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Business
Frugal Living Suits ‘My Wife Quit’ Founder
November 4, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Steve Chou is a successful entrepreneur. But quality of life drives many of his business decisions. Frugal living is one component.
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Business
Agency Marketer Goes In-house at Range Leather
October 28, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Tim Aton worked at a marketing agency running high-dollar campaigns for clients. Then a friend who owned a leather-goods company called. Here's Aton's story.
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Business
DTC Holsters Are a Last Line of Defense
October 21, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Mike Pfeiffer is a web developer turned YouTube entrepreneur. In 2015, he made a firearms holster at home for his own use. Then he mentioned it on his videos. Here's his story.
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Content Marketing
Ballet Dancer Shifts to Photo, Video Creator
October 14, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Until early 2020, Matthew Gattozzi was a professional ballet dancer. Then a back injury forced a career change and the launch of Goodo Studios, which produces photos and videos for ecommerce companies.
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Finance
Supply.co Founder on Selling the Business
October 7, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Supply.co is a direct-to-consumer seller of razors and shaving supplies. Co-founder Patrick Coddou has just sold the company, having survived the iOS 14.5 debacle. Here's his story.
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Business
Business Is Art to Fringe Sport Owner
September 30, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Fringe Sport is a leading online seller of barbells and exercise equipment. Founder Peter Keller addresses his priorities — business and life — in this week's "Ecommerce Conversations" episode.
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Customer Service
HelpFlow, a Live Chat Service, Ramps Up
September 23, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Jon Tucker founded HelpFlow in 2015, providing customer support services to ecommerce brands. He speaks with host Eric Bandholz in this week's podcast episode.
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Analytics & Data
iOS ‘Debacle’ Spurs Triple Whale
September 16, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Overcoming the impact of iOS 14.5 requires ad testing and better attribution. That's according to Rabah Rahil, the chief marketing officer of Triple Whale, an analytics platform.
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Business
The Ultimate Brand in Tattoo Skincare
September 2, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
What began as a side hustle for a group of graduates became a multi-million dollar DTC company. Mad Rabbit's Drew Fallon explains the journey in this week's Ecommerce Conversation.
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Business
Live Events Lift Chisos Boots, a DTC Brand
August 26, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Ninety percent of Chisos Boots' revenue is online. But the company still runs a physical store and hosts in-person events. Both are essential for building the brand and community.
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Social Media
Polarizing Tweets Pay Off for Steak-umm
August 12, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
The Twitter account for Steak-umm, the food brand, had 1,000 followers when it hired Nathan Allebach in 2017. By 2021 followers numbered 200,000. He explains in this week's "Ecommerce Conversation."
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Business
Spiceology Founder Pivots to CPG Startups
July 29, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Having successfully launched Spiceology, Pete Taylor semi-retired in 2019, contemplating his next venture. Fast forward to 2022, and that company is Midas Brands, a DTC seller of consumer packaged goods.
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Amazon & Marketplaces
FBA Seller, Tired of Storage Fees, Launches 3PL
July 22, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Mark Taylor is a former Fulfillment-by-Amazon seller weary of paying expensive long-term storage fees. His solution is Warehouse Republic, a 3PL serving mainly Amazon sellers, which he launched in 2018.
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Business
Ridge Wallet CEO on Influencer Turmoil, iOS 14.5
July 15, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
The year 2021 produced dramatic escalations in influencer marketing rates and upheaval in Facebook ad performance. Both are critical marketing channels for Ridge Wallet, the maker of metal-clad billfolds.
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Business
Guatemalan Entrepreneurs Are Gay, Married, Successful
July 8, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Hans Schrei launched Wunderkeks, a direct-to-consumer cookie company, from his mom's kitchen in Guatemala in 2012. Amid obstacles, he immigrated to Austin, Texas, with his husband in 2019. Here's their story.
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Business
Custom Teeth Guards Propel Online Dental Lab
July 1, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Selling custom-fitted teeth guards would seemingly involve in-person visits from customers. But not for Pro Teeth Guard. It sells made-to-order guards online. Co-founder JP Ji explains.
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Business
Lessons from Shopify 2.0 Upgrade, New Theme
June 24, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Host Eric Bandholz's company, Beardbrand, recently migrated to Shopify 2.0. Jenny Durre, Beardbrand's in-house designer, managed the entire process. She describes it in this conversation.
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Link Building
180 Marketing Founder: 4 Buckets to SEO
June 17, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Search engine optimization for ecommerce boils down to four buckets. That's according to Jeff Oxford, founder of 180 Marketing, an Oregon-based firm.
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Business
PostPilot Is Klaviyo for Postcards
June 10, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Apple's iOS 14 privacy changes have upended Facebook advertising performance, forcing merchants to seek alternative marketing channels. Direct mail is back.
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Business
Cocktail Syrup Manufacturer Pivots to DTC
June 3, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Liber & Co., a maker of cocktail syrups, thrived by selling to bars and restaurants. Then Covid hit, decimating revenue. Co-founder Chris Harrison explains what happened next.
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Business
‘Impossible Sleep’ Makes Sleep Possible
May 27, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Struggling to sleep, the founder of "Impossible" launched a nutritional supplement to help high-performing individuals improve rest and recovery.
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Amazon & Marketplaces
Fed-up Toy Company Responds to Knock-offs
May 20, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Viahart is a manufacturer of educational toys. Having experienced repeated intellectual property theft, its owner, Molson Hart, responded with a new company, Edison Litigation Financing.
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Staffing
Efficiency Pro: Happy People Are More Productive
May 13, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Thanh Pham is the founder of Asian Efficiency, a productivity training company. He believes building in-person connections and nurturing relationships naturally enhances productivity.
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Business
Needing Deodorant, Curie Founder Made Her Own
May 6, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
In 2018 Sarah Moret, an accountant and athlete, couldn't find a suitable aluminum-free deodorant. So she made her own. Fast forward to 2022 and that deodorant business is now Curie, a thriving direct-to-consumer seller.
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Business
For Supply.co, EOS Is A-OK
April 29, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
By late 2021, Patrick Coddou, the founder of Supply.co, was exhausted and burned out, having endured a harsh year for the business and himself. He turned to the Entrepreneurial Operating System.
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Staffing
‘Embrace Growth’ Is Core to Atlas Staffing
April 22, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Joshua McKee founded Atlas Staffing 11 years ago. The company has grown. He advocates core values and communicates them to employees. "Embrace growth" is his favorite.
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Business
Direct Mail Replaces Facebook for Barbeque Seller
April 15, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Lea Richards launched Pig of the Month, a direct-to-consumer seller of barbeque, in 2010. The company has thrived, with dozens of meat products and outsourced logistics for other merchants.
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Business
Ecommerce Copywriter on Tactics, Tools, More
April 8, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
High-converting ecommerce copywriting starts with research. That's according to Christopher Silvestri, the founder of Conversion Alchemy, an agency.
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Business
Sutro Pivots from Drinking Water to Swimming Pools
April 1, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Ravi Kurani is an engineer who launched Sutro, a water sensor manufacturer, in 2012. His initial go-to-market strategy failed. So he pivoted.
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Staffing
‘People Development’ Drives AppSumo to $80 Million in Revenue
March 25, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Ayman Al-Abdullah was CEO of AppSumo from 2015 to 2021. Annual revenue grew from $3 million to $80 million. How, exactly, did he do it?