Minds of Ecommerce

Ian Blair is the Founder and CEO of Laundry Sauce, a fast-growing DTC brand creating designer laundry detergent pods. A seasoned entrepreneur passionate about SaaS and internet marketing, Ian started his ecommerce journey selling golf balls on eBay. Leveraging his background in inbound marketing, SEO, and paid media, he has transformed Laundry Sauce into a thriving enterprise, scaling the brand to eight figures in two years. Ian is also a partner and board member at Fast Lane Drive, a members-only exotic car club, and the CEO of BuildFire, a mobile app development platform that has powered creative professionals and developers to build over 10,000 mobile apps.

In this episode…

Running an ecommerce business can be intimidating, especially when you want to keep the overhead low by starting off without a team of workers. Thankfully, there are strategies to accelerate the growth of these one-person, nonemployer ventures. How can brands navigate this business model successfully?

Having scaled his designer laundry detergent to eight figures in under two years without employees, serial entrepreneur Ian Blair provides a deep dive into his key strategy: paid media. Ian prioritized a scalable growth engine for his high-margin, subscription-oriented business, harnessing the power of paid media and agencies instead of hiring workers. By using agencies for various business tasks, such as CRO and email marketing, he acquired the expertise needed for his venture’s growth while cutting costs. His approach is grounded in leveraging branding and design to create a unique platform for marketing and learning from associates who run thriving ecommerce businesses. However, the journey hasn’t been without obstacles. Emphasizing the role of a perfect execution plan in bringing an unconventional idea to life, Ian shares how he navigated the challenges of managing agencies for his CRO and paid media strategy.

In this episode of the Minds of Ecommerce podcast, Raphael Paulin-Daigle welcomes Ian Blair, the Founder and CEO of Laundry Sauce, as they discuss how to scale a business fast without employees. They explore Laundry Sauce’s paid media strategy, how to manage agencies effectively, the importance of branding and design in marketing, and the challenges Ian faced growing his business.

Andrew Case is the Co-founder of NoonBrew, which creates superfood teas for improving sleep and energy. Launched in 2021, NoonBrew has shipped over 100,000 packages of tea to customers in all 50 states. Before his venture into ecommerce, Andrew worked as an account executive selling enterprise SaaS at several product-led companies. A graduate of International Business at Webster University, he leverages his sales background and passion for entrepreneurship to scale NoonBrew, growing the company to seven figures within two years.

In this episode…

Direct-response advertising is all about enticing leads to take a specific action. However, for ecommerce supplement brands, scaling with ads is no easy feat. It takes more than having a quality product and foundational knowledge of creating online ads. What can you learn from a brand that scaled by employing advanced tactics in its direct-response ads?

For ecommerce entrepreneur Andrew Case, winning at direct-response advertising requires a blend of creativity and metrics, where understanding the secrets of top-performing brands and prioritizing data become crucial for success. Andrew’s approach entails studying competitors' and top-performing landing pages to spark inspiration. He emphasizes the value of using data analytics tools to review the revenue amounts of top-performing ads to unravel their successful components. As the narrative unfolds, Andrew shares intricate strategies he employs to generate seven-figure sales. He highlights the power of improving the product Net Promoter Score (NPS) through consistent product improvements and testing different landing page styles to optimize conversion rates.

In this episode of the Minds of Ecommerce podcast, Raphael Paulin-Daigle hosts Andrew Case, the Co-Founder of NoonBrew, as he guides listeners through high-level direct-response ad strategies. He discusses the value of looking to other brands for inspiration, creative hacks for supplement brands, common mistakes to avoid when developing direct-response ads, and other proven conversion techniques that grew his brand to millions of dollars in revenue. 

