DTC Podcast

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Most brands are quietly killing themselves with growth hacks. Swapping button colors, chasing this week’s ROI, discounting to hit the number. Duncan, Strategy Lead at Pilothouse, makes the case that this is the worst creative strategy there is, and walks through what actually builds a brand that lasts. Duncan runs strategy at Pilothouse, where brand and performance are treated as one system instead of warring departments. He explains why Meta’s Andromeda shift is quietly ending the era of high-volume AI slop creative, and what replaces it. What you will learn: Why the growth-hack mentality leads to a discount death spiral and erodes brand value What Meta’s Andromeda infrastructure changed, and why it forces advertisers toward thoughtful creative over high-frequency iteration How to integrate brand and performance instead of picking one Why siloed agencies fight over attribution while the customer journey falls through the cracks The one question to ask any agency before you hire them: “Where will growth come from this year?” Who this is for: DTC founders, brand and growth leads, and anyone choosing between agencies or trying to make brand and performance work together. What to steal: the agency-selection test. If a partner can only answer with optimizations, they are a vendor. If they can tell you where growth comes from this year, they are a strategist. Timestamps: 00:00 Why Growth Hacking Is Breaking Brands 03:00 Meta Andromeda Changed Creative Strategy 06:00 The Problem With Optimizing Only for ROAS 12:00 Building Customer Journeys Beyond Attribution 20:00 Measuring Channels by Their Actual Job Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://www.pilothouse.co/?utm_source=AKNF619 Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Recorded live at The Whalies. Enterprise brands are past the prompt-and-generate phase of AI. The conversation has moved to connected data, agentic media buying, personalization, attribution, and the quiet operational wins that actually move the P&L. Eric Dyck sits down with Justin Parker (Origin), Ashley Kick (DÔEN), and Martha Ann Pavoni (Universal Ads) to unpack how leading ecommerce brands are embedding AI across the commerce stack — without losing trust, measurement, or human judgment. This episode is brought to you by Triple Whale. Much of the panel centers on Moby 2, Triple Whale’s agentic operator for insights and media buying — Justin Parker runs all but three of his Meta campaigns through it and has been in the beta since the start. Learn more: Triple Whale In this episode: Why business context — not the model — is the missing ingredient in most AI implementations How DÔEN rolls out AI one workflow at a time to measure real incremental lift What happens when AI runs all but three of your Meta campaigns Why connected TV and incrementality are eclipsing the click The retargeting decision where AI flatly contradicted itself a week later Where human oversight still matters most — and how to size it to risk What to steal: Build a trusted source of truth before you layer AI on top Test AI one workflow at a time so you can actually attribute the lift Point AI at analysis and reporting first; hand it bigger decisions later Scale human-in-the-loop in proportion to dollars and customer exposure For DTC operators managing multi-channel growth who need more output without adding headcount. Timestamps: 0:00 AI Is Only As Good As The Data Behind It 2:03 How Enterprise Brands Roll Out AI Without Breaking Things 8:16 Why Some Brands Refuse To Use AI Creative 18:28 Inside Agentic Media Buying And AI-Powered Marketing Teams 30:03 The Biggest AI Opportunity Most Brands Are Missing Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Most founders want to be first in a category. Justin Soleimani and Zach Dannett did the opposite, and built Tumble into one of the standout washable rug brands without raising a dollar. In this episode, the Tumble co-founders and Co-CEOs break down how they entered a category Ruggable created, fixed the product complaints they found buried in thousands of reviews, and validated the whole thing on Indiegogo before opening a Shopify store. Then they get into the part most founders never have to survive: moving their entire supply chain out of China in 30 days when tariffs went from 25% to 175%. What’s covered: Why they launched with 120 SKUs and used crowdfunding as a demand-forecasting tool, not just a fundraiser The lot-number QC system that let them kill 90%+ of product defects within two years How pre-orders and Shopify payouts gave them a negative cash conversion cycle while bootstrapping Why they didn’t hire a single full-time employee until they were well past $20M in revenue The China-to-Thailand pivot and accidental Canada launch during the tariff crisis Their YouTube incrementality test that ran head-to-head against Meta, and tied Justin’s contrarian take on vibe coding: automate manual tasks, don’t rip out your tech stack Who