The Founders Forum

In this conversation, Ike Armstrong from Huckberry discusses the unique marketing strategies employed by the brand, particularly in relation to their customer acquisition. He emphasizes the importance of creating funnels for house brands, leveraging influencer marketing, and utilizing YouTube for customer engagement. The discussion also covers retention strategies, customer lifecycle management, and the significance of measuring success through CAC and marketing efficiency. Key Takeaways How retention strategies make up a crucial ingredient for breaking even on first purchases. Why Huckberry chose to focus on lifestyle branding to connect with their customers. How Influencer marketing and UGC has become a bigger part of their creative strategy Why this often ignored platform has become a powerful tool for their customer engagement. The two metrics Huckberry focuses on most when driving growth. Why Huckberry leaned into more memorable gifting experiences for the holidays. The most valuable insights Huckberry has learned engaging with their customers face-to-face. To Learn more about Ike & Huckberry you can follow head to at https://huckberry.com/ To lean more about the Foxwell Founders Community head here: https://Foxwelldigital.com/membership

In this conversation, Max Langlois, founder and CEO of Hype 10, discusses the rapid growth of his performance marketing agency, the strategies behind driving quality leads, and the importance of client retention. He emphasizes the significance of building strong relationships with clients and referral partners, as well as the innovative approaches Hype 10 is taking to enhance their service offerings, including forecasting and whitelisting. Max shares valuable lessons learned from his three years in business, including the significance of patience and effective hiring practices. The discussion also touches on future trends in digital marketing, emphasizing the need for brands to focus on profitability and individual brand identity. Key Takeaways: Why this one thing is crucial for lead generation. - How referrals should be a significant portion of new business. - How these types of services can lead to longer client retention. - Why you must regularly evaluate this 1 thing for growth. - How forecasting accuracy can unlock huge value for your clients. - Why managing this newer social tactic can be an under-appreciated strategy in marketing. Why you should prioritize this over growth in our current market conditions. - Where you can be implementing AI and where it should not be replacing humans. To Learn more about Hype10 head here. To Learn more about Max you can follow him on X To lean more about the Foxwell Founders Community head here.

Trace Crawford, brand manager of Supply.co, shares insights on focusing on what works and how he avoids excessive testing in their account. Trace discusses the strategy of running one campaign with multiple ad sets and using CBO (Campaign Budget Optimization) to let the ads compete for spend. He also highlights the need to trust yourself as a marketer and focus on creating the best possible assets(even when we may feel imposter syndrome setting in). He then moves on to sharing a few of the breakthrough moments in growing an eight-figure shaving brand, including the success of their founder story ad, which didn't come without it's fair share of challenges. Key takeaways: The importance of focusing on what works and avoiding excessive testing Why Brands need a clear message How Supply will run one campaign with multiple ad sets as a CBO The one thing every marketer should do to create the best possible assets How focusing on these two internal things lead to successful strategies Why these two offers worked best to manage Supply's inventory and in crease AOV The landing page set-up that has helped Supply engage customers, capture leads, and provide personalized recommendations To Learn more about Supply razors head here: https://supply.co To Learn more about Trace you can follow him at https://x.com/BubbaDoesEcom To lean more about the Foxwell Founders Community head here: https://Foxwelldigital.com/membership

Austin Dandridge joins the podcast to discuss running an agency with his wife and the challenges that can arise when working in business and life with someone. Austin shares their strategies for generating new leads and the vision on how he and his wife are growing their agency. (Hint: it includes the use AI in their advertising and agency operations.) Key Takeaways: How running an agency with a spouse can have its challenges and rewards Why referrals are such a valuable source of new business How podcasts can be a powerful marketing tool for agencies The AI tools that can help with persona building, data modeling, and personalization in advertising Why regular creative refreshes are important in marketing How landing page testing can also improve performance of this one thing. The one thing that cannot be replaced by AI when it comes to marketing. To learn more about Austin and his team go here. To learn more about the Foxwell Founders Community or to become a member join here .

Oliver Kenyon, co-founder of ConversionWise, a fully qualified chef who has spent over 20 years working online, and has built the largest affiliate community in the world! With a team of 60+ members, this powerhouse CEO is leading ConversionWise to generate $400-500k in MRR while working with over 3,500 brands globally. In this episode you'll learn from one of the the best (literally) in the industry regarding conversion strategies, landing page design, and affiliate marketing. Oliver specifically shares his thoughts on conversion rate optimization (CRO) and the importance of focusing on revenue per session rather than just conversion rate. He also discusses the challenges of benchmarking CRO results, as it varies depending on factors such as price points and brand uniqueness. Key Takeaways: The importance of focusing on revenue per session How to avoid doing this 1 thing without testing first Why this testing is crucial for identifying and removing conversion funnel distractions. How a trust policy bar can showcase trust indicators and a testimonial to handle objections your brand may encounter Why Social proof, is essential for increasing conversions. How the use of countdown timers, inventory timers, and seasonality can rapidly drive sales. Why you should prioritize quality over quantity when running A/B tests To learn more about Oliver and his team at Conversion Wise head here: www.cnvrsn.co/conversionwise To connect with Oliver follow him here on X: https://x.com/oliverkenyon To lean more about the Foxwell Founders Community head here: www.Foxwelldigital.com/membership

In this conversation, Danil Saliukov, CEO of Incense, joins Edwin & Tris to explore the evolving landscape of User Generated Content (UGC). They discuss the impact of Gen.AI on UGC creation, the differences between UGC and influencer content, and the importance of finding the right creators. The conversation also delves into the performance of UGC across various verticals, the significance of creative briefing, common pitfalls in UGC campaigns, and how to measure success and ROI. Daniel emphasizes that UGC is evolving and that a well-structured creative strategy is essential for effective campaigns. Key Takeaways: How UGC is evolving and remains a vital part of marketing. How Gen.AI can enhance the creative process for UGC. Why Differentiating between UGC and influencer content is crucial. Why finding the right creators requires a clear understanding of objectives. Why UGC performs best for these types of products. The one thing to not sacrifice just to save money on ad creatives Why knowing this one thing will help you effectively target your ads How soon results can be seen from a UGC campaign How this one thing can significantly enhance ad performance. How this platform shop is revolutionizing e-commerce by unlocking new audiences. The reason your UGC might not be working Why you should be focusing on social commerce in 2025 Book a 1-2-1 strategy call by Nov 8 and get $200 for your first UGC campaign To get Insense's Ultimate eBook for A Successful Q4 head here : To learn more about Danil and his team at Insense head here : To learn more about the Foxwell Founders community: https://Foxwelldigital.com/membership

In this conversation, Abir from UpAccounting.com discuss the key financial metrics that e-commerce brands should focus on. He highlights the importance of contribution margin ( the money left over after deducting variable expenses from revenue) along with emphasizing the significance of operating cash flow as the ultimate measure of a business's financial health. The conversation shift to the challenges of forecasting revenue for events like Black Friday and provides advice on managing cash flow and inventory during peak seasons. Abir also cautions against common financial pitfalls, such as over-investing in fixed expenses and not maintaining financial discipline during periods of success. Lastly, he highlights the significance of robust historical data and reliable revenue projections as a brand (or agency) prepare for an exit. Key Takeaways: The 4 key financial metrics for e-commerce brands The importance of forecasting revenue for events like Black Friday How to avoid common financial pitfalls, such as over-investing in fixed expenses Why accurate historical data and strong retention numbers are crucial for businesses The importance of NOT relying solely on first-order profitability How different acquisition channels can impact customer retention Why you need to understand your numbers and build good relationships with banks What to consider with revolving lines of credit for scaling businesses To learn more about Abir and the UpAccounting team head here: https://upcounting.com/ To learn more about the Foxwell Founders community or to join, head here: https://www.foxwelldigital.com/membership

