Elevator Talks

Austin Harrison is the CEO of Northbeam, the marketing analytics platform that measures over $31 billion in ad spend across the top DTC brands in the world. He doesn't see what works for one brand. He sees what works across the entire industry.In this episode he breaks down:- What the brands that explode do to grow this fast- The one metric most operators completely ignore (and why it predicts your next three months)- How small founders can beat big ad budgets with authentic contentIf you run or want to build an e-commerce brand, this is the closest you'll get to seeing the whole game from above.Connect with Austin & Northbeam:Northbeam: https://www.northbeam.io/ Austin on X: https://x.com/MAustinHarrison Austin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maustinharrison/Follow Elevator:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ElevatorgoodsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevatorgoodsX: https://x.com/elevatorgoodsSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1fCirPyNlzTxT4hOOH0tVCApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/elevator-talks/Website: https://elevatorgoods.com/Chapters:00:00 Intro01:10 What Northbeam actually does04:30 The origin story06:08 Building with AI before ChatGPT11:10 Has AI killed the moat?16:46 The tailwind behind clean data24:47 What winning brands do differently29:31 How small brands can win too31:28 Spending big on ads without going broke35:44 The metric most operators ignore43:00 Early signs of a slowdown46:00 The new breed of founder55:04 The most overrated metric in e-commerce57:35 Why hiring fast is a trap59:10 The channel everyone underrates1:02:14 The truth about being a founder1:03:58 The real job of a CEO#ecommerce #elevatorgoods #dtc

Most founders burn out chasing more. Alex Ikonn did the opposite.He built Luxy Hair into one of the first ecommerce brands built almost entirely on YouTube: 500M+ views, 3M subscribers, millions in annual cash flow, two employees.Then he sold it, because the success left him empty. He went on to build Intelligent Change, the company behind the Five Minute Journal, into a business he's run for over a decade without burning out.His whole approach comes down to one idea: stop doing the work that drains you, and protect your peace in a world built to keep you anxious and online.In this episode he breaks down:  - Why working on something you don't love is what actually burns you out  - How he stays calm while everyone else drowns in productivity anxiety  - The morning system he uses to start the day on offense, not on his phone  - Why he plays long-term games and leaves money on the table on purpose  - How he sold the business without selling himselfEverything from this episode, structured into a free playbook: https://www.elevatorgoods.com/talks/alex-ikonnFollow Elevator:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevatorgoodsX: https://x.com/elevatorgoodsWebsite: https://www.elevatorgoods.comFollow Monish Sabnani (Host):Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msabnani93/X: https://x.com/msabnani93Follow Alex Ikonn:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexikonn/X: https://x.com/AlexIkonnLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexikonn/Intelligent Change: https://www.instagram.com/intelligentchange/  Chapters  00:00 Intro  00:24 Selling flowers at 11, then getting fired from the bank in 2008  02:28 Gary Vee, Tim Ferriss, and starting Luxy Hair in 2010  03:07 Why hair extensions, and doubling the product the factories said was crazy  05:00 Building a DTC brand on YouTube before Instagram existed  06:51 The void after success, and deciding to exit  09:34 How Intelligent Change and the Five Minute Journal began  13:33 Selling the system, not the founder (Traction / EOS)  15:30 Visionary vs integrator  17:10 Be careful with your bankers  18:26 Patience, leverage, and a 40% higher offer  19:07 Starting a business today vs 16 years ago  21:25 Knowing your number and the productivity-anxiety bubble  27:46 The Intelligent Change system: a toothbrush for your mind  33:21 Eat the frog: the one task that matters  35:05 Why he's optimistic about AI and being more human  37:39 Burnout, ikigai, and working on something you love  41:59 His full morning routine  51:15 Running the Five Minute Journal as a business  54:00 Leaving money on the table on purpose  56:00 Prompt yourself: the Life Designer  59:16 Why he named the company Intelligent Change  01:00:00 The next big market: real-world community  01:01:00 The loneliness epidemic and the return to being human  01:02:19 On kids, time, and being present  ---  #ecommerce #dtc #brandbuilding #entrepreneurship #burnout #fiveminutejournal #intelligentchange  #mentalhealth

