Bitesized: Marketing | Entrepreneurship | Brand Building

In the latest episode of Bitesized, I sat down with Davin Gentry is founder of Diet Starts Monday, an LA based fashion brand that emphasizes the importance of taking action today not waiting for tomorrow.

Born and raised in Kentucky, Davin’s entrepreneurial journey began with hand painting t-shirts to create unique pieces for himself due to a lack of options in his small town. Davin studied graphic design before starting his journey in the fashion industry with jewelry brand Premium Co, before launching Diet Starts Monday in 2016.

We dived into the challenges of being from a small town with big ambitions, how Davin stays connected to his roots with a focus on giving back, the trends he is seeing in the fashion industry, his entrepreneurial journey, and what it’s taught him about himself, his creative process & approach to brand building and so much more.

🔗

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Motion empowers your creative and marketing teams with the data they need to make the right decisions, visualized with easily digestible and customizable reporting that clearly identifies the key drivers of creative performance taking the guesswork out of creative to generate more revenue from your paid social ads.

Trusted by over 2,100 teams, book a demo and get a FREE 14 day trial: https://tinyurl.com/motioncreative

Vetted Creators to upscale your Paid Social 🤝

Insense is an end-to-end UGC and influencer marketing platform trusted by 1,700+ eComm brands to source high-performing UGC content for organic and paid social, within 10 days from responsive creators.

Enjoy one centralized space to manage your collaborations from briefing to automated agreements and content usage rights, from UGC to TikTok Shop and Meta Partnership ads - all easily managed by 1 marketer.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/InsensePro

Convert more traffic with Post-Click Optimization 📈

FERMÀT enables your marketing team create funnels the same way they create ads. From dynamic landing pages, to targeted PDPs, to custom carts, FERMÀT enables you to convert more paid traffic by experimenting & owning your post-click experience.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/fermatcommerce

Subscribe to the Bitesized Newsletter 📧

Weekly growth marketing, ecommerce and entrepreneurship insights, analysis and tips delivered straight to your inbox with actionable takeaways you can apply today.

Read by over 2,000 Founders, Brand Builders, Marketers join here: bitesized.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Aaron Nosbisch, serial entrepreneur and the founder of Brez, a microdosed herbal social tonic brand, shares his groundbreaking journey in the beverage industry. We explore how his innovative mindset helped him navigate complex advertising landscapes and disrupt traditional alcohol markets with plant-based, functional beverages.

Covered in the Episode:

- Aaron’s early career in e-commerce and influencer marketing from the MySpace era.

- Founding Luycd and overcoming challenges in cannabis advertising.

- The creation and rapid success of Brez, with revenue growth from $2.5M to $25M in just over a year.

- Why breaking industry norms leads to outsized returns.

- Strategies for advertising cannabis and CBD products in a restrictive environment.

- The concept of "functional drinking" as a healthier alternative to alcohol.

- How Brez aims to create positive, social experiences without the downsides of alcohol.

- The challenges and opportunities in launching a brand in an emerging market.

- Aaron’s approach to innovation: following the rules creatively and building on top of them.

- Insights on the future of alcohol alternatives and the potential for disruption.

- Aaron’s views on consumer behavior and the evolving perceptions around alcohol.

+ So much more!

🤝

Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieljamesgraham/

Connect with Daniel on Twitter: https://x.com/foodog85

🔗

Ship More Winning Ads With Motion 🚀

Motion empowers your creative and marketing teams with the data they need to make the right decisions, visualized with easily digestible and customizable reporting that clearly identifies the key drivers of creative performance taking the guesswork out of creative to generate more revenue from your paid social ads.

Trusted by over 2,100 teams, book a demo and get a FREE 14 day trial: https://tinyurl.com/motioncreative

Vetted Creators to upscale your Paid Social 🤝

Insense is an end-to-end UGC and influencer marketing platform trusted by 1,700+ eComm brands to source high-performing UGC content for organic and paid social, within 10 days from responsive creators.

Enjoy one centralized space to manage your collaborations from briefing to automated agreements and content usage rights, from UGC to TikTok Shop and Meta Partnership ads - all easily managed by 1 marketer.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/InsensePro

Convert more traffic with Post-Click Optimization 📈

FERMÀT enables your marketing team create funnels the same way they create ads. From dynamic landing pages, to targeted PDPs, to custom carts, FERMÀT enables you to convert more paid traffic by experimenting & owning your post-click experience.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/fermatcommerce

Michael Chernow is a serial entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and the founder of Kreatures of Habit, a brand dedicated to helping people build positive daily routines through nutrition and lifestyle.

We dived into Michael’s personal journey of overcoming personal struggles, including substance abuse, transforming his life through positive habits, and how he’s shaping the future of wellness.

Covered in the Episode:

• Michael Chernow’s journey as an entrepreneur, from his early days in New York to building successful restaurants.
• The power of building a business culture from the inside out.
• The transition from restaurant business to D2C with Kreatures of Habit.
• The importance of self-awareness and surrounding yourself with the right team.
• How entrepreneurship is about getting back up after failure.
• Managing a personal brand alongside building businesses.
• How Michael’s morning routine and habits shaped his life and business.
• Why it’s essential to have a clear vision and timeline for success.
• Overcoming personal struggles, including substance abuse, and transforming through positive habits.
• The role of community and personal connection in business growth.
• Long-term plans for Kreatures of Habit, including new product development and an acquisition target for 2028.
• Michael’s views on the glamorization of entrepreneurship and the reality of navigating ups and downs.
• Legacy as a person who does what he says and the value of keeping your word.
• + so much more.

🔗

Ship More Winning Ads With Motion 🚀

Motion empowers your creative and marketing teams with the data they need to make the right decisions, visualized with easily digestible and customizable reporting that clearly identifies the key drivers of creative performance taking the guesswork out of creative to generate more revenue from your paid social ads.

Trusted by over 2,100 teams, book a demo and get a FREE 14 day trial: https://tinyurl.com/motioncreative

Vetted Creators to upscale your Paid Social 🤝

Insense is an end-to-end UGC and influencer marketing platform trusted by 1,700+ eComm brands to source high-performing UGC content for organic and paid social, within 10 days from responsive creators.

Enjoy one centralized space to manage your collaborations from briefing to automated agreements and content usage rights, from UGC to TikTok Shop and Meta Partnership ads - all easily managed by 1 marketer.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/InsensePro

Convert more traffic with Post-Click Optimization 📈

FERMÀT enables your marketing team create funnels the same way they create ads. From dynamic landing pages, to targeted PDPs, to custom carts, FERMÀT enables you to convert more paid traffic by experimenting & owning your post-click experience.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/fermatcommerce

Subscribe to the Bitesized Newsletter 📧

Weekly growth marketing, ecommerce and entrepreneurship insights, analysis and tips delivered straight to your inbox with actionable takeaways you can apply today.

Read by over 2,000 Founders, Brand Builders, Marketers join here: bitesized.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Jake Karls is co-founder & rainmaker of Mid-Day Squares, Forbes 30 under 30, EY entrepreneur of the year finalist 2024, and the only guy I’ve seen post videos of him dancing with customers & partners on LinkedIn.

Jake is the epitome of how building a personal brand, leading with authenticity and vulnerability is a powerful way brands and brand founders can connect with consumers. We dived into effective storytelling for brands, why traditional marketing no longer works and explored Jake's journey from being lost and without direction, to joining Mid-Day squares, selling over 40 Million Bars of Chocolate and the highs and lows throughout that journey.

Covered in the Episode:

• The power & importance of your mindset & self awareness.
• WTH is a rainmaker? And why do we need more of them in businesses?
• De-stigmatizing therapy.
• What led to Jake needing to make a change in his life.
• Effective storytelling for brands.
• Selling more chocolate bars than the population of Canada: what drove Mid-Day Squares success.
• The truth about entrepreneurship: how to navigate the ups and downs.
• Why traditional marketing tactics don't work.

🎧🎥

Listen on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/Bitesized-Apple

Watch on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/Bitesized-YouTube

🔗

Ship More Winning Ads With Motion 🚀

Motion empowers your creative and marketing teams with the data they need to make the right decisions, visualized with easily digestible and customizable reporting that clearly identifies the key drivers of creative performance taking the guesswork out of creative to generate more revenue from your paid social ads.

Trusted by over 2,100 teams, book a demo and get a FREE 14 day trial: https://tinyurl.com/motioncreative

Vetted Creators to upscale your Paid Social 🤝

Insense is an end-to-end UGC and influencer marketing platform trusted by 1,700+ eComm brands to source high-performing UGC content for organic and paid social, within 10 days from responsive creators.

Enjoy one centralized space to manage your collaborations from briefing to automated agreements and content usage rights, from UGC to TikTok Shop and Meta Partnership ads - all easily managed by 1 marketer.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/InsensePro

Convert more traffic with Post-Click Optimization 📈

FERMÀT enables your marketing team create funnels the same way they create ads. From dynamic landing pages, to targeted PDPs, to custom carts, FERMÀT enables you to convert more paid traffic by experimenting & owning your post-click experience.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/fermatcommerce

Subscribe to the Bitesized Newsletter 📧

Weekly growth marketing, ecom and entrepreneurship insights, analysis and tips delivered straight to your inbox.

