Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup
Matthew Gohl took over the family business, Santevia, and turned it into a DTC powerhouse. In this episode, he breaks down how they scaled Amazon 2X, rebuilt their Meta ads strategy from the ground up, and landed a killer deal on Dragon’s Den.
For DTC operators scaling beyond $5M and navigating Meta + Amazon growth channels:
- Why switching from Vendor Central to Seller Central was worth the 16-month headache
- How a $25 hero product failed on Meta, and why their $320 glass system now crushes
- The role of creative strategy in hitting $100K+ weekly spend without tanking ROAS
- How they prepped their brand for Dragon’s Den—and doubled baseline sales after
- The case for launching refillable, eco-focused SKUs in 2026
Who this is for: DTC operators, marketers, and founders looking to scale with lean teams and high-margin SKUs.
What to steal:
- Creative briefing process that reduces wasted ad spend
- Why Meta sees "different creators" as "same ad" (and how to fix it)
- How to make a high-ticket product actually work in cold acquisition
Timestamps:
00:00 Why creative diversity (not campaign complexity) is the real Meta unlock
03:05 Buying the family business and shifting from retail-first to DTC
06:48 Revenue dips, imposter syndrome, and trusting the long-term strategy
09:15 From 1 video every 2 weeks to 60 creatives by Friday (creative velocity shift)
13:02 Why hero products with higher AOV unlock profitable Meta spend
16:19 Meta’s Andromeda explained: aggregation + creative volume wins
30:34 Dragon’s Den moment: “I own that one” and why endorsements change everything
Hashtags:
#DTC #Ecommerce #MetaAds #CreativeStrategy #BrandBuilding #PerformanceMarketing #DirectToConsumer #PaidSocial #AdCreative #MarketingPodcast #EcommerceGrowth #ScalingBrands #FounderStory #Dragon’sDen #BFCM #RetailStrategy
Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup
Advertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertise
Work with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse
Follow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletter
