This Founder is Living My Current DTC Entrepreneurial Dream

Joe Welstead, Co-Founder of Oshun, returns to In The Money for a deeper conversation on the systems behind one of the fastest-growing hydration brands, still just two people, still profitable, still cash generative, and now launching a second brand.Since launching in April 2024, Joe and co-founder Jack Atkinson have built Oshun to mid-seven figures with no institutional capital, an unflavored electrolyte concentrate in a pump bottle, positioned closer to skincare than sports nutrition. This episode gets into the decisions most founders never talk about publicly.We cover:The profitability versus growth conversation: how Joe and Jack decide between paying themselves more and funding the next phaseThe stage-based framework: why percentage margin matters early and hard cash margin matters laterSeasonality in hydration: when to push aggressively and when to harvest profitabilityWhy Joe is skeptical of brands that claim they've "chosen" a $300 CAC and what the Meta machine actually controlsRunning 110 ads while competitors run thousands: the case against the AI slop gameThe three content verticals Oshun plays in and why adding a fourth is the biggest growth bottleneckWhy TikTok and Amazon are downstream from Meta and what that means for channel strategyThe whitelisted ad from June 2025 that's still their number one performer and gained the creator nearly 100,000 followersHow Oshun pitches creators without Unilever budgets: build your audience with usIntroducing Dirt: the new premium olive oil brand with 1500mg of polyphenols, nearly 4x Bryan Johnson's Snake OilThe four-part framework for launching any new brand: product differentiation, micro and macro demand signals, competitive advantage, and demand response versus demand generationIf you're an early-stage founder trying to build profitably, think clearly about channels, or launch a second brand without losing focus on the first, this episode is a masterclass in disciplined operating.