Diego Camejo is the Founder and CEO of She's Waisted, a premium shapewear and activewear brand empowering women to feel confident and beautiful in their skin. A serial entrepreneur with a diverse background in filmmaking, music production, and digital marketing, Diego is also the Founder and Creative Director of Artec Media, a digital media production company, and has built multiple ecommerce ventures with eight-figure lifetime sales. He leverages his passion for creativity and a keen eye for disruptive ideas to spearhead She’s Waisted’s accelerated growth.

In this episode…

In today's digital landscape, user-generated content (UGC) has become vital to online engagement. According to research, ads featuring UGC generate 73% more positive comments on social media platforms than traditional ads and get four times higher click-through rates. How can brands leverage this content creation approach to scale? 

For creative director and ecommerce expert Diego Camejo, his company’s pivot from studio content to UGC has increased conversions and brand loyalty. However, while the authenticity of UGC has been priceless to She's Waisted’s credibility and engagement levels, Diego pinpoints a focus on creators and a problem-solution perspective as cornerstones of his brand’s UGC ads. By testing creators and hooks to find the best combination, brands can maximize creative output and ad performance. In addition, Diego provides insights on Meta Ads, emphasizing an understanding of Facebook algorithms, a shift from campaign structure to broad audience reach, and the importance of content quality over media buying knowledge. His approach to building an effective content and ads blueprint offers valuable insights for businesses looking to scale their ecommerce sales. 

In this episode of the Minds of Ecommerce podcast, Raphael Paulin-Daigle hosts Diego Camejo, the Founder and CEO of She's Waisted, to discuss the user-generated content strategy that’s boosted the brand’s sales within two years. Diego shares his company’s shift to real creators and native platform content, Facebook and Instagram ad strategies, and the importance of creating a game plan for product messaging.

John Roman is the CEO of the Battlbox Group, an outdoor subscription service delivering hand-picked survival, EDC, and other cool gear from its expert team of outdoor professionals. John is an experienced ecommerce executive and board member with a demonstrated history of working in the consumer goods and technology industry. He leveraged his DTC and B2B expertise to scale BattlBox into an industry leader with a $30 million subscription portfolio. A renowned speaker and industry expert, John contributes valuable insights to the industry and shares ecommerce lessons on his blog, Online Queso.

In this episode…

When it comes to growing your business, there's no doubt that attracting and retaining customers is a top priority. However, this is easier said than done in today's highly competitive ecommerce landscape. As your business becomes more established, customer acquisition and retention is even more daunting. How do you ensure customers’ loyalty with so many vendors vying for their attention?

For DTC executive John Roman, building a thriving community is the key to buyer retention. This entails focusing on providing exceptional value and offering a superior experience that not only keeps your customers returning but also converts them into brand advocates who showcase and promote your products. Highlighting acquisition challenges in the post-pandemic landscape, John delves into proven growth strategies he leveraged to scale BattlBox. He sheds light on building brand loyalty through content and community engagement, explaining the effectiveness of contests and other exclusive giveaways in connecting with clientele and building trust. John also addresses the crucial question of whether brands should prioritize acquiring new customers over delighting existing ones, sharing case studies from his company’s personalized outreach strategy that resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional revenue.

In this episode of the Minds of Ecommerce Podcast, Raphael Paulin-Daigle hosts John Roman, the CEO of BattlBox Group, to explore retention and churn reduction strategies for ecommerce brands. John provides insights into customer acquisition challenges for subscription-based businesses, unpacks the strategy behind BattlBox’s community engagement tactics, and emphasizes the importance of entrepreneurs to learn from their losses and failures.

Riley Stricklin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Lume Cube, an ecommerce brand designing premium lighting tools for the creator economy. Established in 2014, Lume Cube started with a portable waterproof light for GoPro cameras and has since expanded to portable lights, partnering with notable retailers like Best Buy and the Apple Store. Before Lume Cube, Riley led sales and marketing teams across various companies, including Octagon and Ludus Sports. He was also a member of the Board of Directors at the San Diego chapter of the Entrepreneurs' Organization.

