Lock-In by HappyStack 🥞

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.

Connor Martin, founder of The Essence Vault, grew his fragrance empire from street markets to multimillion-pound success straight from his bedroom. He shares how experimenting with small batches and learning on YouTube led to viral sales during COVID. Connor discusses leveraging TikTok for brand growth, unique product launches, and the importance of direct consumer feedback. He reveals insights on supply chain strategies and the challenges of fulfilling massive orders, all while aiming for eco-friendly practices and innovation in the booming fragrance market.

Yanni Hufnagel isn’t your typical founder. He’s a former basketball coach that brings energy and motivation to the business world in a way we haven’t 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. ____Timestamps:00:00 Trailer01:35 The Initial Idea for Lemon Perfect05:34 Fractional Resources: Running a Brand as a Solo Founder08:47 Why Athletes Make Great Entrepreneurs12:00 Wins & Losses in Year 1: The Pivot Away from Refrigerated15:50 Tips for Getting Into Retail21:27 The Impact of Celebrity Endorsements24:34 Why Building a Beverage Company is a Streetfight26:22 How Beyonce Became an Investor29:06 The Next 24 Months___Follow us across our socials:- Twitter: https://x.com/happystackhq- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/happystackhq/- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happystackhq___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.___Check out Yanni & Lemon Perfect:https://www.linkedin.com/in/yhufnagel/https://www.instagram.com/yanni/https://x.com/yhufnagel___#ecommerce #podcast #founder #business #makemoneyonline #lemonperfect Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. He’s 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. ___Timestamps:00:00 Trailer01:25 Origins of Almost Home06:10 Taking the leap as a founder08:30 Building a brand first, ecom store second09:46 The importance of finding the right co-founder14:38 The story behind Almost Home's logo17:24 Daily ups and downs of running a business21:34 Balancing product quality with a sustainable business24:32 Working alongside Cole Buxton & UVU26:37 Why UVU have blown up as a brand30:23 Nail your product before attempting to scale33:03 Rio wearing Almost Home at the UCL final37:11 Getting the basics right as a new founder42:54 How ALD redefined the retail experience45:16 Staying true to your brand amidst ever-changing trends48:49 What Luke knows now, he wish he knew at the start Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

60% of marketers say influencer marketing delivers a higher ROI than traditional channels.Not only does creator marketing work - it’s essential for building a profitable, sustainable brand. The challenge? It’s overwhelming for marketers without experience, and the landscape is always changing. That’s where today’s episode comes in.Andy Cloyd and Anders Bill, the brains behind Superfiliate, help the world’s top DTC brands craft influencer campaigns that actually win. From Chamberlain Coffee and Dr. Squatch to MUD\WTR and Graza, they’ve 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 marketing—from sourcing the right influencers to measuring campaign impact. Whether you’re an influencer pro or launching your first campaign, this one’s for you!___Timestamps:00:00 Trailer01:00 Intro02:48 Should every brand be working with influencers?05:50 Product Creator Fit: Working with creators pre-launch10:29 Micro-Mentions: Design your product to be shareable12:11 How to approach your first creator campaign15:03 Sourcing the right influencers for your brand17:43 Affiliate, Up-Front or Equity: Structuring influencer deals22:07 Nailing Discovery: Get to know your creators27:25 How involved should brands be with content creation?28:46 Is pay-per-post a risky approach?30:50 Negotiating paid media deals37:01 Measuring success with influencer campaigns44:03 Future of the Creator Economy: What 2025 has in store48:43 What role will AI play in the creator space?52:31 Are social platforms facilitating creator/brand relationships?___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 £5mn in funding in the process. Basically, she knows what it takes to build brands that actually matter! Now she’s shaking up the creator economy with Retrograde, an AI-powered talent agent that’s revolutionising brand deals.Join us for an intimate dinner with Grace in Lisbon as we dive into:✅  Balancing career ambition with a busy personal life✅  The fight to close the gender funding gap, and why it matters✅  Why she’s pulled back from being an influencer despite her huge reach✅  And her social content strategy for upcoming creators___Timestamps:00:00 Trailer01:15 Intro04:55 Building Retrograde: The AI Talent Agent11:56 Balancing Life With Four Businesses16:05 VC Funding: The Motherhood Penalty18:24 Gender Funding Gap: How Do We Fix It22:47 VC Blind Spot: Female Entrepreneurs Outperform Men31:35 The Media Gap: Female Entrepreneurs Are Overlooked34:54 Why Grace Pulled Back From Being An Influencer41:23 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 ‘almost’ getting sued by Specsavers, through to his son Theo’s birth on Black Friday as they experienced their biggest ever 24 hours. The learnings he’s taking into his new journey with Everambr are immensely valuable to anybody building a DTC business in 2025.Timestamps:00:00 Intro01:00 When Customer Support Goes Wrong03:55 Lightbulb Moment: Starting Ambr From The Couch07:18 Retail Brings Credibility: How Ambr Got Into Brown Thomas10:00 How Jack Met Dan12:39 Approach Pricing With Retail In Mind From Day One15:05 'Almost' Sued By Specsavers18:11 Lessons From Failure: Importance Of Product Diversification24:10 Everambr: Moving From Eyewear Towards Performance28:40 Know Your Financials!!32:41 Growth Tactics: Gifting Works36:00 UGC Is Essential In 202537:48 Marketing Failures: Avoid TV Ads40:25 How AI Is Changing The Content Game45:36 Authenticity Is Key When Building A Brand47:50 The Appetite To Go Again Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Timestamps00:00 Intro02:00 Success With Greats - The First Digitally Native Sneaker Brand04:01 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 Business14:47 Ryan's Framework For Starting A Successful Brand17:17 The Importance Of Smart Product Positioning19:34 Staying Focused To Build A $50m Brand23:31 Growth Hack: The Water Report26:12 How To Test Your Market Before Building Your Product29:44 The Data Problem: We've Prioritized Measurement Over Performance33:38 How Jolie Scaled To $50m With Three Employees37:09 Is Software Replacing People in E-Commerce?40:41 How To Price Your Product48:41 What's Next For Jolie? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Kelly, founder of Spacegoods and a veteran in e-commerce, shares his extraordinary journey from dropshipping to creating Europe’s fastest-growing mushroom coffee brand. He discusses the importance of bootstrapping versus VC funding and reveals strategic insights into scaling businesses effectively. Matt delves into hiring challenges, his growth plans for Spacegoods, and the complexities of retail partnerships. He also reflects on past failures, highlighting valuable lessons learned along the way as he strategizes for the future.