Ecommerce Conversations

The last few years have been rough for Beardbrand, the direct-to-consumer company that host Eric Bandholz founded over a decade ago. He says pretty much nothing has worked post-pandemic. The business is finally seeing revenue growth, but costs are rising too.

In this week's podcast episode, Eric departs from interviewing guests to share his own experiences at Beardbrand and his evolution to a more balanced life.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/building-a-life-not-just-a-business

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

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Practical Ecommerce helps online merchants improve with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. Founded in 2005, we're an independent publisher, unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com

In 2019 Dane Witbeck had a problem familiar to parents: What were his kids doing on their smartphones?

That problem became his motivation to launch Pinwheel, an Austin, Texas-based seller of Android phones with parental controls for apps, usage limits, monitoring, and more.

Fast forward to 2026, and Pinwheel is thriving and profitable. In this episode, Dane shares his company's production process, marketing tactics, economic model, and more.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/pinwheel-ceo-on-selling-kid-safe-phones

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

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Practical Ecommerce helps online merchants improve with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. Founded in 2005, we're an independent publisher, unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com 

Florence Morin is an artist-turned-engineer-turned-entrepreneur. She graduated from Canada's Polytechnique Montréal in 2013, only to realize she disliked engineering work. She longed to earn a living from making art.

Fast forward to 2026, and Florence Art & Drawing is her online art school, launched in 2020, selling classes and instruction. Her 10-person team includes web developers, instructors, and support staff.

In this episode, she shares her tactics for course content, customer acquisition, hiring, and more.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/engineer-quits-launches-online-art-school

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

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Practical Ecommerce helps online merchants improve with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. Founded in 2005, we're an independent publisher, unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com

For four years Eric Steckling has run two direct-to-consumer brands. Brio, the company he founded in 2014, sells beard trimmers and related goods. In 2022, he acquired Ollie, then a seller of teeth-whitening strips and now an expanded oral care provider.

Eric first appeared on the podcast in 2023. In this latest conversation, he addresses Brio's challenges of selling long-lasting goods, Ollie's opportunity with consumable items, and juggling the two.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/2-bootstrapped-d2c-brands-1-ceo

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

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Practical Ecommerce helps online merchants improve with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. Founded in 2005, we're an independent publisher, unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com 

Please enjoy this repeat of a popular episode first aired in April 2025.

Mehtab Bhogal is the co-founder of Karta Ventures, a Canada-based acquirer of troubled ecommerce businesses. The firm seeks companies with "issues," such as unpaid taxes, regulatory problems, and founder disputes.

He says buying distressed companies is like salvaging a crashed car. "What are the parts worth?" he asks.

In this episode, he addresses identifying hidden value, turnaround tactics, seller concerns, and more.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/ecommerce-investor-on-turnaround-tactics

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

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The mission of Practical Ecommerce is to help online merchants improve their businesses. We do this with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. We are an independent publishing company founded in 2005 and unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com 

When he appeared on this podcast in 2021, Bryan Mahoney had just co-founded Chord, an ecommerce platform that separated the public frontend from the nuts-and-bolts backend. It was a "headless" structure that enabled merchants to connect with their preferred external providers rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.

The problem, Bryan says in retrospect, was a complicated setup that required replatforming. What merchants wanted was his tools that consolidated data from external vendors for a holistic view across channels, customers, and more.

So he pivoted. In 2023 Chord became an ecommerce-focused data management company, no longer requiring customers to use its frontend layer.

In this episode, he explains the transition and the importance of data in an AI world.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/chord-commerce-ceo-on-pivoting-to-data

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

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Practical Ecommerce helps online merchants improve with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. Founded in 2005, we're an independent publisher, unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com

We've hit a plateau at Beardbrand, the direct-to-consumer business I launched 15 years ago. Our revenue is down from its peak. We've made mistakes.

The beard care space has dried up. We've moved from a blue ocean of growth and opportunity to a red ocean of fierce competition. If Beardbrand grows, a competitor loses, and vice versa.

In this episode, I'll depart from my typical interview format and share our plans for moving Beardbrand forward. My goal is to help other merchants in similar circumstances.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/inside-beardbrands-expansion-plan

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

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Practical Ecommerce helps online merchants improve with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. Founded in 2005, we're an independent publisher, unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com

Contrary to much U.S. sentiment, Molson Hart sees opportunity in China. His direct-to-consumer toy brand, Viahart, sells mostly on Amazon, though growth has slowed in recent years. China, he says, offers promise.

In this our third interview (following episodes in 2022 and 2024), recorded from an X live stream, he shares his plans to sell toys in China, addressing cultural nuances, legalities, shopping preferences, and more.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/viahart-founder-eyes-sales-in-china

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

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Practical Ecommerce helps online merchants improve with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. Founded in 2005, we're an independent publisher, unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com 

Chris Wichert is an investment banker turned direct-to-consumer entrepreneur.

His luxury shoe brand, Koio, launched in 2015 and quickly scaled. Then the pandemic hit. By late 2022, he says, the D2C hype and funding had collapsed.

He slashed costs, stabilized cash flow, and successfully exited the company. In this episode, he shares his story of boom, bust, and survival.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/surviving-d2cs-boom-and-bust

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

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Practical Ecommerce helps online merchants improve with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. Founded in 2005, we're an independent publisher, unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com

Host Eric Bandholz has interviewed a slew of impressive entrepreneurs on this podcast. He says Drew Fallon is among the most versatile. Drew last appeared on the show in 2022 when he had co-founded a tattoo skincare company. Before that he was an investment banker.

He now runs Iris, an AI-driven financial modeling platform, while also tracking and reporting on consumer-focused M&A transactions.

In this episode, he shares the benefits of agent-powered financial automation, common merchant use cases, and, yes, the enterprise M&A boom in 2026.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/iris-founder-talks-ai-powered-finance

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

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Practical Ecommerce helps online merchants improve with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. Founded in 2005, we're an independent publisher, unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com