In this episode…

A landing page, also known as a lead capture page, helps online stores generate leads and boost sales. Yet, the real challenge with landing pages is creating those that convert leads to buyers since the average landing page conversion rate is just 9.7%. Could industry-specific landing pages be a game-changer? 

Seasoned marketer Riley Stricklin thinks so — however, all landing pages share the same goal, but there's no one-size-fits-all solution to increasing conversions. Riley and his team discovered that, although their paid search strategy effectively generated leads, all the traffic went to a single landing page that couldn't target the business’ different audiences. The company navigated this challenge by breaking paid ad funnels into customized industry-specific landing pages, skyrocketing conversion rates by up to 50% and add-to-cart rates by 300%. Riley emphasizes testing landing pages and experimenting with different pages for diverse audiences to see what performs best. In addition, leveraging customer segmentation and engagement strategies like surveys can help ecommerce stores refine their digital marketing strategies. 

In this latest episode of the Minds of Ecommerce Podcast, host Raphael Paulin-Daigle chats with Riley Stricklin, the Co-founder and CEO of Lume Cube, on using customized industry-specific landing pages to increase conversions. Riley reveals the secrets behind Lume Cube’s high-conversion landing pages and highlights the importance of customer surveys and landing page testing.

Matt Bertulli is the Co-founder and CEO of Pela Case and Lomi, certified B-corp brands operating at the intersection of waste innovation and consumer technology. Fueled by a mission to minimize global waste, Pela creates sustainable phone cases from eco-friendly materials, while Lomi transforms food waste into nutrient-rich plant food with its Smart Waste™ kitchen composter. Pela Case and Lomi have been named Top 10 in the Canadian Business Growth 500 ranking and #1 in Deloitte’s Fast 50 for cleantech businesses in Canada. 

After over a decade as a software developer, Matt started his entrepreneurial journey by co-founding Demac Media, an award-winning ecommerce company, which he bootstrapped, grew to over 100 employees, and sold after 10 years. Matt also co-hosts The Operators, a podcast focused on running eight- and nine-figure ecommerce companies.

 In this episode…

If you’re trying to take your ecommerce business to new heights, then category creation should be on your radar. With new companies popping up daily offering similar products, only the brands that stand out will get the highest market share.

Having built two successful brands leveraging product differentiation, serial entrepreneur Matt Bertulli says it’s not about beating everyone else at the game but creating something your niche has never seen. This marketing strategy is known as category design. According to Matt, entrepreneurs must develop a unique mechanism for doing things everyone else won’t dare. However, before creating a category, it’s critical to have a value proposition and devise authentic brand stories that convince your customers you genuinely care about solving their pain points. What problem are you trying to solve, and how exactly is your product the solution? Learn how thriving ecommerce brands are winning the ecommerce game with category creation.

Join Raphael Paulin-Daigle in this new installment of the Minds of Ecommerce Podcast as he chats with Matt Bertulli, Co-founder and CEO of Pela Case and Lomi, on how brands can prosper by creating a new product category. Matt demystifies category creation strategies and how Pela Case and Lomi stay ahead of the competition with this marketing approach. He also highlights the importance of having a unique product or value proposition and the common mistakes to avoid when creating a new category.

Greg Schwartz is the Founder of Household, a boutique TV consultancy that works with direct-to-consumer brands on creative, media planning, and overall TV growth strategies. Passionate about transforming brands into household names, Greg has created over 150 TV commercials and helped many eight-figure brands, such as Moon Pod and Solgaard, profitably scale using TV as the main growth engine. Before Household, he helped run and launch many ecommerce brands. With a robust skill set that includes direct-response advertising, growth marketing, video production, and performance marketing, Greg contributes valuable insights to the industry.

In this episode…

When it comes to marketing, most DTC brands use social platforms to build relationships and social videos to communicate product offerings. However, TV advertising has found its way into the DTC conversation over the past years, with brands embracing the channel to expand their reach. How can you diversify ad revenue streams by leveraging the growing opportunities of linear and streaming TV platforms? But before you take this approach, it's essential to consider whether it's the right fit for your business.

