#308 - Rikin Diwan, Soona - How to Craft Marketing Strategies That Sell

Rikin Diwan is the CMO and Chief Growth Officer at soona, the world’s first virtual content studio. In this episode, we chat with Rikin about the intersection of AI and human creativity when it comes to content creation. We pick apart the nuts and bolts of storytelling and authenticity in marketing, the dynamic evolution of the creative content, and the unique challenges of marketing in e-commerce.

Jess Chan is the CEO and Founder of Longplay, an lifecycle & retention agency for DTC brands. She's also the brains behind Backbone, an innovative tool that wraps all those email and retention best practices in one simple to use tool. In this episode, Jess joins Blaine to discuss what it takes to succeed as a brand that wants to lean into retention & lifecycle marketing to scale DTC revenue.

soda space with its sparkling drinks infused with Asian heritage-inspired, gut-healthy ingredients. In this episode, Rosa shares about Wildwonder's savvy omnichannel approach, the strategic importance of picking high-impact distribution channels, and how they've managed to stand out in a crowded market through a perfect blend of educating consumers and delivering innovative flavors.

Ali Karsch is the founder, and Nikole is the Head of PR at LVPR - a major PR firm specializing in working with famed DTC brands like Native, Vinebox, Jean Dousset, Kevyn Aucoin, Stojo, STATE Bags, Bean Box, Copper Cow Coffee, Usual Wines, Cloud Paper, Jinx, DOG by Dr Lisa, Jiggy, SmarterKids, Sugarwish, Mosaic Foods, London Grant, and more.

Ryan Denehy is the Founder and CEO at Electric AI, an IT platform that empowers SMBs with user-friendly tools and guidance to streamline their IT management and secure their business. Electric, valued over $1B has raised over $200M to date and is backed by GGV Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Primary Venture Partners, Greenspring Associates, 01 Advisors, Bowery Capital, The Slack Fund, Vintage Investment Partners, and Atreides Management.

Sam Lessin is a seasoned entrepreneur and venture capitalist who is currently GP at Slow Ventures, a venture fund that boasts five funds and nearly a billion dollars of capital. Previously, he served as the VP of Product Management at Facebook. As a contrarian investor, he's been an early supporter of multiple high-profile startups, from household consumer brands like Allbirds, Casper, Birchbox, Barkbox, to fintech/blockchain bets like Robinhood, Solana, and popular SaaS companies like Airtable, Front, and Slack to name a few.

Jimmy Farley runs one of the largest communities of TikTok creators - Creator's Corner. After launching a 7 figure brand himself on TikTok, he built a community of 200+ of the the best creators on TikTok who push each other to make brands go viral in a scalable and repeatable fashion. Jimmy drops all his tips on what it takes to scale a viral content engine in this episode of the pod.

Jeff Byers is the Co-founder and CEO at Momentous, a human performance company dedicated creating no-compromise products and tools that support the endless improvement of personal performance. Momentous has partnered with leading scientists like Dr. Andrew Huberman, Dr. Stacy Sims, and Dr. Andy Galpin to build the modern platform for health and human performance. Prior to starting Momentous, Jeff played professionally in the NFL.

Mikey Taylor is a seasoned entrepreneur, real estate investor, and politician who emerged from the world of professional skateboarding. Mikey is the co-founder and the current President and Managing principal of Commune Capital, a private equity real estate investment firm. He famously co-founded Saint Archer Brewing Company - a craft beer company, as well as Sovrn Skateboards.

Ben Sharf is the Co-founder of Platter, a storefront accelerator for Shopify brands, uniting all the highest converting apps and widgets into a single platform. Prior to starting Platter, Ben worked at GoPuff, specializing in collaborating in last mile delivery for major e-commerce & CPG brands.

Moe Hayek is an entrepreneur and multi-brand owner, and current operating partner at the Limitless pill. His expertise is in operations, growth, scaling viral content, tiktok shop, and brand strategy around leveraging emerging trends and market tailwinds.

