Ecommerce Conversations

Bruce Bolt is a direct-to-consumer baseball batting glove company in Austin, Texas. The business launched in 2017 when its founder was 16. He needed a better batting glove and a job. Making and selling his own gloves solved both needs. Chris Hall is Bruce Bolt's director of marketing. He and I recently spoke, addressing acquisition tactics, ad performance, and more.  For an edited and condens...

In 2019 Joe Spisak's ecommerce company had gone through three third-party fulfillment companies in just 18 months. Frustrated, he began fulfilling in-house, which led to offering fulfillment services to other brands. And that led to Fufill.com, a marketplace of nearly 600 fulfillment companies worldwide, connecting merchants to providers. In this conversation, Spisak describes his fulfillment...

Adam Hendle had a dream job with Google. Then he had an idea in 2017 to launch a hygiene brand focused on men's privates. He named the brand Ballsy and launched it on Black Friday 2018. It quickly scaled. By 2021, Ballsy was an eight-figure revenue business and entertaining offers from potential acquirers. Hendle sold it that year. He's now focused on his new venture, a laundry-detergent...

Andrew Foxwell co-launched Foxwell Digital, an agency, in 2012 from his base in Wisconsin. The firm now manages social media ad campaigns for brands worldwide. Having experienced much industry change, Foxwell concludes the key to a successful marketer is a nonstop desire to learn.  He describes in this interview his agency's approach to paid social campaigns, building a team, overall paid soc...

Mike Lee was once a 12-0 middleweight boxer who fought for a world title. Then anxiety and injuries took a toll. His search for a cure led to cannabidiol, the non-addictive, non-impairing marijuana extract. And that led him to Soul, the CBD brand he co-founded with his sister Angie. He shares his story in this interview, addressing his health issues, CBD's benefits, launching Soul, and more....

Kevin Williams owns KDF Aegis, a U.S.-based consulting and investment firm. In 2021 he invested in Balls.co, a U.K. seller of grooming supplies for male private parts. He says, "The notion of running Balls is hilarious to everyone who knows me. But it's a gift to a marketer to work with an edgy product." Humor ended up being the company's principal marketing vehicle when it ret...

Kevin Stecko launched 80sTees.com in 2000 selling t-shirts imprinted with pop-culture items. The process requires obtaining permission from the rights holders, which is not easy. He says, "I started the company with designs of He-Man, a toy cartoon. I obtained that license, and then they wouldn't approve hardly any of my designs." Fast forward to 2023, and 80sTees.com has 120,000 SK...

Allen Walton launched SpyGuy, an online retailer of surveillance cameras, in 2014. The business quickly scaled, experiencing much success. Then Google Ads banned it. Then competitors arose, narrowing margins. Still, Walton preserves. Google lifted the ban, and he has doubled down with a renewed focus on sales channels, customer service, vendors, and more. This is Walton's second appearance on...

Ten years ago Ken Freeman was a drop-ship Amazon seller. The business grew beyond drop shipping to seven figures (revenue) utilizing FBA. He sold to Thrasio, the aggregator, in 2019. He now advises established companies via Full Circle, his agency.  Amazon's marketplace circa 2023 is ruthlessly competitive, unlike in the mid-teens when, per Freeman, "you could get rich selling yoga mats....

Tony Smith acquired TimberVaults, a direct-to-consumer seller of concealed gun safes, for expansion opportunities beyond firearms. He foresaw hidden storage of other valuables, such as jewelry and documents.  That was in mid-2022. He's now learning the ropes of running an ecommerce business. In this conversation, he shares his early mistakes, operational decisions, and growth plans.  For an e...

Zach Stuck is an agency founder turned ecommerce owner. The agency, called Homestead, runs marketing campaigns for direct-to-consumer businesses. And lessons from those campaigns drive his second venture: acquiring and launching his own brands.  His top lesson? A customer from paid acquisition has to be profitable on the first sale.  He shares his journey  — from running an agency to owning and op...

Mike Tecku sold his Amazon businesses, retired, and became bored. He's back, having just launched Momentum, a maker of nutritional shakes, which he calls "the Rolex of supplements." He describes his journey in this week's episode, addressing personal priorities and Momentum's market position, growth plans, and more. For an edited transcript with audio embedded, see https:/...