this is for: Bootstrapped DTC founders, operators obsessed with margin and cash flow, and anyone building a physical-product brand in a competitive category. What to steal: The crowdfunding-as-validation playbook, the lot-tracking QC system, and the asset-light structure that let them move a supply chain overnight. Timestamps: 00:00 Why Great Competitors Make You Better 03:00 Launching 120 SKUs Through Crowdfunding 10:00 Product Feedback at Scale 18:00 Growing Past $20M With No Employees 23:00 Surviving Tariffs and Moving Manufacturing Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup This Friday on AKNF we’re handing over the feed for a special preview of The World’s Best Email and Retention Podcast. Your email account doesn’t break all at once. It rots. Open rates slide, a quarter of your sends quietly route to spam, your list keeps growing while the people who actually click disappear. Jordan Gordon calls that a pooched account, and in this episode he lays out the full ten-step recovery his team runs when a brand hands them one. If you own a DTC brand or run its email and retention, this is the playbook for the moment results go sluggish and your first instinct is to send more, the exact move that dug the hole. What’s inside: How to tell whether you’re in spam or your audience has simply checked out Why opens are the weakest predictor of a future visit, and what to segment on instead The rewarm vs. soft rewarm decision, and how 5,000 addresses beat 150,000 Why two campaigns a week plus real flows beats 22 sends a month The email-only promotion that rebuilds engagement and deliverability at once Treating SMS like a paid channel with a real cost per click The stale-repeat-buyer metric that tells you recovery is working Who this is for: DTC founders, operators, and email marketers inheriting or rescuing an underperforming Klaviyo account. What to steal: the open-rate floor, the two-campaigns-a-week cadence, and the stale-repeat-buyer segment you can build in Klaviyo this afternoon. Liked the preview? Subscribe to The World’s Best Email and Retention Podcast. Timestamps: 00:00 Fixing a Pooched Email Account 03:02 Set Realistic Expectations for Recovery 07:43 When to Rewarm Your Email List 11:47 Why Opens Are a Bad Metric 18:36 Email-Only Promotions to Boost Engagement 24:25 The Stale Repeat Buyer Metric Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://www.pilothouse.co/?utm_source=AKNF617 Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Recorded live at True Classic HQ in Calabasas the day before the Whalies, this episode brings together two of the leaders most aggressively reshaping how ecommerce gets built. Ben Diamond is the CEO and co-founder of True Classic, the apparel brand that went from zero to over a billion in revenue in seven years and now ships to 190 countries. Maxx Blank is the co-founder and COO of Triple Whale, the AI operating system for ecommerce that he started with co-founder AJ Orbach, now running parts of media buying, creative, and conversion testing for over 60,000 brands. The conversation gets into the move that’s reshaping the category: True Classic now runs 100 percent of its Meta spend through an autonomous media buyer, Moby 2, with AI agents acting as a CMO and creative strategist, reallocating budget daily based on whether the brand needs profit, inventory clearance, or launch defense. Maxx walks through what changed between Moby 1 and Moby 2, why the SaaS apocalypse doesn’t touch infrastructure businesses, and the bigger industry shift from Software as a Service to Results as a Service. Ben talks about cutting millions in production costs by replacing in-office product photography with AI, the cultural mandate at True Classic to embrace AI, and where human judgment still belongs. If you’re an operator wondering how far to push agentic into your business, or a founder wondering what the next decade of ecommerce actually looks like, this is the conversation for you. Find more about Triple Whale: https://www.triplewhale.com/?utm_source=dtc-newsletter&utm_medium=inf&utm_campaign=mkt-whaliesdtc-affiliate-426&utm_content=dtc Timestamps: 00:00 AI Is Transforming Ecommerce Faster Than Ever 02:14 What Moby 2 Actually Does for Brands 11:20 Why True Classic Went All-In on AI 16:10 Cutting Millions in Creative Production Costs 24:38 The Future of One-to-One Marketing at Scale 43:20 Predictions for the Future of Ecommerce and AI Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Neuro didn’t fight for checkout shelf space first. They built a nine-figure online business through TikTok Shop, creator marketing, Amazon, and DTC, then used that momentum to walk into Walmart, Costco, CVS, and 7-Eleven with demand already proven. In this episode of the DTC Podcast, Eric talks with Brian Evangelista, Chief Commercial Officer at Neuro, about creating a category that didn’t exist, running an affiliate program with tens of thousands of creators, and what actually changes when a digitally native brand wakes up as a real retail business. Built for DTC founders scaling from $5M–$100M who are trying to turn ecom momentum into retail distribution. We also get into: Why TikTok Shop worked so well early on, and what changed when it got pay-to-play How creator incentives shifted once GMV Max rolled out The retail launch strategy behind Walmart, Costco, CVS, and 7-Eleven Why retail completely reshapes your P&L, ops, and marketing stack The hidden operational tax of moving from DTC into omnichannel How Neuro frames category creation vs stealing share The strategy behind the “Your Gum Is Dumb” sloth campaign Why brand marketing started making sense only after retail expansion Who this episode is for: DTC founders, retail operators, consumer brand marketers, TikTok Shop teams, and brands considering omnichannel expansion. What to steal: Build demand digitally before asking retail to believe in your category Use creator momentum as proof for retail buyers Treat retail launches like media moments, not inventory placement Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup The consideration phase is collapsing thanks to LLM shopping. Awareness still happens on Meta. Conversion still happens on a PDP. But the comparison and research middle, the part brands have spent a decade optimizing, is increasingly happening inside an LLM the customer already trusts. 20% of holiday shoppers used an LLM in their purchase path last Q4. Google I/O just demoed one-tap concert tickets from a photo. Amazon folded Rufus into Alexa for Shopping. The behavior is moving fast enough that operators need to start preparing for Q4 now. Eric sits down with Aves and Daniel from Pilothouse to unpack what’s actually happening and the work brands can start this quarter. Inside the episode: Why customers trust their LLM more than your ad Daniel on why he stopped going to Amazon to compare vitamins The persona mismatch that hurts brands more than it used to Why reviews and earned media matter more than your landing page What changes for abandon cart and retargeting Two operator-tested audits to see if your brand shows up in ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini For founders and operators who want to be recommended when the customer asks. What to Steal: Three things you can do this week. Run the prompt audit. Take your top five Google queries, run them through ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Track who gets recommended, who gets cited, and whether you show up at all. Daniel uses this as his baseline before any other AI-visibility work. Pick one brand truth and repeat it everywhere. Scattershot positioning loses to consistent positioning. If every ad pitches a different angle to a different persona, an LLM has nothing coherent to summarize about you. Add dates to your blog posts and PR pages. Recency factors into LLM citation. Old content gets de-prioritized even when it’s accurate. Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://www.pilothouse.co/?utm_source=AKNF615 Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Charlie Cole watched FTD go from a $1.8 billion publicly traded company to a $60 million bankruptcy auction in eight months. His first day as CEO was March 23, 2020, the first day of national lockdown. Before that he ran digital at Tumi, Samsonite, Lucky Brand, and Shift Nutrition. Today he’s interim Chief Digital Officer at Thuma. This episode is a tactical sit-down on what actually drives growth right now in a Meta + AI world. In this episode: Why “creative is the new targeting” is only half the answer The exact death spiral most DTC brands follow on the way to margin collapse (no sale, semi-annual sale, sale page, sitewide 20%, Amazon, done) How Charlie engineered personas at FTD across customer, consumer, and event The florist’s choice insight: highest NPS in the category, by 20-40% The 2011 Dr. Oz campaign that nailed funnel congruency before anyone called it that Why personalization was a misnomer until about two years ago The three “swimsuit for vacation” shoppers who should never see the same page Why YouTube is still massively underutilized, and why most brands run it wrong The product question that decides whether any of this matters Who it’s for: DTC founders and operators scaling from $10M to $250M who want to grow without turning their brand into a discount machine. What to steal: Build acquisition around your highest-LTV segments, not your lowest CAC Treat creative and landing pages as one system, not two teams Stop letting platforms grade their own homework on attribution Audit where you sit on the discount death spiral before it owns you Timestamps: 0:00 Career Journey Into Ecommerce 2:48 Inside the FTD Turnaround 14:20 How Customer Behavior Changed During COVID 23:18 Creative Is The New Targeting 36:05 AI’s Biggest Ecommerce Unlock 43:02 Why Most Brands Test Creative Wrong Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Braydon’s back on AKNF with the most tactical AI-for-agencies episode we’ve recorded. Eric opens with a Jeff Shannon line worth the whole listen: AI right now is a giant stack of two-by-fours that everyone got handed for free. By itself, it’s not a chair, it’s not a house, it’s not a sofa. The value shows up when someone actually builds something with it. Then Braydon walks through what he’s been building. Inside: connecting Claude to Motion to audit ad-to-landing-page mismatches, then having Claude vibe-code a new PDP in HTML in 6 hours instead of a week in Instapage. The Microsoft Clarity connector that nobody’s talking about (free heatmaps, free recordings, API access). The Higgsfield connector for generating raw 4K assets through Claude with Nano Banana Pro and Seedance. Why Claude Design is worth experimenting with for brand-sensitive clients. And a peek behind the curtain at Gary and Blanche, the AI media buyer and creative strategist Jeff is running on DTC’s own Meta account. Plus: why the em-dash is dead, the semicolon problem nobody’s solved, and the actual reason Claude reads cleaner than ChatGPT for enterprise work. If you’ve been “playing with AI” and want to actually build something with it, this is the episode. Catch the DTC and Pilothouse crew at The Whalies May 19 in LA. Timestamps: 00:00 AI Is Raw Material 02:36 Why AI Needs Human Builders 04:18 Claude Building Landing Pages 10:02 AI-Powered Heatmap Analysis 16:36 Higgsfield + Claude Creative Workflow Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://www.pilothouse.co/?utm_source=AKNF613 Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Katie Sturino built Megababe with 60,000 followers, two co-founders who’d never had chafe, and an MOQ of 20,000 units stacked in her parents’ garage. Eight years later it’s profitable, in Target, Walmart, CVS, Nordstrom, Anthropologie, and on Amazon. Never raised a dollar. Never grew less than 33% year over year. In this episode Katie walks through how she built a category that didn’t exist. Manufacturers didn’t know what chafe was. Press didn’t know what chafe was. The Today Show hit on June 30, 2017 and they sold out every unit by July 1. Then the real work started. Inside: why retail is when the grind begins (not when you’ve made it), why she still ranks “people just dealing with it” as her biggest competitor, the husband-given marketing fix that solved deodorant aisle confusion in one sticker, the accidental Amazon Super Bowl ad placement, why their hemorrhoid product is a top seller on Amazon, and the moment her sister convinced her soap was worth doing. Plus the new “I’m Not Fine Index” campaign, why NYC taxi ads outperform every digital channel they run, and the one piece of advice Katie has for anyone shipping a product in 2026. Catch the DTC and Pilothouse crew at The Whalies May 19 in LA. Timestamps: 0:00 Building a brand around chafe 2:58 How Megababe started 11:00 Selling out after the Today Show 14:10 Retail growth at Target and Walmart 20:05 Why Megababe started advertising 27:10 Building a real brand voice Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Helen Smith built Roo & You from hand-sewn mask lanyards in 2020 into a 100,000+ customer brand, and didn’t touch paid ads for the first 3.5 years. In this episode she walks through the Facebook community that became her growth engine, how she landed Warner Bros and Harry Potter as a licensing partner without a media buyer, and what scaling through a tariff war actually looks like behind the scenes. For DTC founders scaling from $1M to $10M who want to lower CAC and build a real retention moat. What we cover: The mask lanyard side hustle that funded her first container of play couches How a private Facebook group became Roo & You’s primary growth engine The one-strike kindness rule that keeps the community alive Cold-DMing Warner Bros on LinkedIn (and getting a yes) Why licensing is a marketing channel, not a revenue play Adding tariffs as a line item instead of a stealth price hike Launching an affiliate program in November for existing customers Who this is for: Founders leaning too hard on paid, or operators who want to build a community moat before they scale spend. What to steal: Show up in other people’s communities for months before launching your own Set strict community rules on day one, not after things go sideways Make tariffs a visible line item to keep customer trust intact Hand affiliate codes to existing customers before paying creators who’ve never used the product Timestamps: 00:00 Building a brand through community 02:00 Using data to make better decisions 04:00 Handling tariffs and margin pressure 06:00 Launching through Facebook groups 08:00 Early demand and product expansion 10:00 Finding manufacturers and testing products 12:00 Pricing, value, and product longevity 14:00 Organic growth without paid ads 16:00 Transitioning into paid advertising 18:00 Leveraging community for content and growth 20:00 Licensing deals and brand partnerships 24:00 Structuring better partnership agreements 27:00 Challenges with licensing approvals 29:00 Why partnerships are for marketing not growth 30:00 Founder confidence and building in public 37:00 Expanding into the US market 40:00 Choosing the right marketing agency 42:00 Turning customers into advocates 47:00 Advice for founders building a brand Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Amazon’s AI assistant Rufus is already in ~40% of shopping sessions, and according to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, customers who use it are 60–100% more likely to purchase. Most brands haven’t adjusted. Tyler Mazur (Head of Amazon @ Pilothouse) breaks down what Rufus is actually changing inside Amazon — from how products get discovered to how listings are interpreted across text, images, and context. For DTC founders and Amazon operators who want to stay visible as AI-driven discovery becomes the default What we cover: What Rufus is actually doing inside the Amazon shopping experience Why product discovery is shifting from keywords → problems The marketing words that add zero value (and what to say instead) Why Rufus reads your product images for context How backend keywords should be used now A simple 3-part plan to improve visibility this week Who this is for: Brands selling on Amazon that want an edge beyond just spending more on ads What to steal: Replace vague adjectives with real use-case language Add context everywhere: PDP, backend, images Make your listings easier for AI to understand, not just humans Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://www.pilothouse.co/?utm_source=AKNF607 Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup http://coyuchi.com Coyuchi is a premium bedding brand with a long purchase cycle and high AOV. That changes how you approach growth, attribution, and retention. Vicki Williams-Grahan (Brand President) explains how they tested Meta’s impact by turning it off, how they think about LTV in a low-frequency category, and why product selection inside ads matters as much as creative. For DTC operators scaling high-AOV brands with long purchase cycles who need to rethink CAC, LTV, and attribution. In this episode: What happened when they turned off Meta for 6 weeks Why Google Analytics 4 underreported performance vs platform data How segmentation (via Decile) changed acquisition Why entry-level products lowered overall performance How they use daily forecasting and contribution profit Who this is for: Operators in high-AOV categories (home, furniture, luxury, etc.) What to steal: Run incrementality tests (or dim market tests) Prioritize high-LTV acquisition, not just conversion rate Track contribution profit daily Timestamps 00:00 Introduction and evolving customer profile 02:00 Coyuchi brand overview and DTC shift 04:30 Challenges of high AOV and long purchase cycles 07:00 Customer segmentation and tools like Decile 09:30 Meta ads experiment and going dark 13:00 Attribution insights and incrementality testing 15:00 Daily forecasting and contribution profit focus 17:30 Product strategy and high LTV vs entry products 21:30 Retention storytelling and non-sales emails 25:00 Brand repositioning beyond sustainability 32:00 Bringing paid social in-house and creative speed 35:00 Using AI in marketing and creative testing 36:30 Channel testing including podcasts and CTV Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Meta changed attribution in March — and suddenly every brand’s ROAS looks worse. Chris Richards from Pilothouse breaks down what actually happened, why performance appears to have dropped 30–45%, and how brands should respond without damaging long-term growth. For DTC founders and operators scaling from $5M–$50M who rely on Meta as a core channel. In this episode: What Meta’s attribution change actually did Why social proof no longer shows up the same way How to interpret rising CPA and falling ROAS Why MER is a better north star right now The risk of over-retargeting after performance dips Who this is for: DTC founders, CMOs, and media buyers trying to make sense of Meta performance What to steal: Shift from ROAS to MER as your primary KPI Keep funding top-of-funnel even when numbers look worse Use consistent attribution (MTA) to guide spend decisions Timestamps 00:00 Meta attribution change explained 02:00 Click vs engaged attribution breakdown 04:00 Impact on ROAS and CPA metrics 06:00 Social proof and ad performance insights 08:00 Why engagement optimization can backfire 10:00 Importance of multi-touch attribution tools 12:00 How campaign strategy is shifting 14:00 MER as a new performance north star 16:00 Omnichannel and ecosystem thinking 18:00 Meta automation and future attribution trends 20:00 What brands should do right now 22:00 Strategy mistakes and growth risks Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://www.pilothouse.co/?utm_source=AKNF605 Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Affiliate is getting a lot more attention in DTC right now, and for good reason. In this episode, Yash Chavan, Founder and CEO of SATHI & SARAL, breaks down why the channel looks so attractive on paper, where it falls apart in practice, and what brands can do to make it perform like a real growth engine. Claim your free trial and 20% across all pricing plans at mysathi.io. Don’t forget to use the code DTC! Request your free trial: http://www.mysathi.io/?utm_source=partner&utm_medium=dtc&utm_campaign=dtc-podcast We get into: Why affiliate is attractive to operators and finance teams How last-click attribution distorts performance data What affiliate fraud actually looks like inside a real program How to think about multi-touch attribution by product category Why gamification matters if you want creators to stay active How affiliate fits alongside Meta, TikTok, and retargeting What to steal: Run a fraud scan on your current affiliate program and check for leaked codes Build commission tiers and milestone bonuses to keep strong creators engaged Choose an attribution model based on how your product actually gets bought If you’re a DTC marketer, founder, or growth lead trying to lower CAC, improve measurement, and build a more durable acquisition program, this episode is essential listening. Timestamps 00:00 Affiliate marketing explained 02:00 Why affiliate is hard to scale 04:00 The problem with last-click attribution 06:00 Affiliate fraud examples and risks 09:00 Influencers shifting to affiliate models 11:00 Why reels + links change everything 13:00 How modern affiliate tracking works 16:00 Multi-touch attribution strategies 19:00 Retargeting affiliate traffic 21:00 Gamifying affiliate programs 24:00 How to start and scale affiliates 27:00 Program hygiene and key metrics 30:00 Where affiliate fits in your funnel 33:00 The future of affiliate marketing Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup https://lexingtonbakes.com/ Lex Evan built Lexington Bakes after years of baking for friends who kept telling him the same thing: they didn’t usually like desserts like this, but they loved his. That turned into a bootstrapped brand built on better ingredients, frozen and refrigerated distribution, and a refusal to follow the usual packaged dessert playbook. For CPG founders and DTC operators trying to improve conversion, CAC, and retail sell-through without watering down the product. In this episode, Lex breaks down: How Lexington Bakes went from a holiday presale to about 200 retail stores Why premium products can fail when value is not obvious at first glance How changing format, sizing, and offer structure helped bring CAC from roughly $180 down to $25 on a new-customer offer What “radical ingredient transparency” actually looks like in packaged food Why a product rename turned a weak SKU into one of the brand’s best retail performers Who this is for: DTC founders, CPG operators, grocery brands, and marketers working on pricing, offer design, retention, or retail expansion. What to steal: Build first-order offers around how cautious buyers actually shop Make value obvious without forcing customers to do math Use plain-language product naming until the brand has enough equity to get more creative Timestamps: 00:00 From zero to shipping 500 brownies 02:30 Why Lexington Bakes started 05:00 No preservatives and cold chain strategy 07:00 Manufacturing challenges and scaling 09:30 Radical ingredient transparency explained 13:00 Product evolution and Lexington Bakes 4.0 17:00 Pricing psychology and shelf perception 21:00 Fixing DTC conversion and CAC 24:00 Intro offer strategy and LTV thinking 29:00 Retail behavior and repeat purchase patterns 34:30 Naming mistake and SKU turnaround 39:00 2026 growth strategy and manufacturing focus Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Most brands test YouTube, don’t see conversions, and shut it off. The problem isn’t the channel. It’s how they’re measuring it. Dougie from Pilothouse breaks down how YouTube actually drives growth for DTC brands, and why cost per brand search is one of the most useful signals to track early. For DTC founders and growth marketers spending $50K+/month and looking for a channel beyond Meta. What we get into: Why conversions lag on YouTube The 4-week window to judge early performance How cost per brand search shows real intent Budget levels needed to generate signal Targeting mistakes that kill campaigns Who this is for: Brands hitting a ceiling on Meta and testing new acquisition channels What to steal: Track brand search before and after launching YouTube Use cost per brand search to judge efficiency Run geo tests to validate lift Timestamps 0:00 YouTube as awareness vs conversion channel 2:00 Why DTC brands fail testing YouTube 4:00 Creative and audience readiness for YouTube 6:00 Why YouTube attribution is broken 8:00 Cost per brand search as key metric 10:00 YouTube campaign setup basics 12:00 Targeting mistakes and audience signals 14:00 Excluding existing customers properly 16:00 Setting expectations and measuring success 18:00 Budget requirements and testing timelines 20:00 Fixing struggling YouTube accounts 22:00 Low quality placements and wasted spend 24:00 Creative strategy and frequency on