William Gasner is the Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Stack Influence, a company that offers automation services to brands and micro influences on a scale of hundreds to thousands of promotions monthly. In this episode, we'll touch on the importance of understanding your brand's data before entering into influencer marketing campaigns, the relevance of creative campaigns, and how to navigate the challenges tied to direct attribution for influencer marketing. We discuss organic content halo effects, and the role of micro and niche creators across the main distribution platforms of Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube shorts.

Jessica Young is the founder of Bubblegoods, an online marketplace that aims to support emerging healthy food brands by providing them with a direct channel to consumers. In this episode, Jessica shares her journey from working in fine dining to revolutionizing the food distribution landscape. Get ready to learn about Bubble Goods' mission, their innovative marketplace, and how they are connecting customers with the best natural food and beverage brands.

Jeremy Barbara is the head of influencer marketing at Sundays, a highly successful direct-to-consumer dog food brand. Previously he led influencer at SeatGeek. In this episode, we'll learn about the advantages of YouTube for influencer marketing, how to identify the right creators to work with, and how to create unique and engaging collaborations that result in profits.

Paul Jarrett is a logistics expert and the co-founder of a major 3PL that focuses on unlocking a brand's potential through logistics.In this episode, Blaine and Paul dive into the challenges of scaling a small business, the often overlooked aspects of running an ecommerce brand, and the crucial role that logistics plays in the success of direct-to-consumer companies.

Scott Crumrine is the founder & CEO of Guava Family, a company that specializes in designing and manufacturing gear for new parents.

Mustafa Saeed is a growth marketer and co-founder of Paul Street - an affiliate marketing firm that works with some of the largest brands in e-commerce. Mustafa joins Ramon & Blaine to walk us through the key strategies and tactics brands can implement to grow profitably through affiliate marketing. From screening and selecting high-quality affiliates to creating customized landing pages and developing compelling content, don’t miss out on the strategies behind this often overlooked growth channel.

Mina Elias is a multiple seven figure seller in the supplement industry, investor, Amazon PPC expert and founder of Trivium Group, an Amazon Advertising agency.

Meghana Dhar is a tech advisor and investor passionate about creators, brands, social media, and commerce. With a background in big tech, she worked at Ebay where she discovered her love for e-commerce, marketplaces, and direct-to-consumer (DTC) business models. Meghana's strategic expertise led her to become an advisor to the CEO during the spin-off of PayPal. She later served as the head of shopping partnerships at Instagram, witnessing its growth from inception. Recently, she held the position of global head of partnerships at Snap, accumulating valuable experiences in social commerce.

Victor Guardiola and Jordan Hicks are the co-founders of Bawi. With a passion for entrepreneurship, they turned their vision of creating ready-to-drink agua frescas into a reality. From testing their products at farmers markets to securing distribution in over 600 stores nationally, Victor and Jordan continue to grow their brand and bring refreshing beverages to consumers nationwide.

Meghan Higney is the founder of Message, a innovative slide sandal brand. With a background in private equity investing, Meghan then served as President & COO of True Botanicals. She is advisor to several brands is extremely versed at all levels of operation within consumer brands.

On this episode of DTC pod, Blaine & Ramon break the latest news and analysis in the consumer & commerce space, with some in depth breakdowns.

Mike Xhaxho, an Albanian-American entrepreneur, started his career in finance and investment banking. After leaving finance, he created one of the first creator led fitness app business, which he scaled and sold, before finding his way into e-commerce and importing rattan bags. In 2020, he noticed a whitespace in the market around hydration products, and Waterboy was born.

Jordan West is a successful entrepreneur, owner of multiple brands, agency owner at upGrowth Commerce, and host of fellow e-commerce podcast Secrets To Scaling Your E-commerce Brand . With his expertise in digital advertising and e-commerce, Jordan has a background in growing brands, navigating advertising platforms, and understanding customer psychology.

Liz Giorgi is the co-founder and CEO of soona, a platform that specializes in creating visual content for Ecommerce. With a background in television editing for networks like CNN and PBS, Liz transitioned into the world of digital video content creation in 2013. After successfully running her own production company, she sold it in 2019 to focus on the opportunity with soona. Liz recognized the need for affordable and high-quality product photography in the Ecommerce industry and has since helped shoot 5 million Ecommerce assets and onboarded 15,000 merchants onto the soona platform.