LEADING BRANDS® — Wavebreak Podcast

Just 5 years ago, Ian Schechter was working as a landscaper. Now, he’s a serial ecommerce entrepreneur, owning and partnering in multiple 7-figure brands with 2 exits already under his belt. On today’s episode he shares his formula for finding products, testing and scaling them in the marketplace, and doing it all without venture capital.  He breaks his formula down to the exact dollar amounts, ti...

In today’s episode we’re joined by Liz Giorgi, CEO and Co-Founder of soona. We talk about timely topics like: - Effective treads for creative heading into 2021 - Multi-channel marketing and what channels to focus on - Nailing creative ecommerce images and video We also dive into helpful topics like hiring, leading a team, running the books, and how to see the results you want. The 5-Minute Ecommer...

10-years-ago, Jaime Schmidt started making natural deodorant in her Portland kitchen to sell locally at farmers’ markets. Now, Schmidt’s Naturals can be found in stores all over the world. In today’s episode we talk with Jaime about her journey with Schmidt’s Naturals, hiring, manufacturing, distribution, and much more. This is a great listen for entrepreneurs all across the board. The 5-Minute Ec...

This episode is part of our Q4 Method Series. We partnered with industry leaders across every facet of ecommerce to bring you 20 minute executive briefings to share exactly what you need to do this holiday season. Brett Curry from OMGcommerce goes in-depth on YouTube ads with topics like: - Why YouTube has plenty of opportunity - Best type of YouTube ads to run - Dialing-in now and going full thro...

This episode is part of our Q4 Method Series. We partnered with industry leaders across every facet of ecommerce to bring you 20 minute executive briefings to share exactly what you need to do this holiday season. Adam Walker from PushOwl tells you all you need to know about push: - The importance of multi-channel marketing - Web push vs. mobile push - Engagement and retention tactics To get acces...

This episode is part of our Q4 Method Series. We partnered with industry leaders across every facet of ecommerce to bring you 20 minute executive briefings to share exactly what you need to do this holiday season. Tim Busa from Loop Returns talks everything returns, refunds, and exchanges including: -Making gift exchanges easy -Free shipping policies -Incentives for exchanges and more purchases To...

This episode is part of our Q4 Method Series. We partnered with industry leaders across every facet of ecommerce to bring you 20 minute executive briefings to share exactly what you need to do this holiday season. This week, Jon Tucker from HelpFlow digs in to live chat, covering topics like: - How live chat can save abandoned sales - 3 places live chat can fit in to drive conversions - Live chat...

This episode is part of our Q4 Method Series. We partnered with industry leaders across every facet of ecommerce to bring you 20 minute executive briefings to share exactly what you need to do this holiday season. In this edition we talk with Billy McClennan from Gorgias about customer service topics like: -The rise of mobile messaging apps -An omni-channel approach to conversational commerce  -Ho...

This episode is part of our Q4 Method Series. We partnered with industry leaders across every facet of ecommerce to bring you 20 minute executive briefings to share exactly what you need to do this holiday season. Today we speak with Joe Wyatt from AfterShip. He talks in detail about shipment topics such as: -Taking advantage of the anticipation period -Communicating ship status effectively -Track...

This episode is part of our Q4 Method Series. We partnered with industry leaders across every facet of ecommerce to bring you 20 minute executive briefings to share exactly what you need to do this holiday season. Today we're joined by Mat Bingham, who's sharing how to optimize our web traffic along with: - On-site strategy for BFCM - AI product recommendations - The best way to grow your email an...

Steven Borelli started Cuts Clothing back in 2016 with a Kickstater campaign and a mission to create the only shirt worth wearing. Just four years later they’ve sold millions of shirts and built a strong brand as the comfortable, casual, professional shirt for entrepreneurs. Steven and I go in-depth about the founding of Cuts, how he scaled the brand so quickly, along with actionable topics like:...

Doubling down on retention is more important than ever. Ad costs have increased and ROAS isn’t as strong as it used to be. With BFCM on the horizon, it’s time to start thinking about loyalty and rewards programs.  This topic has never been more relevant and actionable, so today we’re replaying an episode Dylan did with Charlie Casey, co-founder and CEO of LoyaltyLion. We dive into the conversation...

If you build a team without consciously building a team culture, you might end up with just a problematic assembly line. You need to set the framework, guidance, expectations, meeting cadence… Set the frame, win the game. So what are the frames? How do we own them? That’s exactly what McKenzie Bauer, the co-founder and CMO of Thread Wallets, and I talk about on this episode. We also break down: -...

Shark Wheel has literally reinvented the wheel. And since then they’ve scaled into retail and beyond, including working with top sports teams, luggage companies, and even farm equipment. In this episode I speak with Zack Fleishman, Co-Founder and COO of Shark Wheel, on how they’ve managed to capitalize on the abundance of opportunities that come with something as valuable as reinventing the wheel....

Ever wanted to go behind the scenes with top brands and see how they produce their creative? Joining me is Jazmin Alvarez, CEO of Pretty Well Beauty. Prior to starting Pretty Well Beauty, she produced creative for brands like Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Sephora, Fenty Beauty by Rihanna, Target, and more. Now she runs Pretty Well Beauty using some of the insight she’s gained in her 10 years working...

On today’s episode we’re diving into what makes an amazing customer experience and how to separate that from the typical online encounter. I’m joined by Reggie Black, CEO of BetterWayHealth. He cares a lot about creating a Chick-fil-a or Ritz-Carlton experience with his ecommerce model, and even took his team to Ritz-Carlton for some on-site training. We go over actionable topics like: Tactical ex...

Jon Richards co-founded NOMATIC with $0, a wallet, and a Kickstarter page five years ago. Since then, they’ve raised over $13 million through crowdfunding and grown NOMATIC to over $20 million in annual revenue.  In this episode we chat about: How established brands can use crowdfunding to launch new products and raise funding and grow their customer base The advertising strategies they used to sc...

In this episode we're diving even deeper into analytics-driven marketing and ecommerce growth.  I'm joined by Aidan Corbett, CEO of Wayflyer, who has been doing this for years. He comes from working with large online retailers and he knows how to turn data and analytics into action that grows brands. In this episode we cover: - How to maximize growth and profit as a bootstrapped ecommerce brand -...

It’s way more simple to hit your next revenue target than you think. Whether your target is $10 million or $100 million, the data will help you get there. But we’ve heard that a million times, how do you actionably use data to scale your business to the next level?  It requires two things: 1) Mindset 2) Knowing which levers to pull and when.  That’s exactly what we chat about in this episode of th...

Movers+Shakers created the most-viral campaign ever on TikTok for e.l.f. Cosmetics, with consumers contributing 3 MILLION user-generated videos and 5 billion views. Celebrities like Lizzo, Ellen & Reese Witherspoon joined (unpaid). It spread organically through Instagram, YouTube & Twitter. The original music track became so popular, they released it on Spotify & iTunes, and DJs played it in clubs...

Competition in the beauty and cosmetics industry is intense. Many of the brands have been around for decades with billions in annual revenue.  Today's guest is Natalie Mackey, CEO of Winky Lux. Launched in 2015, her cosmetics brand now has over 40 employees and is in more than 3,500 stores worldwide.  How'd she do it? Relentless focus on customer experience and branding. Most branding articles and...

The bigger your ecommerce store gets, the more returns become a roadblock to scalability.  In this interview, I interview Peter Sobotta, CEO and Founder of ReturnLogic. We talk about: - Where and how returns are holding you back - How to turn returns into a marketing and retention opportunity - Best practices for a best-in-class returns program - Return fraud and what to do about it - How returns...

Today on the show we're joined by Alex Dastmalchi, founder and CEO of Vanity Planet and the Dastmalchi family of consumer brands. We talk about building a fast-growing ecommerce brand. Everything from product to marketing to operations and beyond, including: - How to find winning products - How to identify and scale winning marketing channels to tens of millions in revenue - How to keep operations...

Today on the show I'm joined by Jenko Kent, Creative Director of VideGro.  They create extremely effective video ads for brands like Harry's, Quip, Ridge Wallets, ThirdLove, Bear Mattress, and more. Their videos get crazy results like 5x higher conversions and 80% lower CPAs, which allow their clients to scale their ad spends fast. Listen to find out how.  The 5-Minute Ecommerce Email Marketing Ha...

Sean Geng is co-founder of Smoke Cartel, the #1 online head shop, which means they sell pretty much everything but weed including CBD and other counterculture products. What's interesting about their industry is that you can't market it with paid social and PPC.  Sean and his team have scaled marketing by getting really creative. In this episode we dive into: - Advanced ecommerce SEO strategies to...