Proof to Product
Katie Hunt
Ranked in the top 1% of ALL podcasts, the Proof to Product podcast is your trusted resource for sustainable business growth - especially if you make and sell physical products!
Join Katie Hunt, each week as she shares strategies & solutions to enhance your sales & marketing so that you’re building a business that supports your best life.
If you’ve ever asked yourself can I make money selling physical products? Am I ready to sell my products wholesale to stores like Target, Anthropologie, Nordstrom or Barnes & Noble? When should I consider hiring a sales team or sales reps? Can I really turn my passion into profits? Whether you’re a just starting out on your business journey or you’ve been at it a while growing an empire, this show is for you.
Proof to Product is like on-demand business school for product sellers spanning a wide range of industries. Whether you’re in home decor, apparel, beauty, food & beverage, hand-made items, jewelry, consumer gifts or the stationery world, you’ll gather new ideas each week to help you grow your profit, build your team and lead with integrity.
Host Katie Hunt and her guests bring you actionable ways to expand your product line, manufacturing overseas, optimize your e-commrce websites on Shopify, Faire, Etsy, Abound, Tundra, Squarespace or in brick & mortar locations. How to start or scale wholesale sales including pitching stores, wholesale outreach, trade show exhibition, working with sales reps, managing inventory, warehousing product, sales systems, wholesale follow-up strategies and working with key accounts. Marketing strategies for small businesses including content creation, leveraging tik tok and instagram tactics without feeling burned out, why you can’t rely solely on social media for sales and why email marketing systems on platforms like Klaviyo, Flodesk and Active Campaign are so powerful. Listen in as Katie and our guest experts help you strategize and tackle your biggest business goals.
Host Katie Hunt brings a unique perspective to entrepreneurship. Since 2011, she’s helped thousands of product brands get their products on the shelves of their favorite retail stores through her Paper Camp program (www.prooftoproduct.com/papercamp). Prior to that she worked in the corporate world for over a decade leading business development and marketing teams. She has two MBAs - one in finance and one in marketing. And, she owned & operated her own product based business for over 8 years, selling her products to stores throughout the world from her garage. Katie knows the struggles you face as a product based business and she’s here to pull back the curtain and share her best kept secrets so that you don’t have to learn things the hard way.
Find our free trainings & resources for product based business owners at www.prooftoproduct.com/resources
Join Katie Hunt, each week as she shares strategies & solutions to enhance your sales & marketing so that you’re building a business that supports your best life.
If you’ve ever asked yourself can I make money selling physical products? Am I ready to sell my products wholesale to stores like Target, Anthropologie, Nordstrom or Barnes & Noble? When should I consider hiring a sales team or sales reps? Can I really turn my passion into profits? Whether you’re a just starting out on your business journey or you’ve been at it a while growing an empire, this show is for you.
Proof to Product is like on-demand business school for product sellers spanning a wide range of industries. Whether you’re in home decor, apparel, beauty, food & beverage, hand-made items, jewelry, consumer gifts or the stationery world, you’ll gather new ideas each week to help you grow your profit, build your team and lead with integrity.
Host Katie Hunt and her guests bring you actionable ways to expand your product line, manufacturing overseas, optimize your e-commrce websites on Shopify, Faire, Etsy, Abound, Tundra, Squarespace or in brick & mortar locations. How to start or scale wholesale sales including pitching stores, wholesale outreach, trade show exhibition, working with sales reps, managing inventory, warehousing product, sales systems, wholesale follow-up strategies and working with key accounts. Marketing strategies for small businesses including content creation, leveraging tik tok and instagram tactics without feeling burned out, why you can’t rely solely on social media for sales and why email marketing systems on platforms like Klaviyo, Flodesk and Active Campaign are so powerful. Listen in as Katie and our guest experts help you strategize and tackle your biggest business goals.
Host Katie Hunt brings a unique perspective to entrepreneurship. Since 2011, she’s helped thousands of product brands get their products on the shelves of their favorite retail stores through her Paper Camp program (www.prooftoproduct.com/papercamp). Prior to that she worked in the corporate world for over a decade leading business development and marketing teams. She has two MBAs - one in finance and one in marketing. And, she owned & operated her own product based business for over 8 years, selling her products to stores throughout the world from her garage. Katie knows the struggles you face as a product based business and she’s here to pull back the curtain and share her best kept secrets so that you don’t have to learn things the hard way.
