Michelle Cordeiro Grant is an accomplished entrepreneur with a passion for creating innovative, community-based businesses. In 2016, she founded the intimates brand LIVELY and sold it three years later for $105 million. Following this successful exit, she pivoted to her next venture: GORGIE, a wellness energy drink.

In this episode of DTC Pod, Michelle shares valuable insights on building a successful DTC brand from the ground up. She discusses the importance of building a community around the brand, leveraging social media, and using data and customer feedback to drive product innovation.

Michelle also touches on the strategic decisions behind GORGIE's retail expansion, partnering with influential creators, and creating a magazine to inspire and connect with customers. Throughout the conversation, she emphasizes authenticity, quality, and customer-centricity as crucial elements in establishing a strong brand identity.

Interact with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack.

On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:
1. Brand and Community Building
2. Data-Driven Product Development
3. Nurturing Retail Partnerships
4. Strategic Market Positioning
5. Defining and Capturing Your ICP
6. Organic Influencer Partnerships
7. The Intersection of Fashion and CPG

Timestamps
00:00 Michelle Cordeiro Grant’s background; the idea behind GORGIE
03:46 How customer feedback factored in product and brand development for GORGIE
07:40 Community as a buzzword vs as part of brand identity
10:01 Community building as an integral part of brand building
11:28 How to keep an online community engaged; consumer vs community funnel
16:50 GORGIE’s partnerships: Erewhon, Whole Foods, Sprouts, H-E-B, etc.
20:05 Overlaps between two industries: fashion and CPG
22:14 The story and vision behind GORGIE’s magazine
23:57 Defining GORGIE’s ICP and building a brand around them
26:54 GORGIE’s growth channels, how they nurture top-of-funnel and retain customers
29:42 Year two of GORGIE: online and retail initiatives
31:19 Brand-creator partnerships and the importance of organic alignment

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.  

Additional episodes you might like:

• #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

-----
Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further?
Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.

Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox?
Check out our newsletter here.

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

Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!

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Michelle Cordeiro Grant - Founder and CEO of GORGIE
Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Castmagic
Ramon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic

Noah Tucker is the founder of Social Snowball, an automated affiliate and referral marketing platform for e-commerce that drives significant revenue for over 2,000 brands, including Solawave, Obvi, and Javy Coffee.

In this episode of the DTC POD, Noah shares powerful strategies for brands to supercharge their affiliate programs and drive significant revenue growth. He covers how to find and choose the right influencers, why it’s important to keep the activation process as smooth as possible, what brands can do to keep affiliates engaged, and how to measure the success of an affiliate program.

Interact with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack.

On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:
1. The Evolution of Affiliate Marketing
2. Affiliate Marketing Challenges Faced by Brands
3. Affiliate Discovery, Activation, and Engagement
4. Affiliate Program Commissions
5. Attribution in Affiliate Marketing
6. Affiliate Marketing Trends and Future Outlook

Timestamps
00:00 Evolution of the meaning of “affiliate” in e-commerce
05:07 Challenges brands face when running an affiliate marketing program
07:32 Strategies for affiliate activation: engagement flow and tier structures
11:52 Things that get influencers interested in working with a brand
15:09 Optimal affiliate marketing commission rates
15:49 How to choose the right influencer for affiliate partnership
19:18 Strategies for finding and recruiting affiliate partners
23:11 How to measure the success of an affiliate program
25:03 Affiliate marketing trends and future outlook
29:05 Attribution in affiliate marketing; a tool that prevents coupon code leaks
33:11 Key initiatives of Social Snowball

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.  

Additional episodes you might like:

• #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

-----
Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further?
Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.

Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox?
Check out our newsletter here.

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

Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!

DTCPod Instagram
DTCPod Twitter
DTCPod TikTok  

Noah Tucker - Founder of Social Snowball
Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Castmagic
Ramon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic

Ellen Marie Bennett is the founder and chief brand officer of Hedley & Bennett, a culinary lifestyle brand that started as a B2B company, offering high-quality aprons to professional chefs, and later expanded both its product line (to include other kitchen items) and customer base (now largely DTC).

