Unboxing Ecommerce: Operations Behind Online Brands

James and Jennifer are joined by their final guest, Matt Hertz, Founder and CEO of Third Person , a digital marketplace helping ecommerce brands discover and connect with the right fulfillment partners. With 15 years of experience leading ecommerce operations at companies like Rent the Runway, Birchbox, and Shyp, Matt also runs a consultancy, Second Marathon, that has helped brands like Hexclad, A...

James and Jennifer are joined by Kevin Lawton, founder of The New Warehouse podcast and blog, which he launched in 2019 to bring awareness to the warehousing industry. With 13 years of experience in inventory control and operations management, Kevin has been involved in multiple new distribution center start-ups and is an adjunct professor at Rider University, teaching supply chain management. Why...

This week James and Jennifer are joined by Hillary Hughes, Principal at Foster Garvey, a full-service law firm with 150 attorneys across six offices in the U.S. Hillary is a business, food & beverage, CPG, beauty & wellness, sports & entertainment, fashion & apparel, and technology attorney. She shares insights on legal considerations for consumer brands, including intellectual pro...

This week James and Jennifer are joined by Derek Loftus, Co-Founder of PopCapacity, a platform focused on adding visibility and a modern procurement experience for brands when sourcing and connecting with warehousing partners for fulfillment and storage. With expertise in e-commerce fulfillment and customer experience, Derek shares insights on how brands evaluate and select their distribution part...

This Week on Unboxing Ecommerce James and Jennifer are joined by Kate Klemmer Terry, Chief Commercial Officer at Outerspace , a 3PL company redefining fulfillment for mid-to-high-end brands. With extensive experience in retail, logistics, and brand strategy, Kate shares her insights into the dynamic world of ecommerce, including emerging challenges and opportunities for brands navigating supply ch...

This week on Unboxing Ecommerce, James and Jennifer are joined by Robyn Young, an entrepreneur, brand strategist, and founder of Young & Co, an indie creative partner for startups to scaleups. With a career spanning 18 years, Robyn combines strategic thinking with creative magic to build ‘sticky,’ memorable brand ecosystems. Why Ghia? Robyn chose Ghia for its strong visual identity, captivatin...

Let’s get to the box—and this time, it’s a big one! Jennifer and James are celebrating an entire year of Unboxing Ecommerce, and this special episode is all about reflecting on the 28 episodes so far. From humble beginnings as a one-episode experiment to reaching listeners across 37 countries, this podcast has grown into something far beyond what they imagined. With laughter, gratitude, and a touc...

On this episode of Unboxing Ecommerce, James and Jennifer order from Momofuku Goods with special guest, Moni Kupczak Ainslie. Moni is the Founder of Koopslie a consultancy that optimizes Faire stores for brands in CPG, beauty, fashion, and gift. By using her 360 Faire Optimization method, Moni helps awesome brands show up in search, get the click and convert to more sales. Why Momofuku? Moni chose...

On this episode of Unboxing Ecommerce , James and Jennifer take an unconventional approach by combining lunch and logistics. With no guest, they order from Taco Bell to explore how this fast-food giant exemplifies top-tier operations and ecommerce practices. From their smooth online ordering experience to insights on Taco Bell's unique branding and efficient systems, they dig into what makes...

On this episode of Unboxing Ecommerce, James and Jennifer order from Tracksmith with special guest, Blair Beckwith. Blair has been working in the commerce enablement space for more than a decade. He got his start building the Shopify App Store. Today, he leads growth at Mantle, a company that powers back office and growth tooling for commerce enablement software companies. Why Tracksmith? Blair di...

On this episode of Unboxing Ecommerce, James and Jennifer order from Magic Spoon with special guest, Maggie Barnett, Esq. Maggie is the COO of ShipHero, overseeing operational, legal, managerial, and administrative procedures. She also founded ShipHero Fulfillment (LVK) in 2019, growing it to over $80M in revenue. Why Magic Spoon? Maggie chose Magic Spoon because she wanted a healthy cereal option...

On this episode of Unboxing Ecommerce, James and Jennifer order from Hugimals World with special guest, Christina Vanacore. Christina is a Certified Launch and Business Strategist, who provides launch strategy, identifies hidden opportunities for growth, and helps increase revenue and profits through strategic planning. She has covered everything from product development to marketing and sales str...

On this episode of Unboxing Ecommerce, James and Jennifer order from Vida Bars with special guest, Luisa Salcedo. Luisa is a seasoned Fractional COO with over a decade of experience in Operations. She specializes in helping purpose-driven CEOs by implementing operational strategies that eliminate chaos, boost revenue, and empower leaders to innovate and thrive. Throughout her career, she has succe...

On this episode of Unboxing Ecommerce, James and Jennifer order from Milk Makeup with special guest, Tyler DeLarm.  Tyler, Head of Demand Generation at Undigital, is a seasoned business leader and marketing consultant with a reputation for guiding successful teams with optimistic kindness. His unique combination of expertise in brand positioning, organizational behavior, and demand generation has...

Welcome to Season Two! On this episode of Unboxing Ecommerce, James and Jennifer order from Outlier NYC ("Outlier") with special guest, Nima Elyassi-Rad. Nima is a technology executive and investor. He currently serves as VP of GTM at Shippo. Previously, he founded a soccer brand, spent time as a VC and put in time as a hip hop radio DJ. Why Outlier? Nima chose Outlier because they'...

On this last episode of Season One, James and Jennifer order from Psycho Bunny with special guest, Aaron Schwartz. Aaron is the cofounder of Orita.ai and has previously served as President at Loop Returns. He also co-founded Passport Shipping and Modify Watches. Based in the Bay Area, Aaron grew up in Cleveland. We will be back for Season Two on September 10, 2024.  Why Psycho Bunny? Aaron chose P...

This week James and Jennifer order from Alter Eco with special guest, Ashley Zager.  Ashley cut her teeth in CPG taking The New Primal from a part-time, online beef jerky company to managing 25 skus processed at 7 different co-manufacturers. Since then, at Siddhi Capital she has acted as the VP of Operations for over 45 companies in the past 6 years, touching every aisle of the grocery store and o...

This week James and Jennifer order from Anthropologie with special guest, Monique Benoit,  a Senior Merchant leading BIPOC Brand Development at Ulta Beauty and fellow podcast host of Scaling Emerging Beauty Podcast. Monique has worked with emerging brands to bring them to market and has a drive to help brands scale, along with being an avid shopper.  Why Anthropologie? Monique used to work as a Se...

This week James and Jennifer order from Skratch Labs with special guest, Amanda Hofman,  the Co-Founder and CEO of Go To Market. Go To Market is a woman-owned branded merchandise business looking to revolutionize the way the world handles swag.  Before Go To Market, Amanda was the Founder and CEO of Urban Girl Squad, the premier social networking group for women in their 20s and 30s in NYC. Why Sk...

This week James and Jennifer order from Dieux with special guest, Mary Wiegand,  the Founder and CEO of Boon, LLC. Mary brings over 16 years of demand planning experience across a multitude of retail product types and selling channels. She has created an innovative, non-traditional business model that delivers hands-on results to young and start-up brands while simultaneously empowering her team (...

This week James and Jennifer order from Bed, Bath, and Beyond with special guest, Michelle Hsiao, the CEO and Founder of Revenue Growth Advisors. Michelle brings a wealth of experience to the table, having previously led merchandising teams at prestigious companies like Boscov’s, Macy’s, and Gugu Guru. With her extensive background in ecommerce strategy, merchandising, and profitability improvemen...

James, Jennifer, and their guest Cody Berenson (Siddhi Capital) order Cometeer Coffee and are captured by its specialness. Why Cometeer Coffee?  A Food/Beverage Operator thought this disruptive product delivered in an unconventional way would present an interesting exploration into supply chain, packaging, and logistics. Research included these sources : Cometeer Coffee:  https://cometeer.com/ Wik...

James, Jennifer, and their guest Jeff Kaiden (Capacity, LLC) order Summer Fridays' hero product and then some. Research included these sources: Summer Fridays:  https://summerfridays.com/pages/about Today Show:  https://www.today.com/video/how-summer-fridays-founders-went-from-online-to-in-stores-162786373733 Pitchbook:  https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/267885-01#investors The Industry....

James and Jennifer wrap their heads around Temu. Why Temu? We wanted to understand how this Chinese app came out of nowhwere and its influence on American shoppers. Research included these sources : Temu:  https://www.temu.com/about-temu.html Time:  https://time.com/6243738/temu-app-complaints/ ZDNet:  https://www.zdnet.com/article/is-temu-legit-what-to-know-about-this-wildly-popular-shopping-app/...

James and Jennifer order from Rooted and admire the iterations. Why Rooted?  Perishable items add complexity to shipping that would be fun to explore. Research included these sources : Rooted:  https://heyrooted.com/pages/our-story Rooted’s Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CCqzCQsD_oN/ Air.inc:  https://air.inc/blog/on-brand-no-11 The Pitch podcast:  https://gimletmedia.com/shows/the-pitch/...