Rahul Issar, head of paid digital at Reach, shares his experiences as a serial entrepreneur and discusses his current venture in the menopause supplement industry. He talks about his previous ventures in dropshipping and print-on-demand, including the challenges he faced in building customer personas, conducting market research and the impact of COVID-19. Rahul goes on to discusses the process of testing different offers for brands and the importance of creative strategies in driving revenue. He explains how they analyze cart analysis and customer behavior to identify product bundles and determine the gross margin. Rahul also shares the offers that have worked well for their clients, such as discounts, buy one get one, and subscription offers. Key Takeaways Why entrepreneurs should have backup suppliers and manufacturers to mitigate risks. How selling a business can become a complex process How business valuations have been affected by COVID-19 Why customer personas should go beyond demographics How market research can be conducted through platforms like Listener and other feedback platforms The one thing that is crucial for optimizing customer acquisition costs Being able to add this one service to your agency can play a significant role in client retention and revenue growth. To connect with Rahul, you can head here: https://linktr.ee/therahulissar To learn more about the Founders community or to join you can head here: https://www.foxwelldigital.com/membership

In this episode of the Founders Forum, the "big cheese" himself, Andrew Foxwell, sits down post Founders meet-up with Edwin and Tris to talk through his thoughts about Q4/BFCM and trends he's seeing in our industry. The guys share on some of their most favorite takeaways during the educational presentations held at the Amsterdam Founders meet-up and highlight the value of having the right offer for success. (IE 20% off might not cut it this year). They round out the episode with a few hot takes and while Andrew doesn't quite call them "Twitter beefs" he shares on what might be truly holding us back when it comes to learning and growing in the DTC community. Want to learn more about the Foxwell Founders or become a member? Head here.

Molly Nutt, founder of Acorn Digital Strategy, discusses her experience in serving e-commerce brands and the importance of email marketing. She emphasizes the need for a comprehensive email strategy and dispels some of the bad advice many brands have been given about email marketing. Molly highlights the 4 essential flows for e-commerce brands before getting into the nitty gritty of what's changed for email marketing with the recent iOS changes. Key Takeaways: The importance of having a comprehensive email strategy The 4 essential flows for e-commerce brands How recent iOS changes have impacted email marketing Why email warming and using a branded sending domain are now more important for brands What you benchmarks for measuring the success of email marketing should include Why you should be implementing a list cleaning strategy to remove unengaged users from your lists How you can grow your email list faster by optimizing these specific conversion rates. How you should be segmenting your email list to send targeted and personalized content If you'd like to connect with Molly and her team at Acorn Digital Strategy, you can find them here: https://acorndigitalstrategynw.com/ To learn more about the Foxwell Founders Membership, head here: www.foxwelldigital.com/membership

Kanika Misra, owner of bedabedagrowth.com joins the podcast to discuss and debunk some common misconceptions regarding conversion rate optimization (CRO) Kanika emphasizes that there is no universal target conversion rate stresses the importance of focusing on the post-click experience and ensuring that the website is functioning properly. The conversation shifts to what to look out for and what to avoid when looking for a CRO specialist along with actionable advice for fashion and apparel brands to improve their CRO. Key Takeaways: Why a universal target conversion rate does not exist How focusing on the post-click experience is one of the most important things for CRO. How Analyzing user behavior can help identify areas for improvement. How using different-sized models can help customers feel more confident in their purchasing decisions. Why copywriting plays a significant role in CRO. The value setting up quality tests over a quantity of tests Why it is so important to use caution before venturing on a site redesign If you'd like to connect with Kanika and the Beda Beda Growth team, you can find them here: https://bedabedagrowth.com/ To learn more about the Foxwell Founders Membership, head here: www.foxwelldigital.com/membership

Josh Durham, owner of Aligned Growth Management, an agency dedicated to helping brands source and develop relationships with influencers, joins the podcast to chat on finding micro-influencers, how to properly vet them and the pay structures that have worked for their clients. The conversation also shifts to discussing brand spending, KPIs, and the challenges of measuring ROI. Key takeaways: The core metrics influencer marketing focuses on How to properly negotiate influencer rates Why agency revenue models for influencer marketing include fixed retainers and increased rates for larger campaigns. Why it's so important to set KPIs before diving into influencer marketing If you'd like to connect with Josh and the Aligned Growth Management team, you can find them here: alignedgrowthmanagement.com To learn more about the Foxwell Founders Membership, head here: www.foxwelldigital.com/membership

In this conversation, Will Sartorius, CEO of Selfmade, discusses the recent AI update by Meta along with how AI personas are generated and used for performance creatives on Meta and TikTok. Will shares on how AI personas have improved their hit rate and provided guidance for their strategists. He also goes in on the prompts used to generate AI personas and how it's still very important to have a human strategists in the AI process. Key Takeaways: - How Meta's AI update allows users to optimize images and test different headlines and descriptions. Why AI personas have improved SelfMade's hit rate for generating effective creatives. The specific prompts Will and his team use to generate AI personas without any outside data Why AI personas can be so valuable in guiding the ad creation process Why testing new personas is important, even if clients may be resistant to trying something new. Will's top five AI tools for ad creation and content optimization How AI can streamline the production process and empower offshore teams to become effective strategists. To learn more about Will and the team at SelfMade head here: Want to learn more about the Foxwell Founders Membership? Head here.

In this conversation, Brad Ploch, Owner WRK Marketing discusses the importance of contribution margin and other key metrics in direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing. Brad emphasizes the need to focus on new customer acquisition and repeat customers, as well as setting realistic goals for contribution margin. He also cautions against relying solely on metrics like ROAS and click-through rates, as they can be misleading. Key Takeaways: Why contribution margin is a paramount for measuring profitability in DTC marketing. How new customer acquisition and repeat customers are crucial for maintaining a positive contribution margin. How metrics like ROAS and click-through rates can be misleading when trying to scale your accounts The importance of setting realistic goals for contribution margin and consistently measuring against them. If you'd like to connect with Brad and the WRK Marketing team you can find them here : Want to learn more about the Foxwell Founders Membership? Head here :

Phil Kiel, the managing director at Hello Earth Agency, shares his insights on troubleshooting and improving performance in digital advertising. He emphasizes the importance of understanding seasonality, analyzing key performance metrics like revenue, CPA, ROAS, and conversion rate, and making data-driven decisions. Hosts, Edwin & Tristram question Phil on the role of creative strategy in driving performance and the need for collaboration between media buyers and creatives. Phil also highlights the significance of effective communication and building trust with clients during challenging times. Takeaways: Why its so important to understand seasonality and compare current performance to previous periods to gain insights. The 4 metrics you should focus on when making account decisions. When its important to reduce the number of live campaigns, ad sets, and ads in an account Why it's so important to collaborate closely between media buyers and creatives The one thing you must do to have client support during challenging times. Two campaigns to consider running before retargeting. To learn more about Phil and The Hello Earth Agency head here : If you'd like to learn more about the Founders Community or want to become a member you can do so here .

In this conversation, Tris and Edwin interview Jess Bachman, the Creative Strategy Director at Fireteam, about effective creative strategies for advertising. They discuss the use of ASMR-style videos as a successful format across different clients, the importance of testing and iterating on creative, and the need for brands to differentiate themselves in their ads. Jess also shares insights on benchmark metrics for click-through rates and thumb stop rates, as well as the process of sourcing creative when resources are limited. Key Takeaways How ASMR-style videos can be an effective format for introducing new users to brand. Why testing and iterating on creative is crucial for producing successful ads campaigns. How differentiating a brand and articulating its unique selling points are essential for successful advertising. The benchmark metrics for click-through rates and thumb stop you should be considering based on your target audience. How sourcing creative can vary wildly from reaching out to influencers to simply using post-it notes in ads. To learn more about Jess Bachman and the Fire Team head to: https://www.fireteam.is If you'd like to learn more about the Founders Community or want to become a member you can do so here .

