Social Currency with Sammi Cohen

Todd Kahn took over the commercial responsibility for Coach in March of 2020. Two weeks later, he closed all North America stores.  Today, Coach CEO Todd Kahn sits down with Sammi to break down the strategy behind one of fashion’s biggest brand turnarounds, and why Coach had to do the exact opposite of conventional growth advice to pull it off. He explains why trying to be “for everyone” almost destroyed the brand, how flash sales quietly trained customers to wait for discounts, and why the company stopped greeting shoppers with coupons entirely during the pandemic. Todd also shares how Coach rebuilt itself for Gen Z through “expressive luxury,” viral bags like the Tabby and Brooklyn, immersive retail experiences, and unexpected ideas like coffee shops, book charms, and co-creation stations inside stores. Plus: the real reason Gen Z shops in person more than people think, why virality can’t be engineered, and the internal operating system Todd uses to run a nearly $7 billion business. Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Follow the Coach branding masterclass Here’s What Sammi Covers with Todd: 00:00 Todd Kahn’s Social Currency 02:30 From Corporate Lawyer to Coach CEO 07:52 Joining Coach During the Financial Crisis 10:00 What Actually Went Wrong at Coach 14:00 Flash Sales, Discounting, and Brand Dilution 15:00 Hiring Stuart Vevers and Resetting Creativity 19:00 Rediscovering Coach’s Brand Codes 20:44 Why Coach Focused on Gen Z 23:00 Closing 250 Stores to Save the Brand 24:00 Why “Stores Are Commercial Activities” 26:00 Cutting 40% of the Assortment 27:10 The “Timeless Gen Z” Strategy 28:40 Taking Over Coach Right Before COVID 29:50 Why Coach Stopped Leading with Discounts 30:20 Building a Billion-Dollar Digital Business 31:00 Why People Bought Handbags During Lockdown 32:00 From Performance Marketing to Brand Building 33:00 Bringing 2.9 Million New Customers Into Coach 34:00 Why Coach Wants to Be Your First Luxury Bag 35:30 The Real Story Behind Bag Charm Mania 38:00 What Actually Creates Virality 39:45 Why Coach Only Does Two Big Campaigns a Year 40:00 What “Expressive Luxury” Really Means 42:00 Why Gen Z Loves Shopping In Person 43:00 Coach Play Stores and Experiential Retail 44:00 The Business Strategy Behind Coach Coffee Shops 47:30 Todd’s Operating System for Leadership 50:22 The Story Behind Coach’s Viral Book Charms 52:00 Why Gen Z Is Returning to Books and Community Thanks to Mercury for sponsoring this episode! mercury.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebecca Hessel Cohen didn’t set out to build a company, she just wanted better bridesmaid dresses. But that small idea turned into LoveShackFancy, a multi-generational, cult-favorite brand with dozens of stores, hundreds of retail partners, and a fiercely loyal community. Today, Rebecca joins Sammi to break down the unfiltered reality of building a fashion business from scratch. From leaving her dream job at Cosmopolitan, to launching her first collection the same week she had her first child, to schlepping dresses in her car to early customers— this the unfiltered look at what it means to start a business. They also get into Rebecca’s viral social media moments (including the most epic bat mitzvah), building a brand that resonates from “babies to eighties,” how she evaluates collaborations from Stanley to Victoria's Secret, and what actually makes a retail store feel magical instead of transactional.  Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Follow Rebecca and LoveShackFancy Here’s What Sammi Covers with Rebecca: 00:00 The Gwyneth Paltrow Moment That Changed Everything 02:03 Partner Message: Mercury for Personal Banking 03:00 Growing Up in Fashion Closets 06:00 Life as a Fashion Editor at Cosmopolitan 10:30 The Bridesmaid Dress That Started It All 14:00 Turning a Side Hustle Into a Business 18:30 Launching a Brand While Having a Baby 20:53 Partner Message: Mercury for Business Banking 22:07 Partner Message: Mosh Bars 23:42 Why LoveShackFancy Wasn’t an Overnight Success 26:00 Building a Team and Scaling the Business 29:00 Opening Retail Stores During COVID 33:00 Dividing Roles With Her Husband 36:00 Building the Beauty Business and Sephora Strategy 38:30 Where Inspiration Actually Comes From 41:00 Designing for “Babies to Eighties” 43:30 How LoveShackFancy Approaches Collaborations 47:00 What Makes a Partnership Actually Work 49:30 Building a Brand Through Community and Retail 52:00 The Power of Experiential Shopping 55:00 Supporting Female Founders Through Trunk Shows 58:00 The Viral Home Tour and Social Media Strategy 01:02:00 Instagram vs. TikTok: How Rebecca Thinks About Both 01:05:00 What She Shares Online (And What She Doesn’t) Thanks to Our Sponsors! Mercury: mercury.com Mosh Bars:  moshlife.com/socialcurrency  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if the future of work doesn’t look anything like the office jobs we were told to chase? Steven Schwartz started building businesses as a teenager and eventually turned that obsession into Whop, one of the fastest-growing marketplaces for internet businesses. Today, the company is valued at $1.6 billion and helps thousands of people earn income online. In this episode, Steven joins Sammi to break down how he met his co-founder on Facebook at 13, why they almost quit Whop after just three months, and how they scaled it into a unicorn backed by names like Peter Thiel and Kevin Hart. They also unpack the creator economy, why everyone is a creator now, why traditional 9-to-5 career paths are being disrupted, and what “agentic income” could mean in the next era of work. Plus: why Steven thinks the biggest mistake aspiring entrepreneurs make is waiting to feel ready. Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Check out Whop Here’s what Sammi covers with Steven: 00:00 How Steven Met His Co-Founder at 13 on Facebook 03:15 Building Sneaker Bots as a Teenager 06:00 20+ Side Hustles Before Whop 10:30 Almost Quitting Whop After 3 Months 14:00 What Whop Actually Is 19:00 50,000+ New Users Per Day 22:00 The $1.6 Billion Valuation Explained 25:00 Why Stablecoins Matter for Global Business 29:45 Whop Has Created Hundreds of Millionaires 32:30 Advice for New Entrepreneurs 36:00 AI and the End of the Creator Economy 39:30 What “Agentic Income” Means 41:30 The Company That Tried to Buy Whop 43:00 Why Steven Wants to Redefine Work 46:00 Whop Finance and the Future of Money 50:00 Why Creators Shouldn’t Rely on One Platform Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices