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 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
In this discussion, shopkeepers Victoria Venturi of Paper Epiphanies and Katie Wilson of Crush & Touch share their retail insights on wholesale pitching. They emphasize the importance of clear pricing and concise emails, along with engaging visuals. Targeted samples can effectively close deals, while buyers often open emails at unexpected times, making persistence essential. They also suggest limiting follow-ups to about three attempts and leveraging creative alternatives like postcards to engage busy buyers. Tune in for invaluable pitching tips!
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
Jul 15, 2025 • 29min
401 | Going From 20 to 120 Wholesale Accounts with Carley Hussain, Parcel Island
Hey friend. You know how much I love sharing success stories here on the podcast and this week is no exception. I had the pleasure of connecting with Carley Hussain of Parcel Island, which is a gift and stationery business based out of Philadelphia. Carley is one of our talented Paper Camp alumni who started with 20 wholesale accounts and she is now in over 120 stores. Yes, she has grown by more than 100 accounts while also working at a full-time job. During our conversation, we talk about the key strategies that fueled her business growth, including marketing automations she set up, finding her unique brand voice, and leveraging platforms like Faire. Carley also leveraged the resources available to her in Paper Camp, such as our wholesale pitch process, email templates, and postcard templates, adding her own unique voice and brand positioning to the outreach. You'll hear what project management tools Carley uses to keep her business organized and her tasks on track. We discuss the challenges of inventory and product launches. Plus, we talk about how she's building strong local relationships that have helped her brand flourish. Today's episode is brought to you by our Paper Camp program. Paper Camp is our wholesale coaching program where we teach you everything you need to know to build strong wholesale foundations. Over the course of 4 weeks, we tackle your product line, sales tools, and marketing plan, and we even talk about how to exhibit at trade shows if that's what you want to do. We start with your product line and go into everything from how often you should be releasing new products to ensuring that your numbers are sustainable for the wholesale market and their price for profit. Then we move into sales tools you must have for selling wholesale so you make a strong first impression with buyers like catalogs and your terms and conditions. Then, we cover marketing strategies and ways to reach various store owners. Each week's teachings build on the previous week, and we host weekly live engaging coaching calls to answer all of your questions. We will open enrollment for our next round of Paper Camp soon, and we sell this program out every time we run it. Join the waitlist and you'll get early access to enroll. SIGN UP FOR THE WAITLIST You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/401 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp
Jul 8, 2025 • 53min
Celebrating 400 Episodes: Getting Candid About Podcasting, Resilience, and Business Growth with Katie Hunt
Hey friend, it's Brittney Lynn. I know you're likely expecting Katie Hunt and I promise she is featured in this episode. If we haven't met before, I am Katie's publicist and I am also the podcast producer of this very podcast. We wanted to do something special for the 400th episode of the podcast, so we decided to turn the tables and I'm interviewing Katie. We discuss Katie's favorite part of the podcast recording process, advice she'd give to herself when she was just starting out, the real cost of running this podcast, and also the Proof to Product business as a whole, examples of times when she felt stuck in business and what she did about it and so much more. This was such a fun episode to record, and we really hope you enjoy it. We are excited to hear the feedback from the episode and don't worry, Katie will be back in the host seat next week. Today's episode is brought to you by our Paper Camp program. Paper Camp is our wholesale coaching program where we teach you everything you need to know to build strong wholesale foundations. Over the course of 4 weeks, we tackle your product line, sales tools, and marketing plan, and we even talk about how to exhibit at trade shows if that's what you want to do. We start with your product line and go into everything from how often you should be releasing new products to ensuring that your numbers are sustainable for the wholesale market and their price for profit. Then we move into sales tools you must have for selling wholesale so you make a strong first impression with buyers like catalogs and your terms and conditions. Then, we cover marketing strategies and ways to reach various store owners. Each week's teachings build on the previous week, and we host weekly live engaging coaching calls to answer all of your questions. We will open enrollment for our next round of Paper Camp soon, and we sell this program out every time we run it. Join the wait list and you'll get early access to enroll. SIGN UP FOR THE WAITLIST You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/400 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp
Jun 24, 2025 • 2min
We're on Summer Break!
The Proof to Product team is practicing what we preach and we are going on summer break for the next two weeks! We will be back in your ears soon and we are so excited about our upcoming episodes, including our 400th episode! In the meantime, we are gearing up for another round of our Paper Camp program which will start soon. We only run Paper Camp twice a year, so if you are wanting to learn how to start with wholesale, click here to join the waitlist (we sell out every time!) Have a great two weeks and we'll see you soon!
