Up Arrow Podcast

Ross Beyeler is the VP of Business Intelligence at Zaelab, a B2B digital consultancy that helps manufacturers and enterprise organizations modernize the customer experience. In his role, Ross leads data, analytics, and business intelligence strategy, helping organizations translate complex operational and financial data into actionable insights that improve profitability and decision-making. With...

Michael Kleinmann is the Founder and CEO of Michael Kleinmann Consulting, a bespoke consultancy helping DTC e-commerce and subscription brands grow. He is also the Founder and CEO of Underwear Expert, a men's underwear platform that evolved from a digital media brand into a leading curated subscription service. As a seasoned e-commerce entrepreneur, Michael spent a decade as the President of Fresh...

Jess Chan is the Founder and Executive Chair of Longplay Brands, a full-service retention and lifecycle marketing agency for DTC e-commerce brands. She is also the Founder and CEO of Backbone, an email strategy automation tool. As a former CMO of a multimillion-dollar DTC e-commerce company, Jess bootstrapped Longplay to seven figures in revenue within the first 18 months. She is a sought-after sp...

Chadwick Wilson is the Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at Ace Renegade Productions, a social strategy, video, and content production company specializing in visual branding, social storytelling, and multi-platform marketing. He is also a Senior Casting Producer at Cornwell Casting, a reality television casting company focused on finding dynamic casts across reality TV genres. With over 15 ye...

Logan Bird is the President and CEO of Mephisto, a France-based premium footwear brand known for handcrafted comfort shoes. Previously, he served as Mephisto's Vice President of Omnichannel Sales, where he helped advance the brand's digital, retail, wholesale, and DTC strategies. With experience in e-commerce, strategic partnerships, and omnichannel growth, Logan held senior roles at Lands' End an...

Brandi Dugal is the Founder and CEO of The Fidget Game, a company that creates curriculum-aligned learning games to make reading and literacy practice effective and fun. The company's resources are used in more than 50,000 schools. A former teacher with classroom experience in multiple countries, Brandi developed The Fidget Game after working with students who were struggling to read. Through the...

Rita Ainsworth is a Human Potential Coach at Rita Ainsworth Coaching, where she helps high-performing professionals and teams reduce stress and improve resilience through neuroscience-based, body-centered coaching. As a trauma-informed coach, she specializes in guiding clients out of chronic stress and into greater clarity, energy, and balanced performance. After spending a decade in marketing and...

Jay Steinfeld is the Founder and former CEO of Blinds.com, the world's largest online retailer of window coverings, which was acquired by The Home Depot in 2014. Under his leadership, Blinds.com grew from a bootstrapped startup in his home to a billion-dollar enterprise, earning a reputation for innovation in e-commerce and technology-driven growth. Jay is also a Wall Street Journal best-selling a...

Jennifer Zick is the Founder and CEO of Authentic, a fractional CMO and marketing firm that helps businesses create scalable growth systems. With more than 25 years of experience in B2B marketing across startups, private equity–backed companies, and global organizations, she is a recognized leader in the fractional CMO space. Jennifer is also the Founder of LIFT Integrator Community™, an executive...

Jason Wong is the Founder and CEO of Paking Duck, which provides custom packaging solutions for DTC brands. Before launching Paking Duck, he built and scaled multiple DTC ventures, including Saucy, an end-to-end sourcing and logistics company, and the beauty brand Doe Lashes, which reached significant valuations under his leadership. Jason started his career as a teen entrepreneur in blogging, aff...

Nick Gray is an entrepreneur, author, and the former Founder and Owner of Museum Hack, a company known for its unconventional, engaging museum tours that make art and history fun and accessible. He grew Museum Hack into a multi-city enterprise with dozens of employees before selling it to his leadership team in a seven-figure deal. Nick is the author of The 2-Hour Cocktail Party and has been featu...

Patrick J. Griffin is a Partner at TableForce, a firm that provides negotiation training for B2B professionals. As a seasoned negotiation expert and strategist, he has negotiated over $1 billion in sales with global financial institutions, specializing in complex financial instruments. Outside of negotiation training, Patrick is the Founder of Morrigan Strategic Advisors, where he provides fractio...

Cherene Aubert is the CEO of Growth Capital, a growth marketing firm that scales consumer brands. As a seasoned e-commerce and digital growth leader, she has nearly two decades of experience scaling DTC brands and managing media investments across multiple high-growth companies. Before Growth Capital, Cherene was the Fractional SVP of Digital & eCommerce at ILIA Beauty, where she drove omnichannel...

Kevin Anderson is the Founder and CEO of Kevin Anderson & Associates, a global leader in professional book-writing, editing, and publishing navigation services. A #1 New York Times best-selling editor, national best-selling author, entrepreneur, and investor, Kevin has built KAA into an industry-leading firm with a team of former Big-5 executive editors, literary agents, and best-selling writers....

Ross Correia is the Co-founder and CEO of Reactiv, an AI-powered mobile commerce platform. Under his leadership, Reactiv has raised significant seed funding and forged partnerships with major retail brands. Before Reactiv, Ross held sales and leadership roles at companies, including Shopify. He has also been named to Forbes ' 30 Under 30 list for retail and e-commerce.  In this episode… Most e-com...

Mikel Lindsaar is the Founder and CEO of StoreConnect, a customer commerce platform that helps businesses unify e-commerce sales, services, and systems. As a seasoned technology entrepreneur, he founded multiple software companies, including Exec IO and reinteractive, and exited several SaaS ventures.  In this episode… Growth doesn't just stall when the business is underwater; it stalls when every...

Jason Anderson is the COO of Andzen, a global customer journey and AI-powered CRM agency. In his role, he oversees operational execution and helps drive the agency's growth and client success across email, SMS, and loyalty programs. Jason has over a decade of experience in the e-commerce lifecycle and CRM marketing. In this episode… Scaling an e-commerce business can feel like combining tactics wi...

Felicia Shakiba is the Founder and CEO of CPO Playbook, a leadership and human capital advisory firm serving private equity and venture-backed companies. As an industrial-organizational psychologist and certified Korn Ferry coach, she has over two decades of experience driving people strategy across Fortune 500 and high-growth companies. Felicia is also an Advisory Council Member for Harvard Busin...

Lindsey Johnson is the Co-founder and CEO of Weezie Towels, a modern luxury bath brand. As CEO, she leads the company's product development, customer experience, and brand vision. Lindsey began her career in finance, working for firms including Morgan Stanley and BlackRock before co-founding Weezie to address a gap in the towel market.  In this episode… Building a consumer brand today takes more t...

Filip Keuppens is the CEO of The Pickle Juice Company, a functional beverage company known for its specialty sports hydration beverage, Pickle Juice®. Under his leadership, he scaled the company from $250,000 in annual revenue to over $10 million, turning it into a global, science-backed brand. Before The Pickle Juice Company, Filip held sales roles at major firms, including 20th Century Fox, Warn...

Johnny Persón is the Founder of Aug11, a lifestyle and apparel brand built on a foundation of resilience. Self-taught in e-commerce, marketing, and product design, he built Aug11 from the ground up. Johnny began his career in crypto and blockchain before owning and managing multiple companies. In this episode… When creativity meets commerce, what separates a fleeting brand from one that endures? F...

Alan (Al) Doan is the Co-founder of Missouri Star Quilt Company, which offers a selection of precut and quilt fabrics. After building and shutting down a consumer finance app, he partnered with his sister and mother to transform a small quilting operation into a thriving e-commerce and brick-and-mortar business. Al is also the Chairman of the Board at Creativity, Inc., a creative commerce holding...

Dr. Giancarlo Licata is the Founder and Director of Vital Brain Health, a Los Angeles–based center specializing in evidence-based neurofeedback and applied neuroscience. Having supported thousands of clients with chronic pain, migraines, and post‒concussion challenges, he specializes in EEG, qEEG, and functional neurology. Dr. Licata also speaks about anxiety, autism, sleep, and ADHD on national h...

Francesco Gatti is the Co-founder and CEO of Opensend, a data company for e-commerce brands that converts anonymous visitors into leads. The company works with brands, including TrueClassic, OatsOvernight, Benchmade, AlexaderWang, and Rhone. With over a decade of digital marketing experience, Francesco held roles at companies, including VOLTN, Burrata House, Herb, and Grata.  In this episode… Most...

Akash Nigam is the Founder and CEO of Genies, Inc., an avatar-technology company building personalized 3D avatars and digital identities for consumers, creators, and brands. Under his leadership, Genies has established partnerships with celebrities and major brands, including Unity, Warner Music Group, Justin Bieber, Cardi B., and Shawn Mendes. Akash is also the Founder of Humans, an AI-native ven...