Paul Voge speaks with Blaine & Ramon about how creating DIY flavors with his soda stream led to a full-fledge sparkling water business.Paul discusses the challenges of building a CPG brand, being on Sharktank during the height of COVID, Aura Bora’s path into retail stores, why he prefers retail over DTC orders, and more.4:17- 6:06 Starting a CPG brand9:08 - 15:34 Co-packers and distributor15:50 - 17:04 Family & friend investors17:12 - 23:04 Filming Sharktank in COVID24:57 - 29:26 Creating new flavors29:48 - 35:29 Retail over DTC35:37 - 38:29 Watchout for chargebacks43:55 - 49:19 Retail stores that carry Aura Bora This episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours. Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Paul Voge - Co-Founder of Aura BoraRamon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel

Stix makes women’s at-home health essentials like fertility, pregnancy, UTI, and yeast infection products. In today’s episode, Stix cofounder Cynthia Plotch chats with Ramon & Blaine about building Stix, finding investors, talking to customers about difficult subjects, and how her prior experience at Harmless Harvest gave her the confidence to create Stix. 1:10 - 5:52 Story behind Stix8:08 - 8:45 Medical Advisory Board13:19 - 16:56 Raising VC money17:59 - 20:31 Prior startup experience22:37 - 28:57 Understanding the customer29:25 - 38:33 Customer service & conversations39:35 - 43:24 Product & Regulatory Environment45:29 - 46:13 Distribution This episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours. Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Cynthia Plotch - Co-Founder of StixRamon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel

Emily Elyse Miller talks to Blaine & Ramon about building OffLimits and how her creative background has informed the brand. OffLimits is also one of the early adopters of Web3, and Emily dives into how they’re currently using NFTs, what excites her about Web3, challenges with Web3, and what other brands need to consider before jumping into this. 3:16 - 7:42 Emily’s Breakfast Club Series8:06 - 10:46 Writing a Cookbook12:48 - 14:25 Idea for OffLimits15:33 - 17:35 Getting into Web321:06 - 21:52 Finding Your Day 1 Brand Champions22:35 - 25:37 OffLimits Web3 Strategy26:14 - 29:45 Tools Supporting Web330:17 - 33:58 Brands Considering Web338:53 - 41:09 OffLimit’s Cereal Toys42:21 - 44:30 Supply Chain Issues45:38 - 48:17 OffLimits Latest Web3 Project This episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours. Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Emily Elyse Miller - Founder of Offlimits Ramon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel

Geoffrey Woo joins Blaine & Ramon on DTC POD to discuss why he started Anti Fund with Jake Paul, what they look for in founders when investing, and where he sees opportunity in Web 3. Geoff also dives into why Anti Fund is not your traditional VC, managing founders’ expectations when a celebrity investor is involved, and why they prefer investing in infrastructure over pure consumer startups. 1:13 - 8:18 What is Anti Fund8:59 - 14:29 Where they’re investing15:23 - 17:38 Anti Fund’s deals18:35 - 23:27 Being in Miami This episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours. Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Geoffrey Woo - Co-Founder of Anti Fund, Archive, & HVMNRamon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel

On this episode of DTC Pod, Sam Madani chats with Ramon Berrios & Blaine Bolus to discuss how he built Bomani and the ups-and-downs of the entrepreneurial journey. The road to success for Bomani wasn’t easy. They faced a ton of rejection from local brewers, but they persevered and decided to pitch their concept to the biggest brewer in the country, and it worked! But that was just the first step. Sam discusses getting Bomani into customers’ hands, the process of selling to restaurants and bartenders, building brand awareness through the Cold Buzz Crew, adapting during COVID, and expanding Bomani’s retail presence.0:19 - 3:08 What’s Bomani3:51 - 5:41 Launching Bomani6:21 - 10:28 30 questions you should be asking11:32 - 15:58 Partnering with the biggest brewer in the US18:43 - 20:25 Bomani’s first investor20:26 - 22:00 Adapting to COVID22:39 - 23:44 Expanding beyond friends & family24:43 - 29:27 The cold buzz crew29:43 - 36:32 Building partnerships with bartenders and restaurants38:38 - 41:57 Getting into Whole Foods This episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours. Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Sam Madani - Co-Founder & CEO of BomaniRamon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel

Tabs Chocolate is a sexually enhancing dark chocolate founded by two University of Michigan undergrads Jake and Oliver. Blaine and Ramon are excited to have Jake Lewin and Oliver Brocato on DTC Pod to discuss how they designed  specifically for TikTok, negotiating and working with influencers, creating viral videos, and making 90K in revenue in just 3.5 weeks after launch. 2:05 - 8:24 Entrepreneur Background17:58 - 19:27  Getting Started with Tabs24:05 - 27:33 Finding the Right Channel28:44  - 31:29 Working with Influencers32:55 - 37:22 Content / Social  Strategy38:43 - 42:49 Designing for TikTok51:01 - 51:42  Bootstrapped This episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours. Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Jake Lewin & Oliver Brocato- Founders of Tabs Chocolate Ramon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel 

Mid-Day Squares is the healthy chocolate bar company that’s built a name for itself through its bold content. Today on the pod, Ramon and Blaine are joined by the architect of Mid-Day’s brand voice & content strategy, Jake Karls, better known as the “Rainmaker” at MDS. As a Rainmaker, Jake is out there developing critical relationships with multiple stakeholders (i.e., press, investors, customers, etc.), cultivating the brand’s personality, and getting people excited about MDS.1:17 - 4:27 Idea for Mid-Day Squares4:55 - 7:38 Forming Mid-Days Content Strategy10:07 - 10:55 Creating a Personality11:48 - 13:32 Highs and Lows of Documenting Everything14:00 - 17:55 Turning customers into fans18:24 - 20:37 Celebrity Package Goods20:58 - 23:42 Jake’s background and being a Rainmaker25:14 - 30:46 Misunderstood and Hershey’s lawsuit31:26 - 34:00 Getting everyone on board and therapy34:45 - 38:00 Financing Content38:13 - 42:33 Motivating young people43:12 - 47:42 Evolution of MDS & DTC sales This episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours. Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Jake Karls- CEO of Mid-Day SquaresRamon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel

Chris Bernard AKA “Bernie” joins Blaine and Ramon to discuss Mindright and working with Rob Dyrdek, learning from previous business mistakes of growing too fast, the importance of building your brand’s community before utilizing celebrity ambassadors, how TikTok is helping Mindright grow, and more. Buff Bake 2:07 -3:03Story behind Mindright 6:44 - 10:12Pitching to Rob Dyrdek 11:03 - 14:12Celebrity investors 16:35 - 17:33Leveraging celebrity investors 18:19 - 19:42Getting into retail 22:31 - 24:01Brand ambassadors and influencers 24:34 - 26:27Building the team 30:14 - 32:15 This episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours. Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok  Chris Bernard- CEO of Mindright Ramon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel

Lindsay McCormick, CEO and co-founder of Bite, chats with Blaine and Ramon about her zero-waste company that makes personal care & hygiene products. Lindsay started Bite with $6,000 dollars and originally hand-made and packaged Bite's toothpaste tablet from her living room in L.A. In 2019, Lindsay went on Shark Tank and turned down offers from Mark Cuban and Kevin O'Leary. Bite has experienced tremendous growth and continues to be completely bootstrapped and profitable.  9:18-10:12 Visualizing facts11:03-11:45 Pretend your pitching to the sharks 22:28-23:03 Talking to your customers25:33-26:23 Pitching your product in-person to consumer45:50-46:41 Start super niche then expand  This episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours. Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Lindsay McCormick - CEO and Founder of BiteRamon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel

Better & Better recently raised a $4M seed round, Blaine and Ramon got the chance to talk to Vlad in-depth about his entrepreneurial journey, the difficulty of pitching a DTC product in a trend-driven VC climate (note: many investors are interested in investing crypto, NFTs, traditional SaaS, etc), competing against legacy brands like Colgate, using customer feedback to relaunch SKUs, and more!RocketHub and Meural 3:08 - 7:20Inspiration behind Better & Better 7:47 - 10:51Proof of concept 12:05 - 14:13Pitching a DTC to VC 14:34 - 15:33Better & Better seed investors 15:36 - 16:47The questions VC’s ask 17:55 - 21:30Advisors, prototypes, and employees  27:24 - 30:34Decreasing CAC for Better  Better 32:37 - 33:23Bottom-up pitch vs. Top-down pitch 33:24 - 35:57Challenging legacy brands 41:15 - 43:26Improving the product 49:13 - 50:55   This episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours. Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Vlad Vukicevic - CEO Better & BetterRamon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel