Secrets To Scaling Your Ecommerce Brand

5 Lessons While Building A Billion Dollar Brand with Curtis Matsko


Listen Later

Send us a text

In this deep-dive conversation, Jordan West welcomes Curtis Matsko, founder and CEO of Portland Leather Goods, to unpack exactly what it takes to build—and lead—a billion-dollar brand in 2025. 


From humble beginnings in a single-stall garage to scaling a global operation with hundreds of thousands of square feet of manufacturing, Curtis shares the raw decisions, leadership principles, and mindset shifts that have fueled exponential growth.


Timestamps:

  • 00:07 – Intro: “How do you build a billion-dollar brand in 2025?”
  • 01:44 – The march from $1 M to $100 M, and why most entrepreneurs stumble before this line in the sand.
  • 03:30 – Curtis’s top five hair-trigger decisions—what happened when playing it safe would have killed the business.
  • 10:30 – The moment Jordan realized he needed to “level up” personally and professionally.
  • 17:11 – Why today’s market turmoil is a gift in disguise for anti-fragile leaders.
  • 19:23 – Firing as an act of service: how letting people go can be the best thing you do for them—and your company.
  • 25:44 – Crafting authentic LinkedIn posts: a peek inside Curtis’s morning ritual.
  • 41:04 – Curtis’s path to sobriety and why it shaped every business choice he’s made since.



What You’ll Learn

  • The Exponential Playbook
    How Curtis and his team consistently doubled revenue year-over-year—from $1 M to $2 M, then to $4 M, $8 M, and beyond—and why hitting that first $100 M profitable milestone is the real launchpad for a true empire.
  • Thinking Two Stages Ahead
    Why surrounding yourself with leaders two levels above you is non-negotiable, and how “the law of the lid” caps your team’s potential to your own.
  • Decision-Making Under Pressure
    Five pivotal “50/50” calls Curtis made that could have broken the company—yet, with the right game-plan, became its greatest catalysts.
  • Anti-Fragility & Opportunity in Adversity
    Turning a brutal $3 M liability hit and industry-wide headwinds into your greatest competitive advantage.
  • Building & Pruning A-Player Teams
    The ruthless kindness of firing someone “for their own good,” and why investing years to find the right leaders pays exponential dividends.
  • Sobriety as a Leadership Superpower
    How mastering addiction taught Curtis the art of clear, decisive action—and why life’s toughest battles prepare you for business’s biggest wins.
  • Personal Branding for Scale
    Real-world LinkedIn tactics that don’t just generate followers, but open doors to boardrooms, partnerships, and talent pipelines you never dreamed possible.



Guest info:
Linkedin:
linkedin.com/in/curtis-matsko

Twitter: twitter.com/CurtisMatsko 

Website: https://www.portlandleathergoods.com/



If you’re ready to break through your own ceiling—whether you’re at $1M, $100M, or beyond—this episode will give you the blueprint to think bigger, move faster, and lead harder than ever before.


...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Secrets To Scaling Your Ecommerce BrandBy Jordan West

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

38 ratings


More shows like Secrets To Scaling Your Ecommerce Brand

View all
BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast by BiggerPockets

BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

16,794 Listeners

The Amy Porterfield Show by Amy Porterfield

The Amy Porterfield Show

4,573 Listeners

The Side Hustle Show by Nick Loper of Side Hustle Nation | YAP Media

The Side Hustle Show

1,583 Listeners

Capitalism.com with Ryan Daniel Moran by Capitalism.com

Capitalism.com with Ryan Daniel Moran

731 Listeners

Shopify Masters by Shopify

Shopify Masters

375 Listeners

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan by Foundr Media

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

568 Listeners

Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth by The Ecommerce Playbook

Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth

70 Listeners

Marketing School - Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips by Eric Siu and Neil Patel

Marketing School - Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips

1,259 Listeners

Founders by David Senra

Founders

1,935 Listeners

The Futur with Chris Do by The Futur

The Futur with Chris Do

849 Listeners

My First Million by Hubspot Media

My First Million

2,624 Listeners

The Startup Ideas Podcast by Greg Isenberg

The Startup Ideas Podcast

201 Listeners

Marketing Against The Grain by Hubspot Media

Marketing Against The Grain

352 Listeners

OPERATORS by OPERATORS

OPERATORS

45 Listeners

The Koerner Office - Business Ideas and Small Business Deep Dives with Entrepreneurs by Chris Koerner

The Koerner Office - Business Ideas and Small Business Deep Dives with Entrepreneurs

169 Listeners