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DTC Podcast
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Weekly discussions between disruptive direct to consumer ecommerce brands and our amazing team about marketing, funnels, and everything scaling related. Subscribe to our newsletter for highlights and step by step tactical insights 👉🏻 📦 directtoconsumer.co
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Ep 622: How Outway Runs Canada and the US as Two Separate Businesses
Yesterday00:42:52Summary readyMost brands expand into the US and treat it like the same business with a different shipping label. Outway learned it is not.Taylor Fraser is the Chief Growth Officer at Outway, the Canadian performance sock brand. In this episode he breaks down why Outway now runs Canada and the US as two distinct businesses, why he dropped retargeting on Meta entirely, and why a sub eight-figure brand cannot optimize its website to growth.What you'll learn:Why Outway swapped the CMO role for a Chief Growth Officer and split growth into performance, retention, and e-commerceWhy Canadian and US customers buy so differently, and how Outway split the two businesses on the backend and frontendWhy the team runs no retargeting and lets the algorithm handle itWhy simple store-wide discounts beat clever BOGO offers, and why the mystery pair became a "golden handcuffs" attachWhy you cannot CRO your way to growth under a certain revenue line, and what to do insteadWhy Outway rides external moments like Mother's Day and Prime Day instead of manufacturing its own salesHow the team uses AI daily for reporting, data pulls, and custom dashboardsWho this is for: DTC operators, growth and performance marketers, and founders selling across more than one country.What to steal: the two-businesses framework for cross-border selling, and the decision to stop manufacturing fake sales and ride moments customers already care about.Timestamps:00:00 Meta Doesn't Need Retargeting Campaigns13:06 How Andromeda Changed Meta Ads18:11 The Creative Volume Debate21:08 Why Scaling in the U.S. Is Harder Than Canada35:20 Why More Ads Beat CRO for GrowthSubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupAdvertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertiseWork with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouseFollow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletterWatch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video
Summary
Ep 621: Anything is possible now – The AI Creative Stack
4d ago00:17:28Summary readySubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupBraydon from Pilothouse joins for a fast AI check-in on what the team is actually shipping right now. Not theory. The exact tools, prompts, and workflows behind their current creative output.If you run growth or creative at a DTC brand or agency, this is a look at how one team is collapsing production time on landing pages, video ads, and founder content using AI.The sub-agent "council" prompt: rewrite a landing page eight ways, with each sub-agent playing a role (copywriter, CEO, customer, CRO expert), then have the council rate the versions and a final decision maker pick the winner.How to keep Claude fast on long projects: ask the chat to summarize itself into a markdown file, then carry that into a fresh chat instead of letting one thread balloon.Higgsfield as a model aggregator: one place to run VO3, Kling, ElevenLabs, and image models, with one-click image-to-video and multiple aspect ratios.The founder avatar workflow: build a 30-second explainer with B-roll and slow zooms, clone the founder's voice in ElevenLabs, and ship it the same afternoon.Why Braydon leans into obviously-AI creative (claymation, Pixar-style) instead of trying to pass synthetic people as real.How Meta's Andromeda rewards ads that improve the scroll, and why social boosting organic winners is finding new scale.Who this is for:DTC operators, growth marketers, and agency creative leads who want a current, practical AI workflow rather than a hype reel.What to steal:The sub-agent council prompt, the Higgsfield image-to-video and voice-clone pipeline, and the social boosting approach to finding ad winners.Timestamps:00:29 Fable AI and One-Shot Development06:54 Higgsfield for AI Creative Production10:33 New AI Advertising Disclosure Rules13:15 AI Search, SEO, and Answer Engines14:33 How Andromeda Rewards Better Ad ExperiencesSubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupAdvertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertiseWork with Pilothouse - https://www.pilothouse.co/?utm_source=AKNF621Follow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletterWatch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video
Summary
Bonus: Top of Funnel Collapse: How AI & AEO Are Changing Consumer Behavior & How Marketers Can Adapt
6d ago00:31:24Summary readySubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupThis episode, Kemberly Gong, VP of Marketing at Contentful, joins Eric to walk through what some marketing leaders are calling “The Great Content Collapse”, and what marketers can actually do about it.The setup: 60% of Google searches now result in zero click-through, and replaced by GenAI models like AI overviews. LLMs already account for 5% of traffic and climbing. Marketing budgets are flat or shrinking. Companies are flooding consumers with AI slop to hit KPIs. And consumers can smell it. 50% lose trust in a brand when they think the content was written by AI.Explore Contentful: https://www.contentful.com/?utm_source=dtc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=fy27-q2-global-tl_awareness&utm_content=gcc What you'll learn:What is the "great content collapse" and why traditional content strategy is breakingAEO vs SEO: where they overlap and where they divergeWhy agentic agents prefer structured, query-aligned content with third-party validationHow buyer behavior is changing and what marketing teams can do to stay aheadWhere brands over-rely on AI and how to keep the human voiceThe 30-day content audit for the agentic webThe Pets Deli case: 50% conversion lift from one personalization changeThe Ruggable BFCM case: 7x CTR and 25% conversion lift from personalized hero banners + homepagesHow Bossard scaled its content across 18 languages and 38 countries with AI workflows using personalization softwareWhat On Running does to drive 40% of sales onlinePlus: Kemberly Gong's 30-day content audit checklist for the agentic web.Timestamps:00:00 The Great Content Collapse05:38 AEO vs SEO Explained10:08 Why Personalization Wins in 202613:27 Where AI Actually Helps Marketing Teams22:23 Building Brand Trust Across ChannelsSubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupAdvertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertiseWork with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouseFollow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletterWatch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video
Summary
Ep 620: How Origin Runs E-Commerce With AI Agents, From Media Buying to Diagnosing Defects
1w ago00:43:51Summary readySubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupOrigin owns its entire supply chain. The thread, the brass, the leather, the denim, all of it made or sourced in America, in their own factories. That sounds like a constraint. Justin Parker explains why it is actually the brand's biggest growth lever.Justin runs e-commerce at Origin, the American-made apparel brand born in jiu-jitsu gear and now backed in part by Jocko Willink. He sits at the intersection of marketing, ops, and manufacturing, and that vantage point is exactly what makes the AI stack so powerful for him.What you will learn:How owning manufacturing let Origin pull a planned-for-June product into the line overnight when a hoodie went viral in JanuaryWhy Origin uploaded its 20-page production tech packs into Moby, and how that turned a marketing tool into something that diagnoses manufacturing defectsHow they run 100% internal media buying through an agentic media buyer, and the one question Justin asks it: "what in your context made you decide to pause this ad?"Why branded search spend got flagged as non-incremental, and how goal-setting changes what the AI doesHow the e-commerce team stopped hiring internally while the rest of the business keeps net hiringWhere Justin thinks the role is going next: agent orchestration and one centralized goal pushed down to every business unitWho this is for: DTC founders and operators, e-commerce and growth leads, anyone figuring out how to actually deploy AI agents inside a real business.What to steal: Justin's approach to context loading. The output you get from any AI tool is capped by the context you feed it. He spent an afternoon uploading product blueprints one PDF at a time, and it changed what the tool could do.Timestamps:0:00 Origin's Unexpected Maduro Viral Moment2:01 Building an American-Made Supply Chain7:00 Pricing Premium Products in a Competitive Market15:02 How Vertical Integration Creates a Growth Advantage22:18 Inside Moby AI and Agentic Media BuyingSubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupAdvertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertiseWork with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouseFollow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletterWatch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video
Summary
Ep 619: Stop Growth Hacking Your Brand to Death with Duncan From Pilothouse | AKNF
2w ago00:34:05Summary readySubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupMost 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 valueWhat Meta's Andromeda infrastructure changed, and why it forces advertisers toward thoughtful creative over high-frequency iterationHow to integrate brand and performance instead of picking oneWhy siloed agencies fight over attribution while the customer journey falls through the cracksThe 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 Brands03:00 Meta Andromeda Changed Creative Strategy06:00 The Problem With Optimizing Only for ROAS12:00 Building Customer Journeys Beyond Attribution20:00 Measuring Channels by Their Actual JobSubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupAdvertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertiseWork with Pilothouse - https://www.pilothouse.co/?utm_source=AKNF619Follow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletterWatch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video
Summary
Bonus: How DÔEN, Origin & Universal Ads Actually Implement AI w/o Losing Their Brand | Whalies Panel
2w ago00:32:41Summary readySubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupRecorded 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 WhaleIn this episode:Why business context — not the model — is the missing ingredient in most AI implementationsHow DÔEN rolls out AI one workflow at a time to measure real incremental liftWhat happens when AI runs all but three of your Meta campaignsWhy connected TV and incrementality are eclipsing the clickThe retargeting decision where AI flatly contradicted itself a week laterWhere human oversight still matters most — and how to size it to riskWhat to steal:Build a trusted source of truth before you layer AI on topTest AI one workflow at a time so you can actually attribute the liftPoint AI at analysis and reporting first; hand it bigger decisions laterScale human-in-the-loop in proportion to dollars and customer exposureFor 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 It2:03 How Enterprise Brands Roll Out AI Without Breaking Things8:16 Why Some Brands Refuse To Use AI Creative18:28 Inside Agentic Media Buying And AI-Powered Marketing Teams30:03 The Biggest AI Opportunity Most Brands Are MissingSubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupAdvertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertiseWork with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouseFollow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletterWatch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video
Summary
Ep 618: Inside Tumble – Scaling a Nine-Figure Rug Brand
2w ago00:45:57Summary readySubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupMost 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 fundraiserThe lot-number QC system that let them kill 90%+ of product defects within two yearsHow pre-orders and Shopify payouts gave them a negative cash conversion cycle while bootstrappingWhy they didn't hire a single full-time employee until they were well past $20M in revenueThe China-to-Thailand pivot and accidental Canada launch during the tariff crisisTheir YouTube incrementality test that ran head-to-head against Meta, and tiedJustin's contrarian take on vibe coding: automate manual tasks, don't rip out your tech stackWho 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 Better03:00 Launching 120 SKUs Through Crowdfunding10:00 Product Feedback at Scale18:00 Growing Past $20M With No Employees23:00 Surviving Tariffs and Moving ManufacturingSubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupAdvertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertiseWork with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouseFollow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletterWatch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video
Summary
Ep 617: How to Fix a Pooched Email Account: 10 Steps to Recover DTC Deliverability [TWBERP Preview]
3w ago00:27:14Summary readySubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupThis 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 outWhy opens are the weakest predictor of a future visit, and what to segment on insteadThe rewarm vs. soft rewarm decision, and how 5,000 addresses beat 150,000Why two campaigns a week plus real flows beats 22 sends a monthThe email-only promotion that rebuilds engagement and deliverability at onceTreating SMS like a paid channel with a real cost per clickThe stale-repeat-buyer metric that tells you recovery is workingWho 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 Account03:02 Set Realistic Expectations for Recovery07:43 When to Rewarm Your Email List11:47 Why Opens Are a Bad Metric18:36 Email-Only Promotions to Boost Engagement24:25 The Stale Repeat Buyer MetricSubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupAdvertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertiseWork with Pilothouse - https://www.pilothouse.co/?utm_source=AKNF617Follow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletterWatch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video
Summary
Bonus: 100% Agentic on Meta at a $1B Brand | True Classic's Ben Diamond & Triple Whale's Maxx Blank
3w ago00:48:24Summary readySubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupRecorded 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 Ever02:14 What Moby 2 Actually Does for Brands11:20 Why True Classic Went All-In on AI16:10 Cutting Millions in Creative Production Costs24:38 The Future of One-to-One Marketing at Scale43:20 Predictions for the Future of Ecommerce and AISubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupAdvertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertiseWork with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouseFollow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletterWatch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video
Summary
Ep 616: How Neuro Built a Nine-Figure Smart Gum Brand Before Expanding to Retail.
3w ago00:42:43Summary readySubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupNeuro 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-playHow creator incentives shifted once GMV Max rolled outThe retail launch strategy behind Walmart, Costco, CVS, and 7-ElevenWhy retail completely reshapes your P&L, ops, and marketing stackThe hidden operational tax of moving from DTC into omnichannelHow Neuro frames category creation vs stealing shareThe strategy behind the "Your Gum Is Dumb" sloth campaignWhy brand marketing started making sense only after retail expansionWho 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 categoryUse creator momentum as proof for retail buyersTreat retail launches like media moments, not inventory placementSubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupAdvertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertiseWork with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouseFollow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletterWatch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video
Summary