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Schools & Resources
Is College Necessary for Business?
May 26, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and OpenAI's Sam Altman are college dropouts. We asked Brandon Chicotsky, a professor of marketing at Texas Christian University, if college is worth the time and money.
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Customer Retention
Pet Chinchillas Save Family Business
May 19, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Josh Paulson acquired his grandfather's pet-accessories business when it was losing $25,000 per month. Focusing on pet chinchillas provided the long-term turnaround.
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Business
Influencers, Community Drive Batting Glove Maker
May 12, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Bruce Bolt is a family-owned business in Austin, Texas, that makes and sells baseball batting gloves — for little leaguers to MLB pros.
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Shipping & Fulfillment
Fulfill.com Is a Marketplace of 3PLs
May 5, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
In 2019 Joe Spisak's ecommerce company had gone through three fulfillment companies in 18 months. With Fulfill.com, he aims to ease the difficulty of selecting providers.
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Business
Entrepreneur Left Google to Launch Ballsy
April 28, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Adam Hendle had a dream job with Google. Then he had an idea for a men's hygiene brand.
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Social Media
A Hunger to Learn Drives Paid Social Success
April 21, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Andrew Foxwell launched his agency in 2012, focusing on social media advertising. Amid nonstop industry change, Foxwell concludes successful marketers must adopt a learning mindset.
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Influencers & Affiliates
Pro Boxer Pivots to CBD Wellness
April 14, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Mike Lee was once a 12-0 professional boxer who fought for a world title. Then anxiety and injuries took a toll. Soul, his CBD brand, is the result.
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Content Marketing
Humor Lures Customers for Balls.co
April 7, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Kevin Williams is a no-nonsense investor who ended up owning and running a seller of grooming supplies for male private parts. Here's his story.
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Inventory
T-shirt Seller on Licensing, Drop-shipping, More
March 31, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Kevin Stecko launched 80sTees.com in 2000 selling t-shirts imprinted with pop-culture items. Fast forward to 2023, and the site has 120,000 SKUs.
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Google Ads
Amid Headwinds, SpyGuy Doubles Down
March 24, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Allen Walton has overcome a Google Ads ban, rising competition, personal setbacks, and more.
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Content Marketing
CopySmiths Founder on AI Writing Tools
March 17, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Katrina McKinnon was once wary of artificial intelligence-powered writing tools. Now she embraces them. She sees a coming sea change, with many opportunities for storytellers.
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Amazon & Marketplaces
Amazon Consultant on Competition, Black-hat Sellers
March 10, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Amazon's marketplace in 2023 is crazy competitive. Ken Freeman, a former Amazon seller turned consultant, loves the challenge.
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Business
Concealed Gun Safe Maker Seeks New Markets
March 3, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Tony Smith acquired TimberVaults, a direct-to-consumer seller of concealed gun safes, for the expansion opportunities, such as hidden storage of jewelry and documents.
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Business
Profit from Paid Acquisition Key for Ecom Owner
February 24, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Zack Stuck acquires and launches ecommerce companies. His top rule? Customers acquired from paid campaigns must be immediately profitable.
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Business
The Rolex of Nutritional Supplements
February 17, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Mike Tecku sold his successful Amazon stores, retired, and became bored. His latest venture is Momentum, a maker of nutritional shakes, which he calls "the Rolex of supplements."
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Content Marketing
6 Daily Videos Drive DTC Sword Seller
February 9, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Mini Katana is a direct-to-consumer seller of Samurai-themed letter openers, swords, and related accessories. Just two years old, the business produces a whopping six videos every day. That's 3,000 videos to date.
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Business
Maker of Apple Watch Bands Looks to Diversify
February 3, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Braxton Manley launched Braxley Bands in 2017 from a college project. He's now selling internationally and looking to diversify his product line.
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Business
Ridge Wallet CEO Aims for $1 Billion Exit
January 27, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Sean Frank addresses the overall state of ecommerce in 2022, the perils of excessive debt, and his goal of selling the company within three years.
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Design & Dev Tools
Shopify App Developer Takes on Coupon Leaks
January 20, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Dennis Hegstad's latest Shopify app is called Vigilance. It monitors and blocks unwanted coupon code injections at checkout, saving merchants big bucks.
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Staffing
Entrepreneurs Are Arsonists, Says Business Coach
January 13, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
According to Tim Conley, a business coach, most founders prefer putting out fires in their businesses and neglect long-term strategy. If there are no fires, they often set them.
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Amazon & Marketplaces
End-of-year Reflection and 2023 Forecast
January 6, 2023 • Eric Bandholz
Beardbrand founder Eric Bandholz, the host of the "Ecommerce Conversations" podcast, reflects on his company's performance in 2022 and beyond.
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Customer Retention
Amid a Cash Crunch, OneBlade Retrenches
December 30, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
COO Charles Pyles implemented forced economizing when the company's sole investor couldn't inject additional funds. He shares his story in this week's "Ecommerce Conversations."
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Customer Retention
PetPlate Exec on Selling ‘Human-grade’ Dog Food
December 23, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
PetPlate makes and sells dog food via subscriptions, having launched in 2016. The company's in-house advertising exec describes acquisition tactics and more.
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Influencers & Affiliates
Homes Smell Better with Pura
December 16, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Pura makes and sells smart fragrance diffusers controlled via a phone app. Launched in 2015, the company has scaled to 180 employees. CMO Daniel Lacey tells the story.
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Business
Founder’s Gut Health Inspires Poppi, a Soda
December 9, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Persistent stomach pain prompted Allison Ellsworth to formulate a prebiotic soda, which she named Poppi. That was in 2018. It's now among the fastest-growing beverage brands in the U.S.
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Business
Chaiz Aims to Disrupt Car Warranty Biz
December 2, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Extended auto repair warranties are expensive and inefficient according to Ryan Hartman, chief marketing officer of Chaiz, a startup price comparison marketplace.
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Business
Winc CMO on Complexities of Online Wine Sales
November 25, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Jai Dolwani is chief marketing officer of Winc, a publicly-traded wine membership club. Selling alcohol online in the U.S. is challenging owing to 1920s-era laws on distribution and marketing.
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Business
Investment Banker Shifts to Male Sexual Wellness
November 18, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Jordan Elist launched Mate, a provider of male sexual wellness supplements, in 2020. "I’m the son of a urologist. I grew up learning about men’s sexual health," he says.
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Platforms & Apps
Klaviyo Founder: ‘We’re Good at Storing Data’
November 11, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Andrew Bialecki launched Klaviyo in 2012 as a data repository for other businesses. Then a friend told him about Shopify. Fast forward to 2022 and Klaviyo is a global email-marketing juggernaut.
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Business
Frugal Living Suits ‘My Wife Quit’ Founder
November 4, 2022 • Eric Bandholz
Steve Chou is a successful entrepreneur. But quality of life drives many of his business decisions. Frugal living is one component.