Ep. 36 Okay Sis’s Mady Maio on Why Founders HAVE to Prioritize Mental Health

In this episode of Ecommerce Building Blocks, Jason is joined by Mady Maio, host of the popular business and lifestyle podcast Okay Sis and co-founder of the travel recommendation app Camber. Jason and Mady talk about mental health for founders and entrepreneurs: why it’s so important and what all of us can do to make sure we use our well-being to show up for the projects we love and ourselves every day.

Ep. 35 Aishwarya Iyer from Brightland on Finding her Brand’s Superpower and Creating a Cult Product

Brightland might be the first sustainably sourced DTC olive oil company to exist, and it has achieved cult-status for its freshness, its colorful and beautifully designed bottles, and its personal touch. All of this is thanks to Brightland’s founder, Aishwarya Iyer, who joins us this week to share her story, and some tips for finding your own success story.

Ep. 34 How House Of Léon is Reshaping the Luxury Furniture Industry

Steven and Jordan Neman started House of Léon as a DTC business that only the brave would attempt: furniture. Massive, bulky, made to order, and expensive, how could they apply DTC building blocks to something so far outside of the box? In this episode, Jason talks with Steven about how they got started and what they are learning along the way.

Ep. 33 Using a Little to Do A Lot: Capital Efficiency with Matt Mullenax from Huron

Matt Mullenax founded Huron because he saw a void in the men’s grooming industry and tested this hypothesis by launching a dummy brand before pouring all of his capital into developing real inventory. He and Jason run through how this testing worked, and dive into the topic of capital efficiency - a solid business concept in the age of rampant branding.

Ep. 32 Barry Hott on How to Get People Invested in Your Content

Barry Hott is a growth consultant with more than a decade of experience guiding brands through advertising and strategy on every social platform. After working with a who’s who of Fortune 500 companies and viral DTC brands like Harry’s and Keeps, he has branched out on his own as an Austin-based consultant. In this episode Jason picks his brain about how to get paid social to pull people into caring about your brand.

Ep. 31 How Gefen Skolnick’s Independent, Learning First Business Model Rocketed Couplet Coffee to Success in One Year

By the time Gefen Skolnick finished college she had already dipped her toes into the world of venture capital, and was well on her way to a tech career in Silicon Valley. But in 2021 she put down the laptop, founded Couplet Coffee, and became an immediately successful CPG entrepreneur. A year later, Couplet is wildly successful in both online DTC and on retail shelves and Gefen is exploring what it means to grow a business intelligently and intentionally, all while having fun and enjoying great coffee.

Ep. 30 A Homemade Soy Candle Company’s Slow Burn to 7 Figures Through Storytelling & Community

Alicia Reisinger started Wax Buffalo Soy Candles out of her home and grew her business to be both a hub of community in her brick and mortar flagship store as well as a thriving DTC online business. In her seven years as a business owner, Alicia has defined her company through her willingness to be vulnerable and to share her story each step of the way, and it has paid off emotionally and financially. Here, she shares her story with Jason, talks about her community building approach and gets deep into 21st century content strategy.

Ep. 28 Creating a Multi-Million Dollar Brand as a Social Media Dog Influencer

Bryan Reisberg founded his dog backpack company, Little Chonk, after his beloved Corgi, Maxine, had amassed a huge following on Instagram and TikTok, from being shown getting carried around in modified backpacks all over the New York City subway. Jason talks with him about the dog backpack community and what it’s like to go into business after you are already an influencer.

Ep. 27 Jack at Duradry on Why Creating Niche Products Leads to Massive Success

Jack Bezaquen founded Duradry to provide solutions for people who experience excessive sweatinng. In the process he created a product that has rescrambled the very full DTC deodorant playing field and has been massively profitable year-over-year. Jason interviews him about his product development and marketing in this upbeat episode.

Ep. 26 How Jordan West Made 100k in an Hour with Gated Launches

Jordan West has founded several Ecommerce businesses, runs and agency, and also hosts a successful podcast of his own where he shares marketing tips for other founders in the space. Jason invited him onto the show to share his recipe for creating demand with gated launches. They get into building community, the steps for ensuring a profitable launch event, and lessons learned over the course of a successful career.

Ep. 25 Get Your Influencer Outreach Right with Kynship’s Cody Wittick

Cody Wittick is the co-founder of a highly successful agency targeted to pairing businesses with influencers and tweets practical daily business advice to his many followers. Jason invited him on the show to pick his brain about what the influencer marketing ecosystem is really all about in 2022 and how to make the most of it in your business.

Ep. 24 Building a Loyal Community through Education with Emily Miethner

Emily Miethner co-founded Travel Cat with her husband when they became cat parents and realized the market for pet products was missing a company that was geared specifically toward cat owners. With their targeted community building and inclusive educational approach, they’ve built a deeply loyal customer base and a profitable business.

Ep. 23 How Brands Can Go Viral Again and Again with JT Barnett

Depending on your interests, you might know JT Barnett from his time as a pro-hockey player or as the founder of Honey House, one of the early TikTok houses that blew up in 2020. In the last year, JT has pivoted from being a viral TikTok star on multiple accounts to running his successful consulting business helping brands learn how to have an impactful presence on the platform. Jason and JT get into all of the above, and most importantly for our listeners, they talk about what brands should be doing with this platform, what they should avoid, and why it is absolutely not too late to prioritize TikTok in your marketing stack.

Ep. 22 The Future of Influencer Marketing with Alessandro Bogliari

In this episode of Ecommerce Building Blocks, Jason talks with Alessandro Bogliari, the founder and CEO of Influencer Marketing Factory about what has changed since influencers first arrived on our screens more than a decade ago and what will be happening to influencer marketing in the near future. Jason and Alessandro also have a fascinating conversation about the differences between global western and eastern approaches to online marketing, app usage, and shopping - and the impacts of each on technology and marketing as a whole.

Ep. 21 Adii Pienaar from Cogsy, on Empowering Brands to Optimize ROI with Dynamic Inventory Management

Adii Pienaar is a third time founder with Cogsy his successful operations software business, and Jason invited him onto the show to talk both about his shifts in mindset through years of building companies as well as the nitty-gritty of supply chain and inventory wisdom he uses to ensure his clients make the most of their working capital whether they are placing their first PO or restocking after years of being in business.

Ep. 20 Kenny Haisfield from Kenny Flowers on True Brand Authenticity

Jason invited Kenny Haisfield, founder of Kenny Flowers onto the show to delve deep into the philosophy of creating high quality apparel with an authentic story and coherent lifestyle focus. Together, they go behind Kenny’s founding story of recreating his father’s vintage Hawaiian shirt to what it means to grow a lifestyle business year over year, how to make room for emotional investment in the brand, and why quality allows businesses to level up alongside their customers to create a lifelong relationship. This episode is sponsored by Varos. Get started for free by typing WONG into the referral field at https://www.varos.com/