LEADING BRANDS® — Wavebreak Podcast

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, we're joined by Lauren Dovey, the founder of Heat Healer. Heat Healer is a direct-to-consumer health & wellness brand focused on developing the world’s best heat therapy products. In this episode, we cover: The story behind Heat Healer and how they sold out of their initial inventory in just 2 weeks How Heat Healer managed to capture the attention of promi...

Jim Huether, CEO of Hyperice, joins the Leading Brands podcast to discuss the brand's rapid growth, global expansion, continued product innovation, and more.  In the episode, the following topics are discussed: Growth Strategy: The approach that led the brand to scale from $500k to $65+ million in annual revenue in just 4 years Team Collaboration: Exploring how Hyperice's success is attributed to...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Dylan Kelley interviews Mikey Goldman, the Founder and CEO of Quiet Mind, makers of the original weighted pillow.  Topics covered include: Launch strategy: How Quiet Mind approached their product launch, including PR and product seeding, and the initial results and lessons learned. Scaling UGC: Optimizing and scaling marketing efforts based on real custome...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Katerina Mountanos, the Founder & CEO of Kosterina shares her inspiring journey building a leading lifestyle brand, starting with the world's best extra virgin olive oil. In the episode, we cover: The fascinating founding story of Kosterina and surprise Whole Foods inquiry that led to rapid growth Lessons learned from working with ecommerce serial entrepre...

In this episode, we're joined by Stafford Meyer, founder and CEO of Porte + Hall. As an interior designer, Stafford found a lack of doormat options that were stylish and functional, so she created them. The result? A collection of mats that are as beautiful as they are durable.  In this episode, we cover: Why Mats: The founding story and motivation behind the brand Go To Market: Why the brand laun...

Over the last few years, Momentous Supplements has achieved rapid growth and in today's interview with Founder & CEO Jeff Byers, we cover it all.  Momentous is a human performance company dedicated to creating no-compromise products and tools that support the endless improvement of personal performance. In this episode, you'll learn: Founding Story: The strategic merger that led to Momentous becom...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Dylan Kelley interviews Ryan Duey, the co-founder and co-CEO of Plunge. Plunge is the creator of The Cold Plunge that you've seen all over your social media feeds the past few years. In this episode, we cover: The fascinating founding story of Plunge and their journey in popularizing the term "Cold Plunge" How the brand was able to secure partnerships with...

In this episode, we're joined by Mike Xhaxho and Connor Saeli, the co-founders of Waterboy, a healthier and more effective way to hydrate and recover. Waterboy has scaled to a remarkable $10M+ in sales within a span of two years without any external funding. You'll learn:  Waterboy's Growth Strategy: How they market the brand as a "creator" and scale their best content with paid advertising.  Prod...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Dylan Kelley interviews Henry Murray, co-founder, CMO, and GM of the US Market at Waterdrop. In this episode we cover: Marketing for 2023: paid social, influencer, ambassador, offline, and more Expanding into retail: from large retailers to company-owned flagship stores in locations like Mall of America Global expansion: how the brand scaled across Europe...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Dylan Kelley interviews Haley & Adam Weidenbaum, founders of Everhem, a leading custom window treatment brand. We chat about the brand's launch, rapid growth, and what's next for the company.  You'll also learn how Everhem: Successfully brought a traditional in-person experience into the digital world Tested and scaled their marketing strategies as a boots...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Dylan Kelley interviews Charles Gorra, the Founder and CEO of REBAG, the luxury resale authority. In the episode, the following topics are discussed: The founding story of REBAG and their innovative utilization of AI How luxury trends have evolved in recent years and insights into the present-day market landscape Strategies behind the top luxury brands and...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Dylan Kelley interviews Meha Agrawal, Founder and CEO of Silk + Sonder, a women’s emotional health and mental wellness startup backed by Redpoint, 500 Startups, and more that makes daily and proactive self-help and self-care more personalized, accessible, and actionable for modern women and their communities. In today's interview we cover: Best practices f...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Dylan Kelley interviews Kelly Watters, Co-founder and CEO of Western Rise, a high-growth apparel brand experiencing over 115% YoY growth. In this episode, you'll discover: The inspiring brand journey of Western Rise as they redefine performance apparel through a captivating blend of style and functionality. A sneak peek into their exciting future product l...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Dylan Kelley is joined by the team at Kettle & Fire and Tatari to dive deeper into TV advertising. From the Kettle & Fire team, we're joined by Niccolo Gloazzo and Victoria Belinsky, who are the Director of eCommerce and Senior Director of Brand Marketing at Kettle & Fire, respectively. Matt Giannetti, Head of Platform Solutions at Tatari, also joins the c...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Dylan Kelley interviews Margaret Wishingrad and Ian Wishingrad, the co-founders of Three Wishes Cereal. Three Wishes is a healthy-while-delicious cereal brand that has rapidly expanded its presence in the market. In this episode, you'll learn: The motivation behind creating a nutritional cereal and how Margaret and Ian transformed Three Wishes from a conce...

