Paul Jauregui first appeared on this podcast in 2020, having launched BK Beauty, a direct-to-consumer beauty brand, with Lisa, his wife, the year before. Unlike many DTC brands, BK Beauty does not rely on Facebook advertising. Affiliate marketing is the company's go-to channel.

Ecommerce Conversations, by Practical Ecommerce

BK Beauty, Avoiding Facebook, Thrives with Affiliate Marketing

In 2010, Spencer Jan and his brother launched Solo Stove, for camping. Fast forward to 2022 and Solo Stove is Solo Brands, a public traded aggregator of ecommerce companies, which rose from its acquisition of Jan's business. What's it like to watch others run a company he founded? Jan addresses it in this episode.

Solo Brands Founder, Now Wealthy, Reflects

Dennis Hegstad co-founded LiveRecover, a real-time SMS app, in 2018. He sold the company in 2021. "I became bored," he said. So he purchased OrderBump, a Shopify app for product upsells.

LiveRecover Founder Sells Company, Buys OrderBump

Andrew Faris is a former pastor who migrated to digital marketing. From there he rose to CEO of 4x400, an ecommerce aggregator that once owned seven brands. Having recently resigned from that position, he's now assessing priorities and evaluating his next career move. It's a not uncommon position for many executives and entrepreneurs.

Former Ecommerce CEO Asks, 'What's Next?'

I first interviewed Sean McGinnis for this podcast in November 2020. He had recently arrived at Kuru Footwear, a direct-to-consumer shoe manufacturer, as chief marketing officer. One year later, he's president of the company, and sales are booming.

Paid Search Drives Kuru Footwear to 2021 Success

It's been a wild ride for Rick Wilson. He started in ecommerce in the 1990s as a salesman with Miva, the pioneering platform. In 2007 he joined an investor group that purchased the business. Fast forward to 2022 and Wilson is Miva's CEO. He recently completed the company's second capital raise and authored a second book.

20 Years in Ecommerce for Miva's CEO

Ryan Magin founded Viral Edits, a video agency, roughly two years ago. He creates original and repurposed videos for brands and influencers, focusing on TikTok and Instagram. The business has grown dramatically. The process is much more difficult than it appears, he says, requiring hours of video watching, editing, and nuance.

TikTok Marketing Is Hard Work

Having arrived from Estonia 14 years ago, Peep Laja has launched three companies: CXL for e-learning, Speero for conversion consulting, and Wynter for B2B customer intelligence. "I've always been entrepreneurial," he told me. "I like starting things."

'I Like Starting Things,' Says Serial Entrepreneur

Tracey Wallace is a longtime B2B exec and content marketer, having worked at BigCommerce and now, MarketerHire, a marketplace for freelancers. She addresses the post-Covid workforce, the benefits of hiring freelancers, and, yes, how to drive traffic with content marketing.

MarketerHire Exec on Freelancers, Content, SEO

In 2012, Dean Pohlman was a collegiate lacrosse player who had taken up yoga. It so improved his on-field performance he began teaching the workouts to teammates. That led to DVD recordings, which led to a YouTube channel. He called it "Man Flow Yoga." Fast forward to 2021, and Pohlman is a global authority on yoga instruction for men.

Subscriptions, Books Drive Man Flow Yoga

Chris Williamson is a modern-day polymath with a fitting podcast. It's called "Modern Wisdom." Launched in 2018, it's experienced a whopping 30 million downloads across 400 episodes. He told me, "We talk about human nature, marketing, philosophy, life, life hacks, biohacking, fitness, health, pretty much everything."

'Modern Wisdom' Is a Media Sensation

The pandemic has upended the fitness industry. Having no access to public gyms, millions of folks turned to at-home workouts. According to Matt Reynolds, the founder of Barbell Logic, an online strength coaching company, the shift is permanent. "As the world has opened back up," he told me, "there's been a change of mindset, a paradigm shift in personal fitness training."

Barbell Logic Rides Shift to Online Fitness

Clay Hebert once attended a conference in San Diego. He sat next to a fellow who inquired about his work. "What do you do?" the fellow asked. Describing the encounter, Hebert told me, "That question stumped me." He had fumbled his introduction to Matt Mullenweg, the founder of WordPress.

The Right Answer to 'What Do You Do?'

This episode is different than most. I'm interviewing no one. Instead, I'm addressing a singular topic: bootstrapping, the concept of launching and growing a business without outside investors. My company, Beardbrand, is bootstrapped. It's a beautiful thing.

The Beauty of Bootstrapping a Business

The year 2021 has been a doozy for Ben Smith. In March, he celebrated an investment round for Disco, his direct-to-consumer skincare company. In April, Disco's customer acquisition cost increased by a whopping 300% with the release of iOS 14.5. In May, he began selling on Amazon, only to see Amazon bid on the exact Google Ad keywords he relied on for traffic to Disco's website.

Subscriptions Power Disco Past iOS 14.5, Amazon

Listen in as the Practical Ecommerce editorial staff interviews interesting personalities in the ecommerce space.

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Ecommerce Conversations, by Practical Ecommerce

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