Podcast
Operators
Hosted by Sean Frank, Mike Beckham, Matt Bertulli & Jason Panzer · EN
In the world of ecommerce, a legendary text group is rumored to hold the secrets to unimaginable success. The catch? You must have nine figures in revenue to gain entry. The world’s biggest brands have denied its existence for years, until now. Four titans known as the “Operators” are leaking the secret contents in an effort to share its wealth of knowledge with people like you. Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Jason Panzer (President, HexClad), Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) & Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case x Lomi).
67episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
From $10K Losses a Day to an L Catterton Deal: Zach Stuck’s Full Story
6d ago01:29:25Summary readyOperators Titans is brought to you by AppLovin. Get access to the Operators channel expansion playbook, online masterclass, and up to $5k in ad credits here: https://www.9operators.com/paid-growth Or, skip the waitlist and launch your AppLovin ads today with our Operators-exclusive link: https://axon.ai/en/9operators “We’ve never had anyone do four deals in 60 days.” How do you build two nine-figure brands with no outside investors and a Facebook ads background as your only real edge? Zach Stuck, founder of Easy Street Brands and co-founder of Hollow and Mars Men, joins Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi) and Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge) to break down how he turned an agency into an eight-figure exit and cold-started two nine-figure brands in opposite categories. Closing four deals in 60 days and an L Catterton round, Zach’s brand building decisions are laid on the table. He walks through nearly losing Homestead keeping Hollow alive, and lays out the ecommerce strategy for building from zero. He closes on what the holdco model requires to work and why most operators get it wrong.
SummaryHow Ridge Uses Incrementality to Cut Waste and Scale What Works
1w ago01:12:30Summary readyIs your incrementality testing giving you accurate data or are you burning budget on a broken signal? Austin Harrison (CEO, Northbeam) joins Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge) and Katy Mimari (CEO, Caden Lane) to challenge the most repeated advice in ecommerce measurement: that longer tests are always better, holdouts are interchangeable, and incrementality alone is enough to make media decisions. They break down when a growing brand needs incrementality versus MTA, and how running tests inside a noisy environment can produce weeks of data worth nothing. Sean pulls from Ridge’s own results to show how layering incrementality on top of MTA unlocked YouTube spend that in-platform data never would have justified, while Katy’s botched first test proves clean test conditions matter as much as the tool itself. They also dig into why moving up funnel on Meta is outperforming conversion campaigns at scale, and what separates the fastest-growing ecommerce brands in 2026 on creative. Powered ByFulfilhttps://bit.ly/3pAp2vuSaras Analyticshttps://bit.ly/9OP-YtdescAftersellhttps://9ops.co/4i3bb5Richpanelhttps://9ops.co/richpanelNorthbeamhttps://www.northbeam.io/Postscripthttps://9ops.co/postscriptOperators Newsletterhttps://9operators.com/
SummaryHow Ecommerce CEOs Actually Pay Themselves (Real Answers)
2w ago01:05:50Summary ready“The obtaining of money is a lot easier than stewarding that money well.” Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern), and Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi) dig into one of the most-requested topics from listeners: how do owner-operators pay themselves? And what should they be aiming for? The hosts walkthrough salary benchmarks, distribution strategies, and the honest math behind building long-term wealth in consumer. The conversation goes deep on the tension between pulling money out now versus betting on the asset long-term, creating a business that outlasts you as CEO, and why chasing one big exit can be the very thing that ruins the deal. They also get personal by sharing what they’d tell their younger selves, the difference between financial security and financial freedom, and why the number you think you need is almost always wrong. Powered ByFulfilhttps://9ops.co/fulfil Saras Analyticshttps://bit.ly/9OP-YtdescPostscripthttps://9ops.co/postscriptRichpanelhttps://9ops.co/richpanelNorthbeamhttps://www.northbeam.io/Aftersellhttps://9ops.co/4i3bb5Operators Newsletterhttps://9operators.com/
SummaryHow Tim Doyle Built Eucalyptus to $450M in ARR & Sold It for $1.15B
3w ago01:40:21Summary readyOperators Titans is brought to you by AppLovin. Get access to the Operators channel expansion playbook, online masterclass, and up to $5k in ad credits here: https://www.9operators.com/paid-growth Or, skip the waitlist and launch your AppLovin ads today with our Operators-exclusive link: https://axon.ai/en/9operators How do you build a DTC telehealth platform from scratch and play the long game right? Tim Doyle, founder of Eucalyptus and incoming SVP International at Hims & Hers, joins hosts Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi) and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) for a wide-ranging conversation on building, scaling, and exiting one of the most ambitious DTC healthcare companies outside the US. Tim traces his path from political media buying in Australia to launching a multi-brand telehealth platform across multiple continents and the hard lessons in between. The conversation covers Tim’s “salary cap” approach to talent building, how Eucalyptus turned clinical outcomes into its most powerful marketing asset, and why he believes bold creative scripts remain the most underrated lever in consumer marketing.
SummaryHow to Hire the 5 Ecommerce Roles That Will Make or Break Your Brand
3w ago01:07:18Summary ready“The right person does nothing but print money.” Sean Frank, Matt Bertulli, Curtis Matsko, and Katy Mimari get into a heated debate on the hardest roles to hire in ecommerce. Nobody agrees. And that’s exactly the point. The conversation tears through five make-or-break positions: (1) head of product, (2) head of growth, (3) head of Amazon, (4) creative strategist, and (5) head of influencer. Along the way, they expose why CMO is the shortest-tenured C-suite role for a reason, how a wedding photographer became a top-performing CMO, and what it takes to lock down great talent before they go build something on their own. Powered ByFulfilhttps://9ops.co/fulfil Saras Analyticshttps://bit.ly/9OP-Ytdesc Postscripthttps://9ops.co/postscript Richpanelhttps://9ops.co/richpanel Northbeamhttps://www.northbeam.io/ Aftersellhttps://9ops.co/4i3bb5 Operators Newsletterhttps://9operators.com/
SummaryTrends Shaping Health & Wellness in Ecommerce: GLP-1s & Beyond
4w ago00:53:24Summary readyWhat happens in ecommerce when obesity is cured? Sean Frank (CEO of Ridge) and Matt Bertulli (CEO of Pela Case x Lomi) dig into one of the biggest health-and-wellness trends they’ve seen in their careers: the GLP-1 wave and how it’s rewiring consumers. They cover who’s about to get crushed and who’s sitting on a gold mine. From the collapse of plus-size apparel and the slow death of junk food to the rise of fiber, longevity, and gut health, they map out the second and third-order effects. They also get into why ecommerce is still the fastest engine for CPG growth, and what Sean sees as the next ingredient trends worth betting on — colostrum to hair loss to mental health. Powered ByFulfilhttps://bit.ly/3pAp2vuPostscripthttps://9ops.co/postscriptRichpanelhttps://9ops.co/richpanelNorthbeamhttps://www.northbeam.io/Aftersellhttps://9ops.co/4i3bb5Saras Analyticshttps://bit.ly/9OP-YtdescOperators Newsletterhttps://9operators.com/
SummaryEcommerce Founder’s Guide to Owning Your Manufacturing & Factory
May 601:17:04Summary readyCould one bad supplier decision bring your entire ecommerce brand down? Curtis Matsko (CEO, Portland Leather Goods) joins hosts Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi) and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) to pull back the curtain on one of the most misunderstood decisions in consumer goods: vertical integration. Curtis built North America’s largest leather bag manufacturer in Mexico not by grand design, but out of pure necessity. The conversation covers why owning your factory can 10x your business or burn millions of dollars, and how China’s manufacturing dominance is being driven by robotics, not just cheap labor. They unpack how the coming wave of AI-powered robotics could reshape fulfillment and production faster than most operators expect, and close with the one move each host credits with 10xing their own business. Powered ByFulfilhttps://bit.ly/3pAp2vuRichpanelhttps://9ops.co/richpanelNorthbeamhttps://www.northbeam.io/Aftersellhttps://9ops.co/4i3bb5Saras Analyticshttps://bit.ly/9OP-YtdescPostscripthttps://9ops.co/postscriptOperators Newsletterhttps://9operators.com/
SummaryNew Product Launch Playbook Behind 9-Figure Ecommerce Brands
Apr 2901:19:20Summary ready“Marketing’s job gets a lot easier when they have new products to sell.” Curtis Matsko (CEO, Portland Leather Goods) and Katy Mimari (CEO, Caden Lane) join Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case and Lomi) to tackle one of our most requested topics. How to create and launch new ecommerce products. Each host brings a unique perspective. Curtis runs a 280k square-foot production facility and releases fresh products three times a week. Katy built Caden Lane into a 5,000-SKU brand by staying obsessed with what moms want next. Matt’s approach is on-demand, sustainable manufacturing balanced with high-velocity releases for new variants, colors, and sizes. Together, they unpack the art + data behind merchandising large catalogs, when to raise prices versus when to hold, and how to know when to kill a product before it quietly bleeds your business dry. Plus, Curtis reveals his secret (selling) weapon — an Insiders Facebook Group with +200k members. Powered ByFulfilhttps://bit.ly/3pAp2vuNorthbeamhttps://www.northbeam.io/Aftersellhttps://9ops.co/4i3bb5Saras Analyticshttps://bit.ly/9OP-YtdescPostscripthttps://9ops.co/postscriptRichpanelhttps://9ops.co/richpanelOperators Newsletterhttps://9operators.com/
SummaryHow Ecommerce Brands Can Fund Growth: Winning DTC Math
Apr 2201:06:49Summary readyWhat happens when your bank promises you $20 million, strings you along for a year, and then rips it all away the same week you need it most? Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge) and Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi) sit down with Curtis Matsko (CEO, Portland Leather Goods) for a raw conversation about how ecommerce brands fund growth. Curtis shares one of the most gut-punch founder stories in Operators history. Wells Fargo promised him a $20–25M line of credit, demanded $2M back overnight, and nearly killed Portland Leather Goods at the exact moment he had ~$14M tied up in a brand expansion. He survived a year of not paying suppliers, negotiating week-to-week, and somehow came out more profitable than before. The three dig into the real math of affording growth without investors. Why it’s “impossible, but you have to do it anyway,” how supplier relationships are the single best source of working capital leverage, and why the cash conversion cycle will break your business if your margins aren’t right. They close with one of the most important warnings for early operators — stop counting revenue, start counting what’s left. Powered By Fulfil https://bit.ly/3pAp2vu Saras Analytics https://bit.ly/9OP-YtdescAftersell https://9ops.co/4i3bb5Postscript https://9ops.co/postscriptRichpanel https://9ops.co/richpanelNorthbeam https://www.northbeam.io/Operators Newsletter https://9operators.com/
SummaryMike’s Story, From Yeti Knockoff to Building New Brands
Apr 1501:12:47Summary readyWhat do you do when you’ve already won, and still can’t stop building? Sean Frank and Matthew Bertulli sit down with Mike Beckham, (CEO of Simple Modern and Simple Ventures), to unpack what happens after you climb the mountain. Mike shares how Simple Modern grew from a bootstrapped “Yeti knockoff” to nearly $200M in annual revenue, paid off all its debt, and suddenly found itself generating more cash than it could reinvest — and what he decided to do about it. The conversation covers Mike’s framework for capital allocation when the obvious moves run out, including why he launched electrolyte brand Trevi (and what the $2–3M learning curve actually bought him), how Simple Ventures is building a portfolio of lean, AI-powered businesses with single-threaded leaders, and why Mike believes now is the single best moment in history to be a builder. From the counterintuitive case for being 13th in a massive market, to rewiring your brain around what AI makes possible, to why physical goods aren’t going anywhere — this one goes deep. Powered ByFulfilhttps://bit.ly/3pAp2vuAftersellhttps://9ops.co/4i3bb5Postscripthttps://9ops.co/postscriptRichpanelhttps://9ops.co/richpanelNorthbeamhttps://www.northbeam.io/Saras Analyticshttps://bit.ly/9OP-YtdescOperators Newsletterhttps://9operators.com/
Summary