1-800-D2C

We've been attending events all over the NYC area and consistently hear the same complaints from folks in CX this time of year: "Every monday morning, I'm digging myself out of a hole made up of support tickets." "We're so busy reacting and catching up that we can never be proactive." "We're still getting too many calls into our support center." We get it. Our co-founder Andrew Olaleye recently sat down with RC Williams of 1-800-D2C to talk through why CX departments are often overlooked and how to channel that energy into turning them into revenue centers. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e5tQSyYv

Behind The Tool: Julia Tolmachyov and Michelle Liao From DayZero 💰 We recently had an insightful chat with Julia and Liao, the founders of DayZero about their entrepreneurial journey, their vision for DayZero and some of their key components of a financially successful D2C brand. DayZero is redefining the accounting function for D2C ecommerce brands with an all-in-one finance platform, powered by AI. Julia and Michelle founded DayZero after encountering tons of challenges with traditional accounting software tools. In our interview, we discussed: • The frustrations with QuickBooks that inspired DayZero • How their AI-driven platform is streamlining accounting • The vision behind their AI bookkeeper, Emily • What strong financials look like for D2C brands • How they see the future of finance in D2C evolving It was an engaging conversation full of insights about scaling brands, leveraging technology, and the importance of financial clarity in ecommerce. Read the full interview with Julia and Michelle below and go DayZero!

"The more you stick to the way that is true to yourself, the more you’ll succeed. My advice for Oisin in year one would be to stay true to myself and don’t ever deviate." In our latest Behind The Tool, we spoke with Oisin O'Connor, co-founder and CEO of Recharge, about his entrepreneurial journey, his thoughts on Recharge recently hitting $100M in ARR and what he sees changing in the Shopify App market lately. One of our favorite tidbits from Oisin's story was that he initially stumbled into cold calling Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify, to ask for his advice on what he and his co-founder (Michael Flynn) should build. Harley, of course, sold them on the coming commerce wave and urged them to get into the Shopify ecosystem. Oisin and Mike took the advice, initially launched a development agency and eventually built what we know as Recharge today. It was a thrilling interview full of incredible insights, tidbits and lessons from one of the most impressive builders in the Shopify App ecosystem. Thank you for sharing your insights with us, Oisin and go Recharge!

Under The Hood with Rachel Garbutt and Amanda Riva from Dotti 🧼 We recently interviewed Rachel and Amanda, the two co-founders behind Dotti. Dotti is a new, rapidly growing D2C cleaning supply brand bring a fresh (and stylish) take to the cleaning category. In our interview, we chatted about: • How their home renovation experience led them to building Dotti • Why they’re prioritizing building brand from day one • What they didn’t expect to be true about building a D2C brand • Their tech stack and top tools (Rebuy Engine, Klaviyo and Shopify) • What they attribute their success to so far “One thing we’ve done well is being consumer-obsessed in the development, design, and launch of our brand and how it informs product design. We’ve heavily leveraged consumer surveying and insights to inform decision-making and ensure that we keep evolving as consumer taste changes.” Rachel and Amanda offered awesome insights into the story behind Dotti, their vision and everything they've learned about building in D2C. Read the full story below. Rachel and Amanda, thank you for sharing your insights with us and go Dotti!

Under The Hood With Alyse Borkan and Sam Naparstek From Rocco 🧊 We recently had the opportunity to chat with Alyse and Sam, the co-founders of Rocco. If you haven’t seen Rocco’s Smart Fridges out in the wild yet, then you will soon! In our interview, we chatted about: • Sam’s experience leading product at Away and how it drove him to Rocco • Biggest challenges with designing the initial version of Rocco's Fridge • What they didn’t expect to be true about building a D2C brand • Rocco’s tech stack and favorite tools (Air being one!) • Keys to Rocco’s early success “While Sam was leading product at Away, he visited a number of fridge factories. Surprisingly, there are many manufacturing similarities between fridges and suitcases – they’re both big hollow pieces of metal. While he was there, he realized there hadn’t been innovation in the wine fridge category in decades.” You’ll enjoy reading their story. Rocco is building in a unique category for a D2C brand and is led by very talented operators. Alyse and Sam, thank you for sharing your insights and go Rocco!

Expert Insights With Jeff Borsuk From Reel 🧻 We had the chance to chat recently with Jeff (VP of Growth & Performance Marketing) about all things Reel Paper. In our Experts Insights interview, we chatted with Jeff about: • Challenges with building new products • How they went about acquiring their first 10,000 customers • Things Jeff didn't expect to be true about building in D2C • Jeff's keys to success with Reel Paper "I can sometimes lean on the side of pessimism, I think generally it’s helped me stay grounded, especially in DTC marketing where something can be working amazingly well for one month, then change overnight." Plus, we also chatted about some of Jeff's favorite tools in his tech stack at Reel. Some of his highlights include: 🦅 Black Crow AI - Smart ID & AI-Powered Email List Growth 👨👨👧👦 Superfiliate - Affiliate and Customer Acquisition 📊 Daasity - Data Management & Infrastructure 🔁 Recharge - Robust Subscription Program You'll enjoy reading the full interview below. Jeff, thank you for sharing your insights with us and go Reel!

Under The Hood with Shilo Ben Zeev from Emulait 👶 We recently had an incredible chat with Shilo about his entrepreneurial journey, the lessons he has learned along the way and what he didn’t expect to be true about operating a D2C brand like Emulait. Shilo is a seasoned, tenacious entrepreneur who has built, scaled and sold multiple health and medical device companies. With Emulait, Shilo and his team are bringing true innovation, technology and a premium customer experience to the baby feeding category. In our interview, Shilo offers his insights into how Emulait came to be, how he thinks about building his team and his ultimate vision for the brand. “Early on I noticed the importance of having a strong team dynamic in special units, particularly in the Navy SEALs. These teams are small, consisting of only six to eight individuals during operations. I firmly believe that this strategy works best - even if it means paying more for the right people.” Shilo Ben Zeev, thank you for sharing your insights with us and go Emulait!

Behind The Tool with Ben Sharf from Platter 🛠️ We had an awesome chat recently with Ben Sharf about all things entrepreneurship, ecommerce and how his team at Platter building the future for high-converting Shopify stores. Platter provides functionalities from over 40 tool categories into a single theme and app. From listening to their early customers and understanding the needs of brands in 2024, Platter is betting on app consolidation and tech efficiency. “We operate under the notion that there’s a huge difference between knowledge and belief. It’s the difference between thinking we know what we should build versus actually talking to our customers and hearing what they want us to build.” Ben, thank you for sharing your story and insights, and go Platter!