Thanks to companies such as Printful, an enterprising entrepreneur can select a product, upload an image to place on it, sync it with her ecommerce site, sell it, and then pay for it. Print-on-demand is big business, and David Hooker is a prominent participant. He's the brand director at Printful and a long-time SaaS executive. In this episode, he addresses POD pricing strategies, sales tactics, merchandising, and more. For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see:...
Jun 26
32 min
The last few years have been rough for Beardbrand, the direct-to-consumer company that host Eric Bandholz founded over a decade ago. He says pretty much nothing has worked post-pandemic. The business is finally seeing revenue growth, but costs are rising too. In this week's podcast episode, Eric departs from interviewing guests to share his own experiences at Beardbrand and his evolution to a more balanced life. For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.pr...
Jun 19
25 min
In 2019 Dane Witbeck had a problem familiar to parents: What were his kids doing on their smartphones? That problem became his motivation to launch Pinwheel, an Austin, Texas-based seller of Android phones with parental controls for apps, usage limits, monitoring, and more. Fast forward to 2026, and Pinwheel is thriving and profitable. In this episode, Dane shares his company's production process, marketing tactics, economic model, and more. For an edited and condensed transcript with embedd...
Jun 12
36 min
Florence Morin is an artist-turned-engineer-turned-entrepreneur. She graduated from Canada's Polytechnique Montréal in 2013, only to realize she disliked engineering work. She longed to earn a living from making art. Fast forward to 2026, and Florence Art & Drawing is her online art school, launched in 2020, selling classes and instruction. Her 10-person team includes web developers, instructors, and support staff. In this episode, she shares her tactics for course content, customer acq...
Jun 5
35 min
For four years Eric Steckling has run two direct-to-consumer brands. Brio, the company he founded in 2014, sells beard trimmers and related goods. In 2022, he acquired Ollie, then a seller of teeth-whitening strips and now an expanded oral care provider. Eric first appeared on the podcast in 2023. In this latest conversation, he addresses Brio's challenges of selling long-lasting goods, Ollie's opportunity with consumable items, and juggling the two. For an edited and condensed transcript wi...
May 29
29 min
Please enjoy this repeat of a popular episode first aired in April 2025. Mehtab Bhogal is the co-founder of Karta Ventures, a Canada-based acquirer of troubled ecommerce businesses. The firm seeks companies with "issues," such as unpaid taxes, regulatory problems, and founder disputes. He says buying distressed companies is like salvaging a crashed car. "What are the parts worth?" he asks. In this episode, he addresses identifying hidden value, turnaround tactics, seller concerns, and more...
May 22
38 min
When he appeared on this podcast in 2021, Bryan Mahoney had just co-founded Chord, an ecommerce platform that separated the public frontend from the nuts-and-bolts backend. It was a "headless" structure that enabled merchants to connect with their preferred external providers rather than a one-size-fits-all solution. The problem, Bryan says in retrospect, was a complicated setup that required replatforming. What merchants wanted was his tools that consolidated data from external vendors for ...
May 15
36 min
We've hit a plateau at Beardbrand, the direct-to-consumer business I launched 15 years ago. Our revenue is down from its peak. We've made mistakes. The beard care space has dried up. We've moved from a blue ocean of growth and opportunity to a red ocean of fierce competition. If Beardbrand grows, a competitor loses, and vice versa. In this episode, I'll depart from my typical interview format and share our plans for moving Beardbrand forward. My goal is to help other merchants in similar ci...
May 8
32 min
Contrary to much U.S. sentiment, Molson Hart sees opportunity in China. His direct-to-consumer toy brand, Viahart, sells mostly on Amazon, though growth has slowed in recent years. China, he says, offers promise. In this our third interview (following episodes in 2022 and 2024), recorded from an X live stream, he shares his plans to sell toys in China, addressing cultural nuances, legalities, shopping preferences, and more. For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: ht...
May 1
33 min
Chris Wichert is an investment banker turned direct-to-consumer entrepreneur. His luxury shoe brand, Koio, launched in 2015 and quickly scaled. Then the pandemic hit. By late 2022, he says, the D2C hype and funding had collapsed. He slashed costs, stabilized cash flow, and successfully exited the company. In this episode, he shares his story of boom, bust, and survival. For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/surviving-d2cs-boom-a...
Apr 24
37 min
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