Read by over 2,000 Founders, Brand Builders, Marketers join here: bitesized.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Dan is Founder & CEO of Create, the first modern creatine brand, hitting a $25M run rate in 19 months.

With Create, Dan is looking to de-stigmatize and modernize creatine usage and has been able to scale the business fast based on a re-framing of the benefits, through a gummy vs the traditional powder intake, leaning heavily into a subscription model - the holy grail for CPG.

Covered in the full Episode:

• How his background in finance led to founding Create: and what it taught him about the DTC model.
• Modernizing and de-stigmatizing Creatine usage.
• Building and scaling a successful Subscription model for CPG.
• Marketing tactics used to scale the brand to $25M run rate in 19 months, without an internal team.
• How coming from a family of entrepreneurs shaped his thinking.
• The journey of expanding from DTC to Retail / omni channel.
• Product expansion and navigating FDA.
• 2024 DTC predictions.
• + much much more

🔗

Ship More Winning Ads With Motion 🚀

Motion empowers your creative and marketing teams with the data they need to make the right decisions, visualized with easily digestible and customizable reporting that clearly identifies the key drivers of creative performance taking the guesswork out of creative to generate more revenue from your paid social ads.

Trusted by over 2,100 teams, book a demo and get a FREE 14 day trial: https://tinyurl.com/motioncreative

Vetted Creators to upscale your Paid Social 🤝

Insense is an end-to-end UGC and influencer marketing platform trusted by 1,700+ eComm brands to source high-performing UGC content for organic and paid social, within 10 days from responsive creators.

Enjoy one centralized space to manage your collaborations from briefing to automated agreements and content usage rights, from UGC to TikTok Shop and Meta Partnership ads - all easily managed by 1 marketer.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/InsensePro

Convert more traffic with Post-Click Optimization 📈

FERMÀT enables your marketing team create funnels the same way they create ads. From dynamic landing pages, to targeted PDPs, to custom carts, FERMÀT enables you to convert more paid traffic by experimenting & owning your post-click experience.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/fermatcommerce

Subscribe to the Bitesized Newsletter 📧

Weekly growth marketing, ecommerce and entrepreneurship insights, analysis and tips delivered straight to your inbox with actionable takeaways you can apply today.

Read by over 2,000 Founders, Brand Builders, Marketers join here: bitesized.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Conor Begley is Chief Strategy Officer at CreatorIQ, an Influencer and creator platform that works with some of the worlds biggest brands including Nike, Disney, Estee Lauder & more.

Many brands try and fail at influencer marketing. Why?

In this episode we dive into how brands have scaled successfully off the back of effective influencer marketing, what smaller brands can learn from the likes of Gymshark and Skims, the explosion of the creator economy and shifts in how platforms like Meta, TikTok and YouTube are supporting enhanced opportunities for brands to drive brand awareness and growth through influencer and creator partnerships.

🤝

Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieljamesgraham/

Connect with Daniel on Twitter:https://x.com/foodog85

🔗

Ship More Winning Ads With Motion 🚀

Motion empowers your creative and marketing teams with the data they need to make the right decisions, visualized with easily digestible and customizable reporting that clearly identifies the key drivers of creative performance taking the guesswork out of creative to generate more revenue from your paid social ads.

Trusted by over 2,100 teams, book a demo and get a FREE 14 day trial: https://tinyurl.com/motioncreative

Vetted Creators to upscale your Paid Social 🤝

Insense is an end-to-end UGC and influencer marketing platform trusted by 1,700+ eComm brands to source high-performing UGC content for organic and paid social, within 10 days from responsive creators.

Enjoy one centralized space to manage your collaborations from briefing to automated agreements and content usage rights, from UGC to TikTok Shop and Meta Partnership ads - all easily managed by 1 marketer.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/InsensePro

Convert more traffic with Post-Click Optimization 📈

FERMÀT enables your marketing team create funnels the same way they create ads. From dynamic landing pages, to targeted PDPs, to custom carts, FERMÀT enables you to convert more paid traffic by experimenting & owning your post-click experience.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/fermatcommerce

Subscribe to the Bitesized Newsletter 📧

Weekly growth marketing, ecommerce and entrepreneurship insights, analysis and tips delivered straight to your inbox with actionable takeaways you can apply today.

