Aaron Powell, the Founder and CEO of Bunch Bikes, has mastered the magic formula for converting strong community bonds into customers. In our first episode of the Commerce Chefs summer series, listen to Kyle and Tom’s full, unaired interview with Aaron as he shares his secrets on creating community referrals, building a six-star customer service system, and even his experience behind the scenes of Shark Tank. 

The founder’s journey can be messy, chaotic, and heartbreaking at times. Despite the stories of overnight successes we’re often fed in the media, starting and scaling a business is rarely a linear path forward. In part two of Commerce Chefs’ Founders Keepers series, Tom and Kyle share previously unreleased nuggets of wisdom from past founder guests all about the long and winding road to entrepreneurial success. They discuss the benefits of delusion in the business world, how a compelling narrative can keep a sense of purpose at the forefront, and why balance is so key for founders. The episode features raw and real clips from five founders who have seen massive success with their businesses. Sharing candid views on passion, purpose and finding joy along the way, the founders dig deep on what makes them tick and the big “why” that underscores it all.

It’s easy for founders to fall into thinking that the grass is greener with more capital. But does more capital always equal greater success? In this episode of Commerce Chefs, Tom and Kyle sit down with experts Derek Rubenstein—VC Investor and Founder of Ives Capital, an investment firm focused on lower-market niche consumer brands—and Cameron Martel—a serial entrepreneur and the General Manager of A07 Online Media. They discuss all things capital and explore how DTC brands can begin to secure funding, or whether it’s wise for them to embark on that journey at all. They touch on common mistakes made by brands when raising capital for their business, and the best way forward once they do.

In the upcoming summer series of Commerce Chefs, Tom and Kyle will be highlighting some of their favourite founders and commerce leaders from Season 1. Every two weeks beginning in July, a new long-form and previously unreleased interview with a commerce chef will be released to keep you inspired all summer long. Each episode will feature new ideas and insights that will help you be a better leader, and make the brand you lead better, too. This appe-teasing episode features hand-selected clips from previous guests Marina Parejo, formerly from O2 Canada and Shopify featured on Episode 4, Courtney Buhler, Founder and CEO of Sugarlash Pro from Episode 5 and Aaron Powell, Founder and CEO Bunch Bikes from Episode 10. In the episode, the guests discuss everything from building a community around your brand, the technology stack you need to power your ecomm efforts, and top tips to scale globally —completely raw and unfiltered.

Brand equity matters, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s top of mind for every company or consumer. So, as a DTC leader, how much energy should you put towards creating it? In this week’s episode of Commerce Chefs, Tom and Kyle chat with three experts that have built incredible brands by building long-lasting relationships with their customers. Meet Aaron Powell, the customer-service obsessed Founder of Bunch Bikes and a successfully funded Shark Tank superstar, and Steve Miller, the VP and Executive Creative Director at Fuse Create who's worked with iconic brands like Air Miles, Hilton, and Canadian Tire. Plus, welcome back Matt Taylor, Director of Consumer Insights at Jamieson Vitamins who you may remember from episode 07, “Resurrecting Retail.” They discuss the importance of brand equity, the recipe you need to successfully create it, and how providing magic to your customers will always generate ROI.

Although the future will always be uncertain, as leaders, we try our best to understand what’s on the horizon. As commerce continues to rapidly shift into digital, what are the key elements that we need to keep our eyes on? In this episode of Commerce Chefs, Kyle and Tom sit down to give you all the answers you’ve been dying to know. They discuss the importance of community, what personalization actually means, how to bring more joy and humanity into online experiences, and the need for businesses to have a positive social impact. Plus, an appearance is made from producer Julia, who’s always setting the team up for success… except when she forgets to book us guests.

When we reflect on scaling our businesses, certain things seem implicit. Yet, bigger is not always better. Should we always be aiming to scale for the sake of it? And how do we scale without losing the soul of the brand we worked so hard to build?

On this week’s episode of Commerce Chefs, Kyle and Tom chat with experts who have found success scaling, without losing their souls: Joel Silver, an e-comm giant who has scaled iconic brands like Indigo and David’s Tea, Sophie Wilmer, the General Manager of Kitras Art Glass, a generational family business that has scaled into Canada’s largest hot glass studio; and Roxanne Law, the COO of Diva International, a brand that notably defined an entire product category—one they now lead.

They discuss what it means to scale without sacrificing the soul of your brand. They also look beyond scale as a monetary construct and break down what it means to scale vision and impact.

Learn more about our guests:

• Joel Silver: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelsilver/
• Sophie Wilmer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiewilmer/
• Roxanne Law: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roxanne-law-a4a50553/

When we reflect on scaling our businesses, certain things seem implicit. Yet, bigger is not always better. Should we always be aiming to scale for the sake of it? And how do we scale without losing the soul of the brand we worked so hard to build?

On this week’s episode of Commerce Chefs, Kyle and Tom chat with experts who have found success scaling, without losing their souls: Joel Silver, an e-comm giant who has scaled iconic brands like Indigo and David’s Tea, Sophie Wilmer, the General Manager of Kitras Art Glass, a generational family business that has scaled into Canada’s largest hot glass studio; and Roxanne Law, the COO of Diva International, a brand that notably defined an entire product category—one they now lead. 

They discuss what it means to scale without sacrificing the soul of your brand. They also look beyond scale as a monetary construct and break down what it means to scale vision and impact.

It isn’t a secret that retail has had a rough year. The global COVID-19 pandemic has forced many brands to rethink the way they reach, serve, and retain their customers through brick and mortar retail… but what if this is only the beginning?

On this week’s episode of Commerce Chef’s, Kyle and Tom chat with expert George Gleeson, a consultant at the illustrious Boston Consulting Group, Matt Taylor, Director of Insights at Jamieson Vitamins, and Julia Chan, Director of Ecommerce at 49th Parallel and previous leader at Lululemon and Sage.

Together they discuss retail’s current landscape, the tension between brick and mortar and online offerings, and why “omnichannel” isn’t just another buzzword - but the needed way of doing business.

Commerce Chefs has hit 1 billion subscribers on Apple! To show their appreciation, Tom and Kyle are bringing you a very special episode, filled with insights, informative jargon, and unaired moments from the show.