Ecommerce Conversations

Jai Dolwani is chief marketing officer of Winc, a publicly-traded wine membership club. His responsibilities extend beyond marketing to technology, engineering, ecommerce, and overall omnichannel growth. Selling alcohol in the U.S. is challenging owing to 1920s-era laws on distribution and marketing and to the logistical headaches of shipping liquid.

Dolwani addresses those challenges and more, including customer acquisition, subscription models, and in-house brand development.

See the edited transcript (with embedded audio) at: https://pec-ly.com/?6lUP

See all weekly transcripts and audio embeds at: https://bit.ly/3iddPNt 

Jordan Elist is the founder of Mate, a direct-to-consumer seller of supplements for male sexual health.  Elist launched the business in 2020 after a career in investment banking.  He addresses in this conversation his mission of destigmatizing sexual healthcare, marketing challenges, and his insistence on science-backed product formulation.

For an edited transcript, please see: https://pec-ly.com/?6lLb

Andrew Bialecki co-founded Klaviyo in 2012 as a data repository for business. Then a friend told him about Shopify. Klaviyo is now a global ecommerce-marketing juggernaut with 1,500 employees, $140 million in revenue, and $778 million in equity funding to date — including a $100 million round in August from Shopify itself.

But the management of data remains central to Klaviyo’s mission. “We’re really good a storing data,” Bialecki said. He speaks with host Eric Bandholz in this week's episode. 

The edited transcript is at https://pec-ly.com/?6lNM

Having achieved financial success, many entrepreneurs buy a big house, perhaps an expensive vehicle. But not Steve Chou. He co-owns a thriving ecommerce business, runs a growing YouTube channel, and teaches popular courses from his "My Wife Quit Her Job" website. And he loves frugal living.

"Being frugal and spending less is great for my peace of mind," he said.

This is Chou's second interview for this podcast. Two years ago, he addressed Bumblebee Linens, his ecommerce company. Today's conversation extends beyond that business, to cover stress, quality of life, and, yes, frugal living.

See https://pec-ly.com/?6lC9 for an edited transcript.

In 2021 Tim Aton was working at a marketing agency in Spokane, Washington, running campaigns for clients. Then a friend who owned a leather-goods company in Wyoming called, asking "Want to help me grow the company?"

Aton made the jump, moving his family to Laramie. He's now the COO of Range Leather.  Here's his story.

For an edited transcript, please see https://pec-ly.com/?6lyg

In 2015 Mike Pfeiffer made a few firearm holsters at home for his own use. Then he mentioned them on his YouTube channel, Last Line of Defense. Followers began asking if they could buy them.

Fast forward to 2022, and Last Line of Defense is a Drupal-powered direct-to-consumer ecommerce business with annual revenue of $500,000.  

Here's his story.  An abbreviated transcript is at https://pec-ly.com/?6lt4.

Until early 2020 Matthew Gattozzi was a professional ballet dancer. Then a back injury forced a career change and the launch of Goodo Studios, his photo and video production company for ecommerce brands. "I work with established and up-and-coming brands by understanding how to use and leverage content for revenue, " he says. 

For an edited transcript, see https://pec-ly.com/?6ljo.

Patrick Coddou co-founded Supply.co in 2015. The DTC seller of razors and shaving supplies has experienced the rise and fall and rise again of many ecommerce brands. Covid created a sales boom. iOS 14.5 decimated profits. Diversifying acquisition channels has restored growth and earnings — so much so that Coddou has sold his business.  He tells the story in this episode with host Eric Bandholz. 

For an edited transcript (with embedded audio), see: https://pec-ly.com/?6l8G

Fringe Sport is a leading online seller of home-based barbells and exercise equipment. Peter Keller founded the company in 2010 in Austin, Texas, where it remains. In this his second appearance on the podcast, he speaks with host Eric Bandholz on priorities — business and life — and his motivations for running Fringe. 

See the edited transcript at https://pec-ly.com/?6l4m.

Jon Tucker founded HelpFlow, an outsourced customer service provider, in 2015. The company has thrived, focusing on ecommerce brands and an extensive onboarding process to understand a client's products, customer needs, and much more.  In this episode, Tucker discusses his company's journey with host Eric Bandholz.  

For an edited transcript, please go to https://pec-ly.com/?6kYz.