TrepTalks with Sushant

Kayla Hutchinson of Lucky Dog Design Company shares the story of building a stationary retail brand offering hand designed and in-house printed greeting cards, stickers, planners and other stationary items. Kayla shares her passion for paper printed products which she designs and prints herself. Kayla has received a strong traction on Etsy (and why Amazon did not work for her) and also talks about strategies and funnels she uses to bring customers to her website and retain over the long-run. Kayla also shares about using sustainable materials in her products. 

Anthony Rosemond of Pastreez shares his journey of moving to the US from Paris, France to bring the authentic taste of Macarons to the people of United States. Anthony talks about the process of moving from Paris and starting a business in the US, growing organically, and the challenges of shipping Pastries across the US.

Jamie Taylor, the founder of Confete Party Box, shares the story of building a Party Gift Boxes and Balloon Installations Business and then pivoting to Virtual Party Boxes during COVID. Jamie shares her lessons in growth, B2B sales, and future plans.

Diana Hall, the founder of ActivArmor, shares the story of disrupting the traditional medical casts and splints with custom 3-D printed plastic alternatives that offer better fit, waterproof protection, and better lifestyle fit for individual patients. Diana shares the unique value proposition of the product, business model and large market size, overcoming challenges in driving adoption, and changing medical provider and patient behavior in how they use casts and splints.

Oleg Kulyk, the founder of ScrapingAnt, discusses his journey as an entrepreneur and the challenges of running a business in Ukraine during the war with Russia, including constant shelling and supply shortages. Despite the difficulties, Oleg managed to keep his business running and supporting his customers. He also talks about the features of his web scraping API platform, including AI-enabled data extraction and user-friendly pricing plans. Oleg emphasizes the importance of maintaining good relationships with clients and providing solutions to their problems. 

 Isabel Aaagard, co-founder of Last Object, shares the story of building a company that designs and creates reusable alternatives to single-use items. She talks about the iterative design process, massive success in launching a reusable swab, and challenges in building consumer awareness of reusable products and getting mass distribution. 

Elliot Bishton of Engravers Guild of London shares how he has been able to differentiate and grow a Gift products online ecommerce business by offering custom personalization and beautiful packaging to its customers. Elliot also shares the challenges that small businesses are facing in a highly competitive market where marketing for customer acquisition is getting increasingly expensive.  Elliot also shares the importance of right timing in getting into a market. 

Gillian Crawford, founder of Lily Blanche, a demi-fine jewelry brand based out of Scotland, shares the story of building a jewelry brand that focuses on offering a truly sentimental and emotional experience for her customers. Gillian also shares her lessons in brand building and navigating the complexities of building an e-commerce business in a crowded market. 

In this episode, Logan Christopher, the co-founder and CEO of Lost Empire Herbs, takes us through his entrepreneurial journey in the natural products industry. From his early days in fitness to his venture into herbalism, Logan shares how he combines scientific research with ancient wisdom to offer high-quality herbal products.

Chris Devonshire Ellis, Founder of Dezan Shira Associates shares a lifetime of business and life lessons building an Asia Growth focused professional services firm. Starting a consulting practice in China 32 years ago, Chris has grown his business to 40 offices across Asia and $40 Million+ in revenues. Chris shares his outlook in China, Asia, as well as building a company culture of love rather than fear.