According to advertising expert Greg Schwartz, TV ads have become a definite consideration for DTC brands in reaching high-value customers and boosting sales through direct-response advertising. Clearing the misconception that TV ads are costly, Greg reveals that they’re more affordable than many brands realize, with average CPMs of less than $2 and the potential for massive audience reach. However, an adaptive and reactive approach is critical to tailoring your TV strategy. He illustrates that true mastery of TV advertising entails identifying the right platforms for your products and budget, optimizing organic funnels to maximize brand exposure, and having a creative team specifically for video. In addition, it’s crucial to apply performance measurement best practices, such as measuring TV performance through post-purchase surveys, comparing results from different networks, and optimizing ad spend on winners. 

In this episode of Minds of Ecommerce Podcast, Raphael Paulin-Daigle hosts Greg Schwartz, Founder of Household, to discuss how DTC brands drive growth through TV ads. Greg reveals the TV ad strategies of top-performing ecommerce brands, common mistakes in TV ads, and how to know if your brand is ready for this marketing approach. 

Steve O'Dell is the Co-founder and CEO of Tenzo Tea, a DTC organic matcha tea company. Available in thousands of stores and featured in Entrepreneur, CBS, and People, Tenzo Tea provides healthy energy through organically sourced and sustainable ingredients. Steve's roots are deeply entrenched in entrepreneurship, and he is an investor in multiple startups, including Jibby Coffee. He also co-founded The Odd Job Brothers, KOTU Inc., Iliad Tech, ACCESS, and Ad Valorum. Steve attended UCLA briefly before deciding to leave to explore entrepreneurial opportunities. 

In this episode…

In the digital world of ecommerce, where customer satisfaction reigns supreme, increasing lifetime value (LTV) isn’t a choice — it's a necessity. What can you learn from brands that have leveraged this metric to accelerate business growth?  

Steve O'Dell, a seasoned ecommerce growth expert, highlights the importance of providing a better customer experience to retain customers longer. Focusing on existing customers can boost ROI, so understanding and applying LTV metrics is essential. LTV measures the aggregate value of all customers, and increasing LTV impacts marketing strategies, profitability, budget allocation, and customer service expenditures. To boost LTV, Steve's company uses a variety of strategies. As a startup, Steve quickly addressed objections, tracked them through surveys, and then experimented with bundles, subscriptions, and product iterations to modify or improve products. By analyzing LTV, they were able to make adjustments and increase sales, which led the brand to increase its LTV by 50% within two years.

Join host Raphael Paulin-Daigle in this episode of the Minds of Ecommerce Podcast as he interviews Steve O'Dell, the Co-founder and CEO of Tenzo Tea, on the impact of lifetime value on ecommerce growth. Steve shares Tenzo’s blueprint that increased LTV by 50%, his ecommerce journey, and how to address objections head-on. This insightful conversation provides valuable takeaways for anyone looking to refine their ecommerce growth blueprint.

Jordan Nathan is the Founder and CEO of Caraway, a fast-growing direct-to-consumer cookware brand. Launched in 2019, Caraway is on a mission to create well-designed, non-toxic, ceramic-coated home goods. Before founding his own company, Jordan was the CEO of Vremi, a kitchen and home goods company owned by the Mohawk Group. His strategic vision and leadership have been instrumental in Caraway's exponential growth and partnerships with notable wholesalers, including Amazon, Nordstrom, Zola, and West Elm. A graduate of consumer psychology from Colby College, Jordan was a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in the retail and ecommerce category in 2018.

In this episode…

Growing a new D2C brand is a challenging endeavor fraught with potential pitfalls, including a competitive market, high customer acquisition costs, and the demand for personalized customer experiences. How do you create a hyper-successful product development blueprint that can be scaled to meet the needs of a growing customer base?

