Honest Ecommerce

Gloria Chou’s untraditional, proven approach has helped small businesses across industries earn over a billion organic views and land features in outlets like Forbes, Vogue, Oprah Daily, BuzzFeed and Business Insider —all without pay-to-play. 

Named the #1 small business PR expert by ChatGPT and Al search, she's leading the charge in helping overlooked founders dominate visibility—not just in the press, but in Al search results that drive discovery and trust. 

Is there a guest (or two!) that you'd like to hear on our podcast in the future? Will think about this and let you know!

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Samantha Diamond and Breanna Hughes are Co-Founders of Bird&Be, the fertility brand providing evidence-backed, comprehensive at-home tests and supplements for both partners at every stage of the fertility journey.

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Russell Breuer is the Founder and CEO of Spot & Tango, an innovative pet health and wellness brand that provides dogs with high quality, human grade meals, delivered direct-to-consumer. 

Russell was inspired by his dog, Jack, to create the company, which now has over $100+ million in annual revenue and has sold over 120 million meals since inception. Prior to Spot & Tango, Russell worked in private equity and held leadership positions at BerchWood Partners, Zephyr Management, and Nash & Co Capital in London. 

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Lauren Barker is the CEO and Co-founder of Uresta, the first self-managed, FDA-cleared bladder support device for stress urinary incontinence. With nearly a decade in finance before joining Uresta, Lauren brought the analytical skills to identify a massive market gap and the vision to build a solution that prioritizes women's quality of life over symptom management. 

She personally reads every customer review, using those insights to shape product development and build Uresta's highly engaged community. Under her leadership, Uresta has become an eight-figure business serving over 30,000 women. 

What is Uresta? Uresta is revolutionizing bladder control with the first self-managed bladder support designed specifically for modern women, with no prescription or doctor visits required. Unlike traditional solutions, Uresta addresses leaks at their source, providing immediate all-day protection during physical activities like exercise, laughing, sneezing, and coughing. 

With 97% effectiveness and 90% continued use after 12 months, Uresta restores confidence, spontaneity, and dignity to millions of women.

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Alissa Miky is a Japanese entrepreneur and the founder of OoMee, the first seaweed-based beverage in the U.S. She’s the youngest woman ever recognized on Forbes Japan’s Top 100 list. After running a successful flower business, Alissa created the viral seaweed candy company Misaky.Tokyo, and later launched Aqua Theon, a seaweed tech company. 

In spring 2025, Alissa turned her proprietary Seabiotics™ technology into the star ingredient for OoMee -- the functional beverage bringing the wellness benefits of agar-agar to America's beverage aisle.

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Tamara is the Founder & CEO of Bark Bistro Company, creator of Buddy Budder—a line of 100% natural peanut butters made for dogs. What began in her kitchen has grown into a nationally distributed brand available DTC, Ecommerce, independent retailers, and now expanding into mass and grocery channels. She is passionate about blending innovation and creativity, brand design, and business strategy to make products that bring joy and health to pets while scaling into new retail channels. 

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Co-founded in 2012 by Ryan Emmons, his cousin Alex Preston, a Hawaiian artist and game designer, and friend Matt Meyer, Waiākea Hawaiian Volcanic Beverages is a premium beverage company from Hilo, Hawai‘i, offering volcanic water, sparkling water, and coffee, crafted with deep respect for the land, its people, and the responsibility that comes with both. 

Rooted in sustainability, Waiākea is setting a new standard for CPG, blending exceptional taste with conscious practices. From their certified B Corp status and proprietary 100% post-consumer recycled plastic, OceanPlast®, to their community-driven Kōkua Initiative nonprofit, Waiākea is changing the way we hydrate.

Inspired by the founders' long-standing work with clean water and education non-profits, the concept for Waiākea was to move away from singular profit and towards a triple bottom line model (circular packaging, sustainable sourcing, and commitment to the community). 

Their water embodies that mission with an experience that’s natural alkaline pH, 100% BPA & PFA Free, packed with electrolytes & minerals, light, crisp, and refreshingly clean.

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Julian Tcherassi is the founder of Magiktea, the first USDA Organic & Wildlife Friendly certified palo azul tea brand in the world. 

Under his leadership, Magiktea has grown from a small independent startup into a nationally recognized wellness brand, now available in over 1,000 health food stores nationwide. 

Passionate about natural remedies and sustainability, Julian started Magiktea with the mission to share sustainably sourced palo azul so that everyone can enjoy Mother Nature's most magical tea. 

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Eliah Thanhauser is the Co-Founder and CEO of North Spore, a company dedicated to making mushroom cultivation accessible to all. Since its inception in 2014, they’ve grown from a small operation in a garage in Maine to a vertically integrated manufacturer and a national leader in mycological supplies. 

Eliah’s journey began with a passion for sustainable agriculture and a desire to empower individuals to grow their own food. At North Spore, Eliah and his team provide high-quality mushroom cultivation products and education, supporting everyone from home growers to commercial farmers.​ 

Beyond business, he’s committed to environmental stewardship, advocating for better public access to Maine's shorelands and exploring innovative ways to integrate fungi into sustainable practices.

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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!

Irene Chen is the Co-Founder and Partner at Parker Thatch, a role she has held for over 24 years. Her top skills include Brand Development, Fashion, and Social Media. Before co-founding Parker Thatch, Irene served as the Director of Product Development for Donna Karan. She is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles. 

Matthew Grenby is the Partner and Co-Founder of Parker Thatch, a position he has held for over 24 years. His expertise lies in Strategy, Start-ups, and Entrepreneurship. Prior to Parker Thatch, he was a Vice President at Castling Group, where he led UX and design to launch online divisions for major brands, and a Data Scientist at Intel, developing novel data visualizations. 

He holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, an MS from the M.I.T. Media Lab , an MS in Graphic Design from ArtCenter College of Design , and an AB in English from Harvard University. 

In This Conversation We Discuss:

• [00:00] Intro
• [00:56] Bootstrapping growth through cash flow
• [03:23] Turning local talent into a luxury launchpad
• [07:45] Sponsor: Klaviyo 
• [09:52] Applying corporate training to startups
• [12:31] Challenging traditional production paths
• [18:48] Sponsor: Intelligems 
• [20:48] Standardizing core products for efficiency
• [24:47] Sponsor: Electric Eye
• [25:56] Persisting through daily business doubt
• [29:40] Callouts
• [29:50] Reinventing challenges for better outcomes
• [31:34] Leveraging community for business insights
• [32:02] Maintaining connections for future opportunities
• [36:03] Rebranding for clarity and customer reach

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Luxury products for everyday ease and elegance parkerthatch.com/
• Follow Irene Chen linkedin.com/in/irene-chen-16b16823/
• Follow Matthew Grenby linkedin.com/in/matthewgrenby/
• Book a demo today at intelligems.io/
• Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect
• Get your free demo https://www.klaviyo.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!