Earned: Unlocking the Power of the Creator Economy

Today's episode of Earned might sound a bit different…that's because it is! This week, we wanted to share Conor's conversation with BeautyMatter founder and CEO Kelly Kovack from her own podcast, "It's a Matter of…" This time, it's a matter of "Earned." To start the show, Conor shares the origin story for Tribe Dynamics, which he co-founded nearly a decade ago at the forefront of the influencer marketing boom. Kelly and Conor reflect on how the space has accelerated since then to become a $100 billion industry, and Conor unpacks a few of the "new rules" governing the relationships between brands, creators, and social media platforms. Conor also offers advice to small brand startups around building successful, sustainable influencer marketing programs. Kelly and Conor then explore how influencer marketing has shifted from a side task for interns to a sophisticated area of focus for many brands, and Conor reveals the most important influencer KPIs brands should be measuring. The pair also discuss TikTok's takeover, and how other social platforms are attempting to compete. To end the show, Conor shares the influencer marketing trends currently on his radar, and gives his thoughts on the metaverse.

In Episode 58 of Earned, Conor sits down with beauty investor Rich Gersten, co-founder and Managing Partner of beauty-focused growth fund (and newly announced Tribe Dynamics partner) True Beauty Ventures. To start the episode, Rich walks us through his career trajectory, unpacking his transition from private equity to venture capital, before explaining how he wound up investing exclusively in beauty brands. We then learn why he founded True Beauty Ventures at the end of 2019 to provide capital and guidance to smaller beauty businesses. Next, Rich shines a light on the qualities that distinguish a successful investor, emphasizing that the investment business is all about pattern recognition, so specialization is key. We also hear which characteristics of effective brand founders make Rich keen to invest, before learning about the metrics and KPIs that he values most. To close the show, Rich shares the knowledge he gained from investments that didn't turn out as expected, and how those takeaways have informed True Beauty Ventures' brand mentorship program.

In Episode 57 of Earned, we sit down with Jake Danehy, co-founder and CEO of sustainable beachwear brand Fair Harbor. To start the episode, we dive into how Jake and his sister/co-founder Caroline conceived the idea for Fair Harbor—named after their hometown on Fire Island—while in college, after learning about how plastic bottles can be converted into yarn. We learn how the brand generated the majority of its early revenue from trunk shows, and how consumer insights from these events inspired Fair Harbor's anti-chafe, meshless lining for its hero boardshorts (made almost entirely of upcycled plastic). Jake reveals how the clothing brand has seen unexpected advertising success from radio,TV, and even beachfront plane banners, before explaining why it was important for Fair Harbor to become a B Corp. We hear why Jake's sister Caroline was the perfect co-founder, and Jake shares why he believes the two are the right pair to move the brand closer to their ultimate goal: becoming the next iconic American heritage brand.

In Ep. 56 of Earned, we sit down with Jeff Lee, co-founder and CEO of DIBS ("Desert Island Beauty Status"), the beauty brand created in partnership with star influencer Courtney Shields. We start by unpacking Jeff's many noteworthy accomplishments, including earning his MBA at Stanford and his law degree at Yale, coaching several successful Miss Universe pageant contestants, visiting every Equinox gym across the world, and serving as COO for former MLB shortstop Alex Rodriguez's A-Rod Corp investment firm—all before launching DIBS Beauty. Jeff reveals how he manages and prioritizes his time to allow him to invest in his varied pursuits, before explaining why he decided to transition from attorney to brand operator. We dive into his time at A-Rod Corp, and hear how he got the job (despite not knowing who A-Rod was), as well as the team-building learnings he took away with him. Jeff then shares why he thinks following your passion is the "worst career advice," and why you should instead pursue your "superpower." Next, we discuss how DIBS Beauty came to be, and the key factors contributing to the brand's rapid growth, before closing the show by learning Jeff's guiding principles that help him navigate challenging times.

In Ep. 55 of Earned, we sit down with Dan Reich—entrepreneur, investor, and co-founder of top-ranking, probiotic-powered skincare brand TULA. We start the episode by diving into Dan's entrepreneurial trajectory, beginning with his first company in high school, to co-founding software companies Spinback and Troops, both of which were acquired by Salesforce, to launching TULA with Ken Landis and Dr. Roshini Raj. We learn why Dan decided to hire an outside CEO for TULA, and what made both Julia Straus (now the CEO of Sweaty Betty) and current leader Savannah Sachs the best fits for the role. Dan then shares the rationale behind TULA's influencer marketing philosophies and approach, explaining why the brand looked beyond the traditional beauty influencer to drive momentum. We unpack the differences between the influencer relationships that worked well for TULA versus those that didn't, and Dan emphasizes the importance of building long-lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships. To close the show, we discuss the evolution of the social media landscape, and Dan reiterates why word-of-mouth marketing, a tactic as old as time, is only going to continue to accelerate.

On Ep. 54 of Earned, we spoke to Doug Jensen, SVP of Go-to-Market Analytics & Activation for the Estée Lauder Companies (ELC). We start the episode by unpacking what Doug's analytics-focused role entails, and learn more about his path from statistical analyst to business consultant to beauty analytics expert. We then explore how Doug leverages an industry technique called "marketing mix modeling" to understand the impact that various marketing tactics have on ELC's sales, search, and traffic. Doug explains how measuring all parts of the marketing funnel can help prove a strong relationship between influencer marketing and sales. From there, we dive deeper into the effect that content creators and social media have on consumer sales, before discussing ELC's viral TikTok campaigns and learnings from the platform. To close the show, Doug emphasizes how his job is not measurement for the sake of measurement, but rather measurement in service of an outcome: brands and marketers making better decisions.

In Episode 53 of Earned, Conor sits down with skincare veteran Susan Yara, powerhouse YouTuber and co-founder of ingredient-focused skincare line NATURIUM. We start the episode by diving into Susan's career path, from her stint as a broadcast news reporter to her time as an online beauty editor. After recapping these experiences, Susan shares why she decided to transition to launching her own beauty-focused YouTube channel, Mixed Makeup. Susan reveals how the name represents her unique perspective as a half Latina, half Korean woman, and explains why she wanted to focus her channel on skincare concerns for women aged 25-40. Susan also gives advice for building and growing a community by creating valuable content that people can learn from and connect with. Additionally, we discuss the importance of mastering one social media platform rather than spreading your efforts too thin across them all, and why building a passionate community spurs longevity for your career. We then switch gears to NATURIUM, and Susan emphasizes how having a team of industry veterans has helped the brand navigate the pandemic and recent supply chain issues. Finally, Susan shares why she believes it's a mistake to focus on creating viral products, before explaining why NATURIUM prioritizes relationships with micro-influencers.

In Ep. 52 of Earned, Conor sits down with fellow B2B social media marketing software leader Thomas Rankin, co-founder and CEO of Dash Hudson. To start the episode, Thomas explains how Dash Hudson puts creative at the center of everything they do, as well as how the brand helps its clients understand which creative will perform well and deepen consumer relationships. Thomas reveals that Dash Hudson was originally created to be a consumer shopping app, then shares why the company ultimately pivoted its focus, along with the key learnings that contributed to its success today. We learn how Thomas determined Dash Hudson's ICP, and hear how he "hustled" to cut through the noise and acquire the company's first set of customers. Switching gears, Thomas details the winning creative strategies that today's top brands are using to produce impactful owned media across their channels. To close the show, we talk about TikTok, and Thomas previews the innovative features that Dash Hudson is rolling out to help brands optimize their performance on the platform.

In Ep. 51 of Earned, we sit down with Wall Street wizard Stephanie Wissink, Managing Director at global investment bank Jefferies. Stephanie answers all of our burning questions about the state of the market right now, including: are we entering a recession? And if so, how will that impact consumer behavior, and what will that mean for brands? From there, we explore how companies have responded to market volatility in the past, and Stephanie walks us through the changing state of the economy from pre-pandemic to today. Next, we unpack the three biggest impacts the pandemic had on consumers and the markets, before diving into one of today's top concerns: inflation. Stephanie shares how COVID-19, supply chain issues, and the war in Ukraine have disrupted the global economy and impacted consumer spending, leaving brands and businesses in an unexpected state of recalibration. Finally, we switch gears to the proliferation of social media platforms, and close the show by discussing the industries and verticals where influencer marketing has had the greatest impact.

It's our 50th episode of Earned! Today we're sitting down with David Chung, founder of Farmacy Beauty and CEO of innovation and manufacturing company iLABS. To start the episode, David walks us through his impressive entrepreneurial journey, and we hear how his frustrations with third-party contract manufacturers led him to launch OEM and ODM manufacturing company Englewood LAB. David then shares why he wanted to shift his focus to brand building with the launch of Farmacy Beauty, before revealing the challenges that led him to launch innovation-focused, full-service manufacturing company iLABS. We then discuss the importance of building strong relationships both personally and professionally, and David explains why he values a company's reputation over revenue. Next, we talk about the factors that contributed to the success of Farmacy Beauty, a brand at the forefront of the clean beauty movement which was recently acquired by P&G. We then dive into iLABS, with David sharing how it's different from Englewood LAB, and why the focus is on R&D and innovation and helping small businesses grow. To close the show, we talk about the brands David has in incubation right now, and where he's seeing pockets of demand and opportunity in the space. To show our thanks for your support over the last 50 episodes, we're giving away $100 to 50 listeners! Click here to enter the raffle: https://www.tribedynamics.com/earned-influencer-marketing-podcast-50th-episode-celebration