Isaac Medeiros's company, Mini Katana, is a direct-to-consumer seller of Samurai-themed letter openers, swords, and related accessories. Just two years old, the business produces a whopping six videos every day from a team of creators, writers, and editors. That's 3,000 videos to date. How can a small company produce and post six videos every day? He explains that and more in this fascin...

Braxton Manley launched Braxley Bands, a DTC seller of Apple Watch bands, in 2017 while a college student in Texas. The business grew quickly. He's now looking to diversify beyond Apple Watches to products from the same sustainable material as his bands.  In this conversation, he shares successes and challenges from 2022, international expansion plans, and the evolution of his company. It&apo...

Sean Frank hopes to sell Ridge, the maker of metal-clad wallets, within three years — for $1 billion. In this conversation, he discusses that goal, the overall state of ecommerce, the perils of excessive debt, and the need to disrupt the dental market. For a condensed transcript (with embedded audio), please see: https://pec-ly.com/?6mD2 For all transcripts and audio, see: https://www.practicaleco...

Dennis Hegstad's third Shopify app is called Vigilance. It monitors and blocks the injection of unwanted coupon codes at checkout, saving merchants big bucks. He discusses the financial harm to merchants of "leaked" coupon codes, Vigilance's method of blocking their use, and more. Hegstad previously launched and sold LiveRecover, an SMS-based Shopify app for recovering abandone...

Tim Conley helps founders overcome mental hurdles and grow their businesses. Most entrepreneurs, he's observed, prefer daily operations and putting out fires. If there are no fires, entrepreneurs will sometimes set them to put them out.  In this conversation, Conley explains why entrepreneurs must evolve from the daily nitty-gritty into long-term strategists. This requires delegation, new cre...

Beardbrand founder Eric Bandholz, the host of "Ecommerce Conversations," looks back on his company's 2022 performance in detail and outlines (major) plans for 2023. It's impressive transparency to help all merchants — a must-listen. For an edited transcript with embedded audio, see:  https://pec-ly.com/?6mvL For transcripts of all episodes with audio, see: https://www.practical...

OneBlade COO Charles Pyles implemented forced economizing last spring when the company's sole investor couldn't inject additional funds. He shares his story in this week's episode, addressing cost savings, high-dollar razors, acquisition tactics, and more. For an edited transcript with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?6mit For all transcripts and audio, see: https://www.prac...

Jackson Reiter is paid media marketer for PetPlate, a direct-to-consumer dog-food provider launched in 2016. The company sells subscriptions to "human grade" meals for dogs and, to date, has raised $32 million in funding. Reiter addresses the company's marketing funnel, paid media channels, video production, and more.  For an edited transcript with embedded audio, see: https://pec-l...

CMO Daniel Lacey tells the story of Pura, which makes and sells devices that emit fragrances and are controlled via a smartphone app. Launched in 2015, the business has scaled to 180 employees and relies mostly on influencer marketing for sales on its website and via retail partners.  For an edited transcript with embedded audio,  see: https://pec-ly.com/?6mdA For all edited transcripts and embedd...

Persistent stomach pain prompted Allison Ellsworth to formulate a prebiotic soda, which she named Poppi. That was in 2018. It's now among the fastest-growing beverage brands in the U.S., with sales of $300,000 per month. She describes her journey to host Eric Bandholz in this episode, addressing Shark Tank appearances,  dramatic scaling, plans, and more. For an edited transcript with embedded...

Ryan Hartman is chief marketing officer and co-founder of Chaiz, a startup comparison marketplace for extended automotive repair warranties. He joins the show to address the need for lower-priced warranties, the challenges of reaching consumers, signing up providers, raising capital, and more. For an edited transcript with embedded audio, please see: https://pec-ly.com/?6m1o For edited transcripts...

Jai Dolwani is chief marketing officer of Winc, a publicly-traded wine membership club. His responsibilities extend beyond marketing to technology, engineering, ecommerce, and overall omnichannel growth. Selling alcohol in the U.S. is challenging owing to 1920s-era laws on distribution and marketing and to the logistical headaches of shipping liquid. Dolwani addresses those challenges and more, in...

Jordan Elist is the founder of Mate, a direct-to-consumer seller of supplements for male sexual health.  Elist launched the business in 2020 after a career in investment banking.  He addresses in this conversation his mission of destigmatizing sexual healthcare, marketing challenges, and his insistence on science-backed product formulation. For an edited transcript, please see: https://pec-ly.com/...