skucast

Robert Fiveash and Danny Rosin, founders of Brand Fuel are well-known leaders throughout the industry and highly respected for their success but more importantly, for their open door, generous spirit, and brilliant marketing. In this episode we chat about their Band Fuel Project to explore why they created it and what they learned through the process.

From $222,000 in sales in 2013, to $5 million in sales in five years, distributor SoBe Promos based out of Miami, Florida burst onto the scene in a flash, and was honored as one of Inc. Magazine’s 500 Fastest Growing private companies in 2016 and recognized by ASI in 2017 as the fastest-growing distributor. Chris Ferrite, Vice President of Business Development, joins us to riff about their rocket...

Brandon Mackay, MAS, Six Sigma Lean Certified, and the Owner and CEO/President of Snugz USA, earned his stripes the hard way: experience. A strong advocate for process improvement and employee development, Brandon delivered a brilliant and practical talk at skucon in Las Vegas on How Operational Excellence Fuels Profitable Growth, unpacking his experience as a lean certified organization and the l...

Be a brand anthropologist. Know yourself, know your breed. Those are just a few of the truisms that Renya Nelson, founder of Brand+Aid, shared with the skucon audience in Las Vegas where she delivered a talk on “How to Build a Kick-Ass Brand to Attract Kick-Ass Clients.”

At skucon in Las Vegas, Joe Drayer and Anita Emoff from Boost Rewards, led a session entitled "From Incentives to Engagement." Joe Drayer is the Vice President at Boost, and prior to that, led Sales Strategy for LexisNexis. Since 2015, Joe has been a lecturer and instructor at the University of Dayton School of Business with a concentration on Organizational Behavior.

In this episode, Catherine Graham, President of distributor RIGHTSLEEVE and CEO of commonsku, spoke to an audience full of entrepreneurs at our skucon conference in Las Vegas, on the subject of prospecting.

Janie Gaunce started Grapevine Designs, one of the original, agency-minded distributorships, back in 2000. Since then, Grapevine Designs has been honoured as a “Best Places to Work” company by the Kansas City Business Journal and they consistently rank as one of the top “Women-Owned Businesses in KC,” and have garnered numerous other industry awards.

At skucon in Las Vegas, Scott Alterman (The Icebox) took the crowd on a wild ride through his crazy journey as a serial entrepreneur, sharing lessons learned on how to build a swag empire while evolving your team and transforming even your own role in the business.

What does it mean to be fiercely original? And how do you evolve, as a brand, to command the kind of clients and work that enable you to thrive at your most creative? These are the questions we explore with Frank Thompson, the wildly eccentric founder, President, and frontman for Planet Logo, an alternative branded merchandise and promotional products company headquartered in the coastal town of W...

commonsku collections is a brand new in-app tool that allows suppliers to create beautiful collections of product that can be easily shared by a distributor with their customers. In this episode, Mark Graham, commonsku’s co-founder and Chief Platform Officer, and Samantha Kates, commonsku’s Vice President of Sales, sit down to share how collections can save distributors time and how this new tool...

Mark Graham, Chief Platform Officer, and Bobby Lehew, Chief Content Officer, sit down to discuss business podcasting, the why's as well as the how-to's.

In today's episode, we sit down with Justin Carter, founder of BRAND-ON!, to talk about how to activate the entrepreneurial dream by pursuing both the work and life that you want,

In today's episode, we sit down with Dan Taylor, BamBams co-founder, President, & CEO and his son Ben Taylor who, in addition to serving as the Director of Digital Media for Gallup Consulting, worked in a number of roles as a marketing technologist before joining BamBams. Join us for an insightful journey through the evolution of an ever-changing product line by one of the industry's most respecte...

No one in our industry has mastered the art of connecting more than Danny Rosin. Danny is a tireless industry and community leader who, along with his business partner Robert Fiveash, has built one of the most vibrant brands in the business, Brand Fuel. A respected veteran, PPAI board member, founder and chef at promokitchen, and also the active co-founder of Band Together, a volunteer-driven nonp...

At our inaugural skucamp event in Palm Springs, CA, as some of the most influential and progressive distributors and suppliers gathered to spend a few days in community, listening to speakers and learning from one another, Ted Church (Anthem Branding) shared a session that revealed the ideation process behind their agency approach. Today’s skucast episode features the recording from Ted’s session...

At our inaugural skucamp event in Palm Springs, CA, some of the most influential and progressive distributors and suppliers gathered to spend a few days in community, listening to speakers and learning from one another. Today’s skucast episode was recorded at skucamp where Matty Toomb unpacked his years of practical insight on the subject of selling.

Today's skucast episode was recorded at skucamp where Jamie Watson, a partner with Certified Marketing Consultants, shared what a distributorship in optimum health looks like. Based on her experience, successfully transacting many distributor acquisitions, Jamie walks through example P&Ls, balance sheets, plus, provides tips on how to position your company for maximum profitability.

At our inaugural skucamp event in Palm Springs, CA, some of the most influential and progressive distributors and suppliers gathered to spend a few days in community, listening to speakers and learning from one another. Catherine Graham (CEO, commonsku) distilled her years of experience as a successful distributor into a presentation at skucamp entitled "Strategies for Scaling,"

Denise Taschereau, CEO and co-founder of Fairware, took four months off from work to travel, and in this episode, Mark Graham visits with both Denise and Sarah White (Fairware's Chief Operating Officer) about how they were able to work together to create such a refreshing opportunity.

Snugz USA is a $40 million powerhouse led by owner and CEO, Brandon Mackay. Powered by an incredible team of talented professionals, Snugz remains one of the most respected suppliers in the industry, a manufacturer whose diverse product line has grown far beyond lanyards to include leather goods, personal care products, food, and even shoes.

We sit down with Jake Malishkevich (Promodealer) to learn about his journey and mine the lessons he has learned, including: the importance of Google AdWords then and now, how process is the most important part of a new salesperson’s training (and a distributor's growth), navigating the online world of trendspotting with products and how Amazon and Wal-Mart entering the industry is a non-issue.

Steve Levschuk is the CEO of Talbot, recognized by Deloitte as one of The 50 Best Managed Companies in Canada - twice! We sit down with Steve to talk about acquisitions vs. organic growth, supplier partnerships, international business, compensation models, and what it takes to become a “best-managed company.” Steve is also a distributor candidate for the PPAI board, and we discuss his vision for t...

Lori Kates has overseen many transitions since she first began as controller of Vitronic in 1996. Honored as ASI’s Supplier Woman of Distinction in 2013 and listed on The Counselor Power 50 for the past 4-years, she continues to pursue excellent operating principles intended to propel Top 40 supplier IMAGEN Brands to even greater heights.

Todd Pottebaum is the President of Quality Resource Group, a $35 million promotional products and print distributor with over 50 salespeople, located in the Minneapolis, MN area. This episode reflects on principles of success, particularly personal and professional development, and how we can implement these into our own experience.

skucon, the conference for entrepreneurs, mavericks, and both young and young-at-heart professionals, is back, and it's at an all-new venue with a stellar lineup of some of the brightest and best in the business. In this episode, Mark Graham and Bobby Lehew provide a quick overview of topics and highlight some of the speakers who are taking the stage.