Alvaro Gellings co-founded Day One with Arda Saatci, Germany's largest creator, 2.5 years ago. They launched with the Cyborg Season campaign: Arda ran 3,000 km from Berlin to New York, generated over 1 billion organic views, and hit seven-figure revenue on launch day. No paid media at launch. Day One is now an 8-figure business growing 400-500% year over year.Everything from this episode, structured into a free playbook:https://www.elevatorgoods.com/talks/alvaro-gellingsFollow Elevator:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevatorgoodsX: https://x.com/elevatorgoodsWebsite: https://www.elevatorgoods.comFollow Monish Sabnani (Host):Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msabnani93/X: https://x.com/msabnani93Follow Alvaro Gellings:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alvaro.gellings/X: https://x.com/GellingsAlvaroYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@alvarogellingsLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvaro-gellings-495692230/Chapters:00:00 Introduction01:47 What is Day One and the Cyborg Season launch04:55 Why Alvaro started building in public09:00 How he started14:10 What building in public actually gave Day One16:39 500-2,000 job applications from a single Instagram Story17:30 Network effects: founders and billionaires reaching out20:28 The satisfaction of showing what it actually takes28:09 Where Day One is now: 8 figures, 400-500% YoY33:13 International expansion and the athlete partnership model37:25 The 43,000-person WhatsApp community39:37 Org chart, key hires, and the COO hire44:39 The three hires Alvaro would make today47:51 Leadership style and who he wants to become51:33 Advice for new entrepreneurs in 20261:01:29 How to start with almost nothing: the ad validation tactic1:06:53 Rapid fire round1:13:56 The building in public trap: the biggest mistake first-time founders make1:17:08 Best investment ever made in the company#ecommerce #dtc #brandbuilding #entrepreneurship #dayone #sportswear #buildingbrands

Ryan Babenzien sold Greats, the first D2C footwear brand, to Steve Madden. Then he built Jolie into the #1 filtering shower brand in the world. $50M in revenue, profitable for 15 of 17 quarters, with Meta at just 25% of the total marketing budget. This is the full anti-paid playbook.Everything from this episode, structured into a free playbook:https://www.elevatorgoods.com/talks/ryan-babenzienIn this episode:- How to set a hard cap on Meta spend before it owns your margin, and what to put in the rest of the mix instead- Why Ryan's North Star is first purchase profitability, not ROAS, and how that one decision changed every other number in the business- The pre-launch brand playbook: how Jolie seeded brand in New York before the product existed, using curated events, oysters, and zero paid media- The question every founder must answer before launch: what do you actually want out of this business, and what does the exit look like?---Follow Elevator:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevatorgoodsX: https://x.com/elevatorgoodsWebsite: https://www.elevatorgoods.comFollow Monish Sabnani (Host):Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msabnani93X: https://x.com/msabnani93Follow Ryan Babenzien:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanbbabenzienLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanbabenzien/Follow Jolie:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jolieskincoWebsite: https://jolieskinco.com/

Nick Shackelford has spent over $200M on Meta ads and runs paid for 7 DTC brands that all share one thing: a subscription engine underneath them. His agency, Structured, spends north of $15M a month. He flew to Hong Kong and sat down with us to break down how he actually picks products and runs brands in 2026.We’ve consolidated everything from this episode, into one playbook. Download it for free: https://www.elevatorgoods.com/talks/nick-shackelfordIn this episode you will learn:- How to know if a product is worth backing before you spend a dollar, and the five traits that make scaling easy- Why the best products sell themselves on repeat, and the simple math that tells you if your business will ever flow- How to run ad tests that teach you something even when they fail, and why patience is what most founders run out of first- Why anyone can copy your entire brand overnight now, and the only two things that still protect you- How to decide what to keep and what to walk away from, using the framework Nick runs across 7 brands- Why equity is usually the wrong trade early in your career, and what actually keeps great people aroundFollow Elevator:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevatorgoodsX: https://x.com/elevatorgoodsWebsite: https://www.elevatorgoods.comFollow Monish Sabnani (Host):Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msabnani93/X: https://x.com/msabnani93Follow Nick Shackelford:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamnickshackelfordX: https://x.com/iamshackelfordLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickshackelfordChapters:00:00 Intro01:00 From soccer coach to $100M on Facebook ads04:00 Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and getting close to the manufacturer08:30 The state of e-commerce in 202613:00 Smoke testing and the bath bomb that flipped overnight23:00 The Easy-Win product filter24:00 The seasons of subscription30:00 The real moat in e-commerce40:00 Reasons, seasons, lifetimes44:00 Hire the young gun, Batman and Robin teams52:00 Why equity is a trap58:00 Telehealth, GLP-1, and the next wave1:18:00 Recession-proof DTC#ecommerce #dtc #paidmedia #subscription #shackelford

