DTC Podcast

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Bushbalm co-founder David Gaylord returns for his third appearance on the pod — and he brought receipts.

The brand just pulled off one of the most impressive growth runs in DTC:
70% YoY revenue growth
18,000+ waxing salon accounts (up from 2,000 in 2023)
Expanded shelf space at Ulta Beauty
Focused DTC growth (+25%) while spending less on Meta

We unpack how they’ve built a growth machine that’s lean, durable, and built on word of mouth — not channel sprawl.

For DTC brands thinking bigger than Meta ads.
Why their pro channel is the ultimate word-of-mouth flywheel
How they invest $200K+ into retail the right way
What goes into planning a product launch 2 years out
Why pulling back on Meta actually helped retention
How exclusivity (not everywhere all at once) became their moat

Who this is for: Brands navigating retail, trade marketing, or B2B scale

What to steal:
How to anchor your retail bet on ONE whale by building deep
Build demand from the pros outward
Treat your best partners like real channels (with loyalty perks + exclusive SKUs)

Timestamps
00:00 Bushbalm’s 70% growth and shift to profitability
02:30 Why retail and the pro channel now drive the business
06:20 Going deep with one key retailer instead of many
09:40 How trade marketing and in-store displays impact sales
12:30 DTC growth, Meta ads, and changing channel priorities
18:00 Launching exclusive products through the pro channel
22:00 Simplifying DTC assortments to improve performance
25:00 Category rewiring in hair removal and skincare
31:40 Expanding shelf space versus adding new retailers
37:00 Building a sustainable, profitable growth engine

Hashtags
#DTCPodcast #Bushbalm #DavidGaylord #DTC #Ecommerce #RetailStrategy #BeautyBrand #FounderJourney #RetailMarketing #ProChannel #UltaBeauty #BrandGrowth #Omnichannel

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Jordan Gordon, VP of Retention and CRO at Pilothouse returns to the pod to break down a concept every retention marketer thinks they understand but rarely applies: Net Present Value (NPV). This isn’t finance class — this is a tactical breakdown on how to treat your email list like an appreciating asset.

For DTC retention leads and founders thinking beyond one-off campaigns.
Why NPV thinking changes your entire email strategy
How to measure email value beyond open/click/purchase
Ways to increase the long-term worth of every subscriber
Where CRO fits in to boost lifecycle value
Email as a compounding channel: what most brands miss

Who this is for: Retention marketers, growth leads, lifecycle teams

What to steal:
A framework to value your email list like a P&L
How to spot (and increase) high NPV customers
Why short-term ROI thinking stunts your retention

Timestamps
00:00 Building engagement-first email habits
02:10 Why email and CRO belong together at the bottom of the funnel
04:05 How flat revenue businesses can increase valuation
06:05 Using content emails to grow list size and engagement
08:20 Pairing engagement email with high-converting site funnels
10:15 Why a larger, more engaged list increases business value
12:00 Finding the right engagement content for any brand
14:05 Authentic vs produced content in engagement emails
16:00 Email grows the audience, the website converts it

Hashtags
#ecommerce #emailmarketing #retentionmarketing #netpresentvalue #dtc #cro #emailstrategy #customerlifetimevalue #digitalmarketing #shopify #ownedmedia #foundermarketing #growthstrategy #bottomfunnel #marketingstrategy

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Mark Rushmore, co-founder of SURI, joins the pod to break down how they built a toothbrush brand people actually love. From selling out 5,000 units in a week to hitting 15,000+ Trustpilot reviews, SURI is proving you can create DTC magic in even the most boring category—if you take the time to get it right.

For DTC founders scaling from $1M to $20M who want to increase retention and earn real customer love.
Why "low expectations" created the perfect wedge for disruption
The anti-agency approach to Meta ads that helped them scale profitably
How they turned 15,000 reviews into a custom GPT to inform product dev
The real reason they’re dominating Trustpilot (and Amazon)
Their upcoming launch into 1,900+ Target stores

Who this is for: Brand builders in crowded or low-interest categories, especially if you're post-product-market fit and scaling retention/subscription.

What to steal:
Reframe a boring utility into a desirable ritual
Use Trustpilot + Slack API to keep every team member close to customer voice
Don’t overthink performance creative—fast iteration beats polished production

Timestamps
00:00 Why toothbrushes are a massive but unloved category
02:55 Building a better toothbrush through design and sustainability
05:00 Finding product-market fit and early traction
07:05 Why customers say they love this toothbrush
09:40 How Suri’s ad strategy evolved over time
12:00 Growth mix across ads, email, creators, and retail
15:00 Competing with Oral-B and Philips on shelf
18:00 Using reviews as a growth and product feedback engine
20:00 Retention, subscriptions, and gifting behavior
22:00 Amazon strategy and retail expansion
25:00 Long-term vision for Suri and redefining success

Hashtags
#dtcpodcast #directtoconsumer #ecommerce #dtcbrands #productmarketfit #brandbuilding #consumerproducts #subscriptionbusiness #growthmarketing #metaads #amazonfba #retentionmarketing #founderstory #startuppodcast #physicalproducts

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Follow Agency Confidential on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6lbaJzKRArC51qwCX00fUp?si=QdWT3jyjTAC3cUgB--r58w
Follow Agency Confidential on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AgencyConfidential

“Any business problem can be solved with an acquisition.”
In Episode 1 of Agency Confidential, Jeff Shannon sits down with investor and operator Tom Shipley to break down how agencies actually use M&A as a growth lever—from buying businesses with limited capital to structuring deals that reduce risk.

Tom shares the stories behind his first acquisitions, the criteria he uses to identify potential deals, and why he sees growing opportunity for agency acquisitions amid AI disruption and market uncertainty.

If you’re an agency founder, operator, or leader thinking about growth beyond organic sales, this episode explores the mental models, deal structures, and real-world mechanics behind acquisition-led growth.

What you’ll learn:
Why acquisition can outperform organic growth at scale
How to define a “buy box” for acquisition targets
Why volume of seller conversations matters
The real purpose of due diligence
What integration looks like after an acquisition
How AI and uncertainty are influencing agency exits and deals

Chapters:
00:00 Any Business Problem Can Be Solved With an Acquisition
00:31 Meet Tom Shipley and His M&A Journey
01:57 Buying a Business When You’re Out of Cash
05:17 Using Acquisitions to Add Capability (Agency Examples)
08:03 Organic Growth vs Acquisition Growth (The Math)
12:18 Motivated Sellers and Creative Deal Structures
20:50 Due Diligence and Risk in Agency Acquisitions
24:33 Integration: What Actually Breaks Deals
30:11 AI, Market Uncertainty, and the Future of Agency M&A

Links & Resources:
DealCon: https://dealconlive.com
Pilothouse: https://www.pilothouse.co/
Agency (peer network): https://www.joinagency.co/?utm_source=podcast
Subscribe to the DTC Newsletter: https://www.directtoconsumer.co/

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Daniel Sendecki, VP of Brand + Performance at Pilothouse, joins us to explain why the old model of “persuasive creative” is dead—and what’s replacing it. In a post-Andromeda Meta world, the brands winning on paid social aren’t out-designing or out-targeting anyone. They’re out-resolving.

Role-Based Hook:
For DTC teams building creative that compounds—across Meta, search, and the full funnel.

Inside the episode:
Why creative isn’t about persuasion anymore—it’s about resolution
How Pilothouse mines Google queries to map real customer friction
What Meta’s Andromeda update means for targeting and creative structure
Why intent clusters matter more than personas
How to build a living creative library that scales

Who this is for:
DTC founders, brand leads, creative strategists, and media buyers navigating post-iOS Meta

What to steal:
Group customer questions into “psychological intent clusters”
Use creative to answer, not pitch
Build ad libraries like a searchable index of problems solved

Timestamps:
00:00 Creative is shifting from persuasion to resolution
02:05 Why interest-based targeting no longer works
04:55 Creative as answers to customer questions
07:05 Meta evolving into an intent-driven platform
09:15 Psychological intent clusters explained
12:10 Why idea variation matters more than asset tweaks
14:10 Funnel congruency in the Andromeda era
17:05 Creative as an operating system, not an output
19:40 Brand storytelling inside modern performance systems
21:10 Recognition hooks vs interruptive hooks
24:10 Blending brand and performance through intent
26:15 Avoiding AI-sounding creative outputs

Hashtags:
#DTCMarketing #CreativeStrategy #MetaAds #PerformanceCreative #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #PaidSocial #CreativeTesting #Andromeda #IntentMarketing #DigitalAdvertising #EcommerceMarketing #Pilothouse

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