Jordan Nathan, who runs a rapidly growing D2C brand, is an expert on this topic. When he launched Caraway, the brand only offered its core product — a cookware set. Jordan pivoted to fill a gap in the homeware bundling space, offering curated sets based on targeted market research and customer surveys. This new strategy worked out well, and the brand has since expanded to retailers and Amazon, with sets and bundles playing a vital role in the brand’s growth. He emphasizes the importance of being intentional in product development to ensure you deliver value to your customers. 

In this episode of Minds of Ecommerce Podcast, host Raphael Paulin-Daigle interviews Jordan Nathan, Founder and CEO of Caraway, to discuss Caraway's breakout product bundling and merchandising strategy. Jordan unpacks the details behind his company's highly successful product development blueprint and provides valuable insights on scaling a D2C ecommerce brand.

Alexandra Zatarain is the Co-founder and Vice President of Brand and Marketing at Eight Sleep, a sleep fitness company specializing in smart mattresses and mattress covers that heat and cool to regulate body temperature. Before launching the San Francisco-based startup, Alexandra worked in public relations in New York City. At Eight Sleep, she leads the company’s brand marketing strategies and partnerships with health-conscious technologists and elite athletes such as Lewis Hamilton and Justin Medeiros. 

In 2017, Alexandra was included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 in Consumer Technology list, and in 2020, Inc. recognized her as one of the Top 100 Female Founders. Alexandra is also an angel investor in female-founded companies as a scout for Cleo Capital and an Advisor at The NORTH by Female Founder Collective. She is passionate about end-to-end funnel management including paid acquisition on digital and offline channels, CRM, affiliate and partnerships, and ecommerce optimization.

 In this episode…

According to the Association of National Advertisers, 75% of businesses use influencer marketing as part of their online strategy. However, only 36% of marketers are satisfied with the ROI on brand partnerships, while 19% find it unprofitable — an underwhelming success rate. How can brands build effective influencer marketing campaigns? 

Effective brand partnership entails more than understanding the demographics of your target audience or getting brand mentions. Having spearheaded some of the most notable influencer partnerships in online mattress sales, marketing expert Alexandra Zatarain advocates authenticity, relationship building, and respect for the audience as crucial aspects of brand partnership. The foundation of an impactful brand awareness project entails melding genuineness, transparency, and relatability in brand storytelling. This foundation cultivates relationships with prospects and converts them into buyers. Alexandra reveals the relationship-building strategies that scaled her company’s revenue to an over $500 million valuation. 

In this episode of the Minds of Ecommerce Podcast, join Raphael Paulin-Daigle as he chats with the Co-founder and VP of Brand and Marketing at Eight Sleep, Alexandra Zatarain. They delve into the nuances of effective influencer marketing through authentic storytelling and relationship building. Alexandra shares the inspiration and technology behind Eight Sleep’s Pod and how the company scales its revenue by collaborating with high performers and influencers in various fields.   

Suzie Cyrenne is the Co-founder of Zumalka, a company that delivers natural and homeopathic pet supplements for holistic pet wellness. For over a decade, Suzie has nurtured and cared for pets in over 70 countries through Zumalka’s natural alternatives and the company’s dedication to pet well-being. 

A certified homeopath who co-founded her first business in 2013, Suzie's roots are deeply entrenched in entrepreneurship. She is also the Co-founder and COO of Buster Fetcher™, an automated tracking system that helps businesses cut shipping costs and boost profit margins. In addition, Suzie hosts the Women Powering Ecommerce Podcast, inspiring others with valuable business lessons for exceptional leadership.

In this episode…

Generating relevant and productive traffic to a website is a primary goal for online businesses. However, many online brands are still determining the most effective approaches for getting leads. How do you generate leads that, in turn, grow your ecommerce business significantly?

