In The Money: eCommerce, DTC, and CPG

In this episode, I sit down with Justin Seidenfeld, Co-founder and CEO of Canopy, the beauty-meets-wellness hardware brand redefining humidifiers, shower filters, and home rituals. Justin shares his unique journey from agency operator at Doris Dev, where he worked with breakout brands like Magic Spoon and Pattern, to going all in on Canopy. We cover:- Lessons from his early career at Quirky and Gr...

In this episode, I sit down with Andrew Kitirattragarn, Founder of Dang Foods and now a restructuring expert at Sherwood Partners. Andrew’s story is a rare one: he built a beloved, nationally distributed snack brand that raised over $12M in venture funding, scaled into thousands of retail doors - and ultimately didn’t deliver the big exit he had hoped for. We dive deep into:The rise and fall of Da...

In this episode, I sit down with Mollye Santulli, Investor at Springdale Ventures, an early-stage VC firm focused on backing the next generation of consumer brands. Springdale reviews nearly 1,000 deals a year and invests in just 5–10, making Mollye’s perspective invaluable for founders navigating the fundraising landscape. We cover:- How Springdale filters opportunities, from first pitch deck to...

In this episode, Brad Plock of WRK Marketing shares the frameworks and playbooks he uses to help brands get unstuck and scale sustainably. We talk about: Why a “good” ROAS in 2025 depends on margins, contribution dollars, and payback windowsHow to diagnose a mid-seven-figure brand that’s plateaued, from MER vs. CAC splits to repeat revenue drivers Creative frameworks that actually move the needle...

Allie Egan, founder and CEO of Veracity, is rethinking what the future of consumer health looks like. In this episode, we dive into: Why Veracity pivoted from at-home hormone testing to building its hero product, Metabolism Ignite , and what that shift taught Allie about consumer adoption in health How she sees the “fashionization of supplements” , making wellness products not just about function,...

Josh Williams is the co-founder and CEO of Very Great, the company behind design-led consumer brands like W&P, Wild One, and Courant. In this episode, we dive into how Josh has built and scaled a portfolio of category-defining brands without chasing unsustainable growth. He shares the Very Great playbook for identifying white space, building timeless products, and staying disciplined in an era...

In this episode, I chat with Josh Armstrong, Founder of We The Wild, the plant care brand taking root across Target, independent retail, across both the US and Australia. Josh shares how the company built a product moat around living microbes, why he believes in mental availability over marketing hacks, and what he’s learned scaling from zero to a high-growth, omni-channel brand. We cover:How gett...

What happens when you actually listen to 1,000+ customers before scaling a brand? In this episode, Black Wolf Co-Founder Sam Lewkowict shares how he turned direct customer insight into one of the most operationally disciplined and product-focused men’s grooming brands in the space. We cover:- Why better product, not better marketing, is the CPG moat- The real reason they launched grooming devices...

In this episode, I sit down with Hudson Davis-Ross, co-founder of Plant People, to unpack how the brand went from a COVID-era collapse to one of the fastest-growing wellness companies in the mushroom supplement space. We talk about: How SKU rationalization and focus on one breakout product (WonderDay mushroom gummies) sparked a turnaround Why mushroom-based wellness is set to go mainstream—unlike...

Chris Wichert, co-founder of Koio, joins the show to share the full story behind Koio’s transformation — from overextended DTC brand to lean, focused luxury business. In this episode, we cover: 🧵 How Koio doubled down on Made-in-Italy quality (despite pressure to offshore) 📉 Why they slashed SKUs and shut stores to regain margin and focus 🤝 The economics behind their Rose Anvil and La Marzocco...

What if you built a breakout apparel brand without relying on Meta ads? Connor Hitchcock did just that with Homefield, a cult-loved collegiate brand now licensed with over 200 schools and doing 8-figures in revenue. In this episode, we dig into: - Why only 5% of their revenue goes to Meta and how word-of-mouth does the rest - How recreating tailgates in college bars became their marketing moat - T...

This week on In The Money, I sat down with Asher Hochberg, Partner at Rootspring Ventures and former GP at CircleUp, to break down the state of early-stage investing and brand building in 2025. 💥 What’s changed? • No more vibe rounds. Investors are trading buzz for margin discipline. • Being “cool” isn’t enough. Brands need a reason to exist and a loyal repeat customer. • Growth equity is back—bu...

In this week’s In the Money podcast, we chat with Matt Jung, CEO of Goodonya, about his multifaceted career in the CPG world—from his early days as a founder to his role as an investor, executive, and now acquirer. 🛠️💼 💡 Highlights: From Founder to Executive : Matt shares what it was like founding multiple brands before taking on leadership roles at CPG startups. The Power of Investment & Ac...

We sat down with Anna Whiteman of Coefficient Capital to unpack how institutional investors are thinking in 2025. Key takeaways: Venture funding starts a clock. Founders underestimate how quickly VCs need to return capital. Ask yourself: does your model actually require venture dollars? Operate from strength, not scarcity. Don’t raise to feel safe — raise when you have retention, gross margin, and...

In this wide-ranging conversation, Ashwin shares hot takes on the real economics of agencies vs. eCommerce brands. He argues that software is ultimately the best way to build wealth , while agencies offer better cash flow and brands offer scale but require much more upfront capital and risk. Ashwin walks through his "learn one, do one, teach one" philosophy—where the agency is where he l...

From Socks to Scale: How Outway Doubled Revenue and Cracked U.S. Growth Rob Fraser, founder of Outway, joined In the Money to break down how a $20 sock brand became a fast-growing eight-figure business. Key takeaways: AOV & LTV Optimization : Though socks are a low-price product, Outway lifts average order value through multi-pair purchases and creative upsells (like $10 mystery pairs). LTV is...

Connor Wilson, Co-Founder and CEO of Thursday Boot, joins us   to share how the brand grew from a lean DTC startup into a long-lasting, multi-category business. He digs into what it takes to scale with pricing discipline, own your manufacturing, expand into retail the right way, and keep product at the center—no matter how complex things get. A must-listen for anyone building a brand with convicti...

Dave Rekuc joins In the Money to share how Bambu Earth scaled 30x post-acquisition—not by chasing growth at all costs, but by prioritizing revenue quality. He explains why memberships beat subscriptions, how good friction drives better conversion, and what makes a DTC brand truly valuable in today’s market. From tight product strategy to pro channel expansion, this episode is packed with actionabl...

In this episode of In the Money , Fan Bi sits down with Debbie Way Mullin, founder of Copper Cow Coffee, to talk about building a CPG brand in a volatile market. They cover navigating tariffs, scaling from DTC into retail, cutting SKU complexity, and why staying mission-aligned matters more than ever. Debbie shares what’s changed in consumer behavior post-COVID, how Copper Cow rethought its produc...

This week, I’m joined by Kelcey Lehrich, CEO of 365 Holdings, to talk about what actually works in DTC today and how real operators are surviving in a post-aggregator world. Thanks to sponsors: More Staffing - ⁠⁠https://morestaffing.co/mt/ ⁠⁠ Numeral - ⁠⁠https://numeralhq.com/⁠⁠ Parker - ⁠⁠https://www.getparker.com/⁠