Most e-commerce brands are boring. They copy each other, lead with product specs, and wonder why nothing sticks. Bob Verlaat, co-founder of Hears and Dore & Rose (OOAK Brands), has spent two years doing the opposite, building brands that people talk about without being paid to.Everything from this episode, structured into a free playbook:https://www.elevatorgoods.com/talks/bob-verlaatIn this episode:- How to define your brand's reason for existence and use it as a filter for every event, partnership, and content decision you make- Why Bob argues that 5K on an offline event returns faster than 5K on a Meta awareness campaign, and the logic behind it- Why most brands are boring, and the specific mistake Bob says operators make when they try to stand out- The one signal Bob looks for to know his brand is working, and why it has nothing to do with followers, ROAS, or engagementFollow Elevator:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevatorgoodsX: https://x.com/elevatorgoodsWebsite: https://www.elevatorgoods.comFollow Monish Sabnani (Host):Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msabnani93/X: https://x.com/msabnani93Follow Bob Verlaat:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobverlaatX: https://x.com/bobverlaatChapters:00:00 Introduction02:00 What brand actually means, and what it is not06:00 Product first or vision first: how Bob thinks about launching10:00 Why a worryless life became Hears' north star14:00 Events vs. Meta ads: which one returns more20:00 How to know when your brand is working26:00 Most brands are boring. Here is why.30:00 LTV, post-purchase surveys, and the retention play most operators ignore34:00 Rebrands: when they are worth it, when they are not38:00 Rapid fire: Pinterest, new project, micromanaging, and freedomMentioned in this episode:- Hears - https://hears.com/- Dore & Rose - https://doreandrose.com/- OOAK Brands - https://ooakbrands.com/#ecommerce #dtc #brandbuilding #dtcmarketing #elevatortalks #operatormindset #ecommercebrand

HiStrips launched in summer 2024 with one product and no creator budget. Eighteen months later, their affiliate channel is bigger than paid media. 1,500+ creators. $0 upfront spend. One person whose only job is managing the army.Sam Posthuma breaks down the full system: how they built it, how it feeds the ad account with 100-200 pieces of creative per week, and how it unlocked a partnership with Juan LeBron, the #1 padel player in the world, without a pitch deck or a budget.Get the free playbook for this episode here: https://www.elevatorgoods.com/talks/sam-posthumaIn this episode:- How HiStrips recruited 1,500 creators without paying anyone upfront- The three-bucket system: proactive seeding, inbound interest, direct outreach- Why they never script their creators and what happens when you do- How organic UGC becomes paid ad creative and how the weekly feedback loop works- Why their AI creative performed well on every metric and sold nothing- How social proof at scale brought Juan LeBron's team to themFollow Elevator:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevatorgoodsX: https://x.com/elevatorgoodsWebsite: https://www.elevatorgoods.comFollow Monish (Host):Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/[MonishHandle]X: https://x.com/[MonishHandle]Follow Sam Posthuma:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samposthuma/X: https://x.com/samposthumaChapters:00:00 - Intro01:00 - What HiStrips is today and where it's going03:00 - Why creative sits above media buying05:30 - Keeping creative inside the founding team08:00 - How the creator army was built from day one09:40 - The army structure and how it actually runs13:00 - The three-bucket creator outreach system17:00 - Why HiStrips never pays creators upfront21:00 - From organic UGC to paid ad creative24:00 - The weekly feedback loop between media buying and creative27:00 - AI UGC: what the data said vs. what the comments showed30:00 - What the creator army has unlocked beyond paid ads34:00 - The two moats in e-commerce in 202638:00 - Rapid fire#ecommerce #dtc #contentmarketing #creatoreconomy #histrips #brandbuilding

Vince Nijhof co-founded OOAK Brands. In this episode he sits down with Monish at Elevator Talks and breaks down every system behind it.If you sell online - whether you're just starting out or already scaling - this is the most practical conversation on ecom we've ever recorded.Download the free Vince Nijhof operator playbook here: https://links.elevatorgoods.com/episodes/vince-nijhofConnect with Vince:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vincevn/X: https://x.com/VinceNijhofMonish Sabnani (Host):Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msabnani93/X: https://x.com/msabnani93Elevator Talks:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevatorgoods/X: https://x.com/elevatorgoods! Work with the founders of OOAK Brands: https://ooakbrands.com/advisorySubscribe for bi-weekly conversations with operators building real brands.What we cover:00:02:52 - Intro00:03:32 - Who is Vince Nijhof and OOAK Brands00:07:59 - The $20M/month reveal00:11:01 - How to pick a product00:14:48 - The 9-figure product filter00:16:00 - Unit economics and ROAS targets00:23:45 - Creative strategy and awareness stages00:28:54 - The 7-pod creative team and leaderboard00:32:37 - Intent over volume: the one-shot-kill doctrine00:35:04 - Ad channel breakdown: Meta, Google/YouTube, TikTok00:37:21 - The Amazon effect: how channels feed each other00:41:13 - Funnel strategy: pre-landers and listicles00:47:00 - Upsells and AOV00:50:36 - Brand building vs performance marketing00:54:07 - Long-term brand building and R&D00:55:59 - Cash flow and scaling infrastructure00:59:07 - Where ecom is heading01:01:00 - Emotional marketing: angles as emotions01:04:45 - The AI stack01:10:57 - Omnichannel strategy01:17:33 - Building a brand holding: the long-term vision01:23:49 - The real moat in ecom01:28:34 - The foundation for scale