In this episode of DTC Pod, Ellen shares her journey of starting the company while working as a line cook. She emphasizes the importance of a slow and steady approach to building a business, focusing on financial responsibility and gathering feedback from core customers to improve products. 

Ellen discusses her strategic approach to marketing, building an engaged community, and expanding the brand through collaborations with chefs, influencers, and creators. 

The conversation also touches on Hedley & Bennett’s expansion into DTC, their plans to go omnichannel, and how they’re investing sustainably for long-term success.

Interact with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack.

On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:
1. Grassroots Marketing
2. Strategic Financial Management
3. Customer Feedback in Product Development
4. Building a Brand Community
5. Product Seeding and Influencer Marketing
6. Expanding from B2B to DTC
7. Business Growth and Sustainability

Timestamps
00:00 How Hedley & Bennett came about
05:05 Why Ellen Marie Bennett started an apron brand
07:28 Financial lessons from the first years of Hedley & Bennett
15:03 Building a brand community
16:03 How Hedley & Bennett expanded from B2B to DTC
21:05 The importance of strong customer partnerships
24:13 Product seeding and influencer marketing
29:04 How customer feedback factors in the product iteration cycle
33:09 Prioritizing long-term brand vision and investments

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.  

Additional episodes you might like:

• #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

-----
Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further?
Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.

Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox?
Check out our newsletter here.

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

Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!

DTCPod Instagram
DTCPod Twitter
DTCPod TikTok  

Ellen Marie Bennett - CEO and Founder of Hedley & Bennett
Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Castmagic
Ramon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic

Josh Piepmeier helps challenger brands outperform their fiercest competitors by targeting the highest-volume, most profitable keywords in their industry. With his company Meriwether, he crafts strategic SEO campaigns that drive immediate profits and build long-term, sustainable growth. 

Josh’s SEO approach has successfully gone head-to-head with giants like Amazon, Tiffany’s, and Macy's for competitive purchase-intent keywords. His expertise has transformed businesses struggling to gain traction into thriving enterprises with significant customer acquisition from organic search results. 

In this episode of DTC Pod, Josh provides real-world examples of how businesses have benefited from investing in SEO and offers advice for DTC brands looking to build an effective SEO strategy. We cover topics such as establishing topical authority, the relationship between ads and organic search traffic, and the impact of AI on SEO.

Interact with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack.

On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:
1. Importance of Investing in SEO
2. SEO Strategies for E-commerce Brands
3. When to Invest in SEO
4. Role of Branded Search in SEO
5. Relationship Between Ads and SEO
6. Topical Authority vs Domain Authority
7. The Impact of AI on SEO
8. E-commerce vs Non-E-commerce SEO

Timestamps
00:00 Josh Piepmeier’s background
04:25 When brands should start investing in SEO
07:04 How to optimize for branded searches
10:36 Off-page SEO for new domains
13:54 E-commerce SEO vs standard SEO
16:58 Google AI updates and how it’s affecting SEO
 20:16 On using AI for website content
22:46 How paid ads factor into SEO
26:03 How to create an effective SEO strategy
30:00 Importance of topical authority for small brands
33:20 Outcomes for brands that have focused on SEO

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.  

Additional episodes you might like:

• #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

-----
Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further?
Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.

Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox?
Check out our newsletter here.

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

Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!

DTCPod Instagram
DTCPod Twitter
DTCPod TikTok  

Josh Piepmeier - Founder of Meriwether
Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Castmagic
Ramon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic

Mina Elias is a multiple 7-figure Amazon FBA seller and renowned PPC expert. He is also the founder of Trivium Group, a company that helps brands navigate and dominate the Amazon marketplace.

In this episode of DTC Pod, Mina details a holistic approach to enhancing the presence and profitability of any brand on Amazon, focusing on three pillars: traffic, click-through rate, and conversion rate. He covers the factors affecting each of these metrics and how to drive growth at every stage of the Amazon sales funnel.

Interact with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack.

On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:
1. Strategies for New Amazon Brands
2. How to Grow Traffic, CTR, and CVR on Amazon
3. Factors that Affect Sales and Conversion on Amazon
4. How to Optimize for Paid and Organic Search on Amazon
5. Tips for Optimizing Amazon Product Listings
6. Ways to Increase AOV and LTV on Amazon

Timestamps
00:00 Mina Elias’ background, how he started an Amazon agency
04:04 Three core pillars to scaling your brand on Amazon
05:39 Maximizing product visibility through strategic paid advertising
11:13 How to budget for Amazon spending
13:31 Tips for structuring Amazon PPC campaigns, setting up Amazon DSP
16:52 Growing your organic traffic on Amazon
19:33 Breaking in as a new brand; the importance of product differentiation
21:17 Seven factors that affect click-through rate (CTR) on Amazon
25:04 How price affects Amazon reviews and star ratings
27:33 Split testing discounts, coupons, and tracking profits
31:22 Best practices for optimizing Amazon product titles
32:21 Why choose Amazon FBA over FBM
33:34 How to earn the Amazon Best-Seller Badge
35:03 Factors that affect conversion rate on Amazon
36:45 Considering the buyer's perspective when creating an Amazon strategy
38:09 Optimizing videos on Amazon product listings
39:39 How to write effective Amazon bullet points
40:05 Amazon virtual bundles and how they affect conversion rate
42:51 Brand story; standard Amazon A+ Content vs Premium A+ Content
45:19 Leveraging user-generated content (UGC) to boost Amazon sales
46:25 Amazon Posts and Amazon Storefront
47:47 Importance of reviews with images on Amazon and how to get them
50:01 Ways to increase average order value (AOV) on Amazon
51:13 Ways to increase lifetime value (LTV) on Amazon
53:03 Testing and optimizing Amazon product listings

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.  

Additional episodes you might like:

• #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

-----
Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further?
Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.

Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox?
Check out our newsletter here.

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

Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!

DTCPod Instagram
DTCPod Twitter
DTCPod TikTok  

Mina Elias - Founder of Trivium Group and Chief Executive Officer at MMA Nutrition LLC
Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Castmagic
Ramon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic

Will Baumann is the co-founder and CEO of Fourthwall, a company that empowers creators to sell products online without needing to be e-commerce experts.

At Fourthwall, they handle sales tax, supply chain, customer support, and more so creators can focus on making content and growing their community.

In this episode of DTC Pod, Will shares his insights on the complexities of building a business out of one’s personal brand and how Fourthwall has been aiding this process for over 50,000 creators.

Will also touches on the power of creators today, the trends they’re seeing at Fourthwall in terms of product popularity and paid ad usage, and Fourthwall’s differentiation strategy, growth channels, and future plans.

Interact with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack.

On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:
1. E-commerce for Content Creators
2. Fourthwall’s Target Audience and Market Positioning
3. How to Get Started with Fourthwall
4. Merchandising Strategies for Creators
5. Growth Channels: Word-of-Mouth, Cold Outbound, SEO
6. Community-Driven Sales vs Paid Ads
7. The Power of Content Creators

Timestamps
00:00 How Fourthwall helps creators build their businesses
06:39 What creators need to know about sales tax 
09:50 Identifying a customer persona for Fourthwall
11:53 Steps to get set up with Fourthwall
14:09 Fourthwall then vs now, from manual to automated processes
18:12 Distribution trends on Fourthwall, community vs paid ads
19:05 The most popular products creators sell and how to scale
20:10 Starting a business vs creating a new revenue stream
22:04 Fourthwall’s future plans and growth projections
24:10 Positioning against Shopify and Pietra
25:44 How Fourthwall reaches its ICPs: word of mouth, cold outbound, SEO

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.  

Additional episodes you might like:

• #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

-----
Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further?
Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.

Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox?
Check out our newsletter here.

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

Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!

DTCPod Instagram
DTCPod Twitter
DTCPod TikTok  

Will Baumann - Co-Founder and CEO at Fourthwall
Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Castmagic
Ramon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic

Colin Flood is the Vice President of Marketing at Unreal Snacks, a better-for-you chocolate brand with widespread distribution across numerous retailers in the United States and an established direct-to-consumer platform. 

At Unreal, Colin plays a pivotal role in scaling  e-commerce and D2C operations, as well as in expanding their presence into major retailers like Costco, Target, and Walmart. 

In this episode of DTC Pod, Colin Flood discusses the ups and downs of their marketing initiatives at Unreal, how they are bridging the gap between retail and digital customer experiences, and what their strategies are for data-driven marketing and budgeting across multiple channels. 

We also explore how Unreal is leveraging community involvement and consumer networks to drive brand awareness.

Interact with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack.

On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:
1. DTC and Retail Marketing Strategies
2. Omni-Channel Presence
3. Retail and Digital Marketing Mix
4. Market Dynamics and Education
5. Amazon Strategy
6. Community Engagement
7. Consumer Network Growth
8. Customer Reactivation Strategies
9. Contextual Targeting
10. Marketing Team Structure

Timestamps
00:00 Colin Flood’s background; experience in e-commerce, marketing, and branding
03:20 Unreal Snacks — mission & vision, retail & DTC strategy, then vs now
10:39 In-store and online marketing strategies
15:02 Creative ways to get in front of customers
18:39 Amazon strategy, shifting to FBA
22:49 Marketing team structure and responsibilities
24:27 Relationship between marketing, community, and social
28:16 Marketing goals, data, and budget allocation
31:04 Contextual targeting, new product launch, reactivation strategies
33:26 Challenges in low funnel marketing
35:03 Bridging customer experiences between retail and digital
36:47 New chocolate products, new retail partnership

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.  

Additional episodes you might like:

• #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

-----
Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further?
Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.

Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox?
Check out our newsletter here.

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

Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!

DTCPod Instagram
DTCPod Twitter
DTCPod TikTok  

Colin Flood - VP of Marketing at Unreal Snacks
Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Castmagic
Ramon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic

David Hoffman and Samir Rayani co-founded Next Big Shop, where they leverage their expertise to analyze and interpret publicly available but hard-to-access e-commerce data for insights into retail success and product trends. As partners, they collaborate on developing data products that inform and guide direct-to-consumer strategies for various brands and industries.

In this episode of DTC Pod, David and Samir explore e-commerce trends, the significance of retail presence for certain product categories, and the intricacies of building and using data products to analyze market and sales data. They also cover the challenges faced when building data products, the role of data in measuring the success of brand strategies, and the need for precise data communication.

Interact with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack.

On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:
1. E-commerce Sales Data Analysis
2. DTC Brand Strategies
3. Seasonality and Market Trends
4. Data-Driven Decision-Making
5. Subscription Business Models
6. Data Product Challenges

Timestamps
02:15 David and Samir’s background and experience in building data products
08:31 What data says about commerce trends in 2024
15:03 One of the hottest accessories brand: Blenders
18:55 Alo in apparel, how data can help optimize inventory turnover
20:57 Comparing brand strategies and impact on sales
24:52 Comparing beauty brands: Jones Road, Thrive, Peach and Lily, P. Louise
30:32 Using data to confirm or invalidate assumptions
31:39 Trending DTC topics and best-selling products in 2024
36:03 The relationship between demand and supply share
38:59 Beverage brands, DTC and retail strategy
43:34 Subscription business model, how subscription factors in data on Next Big Shop
44:50 Retail distribution, using data to define success metrics
48:45 Challenges of building data products

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.  

Additional episodes you might like:

• #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

-----
Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further?
Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.

Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox?
Check out our newsletter here.

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

Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!

DTCPod Instagram
DTCPod Twitter
DTCPod TikTok  

David Hoffman and Samir Rayani - Co-Founders of Next Big Shop
Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Castmagic
Ramon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic

John Morgan is the founder of Pelagic, a unique agency of top tier operators that helps brands tackle supply chain, logistics & operations. Prior to starting Pelagic, he served as VP of Ops at Seed Health where he built the infrastructure behind one of the fastest growing modern health brands. Before getting into DTC he worked on the Falcon 9 rocket team at SpaceX. His expertise spans across optimizing supply chains for efficiency, sustainability, and growth, especially for early-stage companies.

In this episode of DTC Pod, John talks about the iterative nature of supply chain management and the need for startups to continuously adapt and refine their processes. He highlights the use of technology to streamline operations, the significance of understanding the complexities of global supply chains, especially under the strain of events like the COVID-19 pandemic, and shares a framework for setting up supply chains with a strong foundation in operational details and supplier partnerships.

Interact with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack.

On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:
1. Iterative Supply Chain Management
2. Third-Party Logistics Partnerships
3. Fractional Operations and Technology
4. Profitability and Cost Optimization
6. Impact of COVID-19 on Supply Chain
7. Future Tech in Operations
8. Building and Scaling Supply Chains

Timestamps
02:09 John Morgan’s background and experience working on SpaceX 
06:39 Leading the operations at Seed Health
09:37 The effect of COVID on global manufacturing, supply chain, and operations
11:46 Pelagic as a supply chain service provider
13:15 How to get supply chain right from the get-go; mistakes to avoid
18:56 Adapting supply chains to growth and change
23:41 Hiring for supply chain, considerations for early-stage founders
26:35 Optimizing for profits vs quality, financial optimization of supply chains
30:26 What founders need to know before importing
33:55 Common mistakes to avoid in supply chain management

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.  

Additional episodes you might like:

• #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

-----
Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further?
Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.

Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox?
Check out our newsletter here.

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

Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!

DTCPod Instagram
DTCPod Twitter
DTCPod TikTok  

John Morgan - Founder of Pelagic
Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Castmagic
Ramon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic

Leah Marcus and Yasaman Bakhtiar are the co-founders of Good Girl Snacks, a company that has made a name for itself in the snack industry with a focus on creating modern, female-oriented branding, particularly with their product "Hot Girl Pickles." 

Leah and Yasaman launched their brand by leveraging social media, especially TikTok, identifying a gap in the pickle market for their niche audience. Despite their lack of experience in the food and beverage industry, they were able to carve out a unique space and build a dedicated community around their brand through their knowledge of social media marketing and content creation.

In this episode of DTC Pod, Leah and Yasaman pull back the curtain on their content and marketing strategy. We gain insights into organic brand-building, how it contributes to maintaining authenticity and connection with an ad-averse Gen Z audience, and how they use it to get real-time engagement and feedback to refine and enhance their product line. We also learn the unique challenges and learning curves Leah and Yasaman faced in the CPG industry as they built Good Girl Snacks from the ground up.

Interact with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack.

On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:
1. Content Creation and Marketing Strategies
2. Overcoming Production and Operation Challenges
3. Engaging Gen Z through Authenticity
4. Branding and Niche Market Targeting
5. Learning From Industry with Consultancy Support
6. Building Community via Organic Social Content
7. Flexibility and Patience in Business Growth

Timestamps
02:00 Viral TikTok trends and how Good Girl Snacks started
04:21 From doing corporate work to launching a brand
07:21 Initial fears of starting a business
09:34 The white space in the pickle market
10:59 Picking a niche, catering to Gen Z consumers
13:28 Content strategy, leveraging brand stories and SEO
17:07 Good Girl Snacks’ content creation workflow then vs now
22:45 Balancing planned and spontaneous content 
24:39 Content distribution; reels, stories, and grid strategy
27:59 Product development, hiring R&D consultants, the importance of community
31:34 Gathering customer feedback for iterative product development
34:21 Challenges and advantages of bootstrapping
36:21 Adapting marketing strategy to Gen Z consumer attitudes and behavior
38:53 Retaining authenticity while scaling, continuing to create low-lift content
41:22 Hiring consultants vs full-time employees
44:28 How to get the most out of startup advisors
47:33 Advice to future founders: be adaptable and patient

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.  

Additional episodes you might like:

• #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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Leah Marcus and Yasaman Bakhtiar - Co-Founders of Good Girl Snacks
Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Castmagic
Ramon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic