Home improvement marketing is evolving as direct-to-consumer brands leverage social proof, digital advertising, and customer ownership to compete with major retailers and drive sustainable growth.

ABOUT THE EPISODE ⸻

In this episode of The Truth About Social Ads, Jason Smith sits down with Lori Machiorlette, founder of Worth Home Products, to discuss what it takes to build and scale a patented consumer products business over more than two decades.

Lori shares the story behind Worth Home Products, including the development of the Instant Pendant Lite and decorative AC vent covers that helped the company stand out in a competitive home improvement market. She also reflects on lessons learned from her beauty brand, BlendSmart, the challenges of selling through major retailers like Home Depot, Lowe’s, Costco, Sephora, and QVC, and the strategic shift from wholesale to direct-to-consumer sales.

The conversation explores product innovation, customer retention, social proof, Amazon growth, agency partnerships, paid advertising, and the realities of scaling an e-commerce brand while maintaining profitability and long-term customer relationships.

ABOUT THE GUEST ⸻

Lori Machiorlette is the founder of Worth Home Products, a home improvement company known for its patented Instant Pendant Lite recessed can conversion kits and decorative AC vent covers. With more than 20 years of experience in e-commerce, retail, and consumer products, Lori has successfully sold products through major retailers including Home Depot, Lowe’s, Costco, Sephora, and QVC.

She is also a co-founder of BlendSmart, the world’s first rotating makeup brush, which expanded internationally through major beauty retailers. Lori specializes in product innovation, direct-to-consumer growth, retail strategy, and customer-focused brand building.

Starting a supplement brand no longer requires massive inventory investments, warehouse space, or manufacturing expertise. This episode explores how entrepreneurs are launching and scaling supplement businesses with lower risk while focusing on growth and customer acquisition.

ABOUT THE EPISODE ⸻

In this episode of The Truth About Social Ads, host Jason Smith sits down with Spencer Livingston, Sales Director at On Demand Fulfillment, to discuss how entrepreneurs can launch private-label supplement brands without traditional inventory commitments.

Spencer breaks down On Demand Fulfillment’s zero minimum order quantity (MOQ) model, how dropship fulfillment works in the supplement industry, and why preserving cash flow can be more important than maximizing product margins. The conversation covers fulfillment logistics, subscription-based revenue, supplement quality standards, third-party testing, inventory forecasting, Amazon compliance, and the challenges brands face when scaling rapidly.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur exploring eCommerce, an agency owner serving product-based businesses, or a brand looking to improve fulfillment operations, this episode provides practical insights into launching and growing a supplement company with reduced operational risk.

ABOUT THE GUEST ⸻

Spencer Livingston is the Sales Director at On Demand Fulfillment, a white-label dropship fulfillment company specializing in supplement brands. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, On Demand Fulfillment operates alongside Vox Nutrition, a supplement contract manufacturer that produces and fulfills products from the same facility.

Spencer works directly with entrepreneurs, eCommerce operators, and growing supplement brands to help them launch products with no inventory commitments while maintaining quality standards through FDA-registered manufacturing processes and third-party testing. He also helps established brands transition into custom formulations as they scale.

From corporate law to building a premium tequila brand, Mara Smith shares how she identified a gap in the spirits industry and turned it into Inspiro Tequila.

ABOUT THE EPISODE ⸻

In this episode of The Truth About Social Ads, Jason Smith sits down with Mara Smith, founder of Inspiro Tequila, to discuss her unconventional journey from attorney and corporate strategist to entrepreneur in the tequila industry. Mara shares how discovering undisclosed additives in many premium tequilas inspired her to create a cleaner, additive-free alternative designed for modern consumers.

The conversation explores the realities of building a beverage brand from scratch, including grassroots marketing, retail growth, organic social media, email marketing, collaborations, influencer partnerships, and the challenges of advertising alcohol brands on Meta platforms. Mara also explains how Inspiro Tequila differentiates itself in a highly competitive market with an all-women leadership team and a strong focus on authentic consumer connection.

ABOUT THE GUEST ⸻

Mara Smith is the founder of Inspiro Tequila, an additive-free tequila brand created to offer a cleaner and more approachable tequila experience. Before launching Inspiro Tequila in 2020, Mara worked as an attorney at a large law firm and later joined the corporate strategy group at McDonald’s Corporation. After stepping away from corporate life to raise her family, she pursued entrepreneurship and built a tequila company focused on premium quality, female-led leadership, and modern consumer preferences. Inspiro Tequila is distilled, owned, and led by an all-women team.