Akvile DeFazio, owner of Akvertise.com discusses the role of AI in media buying and its impact on workflow. She believes that AI will enhance, rather than replace, human creativity. Akvile shares her experience with AI tools and how they have helped her team create concise summaries, import data for reporting and overall improve efficiencies in managing client accounts. She also highlights the importance of documenting processes and using AI to refine them. Key Takeaways How AI is allowing for more efficient account management Why AI is helping to improve communication skills How handing over tasks to AI can allow more time for more strategic work Why documenting processes and using AI to refine them is a most for any agency To learn more about Akvile DeFazio and her team you can and head to: https://www.akvertise.com/ If you'd like to learn more about the Founders Community or want to become a member you can do so here: www.foxwelldigital.com/membership

In this episode of the Foxwell Founders podcast, Brett Fish, founder of Tag Hero, discusses the importance of tracking and technology in e-commerce. He addresses the question of whether third-party tracking services provide an edge over Shopify's built-in server-side pixel implementation and provides insights into the perfect tracking setup. Key Takeaways: Who third-party tracking services are most beneficial for. Why Shopify's pixel implementation may be just right for you When its best suited to move to a third-party tracking service The 3 things the best tracking set-ups all have The importance of regular testing pixel events Why Brett believes the founders membership is so valuable To learn more about Brett Fish and TagHero you can head to: www.taghero.io If you'd like to learn more about the Founders Community or want to become a member you can do so here: www.foxwelldigital.com/membership

Jenni-Lyn, the owner of a Snarky Tea, joins Edwin and Tristram to discuss her experience managing the supply chain and inventory for her business. She shares insights on sourcing suppliers, building relationships, and dealing with difficult partners(she landed a deal on Shark Tank). She emphasizes the importance of inventory management as a strategic differentiator and explains how her company creates excitement by offering limited edition products. She even walks through her strategy for these new product drops. She also shares the value of building a community of superfans and creating a safe space for customers. Key Takeaways: How building strong relationships with suppliers is crucial for a successful supply chain. How her willingness to take on different roles helped her overcome challenges in the business and improved efficiency. Why inventory management can be a strategic differentiator, allowing businesses to create excitement and cater to specific customer preferences. How limited edition products can generate excitement and loyalty among customers. The importance of balancing new customer acquisition with serving existing customers for long-term success. When to accurately use product drops and revenue generation events to maintain cash flow and drive sales. Why AI can be a useful tool in certain areas, but can lack the human experience that is essential for branding. The one thing Jenni-lyn leaned into to create simplicity with her inventory management. To learn more about Jenni-lyn and Snarky Tea you can follow her here If you'd like to learn more about the Founders Community or want to become a member you can do so here .

In this conversation, Jeff Bekavac, CRO of Swiftstart, shares his expertise on selling on Amazon. He discusses the challenges of dealing with Amazon, the benefits of selling on the platform, and the importance of Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA). Jeff also provides insights on inventory management, standing out in a crowded marketplace, and optimizing product images and titles. Key Takeaways: How selling on Amazon can provide additional revenue and brand awareness. Why he recommends Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA). The amount of inventory you should be sending to Amazon. The 3 things you need when dealing with Amazon's challenges. How you should be utilizing Amazon's tools to improve your product listings. Why you should never bait or encourage fake reviews on Amazon. The margins you can expect to gain selling on Amazon. Why Amazon Ads take time, especially for new listings. The best ways to differentiate your brand on Amazon vs. your website Why product discovery is so valuable on Amazon. To connect With Geoff reach out to him here: geoff@swiftstart.com If you'd like to learn more about the Founders Community or want to become a member you can do so here: www.foxwelldigital.com/membership