Ecommerce Conversations, By Practical Ecommerce

Mike Lee was once a 12-0 middleweight boxer who fought for a world title. Then anxiety and injuries took a toll. His search for a cure led to cannabidiol, the non-addictive, non-impairing marijuana extract. And that led him to Soul, the CBD brand he co-founded with his sister Angie.He shares his story in this interview, addressing his health issues, CBD's benefits, launching Soul, and more.For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?6nsgFor all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts******The mission of Practical Ecommerce is to help online merchants improve their businesses. We do this with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. We are an independent publishing company, founded in 2005 and unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. http://www.practicalecommerce.com 

Kevin Williams owns KDF Aegis, a U.S.-based consulting and investment firm. In 2021 he invested in Balls.co, a U.K. seller of grooming supplies for male private parts. He says, "The notion of running Balls is hilarious to everyone who knows me. But it's a gift to a marketer to work with an edgy product."Humor ended up being the company's principal marketing vehicle when it retained comedians in Europe to ask bystanders, "Do you shave your balls?" The resulting videos produced 150 million views on TikTok.Willaims discusses the business of male grooming in this interview.For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?6nkYFor all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts******The mission of Practical Ecommerce is to help online merchants improve their businesses. We do this with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. We are an independent publishing company, founded in 2005 and unaffiliated with any

Kevin Stecko launched 80sTees.com in 2000 selling t-shirts imprinted with pop-culture items. The process requires obtaining permission from the rights holders, which is not easy. He says, "I started the company with designs of He-Man, a toy cartoon. I obtained that license, and then they wouldn't approve hardly any of my designs."Fast forward to 2023, and 80sTees.com has 120,000 SKUs. It no longer warehouses and fulfills products but, instead, sends the designs to printers who then drop-ship them. He discusses his journey here, addressing licensing risks, competition, drop-shipping, and more.For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?6nhqFor all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts******The mission of Practical Ecommerce is to help online merchants improve their businesses. We do this with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. We are an independent publishing company, founded in 2005 and unaffiliated

Allen Walton launched SpyGuy, an online retailer of surveillance cameras, in 2014. The business quickly scaled, experiencing much success. Then Google Ads banned it. Then competitors arose, narrowing margins.Still, Walton preserves. Google lifted the ban, and he has doubled down with a renewed focus on sales channels, customer service, vendors, and more.This is Walton's second appearance on the podcast. The first, "Banned by Google Ads, SpyGuy.com Ponders Alternative Channels," occurred in 2020. — https://pec-ly.com/?1uAyIn his conversation, Walton shares his journey, addressing professional and personal setbacks, marketing initiatives, fulfillment changes, and more.For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?6ndpFor all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts••••••The mission of Practical Ecommerce is to help online merchants improve their businesses. We do this with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars.

Ten years ago Ken Freeman was a drop-ship Amazon seller. The business grew beyond drop shipping to seven figures (revenue) utilizing FBA. He sold to Thrasio, the aggregator, in 2019. He now advises established companies via Full Circle, his agency. Amazon's marketplace circa 2023 is ruthlessly competitive, unlike in the mid-teens when, per Freeman, "you could get rich selling yoga mats." In this interview he addresses competitive tactics, black-hat sellers, and more.For a condensed transcript with embedded audio, see https://pec-ly.com/?6n84For condensed transcripts with embedded audio of all episodes, see https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

Tony Smith acquired TimberVaults, a direct-to-consumer seller of concealed gun safes, for expansion opportunities beyond firearms. He foresaw hidden storage of other valuables, such as jewelry and documents. That was in mid-2022. He's now learning the ropes of running an ecommerce business. In this conversation, he shares his early mistakes, operational decisions, and growth plans. For an edited transcript of the interview with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?6n4dFor transcripts and embedded audio of all episodes, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

Zach Stuck is an agency founder turned ecommerce owner. The agency, called Homestead, runs marketing campaigns for direct-to-consumer businesses. And lessons from those campaigns drive his second venture: acquiring and launching his own brands. His top lesson? A customer from paid acquisition has to be profitable on the first sale. He shares his journey  — from running an agency to owning and operating ecommerce brands — in this episode.For a transcript of the episode with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?6mXEFor all episodes and embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

Mike Tecku sold his Amazon businesses, retired, and became bored. He's back, having just launched Momentum, a maker of nutritional shakes, which he calls "the Rolex of supplements." He describes his journey in this week's episode, addressing personal priorities and Momentum's market position, growth plans, and more.For an edited transcript with audio embedded, see https://pec-ly.com/?6mTVFor all edited episodes with embedded audio, see https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

