questions sorted. The closing date was moved until the end of February. Combat Flip Flops was the first company to launch on Main Street Bond and we've been getting the bugs shook out. Plus, January is tough as most people are still recovering from holiday spending. Thanks for supporting the mission.
Question: The Combat Flip Flop's email indicates that the offering will close on January 30th (i.e. 2 days), wherease the website indicates 32 more days (Guessing March 1st or so)... which is it? I could use a few more days to look at the financials myself. Thanks!

Answer: Hello. We extended the closing date until the end of February. Being new to the platform, it took us a few days to find all the original closing date mentions and get them changed to the new closing date on the Amended Form C.
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