skucast

What if the next $100 million distributor only needs 10 employees? Leo Friedman, CEO of iPromo, believes this bold prediction is already becoming reality. Since 1999, Leo has built iPromo from startup to industry powerhouse: 75 employees, 55,000+ customers, and 500+ on-demand products that solve the MOQ problem everyone else struggles with. But here's the kicker: AI is about to make everything we...

What does the promo industry look like from the inside out? I mean, all the way to the source, from manufacturing in Asia to the delivered product to clients. Well, in today’s show, we’re getting a peek behind the scenes as we take a promo tour through Asia with Dave Shultz, commonsku’s VP of Supplier Partnerships, and Mark Graham, commonsku’s President and Chief Brand Officer! The two industry ve...

Can you hit a 30% growth target YTD and still make a major contribution to your community? Apparently, you can. In this episode, we talk with Nevin Bansal. Nevin is the Founder and CEO of Outreach Promos, a Columbus-based company providing online brandstores, branded merch, and design solutions. Nevin is also the founder and Executive Director of Small Biz Cares, a nonprofit that engages small bus...

Britney Godsey is the dynamic CRO at Gold Bond, we chat about tariffs, the "China plus one" strategy some suppliers employ, the recent implementation of commonsku ePOs for streamlined order processing, and tech advancements like the Brand Lab AI podcast and chatbot, alongside a focus on team growth, plus their strategic focus on Tech, Golf Dominance, Green Gallery, and ZipShip. Join us for a wide-...

Tom Havens, a creative powerhouse and the visionary founder of Havens Consulting, possesses a remarkable sales background and deep roots in creative and design for the promo industry. His leadership propelled Catalyst Marketing to $25 MM before its acquisition by HALO in 2017. Driven by his passion for innovation, Tom launched Havens Consulting in 2024, dedicated to empowering distributors and sup...

Episode 338: A Branded Product Agency Philosophy with Francis Pierrel, LR Paris by commonsku

Episode 337: Mastering Client Complexity Through Mergers: A Chat with Kate Ivory and Laura Mazy, Premier Press by commonsku

Episode 336: The “Quiet Work” of a Power Brand: Inside MOTIF’s Unique Culture with Joel Antymniuk by commonsku

Episode 335: Customer Experience is the New Differentiator (Dan Gingiss) by commonsku

Episode 334: The Optimism & Anxiety of Sales Growth: Tips from Sales Expert Kevin Baumgart by commonsku

Blackfish is an unapologetically boutique brand that focuses on a customer-obsessed experience as the bedrock for building growth.

Monty Mims is one of the many folks leading SanMar’s Decorator & Tech Solutions division, he’s brilliant at both helping distributors work better with their decorators, but also helping decorators navigate the landscape of trends, equipment, and supply chain.

When John Henry of JH started in 1998, little did he know that JH would soon expand into culture and recruitment services for businesses, consulting, digital services, and more. Many of us in the industry consider ourselves strategic advisors to our clients, but when our CCO, Bobby Lehew, got to participate in JH’s “Expand Your Brand” event (virtually) this year, we realized that if there’s one th...

Episode 330: The Impact Journey: Fairware's Sarah White and Denise Taschereau by commonsku

Episode 329: Ethically Sourced Merch for Socially Responsible Clients (Daniel Cardozo, Ethix Merch) by commonsku

Hit Promo is now a connected+ supplier on commonsku, what does that mean? A lightening fast ordering process, securing inventory quicker, and the elimination of order entry errors by you and your team (and more!) Today, we’re talking with Amy Rabideau, Hit’s VP of Product and Jon Norris, Chief Strategy Officer at Hit.

Episode 327: "Marketing Made Easy: Unleashing the Power of commonsku + PromoPulse (with Jason Nokes) by commonsku

Our guest on this episode of the skucast is Kyla Scanlon, founder of the financial education company, Bread, and a prolific creator. Kyla writes a weekly newsletter, makes YouTube videos, hosts the “Let’s Appreciate” podcast, and posts —almost daily— short-form videos about the economy and markets.

Todd Henry is one of the most sought-after creativity coaches in the world, he teaches leaders and organizations how to establish practices that lead to everyday brilliance.

When Sky High Marketing partnered with commonsku about four years ago they had 25 employees and in the short time since, have doubled their team to 50! Owners, Josh and Rachel Kozinski just opened a brand new 40,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility in the Milwaukee area complete with warehousing, in-house decoration, and embroidery. We were honored to join them for their open house, what an...

Founded in 2013 in New York City. Whitestone has graced the Inc 5000 List for Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America the last seven years. Founder and President Joe Sommer has led a superstar sales team and is looking at growth through both organic sales and acquisitions, they recently acquired Merchful (who operates in Canada and Europe) and they acquired San Francisco-founded distributor D...

Today Rob Watson, CEO at Vantage Apparel joins us to talk about their look into the future and the aspirations and realities they are creating as a tech-enabled pioneer in apparel.

Ryan Paules pivoted to the promo industry after losing his job as a manager with a national chain on the same day of his wife's first ultrasound. With a new baby on the way and a mortgage to pay, he turned his IT hobby into a full-time venture, launching Radar Support, which he later closed despite its success.

Tim Andrews is a luminary in the promo industry, he’s the CEO of the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) whose 350 employees serve a network of 25,000 suppliers, distributors, and decorators in the industry.

Todd Mawyer is the President and CEO of TK Promotions, a commonsku distributor customer, and yet another very successful entrepreneur in this industry who started during a recession, in 2008.