Read by over 2,000 Founders, Brand Builders, Marketers join here: bitesized.beehiiv.com/subscribe

This week’s guest is Noah Tucker, founder and CEO of Social Snowball, an affiliate & referral marketing platform for eCommerce. Their modern and automated affiliate programs drive millions in revenue for over 2,000 leading brands such as Solawave, Obvi, and Javy Coffee.

Covered in the Episode:

• Noah’s entrepreneurial journey and what sparked Noah to build Social Snowball, catered to DTC and eCommerce brands
• The ‘murky’ world of affiliate marketing, and how its evolved over time to what Noah calls ‘modern affiliates’
• The different types of Affiliates, from influencers, creators, customers and more
• Turning customers into Affiliates
• The power of owning your affiliate customer acquisition channel
• Using performance incentives to drive effective affiliate partnerships
• How to win with affiliate marketing, from discovery, content to affiliate agreements
• The Do’s and Don’ts of building a revenue driving affiliate and referral program

It's an affiliate 101 master class on how to set up, scale and drive revenue for your brand through affiliate marketing.

🔗

Ship More Winning Ads With Motion 🚀

Motion empowers your creative and marketing teams with the data they need to make the right decisions, visualized with easily digestible and customizable reporting that clearly identifies the key drivers of creative performance taking the guesswork out of creative to generate more revenue from your paid social ads.

Trusted by over 2,100 teams, book a demo and get a FREE 14 day trial: https://tinyurl.com/motioncreative

Vetted Creators to upscale your Paid Social 🤝

Insense is an end-to-end UGC and influencer marketing platform trusted by 1,700+ eComm brands to source high-performing UGC content for organic and paid social, within 10 days from responsive creators.

Enjoy one centralized space to manage your collaborations from briefing to automated agreements and content usage rights, from UGC to TikTok Shop and Meta Partnership ads - all easily managed by 1 marketer.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/InsensePro

Convert more traffic with Post-Click Optimization 📈

FERMÀT enables your marketing team create funnels the same way they create ads. From dynamic landing pages, to targeted PDPs, to custom carts, FERMÀT enables you to convert more paid traffic by experimenting & owning your post-click experience.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/fermatcommerce

Subscribe to the Bitesized Newsletter 📧

Weekly growth marketing, ecommerce and entrepreneurship insights, analysis and tips delivered straight to your inbox with actionable takeaways you can apply today.

Read by over 2,000 Founders, Brand Builders, Marketers join here: bitesized.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Dave Rekuc is President of skincare brand Bambu Earth, and a 15 year veteran in e-commerce, initially starting by helping his dad sell backpacks online in 2007. Bit by the concept of modeling out the math behind marketing, it kickstarted Dave’s journey that saw him lead marketing at several companies both agency side and brand side.

Bambu Earth is a primarily DTC natural skincare brand & Dave gave incredible, detailed insight into what it takes to scale brands from sub $100k in annual revenue and how whats needed to scale a brand changes as you move through the gears of growth.

It’s a consumer mindset, tactical marketing heavy episode, that goes into great detail on how Dave has helped scale Bambu to 8-figures, with many lessons and takeaways that other brand founders and marketers can apply to their business.

Covered in the Episode:

• Tactics used to scale Bambu Earth to an 8-figure brand
• Why working at agencies gives you a leg-up to work at brands later in your career
• Marketing advice for brands at different levels of scale
• Selling benefits vs features (is it that black and white?)
• How to have fewer competitors as a brand and battle a transient consumer mindset, especially within beauty.
• When it's time to diversify your marketing channels
• Fixed costs vs distribution: e-commerce brand financials 101
• How to get consumers to purchase products at higher price points
• His take on authentic customer reviews and market research
• CGC vs UGC content (and AGC!)
• Aligning funnels to different products and how that led to growth for Bambu
• Bambu Earth's digital marketing strategy for the next 2-3 years

🔗

Ship More Winning Ads With Motion 🚀

Motion empowers your creative and marketing teams with the data they need to make the right decisions, visualized with easily digestible and customizable reporting that clearly identifies the key drivers of creative performance taking the guesswork out of creative to generate more revenue from your paid social ads.

Trusted by over 2,100 teams, book a demo and get a FREE 14 day trial: https://tinyurl.com/motioncreative

Vetted Creators to upscale your Paid Social 🤝

Insense is an end-to-end UGC and influencer marketing platform trusted by 1,700+ eComm brands to source high-performing UGC content for organic and paid social. Enjoy one centralized space to manage your collaborations from briefing to automated agreements and content usage rights, from UGC to TikTok Shop and Meta Partnership ads - all easily managed by 1 marketer.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/InsensePro

Convert more traffic with Post-Click Optimization 📈

FERMÀT enables your marketing team create funnels the same way they create ads. From dynamic landing pages, to targeted PDPs, to custom carts, FERMÀT enables you to convert more paid traffic by experimenting & owning your post-click experience.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/fermatcommerce

Subscribe to the Bitesized Newsletter 📧

Weekly growth marketing, e-com and entrepreneurship insights, analysis with actionable takeaways you can apply today.

