Ecommerce Conversations
Practical Ecommerce
Ecommerce Conversations is the long-running weekly podcast from Practical Ecommerce, hosted by ecommerce entrepreneur Eric Bandholz. •• Listen in as Eric interviews in-the-trenches founders and executives who address the essentials of launching, growing, and sustaining an online business. Hear their successes, mistakes, and plans — addressing customer acquisition, web traffic, marketing tactics, on-site conversion, shipping, favorite tools, funding, obstacles, and much more. •• New episodes every Friday. Subscribe to the podcast here, and then read a condensed transcript at https://www.PracticalEcommerce.com/tag/podcasts.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Aug 6, 2021 • 30min
Greenbelly Founder Leaves Accounting, Thrives with Backpacking Meals
Chris Cage founded Greenbelly, a maker of high-nutrition meal bars for backpackers, after having left his accounting job and traveling the world. That was in 2014. Fast forward to 2021, and the business is thriving.
Jul 30, 2021 • 30min
Entrepreneur Loses $6 Million, Bounces Back
Shakil Prasla recently made a big mistake. An astute ecommerce operator and owner, Prasla purchased in late 2020 Covid-related protective gloves at roughly twice the ultimate selling price. His company, Gloves.com, lost $6 million.
Jul 23, 2021 • 26min
Keyword Sleuthing Propels Niche Publisher
Content marketing can be difficult. But not for Kyle Boureston. He's an editor and publisher. His company, Boureston Media, runs seven content sites around niches. He's refined his topic selection and production methods over the years to engage visitors from organic search. Boureston's insights can help ecommerce companies improve their content marketing efforts.
Jul 16, 2021 • 30min
Hustle Exec: Ecommerce Firms Should Acquire Content Providers
Adam Ryan joined The Hustle in August 2016, four months after its launch. He was a part-time employee responsible for generating advertising revenue. By February 2021, when HubSpot acquired it, he was president. Ryan is now an investor and consultant, advising companies on content strategies that engage prospects.
Jul 9, 2021 • 29min
Happiness, not Profit, Drives Grasshopper Founder
Having sold Grasshopper, the virtual phone service, for $175 million in 2015, David Hauser assessed his priorities. Grasshopper was his third launch and exit, following ReturnPath (email services) and Chargify (subscription management). "I decided to optimize for happiness, not for return on capital or profit," he said.
Jul 2, 2021 • 28min
Entrepreneur's Eczema Inspires New Skincare Company
Felipe Correa is a pro at product development, custom manufacturing, and logistics. He also knows much about skin lotions, as he had eczema when young. And it's his frustrations with eczema that inspired Goodspread, a direct-to-consumer seller of skincare products that launched on June 7.
Jun 25, 2021 • 30min
Vitaman.com Seeks Real Men for Hair, Skin Care
On his website, Antonio Centeno lists the businesses he owns. They include Real Men Real Style, a blog and a YouTube channel with millions of readers and subscribers. Menfluential Media is an influencer ad network. And there's Vitaman.com, a direct-to-consumer seller of organic skin and hair products for men. Centeno launched the site in early 2020.
Jun 18, 2021 • 31min
Girlfriend's Eyelashes Spur DTC Entrepreneur
What prompts an entrepreneur to enter the eyelash industry? For Jason Wong, it was watching his girlfriend apply makeup. Just 23, Wong is a Los Angeles-based serial entrepreneur and consultant. His latest company, Doe Lashes, launched two years ago as a direct-to-consumer seller of comfortable, lightweight eyelashes.
Jun 11, 2021 • 30min
Berlin Brands’ Exec on Ecommerce Acquisitions, Technology, More
Berlin Brands Group started on eBay 15 years ago. It is now a global ecommerce powerhouse, with over $300 million in annual revenue across a dozen or more brands. Managing Director Christian Salza addresses the company's acquisition process, its focus on technology, and more.
Jun 4, 2021 • 29min
Form Nutrition Finds Opportunity in a Crowded Market
Is there a more competitive consumer market than nutritional supplements? I asked that question to Damian Soong, the co-founder of Form Nutrition, a maker and seller of plant-based proteins and food products, which launched in 2017 in the U.K. He and I recently discussed starting the business, nutritional goods, bootstrapping, and more.
