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Bio.
George Kruis and Dom Day arenât your average founders, theyâre former international rugby stars who went from scrums and stadiums to supplements and Sainsburyâs. As ex-Saracens teammates, their journey from elite athletes to co-founders of wellness brand âFourFiveâ is full of unexpected pivots, hard-won lessons, and big wins in both the worlds of e-commerce and retail.
In this episode, George and Dom get real about the moment they knew they had something special with FourFive, how they tackled the transition from rugby to retail, and the mindset shift that came with life after sport. From leveraging their athlete networks to landing shelf space in major retailers, they unpack how they found their âunfair advantageâ and built a trusted name in the crowded wellness space. Including the challenges of scaling and building a brand around a highly regulated product, CBD.
They talk Shopify, subscriptions, investor relationships, and even the science (or lack of) behind whether FourFive can really cure a hangover. We say it can.
If you're a founder, athlete, or someone in between, this oneâs packed with energy, insight, and inspiration. And a good load of laughs too.
Timestamps
0:00 Trailer
01:30 The Back Heel Conversion
02:56 The Aha Moment for FourFive/ The Idea for FourFive
05:10 Transitioning from Rugby to Entrepreneurship
07:55 Finding the Right People and Support
09:15 Lessons in Communication
09:52 Preparing for Life After Rugby/ Tapping into your Network
14:18 Lean into your Skillset/ Finding your Unfair Advantage
17:17 Getting into retail/ Sainsbury's
20:43 The Ecom Pivot
22.06 The Parallels between Sports Teams and Businesses
29:35 Goal Setting
31:49 Is FourFive a Hangover Remedy?
36:53 Challenges of being in the CBD Space
40:17 Shopify + Subscriptions
43:38 Influencers and Investors
46:15 Jack's POV
TikTok isnât just for lip-syncing teens anymore. In the last three years, a host of social-first brands have broken-through to become multi-million pound businesses. Their secret? Content. And nobody in the beauty space does it better than Daisy Kelly and Glow For It. In just four short years, Daisy has taken Glow For It from a small side-hustle in her mum's kitchen, into a brand doing six figures a day on TikTok Shop.Daisy is the latest guest in the pub to chat about the brand's origin story, her playbook for success using TikTok Shop, the importance of authenticity when building a community, and how Glow For It recently sold a product every 19 seconds.. across a 12 hour TikTok Live! If youâre looking to crack TikTok in 2025, this isnât one to be missed.
Some know Spencer Matthews as a Reality TV Star. Others know him as a World-Record Holder. But beyond the public eye, Spencer's journey over the last few years from overcoming addiction through to founding 'clean alcohol' brand CleanCo is one fit for a movie. Spencer is the latest guest into the pub, and this one is (quite literally at times) barking mad. Sharing stories from his early struggles with alcohol and the inception of CleanCo, through to his extreme physical challenges and family life, this is definitely our most inspiring episode yet.
Some of the world's best ecom brands were founded by a bullish founder from the comfort of their bedroom. But, Connor Martin must be the first to manufacture and sell fragrances from his!
Connor founded The Essence Vault in 2019, with humble beginnings at local street markets in Belfast. He's since grown the brand to be the UK's largest online fragrance business, turning over more than ÂŁ50 million per year.
From becoming the first UK brand on TikTok Shop, to building out a 300 person team, Connor is one of Europe's sharpest brand operators. He joined us to chat through his journey, playbook, and to share some hilarious stories along the way.
Yanni Hufnagel isnât your typical founder. Heâs a former basketball coach that brings energy and motivation to the business world in a way we havenât seen before.
Yanni found his niche with the refreshing lemon water drink, Lemon Perfect, now the fastest growing enhanced water brand in the US. From seeing his product stocked in major chains like Whole Foods and CVS, to bringing Beyonce on board as an investor, Lemon Perfect has taken the beverage market by storm.
Having crossed more than $100mn in revenue, Yanni is now pushing towards a billion dollar valuation. He sat down to chat with us about his early journey, the importance of relationships in building a retail brand, and the impact of bringing major celebrities like Beyonce on board when scaling.
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Timestamps:
00:00 Trailer
01:35 The Initial Idea for Lemon Perfect
05:34 Fractional Resources: Running a Brand as a Solo Founder
08:47 Why Athletes Make Great Entrepreneurs
12:00 Wins & Losses in Year 1: The Pivot Away from Refrigerated
15:50 Tips for Getting Into Retail
21:27 The Impact of Celebrity Endorsements
24:34 Why Building a Beverage Company is a Streetfight
26:22 How Beyonce Became an Investor
29:06 The Next 24 Months
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Follow us across our socials:
- Twitter: https://x.com/happystackhq
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/happystackhq/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happystackhq
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Check out the HappyStack website:
https://www.happystack.com/
We connect the world's best DTC brands with the software they need to scale efficiently.
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Check out Yanni & Lemon Perfect:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yhufnagel/
https://www.instagram.com/yanni/
https://x.com/yhufnagel
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#ecommerce #podcast #founder #business #makemoneyonline #lemonperfect
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In a world where new fashion brands are started every day, authenticity is rare. But Luke Murphy and his brand Almost Home, have it in droves.
Heâs prioritised creativity above all else, designing pitch-perfect products for his community, and prioritising the long term game, over short term monetary gains.
From collaborating with industry giants like Cole Buxton and UVU, to seeing Rio Ferdinand repping his gear at the Champions League Final, Luke joins us for a few Guinness to give his unique take on building a fashion brand in 2025.
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Timestamps:
00:00 Trailer
01:25 Origins of Almost Home
06:10 Taking the leap as a founder
08:30 Building a brand first, ecom store second
09:46 The importance of finding the right co-founder
14:38 The story behind Almost Home's logo
17:24 Daily ups and downs of running a business
21:34 Balancing product quality with a sustainable business
24:32 Working alongside Cole Buxton & UVU
26:37 Why UVU have blown up as a brand
30:23 Nail your product before attempting to scale
33:03 Rio wearing Almost Home at the UCL final
37:11 Getting the basics right as a new founder
42:54 How ALD redefined the retail experience
45:16 Staying true to your brand amidst ever-changing trends
48:49 What Luke knows now, he wish he knew at the start
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60% of marketers say influencer marketing delivers a higher ROI than traditional channels.
Not only does creator marketing work - itâs essential for building a profitable, sustainable brand. The challenge? Itâs overwhelming for marketers without experience, and the landscape is always changing. Thatâs where todayâs episode comes in.
Andy Cloyd and Anders Bill, the brains behind Superfiliate, help the worldâs top DTC brands craft influencer campaigns that actually win. From Chamberlain Coffee and Dr. Squatch to MUD\WTR and Graza, theyâve seen firsthand how hundreds of 7 and 8-figure brands run influencer, affiliate, and referral campaigns.
In this episode, they break down their playbook for success in word-of-mouth marketingâfrom sourcing the right influencers to measuring campaign impact. Whether youâre an influencer pro or launching your first campaign, this oneâs for you!
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Timestamps:
00:00 Trailer
01:00 Intro
02:48 Should every brand be working with influencers?
05:50 Product Creator Fit: Working with creators pre-launch
10:29 Micro-Mentions: Design your product to be shareable
12:11 How to approach your first creator campaign
15:03 Sourcing the right influencers for your brand
17:43 Affiliate, Up-Front or Equity: Structuring influencer deals
22:07 Nailing Discovery: Get to know your creators
27:25 How involved should brands be with content creation?
28:46 Is pay-per-post a risky approach?
30:50 Negotiating paid media deals
37:01 Measuring success with influencer campaigns
44:03 Future of the Creator Economy: What 2025 has in store
48:43 What role will AI play in the creator space?
52:31 Are social platforms facilitating creator/brand relationships?
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Check out the HappyStack website: https://www.happystack.com/
We connect the world's best DTC brands with the software they need to scale efficiently.
___
Follow us across our socials:
- Twitter: https://x.com/happystackhq
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/happystackhq/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happystackhq
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Owning a business is no easy task. But imagine running four successful businesses before the age of 30.
Grace Beverley is the 28-year old entrepreneur, podcaster and social media star behind a multi-million pound empire.
Since building fitness app Shreddy as a student at Oxford, Grace has gone on to launch and scale activewear brand TALA - raising more than ÂŁ5mn in funding in the process.
Basically, she knows what it takes to build brands that actually matter!
Now sheâs shaking up the creator economy with Retrograde, an AI-powered talent agent thatâs revolutionising brand deals.
Join us for an intimate dinner with Grace in Lisbon as we dive into:
â Balancing career ambition with a busy personal life
â The fight to close the gender funding gap, and why it matters
â Why sheâs pulled back from being an influencer despite her huge reach
â And her social content strategy for upcoming creators
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Timestamps:
00:00 Trailer
01:15 Intro
04:55 Building Retrograde: The AI Talent Agent
11:56 Balancing Life With Four Businesses
16:05 VC Funding: The Motherhood Penalty
18:24 Gender Funding Gap: How Do We Fix It
22:47 VC Blind Spot: Female Entrepreneurs Outperform Men
31:35 The Media Gap: Female Entrepreneurs Are Overlooked
34:54 Why Grace Pulled Back From Being An Influencer
41:23 Social Following Doesn't Equal More Revenue
___
Check out the HappyStack website: https://www.happystack.com/
We connect the world's best DTC brands with the software they need to scale efficiently.
___
Follow us across our socials:
- Twitter: https://x.com/happystackhq
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/happystackhq/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happystackhq
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Dan Nugent is no stranger to the world of building brands. Back in 2017, fresh off the birth of their first child, he founded Ambr Eyewear alongside his wife Sacha. The couple built the blue light eyewear brand to 7 figures from their kitchen, winning a host of awards and sealing some lucrative retail partnerships along the way.
The Post-Covid ecom collapse left Ambr Eyewear in turmoil, like so many others in the DTC space. After pausing to reassess the business and mistakes made along the way, Dan relaunched the brand as Everambr, a performance-focused eyewear brand in 2024.
In our chat, Dan dives into some hilarious stories from his time building Ambr, from âalmostâ getting sued by Specsavers, through to his son Theoâs birth on Black Friday as they experienced their biggest ever 24 hours.
The learnings heâs taking into his new journey with Everambr are immensely valuable to anybody building a DTC business in 2025.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:00 When Customer Support Goes Wrong
03:55 Lightbulb Moment: Starting Ambr From The Couch
07:18 Retail Brings Credibility: How Ambr Got Into Brown Thomas
10:00 How Jack Met Dan
12:39 Approach Pricing With Retail In Mind From Day One
15:05 'Almost' Sued By Specsavers
18:11 Lessons From Failure: Importance Of Product Diversification
24:10 Everambr: Moving From Eyewear Towards Performance
28:40 Know Your Financials!!
32:41 Growth Tactics: Gifting Works
36:00 UGC Is Essential In 2025
37:48 Marketing Failures: Avoid TV Ads
40:25 How AI Is Changing The Content Game
45:36 Authenticity Is Key When Building A Brand
47:50 The Appetite To Go Again
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Ryan Babenzien doesn't just follow e-commerce trends - he invents them!
A veteran of the footwear and streetwear industry, Ryan has a long-history with brand building and e-commerce. In 2014 he founded the first digitally-native sneaker brand, Greats - a brand which he exited to fashion giant Steve Madden in 2019. Not one to chill on the beach and bask in his own success, Ryan immediately started Jolie - now one of the fastest brands in the DTC space!
Ryan's journey with Jolie has seen him scale the brand to $50mn in revenue in a three year period, all while maintaining a lean team of just four full-time staff. In our chat he dives into his framework to build a successful DTC business, his not-so-subtle dislike of Meta, his experience exiting an eight-figure brand and how he's using AI to scale his business as leanly as possible.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
02:00 Success With Greats - The First Digitally Native Sneaker Brand
04:01 If Meta Is So Great, Why Are Brands Losing Money?
06:59 Has It Gotten Easier Or Harder To Start A DTC Brand?
10:12 Think About Your Exit Before Starting A Business
14:47 Ryan's Framework For Starting A Successful Brand
17:17 The Importance Of Smart Product Positioning
19:34 Staying Focused To Build A $50m Brand
23:31 Growth Hack: The Water Report
26:12 How To Test Your Market Before Building Your Product
29:44 The Data Problem: We've Prioritized Measurement Over Performance
33:38 How Jolie Scaled To $50m With Three Employees
37:09 Is Software Replacing People in E-Commerce?
40:41 How To Price Your Product
48:41 What's Next For Jolie?
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Here we go, Episode One of Lock-In - and it's a cracker! Our guest this week is Matt Kelly, the founder of Spacegoods - Europe's fastest growing all-in-one Mushroom Coffee blend. His journey through e-commerce has been an absolute rollercoaster, from dropshipping ripped jeans, to building two 8-figure brands before both ultimately entered administration in 2021. It's the learnings he took from these that have helped him build Spacegoods into one of the UK's fastest growing food brands.
Our conversation with Matt is raw and honest. You'll hear everything from his thoughts on VC funding vs bootstrapping, through to his ongoing struggles with hiring. Matt's a marketing genius, and today he dives into his playbook for success, sharing real insight into what's working and what isn't for Spacegoods.
Timestamps:
00:00: Intro
00:45: How Matt Stumbled Into Entrepreneurship
06:30: From Bedroom Brand to $50m - Simple Shit Scales
15:25: Moving Into Retail - Does It Move The Dial For Brands?
17:35: Building A Team - You Should Be Able To Do ÂŁ20M Per Year With 20 People
21:28: Should DTC Brands Raise VC Money?
25:57: Building A Process When Raising Money
29:45: Good Angels Add More Value Than VC's
31:55: What Are The Biggest Challenges Spacegood's Faces?
35:55: Starting A Business With An Influencer - The Key To Fast Growth
40:12: When Influencer Marketing Goes Wrong
42:27: Learning From Failure - What Went Wrong With Neon Beach
50:53: What Do The Next 12 Months Look Like For Spacegoods?
54:24: What's The Biggest Opportunity In E-Commerce Right Now?
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