Limited Supply

Nik’s answering YOUR questions as we wrap up 2024. What were some fails? What are we gonna see more of in 2025? First, does Nik have a recommended team structure for DTC teams? Truthfully, it depends—you should have enough for each person to have a main duty—but DTC teams tend to work best on the leaner side.  Then, Nik talks about revenue from each channel and how that differs between consumables...

BFCM broke RECORDS.  No, really: shoppers spent over 10% more than last year—that’s $11 billion. And Nik’s here to break down why, from new avenues like App Lovin to consumer tastes (spoiler: beauty brands didn’t as well). The biggest commonality? Brands are prepared with optimal UX, email flows, and campaigns.  Plus, find out what the supplement sector and the Lemmy Holiday Shop are doing to chan...

The most important part of entrepreneurship? Imagination.  Nik sits down with Kelly Dill, an investor at Imaginary Ventures where imagination is the KEY to ideation. Kelly explains how new ideas become companies and companies then become their own organism. How should you approach new business ventures? How should you raise capital? Kelly explains it all. And, it’s all about confidence during inve...

Nik’s riding solo today and gearing us up for Black Friday and beyond.  Nik’s breaking down the main four comparison charts sees and explains how comparing your product to its competitors—and even its price point—can teach you a lot about what could be done. How does it stack up? Is everything a fair comparison?  Plus, have you ever had a Trader Joe’s rice cake? They’re sugar free, low calorie, th...

Do you consider yourself to be creative? Nik’s sitting down with Reza Khadjavi of Motion, the SaaS brand designed to help creatives manage their analytics. When you create for creatives, your marketing and product design HAVE to be top notch—otherwise, it’s pretty embarrassing to be for creatives without being creative. How do you get people to have a conversation around data when they’re more cre...

So, what’s YOUR Black Friday strategy?  The holiday season is right around the corner. For people in the DTC world, it’s time to gear up, get excited, and get it together.  Nik talks to Hattie Gilpin, the Director of Operations at wellness brand Wellbel, about attracting consumer attention via email subject line, discounts, subscriptions, and more. Should you apply your discount code to every subs...

Did you know there’s a Slack channel with 5,000+ marketers…and Nik is answering their questions?  Nik’s dipping his fingers into the mailbag and sharing the truth about brand ambassadors and influencer marketing. And despite what you’ve heard, UGC isn’t dead—but inauthentic and lazy UGC is. We all know influencers are important, but when’s the best time to contact them about your product? How do y...

How do you discover something magical in the DTC space? For this week’s guest Ryan Babenzien, CEO of Jolie, he looked at everyday things: the shower. Wellness. Vanity. Your wallet. And then the filtered shower head took the world by storm. How do you create a successful product when there’s already a ton of stuff out there? Why is everyday customer behavior so important to a wellness brand? Ryan s...

It’s not about you, it’s your brand awareness.  In this solo episode, Nik breaks down brand awareness and how to do it right. There’s a difference between brand recognition, excitement, and affinity. But some of those go awry, it can really affect how people view your brand. How do you interact with creators on social media? How much content should everyone make about your brand? When people see y...

What even is incrementality?  For our guest this week, Olivia Kory of Haus, incrementality is everything—it’s strategy, it’s how the world goes ‘round in DTC. We talk tools, conversions, and how Meta and Google can help set that up for you. How does the funnel play a role in incrementality? What’s geotesting and why does it matter? Does company size play a role?  Plus, Nik talks about filling and...

Are hacks even real? According to Nik, they aren’t—so that’s why he’s sharing his Top 40 TIPS for conversion, social proof, audience, and copy to see more site conversions. Should you do your mobile site first, or is desktop king? How do you leverage social proof for your brand? How can you make a discount pop without being too obnoxious? Plus, Nik talks about how your site should be ADA compliant...

What are Nik’s messages like?  If you answered, “Hey Nik, I’ve founded (insert company here). It should be doing this, but it’s not. What should I do?” you’d be correct. Starting a brand isn’t easy work—so that’s why Nik has a playbook ready. Should you do a pre launch test? What conversion events should matter to you? What even is a water report? There’s a ton of concerns that a lot of founders d...

Ready for a rapid-fire round of questions about DTC as big as The Cheesecake Factory menu?  CMO of Jones Road Beauty and Nik’s X-Mutual-turned-IRL-friend Cody Plofker is back on the pod—and they’re talking about incrementality, building creative teams, and more. What should you look for in building a team? What’s attribution and why is it click-based? Is Cody frugal or cheap?  Then, Nik chats abou...

What’s changing with DPA? Does attention actually matter most in advertising? Are DPA and catalog ads the same? Nik’s talking with Dan Pantelo, the founder of Marpipe HQ, where they’re on a mission to make DPA ads even better. Find out Dan’s five strategic tips everyone should know about catalog ads and why DPA is growing rapidly. When should we NOT use DPA? Does DPA matter more than UGC? Dan expl...

What’s a season of Limited Supply without Nik to answer some of the Slack channel’s hottest DTC questions? Nik’s dipping his fingers into the mailbag and unleashing his biggest CRO tips and tricks yet. Find out the five questions your landing page must answer and learn the difference between adding a promise and a guarantee to your site. Should your checkout page have a slide-out cart, a separate...

Ready for a masterclass in DTC tactics? Then step on up, cause Mr. Sharma’s got everything you need to reach the 100K mark. Nik’s breaking down his secret tactics to hit your revenue goals by taking a deep dive into four specific strategies that are sure to boost your biz. It’s all about the angles— and we’re not talking about that jawline in the mirror. Learn how you can position your website lan...

Cookware doesn’t have to be boring. And this particular brand is making a huge splash. It’s the cookware company coveted by Michelin-starred chefs and Hollywood’s most elite, like Gordon Ramsay, Hailey Beiber, Halle Berry, Courtney Cox, Cameron Diaz… the list goes on and on. If you haven’t been on the brink of impulse buying a Hexclad pan at least once in your life, you haven’t really been living...

You wanted to hear from the top DTC founders, so Nik wrangled up one of the top minds he could find in the biz for you— Dianna Cohen, the mastermind behind Crown Affair. Dianna breaks down what contributed to the massive success of her haircare company and chats with Nik about the importance of building a strong brand story. She explains how DTC success isn’t a big bang, but a slow burn. Have too...

You ask the questions. We answer them. It’s been a while, but Nik and Moiz are pulling out the Sorting Hat to pull out some of your juiciest, most pressing DTC questions. The guys reflect on some of the biggest mistakes DTC brands make (and they’ve seen plenty) and discuss why repeatable sales processes aren’t a nice thought— they’re an absolute necessity. What’s the one legal mistake that could b...

Nik’s taken a breather for this ep, so you know what that means… Time for Moiz to hound his latest guest with the questions Nik is too afraid to ask. This week, he’s taking on Sharoon Thomas, CEO and founder of fulfil.io, to figure out WTF an ERP system is actually good for. More importantly, WTF is an ERP system? Sharoon shares his insights into the complexities of running a software business and...

You asked, we listened. That’s right– you wanted to hear more about Open Store, so Nik pulled Trent Riggs (President of OpenStore) and Lukas Judodihardjo (Head of Operations at OpenStore) onto the pod to break down the ways that they’re revolutionizing the Shopify ecosystem.  Trent and Lukas explain what it’s like to represent over 100,000 different Shopify brands– and what your DTC needs to know...

Goodbye, Shopify. See ya later, Etsy. Hasta la vista… Amazon???\ Yeah, we said it. Temu has the power to compete with Amazon. Has the Chinese drop shipping company grown too powerful to defeat? Or can our old-school favorites find a way to slay the DTC giant? Nik and Moiz discuss the looming threat of Temu to several major e-commerce retailers. What strategies do they need to stay relevant? Plus,...

Welcome back, ya 88s. Quit trying to make brick-and-mortar happen. It’s never going to happen. Or at least not like you think it will. Nik and Moiz break down the common pitfalls DTC businesses make when it comes to opening up retail stores. How many stores are too many? And are you thinking about staffing in a realistic manner? Speaking of brick-and-mortar stores, why aren’t places like Outdoor V...

Just because the guys don’t wear makeup doesn’t mean they can’t dig Sephora. They discuss the makeup giant’s clever loyalty program and explain why it’s the prime example of how to make a loyalty program work. Then, Nik and Moiz ruminate over how to make corporate gifting a lucrative DTC business. Could their idea for a corporate gifting channel turn into the next big Faire? And later, Nik just ca...

We can’t escape TikTok Shop, and chances are good neither can you. But is it actually working for the brands that are using it? And what does their AoV look like?  Nik also breaks down TikTok Shop’s shift to QVC-like ads as the boys debate the latest trends and happenings in TikTok Shop. How much do affiliates get paid anyway? But let’s get down to brass tacks—because the guys are wondering whethe...