Episode #215: Jay Sapovits — Turning branded merch into a strategic growth tool

How to stop wasting money on swag that gets ignored.
For founders and operators buying merch without a plan for impact.

Jay Sapovits of Ink’d Stores explains how branded merchandise becomes useful when it starts with audience, objective, and distribution instead of a last-minute product order. He shares lessons from a failed fitness brand, a pivot into on-demand apparel, and the operating choices that helped build a $5M+ branded merchandise business. The conversation covers trade show strategy, on-demand merch economics, and why a $3 difference in shirt quality can determine whether something gets worn or turned into a rag. Jay also breaks down why distribution is the step most teams forget, even when the product itself is right.

What you’ll hear

• How to define strategic merch based on purpose, audience, and event
• How on-demand merch stores reduce inventory risk and preserve cash flow
• Why most swag fails: low-quality product choices, no planning, and weak distribution
• How to use merch to drive trade show engagement and other measurable outcomes

Chapters

Timestamps

• 00:00 — Why cheap swag gets wasted
• 02:27 — What strategic merch actually means
• 06:15 — The pivot from failed fitness brand to Inked Stores
• 09:02 — Why quality, fit, and content determine whether merch gets used
• 10:41 — How on-demand merch changes the unit economics
• 18:11 — Why budget and distribution matter as much as the product

Links & resources

Guest
Jay Sapovits — Ink’d Stores
Email Jay
LinkedIn

About Frank Growth

Frank Growth is a podcast about how companies actually grow—real operators, real constraints, real decisions.
Hosted by Jason Shafton.

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