CPG brand Sweet Addison’s is reshaping gluten-free baking through storytelling, organic Instagram growth, and a founder-led approach to scaling with Meta ads.

ABOUT THE EPISODE ⸻In this episode of The Truth About Social Ads, Jason Smith sits down with Addison LaBonte, founder of Sweet Addison’s, a fast-growing better-for-you bakery known for gluten-free and dairy-free cookies and brownies shipped nationwide. Addison shares her powerful journey from being a Division I college soccer player and finance professional to becoming a CPG founder after a life-changing health discovery.

She opens up about being diagnosed with compartment syndrome, how eliminating gluten helped her return to running, and how that experience led her to deeply research food, inflammation, and ingredient transparency. From building a viral Instagram presence under “Organically Addison” to launching Sweet Addison’s from her home kitchen, Addison breaks down how organic content, customer demand, and storytelling shaped her brand before ads ever entered the picture. The episode also explores scaling a food business, product development, and why authentic marketing now outperforms traditional advertising.

ABOUT THE GUEST ⸻

Addison LaBonte is the founder of Sweet Addison’s, a premium gluten-free and dairy-free bakery brand specializing in cookies and brownies shipped across the United States. She is also the creator behind “Organically Addison” on Instagram, where she shares recipes, lifestyle content, and her journey building a health-conscious food brand. A former Division I athlete from the University of Maine and ex-finance professional, Addison transitioned into entrepreneurship after discovering how dietary changes impacted her health and performance.

Performance marketing, affiliate media buying, and e-commerce brand building collide in this episode exploring how Tactical Snacks was built for military and first responders.

ABOUT THE EPISODE ⸻ In this episode of The Truth About Social Ads, Jason Smith sits down with Greg Potapenko, a Canadian Army veteran and performance marketer who transitioned from affiliate marketing and paid media into building Tactical Snacks — a military-inspired better-for-you snack brand.

Greg shares his journey from immigrating to Canada from the Soviet Union, serving more than two decades in the Canadian Army, competing in national marksmanship competitions, and building an affiliate marketing agency focused on Google Ads and direct response marketing. The conversation dives deep into the realities of affiliate media buying, the collapse many marketers experienced after iOS 14 updates, and how Greg leveraged his experience in e-commerce, paid ads, and consumer psychology to launch Tactical Snacks. The episode also explores startup validation, crowdfunding-style product launches, TikTok Shop strategy, and building a niche CPG brand for military, law enforcement, and first responders.

ABOUT THE GUEST ⸻ Greg Potapenko is a performance marketer, Canadian Army veteran, and founder of Tactical Snacks. He previously built an affiliate marketing agency focused heavily on Google Ads, paid media, and direct response marketing before transitioning into consumer packaged goods and e-commerce entrepreneurship.

With more than two decades of military experience and years in affiliate marketing and Shopify-based e-commerce, Greg combines direct response advertising expertise with community-driven brand building. Tactical Snacks focuses on low-sugar, low-calorie sweets and protein snacks designed for military personnel, first responders, and health-conscious consumers looking for better snack alternatives.

Strong client relationships don’t happen by accident. In this episode, Jason Gilmore shares why consistent follow-ups and proactive communication are essential for winning repeat creative work.

ABOUT THE EPISODE ⸻In this episode, Jason Gilmore shares practical lessons from years of working behind the camera in photo and video production. He discusses one of the most overlooked truths in creative services: strong vendor relationships don’t happen by accident—they require consistent follow-up, proactive communication, and genuine interest in a client’s evolving needs.

Jason explains why many marketing teams struggle with vendor communication and how creatives can stand out by taking initiative. From regularly checking in with past clients to positioning yourself as a long-term partner rather than a one-time service provider, this conversation highlights simple but powerful habits that help creatives stay top of mind and secure repeat work.

ABOUT THE GUEST ⸻Jason Gilmore is a professional photographer and videographer with extensive experience working with marketing teams and brands to produce high-quality visual content. Throughout his career, he has built lasting relationships with clients by focusing on proactive communication and consistent follow-up practices. His expertise spans vendor collaboration, client relationship management, and maintaining long-term partnerships that support ongoing content creation and brand development.

Children’s nutrition is evolving fast as parents question plastics, processed foods, and gut health risks—this episode explores practical solutions for safer, smarter baby feeding.

Children’s nutrition and early gut health are becoming major concerns for modern families, and this episode explores how one parent turned frustration into innovation. John Westerhaus shares how his personal experience with his son’s feeding challenges led to the creation of safer, non-toxic baby mealtime solutions designed to support healthier development.

Listeners will learn how plastic packaging, processed baby foods, and convenience-driven habits can impact early gut development, and why the first five years are critical to long-term health. John also breaks down how thoughtful product design, patented innovations, and mission-driven entrepreneurship helped launch a growing children’s wellness brand built around real-world parenting needs.

John Westerhaus is the founder of Low Country Littles, a children’s wellness brand focused on non-toxic baby mealtime products and gut-friendly nutrition solutions. He launched the company in 2023 alongside his wife, Anna, after their son experienced feeding challenges that led them to research early childhood nutrition and gut microbiome health.

Through hands-on product innovation, John developed patented reusable baby food pouches and complementary products made from premium platinum silicone, designed to support whole nutrition while reducing exposure to harmful materials. His work centers on improving early childhood wellness through smarter product design and education around gut health development.

Applied mathematics and apprenticeship learning are reshaping education, proving that creativity—not computation—drives real mastery. This episode explores how mindset shifts unlock new learning pathways.

In this episode, host Jason Smith sits down with Dr. Kevin Berkopes, CEO and Co-Founder of MathTrack Institute, to explore how applied mathematics, apprenticeships, and mindset shifts are transforming education. The conversation challenges the common belief that math ability is fixed, highlighting how creativity, interest, and exposure shape learning success.

Dr. Berkopes explains how MathTrack Institute builds apprenticeship-based degree pathways that lower costs while maintaining high-quality teacher preparation. He also shares how trust-driven marketing—through speaking, community building, and LinkedIn content—can fuel growth without relying on paid ads. This episode offers valuable insights for educators, entrepreneurs, and innovators interested in education technology, workforce development, and scalable learning systems.

Dr. Kevin Berkopes is the CEO and Co-Founder of MathTrack Institute, an organization focused on apprenticeship-based degree pathways that rethink teacher preparation and professional development. A former mathematics professor with a background in applied mathematics, Dr. Berkopes partners with universities and school districts to advance mathematics as a creative force. He also authored The Age of Storytellers and leads initiatives that integrate research-driven learning models into real-world education and workforce pathways.

AI-first companies are redefining how teams operate, replacing slow manual workflows with automation, shared knowledge systems, and intelligent agents that scale output without increasing headcount.

In this episode of Truth About Social Ads, host Jason Smith sits down with Denis Elkin, CMO at Alps2Alps, to explore how AI is transforming real-world operations inside a high-load transportation business. From managing seasonal demand across hundreds of ski resorts to scaling content production across multiple social channels, Denis shares how AI-first thinking is reshaping how teams work.

The conversation covers practical applications of AI across marketing, analytics, operations, and decision-making. Denis explains how his team uses AI agents for competitor research, UX testing, trend analysis, and campaign planning—all while maintaining flexibility in a seasonal business environment. He also shares how internal AI collaboration systems drive innovation across both technical and non-technical roles.

Denis Elkin is the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Alps2Alps, a tech-driven mobility company operating across the Alpine region and serving more than 350,000 passengers annually. He leads performance marketing and growth initiatives across multiple companies within the holding structure, managing distributed teams and scaling operations under extreme seasonal demand. Denis specializes in building AI-first systems that support marketing execution, automation, analytics, and operational efficiency across large-scale transportation services.

Wall printing technology is reshaping how businesses market their spaces, blending creativity with digital strategy to create high-impact visuals that attract customers and drive engagement.

In this episode of Truth About Social Ads, host Jason Smith sits down with Ashlee Fritz, Chief Marketing Officer at The Wall Printer, to explore how emerging technology and strategic marketing are fueling rapid business growth. From scaling social media audiences to over 300,000 followers to running targeted digital campaigns, Ashlee shares how combining organic content with paid media creates consistent demand—even for high-ticket products.

The conversation also dives into the real-world side of entrepreneurship, including launching a wall printing business, testing marketing systems in live environments, and refining audience targeting strategies. Listeners will gain practical insights into customer journeys, retargeting, content strategy, and why consistent marketing remains essential—especially for new businesses entering competitive markets.

Ashlee Fritz is the Chief Marketing Officer at The Wall Printer, where she leads digital marketing strategy, brand development, and campaign execution across multiple platforms. With 16 years of marketing experience and a background in military service as a helicopter mechanic, she brings disciplined strategy and operational precision to growing emerging technologies. At The Wall Printer, Ashlee has rebuilt marketing systems from the ground up, optimized SEO and paid advertising efforts, and helped scale social media audiences into a major growth channel. She is also an entrepreneur, operating her own wall printing business and testing marketing systems designed to help new business owners succeed.