The Story of a Brand Show

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Betterly is in the business of hooking up quality freelance digital marketers with brands that are struggling to hire qualified professionals, says Alex Bocquet, founder of Betterly.

"Hiring full time has its own set of issues and certainly hiring an agency as well," Alex says. "But essentially what we do is empower the freelance community to find high-paying gigs with companies that are growing with amazing products that they can have an actual impact."

Still, it's more of an online community than a matchmaking service.

"We're not just a freelance marketplace," Alex says. "We've created a community where all of our freelancers get to interact with each other, exchange the best tips and tricks, the latest hacks that you can leverage for your TikTok ad campaigns (and) your Facebook ad campaigns. ... No one else can access this community unless they're vetted better marketers. And the beauty of it is that they teach each other."

Freelancers in the Betterly community get support, too, particularly in the form of tools and licenses they probably can't afford on their own.

Support is also available in the form of work-life balance. Meditation and yoga workshops are available, and freelancers are encouraged to take care of their health.

"I think that if I can provide all of those benefits for my freelancers if there is a healthy platform to operate in, I will retain them longer," Alex says.

Alex's background is unique too. He left France for the U.S. after high school to pursue a career in marketing. He would learn English here, attend college and begin working in the industry.

In Part 1, Alex talks about:

* Gratitude to the employer who first believed in him and offered him his first job after college. * His background began in France and continued to the United States to learn English and marketing. * How Betterly works. * How Betterly's vetted community works for teaching each other. * What resources are available to their freelancers.

Join Ramon Vela and Alex Bocquet as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Betterly, visit: https://betterly.io/

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

If all DTC companies were forced to turn off Facebook ads, they'd be dead on arrival. Why is that?

They over-invest in paid acquisition and under-invest in retention.

Luckily, Sendlane makes it easy to solve this problem. Sendlane is an E-Commerce Customer Experience Platform helping hundreds of DTC brands to tighten their existing customer relationships.

Sendlane automates personalized customer experiences through Welcome and Abandoned Cart workflows, SMS, Deep Data Integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, multi-store functionality, and much more.

Plus, they don't stand for lazy customer support. Their San-Diego-based team has an average 1-minute response time from a live human, making sure you never get stuck in a chat queue ever again.

Curious about how Sendlane can help your DTC brand grow? Schedule a demo with a Specialist. Visit https://www.sendlane.com/story

This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.

The fully digital workplace environment - maybe once a far-off dream for entrepreneurs - came into being quick with the start of the COVID pandemic, says Travis Price, E-commerce Growth Lead of Mercury, a company providing financial services to digitally native startups.

It's a trend that has helped Mercury grow.

"Not only are we seeing a lot of - quote-unquote - digital nomads who have had aspirations to build a business and live sort of that digital lifestyle, sign up for Mercury," he says, but we're also seeing companies that are operating remotely and have distributed teams leverage Mercury as well."

To that end, Mercury is working on growing out various verticals that can provide value and have a strong product-market fit. That's in addition to the core products that focus on services that traditional banks haven't thought about.

As for the future of banking, Travis says Mercury is building more capital products.

"Every business needs capital," he says. "We want to make that process of obtaining capital a lot easier and a lot cheaper."

Travis offers these words of wisdom for would-be startup entrepreneurs.

"Persistence pays," he says. "In the early days, months, and even years of starting your business, it will be extremely difficult and stressful. There are going to be times when you want to quit. But persistence pays if you truly believe in the product or service you're building, the team you're building, the value you're providing to people. It's going to work out."

In Part 2, Travis talks about:

* The effect of COVID on the digital workplace. * Building out verticals to provide value and strong product-market fit. * The trend of holding companies raising capital to buy e-commerce brands and the challenges of that trend. * Capital, crypto,, and personal banking are three areas that Mercury will focus on in the future. * How the onboarding process works. * Advice for new entrepreneurs.

Join Ramon Vela and Travis Price as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Mercury, visit: https://mercury.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This podcast is supported by Yotpo, the leading eCommerce marketing platform for brands looking to drive customer loyalty.

As I’m sure many of you know, customer retention is the new acquisition. With Yotpo, brands can provide value through a strategic loyalty program — and ensure shoppers come back time and again.

Want to know more? Visit https://yotpo.com/storyofabrand 

And turn your one-time shoppers into lifelong brand lovers.

This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.

To serve as a niche to startup entrepreneurs and provide an alternative to incumbent banking institutions - that's the mission of Mercury, says Travis Price, e-commerce growth lead for the company.

"One of the reasons I switched my e-commerce business banking over to Mercury is that I was fed up with going into a Wells Fargo branch once a week to send an international wire," Travis says. "It took 30 minutes to an hour out of my day. I'd have to sit there, wait for a teller to go through the paperwork and all the wire transfer details, and pay $45 for that wire to go through. And, at the end of the day, with technology, you can remove all of those steps that have become so cumbersome to entrepreneurs who just want to move fast and not waste time."

Travis started e-commerce, selling a Christmas stocking that dispensed wine. The product went viral and sold out its first order of 15,000 units in six days.

"Through that experience, I learned everything from product prototyping, manufacturing, supply chain, marketing, sales, and eventually an exit to a larger corporation," he says.

That experience as a founder serves Travis well at Mercury, creating empathy and understanding with startup entrepreneurs.

He says that Mercury's services also cater to international entrepreneurs, allowing people to be "nomads" and operate from anywhere in the world.

In Part 1, Travis talks about:

* Gratitude for a cousin who invested a large financial investment in his first business. * An explanation of Mercury's services and programs. * His background in business before joining Mercury. * How Mercury can help business owners outside the U.S. open accounts here.

Join Ramon Vela and Travis Price as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Mercury, visit: https://mercury.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This podcast is supported by Yotpo, the leading eCommerce marketing platform for brands looking to drive customer loyalty.

As I’m sure many of you know, customer retention is the new acquisition. With Yotpo, brands can provide value through a strategic loyalty program — and ensure shoppers come back time and again.

Want to know more? Visit https://yotpo.com/storyofabrand 

And turn your one-time shoppers into lifelong brand lovers.

This episode is brought to you by Ordergroove.

Realea's line of skincare products began with the Aurora balm, a "super healer" that works on eczema, psoriasis, wound healing, scar tissue reduction, and other unexpected skin issues, says Nick Grossenbacher, co-founder and head of product at the brand.

It was a problem pregnancy and difficult delivery that Nick's wife endured that inspired the balm's creation.

"My wife had an emergency cesarean section, and I immediately went home and created a balm for her to use on her incision site," Nick explains. "And she was using it every day, and her wound healed very fast, faster than the doctors expected it to. And she also has virtually no C-section scar. And that to me was a major moment and kind of coming to the sense that I need to do this work."

Growing the brand from that one balm, Realea wanted to create a link of skincare products that provided everything needed for skincare and the tissues deeper than the skin.

To that end, Tenebris turned out to be the product for beneath the skin. Meridiem is the brand's whole body moisturizer. Imber is a face mist. Astrum is a liquid face oil.

In Part 2, Nick talks about:

* How his wife's pregnancy complications led to the formation of the Aurora balm. * An explanation of the uses of Aurora. * A rundown of the brand's other products.

Join Ramon Vela and Nick Grossenbacher as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Realea, visit: https://realea.com/

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Ordergroove.

It’s time to let your customers enjoy the products they love without the friction of reordering...

That’s why innovative brands like Peet’s Coffee and Il Makiage rely on Ordergroove’s subscription solution to build long-lasting relationships that drive recurring revenue.

From enrollment incentives to churn-fighting AI, Ordergroove gives your business the tools it needs to be a subscription success story.

Book a demo today and receive 2-months off your contract. Visit https://www.ordergroove.com/story/

This episode is brought to you by Ordergroove.

Realea is a skincare brand rooted in the traditions of medicinal alchemy, but focused on using plant-based products and some materials produced by animals, says Nick Grossenbacher, co-founder and Head of Product at the brand.

"There's a phrase in alchemy, which is 'Let nature be your guide,' or 'The alchemist follows in the footsteps of nature," Nick says. "If you go back far enough at a certain point, what became the modern pharmaceutical industry and what is now this kind of alternative practice of modern alchemy have a common origin."

To that end, Realea's products have a foot in nature's history and modern ingredients. Three of Realea's five products, for example, use oil of egg yolk, which is rich in retinol, a vital vitamin supplement.

Other active ingredients in Realea's products have similarly unique, historical connections to alchemy.

In Part 1, Nick talks about:

* Gratitude toward his landlord, who believed in his vision and became one of the company's first investors. * His unusual career path as a Ph.D. student studying pre-modern systems of medicine. * An explanation of alchemy. * Why substances produced by animals are so important. * The importance of retinol and its possible sources.

Join Ramon Vela and Nick Grossenbacher as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Realea, visit: https://realea.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Ordergroove.

It’s time to let your customers enjoy the products they love without the friction of reordering...

That’s why innovative brands like Peet’s Coffee and Il Makiage rely on Ordergroove’s subscription solution to build long-lasting relationships that drive recurring revenue.

From enrollment incentives to churn-fighting AI, Ordergroove gives your business the tools it needs to be a subscription success story.

Book a demo today and receive 2-months off your contract. Visit https://www.ordergroove.com/story/ 

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

When looking at brands to work with, Global Wired Advisors managing partner Chris Shipferling says he prefers to work with those who understand their numbers.

"That's a best practice," Chris says. "You know, make sure you understand what's driving the profitability by understanding SKU economics."

Chris says that it's essential for brands looking for investors or investment bankers to know their options.

In Part 2, Chris talks about:

* The pros and cons of in-house manufacturing. * The need for brands to understand skew economics. * The difference between working with individual investors and an investment bank. * What's the onboarding process like with his firm.

Join Ramon Vela and Chris Shipferling as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Global Wire Advisors, visit: https://www.globalwiredadvisors.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

If all DTC companies were forced to turn off Facebook ads, they'd be dead on arrival. Why is that?

They over-invest in paid acquisition and under-invest in retention.

Luckily, Sendlane makes it easy to solve this problem. Sendlane is an E-Commerce Customer Experience Platform helping hundreds of DTC brands to tighten their existing customer relationships.

Sendlane automates personalized customer experiences through Welcome and Abandoned Cart workflows, SMS, Deep Data Integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, multi-store functionality, and much more.

Plus, they don't stand for lazy customer support. Their San-Diego-based team has an average 1-minute response time from a live human, making sure you never get stuck in a chat queue ever again.

Curious about how Sendlane can help your DTC brand grow? Schedule a demo with a Specialist. Visit https://www.sendlane.com/story 

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Global Wired Advisors is an investment bank that focuses on digital-first brands in the consumer product marketplace, says managing partner Chris Shipferling.

"I'm not trying to sell aerospace businesses or agriculture businesses or manufacturing companies," Chris says. "We only sell consumer products. That's it, specifically digital-first. So every day we wake up, and we're only talking to an audience interested in these types of companies."

With the current state of the economy and interest rates rising, the baby, pet, toy, home, and kitchen categories are likely to experience a slowdown, Chris predicts.

In Part 1, Chris talks about:

 * Gratitude toward his first boss who saw potential in the college graduate with no business experience.

* An explanation of Global Wired Advisors' business and how they differ from other investment banks.

* An analysis of the current economy and likely slowdowns and areas for potential expansion.

Join Ramon Vela and Chris Shipferling as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Global Wire Advisors, visit: https://www.globalwiredadvisors.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

 *

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

If all DTC companies were forced to turn off Facebook ads, they'd be dead on arrival. Why is that?

They over-invest in paid acquisition and under-invest in retention.

Luckily, Sendlane makes it easy to solve this problem. Sendlane is an E-Commerce Customer Experience Platform helping hundreds of DTC brands to tighten their existing customer relationships.

Sendlane automates personalized customer experiences through Welcome and Abandoned Cart workflows, SMS, Deep Data Integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, multi-store functionality, and much more.

Plus, they don't stand for lazy customer support. Their San-Diego-based team has an average 1-minute response time from a live human, making sure you never get stuck in a chat queue ever again.

Curious about how Sendlane can help your DTC brand grow? Schedule a demo with a Specialist. Visit https://www.sendlane.com/story 

This episode is brought to you by Mercury.

The customer experience is paramount to long-term success, says Tyler Kupper, chief revenue officer, and partner of Weatherman Umbrella. That's especially true with high-profile partnerships that have global TV exposure.

"The worst thing in the world is you're on global TV using a Weatherman, and it flips backward," Tyler says. "That doesn't look good for anyone."

Among the brand's partners are the U.S. Ryder Cup team, the President's Cup team, and the Olympic team.

"When the best players in the world are using our products, they have to hold up," he says. "It's been the partnerships for us have been an absolute game-changer. It validates who we are; it validates our product, our team, and everything we stand for."

The Weatherman protects not only from rain but also from the sun. The brand's golf umbrellas offer UPF 50-plus protection.

One piece of advice Tyler offers to fellow entrepreneurs: is the value of samples. In a day when cold e-mails fill inboxes, a nice package with a handwritten note sets a better tone.

"If you're selling a physical product, send the product out with a handwritten note, and you're going to see crazy success," he says.

In Part 2, Tyler talks about:

* The importance of the customer experience. * The value of corporate partnerships and a rundown of some of the biggest names they're working with. * An upcoming deal with a Formula One racing team. * The power of offering samples. * A discussion of the brand's various products. * A design intended for Mother's Day products.

Join Ramon Vela and Tyler Kupper as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Weatherman Umbrella, visit: https://www.weathermanumbrella.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

The episode is brought to you by Mercury.

Mercury is the banking stack for startups & ecommerce.* Get FDIC-insured US accounts, virtual and physical debit cards, currency exchange, and domestic and international wires.

Easily create an account from your laptop, and non-US citizens are welcome to apply.

Connect to payment processors (Stripe, PayPal, Shopify, etc.) and instantly create virtual debit cards for inventory and ad spend.

Customize the banking experience with features like read & write API access, custom team management, and integrations with the tools your startup uses, like Quickbooks and Xero.

Keep growing with Mercury Raise DTC or with financing options through Mercury Capital. *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. All banking services provided by Evolve Bank & Trust®️; Member FDIC.

Visit: https://mercury.com/partner/storyofabrand 

This episode is brought to you by Mercury.

Weatherman Umbrella wants to be the "Yeti for umbrellas," says Tyler Kupper, chief revenue officer, and partner of the brand.

"We're trying to disrupt this category that's never had a high quality, durable product," Tyler says.

The brand's "green perspective" is to create a product that lasts a lifetime. To that end, the company's return rate is 0.1 percent, he says.

Tyler's career path took some unlikely turns along the way. After college, he began working in the sports and media entertainment field but had trouble making ends meet. On the side, he launched a company that delivered and set up Christmas trees. After doing a national TV pitch one day, a weatherman pulled him aside and asked for his help creating a high-quality umbrella.

The pair broke apart hundreds of umbrellas to uncover their weak spots. Improvements with the Weatherman Umbrella model include a better rubber grip, reinforced ribs, and reflective piping along the entire umbrella to improve visibility.

Aside from the product's lifespan, sustainability is a primary goal of the brand, Tyler says. That means using cardboard instead of plastic with packaging.

"Some of these decisions are tough to make, but they're the right decisions," he says. "It will give that consumer some more confidence to invest in the product."

In Part 1, Tyler talks about:

* Gratitude for a high school soccer coach for instilling values into him. * His perspective on creating a "green" product. * His career path and story of helping create the brand. * The process of creating a new umbrella. * How the umbrella is marketed. * The focus on sustainability.

Join Ramon Vela and Tyler Kupper as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Weatherman Umbrella, visit: https://www.weathermanumbrella.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

The episode is brought to you by Mercury.

Mercury is the banking stack for startups & ecommerce.* Get FDIC-insured US accounts, virtual and physical debit cards, currency exchange, and domestic and international wires.

Easily create an account from your laptop, and non-US citizens are welcome to apply.

Connect to payment processors (Stripe, PayPal, Shopify, etc.) and instantly create virtual debit cards for inventory and ad spend.

Customize the banking experience with features like read & write API access, custom team management, and integrations with the tools your startup uses, like Quickbooks and Xero.

Keep growing with Mercury Raise DTC or with financing options through Mercury Capital. *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. All banking services provided by Evolve Bank & Trust®️; Member FDIC.

Visit: https://mercury.com/partner/storyofabrand 

This episode is brought to you by Ordergroove.

One of the first challenges for Treet was to "sell the thing before you build the thing," says co-founder and CEO Jake Disraeli.

He explains that the goal was to sell a feature - and get feedback from the people who will be using it - before actually building the feature.

"We're cautious before we invest in new projects or new lines of business to test things before we go the long mile of creating those things," Jake says.

The best performers for resale usually have a few things in common, Jake says. They tend to be DTC-leaning. Also, they've been in business for a couple of years, so there's plenty of inventory available. Lastly, an ideal resale candidate would have average order values of $50 or above.

"Kidswear is one of the fastest-growing categories in resale, and I think the reason is pretty obvious - kids grow out of their clothes, so let's make sure that they can be passed on," he says.

Treet's loyalty numbers have been noteworthy. Most customers choose credit instead of cash for their items and then return to spend even more at the retailer.

"Customers are spending about 2 to 3 times more than their credit when redeeming it on the main site," Jake says. "That's part of why we haven't lost a brand yet. It's this idea that it's becoming more than just a sustainability initiative for brands. It is quite valuable when it comes to loyalty and bringing customers back into the fold."

In Part 2, Jake talks about: * The need for testing and feedback before committing to the final build of a new feature. * Why you should obsession over the problem you're solving. * An explanation about how the Treet system works. * What the ideal resale candidate looks like. * Which pieces of article perform best in resale. * Feedback from the resale community.

Join Ramon Vela and Jake Disraeli as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Treet, visit: https://www.treet.co/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Ordergroove.

It’s time to let your customers enjoy the products they love without the friction of reordering...

That’s why innovative brands like Peet’s Coffee and Il Makiage rely on Ordergroove’s subscription solution to build long-lasting relationships that drive recurring revenue.

From enrollment incentives to churn-fighting AI, Ordergroove gives your business the tools it needs to be a subscription success story.

Book a demo today and receive 2-months off your contract. Visit https://www.ordergroove.com/story/