The Growth Class with Phil Masiello

In this episode of The Growth Class, host Phil Masiello interviews Jake Cohn, President of Out&Back Outdoor, Inc. 

Jake shares the unconventional journey from professional freer skier and entrepreneur to building and scaling an outdoor gear marketplace that ultimately led to the acquisition of The Locals Sale by Out&Back Outdoor. 

He discusses how a simple idea to sell excess ski gear evolved into a community-driven business, the importance of staying adaptable when business plans inevitably change, and the lessons he learned from growing through lean teams, limited resources, and plenty of unexpected challenges. 

Jake also shares how his experience as a professional athlete shaped his entrepreneurial mindset, why persistence and the ability to keep moving forward matter when things go wrong, and how Out&Back is working to make outdoor gear more accessible through new and used products and a more sustainable circular model. 

The conversation also explores leadership and delegation, building teams around individual strengths, the realities of running a growing business, and Jake’s approach to balancing entrepreneurship, adventure, family, and his continued involvement in the outdoor industry. 

Out&Back Outdoor, Inc. website: https://outandbackoutdoor.com/

Support the show

There are a lot of  "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
 I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
 We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

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#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips 

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth

In this episode of The Growth Class, host Phil Masiello interviews Eric Orange, Founder and CEO of LocalWineEvents.com. 

Eric shares the story behind building one of the longest-running digital platforms for wine, food, beer, and spirits events, after a poorly attended wine dinner in 2000 revealed a simple problem: people needed one place to discover local experiences. 

He explains how a $1,500 startup evolved into a global event discovery platform, the importance of solving a clear market need, and how early digital advertising helped create a sustainable business model. 

Eric also discusses how consumer behavior in the wine industry has shifted from traditional wine education toward experiences, connection, and smaller, more intimate events. He shares insights into building a valuable audience and data set, using customer behavior and AI to better understand consumer interests, and the opportunities to scale and improve monetization through targeted advertising, event promotion, and audience segmentation. 

LocalWineEvents.com website: https://www.localwineevents.com/

Support the show

There are a lot of  "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
 I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
 We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello

https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/

https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/

https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello

#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips 

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth

In this episode of The Growth Class, host Phil Masiello interviews Marshall Rader, co-founder and CEO of The GFB. 

Marshall shares the story behind turning a personal need for better gluten-free food into a nationally distributed CPG brand, from developing the first products by hand to building an in-house manufacturing operation and expanding into major retail channels. 

He explains why The GFB chose to manufacture its own products, how bootstrapping and disciplined operations helped the company scale, and the challenges of navigating retail slotting fees, deductions, margins, and distribution.

Marshall also discusses the importance of choosing the right retail and foodservice partners, building a team capable of supporting sustainable growth, and knowing when an opportunity creates more complexity than value. 

The episode also explores The GFB’s evolution into The Gluten Free Brothers, its expansion into new product categories and co-manufacturing, and how the company approaches long-term growth while maintaining its values as a Certified B Corp. 

The GFB website: https://theglutenfreebar.com

Support the show

There are a lot of  "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
 I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
 We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello

https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/

https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/

https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello

#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips 

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth

In this episode of The Growth Class, host Phil Massiello interviews Deanna Wallin, Founder & CEO of Naples Soap Company. 

Deanna shares how she turned a personal need for better skincare into a business that grew from a 300-square-foot retail shop into a health and wellness brand with 13 Florida stores, e-commerce, and wholesale distribution. 

She discusses the importance of building a business around a real customer problem, creating strong product-market fit, and using customer lifetime value to guide growth decisions across retail and digital channels. 

Deanna also shares how Naples Soap Company navigated major disruptions including COVID-19 and Hurricane Ian, diversified its revenue streams, and built resilience through e-commerce, wholesale, corporate gifting, and brick-and-mortar retail. 

Naples Soap Company website: https://www.naplessoap.com

Support the show

There are a lot of  "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
 I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
 We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello

https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/

https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/

https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello

#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips 

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth

In this episode of The Growth Class, host Phil Masiello interviews Marty Babayov, founder of The Suit Depot. 

Marty shares how he turned a teenage eBay reselling hustle into a multimillion-dollar menswear business, evolving from clearance and overstock inventory into manufacturing, direct-to-consumer e-commerce, and brick-and-mortar retail. 

The conversation explores the economics of selling through marketplaces like Amazon, the importance of owning the customer relationship, and how combining e-commerce volume with in-house manufacturing can support more competitive pricing and scalable growth. 

Marty also explains why The Suit Depot has focused on building repeatable systems and processes before expanding its retail footprint, including reducing founder involvement in day-to-day operations. 