YouTube 26:00 The first 5 seconds rule for ads Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://www.pilothouse.co/?utm_source=AKNF603 Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Bradley Sutton from Helium 10 joins the pod to break down how serious brands should be thinking about Amazon now: not as a backup channel, but as a core retail growth engine. We get into where Amazon fits in an omni-channel stack, how PPC has gotten way more complex, why Walmart and TikTok Shop matter more than most brands admit, and where sellers can actually use AI for efficiency. Sign Up for Helium 10: https://www.helium10.com/?utm_source=DTC&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_campaign=homepage In this episode, we cover: Why Amazon has shifted from “nice to have” to a core acquisition and retention channel How top sellers use PPC automation, dayparting, and keyword harvesting to manage spend without blowing budget What Helium 10 actually helps with, from product research and listing optimization to competitive intel and campaign management Why TikTok Shop and Walmart aren’t side quests anymore How to think about Rufus, AI shopping tools, and what actually matters right now If you’re a DTC founder or an ecommerce operator scaling across Amazon, Walmart, and TikTok Shop and you want cleaner CAC, better retail media performance, and fewer wasted ad dollars, this episode is a must listen. Helium 10 is a platform that brings research, operations, Amazon advertising, and performance insights together so you can scale faster across marketplaces. Timestamps 00:00 Amazon beyond a traffic source 02:00 Amazon as a core growth channel 03:30 Multi-channel fulfillment and expansion 06:30 Why Amazon ads are now critical 08:00 Organic vs paid growth on Amazon 12:00 Product research and competitor analysis 15:00 Validating demand before launching 19:00 Amazon vs TikTok vs Walmart strategy 23:00 AI impact on Amazon shopping behavior 28:00 Branded keyword bidding strategy 32:00 Automation and dayparting for ads 36:00 Biggest mistakes Amazon advertisers make Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Kim Chappell is Chief Brand Officer at Bobbie, the mom-founded infant formula brand that’s crossed $100M in revenue and is trying to change how formula gets talked about in America. In this episode, she breaks down how Bobbie built a brand parents are proud to buy in a category that used to be driven by guilt, and why trust beats sheer creative volume when the old Meta scale-button playbook stops working. For DTC founders, CMOs, and performance marketers scaling a trust-heavy product in a crowded category. Inside the episode: Why Bobbie treated infant formula as a culture problem, not just a product problem How the team thinks about brand vs performance now that the old Meta-only growth playbook has weakened What “learn more” looks like when your customer journey is messy, delayed, and omnichannel How Bobbie chooses the few advocacy lanes it can credibly own, then actually follows through Why the Cardi B partnership worked, and how it turned celebrity into conversation share, trust, and policy momentum Who this is for: Operators building in regulated, trust-sensitive, or education-heavy categories where brand has to do real work before performance can convert. What to steal: Put performance, organic, creator, and lifecycle under one brand story Treat education as part of conversion, not a nice-to-have Pick fewer cultural or political lanes, but show up with receipts when you enter them Timestamps 00:00 Performance marketing has changed 03:00 Building Bobbie from scratch 06:00 Removing the stigma around formula 08:00 Why Bobbie understood the customer 10:00 Transparency as brand strategy 12:00 Brand vs performance 15:00 The omnichannel customer journey 18:00 Choosing the right advocacy lanes 21:00 Community-led brand action 23:00 Building awareness in a small market 26:00 How the Cardi B partnership happened 29:00 Measuring the campaign’s impact Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Jordan Gordon from Pilothouse comes back to the DTC Podcast with a sharp warning for brands buying into AI-powered customer segmentation. The promise sounds good: send to the “best” people, cut waste, let the machine find hidden revenue. The problem is what happens after that. Jordan breaks down why over-segmentation can shrink your active list, cut click volume, hurt inbox placement, and quietly bleed revenue over time. For DTC founders, retention leads, and CRM operators trying to grow email revenue without slowly choking list health. In this episode, Jordan gets into: Why inbox placement still sits upstream of almost every retention result How “smart” segmentation can reduce sends so much that your list starts decaying The real risk of AI tools unsuppressing bad or low-quality addresses Why cleaner funnels usually beat clever segmentation The 15 lifecycle touchpoints most brands should actually be auditing across site, pop-up, landing pages, and email Who this is for: DTC operators, lifecycle marketers, Klaviyo teams, retention agencies, and founders trying to scale email without tanking deliverability. What to steal: Audit whether your segmentation strategy is growing revenue or just shrinking mail volume Map your top lifecycle touchpoints and check them for message, persona, and offer consistency Prioritize tools that increase high-intent capture and safe inbox placement instead of just “optimizing” who gets excluded Timestamps 00:00 AI segmentation buyer beware 02:20 Inbox placement vs message quality 04:40 Why sending less can shrink revenue 08:05 When AI unsuppresses bad addresses 10:55 Has anyone cracked AI segmentation 13:10 One clean funnel beats micro-segmentation 15:35 The 15 lifecycle touchpoints to audit 17:45 Persona mismatch kills conversion 19:55 If everybody owns it, nobody owns it Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://www.pilothouse.co/?utm_source=AKNF601 Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup http://cocktailbuddies.com Tao, founder of Acid Buddy, joined the show to talk about a product that feels early, unusual, and potentially huge: flavored acids. After years working in bars and consulting, he kept running into the same issue. Citrus was inconsistent, messy, expensive, and limiting. So instead of treating acid like a background ingredient, he turned it into the product itself. That’s the bet behind Acid Buddy, and early traction suggests the market is paying attention: 1,000+ orders in the first 6 weeks, with customers in more than 75 countries. For DTC founders creating new categories, and beverage operators who want more consistency, speed, and flexibility behind the bar. In this episode, we get into: Why Tao believes flavored acids could become a real new category in beverages How Acid Buddy gives bars another place to build flavor, outside the usual syrup-heavy approach Why the product works for cocktails, mocktails, coffee, tea, and other drinks How this can help with half-sweet and skinny-style drinks that still feel balanced What the first 6 weeks looked like, including 1,000+ orders and strong pull without paid ads Who this is for: DTC founders, beverage brands, bar owners, operators, and anyone interested in category creation inside food and drink. What to steal: Build around a problem professionals already deal with every day Make the use case obvious fast, especially when the category is new Let early traction validate the story, then widen the market Timestamps 00:00 Why Acid Buddy exists 02:10 Solving consistency behind the bar 04:12 Turning flavored acid into a product 06:14 Why the cocktail market is huge 08:24 What makes Acid Buddy different 10:31 Mocktails, coffee, and drink less better 13:08 The bar lime hygiene problem 15:18 1,000 orders in the first six weeks 18:03 The content and ambassador strategy 21:12 Why TikTok Shop could be big 23:35 Tao’s Netflix and Drink Masters story 28:42 The Cocktail Buddy long-term vision Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video

To Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Braydon Germain from Pilot House is back on AKNF to break down how AI is changing the actual day-to-day of marketing work. This episode isn’t about shiny demos or abstract AI hype. It’s about using Claude like a real coworker: building skills, breaking work into micro-tasks, automating repeatable steps, and keeping human taste where it matters. For DTC founders, agency operators, media buyers, and creative strategists trying to turn AI from a novelty into a real workflow. In this episode, Eric and Braden get into: How Claude shifts from “chat tool” to “coworker” why the best AI workflows start by breaking work into smaller repeatable tasks How teams can build shared skills for more consistent copy across channels Where auto-research and always-on optimization could actually change how marketers work Why human judgment still matters most in taste, positioning, and creative direction Who this is for: Marketers and operators who already use AI a little, but know they’re still nowhere near the ceiling. What to steal: Break one recurring workflow into micro-tasks before trying to automate all of it Build shared AI skills around tone of voice, reference examples, and approval standards Keep AI on structure and repetition, keep humans on taste and final judgment Timestamps 00:00 Claude as a real coworker 02:21 Why most people use AI too simply 04:22 Breaking ad work into micro tasks 06:26 Standardizing copy across client accounts 08:01 Building Claude skills with Skill Builder 10:06 Auto research and KPI-based optimization 12:08 Always-on execution with AI agents 14:15 Best Claude skill libraries on GitHub Subscribe to DTC Newsletter – https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC – https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse – https://www.pilothouse.co/?utm_source=AKNF599 Follow us on Instagram & Twitter – @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube – https://dtcnews.link/video