Founder and seasoned entrepreneur Suzie Cyrenne navigates business with the mindset that content is critical to realizing ecommerce growth. Creating relevant content and in-depth guides has been fundamental to her entrepreneurial success, seeing a skyrocket in traffic and sales on her ecommerce website. According to Suzie, SEO and content marketing have numerous advantages over traditional advertising methods and paid ads. With content marketing, businesses can gain customers’ trust by delivering messages that resonate with them. Content provides long-term value when combined with strategic outreach, SEO optimization, and CRO audits. 

In this episode of the Minds of Ecommerce Podcast, Raphael Paulin-Daigle sits down with Suzie Cyrenne, Co-founder of Zumalka and Buster Fetcher™, as she unpacks her SEO strategies for increased visibility, traffic, and sales. Suzie highlights the benefits of SEO over paid ads and provides tips on how to make the most of your content marketing efforts. You will also learn how to scale your business with freelancers and conversion optimization tactics for increased ROI.

Stephen Pinto is Director of Product Management at Dr. Squatch, one of the fastest-growing brands in the DTC space. In this episode, Stephen shares how they've scaled Dr. Squatch beyond American borders, starting with Canada, and then Europe, while keeping operations lean and efficient.

Ashvin Melwani is the co-founder and CMO of supplement company Obvi. Like most DTC brands, the recent changes with Facebook ads have hit them hard, but they managed to emerge from those challenges with quite a bit of success, mostly by focusing on A/B testing and landing pages.

In this episode, we discuss how Obvi reduced their Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) by 57% through landing pages and on-site testing, how long it took them to get results from optimization, and Ash's top tips for brands looking to boost ad performance through CRO and landing pages.

Ben Sehl is the Senior Product Lead of Hydrogen, Shopify’s new framework for building next-generation custom storefronts; as well as the Co-founder of Kotn, a sustainable lifestyle brand; and Margin, a new men’s grooming brand.

In this episode, Ben shares how his company Kotn is using Brick and Mortar stores as a growth strategy. He shares the do's and don'ts, how to calculate ROI on physical stores, as well as plenty of other actionable tips for DTC execs, brand owners, and marketers.

Ben Smith is the founder of Disco, a DTC skincare brand for men. They've grown significantly over the past years, and Ben credits much of this growth to customer research.

By carefully listening to their customers, Disco has been able to use those insights to improve their performance marketing, their website, and overall marketing strategy. In this episode, Ben shares how they do customer research, and how they apply those insights to grow the brands and continuously improve marketing performance.

Chris Meade is the co-founder and CMO of CROSSNET, the world's first four-way volleyball game. The brand has had solid growth over the years, and they've also worked really to deploy their capital in the most efficient ways possible as they scale.

One way they're doing that is by primarily hiring freelancers instead of full-time employees. How can any DTC brand replicate the success they've had with freelancers? What mistakes are brands doing when hiring them? And how do you keep freelancers as accountable as full-time staff? The answers, and more, will be found in this episode.

Jason Wong is the Founder of Wonghaus Ventures and Doe Lashes, a DTC brand that he managed to scale to millions in just one year. He credits a lot of that growth to their referral program, and that's exactly what we'll talk about in this super actionable episode.

Get ready to learn why he thinks most referral programs are a waste, what most brands are doing wrong, and what they've done differently at Doe to make their program one of their most valuable customer acquisition assets.

Ricky Joshi is co-founder of Saatva, one of the first and biggest direct-to-consumer mattress brands to emerge. In an industry where competition is tight, they've managed to grow exponentially over the years, now generating over $250M in annual revenue.

In this episode, we talk about how to differentiate in a crowded industry and how to shape your brand's messaging to be able to compete against other giants.

Dan Demsky is co-founder of DTC apparel brand Unbound Merino. They've successfully used crowdfunding to get the brand started, and still use it to this day as a growth strategy.

In this episode we talk about storytelling in marketing, dive deep into Dan's strategy for launching through crowdfunding, some actionable tricks for a successful campaign, and how million-dollar brands can still use crowdfunding as a marketing channel.