The Suit Depot website: https://thesuitdepot.com/

Support the show

There are a lot of  "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
 I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
 We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello

https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/

https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/

https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello

#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips 

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth

In this episode of The Growth Class, host Phil Massiello interviews JoAnn Elardo, founder and owner of Wicked Dolphin Distillery. 

JoAnn shares the unconventional entrepreneurial journey that took her from building an international footwear and apparel business across 11 countries to creating a craft rum brand rooted in Florida agriculture. They explore how spotting an overlooked market opportunity led to the creation of Wicked Dolphin, the challenges of entering an industry with restrictive regulations, and how JoAnn helped push for changes to Florida’s craft distilling laws. 

The conversation also covers building a differentiated product through local ingredients and quality, growing organically through distribution, and deciding when to pursue expansion through new markets, partnerships, or acquisitions. 

Wicked Dolphin website: https://wickeddolphin.com

Support the show

There are a lot of  "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
 I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
 We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello

https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/

https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/

https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello

#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips 

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth

In this episode of The Growth Class, host Phil Massiello interviews Mitchell Hagan, CEO and President of Country Life Natural Foods. 

Mitchell shares how his background in healthcare administration shaped his approach to leading a legacy natural foods business and discusses the transition from traditional food distribution to a predominantly e-commerce-driven model.

The conversation explores how Country Life Natural Foods is modernizing a decades-old brand through e-commerce, AI-powered shopping experiences, and a carefully curated product selection while maintaining its focus on quality, convenience, and customer service. 

Phil and Mitchell also examine customer acquisition and retention in an increasingly competitive market, including why word-of-mouth can be one of the most effective growth channels and how delivering an exceptional customer experience can turn existing customers into a source of new business. They also discuss the challenges of expanding from e-commerce into physical retail and how lessons from digital commerce can shape a more engaging, customer-focused retail experience. 

Country Life Natural Foods website: https://countrylifefoods.com

Support the show

There are a lot of  "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
 I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
 We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello

https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/

https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/

https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello

#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips 

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth

In this episode of The Growth Class, host Phil Masiello interviews Amy Riordan, Chief Executive Officer of Sachin & Babi. 

They explore how the luxury fashion brand evolved from a wholesale-reliant business into a stronger direct-to-consumer and e-commerce operation, and how data can inform creative and product decisions without compromising a brand’s identity. 

Amy shares insights on using e-commerce analytics to understand customer behavior, refine merchandising and pricing strategies, identify product-market fit, and make smarter inventory decisions. She also discusses the changing role of video in digital marketing, the challenges traditional wholesale businesses face when accessing customer data, and how fast fashion has reshaped consumer expectations around quality, craftsmanship, and price. 

Sachin & Babi website: https://www.sachinandbabi.com/

Support the show

There are a lot of  "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
 I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
 We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello

https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/

https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/

https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello

#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips 

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth

In this episode of The Growth Class, host Phil Masiello interviews Ian Lopatin, co-founder of Of Course Sanctuary and co-founder and former CEO of Spiritual Gangster. 

Ian shares his journey from entertainment law to building At One Yoga and ultimately turning a yoga studio T-shirt concept into Spiritual Gangster, a global wellness and lifestyle brand. 

The conversation explores how validating customer demand can create the foundation for scalable growth, how community and culture can turn a product into a movement, and what it takes to build a brand beyond its original market. 

Ian also discusses the personal side of entrepreneurship, including the relationship between achievement and stress, his decision to stop drinking, and the mindset shift that came from realizing that greater success does not always lead to greater fulfillment. 

He explains how these experiences shaped his next chapter with Of Course Sanctuary, which focuses on meditation, mindfulness, connection, and helping high-performing people live with less stress and greater presence.  

Of Course Sanctuary website:  ⁠https://ofcoursesanctuary.com/

Support the show

There are a lot of  "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
 I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
 We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello

https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/

https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/

https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello

#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips 

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth

In this episode of The Growth Class, host Phil Massiel interviews Misha Kuryla, founder of Misha’s Cupcakes. 

Misha shares the story of building her dessert brand from a home kitchen in 2005 into a multi-location, multi-channel consumer business, offering an honest look at what it takes to scale while preserving the heart of a brand. 

They explore the realities of rapid expansion, including managing multiple stores, maintaining product consistency, building the right team, and navigating the operational challenges that come with growth. 

Misha also explains how COVID forced a major rethink of the business, leading to store closures, a stronger focus on wholesale, online ordering, and new distribution opportunities. Today, Misha’s Cupcakes continues to evolve through retail, wholesale, nationwide shipping, and new product opportunities, demonstrating how resilience and adaptability can help a consumer brand navigate major transitions.  

Misha’s Cupcakes website:  ⁠https://mishascupcakes.com/

Support the show

There are a lot of  "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
 I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
 We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello

https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/

https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/

https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello

#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips 

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth