You know that little feeling in the back of your throat that makes you feel emotions towards someone else? Yeah— it’s called empathy, and True Classic’s CEO, Ryan Bartlett, is here to explain why it's the one thing that will distinguish your D2C brand from the rest of the crowd. Nik and Moiz talk to Ryan about the importance of empathy in company culture, how he fosters that mindset daily within the walls of True Classic Tees, and why hiring emotionally intelligent people is critical to negating workplace toxicity. Ryan also unveils his playbook for hiring powerhouse players— and spoiler alert— it doesn’t involve recruiters or running ads. So, lay off the LinkedIn for a bit, bucko, because, according to him, the best employees probably aren’t even looking for jobs. Time to go poach some Grade A eggs!Plus, find out why growth and valuation are simply a high-stakes game of EBIDTA and retention, and what True Classic is doing to perfect their model.  0:00 Guess That Business12:00 True Classic & Ben19:52 Creating a Great Culture33:30 Becoming More Creative40:15 Going Viral42:00 The Hiring Process53:00 Mr. Sharma’s Hiring Process1:00:00 Growth and Valuation1:10:31 Mobile App MetricsCheck Out True Classic Tees: Website: https://www.trueclassictees.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/trueclassic/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@trueclassicFollow Ryan: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rbtct/Follow Nik:Twitter: twitter.com/mrsharmaFollow Moiz:Twitter: twitter.com/moizaliThis episode was brought to you by Tapcart: Mobile Apps for Shopify.If you are looking to improve your store’s mobile revenue performance, then check out Tapcart and get your first 2 months free at https://tapcart.com/limitedCheck out the Nik’s DTC newsletter: https://bit.ly/3mOUJMJ

This week, the boys are breaking down a few of the most disruptive grey hat marketers in the industry, including the case of an imitation mayonnaise company that was buying its own product and stashing it in warehouses, the bone broth brand beefing up its D2C sales through Instacart, and the merits of using guerilla marketing to mess up the retargeting pool of Facebook ads. Don’t hate the player… hate the millennial marketer trying to game the system.Plus, Nik and Moiz tackle the rise of TikTok’s newest shop feature and explain which brands are crushing the organic advertising game. Then, they delve into Shop Pay’s announcement that it’ll be offered outside of Shopify and discuss the woman waging her own odyssey against Amazon Prime’s manipulative tactics.  0:00 Intro/Guess That Business10:26 TikTok Shopping27:38 Creative Thinking43:00 Shop Pay49:17 Amazon FTC Complaint This episode was brought to you by Tapcart: Mobile Apps for Shopify. If you are looking to improve your store’s mobile revenue performance, then check out Tapcart and get your first 2 months free at https://tapcart.com/limited Check out the Nik’s DTC newsletter: https://bit.ly/3mOUJMJ Follow Nik:Twitter: twitter.com/mrsharma Follow Moiz:Twitter: twitter.com/moizali

What happens when an online pharmacy starts committing insurance fraud? This week, Nik and Moiz are breaking down the scandal behind the now-defunct company, The Pill Club— and it’s a good one.Then, is Apple Vision Pro dumb, really dumb, or just naturally designed for the citizens of San Francisco and Silicon Valley who can’t travel without their double monitors? And speaking of Apple— why is the latest edition of iOS attempting to kill tracking parameters? Plus, find out how the guys would structure a marketing department for businesses of different sizes, and later, stay tuned for Moiz’s brilliant business plan involving loads of liquids, essential oils, and Whole Foods. 0:00 Guess that Brand13:40 Bed, Bath and Beyond17:00 The Pill Club28:40 Apple Vision Pro/iOS 1738:00 Structuring a Marketing Department49:15 Moiz’s Business Idea This episode was brought to you by Tapcart: Mobile Apps for Shopify. If you are looking to improve your store’s mobile revenue performance, then check out Tapcart and get your first 2 months free at https://tapcart.com/limited Check out the Nik’s DTC newsletter: https://bit.ly/3mOUJMJ Follow Nik:Twitter: twitter.com/mrsharma Follow Moiz:Twitter: twitter.com/moizali

What the heck is Singles Day? And how can your business take advantage of it?Nik and Moiz are talking all things shopping holidays— Prime Day, Singles Day, Shop Day— and what you should be doing with them in order to maximize your sales. The guys also get into a debate over which furniture store is the biggest of the Pottery Barn brands, what analytics tools are most useful when it comes to analyzing your site’s metrics, and which post-purchase upsells you should be taking advantage of. Then, stay tuned while they try to decipher what a “people-powered pharma with a decentralized structure where people can buy love tokens with Ethereum or another reserve currency for homeopathic and other pharmaceutical alternatives” actually sells...  Yeah, someone needs to be fired for that one. This episode was brought to you by Tapcart: Mobile Apps for Shopify. If you are looking to improve your store’s mobile revenue performance, then check out Tapcart and get your first 2 months free at https://tapcart.com/limited Check out the Nik’s DTC newsletter: https://bit.ly/3mOUJMJ Follow Nik:Twitter: twitter.com/mrsharma Follow Moiz:Twitter: twitter.com/moizali

What’s got Nik so amped up about cutting company costs this week? That’s right— it’s that time of year again for the Commerce Summit, and Nik’s sharing his greatest takeaways from the annual convention, including why you should always outsource jobs without any upward mobility, why gross revenue is truly irrelevant, and how often you should be doing a company audit. Then, the guys are tackling some shit— including how Temu’s managing to sell such cheap shit using cutthroat shipping and manufacturing tactics and why awards like the Shook List and Susan G. Komen list are full of shit. Yeah, shots fired, Susan.This episode was brought to you by Tapcart: Mobile Apps for Shopify. If you are looking to improve your store’s mobile revenue performance, then check out Tapcart and get your first 2 months free at https://tapcart.com/limited Check out the Nik’s DTC newsletter: https://bit.ly/3mOUJMJ Follow Nik:Twitter: twitter.com/mrsharma Follow Moiz:Twitter: twitter.com/moizali

Shitty pro-life tip #1: Create more friction for your customer returns. Shitty pro-life tip #2: Sometimes, it takes doing a lot of illegal stuff accidentally, to find out what’s legal as a DTC brand. This week the boys are diving into the world of prescription regulation and DTC brands, why the HBO Max rebrand is dumb AF, and how Amazon’s starting to push in-store returns… As it turns out, too many returns aren’t so great for business— who woulda thunk?Plus, did Ulysses S. Grant love to fight because of all of the Molly he was on? Yeah, things take a weird turn in this ep…This episode was brought to you by Tapcart: Mobile Apps for Shopify.If you are looking to improve your store’s mobile revenue performance, then check out Tapcart and get your first 2 months free at https://tapcart.com/limitedCheck out the Nik’s DTC newsletter: https://bit.ly/3mOUJMJFollow Nik:Twitter: twitter.com/mrsharmaFollow Moiz:Twitter: twitter.com/moizali

Who’s got Nik ready to commit murder today? And what’s Trump got to do with it?First, the boys start off playing another round of “Guess This Business” with a publicly traded company out of Dallas that’s valued at over $130 million before Nik delves into what exactly is making his blood boil this week (hint: it’s someone who’s great at bloodsucking). Then, the guys discuss the fast fashion industry and whether or not sustainable fashion actually exists. Plus, stay tuned to hear Nik’s advice on the importance of providing social proof of your product and when exactly the best time to recruit influencers to promote your product is.  This episode was brought to you by Tapcart: Mobile Apps for Shopify. If you are looking to improve your store’s mobile revenue performance, then check out Tapcart and get your first 2 months free at https://tapcart.com/limited0:00 The Agenda/Guess This Business10:30 ADA Lawsuit13:10 AI Chatbots & Compliance 19:35 Shein & Chinese Fast Fashion25:58 Nik Plays Big Brother37:04 Shopify FulfillmentCheck out the Nik’s DTC newsletter: https://bit.ly/3mOUJMJ Follow Nik:Twitter: twitter.com/mrsharma Follow Moiz:Twitter: twitter.com/moizali

Make money with those mommies.This week, the boys are diving into the mommy blogger revolution and talking about the secret formula to D2C mommy blogger success, including how the implosion of their perfect life only makes their brand grow stronger.Plus, Nik and Moiz discuss the politics of selling D2C marijuana in New York and how Olipop just pulled a Kendall Roy by dropping a press release bomb. But first, can Nik crack Moiz’s mall riddle?  0:00 The Riddle of the Moiz9:26 Olipop30:16 Marijuana45:00 The Mommy Blogger Formula This episode was brought to you by Tapcart: Mobile Apps for Shopify.If you are looking to improve your store’s mobile revenue performance, then check out Tapcart and get your first 2 months free at https://tapcart.com/limited Check out the Nik’s DTC newsletter: https://bit.ly/3mOUJMJ Follow Nik: Twitter: twitter.com/mrsharma Follow Moiz:Twitter: twitter.com/moizali

Glossier’s new website might be a win for Shopify, but what’s going on with its terrible redesign?  This week, Nik and Moiz are breaking down what’s happening to the new Glossier site hosted by Shopify, what the implications of Facebook forcing businesses to conduct transactions through Facebook Shops means for retailers, and why the magic workout mirror on the wall, Tonal, fell off a revenue cliff.  Plus, is Leap Retail a worthy investment? And what exactly is Nik’s beef with Pinterest?  0:00 Olive Oil Drama8:02 Bonobos and Walmart17:32 Facebook’s Announcements28:39 Other Channels Worth Playing With34:26 Leap Retail39:26 Tonal 46:45 Glossier’s New Site53:31 Retailers are the Richest People This episode was brought to you by Tapcart: Mobile Apps for Shopify. If you are looking to improve your store’s mobile revenue performance, then check out Tapcart and get your first 2 months free at https://tapcart.com/limited Check out the Nik’s DTC newsletter: https://bit.ly/3mOUJMJ Follow Nik: Twitter: twitter.com/mrsharma Follow Moiz: Twitter: twitter.com/moizali

Who’s running an offshore recruiting scam on Nik? And how do you prevent from being duped? This week, the guys weigh the risks and benefits of offshore hiring and talk about the hard lessons they’ve learned when it comes to outsourcing work. Then, Nik and Moiz dive into the vitamin brand that’s trying to sell their business for $900 million, discuss the company holding its clients’ SMS lists hostage, and debate how Klaviyo IPOing will pan out.  Stay tuned for a lightning round, including the company vowing to clean that dirty retainer that’s been hiding underneath your bed for the last fifteen years. 0:00 Intro1:50 Offshoring Employees25:15 Sunday Naturals31:26 Attentive’s Hostage Situation40:19 Klaviyo Going Public52:15 Lightning Round This episode was brought to you by Tapcart: Mobile Apps for Shopify. If you are looking to improve your store’s mobile revenue performance, then check out Tapcart and get your first two months free at https://tapcart.com/limited Check out Nik’s DTC newsletter: https://bit.ly/3mOUJMJ Follow Nik:Twitter: twitter.com/mrsharma Follow Moiz:Twitter: twitter.com/moizali