Nik’s riding solo today and gearing us up for Black Friday and beyond.  Nik’s breaking down the main four comparison charts sees and explains how comparing your product to its competitors—and even its price point—can teach you a lot about what could be done. How does it stack up? Is everything a fair comparison?  Plus, have you ever had a Trader Joe’s rice cake? They’re sugar free, low calorie, they don’t sound appetizing. But, when you reframe the product in terms of benefits, that’s when...

Do you consider yourself to be creative? Nik’s sitting down with Reza Khadjavi of Motion, the SaaS brand designed to help creatives manage their analytics. When you create for creatives, your marketing and product design HAVE to be top notch—otherwise, it’s pretty embarrassing to be for creatives without being creative. How do you get people to have a conversation around data when they’re more creatively inclined? Plus, using data to your advantage is the key to your performance. When are...

So, what’s YOUR Black Friday strategy?  The holiday season is right around the corner. For people in the DTC world, it’s time to gear up, get excited, and get it together.  Nik talks to Hattie Gilpin, the Director of Operations at wellness brand Wellbel, about attracting consumer attention via email subject line, discounts, subscriptions, and more. Should you apply your discount code to every subscriber on your list? Does a ‘gift with purchase’ actually attract more sales? When should you...

Did you know there’s a Slack channel with 5,000+ marketers…and Nik is answering their questions?  Nik’s dipping his fingers into the mailbag and sharing the truth about brand ambassadors and influencer marketing. And despite what you’ve heard, UGC isn’t dead—but inauthentic and lazy UGC is. We all know influencers are important, but when’s the best time to contact them about your product? How do you create consistency without breaking the bank on a brand agency?  Plus, it’s time to get...

How do you discover something magical in the DTC space? For this week’s guest Ryan Babenzien, CEO of Jolie, he looked at everyday things: the shower. Wellness. Vanity. Your wallet. And then the filtered shower head took the world by storm. How do you create a successful product when there’s already a ton of stuff out there? Why is everyday customer behavior so important to a wellness brand? Ryan shares his framework, his history from other brands, and how gut and instinct play a role in your...

It’s not about you, it’s your brand awareness.  In this solo episode, Nik breaks down brand awareness and how to do it right. There’s a difference between brand recognition, excitement, and affinity. But some of those go awry, it can really affect how people view your brand. How do you interact with creators on social media? How much content should everyone make about your brand? When people see your logo or brand, what comes to mind?  Plus, Nik gives an example of how he tackles product...

What even is incrementality?  For our guest this week, Olivia Kory of Haus, incrementality is everything—it’s strategy, it’s how the world goes ‘round in DTC. We talk tools, conversions, and how Meta and Google can help set that up for you. How does the funnel play a role in incrementality? What’s geotesting and why does it matter? Does company size play a role?  Plus, Nik talks about filling and flushing the toilet: everyone in DTC is prepping for the holiday season. Using data from last...

Are hacks even real? According to Nik, they aren’t—so that’s why he’s sharing his Top 40 TIPS for conversion, social proof, audience, and copy to see more site conversions. Should you do your mobile site first, or is desktop king? How do you leverage social proof for your brand? How can you make a discount pop without being too obnoxious? Plus, Nik talks about how your site should be ADA compliant because accessibility is important to reaching more people. Partnering that with a simplified...

What are Nik’s messages like?  If you answered, “Hey Nik, I’ve founded (insert company here). It should be doing this, but it’s not. What should I do?” you’d be correct. Starting a brand isn’t easy work—so that’s why Nik has a playbook ready. Should you do a pre launch test? What conversion events should matter to you? What even is a water report? There’s a ton of concerns that a lot of founders don’t ask about, but should.  Plus, in this solo episode, Nik reveals that your content should...

Ready for a rapid-fire round of questions about DTC as big as The Cheesecake Factory menu?  CMO of Jones Road Beauty and Nik’s X-Mutual-turned-IRL-friend Cody Plofker is back on the pod—and they’re talking about incrementality, building creative teams, and more. What should you look for in building a team? What’s attribution and why is it click-based? Is Cody frugal or cheap?  Then, Nik chats about how he uses TikTok and Reddit to understand new audiences. How can we reach new people? What do...

What’s changing with DPA? Does attention actually matter most in advertising? Are DPA and catalog ads the same? Nik’s talking with Dan Pantelo, the founder of Marpipe HQ, where they’re on a mission to make DPA ads even better. Find out Dan’s five strategic tips everyone should know about catalog ads and why DPA is growing rapidly. When should we NOT use DPA? Does DPA matter more than UGC? Dan explains it all. Heard about DPA from others?  Well…there’s a good chance you’ve heard a...

What’s a season of Limited Supply without Nik to answer some of the Slack channel’s hottest DTC questions? Nik’s dipping his fingers into the mailbag and unleashing his biggest CRO tips and tricks yet. Find out the five questions your landing page must answer and learn the difference between adding a promise and a guarantee to your site. Should your checkout page have a slide-out cart, a separate cart page, or both? Nik settles the age-old question once and for all. Will this year mark the...

Ready for a masterclass in DTC tactics? Then step on up, cause Mr. Sharma’s got everything you need to reach the 100K mark. Nik’s breaking down his secret tactics to hit your revenue goals by taking a deep dive into four specific strategies that are sure to boost your biz. It’s all about the angles— and we’re not talking about that jawline in the mirror. Learn how you can position your website landing page to cook the competition. What are Nik’s top tips for building a landing page that’s...

Cookware doesn’t have to be boring. And this particular brand is making a huge splash. It’s the cookware company coveted by Michelin-starred chefs and Hollywood’s most elite, like Gordon Ramsay, Hailey Beiber, Halle Berry, Courtney Cox, Cameron Diaz… the list goes on and on. If you haven’t been on the brink of impulse buying a Hexclad pan at least once in your life, you haven’t really been living (or cooking). So sit back, inhale the Teflon fumes of your ratty little pan from Amazon, and...

You wanted to hear from the top DTC founders, so Nik wrangled up one of the top minds he could find in the biz for you— Dianna Cohen, the mastermind behind Crown Affair. Dianna breaks down what contributed to the massive success of her haircare company and chats with Nik about the importance of building a strong brand story. She explains how DTC success isn’t a big bang, but a slow burn. Have too many DTC founders traded in instant gratification for patience and slow growth? She also chats...

You ask the questions. We answer them. It’s been a while, but Nik and Moiz are pulling out the Sorting Hat to pull out some of your juiciest, most pressing DTC questions. The guys reflect on some of the biggest mistakes DTC brands make (and they’ve seen plenty) and discuss why repeatable sales processes aren’t a nice thought— they’re an absolute necessity. What’s the one legal mistake that could be your DTC’s ultimate downfall? And later the guys discuss where you should allocate your ad...

Nik’s taken a breather for this ep, so you know what that means… Time for Moiz to hound his latest guest with the questions Nik is too afraid to ask. This week, he’s taking on Sharoon Thomas, CEO and founder of fulfil.io, to figure out WTF an ERP system is actually good for. More importantly, WTF is an ERP system? Sharoon shares his insights into the complexities of running a software business and unravels the many challenges of ERP implementation. Why is it critical to integrate your ERP...

You asked, we listened. That’s right– you wanted to hear more about Open Store, so Nik pulled Trent Riggs (President of OpenStore) and Lukas Judodihardjo (Head of Operations at OpenStore) onto the pod to break down the ways that they’re revolutionizing the Shopify ecosystem.  Trent and Lukas explain what it’s like to represent over 100,000 different Shopify brands– and what your DTC needs to know about how they view the little guys. Together, they unpack their acquisition strategy,...

Goodbye, Shopify. See ya later, Etsy. Hasta la vista… Amazon???\ Yeah, we said it. Temu has the power to compete with Amazon. Has the Chinese drop shipping company grown too powerful to defeat? Or can our old-school favorites find a way to slay the DTC giant? Nik and Moiz discuss the looming threat of Temu to several major e-commerce retailers. What strategies do they need to stay relevant? Plus, what would it take for Outdoor Voices to crawl out of the grave they dug themselves into? Hear us...

Welcome back, ya 88s. Quit trying to make brick-and-mortar happen. It’s never going to happen. Or at least not like you think it will. Nik and Moiz break down the common pitfalls DTC businesses make when it comes to opening up retail stores. How many stores are too many? And are you thinking about staffing in a realistic manner? Speaking of brick-and-mortar stores, why aren’t places like Outdoor Voices or Alo focusing more on that post-purchase follow-up? If Moiz just threw down $500 on yoga...

Just because the guys don’t wear makeup doesn’t mean they can’t dig Sephora. They discuss the makeup giant’s clever loyalty program and explain why it’s the prime example of how to make a loyalty program work. Then, Nik and Moiz ruminate over how to make corporate gifting a lucrative DTC business. Could their idea for a corporate gifting channel turn into the next big Faire? And later, Nik just can’t shake his bad streak with ambulance-chasing attorneys. He’s got a chip on his shoulder and is...

We can’t escape TikTok Shop, and chances are good neither can you. But is it actually working for the brands that are using it? And what does their AoV look like?  Nik also breaks down TikTok Shop’s shift to QVC-like ads as the boys debate the latest trends and happenings in TikTok Shop. How much do affiliates get paid anyway? But let’s get down to brass tacks—because the guys are wondering whether or not the US government is trying to ban Shein for legitimate reasons or if they’re just plain...

Who can possibly resist the “add two more leggings to your cart—and get the third one free” offer? Nik and Moiz discuss the power of cart promos—what do the best offers look like, and what are the game-changing moves brands are taking to capitalize on cart deals? They dive into the curious case of Halara, and unravel how the influencer-based brand leveraged cart deals, TikTok, and influencers to compete with the likes of Shein and Fashion Nova.  Then the guys break down the rise of new DTC...

Polish up your POG collection because Moiz is still trying to pawn off his slammer at an absurdly high price to anyone gullible enough to buy it. In this week’s ep, the guys debate the sustainability of fad businesses. What’s the lifespan of the average fad—and is it wise to hop on the bandwagon before it dies out? Nik and Moiz break down the ways to build a sustainable and discuss whether or not brands like Prime Energy and Stanley are poised to fade into oblivion soon.  The boys also...