D2C Diaries The Product-Led Strategy That Rebuilt Hera: Holly Beadle
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Most founders obsess over CAC, ad spend and creative testing, but almost no one talks about the thing that actually drives LTV: Product.
In this episode, we sit down with Holly Beadle, CEO of Hera, who took over a legacy fashion brand right before Black Friday and had to rebuild it from the ground up. Just product, operations, and a brutal growth ceiling to solve.
You won’t hear any fluff here. Just the raw truth about:
- What happens when you scale before you’re ready
- How product scaled the brand
- The real role of CX, refunds, and fulfilment in retention
- How Holly thinks about launches, core categories, and loyalty
- What most operators get wrong when they inherit a brand
This isn’t a growth-hack playbook. It’s a look behind the curtain of what rebuilding a real DTC brand actually looks like, especially when product is the lever that works.
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0:00 Hera’s origins & acquisition story
4:14 Early days at Gymshark + MyProtein
6:02 Taking over Hera: product vs. CEO role
8:43 Talent development at The Hut Group
10:30 Hera acquisition: first steps & early struggles
16:19 Product development & trend forecasting
19:47 80/20 rule in product
21:24 Acquisition vs. retention through product
23:57 3 key product tips for founders
29:04 The friction between product & marketing
32:23 Entering new markets & territory growth
36:33 Marketing mix post-acquisition: paid vs. organic
42:12 Influencer collabs + Partnerships
47:08 Growth strategy + Black Friday
52:56 Building the team & hiring for scrappiness
57:06 AI in the business
59:04 A day in the life as CEO & being a parent
1:04:53 Vision for Hera over the next 3–5 years
Follow Holly and Hera
https://www.instagram.com/holly.beadlex/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-beadle-4308b037/
https://heraclothing.com/
Follow Loukas on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/TRI8B
Twitter: https://x.com/LoukasHambi
Follow Olly on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/kPrqO
Twitter: https://x.com/oliverwhudson