ECR BEGINNINGS
I was driving home from work the night of April 13, 2012. It was a beautiful spring Friday, I just finished filming at Times Square with my crew and couldn't wait to get home. All day long I'd been super excited about a new spawn of Thai Ranchus that just hatched that week. It was the biggest batch I've had since I started giving away goldfish on Craigslist in 2009.
I knew I didn't wanna keep dipping in to my savings maintaining so many goldfish. I was already spending a lot on food, utilities, equipment and even a "fish-sitter" whenever I'm out of the country. So that night as I was going through traffic I decided I'd start selling them online in June or July when they're a little bigger and the funds would go towards their upkeep. I wanted a brandname that had easy recall. Something that immediately gave the audience an idea what it's about (ranchu/goldfish) and where the source is from (east coast). The next day April 14, 2012 I set up a Facebook page, an eBay store, a YouTube channel, and a PayPal account. On April 19th I bought the domain eastcoastranchu.com.
I wake up everyday doing something I love and enjoy and it's the coolest thing.
With the advent of Social Media sharing platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, I've stepped away from the old-school methods of goldfish selling and implemented a slightly different approach to an otherwise faceless, and more often impersonal online audience. I know there's a price to pay for doing things differently and pushing the boundaries. Some people won't like it but East Coast Ranchu has done well despite being distinct from other online goldfish stores. I owe all that to 2 diverse generations of goldfishkeepers.
