Irene Chen and Matthew Grenby are the co-founders of Parker Thatch, a luxury handbag and accessories brand they bootstrapped to 8-figures over the course of 20 years. Matt’s expertise spans tech, design, and marketing, while Irene brings deep fashion industry knowledge from working with powerhouse brands like Donna Karan and Calvin Klein.

In this episode of DTC Pod, Matt and Irene share how they navigated the shift from an e-stationery startup to eventually finding product-market fit with their signature luxury bags. They discuss key lessons learned in bootstrapping—the importance of market timing, how to manage inventory risks, and why flexibility and systems are critical when growing a brand.

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On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:
1. Founding and Evolution of Parker Thatch
2. Initial Business Concepts and Pivots
3. Strategies for Managing and Allocating Inventory
4. Importance of Flexibility in Business Operations
5. Bootstrapping and Capital Allocation
6. Building Systems for Scalability
7. Marketing and Demand Generation Strategies
8. Community and Customer Engagement

Timestamps
00:00 Matt and Irene's backgrounds before Parker Thatch 
06:55 Starting an e-stationery business in 2000
07:43 Pivoting to selling physical stationery and home goods 
9:00 Lessons on market timing and pivoting when starting a business
11:51 Changing company name from iomoi to Parker Thatch
13:52 Creating Parker Thatch's debut handbag
18:19 Bootstrapping, capital allocation, inventory decisions
22:08 Why early business success depends on flexibility and testing
25:53 Introducing leather bags and streamlining production
29:10 Why small businesses fail without systems
32:29 Shifting to systems thinking to enable business growth
35:07 Marketing strategies to drive customer demand
37:01 Building community and brand identity around "functional luxury"
42:34 Relationship dynamics as husband and wife co-founders
45:55 Key focuses for 2025 and beyond with PTTV 
47:48 Where to find and connect with Parker Thatch

Show notes powered by Castmagic

Past guests & brands on DTC Pod include Gilt, PopSugar, Glossier, MadeIN, Prose, Bala, P.volve, Ritual, Bite, Oura, Levels, General Mills, Mid Day Squares, Prose, Arrae, Olipop, Ghia, Rosaluna, Form, Uncle Studios & many more.  

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• #175 Ariel Vaisbort - How OLIPOP Runs Influencer, Community, & Affiliate Growth

• #184 Jake Karls, Midday Squares - Turning Your Brand Into The Influencer With Content

• #205 Kasey Stewart: Suckerz- - Powering Your Launch With 300 Million Organic Views

• #219 JT Barnett: The TikTok Masterclass For Brands

• #223 Lauren Kleinman: The PR & Affiliate Marketing Playbook

• ​​​​#243 Kian Golzari - Source & Develop Products Like The World's Best Brands

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Projects the DTC Pod team is working on:
DTCetc - all our favorite brands on the internet
Olivea - the extra virgin olive oil & hydroxytyrosol supplement
Castmagic - AI Workspace for Content

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Irene Chen and Matthew Grenby -  Co-Founders of Parker Thatch
Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Castmagic
Ramon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic