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“They’re the most capable ever, but not trained on your business.” What pillars should every AI-first brand build, and which one comes first?  Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case & Lomi) and Cody Plofker (Advisor & fmr. CEO, Jones Road Beauty) open up the playbook behind Winks, a brand where AI does the grunt work and humans make the calls. Piece by piece, they break down the four components that make that split work.  1. Company brain: Context, memory, skills  2. Operating system (OS): Human interface  3. Software and tools: Existing tech, SaaS  4. Agents: Researcher, writer, analyst, etc.  The era of “prompt engineering” is over. Company context lets agents upload ads and match landing pages without being told twice. Yet AI tools still misread research, which leaves one question: How much can you trust them?  Powered By  Richpanel  https://9ops.co/richpanel  Runneth  https://9ops.co/motion-runneth  Skio  https://9ops.co/skio-9operators  Omnisend  https://9ops.co/omnisend  TBAR Partners  https://9ops.co/tbarpartners  OuterSignal  https://9ops.co/outersignal  Operators Portal  https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard  Operators Newsletter  https://9operators.com/

“You’re never gonna make a big impact on Black Friday.” Should you worry if frequent promotions will hurt your brand equity? Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case and Lomi), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) break down how Ridge manufactures demand instead of waiting for it. A slow summer becomes an 8-figure-plus sales season, anchored by a Lamborghini sweepstakes with Tony Hawk.  Sean walks through how the campaign evolved from a $100K MVP into a five year, celebrity backed giveaway with a grand prize built in. He explains why a 45-day window beats trying to own a single day like Black Friday. The hosts continue to cover why a wider product catalog creates more natural sales peaks throughout the year.  Powered By  Aftersell  https://9ops.co/aftersell-operators Richpanel  https://9ops.co/richpanel  Fulfil  https://9ops.co/fulfil  Northbeam  https://www.northbeam.io/  Saras Analytics https://9ops.co/saras Postscript  https://9ops.co/postscript  Operators Portal  https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard Operators Newsletter  https://9operators.com/

“You almost feel stupid buying the product as a one-time customer.” Why do some subscription brands retain customers and stack LTV while others lose them? Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela & Lomi) and Cody Plofker (Advisor & fmr. CEO, Jones Road) sit down with Aidan Thibodeaux (CEO, Skio) and Bernard Meyer (AI Operations Manager, Omnisend) to ask the questions every subscription brand needs answered. Aidan argues that the offer matters more than anything else. He pushes quarterly plans and free gifts over discounts. Discounts train customers to wait for deals. He sets targets of 65% or higher for subscription take rate, 80–90% retention into the second order, and 35% at six months. Bernard lays out the post-purchase basics, including a welcome email that sets expectations and check-ins after delivery. The group also debates when to ask for reviews, roasts Winks’ current buy box, then closes with quick skip buttons, subject line tests, and win back emails built on cancel flow data. The question every subscription company needs to answer: What exactly are you promising a subscriber with recurring orders? Powered By  OuterSignal https://9ops.co/outersignal Richpanel  https://9ops.co/richpanel Runneth  https://9ops.co/motion-runneth  Skio  https://9ops.co/skio-9operators  Omnisend  https://9ops.co/omnisend TBAR Partners https://9ops.co/tbarpartners Operators Portal  https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard  Operators Newsletter  https://9operators.com/

How did First Day raise $1M and then build a 9-figure brand? Alice Li (Founder & CEO, First Day) joins Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi) and Jason Panzer (President, HexClad) to unpack how she has sold over half a billion gummies and built a family wellness empire around kids’ vitamins. After years of turning down retailers, First Day launched nationwide and became the number one kids vitamin in the country. Powered By  Podqi  https://9ops.co/podqi  AppLovin https://www.9operators.com/paid-growth  https://applovin.com/9operators  Shoplift  https://shoplift.ai/operators  Shiphero  https://9ops.co/shiphero-titans  SARAL  ⁠https://www.getsaral.com/special-guided-walkthrough-for-operators⁠

“The best Black Friday offers don’t just increase orders, they increase AOV.” Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case x Lomi), Jason Panzer (President, HexClad), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) share the Black Friday & Cyber Monday tips they rely on every year. Every tactic comes from hard-won experience over decades of combined holiday wins and losses. They break down why every Black Friday deal needs a backup, sometimes even a worse one, ready to launch. Mike explains why spotlight bias makes old creative beat anything new. Matt shares the upsell that added a million dollars. Small moves like these are what separate a good quarter from a record one.  Powered By  Postscript  https://9ops.co/postscript  Aftersell https://9ops.co/aftersell-operators Richpanel  https://9ops.co/richpanel  Fulfil  https://9ops.co/fulfil  Northbeam  https://www.northbeam.io/  Saras Analytics  https://bit.ly/4a3gzVv  Operators Portal  https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard  Operators Newsletter  https://9operators.com/

“The amount of effort that we put in to start does not have any meaningful correlation with the success at the end.”  When you get delayed and deprioritized by your co-manufacturer, your timeline slips by almost a year, and you still have zero sales, what do you have to show for 18 months of work?  Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela & Lomi), Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern), Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Curtis Christopherson (Chief Growth Officer, Ammortal), and Cody Plofker (Advisor & fmr. CEO, Jones Road) reunite one month from launch to close the loop on everything that went wrong.  Physical product is in hand. Five thousand units for their very first purchase order. Now, the hard part.  Sean raises the question nobody wants to answer: is powder still the right format in 2026? Mike does the math on what 14,000 families means for a nine-figure exit. Cody challenges the team to hit $200 CAC in month one. Then drop it to $100.  Powered by  TBAR Partners  ⁠https://9ops.co/tbarpartners⁠  Aftersell  https://9ops.co/aftersell-build Skio  ⁠https://9ops.co/skio-9operators⁠  Runneth  ⁠https://9ops.co/motion-runneth⁠  Omnisend  ⁠https://9ops.co/omnisend⁠  Richpanel  ⁠https://9ops.co/richpanel⁠  Operators Portal  ⁠https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard⁠  Operators Newsletter  ⁠https://9operators.com/⁠

“We were not going to make payroll next week.”  How did three ecommerce CEOs turn rock bottom into their biggest lesson?  Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi), Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern), and Curtis Matsko (CEO, Portland Leather Goods) each share the darkest moment of their ecommerce careers. What came after built the self-awareness that changed how they lead.  Curtis walks through the week Wells Fargo pulled a $20M line of credit after Silicon Valley Bank collapsed. Matt breaks down the hubris that nearly cost him payroll one Christmas. Mike shares the night a two-year venture fell apart. Their comebacks outweighed the crises, driven by a growth mindset none of them had before.  Powered By  Saras Analytics  ⁠https://bit.ly/4a3gzVv⁠  Postscript  ⁠https://9ops.co/postscript⁠  Aftersell https://9ops.co/aftersell-operators⁠ Richpanel  https://9ops.co/richpanel  Fulfil  ⁠https://9ops.co/fulfil⁠  Northbeam  https://www.northbeam.io/  Black Friday Resources https://www.9operators.com/black-friday Operators Portal  https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard  Operators Newsletter  https://9operators.com/

“They have just shown how packaging can be so much of a differentiator.”  What does a professional DTC packaging design process look like in practice?  Chris Ganz (Senior Creative Director, Trevi) sits down with the Winks team to tackle one of packaging’s hardest problems: standing out on a crowded shelf. The group debates naming, mascots, and color palettes before testing real designs on real families.  Chris opens with a full competitor audit, sizing up Ollie, Vicks, and Beam. Three distinct concepts turn into five packaging directions, each with its own typography and color story. The team weighs a winking semicolon against a plush sleep monster, and one child’s smile carries real weight.  Powered By  Iris  https://www.irisfinance.co/operators  Skio  https://9ops.co/skio-9operators  Omnisend  https://www.omnisend.com/9operators  Richpanel  https://9ops.co/richpanel  Runneth  https://9ops.co/motion-runneth  Aftersell  https://9ops.co/aftersell-build Operators Portal  https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard  Operators Newsletter  https://9operators.com/

What does it take for a married couple to build a $200 million brand together?  Betsie Larkin (Founder & CEO, Honeylove) and Igor Lebovic (Co-CEO, Honeylove) sit down with Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi) and Jason Panzer (President, HexClad). The conversation traces an accidental idea, the crowdfunding math, and the founder instincts that shaped every expansion.  Kickstarter only entered the DTC playbook after Betsie proved product market fit on tour. The brand’s sculpting body shapers and tummy control styles kept expanding the line. Betsie explains why a Kardashian-backed competitor helped the category instead of hurting it. Matt and Jason press on the mechanics of running a business with your spouse.  Powered By  Shoplift  https://shoplift.ai/operators  Shiphero  https://9ops.co/shiphero-titans  SARAL  ⁠https://www.getsaral.com/special-guided-walkthrough-for-operators⁠ AppLovin https://applovin.com/9operators⁠  https://www.9operators.com/paid-growth

“I’ve always hated it. This year I made the decision to shut it down.” Can three nine-figure CEOs open up about their priorities, passions, and doubts? Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) sit down for an honest conversation about the pressure of scaling ecommerce brands. They cover decision making, staying passionate, and the whiplash of growing fast.  Mike explains why organizations drift toward safe tasks instead of high impact work. Sean recalls shutting down a profitable business line while questioning his passion. Matt contrasts the rhythm of running a bigger company with the grind of building Winks from zero. Same stage of success, but three completely different struggles.  Powered By  Northbeam  https://www.northbeam.io/ Saras Analytics  https://bit.ly/4a3gzVv   Postscript  https://9ops.co/postscript  Aftersell https://9ops.co/aftersell-operators⁠ Richpanel  https://9ops.co/richpanel  Fulfil  ⁠https://9ops.co/fulfil⁠  Operators Portal  https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard  Operators Newsletter  https://9operators.com/

What separates a real supplement company from just a good idea?  Dr. Todd A. Born (Chief Science Officer, 4POTENTIA) pulls back the curtain on how to enter the supplement industry, showing the Winks team what product development, private label, contract manufacturers, and regulatory compliance (FDA) look like in practice.  More than a deep dive into custom formulation, hosts Sean Frank, Matt Bertulli, Mike Beckham, and Curtis Christopherson show you how to apply good manufacturing practices to everything from marketing strategies in health and wellness to minimum order quantities (MOQs) to protect profit margin. Powered By  Aftersell  ⁠https://9ops.co/aftersell-build⁠ Iris  https://www.irisfinance.co/operators  Skio  https://9ops.co/skio-9operators  Omnisend  https://www.omnisend.com/9operators  Richpanel  https://www.richpanel.com/demo?utm_source=operators&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=rp2-2026q3  Motion  https://9ops.co/motion-runneth  Operators Portal  https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard Operators Newsletter  https://9operators.com/

What are the secrets to winning in ecommerce that nobody talks about? Matthew Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi), Jason Panzer (President, HexClad), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) reveal 12 lessons for anyone building a brand from the ground up. This is what they’d tell their younger selves if they ever got one more shot.  Secrets like why it takes a decade for your brand to earn its name and how walking away from weak products makes grit pay off. After that, cash gets a hard look because even strong margins can still starve your reserves. Also included are quick hits like customer obsession, copying your first product, hiring slow, and firing fast. Powered By  Fulfil  https://9ops.co/fulfil  Aftersell  https://9ops.co/aftersell-operators⁠ Richpanel  https://9ops.co/richpanel  Northbeam  https://www.northbeam.io/  Saras Analytics  https://bit.ly/4a3gzVv  Postscript  https://9ops.co/postscript  Operators Portal https://portal.9operators.com Operators Newsletter  https://9operators.com

What does a real product development process look like when 9-figure operators are betting their own money?  Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern), Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), and Curtis Christopherson (Chief Growth Officer, Ammortal) sit down mid-build on Winks, a family sleep supplement, to make product decisions. Go behind the scenes on flavor count, purchase order size, pricing, sourcing, and the supply chain mistake from Trevi that cost hundreds of thousands to fix.  This is an actual founder meeting. Recorded, unedited, and real money at stake.  Mike breaks down the MOQ math behind every multi-SKU decision. Sean argues for the smallest possible capital bet. Curtis brings the manufacturer’s-eye view. It ends with one flavor, $75K inventory budget, and a purchase order due in two weeks.  If you’re figuring out how to launch a new product from scratch, this episode was made for you.  Powered By  SARAL  https://www.getsaral.com/special-guided-walkthrough-for-operators  Shoplift  https://shoplift.ai/operators  Omnisend  https://www.omnisend.com/9operators  Richpanel  https://9ops.co/richpanel  Motion  https://9ops.co/motion-runneth  Skio  https://9ops.co/skio-9operators  Operators Portal  https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard  Operators Newsletter  https://9operators.com/

How did two guys flipping “junk” build a brand that’s sold 14M pairs of underwear?  Jens Nicolaysen and Chris White (Co-Founders, Shinesty) join Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela & Lomi) and Katy Mimiari (CEO, Caden Lane) to unpack how their eBay account grew into Shinesty. The secret isn’t strategy. It’s personality.  They trace the jump from estate sales to beloved online retailer. One midnight email changed everything overnight. Fart blocking underwear and deviled egg prints became fan favorites. It’s proof that irreverent marketing keeps ecommerce customers opening every message.  Shiphero  https://9ops.co/shiphero-titans  Shoplift  ⁠https://shoplift.ai/operators⁠  SARAL  https://www.getsaral.com/special-guided-walkthrough-for-operators  Richpanel  ⁠https://9ops.co/richpanel⁠  AppLovin https://www.9operators.com/paid-growth  https://applovin.com/9operators

Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi), Jason Panzer (President, HexClad), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) rank the ten highest impact ways ecommerce brands are using AI in 2026. The four disagree loudly before landing on a group ranking none of them expected going in.  Sean says AI chatbots now handle nearly every routine support ticket. Mike takes it further with a model that predicts each customer’s next purchase and updates hourly.The pattern repeats in content, where generative AI now handles static images at Ridge and Pela for a fraction of the old cost.  Powered By  Fulfil  https://9ops.co/fulfil  Saras Analytics  https://9ops.co/saras Postscript  ⁠https://9ops.co/postscript⁠  Aftersell  https://9ops.co/aftersell-operators⁠ Richpanel  https://9ops.co/richpanel  Northbeam  https://www.northbeam.io/  Operators Newsletter  https://9operators.com/  Operators Portal  https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard