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On today’s DTC Podcast, Eric interviews Kris Dehnert, CEO of Dugout Mugs, the brand that turned baseball bat barrels into a $55M+ business.

Kris shares his journey from early Facebook fan pages and Teespring to building a durable, licensed, retail-distributed sports brand. The conversation covers brand authenticity, partnerships, deal-making, AI in ecommerce, and the pitfalls of chasing vanity metrics.

🔑 Key Insights from this Episode:

• Why authenticity and transparency are the foundation of modern DTC brands
• How Kris structured a win-win equity deal to launch Dugout Mugs
• The difference between playing to win vs. playing not to lose
• How to balance seasonality with corporate gifting, retail, and evergreen sales channels
• Why AI in ecommerce (contracts, customer service, ads) saves time and reduces friction
• The philosophy behind “Do you want to be right or do you want to be rich?” in partnerships

Whether you’re scaling a consumer brand or still testing product-market fit, Kris’ insights on deal-making, audience building, and building a brand that lasts are tactical, grounded, and immediately useful.

Timestamps:

00:00 — Building authentic brands and prioritizing profit over vanity metrics

04:00 — From Facebook fan pages to $20M in t-shirt sales

08:00 — The origin of Dugout Mugs and scaling to $55M+

14:00 — Turning content and personal branding into sales

18:00 — Partnership philosophy and making win-win deals

26:00 — How Kris structured an innovative equity deal to grow Dugout

30:00 — Handling seasonality, Q4 strategy, and corporate gifting

33:00 — Leveraging AI for content, customer service, and business growth

37:00 — Living life intentionally and protecting your time

Hashtags:

#DTCPodcast #EcommerceGrowth #DirectToConsumer #DugoutMugs #BrandBuilding #Entrepreneurship #DigitalMarketing #ContentStrategy #AIinEcommerce #Partnerships

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