Actively Black x Numeral
Lanny Smith is on a mission, driven by his goal to re-invest into the black community through his brand Actively Black. Once a small startup, AB are now one of the US’ fastest growing athleisure brands taking on the likes of Nike, Adidas and Reebok.
Valued at $60 million and showing no signs of slowing down, Actively Black invests 10% of its sales into organisations supporting social justice, mental health and physical health in black communities.
The Challenge
After partnering with major brands such as Disney and superstar names like Steph Curry and Barack Obama, the brand has hit 8 figure revenues in just its first couple of years. This led to a nice-to-have but frustrating problem - Actively Black had a sales tax issue.
Actively Black had not been collecting sales tax on their Shopify store, and managing returns had become a huge drain on Lanny’s time & resources.
The Solution
At first they explored OmniTax and TaxJar, but neither company fit their needs. That’s when Actively Black linked up with HappyStack who had the perfect solution to their problem.
HappyStack connected Actively Black with Numeral, a YC backed company that helps to automate the sales tax process for brands.
Why Numeral
- Lanny’s biggest stress was time spent on his sales tax workflow. Numeral automates this process, turning a workflow that previously took hours, into just a matter of minutes.
- Cashflow is the lifeblood of e-commerce businesses. Numeral facilitates customised payment schedules, underscoring their genuine commitment as a partner, rather than just another vendor.
- Deadlines are a huge stress, particularly tax deadlines! Thankfully, Numeral have a 24/7 support team on hand to ensure partners never miss one.
The Results
- Scaled to 29 new states: With Numeral handling compliance, Actively Black has confidently expanded country wide.
- Spend less than 5 minutes per month on sales tax admin
“The main thing for us with Numeral is peace of mind. I spend literally no time doing managing our sales tax anymore, and I know every month we’re going to be fully compliant. Freeing up this time to focus on more important areas of the business is a game changer.
HappyStack are ahead of the curve with their recommendations. We’re thrilled to be working with them.”