Isaac Medeiros's company, Mini Katana, is a direct-to-consumer seller of Samurai-themed letter openers, swords, and related accessories. Just two years old, the business produces a whopping six videos every day from a team of creators, writers, and editors. That's 3,000 videos to date.How can a small company produce and post six videos every day? He explains that and more in this fascinating discussion.For a condensed transcript with embedded audio, see https://pec-ly.com/?6mOJFor condensed transcripts of all episodes, see https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts 

Braxton Manley launched Braxley Bands, a DTC seller of Apple Watch bands, in 2017 while a college student in Texas. The business grew quickly. He's now looking to diversify beyond Apple Watches to products from the same sustainable material as his bands. In this conversation, he shares successes and challenges from 2022, international expansion plans, and the evolution of his company. It's an inspiring lesson in innovation and resilience. For an edited transcript with embedded audio, see https://pec-ly.com/?6mIxFor all transcripts of all episodes (with embedded audio), see https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

Sean Frank hopes to sell Ridge, the maker of metal-clad wallets, within three years — for $1 billion. In this conversation, he discusses that goal, the overall state of ecommerce, the perils of excessive debt, and the need to disrupt the dental market.For a condensed transcript (with embedded audio), please see: https://pec-ly.com/?6mD2For all transcripts and audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

Dennis Hegstad's third Shopify app is called Vigilance. It monitors and blocks the injection of unwanted coupon codes at checkout, saving merchants big bucks. He discusses the financial harm to merchants of "leaked" coupon codes, Vigilance's method of blocking their use, and more.Hegstad previously launched and sold LiveRecover, an SMS-based Shopify app for recovering abandoned carts. He then acquired and sold OrderBump, an app for Shopify upsells.To read the condensed transcript (with full embedded audio): https://pec-ly.com/?6mA6For all past transcripts, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

Tim Conley helps founders overcome mental hurdles and grow their businesses. Most entrepreneurs, he's observed, prefer daily operations and putting out fires. If there are no fires, entrepreneurs will sometimes set them to put them out. In this conversation, Conley explains why entrepreneurs must evolve from the daily nitty-gritty into long-term strategists. This requires delegation, new creative outlets, and a shift in roles.To read the edited and shortened transcript (with embedded audio), please see https://pec-ly.com/?6mt9For all edited transcripts, see https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

Beardbrand founder Eric Bandholz, the host of "Ecommerce Conversations," looks back on his company's 2022 performance in detail and outlines (major) plans for 2023. It's impressive transparency to help all merchants — a must-listen.For an edited transcript with embedded audio, see:  https://pec-ly.com/?6mvLFor transcripts of all episodes with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

OneBlade COO Charles Pyles implemented forced economizing last spring when the company's sole investor couldn't inject additional funds. He shares his story in this week's episode, addressing cost savings, high-dollar razors, acquisition tactics, and more.For an edited transcript with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?6mitFor all transcripts and audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

Jackson Reiter is paid media marketer for PetPlate, a direct-to-consumer dog-food provider launched in 2016. The company sells subscriptions to "human grade" meals for dogs and, to date, has raised $32 million in funding. Reiter addresses the company's marketing funnel, paid media channels, video production, and more. For an edited transcript with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?6mgCFor all interviews and transcripts, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

CMO Daniel Lacey tells the story of Pura, which makes and sells devices that emit fragrances and are controlled via a smartphone app. Launched in 2015, the business has scaled to 180 employees and relies mostly on influencer marketing for sales on its website and via retail partners. For an edited transcript with embedded audio,  see: https://pec-ly.com/?6mdAFor all edited transcripts and embedded audio of all episodes, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

Persistent stomach pain prompted Allison Ellsworth to formulate a prebiotic soda, which she named Poppi. That was in 2018. It's now among the fastest-growing beverage brands in the U.S., with sales of $300,000 per month.She describes her journey to host Eric Bandholz in this episode, addressing Shark Tank appearances,  dramatic scaling, plans, and more.For an edited transcript with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?6m3FFor all episode transcripts with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

Ryan Hartman is chief marketing officer and co-founder of Chaiz, a startup comparison marketplace for extended automotive repair warranties. He joins the show to address the need for lower-priced warranties, the challenges of reaching consumers, signing up providers, raising capital, and more.For an edited transcript with embedded audio, please see: https://pec-ly.com/?6m1oFor edited transcripts of all episodes, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

Jai Dolwani is chief marketing officer of Winc, a publicly-traded wine membership club. His responsibilities extend beyond marketing to technology, engineering, ecommerce, and overall omnichannel growth. Selling alcohol in the U.S. is challenging owing to 1920s-era laws on distribution and marketing and to the logistical headaches of shipping liquid.Dolwani addresses those challenges and more, including customer acquisition, subscription models, and in-house brand development.See the edited transcript (with embedded audio) at: https://pec-ly.com/?6lUPSee all weekly transcripts and audio embeds at: https://bit.ly/3iddPNt