Find our free trainings & resources for product based business owners at www.prooftoproduct.com/resources
Episodes
Mentioned books
Aug 26, 2025 • 35min
How to Get Your Products Noticed by Key Buyers with Sally Diguette, Anthropologie [Replay]
Hey, friend. I'm pulling an amazing episode from the archives with over 400 episodes here on the Proof to Product podcast. There is a gold mine of information for you to help you grow your business, and, frankly, it can be hard to take it all in. Today's episode is a look back at guest Sally Diguette, a home and lifestyle buyer with Anthropologie. Pitching large retailers is a completely different process and timeline than working with independent retailers. Having worked with thousands of brands, I know that it can feel like an intimidating process to pitch your work to these key accounts. Through an unpredictable path, Sally landed in the retail industry and has over 14 years of experience in buying, product development, and sourcing. Sally is an innovative merchant and consultant. She centers her work around relationship building and creative strategy, combining unique product development and sourcing from national brands across a variety of categories. Her passion lies in working with emerging brands in an incubator capacity to build fresh product offerings, solid organizational systems, and a strong team structure. On this replay episode, Sally shares about the buying process and schedule for Anthropologie. We talk specifically about the timelines that she's working with for both exclusive products as well as ready made products. And she offers advice for how to get your products in front of key account buyers. Today’s episode is sponsored by our Unlock Buyer Secrets Interview series. To make a strong first impression with wholesale buyers, we need to do a few things really well: We need to make it easy for stores to purchase from us We need to have clear pricing and terms & conditions We need to clearly communicate and add value at each touchpoint We need to focus on building strong relationships with our customers. And all of this becomes infinitely easier when we actively listen to our customers. This on-demand interview series will give you a competitive edge by providing an exclusive window into what buyers want and need from you. And, the best part, it's only $27 bucks. Get Access to the Unlock Buyer Secrets Interview Series
Aug 19, 2025 • 22min
410 | How Quickly Will I Make Back My Paper Camp Investment with Katie Hunt
Have you been thinking about joining us for Paper Camp, but aren’t sure if this program is a good fit for you? Or maybe you're a new listener of the podcast, and you're thinking, what the heck is this Paper Camp program that I keep talking about? This episode is for you. I'm answering the top questions that we get asked about our wholesale program to help you decide if it's the right fit for you. The next round of Paper Camp is open for enrollment right now. If you're listening to this on release day, we will close enrollment tomorrow, August 20th. If you are looking to scale your wholesale strategy and build a system that drives sales, this is the program for you. You won't want to miss it. SIGN UP FOR PAPER CAMP NOW You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/410 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp
Aug 14, 2025 • 26min
409 | Live from Shoppe Object with Paper Camp Alumni
I'm back again today to share interviews from our Paper Camp alumni who exhibited at Shoppe Object. On Tuesday, I shared my conversations with our alumni who are exhibiting in NY Now. Today, we're focusing on the exhibitors that were at Shoppe Object. This is a wholesale trade show that was happening in New York City this past week, and I spoke with: Stephanie Clarke from Dahlia Press Nancy Yusko from Dear Beni Meghan Sokorai from And Here We Are Jen Palacio from Tiny Turns Paperie Once again, great job to everyone who exhibited at these shows and to everyone who participated in this interview series. I appreciate you taking the time with me on the show floor. I know that these shows take a lot of hard work, a lot of determination, money, and grit to execute. If you are thinking about exhibiting at a trade show as part of your wholesale growth strategy, then you absolutely must join us for Paper Camp. We have a ton of experience exhibiting ourselves, and we have guided tens of thousands of brands through the process. In fact, we have a lot of people who come to us after they've exhibited at a trade show on their own, and it didn't go the way they wanted it to. They ended up with low sales, a lot of stress, and little confidence in how they were presenting their brand. After Paper Camp, our alumni frequently report higher sales, higher average order values, and stronger reorder rates than non-alumni. Round 46 is currently open for enrollment at http://prooftoproduct.com/papercamp We only run this program twice a year, and we sell out every single, single time. This coaching program will take you through step-by-step of everything you need to know to build out a successful wholesale business. ENROLL NOW IN PAPER CAMP You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/409 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp
Aug 12, 2025 • 35min
408 | Live from NY Now with Paper Camp Alumni
I am back from a whirlwind trip to New York City where over 40 of our Paper Camp alumni were exhibiting at Shoppe Object and NY Now. These were two independent wholesale trade shows that happened to be taking place in New York over the same days. I was able to navigate between both shows and meet with a lot of our different alumni. It was such a treat to visit with everyone and to see all their gorgeous new products on display. Both shows were buzzing with buyers, press, and brands that were looking to collaborate. The energy was high, and buyers were there to write orders, which was refreshing. At Paper Camp we talk about how selling wholesale is a marathon, not a sprint. Exhibiting at wholesale trade shows is just one way to get your products in front of buyers. It's not the only way, but it is a very powerful way. So today's episode is a compilation of short interviews that I conducted on the show floor at NY Now. On Thursday, we'll release a separate set of interviews that I did at Shoppe Object. At NY Now, I interviewed: Lindsy Liu of Happy Little Paper Co Kyndra Bailey of Kyn You Believe It Kathleen Kurjanowicz of James Point Stationery Jaha Knight of Dakari Moon Andrea Hetzke of Librarian Candle Co. If you are thinking about exhibiting at a trade show as part of your wholesale growth strategy, then you absolutely must join us for Paper Camp. We have a ton of experience exhibiting ourselves, and we have guided tens of thousands of brands through the process. In fact, we have a lot of people that come to us after they've exhibited at a trade show on their own and it didn't go the way they wanted it to. They ended up with low sales, a lot of stress, and little confidence in how they were presenting their brand. After Paper Camp, our alumni frequently report higher sales, higher average order values and stronger reorder rates than non-alumni. Round 46 is currently open for enrollment at http://prooftoproduct.com/papercamp We only run this program twice a year and we sell out every single, single time. This coaching program will take you through step-by-step of everything you need to know to build out a successful wholesale business. ENROLL NOW IN PAPER CAMP You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/408 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp
Aug 7, 2025 • 19min
407 | Alumni Spotlights: Before & After Paper Camp
We are currently in the middle of the biggest wholesale buying season of the year, so naturally, it is both a fun and easy time to share wins from our community and talk about our upcoming wholesale coaching program, Paper Camp. This is where we teach you everything you need to know to successfully sell wholesale and we've got a pretty strong track record with tens of thousands of folks coming through the program. Today, I want to hand the mic to four of our Paper Camp alumni to share their experiences of what their business looked like before they attended Paper Camp and what it looks like now after putting in lots of work. We did this type of episode of Before and After Paper Camp series earlier this year and you guys ate it up. These individuals came to Paper Camp to strengthen their wholesale sales and marketing systems. They actively participated in the program. They asked questions about how to apply what they learned to their particular business, and they soaked up everything there was to learn. They put in the reps and did the hard work, and it wasn’t always easy. In this episode, you'll hear from: Morgan Swank of Morgan Swank Studio | Follow on Instagram Jessie Tyree Jenness of Root & Branch Paper Co | Follow on Instagram Brenna Daugherty of Brenna Daugherty Illustration| Follow on Instagram Ashleigh Evans of InBooze | Follow on Instagram Before we jump in, I wanted to tell you about a free workshop that I'm hosting on August 12th at 9:00am Pacific Time. Wholesale buying season has been really eye-opening. As someone who has been in the wholesale game for over 17 years and I've worked with over 35,000 thriving wholesale brands, I have a really unique viewpoint to spot mistakes, missed opportunities, and more importantly, I can troubleshoot and find solutions for those that are facing a sales slump. The market is changing and our strategies need to shift with it. In this free workshop, I'm going to talk about how you can land consistent wholesale orders without over-relying on Faire without using bad wholesale pitches or discounting. RSVP for this free workshop at http://prooftoproduct.com/RSVP You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/407 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp
Aug 5, 2025 • 37min
406 | From 0 to 60+ Stores Selling Watercolor Kits with Kate Talcott
This week’s guest is Kate Talcott, a talented watercolor artist and owner of Splatter & Bloom, who transformed her business from zero to nearly 70 retail locations. Kate shares her journey of niching down to specialize in watercolor kits and the incredible impact of going viral on TikTok. She dives into the challenges of burnout and the importance of community support in entrepreneurship. Plus, Kate discusses lessons learned from trade shows and how adapting her inventory strategy fueled her wholesale growth.
Jul 31, 2025 • 14min
405 | I Just Got On Faire. Am I Supposed to be Pitching My Products? with Katie Hunt
The discussion opens with a crucial question about pitching products on wholesale platforms like Faire. The speaker emphasizes the importance of proactive sales strategies, especially for beginners. They reflect on the evolving market dynamics and share insights gained from over 17 years of experience. Listeners can also look forward to a free workshop aimed at helping businesses navigate sales slumps without relying heavily on platforms or resorting to discounting. It's an eye-opening guide to thriving in the wholesale world.
Jul 29, 2025 • 9min
404 | 5 Things That Paper Camp Scholarship Winners Have in Common with Katie Hunt
It is that time again. We are now accepting Paper Camp scholarship applications. If you have wanted to attend our wholesale intensive coaching program, but you need a little help with tuition, now is your time to shine. We award one full tuition scholarship for each and every round of Paper Camp. Since 2011, we have awarded more than $345,000 in scholarship funds to students. This has enabled us to provide support to a lot of up and coming product brands that you know and love. People that are making huge strides in the industry. I'm talking Inklings Paperie, Ladyfinger Letterpress, E. Francis Paper, Brainstorm and dozens of other brands that were past scholarship recipients. They showed up in Paper Camp, asked their questions, and implemented what they learned. Ultimately, they did the hard work and now they have built incredible brands that make a huge impact in our world and in our industry. Our scholarship applications do take a bit of time to fill out. There are questions to answer and even a short video component to complete. We typically receive anywhere from 80-90 scholarship applications for every round of Paper Camp. It takes my team and me several days to review each application, and honestly, it's such a challenge to whittle it down to just one scholarship winner. If you would like to apply for a scholarship, head to prooftoproduct.com/scholarships and get your application in today. Applications will close this Friday at 5pm Pacific Time. You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/404 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp
Jul 24, 2025 • 15min
403 | Best Wholesale Pitching Practices with Two Shopkeepers, Victoria Venturi & Katie Wilson
One of the highlights of our Paper Camp program is the weekly coaching calls that we host by me and our guest experts. You not only get to ask questions about that week's curriculum and content from Paper Camp, but you also get to hear firsthand from industry experts. These are wholesale experts: large-scale wholesale manufacturers, retail shop owners, sales experts, trade show exhibitors, all of the people that are deeply embedded in the wholesale world. This week on the podcast, I wanted to share a snippet of one of our calls from Marketing Week. This is the week in Paper Camp that we traditionally talk with shopkeepers to find out how they like to be pitched, how much follow-up is too much, do they want to see samples before they buy, and so much more. This is your chance to ask all of your burning questions of our guest experts and to hear direct feedback. This excerpt is a conversation with Victoria Venturi of Paper Epiphanies and Katie Wilson of Crush & Touch. These are two shopkeepers who are getting pitched all of the time from brands and vendors that are just like you. Victoria and Katie are providing feedback on how they like to be pitched, including the best way for vendors to capture their attention, methods that they use most when placing orders, and red flags that they see in wholesale pitches. They talk about whether they want to receive samples and about follow-up and how much follow-up is too much. This is just a small portion of the incredible value that our Paper Camp students receive during their time in our program. I am incredibly grateful for people like Victoria and Katie and our other speakers that come back to share their knowledge and preferences with us. These calls are my favorite part of Paper Camp. Speaking of Paper Camp, we will be opening enrollment for the next round very soon. This is a program that we only run live twice a year. It is not a course you do on your own. We are there to hold your hand and help you through it, answering questions for your specific brand and circumstances. I wanted to let you know that we have some new, exciting surprises to share with you during this launch round, including a free event that you won't want to miss. I'm not quite ready to spill all the tea yet, but everyone who is on our Paper Camp waitlist will be the first to hear about this live event and the new incentives that we're offering. You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/403 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp
Jul 22, 2025 • 12min
402 | 5 Big Mistakes I See in Product Catalogs (and How to Fix Them) with Katie Hunt
Today on the podcast, I want to talk about your wholesale catalog. Your wholesale catalog is the most important sales tool in your wholesale toolbox. Yet simple mistakes may be costing you a lot of money and a lot of headaches. So this week, I want to talk about five common errors that I see when I'm reviewing catalogs for clients so that you can avoid making these same mistakes. As a quick background, I have done thousands of catalog audits for our Paper Camp students and my advisory board mastermind clients. Yes, thousands. Looking through this volume of wholesale catalogs, it really gives me a unique viewpoint, one that mirrors the experience of buyers. I can easily spot red flags in wholesale catalogs, but I can also spot unique and innovative trends. Many of these things are things that we teach in our Paper Camp program. My team and I know what buyers are looking for and how to structure your wholesale catalog so that you can convert more of these prospects into actual customers. We want you to convert to more sales. We will also want you to make it easy for your wholesale customers to purchase from you. That means optimizing each page so that it does a good job of selling your products when you're not there. Today's episode is brought to you by our Is Wholesale Right for You private podcast! This free 12-part audio series will help you decide whether wholesale is a good next step for your specific business. After listening to this audio series (in less than an hour), two things will be true. You'll know whether you want to pursue wholesale for your product business, and you'll have the confidence and action steps to get started with wholesale. Sign up for the private podcast today! SIGN UP You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/402 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp
