Honest Ecommerce

M. Sal had his own Ecommerce store. He realized that no Canadian accountant understands US tax and virtually no one understands a Shopify business. That’s what led him to start SAL Accounting where their team now solve these problems for brands.

In This Conversation We Discuss: 

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:13 Discussing the accounting brand
• 01:34 How the guest entered the ecommerce tax niche
• 03:09 The hidden Shopify fee for international sellers
• 04:13 Do you need a US LLC: Plus plan vs sales split
• 06:36 Revenue threshold for opening a US LLC
• 08:00 Step-by-step process to set up a US LLC
• 10:22 The costly mistake of naming yourself as owner
• 12:30 Do US brands need a Canadian setup too
• 13:56 The $25,000 penalty for missing Form 5472
• 15:38 Why proper bookkeeping matters for ecommerce brands
• 17:57 How monthly books help you save on taxes
• 19:33 The risk of hiring a cheap bookkeeper
• 22:00 Where to learn more and get help
• 23:43 Returning Questions to a Fellow Host
  

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• CPA Tax Accounting and Bookkeeping Firm salaccounting.ca/ 
• Follow M. Salman salaccounting.ca/author/salmansalat00/ 

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Robert Patton is the Founder and CEO of SHEATH, a premium men's underwear brand he conceived while serving as a U.S. Army Sergeant in the scorching heat of the Iraqi desert. After two combat deployments, Robert left the military with a mission: to create performance-driven underwear built around a patented dual pouch system that delivers unmatched comfort and support for active men.

What started as a bootstrap idea fueled by a $5,000 insurance check and a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2013 has grown into a globally recognized brand selling to customers in over 120 countries. SHEATH is the first ever Official Underwear Partner of the UFC — a milestone Robert built without taking on outside investors.

A daily meditator, lifelong student of Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich, and relentless entrepreneur, Robert's story is a testament to grit, reinvention, and the power of solving a real problem the world didn't know it had.

In This Conversation We Discuss:

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:02 What an elite underwear makes
• 01:56 The Iraq deployment origin story
• 04:20 Building the first underwear prototype
• 07:32 Sponsor: Klaviyo
• 09:47 Early prototypes and finding a manufacturer
• 15:12 Launching the first Kickstarter campaign
• 17:06 Sponsor: Intelligems 
• 18:33 A botched production and near giving up
• 21:03 The second Kickstarter and revenue growth
• 22:58 Using AI to speed up product design
• 24:12 Sponsor: eFulfillment Service 
• 25:58 Finding customers beyond Kickstarter
• 26:57 The comedian throw stunt
• 28:18 Sponsoring comedians and podcast hosts
• 30:43 Famous names and loyal ad partners
• 35:04 Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
• 38:14 Where to buy underwear for legends

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Men's pouch underwear sheathunderwear.com/ 
• Follow Robert Patton linkedin.com/in/robert-patton-b675273b    
• Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect 
• Get your free demo klaviyo.com/honest 
• Book a demo today at intelligems.io/ 
• Lower scale costs today eFulfillmentService.com/honest
• Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect     

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Lndn Gray Co-Founder Tyler Straub is a creative director, photographer, and entrepreneur with more than 13 years of experience building and scaling high-growth brands across the creative, technology, and consumer sectors.

Before launching Lndn Gray in 2023, Tyler held leadership roles at high-growth companies including Blade, Bird, and Gametime, where he became known for cross-functional operations paired with strong creative and brand vision. With a background spanning a breadth of industries and roles- including premium lifestyle brands, aviation, live events, celebrity/influencer partnerships, and more- Tyler gained an understanding of brand building, creative partnerships, and rapid scaling with early-stage consumer product ventures and founder-led businesses.

As Co-Founder of Lndn Gray, Tyler oversees business development, operations, partnerships, creative direction, and artist curation. Under his leadership, the platform has become known for championing independent and emerging artists worldwide, with a focus on originality, cultural relevance, and accessible contemporary art.

Tyler was based in Los Angeles for over a decade and will be spending the next year travelling and working across the globe.

In This Conversation We Discuss:

• [00:00] Intro
• [00:40] Sponsor: Electric Eye
• [00:53] Finding niche business ideas in art markets
• [05:40] Balancing life and business boundaries
• [08:10] Building transparency with business partners 
• [13:59] Sponsor: Klaviyo
• [15:57] Dividing new business duties with founders
• [18:44] Callouts
• [18:54] Balancing art product quality and pricing
• [22:45] Expanding markets with product tests
• [27:27] Sponsor: Intelligems
• [28:53] Owning up to your customer service gaps
• [33:47] Sponsor: eFulfillment Service
• [34:57] Reinvesting revenue back into creative ads
• [38:18] Hiring expert leaders to scale your brand
• [40:58] Leading and empowering team members
• [00:00] Overcoming industry misconceptions

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Art for the bold and fearless lndngray.com/
• Follow Tyler Straub linkedin.com/in/tyler-straub
• Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect
• Migrate and grow more klaviyo.com/honest
• Book a demo today at intelligems.io/
• Lower scale cost today eFulfillmentService.com/honest   

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Yash Chavan is the founder and CEO of SARAL and SATHI. SARAL has helped 200+ DTC brands including Grüns, Spacegoods, and Slumberkins generate over $59M in influencer-driven revenue. 

SATHI is his team's newest product: a Shopify-only affiliate platform built around two breakthroughs: cookieless tracking and multi-touch attribution. 

Yash is running every SATHI demo personally for a limited time exclusively for Honest Ecommerce listeners. Book your slot by visiting mysathi.io/demo and let them know we sent you.

In This Conversation We Discuss: 

Resources:

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Jordan Nathan is the Founder and CEO of Caraway, the disruptive, non-toxic and thoughtfully-designed home brand known for its colorful ceramic cookware. Prior to launching Caraway, Jordan was instrumental in the rebranding of Vremi (owned by Aterian, NASDAQ-ATER), where he successfully launched over 200 kitchen products in 18 months that sold into over 1 million homes, and was promoted to CEO of Vremi. 

Jordan’s unique experience in the home goods industry as well as his commitment to non-toxic, design-forward, color-rich products allow Caraway to set the standard for quality cookware and design. As a data-driven entrepreneur, Jordan is passionate about letting social-listening drive new product innovations for the brand to expand beyond the kitchen. 

Jordan graduated Magna Cum Laude from Colby College in Consumer Psychology and was awarded Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2018.

In This Conversation We Discuss:

Resources:

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Katrina is a growth leader with over a decade of experience in DTC marketing, specializing in new customer acquisition, paid media, and creative strategy. 

She currently serves as Director of Growth Marketing at Timeline, where she’s helped scale the brand across both nutrition and skincare to nearly nine figures.

She’s known for building high-performing acquisition engines by combining data, creative testing, and conversion optimization to drive efficient, scalable growth.

In This Conversation We Discuss:

Resources:

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Jacques Spitzer is a 4x Emmy® award-winning creative agency founder who was named to AdWeek’s Agency Vanguard as one of the top 20 leaders shaping the future of advertising.

His agency, Raindrop, has generated billions in campaign sales for powerhouse brands like Dr. Squatch, Native and Grüns and insurgent brands like Good Culture, Hello Panda, Magic Spoon and more. Raindrop’s creative force has been showcased by their work on three Super Bowl campaigns and their recent execution of the largest brand launch in Procter & Gamble history for Spruce.

As a champion for the next generation of disruptive companies, Jacques serves as a strategic advisor to high-growth CPG brands that Raindrop Ventures has uniquely helped launch and invested in, including Grüns, Laundry Sauce, ForAll, VitaWild, Maeva and Magic Mind.

With a trophy case boasting over 50 advertising awards, Jacques’ work is consistently recognized for its rare blend of viral creativity and massive ROI. His insights have been featured in Forbes, AdAge, and Entrepreneur Magazine. 

He was recently named one of the “most influential people in San Diego” by the San Diego Business Journal and one of “California’s most visionary CEOs” by the Los Angeles Times, who noted: “Raindrop’s creative success and results have put San Diego on the map for creative work across the country.”

In addition to his work in advertising, Spitzer helped produce the full-length documentary Wampler’s Ascent, which won over 38 international film festival awards.

In This Conversation We Discuss: 

Resources:

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Angela Clark - Mubarak is a senior digital and eCommerce executive with 30 years of experience building and transforming digital businesses at some of the world's most recognized consumer brands — including Patagonia, Levi Strauss, eBay, elf Cosmetics, Williams-Sonoma, True Religion, and Eddie Bauer. 

Most recently VP of Digital at Patagonia, Angela now leads Eclipse Advisory Group, a consultancy focused on helping PE-backed brands, legacy retailers, and DTC startups unlock digital growth. She serves on the board of the California State Park Foundation, is an incoming Fellow at the Graham School at the University of Chicago, sits on the Total Retail Advisory Board, and has been recognized as a Direct 60 Honoree and CommerceNext 2024 Leader to Watch.

She is based in LA, where is an avid cycler and dog mom to Maximus and Chloe and super auntie to her 12 yr nephew Evan.

In This Conversation We Discuss:

Resources:

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

In this episode, Laura Cantor shares key takeaways from her experience at Vendors in Partnership, including emerging trends in retail, the growing importance of meaningful partnerships, and how brands can cut through the noise in a tech-saturated landscape. 

She dives into why people—and the partnerships they build—are still the foundation of innovation and growth, even as AI continues to transform the industry. 

Laura also highlights tactical approaches that are driving real results today, including insights on high-impact ecommerce solutions like AfterSell, a platform helping brands maximize revenue through post-purchase optimization. 

In This Conversation We Discuss:

Resources:

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Kevin McLaughlin is a Google Analytics and Tag Manager expert specializing in building custom Google Analytics implementations that give you consistent, accurate, and easy to use results that actually help you make better business and product decisions. 

Because of his years of experience in product development and management, he knows how to implement your marketing analytics tools so you can derive new insights from your data. As a developer and engineer, Kevin can deal with any level of technical-detail, from quick audits to in-depth, custom javascript setups and maintenance. 

He has worked at both large companies and small startups and have setup analytics for both as well as many blogs, small businesses, and non-profits. 

Kevin is currently developing several web-applications myself, which keeps me up to date on the latest web technologies and how to implement analytics effectively with them.

In This Conversation We Discuss: 

Resources:

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!