eCommerce Conversations

Andy Gould co-founded Batch, a Wisconsin-based D2C cannabis brand, in 2018. He says the company struggled for years until it perfected content creation and advertising. “Once we dialed in our Meta ads and built a strong creative flywheel, everything took off,” he said. Host Eric Bandholz first interviewed Andy and his two co-founders in 2023. ...

By late 2023 Aaron Powell had become disillusioned with Bunch Bikes, the electric cargo bicycle company he founded in 2017. Costs were rising, cash was scarce, and the supply chain was chaotic. He contemplated chucking it all, selling the business, and moving his family to Europe from his base in Texas. Then he reconsidered. Bunch...

Few companies have done more for global prosperity than Alibaba.com. Launched famously in China by Jack Ma, a former school teacher, in 1999, the company now connects 200,000 suppliers with millions of retail merchants. Suppliers grow, retailers diversify, and consumers have more choice for less money. Yet the B2B giant is not perfect. Language differences,...

For 12 years Andrei Rebrov managed infrastructure and operations at Scentbird, a perfume subscription company he co-founded in 2013. He learned the importance of acquiring the right subscribers, those who stay for a while and generate lifetime value for the business. The key, he says, was accurate, timely analytics to assess channels, creative, and promos....

Jon Shanahan destroys the myth that founders make lousy employees. He co-founded Stryx, a men's cosmetics provider, in 2017 and is now the marketing head at TRX, the storied exercise equipment company. He has thrived in both roles. He joined TRX in late 2022 amid a post-Covid hangover and a stale legacy brand. Fast forward...

In 2020, Karim Abed was the chief financial officer for a Texas-based home builder. The job paid well, he says, but he yearned to launch his own business and reconnect with his Egyptian heritage. Fast forward to 2025, and that business is WYR, a men's apparel brand utilizing Giza cotton, the storied fabric, and small...

Ecommerce marketers know the challenge of delivering relevant promotions to prospects without violating privacy rules and norms. Yet many providers now offer solutions that do both — personalize offers and respect privacy — for much greater performance. Two of those providers are guests in this week's episode. Sean Larkin is CEO of Fueled, a customer...

Host Eric Bandholz occasionally departs from interviews to share his experiences owning and operating Beardbrand, the direct-to-consumer brand he launched a decade ago. To date, he has addressed hiring, branding, profit-building, priority-setting, exiting, overcoming setbacks, and top business models. This too is a solo episode, addressing entrepreneurial doldrums, when a business is seemingly stuck in...

Please enjoy this repeat of a popular episode first aired in September 2023. Andrew Faris is the former CEO of 4×400, an ecommerce aggregator. He left that job in 2021 and now consults with merchants and manages their advertising campaigns, mostly on Meta. I asked him for his keys to successful Meta ads, having spent...

On-again, off-again tariffs have not lessened the opportunities for cross-border expansion. Global consumers still seek quality goods from trusted merchants. Yet success in international selling requires careful attention to fulfillment, customs, duties, and more. That's the role of Passport, the provider of cross-border logistics, localization, and support for ecommerce sellers. In this episode, Alex Yancher,...