The Retail X Series Podcast

This episode of the Retail X Series podcast features the story of Janji, and how co-founder & CEO Dave Spandorfer built this DTC startup in a saturated market, while focusing on profitability, and not multiple venture capital fundraising rounds. Dave shares his take on what he and his co-founder did well, and how being scrappy helped build Janji to EBITDA positive.  This episode is a must-list...

This episode of the Retail X Series podcast covers the branding and marketing building blocks for successfully launching your DTC startup, from creating the brand identity to pricing to launch tactics and more. Sara Adams Slywka , Co-founder & CMO of Nestig , shares her experiences in being scrappy, some do's and don'ts and some of the hard choices she had to make in launching  her b...

This episode of the Retail X Series podcast features is all about the do's and don'ts when pitching a venture capitalist. Mac Conwell, Managing Partner at RareBreed Ventures, talks about what VCs are looking for, what you should ask a VC in your first meeting and demystifies what "traction" really means at the early stages. If you're a founder about to pitch your first VC,...

This episode of the Retail X Series podcast features an in-depth conversation about how to create a great pitch deck, particularly aimed at preseed and seed stage companies. Jenny Fielding, Manager Director of Techstars and General Partner of The Fund, talks about how to build a deck and why the elements of the deck are so important. Jenny has seen thousands upon thousands of decks, both good and...

Welcome to Season 2 of the Retail X Series Podcast! This episode of the Retail X Series podcast features an in-depth conversation about choosing an accelerator or incubator program, featuring the Managing Director of New York Fashion Tech Lab, Jackie Trebilcock. Jackie gives her tips and advice to founders trying to understand what criteria they should use to evaluate programs, how the process wor...

This episode of the Retail X Series podcast features an in-depth conversation about offline sales strategies for DTC brands including pop-ups, wholesale and bricks & mortar, with Kirk Keel, Co-founder & Co-CEO of Stantt , a menswear brand. Kirk talks about how Stantt built up their wholesale business to over 400 stores, including specialty stores and Nordstrom, while also running pop-ups a...

“Understand your customer like a friend.” This episode of the Retail X Series podcast is an in-depth conversation about fundraising and building a business with Elana Reinholtz , Founder & CEO of Bird + Stone , a cause-based jewelry company. Elana talks about her building her brand, how she built it starting with an Etsy shop and how she stays in touch with her customers. She also shares resou...

“Investors are looking for a reason to say no.” This can’t-miss episode of the Retail X Series podcast is an in-depth conversation about fundraising and building a business with Melanie Elturk , CEO of Haute Hijab , talking all about her brand, how she built it and how she’s raised multiple rounds of outside capital. Melanie shares her story of how she took her side hustle to a growing brand, rais...

“Brand is your point of view and marketing is its extroverted cousin.” This episode of the Retail X Series podcast is an in-depth interview with Carolyn Rush, formerly of Worn, a brand agency, and now Head of Brand & Strategy at Robyn, talking about all things branding. Carolyn shares her take on early stage brands, how to think about branding at the earliest stages of a company and some tips...

This episode of the Retail X Series podcast is an in-depth interview with the two co-founders of Mobley, a DTC furniture rental startup. Daniel Ramirez-Yunque and Aditya Khilnani share their experiences about fundraising at the pre-seed and seed stage for their company, with tips and advice for early stage founders.    Topics: - Timing and traction that is right for a pre-seed or seed round - Figu...

This episode of the Retail X Series podcast is an in-depth interview with Meghan Cross Breeden all about fundraising at the earliest stages. Meghan shares her tips and advice about fundraising at the pre-seed and seed stage.   Topics: - The definition of pre-seed vs. seed fundraise - Valuation rules of thumb - What it means to be a venture-backable company - Thinking through if a lead is necessary...

This episode of the Retail X Series podcast is an in-depth interview with Irene Ryabaya , Co-founder of WarmIntro . Irene shares her experiences growing B2B sales for her company, from her very first pilot customer to today - and all the lessons she's learned along the way.   Topics: - How to get that critical first pilot customer.  - Why enterprise customers might not be a good target for a...

In this episode, Rachel Wexler talks about the nitty gritty of fundraising. Think of this episode as your "Fundraising 101" class, all about how to raise outside capital in a pre-seed or early stage round.  Topics: - How angels evaluate companies at the earliest stages - What entrepreneurs should be prepared with at pre-seed, including team, traction/metrics, financial model, etc. - What...

"Panic doesn’t help.” This can’t-miss episode (recorded on 3/24/20 in the midst of New York's lockdown) features Mona Bijoor, entrepreneur, investor, best-selling author and startup advisor, talking about what startups should be doing right now in the current uncertain environment to make their businesses stronger, as well as fundraising advice and more.  Topics: - How angel investors th...

This episode of the Retail X Series podcast is an in-depth interview with Del Johnson , Principal at Backstage Capital . Del shares his thoughts and advice for early stage founders raising outside capital, including how the VC process works, how to be best prepared to raise money and what he looks for in the investments he makes. This is a must-listen episode if you're raising for the first t...

This episode of the Retail X Series podcast is an in-depth interview with Meha Agrawal , Founder & CEO of Silk + Sonder . Meha shares her experiences with bootstrapping her company to get to product/market fit before raising her first round of outside capital. She has great tips for founders that have physical subscription products and are looking to build enough traction to fundraise.  Topics...

This episode of the Retail X Series podcast is an in-depth interview with Meg He , Co-founder of Aday . Meg shares her experiences with getting her early customers for her apparel brand, especially before there was a lot of money to spend on customer acquisition. She has great advice for early stage DTC founders who are looking for the best ways to acquire early customers. Topics: - The best chann...

This episode of the Retail X Series podcast is an in-depth interview with Jacquelyn Ward , Co-founder of Our Story Bridal .  Jacquelyn shares her experiences with bootstrapping her company to profitability before raising the first round of outside capital. She has great advice for founders in the DTC space and those that have bricks and mortar presences.  Topics: - Early stage sources of cash - Bo...

This episode of the Retail X Series podcast is an in-depth interview with Leigh Sevin , Co-founder of Endear . Leigh shares her experiences growing B2B sales for her company, from her very first pilot customer to today - and all the lessons she's learned along the way. Topics: - How to get the critical first enterprise pilot customer.  - How to convert a pilot into a contract.  - How to price...

This episode of the Retail X Series podcast is an in-depth interview with Amanda Patterson , CEO of The Call List . Amanda shares her experiences and thoughts in growing B2B sales for her company, from her first enterprise customer to today - and all the lessons she's learned along the way. Topics: - How to get the critical first enterprise pilot customer - How to convert a pilot into a contr...