Read by over 2,000+ Founders, Brand Builders, Marketers join here: bitesized.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Collin is the founder and CEO of Llovesick, an LA based fashion brand that’s bringing meaning to brand building. We dived into Collins youth in Ohio, how losing his way in life & chasing money doing medical sales ultimately led him to starting the brand.

Covered in the Episode:

• Finding his purpose: from medical sales to founding the brand with personal meaning: "I don't know if it's gonna make me money, but I think it's gonna make me happy."
• The meaning behind the name "Llovesick" and what’s with the L's?.
• Getting product on MBA, NFL, UFC stars as a launchpad for the brand.
• How he leant into Gorilla marketing and social media, lessons from Jerry Lorenzo & the power of word of mouth marketing.
• The marketing tactics and focus on content marketing used to drive rapid growth.
• Advice if you are feeling stuck in a job or career you have no passion for.
• How social media has skewed what ‘success’ truly means.
• Collin's advice to people wanting or in early stages of starting a brand.
• Why he believes entrepreneurship is a blessing and a curse.
• How he deals with failure: "Discipline gets you through anything."

🤝

Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieljamesgraham/

Check out Llovesick: https://llovesick.com

Connect with Collin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/collinmcmannis

🔗

Ship More Winning Ads With Motion 🚀

Motion empowers your creative and marketing teams with the data they need to make the right decisions, visualized with easily digestible and customizable reporting that clearly identifies the key drivers of creative performance taking the guesswork out of creative to generate more revenue from your paid social ads.

Book a demo and get a FREE 14 day trial: https://tinyurl.com/motioncreative

Vetted Creators to upscale your Paid Social 🤝

Insense is an end-to-end UGC and influencer marketing platform trusted by 1,700+ eComm brands to source high-performing UGC content for organic and paid social, within 10 days from responsive creators.

Enjoy one centralized space to manage your collaborations from briefing to automated agreements and content usage rights, from UGC to TikTok Shop and Meta Partnership ads - all easily managed by 1 marketer.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/InsensePro

Convert more traffic with Post-Click Optimization 📈

FERMÀT enables your marketing team create funnels the same way they create ads. From dynamic landing pages, to targeted PDPs, to custom carts, FERMÀT enables you to convert more paid traffic by experimenting & owning your post-click experience.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/fermatcommerce

Subscribe to the Bitesized Newsletter 📧

Growth marketing, ecommerce and entrepreneurship insights & tips delivered straight to your inbox with actionable takeaways you can apply today.

Join here: bitesized.beehiiv.com/subscribe

What has the rise of the creator conomy meant for creators, consumers and brands?

Former Puma Marketing Director and founder of Unmtchd.Brands, Oana Leonte gives her take.

If you liked the episode, please subscribe, like, share and leave a review. Thank you for the support!

🤝

Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieljamesgraham/

Connect with Daniel on Twitter: https://x.com/foodog85

Connect with Oana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oana-leonte/

Connect with Oana on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oanaoleonte/

🎧🎥

Listen on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/Bitesized-Spotify

Listen on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/Bitesized-Apple

Watch on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/Bitesized-YouTube

Follow on Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/Bitesized-Instagram

🔗

Ship More Winning Ads With Motion 🚀

Motion empowers your creative and marketing teams with the data they need to make the right decisions, visualized with easily digestible and customizable reporting that clearly identifies the key drivers of creative performance taking the guesswork out of creative to generate more revenue from your paid social ads.

Trusted by over 2,100 teams, book a demo and get a FREE 14 day trial: https://tinyurl.com/motioncreative

Vetted Creators to upscale your Paid Social 🤝

Insense is an end-to-end UGC and influencer marketing platform trusted by 1,700+ eComm brands to source high-performing UGC content for organic and paid social, within 10 days from responsive creators.

Enjoy one centralized space to manage your collaborations from briefing to automated agreements and content usage rights, from UGC to TikTok Shop and Meta Partnership ads - all easily managed by 1 marketer.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/InsensePro

Convert more traffic with Post-Click Optimization 📈

FERMÀT enables your marketing team create funnels the same way they create ads. From dynamic landing pages, to targeted PDPs, to custom carts, FERMÀT enables you to convert more paid traffic by experimenting & owning your post-click experience.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/fermatcommerce