In this episode, we're joined by Ryan Babenzein, co-founder and CEO of Jolie, a beauty wellness brand that has achieved remarkable success in less than 18 months. Ryan is no stranger to entrepreneurship, having previously founded GREATS, a DTC pioneer that was acquired by Steven Madden in 2019. Ryan shares the growth strategies that have made Jolie so successful, so fast. You'll learn:  Jolie's Gr...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Dylan Kelley interviews Monica Royer, Founder & CEO of Monica + Andy, the children’s and family brand parents can rely on for the products, resources, and support needed to confidently navigate every stage of raising a family.  Monica’s experience advising her brother, Andy Dunn, Founder of Bonobos, combined with her passion for high quality essentials and...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Dylan Kelley interviews Andrew Ferenci, Founder and CEO of Comrad. Comrad launched their innovative compression socks after 200+ test iterations and have since become the leader in the category.  You'll also learn Comrad's:  Product development process that led to industry-low return rates Approach to retail expansion as a digitally native brand CX best pr...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Dylan Kelley interviews Dan Schaefer, co-founder of Native Pet. Native Pet launched as an Amazon-first brand in 2017 and today is an omnichannel brand across Amazon, DTC, and retail. In this episode you'll: Discover why Native Pet decided to launch their brand exclusively on Amazon and how this strategy helped them gain traction in a highly competitive mar...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Dylan Kelley interviews Philip Inghelbrecht, CEO of Tatari. Tatari is the TV advertising platform behind TV advertising for top brands such as Calm, Roman, Glossier, Nutrafol, Cuts, and more. This is a masterclass on getting started with TV advertising with everything you need to know to get started across strategy, testing, creative, budget, measurement,...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Dylan Kelley interviews Michael Charley, co-founder at Sunski. Michael co-founded the brand after he graduated into the Great Recession with no job prospects and today the brand generates millions in revenue.  In this episode you'll learn: The brand's successful Kickstarter strategy and how Michael would approach the launch differently in today's market Wh...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Dylan Kelley interviews Olek Potrykus, Head of Customer Experience at Tidio. Olek has worked at Tidio for nearly a decade helping brands master the art and science of customer experience. Today on the show, he shares best practices for 2023 and beyond.  In this episode you'll learn: Current state of customer expectations and how you can use great CX to inc...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Dylan Kelley interviews Jedd Rose, Cofounder and President of Topo Designs. Since 2008, Topo Designs has grown from a vision of two founders, Jedd Rose and Mark Hansen, into a talented 70-person team. Consumers can find Topo Designs products sold in over 30 countries and 1,200+ stores. You'll also learn Topo Designs: Inspiring founding story and lessons le...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Dylan Kelley interviews Brad Day, CEO of Helm Boots. Brad joined the brand after a successful career at Adidas and TaylorMade, and he brings a wealth of retail knowledge and experience to the table. In this episode you'll learn: Learnings from Brad's time at Adidas and TaylorMade and how he applies them to his work in DTC How the brand was able to increase...

In this episode of the Wavebreak Podcast, Dylan Kelley interviews Rod Morris, Cofounder and President of Lovevery, a company that creates and sells innovative developmental products. Since its founding in 2017, Lovevery has grown to over $200 million in revenue. Rod shares the brand's story and insights on how they were able to scale so successfully. You'll also learn Lovevery's: Unique approach t...