📘 Full playbook from this episode (free): https://links.elevatorgoods.com/episodes/notorious-foodie Every framework Notorious broke down - the 6 revenue streams, the creator-to-brand launch sequence, the content flywheel behind Notorious Cookware. Bookmark it.20M+ followers. Instead of maxing out brand deals, he built a real business. Monish sits down with Notorious Foodie to break down how.00:00 Intro00:47 The anonymous food diary — 5 years, zero monetization04:38 Steak 101: the TikTok video that hit 10M overnight10:49 When the first brand deals came in20:22 One-man-band era: editing, negotiating, pricing on intuition22:11 The 6 pillars of a creator business27:28 The delegation mistake every creator makes32:05 Notorious Cookware: why start with a chopping board35:42 Designing the chef's knife in Japan37:36 The affiliate-driven content flywheel39:07 Why creator product launches flop — and why his didn't42:03 Zero paid ads, zero CAC44:52 Short-term drop vs. long-term brand52:21 The fastest way to kill your creator brand01:02:44 The face reveal01:06:44 How creators should actually use AI in 202601:18:22 The 6 pillars, recapped🔗 ELEVATORWebsite: https://links.elevatorgoods.com/X: https://x.com/elevatorgoodsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevatorgoods/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/100218103/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0mXtIpIq4driEruAccEqkL🎙️ GUESTNotorious Foodie: https://www.instagram.com/notorious_foodie/MODERATORMonish Sabnani is a Managing Partner at Elevator Goods. X: https://x.com/msabnani93LinkedIn:   / monishsabnani  #ElevatorTalks #NotoriousFoodie #CreatorEconomy #dtc

Danny Yeung turned a dinner with David Beckham into the fastest-growing supplement brand on record. In 12 months. We break down exactly how - the product, the partnerships, the unit economics, and what most DTC brands get completely wrong.—0:00 Intro0:03 The David Beckham dinner3:31 Building the formula13:53 Month one: $581K15:46 Why 98% D2C20:38 Paid ads at scale25:18 The unit economics34:54 Operations at hypergrowth42:13 Running a public company45:36 Stock drop from $1B to $50M53:37 Eating problems for breakfast58:00 The moment that stands out1:02:13 Advice for foundersAbout Elevator Goods:Elevator Goods is the home for modern DTC. We build brands, back creators, and bring founders together through capital, free education, and community.Learn More: https://links.elevatorgoods.com/About the Moderator:Monish Sabnani is a Managing Partner at Elevator Goods. X: https://x.com/msabnani93LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monishsabnani/

Roman Khan runs $200M+/year in ecommerce across multiple brands.In 2018, he nearly went bankrupt. That moment changed everything. In this conversation, he shares:→ The supplier framework that protects your cash flow→ Why world-class operators run single digit opex→ His hiring philosophy (and why he avoids US talent)→ The micromanagement system he swears by→ How to budget when you can't predict supply chain→ Where he's putting his time and money in 2025No surface-level advice. We share the frameworks that scale.Timestamps:0:00 Intro0:30 Q4 Learnings and What Went Wrong6:51 Building for Exit vs Quick Cash11:55 Planning the Next 5 Years20:03 Origin Story31:01 From Rocket Internet to Peak 2138:00 Inventory Management Framework53:29 Day in the Life at $200M/Year1:04:17 The Micromanagement System1:10:04 Why You Should Avoid Hiring in America1:18:41 Company Culture and Retention1:26:00 Investment Strategy1:31:13 Where the Alpha is Going: SEO, Reddit, TikTok1:35:42 Rapid Fire QuestionsAbout Elevator Goods:Elevator Goods is the home for modern DTC. We build brands, back creators, and bring founders together through capital, free education, and community.Learn More: https://elevatorgoods.com/About the Moderator:Monish Sabnani is a Managing Partner at Elevator Goods. X: https://x.com/msabnani93LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monishsabnani/