Imagine launching a brand and making a million in sales in just a week.

In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Brian Lockard, who launched a brand that aims to bring nurses shoes that make them feel like the respected professionals they are. Listen to the episode to hear what Brian has to say about founding BALA shoes: why he decided to market to nurses specifically, what it was like to go in on the brand 100%, and what Brian is doing to reach the next level of growth.

Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:

• How Brian came up with the idea for BALA nursing shoes
• Why Brian selected nurses as a market instead of going more broadly
• How Brian approached his finances when he was starting up
• The influence that working at Nike had on the BALA 
• When Brian started to see that they had a product that people wanted
• How BALA’s launch aligns with the narrative about fundraising
• How Brian came up with the name BALA
• The most unexpected challenge Brian has had
• Brian’s favorite tools
• Advice Brian would give to a D2C founder starting today
• The nicest thing anyone has done for Brian in his career

Resources:

• Brian Lockard
• BALA
• Jim Huffman website
• Jim's Twitter
• GrowthHit
• The Growth Marketer's Playbook

Most brands focus on what works in November. Smart brands plan for what happens in January. In Part 2 of our Black Friday Growth Series, Jim Huffman shares the strategic lens every DTC operator should adopt before running another BFCM campaign.

Following up on the tactical BFCM episode, Jim goes deeper — exploring the downstream effects of your Q4 strategy and how to win long-term. He covers what separates high-ROI brands from revenue-chasers, how to evaluate customer acquisition quality during peak season, and how to balance margin, brand, and lifetime value when everyone else is just trying to “make noise.” This isn’t about bigger discounts. It’s about smarter growth.

TOPICS DISCUSSED IN TODAY’S EPISODE

• The biggest mistake brands make during BFCM
• How to set Q4 goals that don’t backfire in Q1
• Why who you acquire in Q4 matters more than how many
• Offers that build loyalty vs offers that attract deal-chasers
• How to use BFCM for email growth and long-term leverage
• The mindset shift that separates pro operators from seasonal brands

Resources:

• Growth Marketing OS (Operating System) 
• GrowthHit
• Jim Huffman website
• Jim's Linkedin
• Jim's Twitter
• The Shopify Growth School

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

Startup Ideas by Paul Graham (#45)

Nathan Barry: How to Bootstrap a Company to $30M in a Crowded Market (#41)

How I Met My Biz Partner and Less Learned Hitting $2M ARR (#44)

Ryan Hamilton on his Netflix special, touring with Jerry Seinfeld, & how to write a joke (#10)

How We're Validating Startup Ideas (#51)

Black Friday and Cyber Monday aren’t just about slapping on a discount. In this episode, Jim Huffman breaks down the offer-led strategies and conversion playbooks top DTC brands use to turn Q4 into their most profitable months - without relying on bloated budgets or ad spend.

Originally aired as a guest appearance on the Ecwid eCommerce Show, Jim reveals the full GrowthHit playbook for building winning Black Friday/Cyber Monday campaigns.

He dives deep into offer-led growth, conversion rate hacks, retention strategies, email tricks that actually work, and how to survive the Q1 hangover. Whether you’re a scrappy DTC founder or scaling a 7-figure Shopify brand, this is your tactical guide to owning Q4 without burning out or discounting your business into the ground.

TOPICS DISCUSSED IN TODAY’S EPISODE

• Offer-led growth: the underrated strategy for converting in Q4
• The best bundles, BOGOs, and bonus offers that increase AOV
• Tactical email patterns: “Oops” sends, internal leaks, and reminders that convert
• How to turn customers into marketers for sustainable growth
• Landing page and ad setup that avoids performance burnout
• Why Q4 success starts with one hero product
• Real examples from fashion, consumables, and niche DTC brands

If you’re planning to “wing it” this Black Friday… don’t. This episode gives you the framework to build offers, emails, and experiences that drive real growth  in any year. Subscribe for more.

Resources:

Jim Huffman website

Jim's Twitter

GrowthHit

The Growth Marketer's Playbook
The Shopify Growth School

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

Startup Ideas by Paul Graham (#45)

Nathan Barry: How to Bootstrap a Company to $30M in a Crowded Market (#41)

How I Met My Biz Partner and Less Learned Hitting $2M ARR (#44)

Ryan Hamilton on his Netflix special, touring with Jerry Seinfeld, & how to write a joke (#10)

How We're Validating Startup Ideas (#51)

What happens when you build an 8-figure business in one of the most taboo industries - without a team, funding, or traditional ad channels?

Brian Sloan did exactly that. And in this episode, he reveals the unfiltered story behind his wild entrepreneurial path. Jim sits down with Brian Sloan, founder of AutoBlow, to unpack how he built a global DTC sex toy brand that now generates 8 figures annually - with a team of just two.

From eBay auctions to viral PR stunts, Brian shares how his unconventional path, deep product focus, and scrappy tactics helped him thrive in a space where Facebook ads and mainstream visibility were off-limits. This conversation pulls back the curtain on manufacturing, media manipulation, brand building, and what it really takes to scale when the rules don’t apply to your category.

Key Topics Covered:

• How Brian went from selling antiques to latex fetishwear to inventing AutoBlow
• The viral crowdfunding stunt that made him internet-famous overnight
• Why he ditched Amazon - even after major sales
• How to get on GQ, Playboy, Howard Stern, and more without a PR team
• The power of press-worthy product ideas
• Why focus (on just 2 SKUs) was his biggest growth unlock
• Building a lean team using a global network of niche freelancers

If you’re building in DTC and feel like you’re drowning in overhead or noise, this episode is a masterclass in focus, edge, and unconventional growth.

Resources:

• Autoblow
• Jim Huffman website
• Jim's Twitter
• GrowthHit
• The Growth Marketer's Playbook

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

• Startup Ideas by Paul Graham (#45)
• Nathan Barry: How to Bootstrap a Company to $30M in a Crowded Market (#41)
• How I Met My Biz Partner and Less Learned Hitting $2M ARR (#44)
• Ryan Hamilton on his Netflix special, touring with Jerry Seinfeld, & how to write a joke (#10)
• How We're Validating Startup Ideas (#51)

What do you do when wholesale feels like success but starts killing your brand? For the founders of Mestiza, it meant rewriting the playbook. In this episode, they share how they survived COVID, pivoted to DTC, and built a multi 7-figure fashion business - while raising kids and refusing VC money.

Jim is joined by Luisa Takas and Alessandra Perez-Rubio, the powerhouse duo behind Mestiza - a New York-based fashion brand worn by celebrities and loved by loyal customers. The two dive into how they broke into Neiman Marcus early on but quickly realized wholesale wasn’t sustainable. From there, they detail how COVID forced a DTC pivot, how their hero product (“The Shimmy Dress”) became a game-changer, and how they’ve grown profitably while bootstrapping. This is a behind-the-scenes look at resilience, customer obsession, and building a brand with values.
 
TOPICS DISCUSSED IN TODAY’S EPISODE

• Why wholesale nearly derailed their brand vision
• How COVID forced a DTC rebirth that changed everything
• The power of flagship products like the Shimmy Dress
• Tactical tips for customer feedback, crowdfunding, and growth
• How they raised a friends-and-family round and used SBA loans
• Why being moms made them better founders
• The co-founder dynamic that’s lasted longer than most marriages

If you’re building a brand and wondering whether to go DTC, how to grow without VC money, or how to survive the messy middle - this episode is pure gold.

Resources:

• Mestiza
• Jim Huffman website
• Jim's Twitter
• GrowthHit
• The Growth Marketer's Playbook

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

• Startup Ideas by Paul Graham (#45)
• Nathan Barry: How to Bootstrap a Company to $30M in a Crowded Market (#41)
• How I Met My Biz Partner and Less Learned Hitting $2M ARR (#44)
• Ryan Hamilton on his Netflix special, touring with Jerry Seinfeld, & how to write a joke (#10)
• How We're Validating Startup Ideas (#51)

What if you could turn BBQ ribs into a $250K/month Shopify business? That’s exactly what Andrew Buehler did  and it started with crowdfunding, cold emails, and serious sales hustle.

Jim sits down with Andrew Buehler to unpack one of the most unexpected eCommerce growth stories out there how he launched a premium BBQ brand and scaled it to $250K+ per month without outside investors.

Andrew shares his step-by-step process for using crowdfunding to launch, how he activated his network to get early traction, and the exact sales skills that helped him scale. It’s scrappy, smart, and full of lessons for any founder.

Key Topics Covered:

• How to successfully launch with crowdfunding
• Why activating your personal network is the ultimate unfair advantage
• What actually matters when you’re launching on Shopify
• Cold email and sales tactics that drive real customer acquisition
• Design insights that helped build brand credibility fast
• Why resilience is more important than funding

If you’re looking for a launch playbook rooted in hustle - this episode delivers the goods (literally and figuratively).

Resources:

• Urban Smokehouse
• Jim Huffman website
• Jim's Twitter
• GrowthHit
• The Growth Marketer's Playbook

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

Startup Ideas by Paul Graham (#45)

Nathan Barry: How to Bootstrap a Company to $30M in a Crowded Market (#41)

How I Met My Biz Partner and Less Learned Hitting $2M ARR (#44)

Ryan Hamilton on his Netflix special, touring with Jerry Seinfeld, & how to write a joke (#10)

How We're Validating Startup Ideas (#51)

This episode takes me back to the early days of Neat Apparel, when Claudio and I were just getting started.

For those who don’t know, Claudio is my business partner on Neat - our sweat-proof Shopify brand and he has one of the most fascinating backgrounds of anyone I’ve ever worked with.

He graduated from Stanford at 20. Climbed to the top of Wall Street. Then pivoted into entrepreneurship—first with a soccer brand, and now with me in performance apparel. In this conversation, we talked through the moment we decided to go all in on Neat.

We broke down the actual negotiations that brought us together, why we decided to buy IP before launching, and how we thought about scaling the brand through content, storytelling, and founder alignment. Looking back, it’s wild to see how much of that conversation still shapes how we run Neat today.

📋 What we cover:

• The power of complementary business partnerships
• How we negotiated (even when it was awkward)
• Why we bought IP before building the brand
• Why we decided to skip Amazon and retail—for now
• Claudio’s leap from Wall Street to founder life
• The “goalie mindset” he brings to our business
• How we planned to scale Neat through storytelling and content

👉 If you’ve ever thought about taking on a co-founder, starting a brand from scratch, or buying IP—this episode gives you the raw behind-the-scenes of how it really comes together.

Resources:

• Neat Apparel
• Storelli
• GrowthHit
• Jim Huffman website
• How We're Growing Neat (Build in Public)

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

• Startup Ideas by Paul Graham (#45)
• Nathan Barry: How to Bootstrap a Company to $30M in a Crowded Market (#41)
• How I Met My Biz Partner and Less Learned Hitting $2M ARR (#44)
• Ryan Hamilton on his Netflix special, touring with Jerry Seinfeld, & how to write a joke (#10)
• How We're Validating Startup Ideas (#51)

Would you turn down funding after being featured on Shark Tank? Eric Bandholz did. In this episode, he breaks down how Beardbrand became one of the most iconic DTC companies 0 built on freedom, grit, and a wild Reddit strategy.

Jim talks with Eric Bandholz, founder of Beardbrand, about the raw, real story of building a DTC cult brand from scratch. Eric shares how he turned a niche grooming obsession into a 7-figure business - without funding, with help from Reddit, and by staying fiercely true to his values. It’s a founder story that throws out the rulebook.

Key Topics Covered:

• Why school nearly derailed his founder path
• The power of community-led growth
• How Reddit became his early traction channel
• Getting featured on Shark Tank (and what happened next)
• Bootstrapping lessons and the real gift of staying lean
• Product expansion done right
• Why building a network is your secret growth weapon

If you believe in the power of community, conviction, and scrappy marketing - you’ll love this episode.

Resources:

• Ecommerce Conversations
• BeardBrand
• Jim Huffman website
• Jim's Twitter
• GrowthHit
• The Growth Marketer's Playbook
• The Shopify Growth Show

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

• Startup Ideas by Paul Graham (#45)
• Nathan Barry: How to Bootstrap a Company to $30M in a Crowded Market (#41)
• How I Met My Biz Partner and Less Learned Hitting $2M ARR (#44)
• Ryan Hamilton on his Netflix special, touring with Jerry Seinfeld, & how to write a joke (#10)
• How We're Validating Startup Ideas (#51)

What if you could build a $25M+ business without raising a single dime?

Jesse Pujji has done it - multiple times. From bootstrapping his first agency to launching Gateway X and scaling productized services in the DTC world, Jesse has a blueprint for founders who want to build big without giving away equity. In this episode, he shares how you can do the same.

 
In this episode, Jim sits down with Jesse Pujji (Founder of Gateway X, Co-Founder of Ampush) to break down how he’s built, scaled, and exited businesses without venture capital. Jesse reveals his “Bootstrap Advantage” framework, why he believes most founders overcomplicate their growth strategy, and the exact levers he focuses on to grow companies from zero to eight figures.

This isn’t a theory session - it’s a behind-the-scenes look at the systems, mindset, and tactics Jesse uses to build bootstrapped giants.

Key Topics Covered:

• The Bootstrap Advantage: Why it’s the best path for most founders
• How Jesse validates new business ideas (quickly and cheaply)
• The difference between “Productized Services” and traditional agencies
• Growth levers bootstrapped founders must focus on
• The psychology of staying lean while scaling big
• Jesse’s personal workflow for launching multiple businesses at once

 
If you’re a Shopify founder, DTC marketer, or just someone tired of the VC hamster wheel, this episode is your blueprint.

Resources:

• Jesse Pujji Twitter / X
• Bootstrapped Giants
• GatewayX
• Jim Huffman website
• Jim's Twitter
• GrowthHit
• The Growth Marketer's Playbook
• The Shopify Growth School

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

• Startup Ideas by Paul Graham (#45)
• Nathan Barry: How to Bootstrap a Company to $30M in a Crowded Market (#41)
• How I Met My Biz Partner and Less Learned Hitting $2M ARR (#44)
• Ryan Hamilton on his Netflix special, touring with Jerry Seinfeld, & how to write a joke (#10)
• How We're Validating Startup Ideas (#51)

They didn’t just launch a wine brand - they created a whole new category. In this episode, Kendra Kawala shares how Maker Wines went from cold outreach to category leader.

Jim talks with Kendra Kawala, co-founder of Maker Wines, about how she turned B2B sales grit into DTC scale. From walking into wine shops cold to managing complex supply chains with 15 wineries, Kendra reveals the realities of launching a new product category — and why going B2B-first gave them an edge most DTC brands miss.

TOPICS DISCUSSED IN TODAY’S EPISODE

• Why Maker Wines isn’t your typical DTC brand
• The early grind of B2B-style sales
• Managing logistics across 15 partner wineries
• What business school got right  and wrong
• Choosing the right co-founder for scale
• Order economics and conviction at launch
• Applying B2B thinking to consumer marketing

If you’re launching something new — or want to scale smart — this is the episode you’ll come back to twice.

Resources:

• https://www.makerwine.com/
• Jim Huffman website
• Jim's Twitter
• GrowthHit
• The Growth Marketer's Playbook
• The Shopify Growth School

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

Startup Ideas by Paul Graham (#45)

Nathan Barry: How to Bootstrap a Company to $30M in a Crowded Market (#41)

How I Met My Biz Partner and Less Learned Hitting $2M ARR (#44)

Ryan Hamilton on his Netflix special, touring with Jerry Seinfeld, & how to write a joke (#10)

How We're Validating Startup Ideas (#51)