Terry sits down with Garret Akerson, co-founder and former CEO of Kindred Bravely, to unpack how a single nursing-friendly product (2015) scaled to a PE-backed brand—and the hard lessons along the way. They cover today’s “cautiously optimistic” e-comm climate, cashflow-first operating, a no-resume group interview hiring model, and proving CTV with geo holdouts.

In this episode of the Beyond ROAS podcast, Terry Whalen and Joey Muller engage in a deep conversation with Sam Mendelson, exploring his extensive journey in e-commerce. Sam shares insights from his family's business, Sivana, and how he transitioned into launching new brands like Sozi and Tiny Rituals. The discussion covers the challenges of scaling businesses, the importance of community in e-commerce, and the role of AI in modern marketing strategies. They also delve into affiliate marketing, loyalty programs, and the innovative use of AI tools like Knobi in enhancing business operations. In this conversation, the speakers discuss the evolving landscape of advertising, particularly on platforms like Meta, where creative targeting has become essential. They emphasize the importance of crafting ad copy that resonates with specific personas and the challenges brands face in scaling due to manufacturing constraints and market fit. The discussion also highlights the role of AI in analyzing customer perceptions and optimizing product offerings to enhance conversion rates.

In this episode of the Beyond ROAS podcast, Terry Whalen interviews Abhi Lokesh, founder and former CEO of Fracture, a unique photo decor brand. They discuss the journey of building Fracture from its inception, the challenges faced in funding and marketing, the importance of vertical integration, and the impact of advertising strategies. Abhi shares insights on customer acquisition versus brand building, the role of AI in business, and his aspirations for future roles in the industry.

In this conversation, Jeff and Terry discuss the evolution of celebrity commerce, the challenges of measurement and attribution in direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands, and the effectiveness of various advertising channels like TikTok and YouTube. They share insights on the importance of celebrity involvement in brand success, the tools they use for data analysis, and the complexities of incrementality testing. The discussion highlights the need for a strategic approach to marketing and the integration of technology in optimizing advertising efforts.

Takeaways

• Celebrity commerce is still thriving despite market changes.
• The success of a DTC brand often hinges on the celebrity's involvement.
• Measurement and attribution in advertising are increasingly complex.
• Tools like Daasity help in creating comprehensive dashboards for data analysis.
• Incrementality testing can provide valuable insights but comes with challenges.
• TikTok offers a unique advertising opportunity, often at a lower cost than Meta.
• YouTube reaches different audiences but measurement remains a challenge.
• Effective communication with customers can drive revenue, even with limited product launches.
• Using data enrichment tools can enhance user identification and attribution accuracy.
• Setting benchmarks for notifications can streamline inventory management.

Google is evil to advertisers. But there's a way to gain transparency, control, and better performance from Google Ads. I'm here to lead the way.

In this episode of the Beyond ROAS podcast, Terry Whalen interviews Yiqi Wu, founder of Aimerce and Meta ex-engineer and product manager. Yiqi shares insights from her extensive experience building at Meta and discusses the importance of user data for (DTC) brands. She explains how Facebook's algorithms have evolved and the significance of user data in advertising. She also delves into Aimerce's new AI-based email marketing offering.

Welcome to Beyond ROAS, a podcast where we dive into real-world e-commerce growth insights and tactics. I'm Terry Whalen, co-founder of Sum Digital, a paid channels agency helping brands scale profitably.

Thanks so much for listening to Beyond ROAS. If you enjoyed the show, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. And in case you think I can be helpful to you, ping me on email or LinkedIn. See you next episode.