Let's be Blunt (literally), CBD is a modern day gold rush, especially within the beauty industry. Hear from BLUNT Founder, Stas Chirkov on how he started his brand, how he navigates the tricky world of CBD, and how everything his brand does is grounded in science and research. It's not easy being a founder, Stas shares challenges and successes he faced along the way and plenty of savvy on what it takes to launch a product, grow a brand, and live out your dream.   Don't forget to follow us on social media!   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/product_savvy/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/productsavvypodcast/   Where to find Stas and Blunt:   Stas IG: https://Instagram.com/stasschi Blunt IG: https://instagram.com/blunt.skincare

Today, Courtney and Norah are stepping outside of their usual beauty and lifestyle bubble to interview Chris Meade, Co-Founder of Crossnet, the world's first 4 square volleyball game.This is one of those stories where an idea strikes and you immediately get to work on how to make it happen. Chris, his (co-founder) brother and their friends had the idea to combine the games of four square and volleyball and engineered a net in their own backyard after a quick trip to Walmart for supplies. The rest is history. Crossnet has had amazing success in the retail and e-commerce space (Academy, Dicks Sporting Goods, Target.com, Walmart.com, Amazon.com and more) as well as introducing their innovation into school systems and fitness programs across the country. Chris fills us in on how they were able to create a product and scale their business with conservative and strategic spending, a scalable ad strategy, diversifying influencer reach, streamlined operations and one really amazing partnership that changed the game (literally). Here more from a founder who has SO much savvy to share.    Don't forget to follow us on social media!   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/product_savvy/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/productsavvypodcast/   Where to find Chris and Crossnet: [email protected] www.crossnetgame.com   Instagram: @crossnet Facebook: @crossnetgame

"Too often brands and founders get into this headspace that copy is meant to convert and we get sucked into the conversion side which sounds like you are trying to bring someone into your religion rather than understand who they are…" This is just one powerful soundbite from today's episode where Courtney and Norah chat with Katie Joy Blanksma, an extremely talented, seasoned copywriter and messaging strategist who's worked with brands like The Honest Company and Nordstrom to help bring their stories to life. Her writing spans traditional journalism, multi-channel print and web copywriting, marketing emails, blogging, SEO optimization, and video script writing. These three dive deep into the power of messaging and how your brand should navigate the current landscape as a start-up or an established name. Katie Joy walks us through her process, her messaging ethos and shares some of her favorite brands who are hitting home runs when it comes to crafting their message.  And of course she shares plenty of messaging savvy.  If you are interested in working with Katie Joy after hearing all of her genius and expertise on messaging in this episode you can reach out to her at [email protected]. You won't regret it! Don't forget to follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/product_savvy/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/productsavvypodcast/  

E-comm! E-comm! E-comm! We live in an Amazon world where retail is slowly dying, people expect free, speedy shipping and want to make most of their purchasing decisions while scrolling on their i-Phones. Today, Courtney and Norah bring on their dear friend and colleague, Martha Benari, a web design and UI/UX expert who has helped build incredible e-commerce sites for IT Cosmetics, California Baby and so many more. Martha not only has an amazing eye for design but also knows that web performance is key to driving conversions (sales!) on a site. In today's conversation, we chat through what to expect from the process of working with a designer or agency to build your website, some common road-blocks or pain points between a founder and a web team and how to avoid, and of course we gush all about some of our favorite e-commerce sites and why they are so GOOD.

This week, Courtney Flynn and Norah Curlee kick off the pod with a good ole' marketing chat. Norah has 10 years in the marketing field under her belt, starting off as a graphic designer building brand identities to eventually submerging herself into content marketing, social media, and influencer marketing. In today's conversation (the first of many!), Courtney and Norah talk about the dynamic between a founder and their marketing team, the marketing shift towards inclusivity and diversity, and some of our favorite brands who are doing it RIGHT. Stay tuned to the end of the pod, where they discuss the genius behind the Shane Dawson and Jeffree Starr Conspiracy Collection launch and why this revolutionary content strategy could change the game for beauty brands.