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“The scale is not going to fix your problems.” What separates a hundred million dollar ecommerce brand from the rest? Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi), Jason Panzer (President, HexClad), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) break down the eight rules to build a hundred million dollar ecommerce brand in 2026. These are not theories: each host has built a brand at this exact scale. Mike breaks down why Trevi chased profitable unit economics for a year before scaling. Sean calls reorder revenue the ultimate cheat code, and explains why he built Ridge around chasing it. Jason closes on hiring rigor, where a LinkedIn check now decides every offer. Powered ByFulfilhttps://9ops.co/fulfil Richpanelhttps://9ops.co/richpanelNorthbeamhttps://www.northbeam.io/Saras Analyticshttps://bit.ly/9OP-YtdescPostscripthttps://9ops.co/postscriptAftersellhttps://9ops.co/4i3bb5Operators Newsletterhttps://9operators.com/
“The new infomercial is TikTok shop.” Why did Ridge see 88% of its GMV Max lift happen outside of TikTok? Cody Plofker (CEO, Jones Road Beauty), Connor Rolain (Head of Growth, HexClad), and Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge) sit down to unpack how their brands are building profitable TikTok shop affiliate programs. The conversation opens with Cody's decision to step down as CEO of Jones Road. Connor MacDonald breaks down how Ridge structures affiliate incentives, generating 7,000 videos in a single month. He also shares a geolift study showing 88% of GMV Max lift landed off TikTok on Amazon and Ridge.com. The trio close by reverse engineering a TikTok shop brand, from price point to visual appeal. Powered By Motion Creative Benchmarks 2026 https://9ops.co/motionapp-creativebenchmarks2026 Proppel https://9ops.co/weareproppel Aftersell https://9ops.co/aftersell-mops Haus https://www.haus.io/operators NeonPixel https://9ops.co/neonpixel Richpanel https://9ops.co/richpanel-mops Operators Newsletter https://9operators.com/
Rory Scovel joins Neal Brennan to talk about being born into grief—his mother died on his first birthday—and how losing his dad in 2020 reshaped his standup, his parenting, and the way he thinks about aging and death. Plus: learning to read at 44, improvising his entire show every night, asking AI about death, Leonardo DiCaprio playing a father, ADHD, marriage, and more.
“I don't think our ads are any better.” Why are Meta click-through rates rising while conversion rates keep falling? Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge), Cody Plofker (CEO, Jones Road Beauty), and Connor Rolain (Head of Growth, HexClad) unpack why Meta ad performance has quietly shifted across ecommerce accounts. They break down Ridge's new chains launch and the merchandising lessons behind it, and debate whether TikTok Shop's affiliate program matters more than its storefront. Meta CPMs and click-through rates keep climbing across DTC accounts, even as conversion rates fall. The hosts respond with the exclusion settings and bid multipliers they are testing to fight back. From there, the conversation turns to Ridge's chains launch and the pricing lessons behind it. Powered By Motion Creative Benchmarks 2026 https://9ops.co/motionapp-creativebenchmarks2026 Richpanel https://9ops.co/richpanel-mops Aftersell https://9ops.co/aftersell-mops Haus https://www.haus.io/operators NeonPixel https://9ops.co/neonpixel Operators Newsletter https://9operators.com/
“She has built an amazing system and an amazing flywheel.” What separates a performance creative director worth hiring from one who just manages a content calendar? Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge) and Connor Rolain (Head of Growth, HexClad) dig into what it takes to hire a director of performance creative today, why the creative strategist role has split into two distinct skill sets, and how AI agents are emerging as a serious ecommerce conversion rate optimization play. They debate whether a great creative strategist should be an operator or an ideator. The answer is neither alone. Both hosts unpack why less prescriptive creator briefs are now producing better-performing ads than heavily scripted ones. The hosts close with a quick over-under on the retention tools most brands either overinvest in or ignore entirely. Powered By Motion Creative Benchmarks 2026 https://9ops.co/motionapp-creativebenchmarks2026 NeonPixel https://9ops.co/neonpixel Richpanel https://9ops.co/richpanel Aftersell https://9ops.co/aftersell-mops Haus https://www.haus.io/operators Operators Newsletter https://9operators.com/
7/8/26Episode SummaryThe episode explains that a store's background color drives a subconscious snap judgment about a brand within about 50 milliseconds — before a visitor reads a single word — and that in 2026, Shopify stores are increasingly moving away from the long-standing default of pure white backgrounds.Why white is losing its grip. Pure white is clean, fast-loading, readable, and required by Amazon and Google Shopping — but it's become commoditized (making independent brands look like marketplace dropshippers) and causes eye strain on today's bright screens. The replacement trend is "elevated neutrals" — off-whites, warm creams, soft grays.Dark mode's advantages. Dark backgrounds create a "theater effect" that makes products pop, reduce eye fatigue for nighttime browsing, and save meaningful OLED battery life — but the episode warns against pure black (#000000), which causes black smearing and halation; deep charcoal like #121212 with softened text is the pro move.Brand-color backgrounds. High risk, high reward — Tiffany blue builds recognition and emotional immersion, but simultaneous contrast can distort how products look and drive returns.The recommended playbook. A hybrid approach: neutral backgrounds on collection grids where shoppers compare products, atmospheric color on product pages, delivered adaptively via the prefers-color-scheme CSS media query — with every change validated against WCAG 4.5:1 contrast requirements and A/B tested with an eye out for the novelty effect.Show LinksSabi Juice - https://sabijuice.com/Bixby Chocolate - https://bixbychocolate.com/Emerson Knives - https://www.emersonknives.com/Scorpion Percussion - https://scorpionpercussion.com/Authentic Vintage Posters - https://www.authenticvintageposters.com/Hexclad - https://hexclad.com/Google Battery Life Stat - https://wpswings.com/blog/dark-mode-in-ecommerce/WAVE Evaluation Tool - https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/wave-evaluation-tool/Video & Transcripthttps://jadepuma.com/blogs/the-shopify-solutions-podcast/episode-189-why-shopify-stores-are-ditching-white-backgrounds
“All bad tests turn good and all good tests turn bad.” How do you run ecommerce A/B testing faster without sacrificing statistical confidence? Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge), Cody Plofker (CEO, Jones Road Beauty), and Connor Rolain (Head of Growth, HexClad) debate when to burn the current site down and rebuild versus grinding out incremental wins one test at a time. The answer depends on what you can afford to get wrong. They cover Ridge's live theme rebuild, HexClad's 27% RPU lift from a single collection-page interstitial in Japan, and the case for running four variants instead of two. Cody also breaks down the qualitative research stack that helped Jones Road Beauty string together six consecutive winning tests. Powered By Motion Creative Benchmarks 2026 https://motionapp.com/thumbstop-pulse/creative-benchmarks-2026?utm_campaign=marketing-operators&utm_medium=sponsor&utm_content=creative-benchmarks-2026&utm_source=marketing-operators-podcast Haushttps://www.haus.io/operators Richpanelhttps://9ops.co/richpanel Aftersellhttps://9ops.co/aftersell-mops Operators Newsletterhttps://9operators.com/
Watch every episode ad-free & uncensored on Patreon: https://patreon.com/dannyjones Former con man turned investigative storyteller Matt Cox breaks down the #1 piece of evidence fueling the “Garth Brooks is a serial killer” theory. Kurt Metzger also weighs in on the potential connection to MK-Ultra. SPONSORS https://hexclad.com/dannyjones - Find your forever cookware & get 10% off HexClad. https://takeultra.com - Use code DANNY for 15% off. https://dosedaily.co/danny - Use code DANNY for 35% off your first subscription. https://whiterabbitenergy.com/?ref=DJP - Use code DJP for 20% off. EPISODE LINKS Matt's YouTube channel: @InsideTrueCrime FOLLOW DANNY JONES https://www.instagram.com/dannyjones https://twitter.com/jonesdanny OUTLINE 00:00 - Happy birthday Matt Cox 07:09 - Matt's YouTube problem 12:19 - Visiting murderers in a Utah state prison 22:40 - Trump's $1.6 billion meme coin & tungsten mine 26:44 - Scams that are totally legal 34:10 - Jeremy Meeks, felon turned model 40:01 - "The Emperor" Frank Amodeo 48:25 - Frank Amodeo's legal work for Matt Cox 59:14 - AI is blackmailing its enemies 01:04:32 - Garth Brooks serial killer theory 01:15:14 - Project Monarch 01:19:21 - Karen Read is guilty 01:29:21 - Kurt Metzger on Garth Brooks & MK Monarch 01:46:49 - Movie theater killer James Holmes 01:51:05 - Ted Kaczynski was MK-Ultra 01:52:44 - New take on Luigi Mangione 02:03:12 - Ted Kaczynski's childhood 02:13:16 - CrimeCon 02:21:49 - The archaeology podcast space 02:27:21 - Podcast incentives 02:30:28 - Foreign healthcare Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Get MORE Bad Friends at our Patreon!! https://www.patreon.com/c/badfriends Thank you to our Sponsors: CashApp, Superpower, Hexclad, WarbyParker & Ultra •CashApp: Download Cash App* Today: https://capl.onelink.me/vFut/hhm54e0a #cashapppod • Superpower: Head to https://Superpower.com and use code BADFRIENDS at checkout for $20 off your membership. Unlock your new health intelligence. 100+ biomarkers. Every year. Detect early signs of 1,000+ conditions. #superpowerpod • Hexclad: Get 10% off your order at https://hexclad.com/BADFRIENDS • WarbyParker: Our listeners can buy one pair of glasses and get 20% off any additional pairs at https://WarbyParker.com/BADFRIENDS — and using our link helps support the show. #WarbyParker #ad • Ultra: Don't sleep on [@ultrapouches]. New customers get 15% Off with code BADFRIENDS at https://takeultra.com! #UltraPouches #ad YouTube Subscribe: http://bit.ly/BadFriendsYouTube Audio Subscribe: https://apple.co/31Jsvr2 Merch: http://badfriendsmerch.com More Bobby Lee TigerBelly: https://www.youtube.com/tigerbelly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobbyleelive Twitter: https://twitter.com/bobbyleelive Tickets: https://bobbylee.live More Andrew Santino Whiskey Ginger: https://www.youtube.com/andrewsantinowhiskeyginger Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheetosantino Twitter: https://Twitter.com/cheetosantino Tickets: http://www.andrewsantino.com More Fancy SOS VHS: https://www.youtube.com/@7equis Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fancyb.1 More Bad Friends iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bad-friends/id1496265971 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/badfriendspod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/badfriends_pod Official Website: http://badfriendspod.com/ *Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit flex card, and Bancorp debit flex card. Discounts and promotions provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures. Opening Credits and Branding: https://www.instagram.com/joseph_faria & https://www.instagram.com/jenna_sunday Credit Sequence Music: http://bit.ly/RocomMusic // https://www.instagram.com/rocom Character Design: https://www.instagram.com/jeffreymyles Bad Friends Mosaic Sign: https://www.instagram.com/tedmunzmosaicart Produced by: 7EQUIS https://www.7equis.com/ Podcast Producer: Andrés Rosende This video contains paid promotion. #bobbylee #andrewsantino #badfriends #sponsored #ad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
KILLER APPLE DROP: https://drinkechelon.com/products/killer-apple Watch this episode ad-free and uncensored on Pepperbox! https://www.pepperbox.tv/joinunsubscribe Today we are joined by United States Secretary of Veteran Affairs Doug Collins, to discuss how he is improving the VA to help our military veterans. WATCH THE AFTERSHOW & BTS ON PATREON! https://www.patreon.com/UnsubscribePodcast
Get MORE Bad Friends at our Patreon!! https://www.patreon.com/c/badfriends Thank you to our Sponsors: CashApp, Superpower, Hexclad, WarbyParker & Ultra •CashApp: Download Cash App* Today: https://capl.onelink.me/vFut/hhm54e0a #cashapppod • Superpower: Head to https://Superpower.com and use code BADFRIENDS at checkout for $20 off your membership. Unlock your new health intelligence. 100+ biomarkers. Every year. Detect early signs of 1,000+ conditions. #superpowerpod • Hexclad: Get 10% off your order at https://hexclad.com/BADFRIENDS • WarbyParker: Our listeners can buy one pair of glasses and get 20% off any additional pairs at https://WarbyParker.com/BADFRIENDS — and using our link helps support the show. #WarbyParker #ad • Ultra: Don't sleep on [@ultrapouches]. New customers get 15% Off with code BADFRIENDS at https://takeultra.com! #UltraPouches #ad YouTube Subscribe: http://bit.ly/BadFriendsYouTube Audio Subscribe: https://apple.co/31Jsvr2 Merch: http://badfriendsmerch.com More Bobby Lee TigerBelly: https://www.youtube.com/tigerbelly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobbyleelive Twitter: https://twitter.com/bobbyleelive Tickets: https://bobbylee.live More Andrew Santino Whiskey Ginger: https://www.youtube.com/andrewsantinowhiskeyginger Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheetosantino Twitter: https://Twitter.com/cheetosantino Tickets: http://www.andrewsantino.com More Fancy SOS VHS: https://www.youtube.com/@7equis Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fancyb.1 More Bad Friends iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bad-friends/id1496265971 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/badfriendspod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/badfriends_pod Official Website: http://badfriendspod.com/ *Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit flex card, and Bancorp debit flex card. Discounts and promotions provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures. Opening Credits and Branding: https://www.instagram.com/joseph_faria & https://www.instagram.com/jenna_sunday Credit Sequence Music: http://bit.ly/RocomMusic // https://www.instagram.com/rocom Character Design: https://www.instagram.com/jeffreymyles Bad Friends Mosaic Sign: https://www.instagram.com/tedmunzmosaicart Produced by: 7EQUIS https://www.7equis.com/ Podcast Producer: Andrés Rosende This video contains paid promotion. #bobbylee #andrewsantino #badfriends #sponsored #ad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support the pod and get so much extra content for $5/month at https://www.patreon.com/stiffsockspodBonus eps also available on Apple Podcasts! https://www.apple.co/socks
“Whoever can spend the most money is going to win.” Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi), Jason Panzer (President, HexClad), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) audit the first half of 2026. The focus is a sound ecommerce growth strategy for Q3 and Q4. No guests, no fluff. Just what worked, what blew up, and where they're placing their bets. Amazon leads the conversation, with Sean up over 100% year over year on full assortment parity and Mike beating Liquid IV on a $4 blended CAC. Wholesale gets a harder look, with Sean holding a big-three PO and an 18-month runway to shelf. The group then pulls apart margin profile as a competitive weapon, why most consumable brands are quietly heading toward a reckoning, and what it takes to set a spending floor competitors cannot match. Powered ByFulfilhttps://9ops.co/fulfil Aftersellhttps://9ops.co/4i3bb5Richpanelhttps://9ops.co/richpanelNorthbeamhttps://www.northbeam.io/Saras Analyticshttps://bit.ly/4a3gzVvPostscripthttps://9ops.co/postscriptOperators Newsletterhttps://9operators.com/
“We used to try to win every day. Now we're willing to sacrifice entire months.” What does it mean to optimize ad spend when there's no universal answer? Michael Ting (GM of DTC, JAXXON) joins Connor Rolain (Head of Growth, HexClad) and Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge) to challenge one of the most common assumptions in ecommerce email marketing and paid media: that there is a single optimized ad spend. There isn't. The better question is what you're trying to achieve and over what time horizon. Michael walks through how JAXXON uses cost per email signup to make confident budget decisions, spending aggressively into slow seasons and monetizing that list when it matters most. The conversation also covers decision quality frameworks, doubling AB testing velocity, and how daily performance reporting builds operator instinct over time. Powered By Motion Creative Benchmarks 2026 https://motionapp.com/thumbstop-pulse/creative-benchmarks-2026?utm_campaign=marketing-operators&utm_medium=sponsor&utm_content=creative-benchmarks-2026&utm_source=marketing-operators-podcast Richpanel https://9ops.co/richpanel Aftersellhttps://9ops.co/aftersell-mops Haushttps://www.haus.io/operators Operators Newsletter https://9operators.com/
Turning activewear into technology that actually supports how you move — that's the magic
This week, Stephen Bargatze joins the guys to talk about his new magic special and some of his favorite pranks he's been part of over the years. Rocket Money- Rocketmoney.com/nateRocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Try for $0 at Rocketmoney.com/nate.AG1: Drinkag1.com/NatelandVisit Drinkag1.com/Nateland to get a free Morning Person Hat and free AG1 Flavor Sampler in your Welcome Kit with your first AG1 subscription (an $82 value!). Hexclad: hexclad.com/NATELANDFind your forever cookware @hexclad and get 10% off at hexclad.com/NATELAND! #hexcladpartner #adIQBAR: Text PUBLIC to 64000 to get 20% off all IQBAR products, plus FREE shipping. Message and data rates may apply.
“The digital deliverables have outpaced production company knowledge.” How do you build a repeatable content creation process without hiring a full agency? Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge), Cody Plofker (CEO, Jones Road Beauty), and Connor Rolain (Head of Growth, HexClad) break down how they approach content production across every budget level; ranging from $50k brand shoot days to $100 iPhone clips that outperform everything else in the ad account. The episode covers the full content production stack: multi-team shoot briefing, on-set creative strategy, and the in-house studio advantage. The trio also gets into clipping, AI-generated UGC, and whether dead internet theory is already shaping how products go viral. Powered By Motion Creative Benchmarks 2026 https://motionapp.com/thumbstop-pulse/creative-benchmarks-2026?utm_campaign=marketing-operators&utm_medium=sponsor&utm_content=creative-benchmarks-2026&utm_source=marketing-operators-podcast Haus https://www.haus.io/operators Richpanel https://9ops.co/richpanel Aftersell https://9ops.co/aftersell-mops Operators Newsletter https://9operators.com/
“We're not hiring less because of AI. We just expect each hire to be more productive.” Is AI shrinking your marketing team, or just changing who belongs on it? Connor Rolain (Head of Growth, HexClad) and Cody Plofker (CEO, Jones Road Beauty) get into how two of the most operator-driven brands in ecommerce are rethinking their AI marketing team structure heading into the second half of 2026. They cover which roles are compressing, which are expanding, and what it actually looks like to build a leaner growth team that outputs more. Cody breaks down the CRO program he runs with one person that used to require six. Connor explains why HexClad hired more people after building an AI-powered seeding system, not fewer. And both share how they think about headcount requests now, and what they make teams prove before saying yes. Powered By Motion Creative Benchmarks 2026 https://motionapp.com/thumbstop-pulse/creative-benchmarks-2026?utm_campaign=marketing-operators&utm_medium=sponsor&utm_content=creative-benchmarks-2026&utm_source=marketing-operators-podcastAftersell https://9ops.co/4i3bb5 Haushttps://www.haus.io/operators Richpanelhttps://9ops.co/richpanel Operators Newsletterhttps://9operators.com/
Check out http://www.therealdish.com and sign up for weekly DISH and for a limited time, get my FREE 'The Heart of It' ebook for women 40+, including a free meal plan, valuable health hacks and a heart-friendly habits to keep your ticker happy. Women over 50 are at the highest risk of heart disease. HexClad: https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=21679&awinaffid=2679362&ued= What happens when you've spent your entire life pushing harder, doing more, and willing yourself through every challenge... only to realize your body isn't willing to come along for the ride anymore? In this deeply personal episode, I share the story behind my decision to start hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after years of white-knuckling my way through menopause. Despite eating well, training hard, supplementing, and doing "all the right things," I found myself exhausted, depleted, struggling to build muscle, and feeling increasingly disconnected from the woman I knew myself to be. I also open up about the emotional crash that followed my experience on Gordon Ramsay's Next Level Chef—a season of intense pressure, self-reflection, and ultimately, reinvention. This isn't just a conversation about hormones. It's about what happens when we reach our breaking point and finally give ourselves permission to stop suffering in silence. In this episode, we'll discuss: • Why three doctors told me I didn't need HRT • The lab results that finally gave me answers • The signs I missed (and the ones I ignored) • The emotional aftermath of chasing big dreams • What Madonna taught me about reinvention at every age • Why midlife isn't a crisis—it's an invitation If you've ever felt dismissed, stuck, exhausted, or unsure of who you're becoming, this conversation is for you. Because sometimes the breaking point isn't the end of your story. It's just the reinvention of it.
Do you ever stare at a beautiful product and wonder what stories are hidden behind its journey?The culinary poetry of the HexClad brand products begins with a hypnotizing hexagonal pattern with an intricate layer that looks like a futuristic industrial honeycomb. The brand's hallmark design isn't just for style points but is the result of countless refinements, merging non-stick convenience with the resilience of stainless steel.How the AI Bubble Ate Y Combinator | Inc. ExplainsThe cool, polished handle reassures with its promise of quality craftsmanship. Lifting the pan, the perfectly balanced weight is designed for capable culinary precision from the likes of anyone with a basic desire to cook, all the way up to chefs with Michelin stars.Daniel Winer designed the pan to cook the perfect steak, pasta or whatever dish today, tomorrow, and decades from now- and he stands by it with a lifetime guarantee. Support the show
“There's going to be a world where you just tell them your product and your business goals and they do the rest.” What does Meta's AI push mean for ecommerce brands trying to win on paid social right now? Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge), Cody Plofker (CEO, Jones Road Beauty), and Connor Rolain (Head of Growth, HexClad) recorded this episode live at Meta's Performance Marketing Summit 2026 where they break down everything Meta announced: AI infrastructure to catalog-powered creative and what brands need to do about it immediately. The conversation covers Meta's shift toward catalog-first ad infrastructure and why clean product data is now table stakes, not a nice-to-have. They dig into how the media buyer role is converging with creative strategy, what a 24-hour full-funnel launch looks like in practice, and why the brands building creator ecosystems today are setting up a major moat for catalog creative tomorrow. Powered By MetaOperators Newsletterhttps://9operators.com/
MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Republicans deleting its own website after the Texas election but it's too late since MeidasTouch saved it all and is now posting it in this video for everyone to see. Get up to 10% OFF @HEXCLAD when you visit https://www.Hexclad.com/MEIDAS Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum with Dr. Steve Hassan: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show The Ken Harbaugh Show: https://meidasnews.com/tag/the-ken-harbaugh-show Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support the sponsors to support the show!Go to brooklynbedding.com and use my promo code SODER at checkout to get 30% off sitewide. This offer is not available anywhere else.https://brooklynbedding.com/Find your forever cookware @hexclad and get 10% off at hexclad.com/SODER #hexcladpartner From May 22nd through June 8th, shop HexClad's Summer Sale and unlock free gifts worth up to $229https://hexclad.com/?utm_source=SODER&utm_medium=Podcast&amount=10percentOur listeners can buy one prescription pair and get 20% off additional pairs at WarbyParker.com/SODER — and using our link helps support the show. #WarbyParker #adhttps://www.warbyparker.com/?&wpsrc=Podcast&singular=59085_2026Q1?utm_campaign=2026Q1&utm_content=audio&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=soderF*%k your khakis and get The Perfect Jean 15% off with the code SODER15 attheperfectjean.nyc/SODER15 #theperfectjeanpodhttps://theperfectjean.nyc/?utm_source=Soder&utm_medium=Podcast&amount=15percentThe Golden Retriever of Comedy Tour is coming to your city!Get tickets at https://www.dansoder.com/tourJune 1-2 Key West,FLJune 5 - Newark,NJJune 13 - Mill Valley,CA - Special TapingJuly 9-11 Batavia,ILJuly 16-18 Stamford,CTJuly 31 - August 1 - Albany,NYAugust 13-15 Baltimore,MDAugust 20-22 Spokane,WASeptember 18-19 Manchester,CTOctober 2-3 Bernalillo,NMOctober 22-24 Calgary,ABNovember 5-7 Salt Lake City,UTDecember 10-12 Rochester,NYFollow Isabel Hagenhttps://www.instagram.com/isabelhagen_/?hl=enhttps://www.isabelhagen.com/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVCSGKxJ5tQPLEASE Drop us a rating on iTunes and subscribe to the show to help us grow.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soder/id1716617572Connect with SoderTwitter: https://Twitter.com/dansoderInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansoderTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dansodercomedyFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/dansoderYoutube: http://www.youtube.com/@dansoder.comedy#dansoder #standup #comedy #entertainment #podcastProduced by Mike Lavin https://www.instagram.com/thehomelesspimp/?hl=en
“You don't have to be first to be the best.” What does it take to scale a brand from $20M to $140M in just 12 months? Luka Kvatchrelishvili (CMO, True Sea Moss) joins hosts Connor Rolain (Head of Growth, HexClad) and Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge) to break down how he took a bootstrapped, product-led superfood brand … and scaled it into a nine-figure DTC powerhouse. Luka shares his path from practicing law in Georgia to drop shipping foosball tables to leading a 33-person marketing team. The conversation digs into how Luka diagnosed and fixed True Sea Moss' data infrastructure before touching a single ad, and how a surge in creative volume gave way to a more methodical, outcome-driven testing system. He also gets into the halo effect between Meta spend, Amazon, and retail performance; the power of the LTV-to-CAC cohort report; and how True Sea Moss went from Telegram groups and Trello boards to a marketing-led operation scaling toward half a billion. Powered By Motion Creative Benchmarks 2026 https://motionapp.com/thumbstop-pulse/creative-benchmarks-2026?utm_campaign=marketing-operators&utm_medium=sponsor&utm_content=creative-benchmarks-2026&utm_source=marketing-operators-podcastSaras Analyticshttps://bit.ly/9OP-Ytdesc Haushttps://www.haus.io/operatorsRichpanelhttps://9ops.co/richpanelAftersellhttps://9ops.co/4i3bb5Operators Newsletterhttps://9operators.com/
Are you measuring new reach on Meta the right way or just guessing? Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge), Cody Plofker (CEO, Jones Road Beauty), and Connor Rolain (Head of Growth, HexClad) dig into the tactics + measurement frameworks driving their paid media strategies right now. The conversation spans Meta's incremental attribution rollout and what the data shows. They cover signal engineering with conditional pixels, the case for non-purchase optimized campaigns on YouTube, and why building a deliberate testing roadmap matters more than chasing every new ad tech feature. Plus, behind the scenes on Jones Road's biggest creator partnership came together. Powered By Motion Creative Benchmarks 2026 https://motionapp.com/thumbstop-pulse/creative-benchmarks-2026?utm_campaign=marketing-operators&utm_medium=sponsor&utm_content=creative-benchmarks-2026&utm_source=marketing-operators-podcastRichpanelhttps://9ops.co/richpanelAftersellhttps://9ops.co/4i3bb5Haushttps://www.haus.io/operatorsOperators Newsletterhttps://9operators.com/
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MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports Melania's dark past surfacing and Meiselas shares his opinion of the connections regarding Trump and the GOP potentially pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell and the GOP trying to shut down congressional hearings, depositions, and subpoenas. Get up to 10% OFF @HEXCLAD when you visit https://Hexclad.com/MEIDAS Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum with Dr. Steve Hassan: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show The Ken Harbaugh Show: https://meidasnews.com/tag/the-ken-harbaugh-show Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Kyla Dufresne built up Foxy Box from the dining room table to 24 locations by creating an experience and culture of comfort and trust. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today’s episode, a word from our sponsor, which is, well, it’s us, but we’re highlighting ads we’ve written and produced for our clients. So here’s one of those. [Wagmore Garage Doors Ad] Stephen Semple: Hey, it’s Stephen Semple here with the Empire Builders Podcast, and I’m here with Kyla Dufresne instead of David Young, which is always so much fun. So we’ve given Dave a little bit of time off. And so we’re going to be speaking about, instead of one of these big companies and going back in time, instead we’re going to be speaking to an entrepreneur that I met at the Canadian franchise show and we got chatting and I was looking at our business and this is going to be a great story. I’m so excited. And I want you to tell me the name of your business and how you came up with the name. Kyla Dufresne: Oh my gosh, you’re setting me up for big expectations for your listeners, so I better … So I’m Kyla. I’m the founder and CEO of Foxy Box Laser & Wax Bars. We are a hair removal concept that specializes in the art of the Brazilian. And I always say we’re not just a transaction for hair removal. We really are a movement to make people feel powerful and energized in their bodies. We have 24 locations open across four provinces here in Canada with our- Stephen Semple: Yeah, just I want us to think about this for a moment. 24 locations, and I’m going to say it. It’s an idea that if a lot of people were presented with the idea, I think they would go, “Really? Franchises?” And it’s like, “Yeah, really 24 franchises,” which is an awesome number. That’s not an easy number to get to. Kyla Dufresne: It’s not an easy number to get to. I think for us, a lot of it was, a lot of our success was timing as well, Stephen, because when I started this business, the hair removal concept was not a concept really in Canada. The US, they’ve got one big player called European Wax Center. They’ve been around for years and years and years, but this concept was a new thing here in Canada. So truly a big part of our success, one is, I mean, obviously our culture and our brand and the success of our franchisees, but it was also timing because we were one of the first hair removal concepts on the market here in Canada. So we really brought this business model to the market, so I think that was a big part of our growth to get to 25 locations within a five-year time span, truly. Stephen Semple: It’s been pretty quick when you think about … Because you started off with one location that was your location, correct? Kyla Dufresne: You got it. I started off actually, I don’t even know if you could call it a location. A house, that’s where I started it. In the dining room of my house where I had four roommates, there was a dining room area off of my kitchen. I set up a table there and a curtain and got to work building Foxy Box. I joked on when I was speaking with someone not long ago on their podcast that when I built Foxy Box, I always said, “Oh, come see me.” I always was Foxy Box. And so I would give my business cards, but it was my cell phone number on it and then Foxy Box was inside this little weird room in my house. And so I’d have people showing up thinking that they had just showed up at Fight Club and not Foxy Box. Like, “Where in the hell [inaudible 00:04:39].” Stephen Semple: Am I in some strange room in Amsterdam? What the heck’s going on here? Yeah. Kyla Dufresne: They were like, “What is this place?” But truly, those early days was what shaped and formed the culture that we have today because when I reflect back, that experience that I was giving to customers, I had to make people feel confident and comfortable enough to take their pants off in the dining room of my shared house to get a Brazilian wax. And how I did that was I incorporated humor. I would usually make a joke as soon as they got there about showing up at Fight Club and not Foxy Box or something to diffuse their energy of like, “Where the hell am I in this weird place?” I would connect with them, really build a relationship with them. So it wasn’t just like coming here and let’s remove your hair. It was building a connection with them. And not only did I never have anyone turn around and run out or say, “No, thank you,” I would have them leave and call five of their friends and go, “Oh my God, I just had the most amazing experience in this weird room and you got to go see Kyla.” And so it was those experiences that kind of helped shape the culture that we have today. And so I preached to my franchisees, “If I could build something successful in that weird room, you all have the most insanely cool four full walls of a branded space, deliver that customer experience inside those walls, you’re going to be wildly successful.” Stephen Semple: There’s a lot of power to being able to say to somebody, and power’s maybe the wrong word, but influence, empowering maybe more, to be able to say to somebody, “Look, I know this is going to work because I was able to make this work in this situation, and let’s face it, we can all agree that situation has distinct disadvantages to it.” So I know this is going to work because I’ve done this before. It’s interesting, I’m working with another entrepreneur and they’re struggling a little bit on some of their sales processes. And I was saying to them, I said, “You’ve got to go back on the phone, make those telephone calls, let’s get recordings of them, and let’s show people how you do it because what you do is successful. Let’s replicate.” I want to come back to your early days. What city was this in where you started? Kyla Dufresne: Victoria, BC is where Foxy Box came to fruition. Stephen Semple: Okay, so you’re in Victoria BC and you’re doing this out of this weird room in your house. How long was it until you were doing enough business that you set up a physical location? Kyla Dufresne: Stephen, my roommate- Stephen Semple: A separate physical location. Kyla Dufresne: Probably bringing maybe five strangers a week to the house before my roommates went, “Ky, you got to stop bringing strangers to the house. You got to think get out of here.” I found a little 10 by 10 room in the back of a jewelry store Downtown Johnson Street, which was like a shop- Stephen Semple: Hold on a second. Kyla Dufresne: Yes. Yeah. Stephen Semple: Not at the back of a nail salon or the back of a hair salon, the back of a jewelry store? Kyla Dufresne: That’s it. Yeah. And keep in mind though, Stephen, back then when you’re thinking about what my competitors were or where the market was, waxing, you could only find in the back of nail salons, which maybe didn’t have the most hygienic standards, or you were going to go to a high end spa and spend over $100 in a dimly lit room with someone who probably didn’t want to be in there with you. So that was the gap in the market that I was trying to fill, which we did fill. And so the room that I found was inside of a jewelry store, but the jewelry store was on Lower Johnson, which had the most foot traffic. I mean, it’s since seen a decline because there’s online shopping now, and this was 14 years ago that I found this space, so there was a ton of foot traffic. So it made sense for me. People were coming in and out of that store shopping and I had a sandwich board out front and I got … They were like, “Waxing. Oh my God, do you waxing here?” I got organically busy just by being in that location, which had all that foot traffic. Stephen Semple: So even though you’re at the back of the jewelry store, you were still able to have some sort of signage out where the foot traffic was. Kyla Dufresne: You got it. I had a sandwich- Stephen Semple: A sandwich board. Yeah. Kyla Dufresne: … board out on either side. And honestly, Stephen, I was there for maybe three or four months. Truly, I wasn’t there for very long before I knew I needed a space of my own. I started getting very busy. The jewelry store didn’t have the most accessible hours. They were like 10 to 6 and I was like probably 12 hour shifts or really more accessible. And so I needed things like a waiting room. I needed a place for my customers to go that I wasn’t have to like, “Oh, let me come unlock the front door for you.” And so from there, I found a second level space a few blocks over, closer to more where there was a lot of professional office workers around us. And I built out a two room space with a waiting room, and that’s where I really got to bring my brand and my vision to life, which looks nothing like how our brand looks today. My whole waiting room was red walls all around. I had a Nintendo console with an old TV so that, a lot of my customers were moms and so I’d encourage them like, “Bring your babies in and your kids and they can play Nintendo while I wax you and it’s safe up here. We’re second level and close the door or whatever.” But since incorporated that into our business model as well, we always position ourselves and pitch ourselves as, “We’re babysitters, we’re fur sitters.” We know that life is busy and so we want to be as accommodating as possible to our customers. So we allow them to bring their kids, bring their babies. Our receptionists double as babysitters. If you have a puppy that you’re like, “I can’t leave it in the car.” It’s a hot day, bring it in. Dogs can’t come into the treatment rooms, but we’ll hold them behind a desk for you. And we’ve got treats and snacks for them. And we really made a point of making sure that we’re accessible to people. Stephen Semple: Wow. That’s a very, very different positioning than frankly a lot of businesses would take. That’s really, really amazing. So you got that second level space and I’ve got a couple questions for you on that. One is, so now you’ve got a second level space, so it’s not the same foot traffic going by, but you’ve built some clientele, you’ve built a little bit of word of mouth. What did you do to promote that space? Kyla Dufresne: I love talking about this, grassroots marketing because back then- Stephen Semple: Perfect. Kyla Dufresne: … I had zero dollars for online spend. And I honestly didn’t even really see the benefit of online spend because I organically got so busy, but I was just so good at grassroots marketing. There’s a combination of things that helped me get busy. One is I was a bartender at the time and the bars that I worked at were very busy and so I used that as my marketing platform. Every single customer that came in, I’d give them a Foxy Box card as well so that they would wake up the next day with a business card in their pocket. I really leaned into my staff’s strengths and I encourage my franchise partners to do this or anyone that I’m mentoring is really when you can lean in and leverage your staff’s strengths, you’re doing two things. One, you’re getting them to market for you, and three, you’re building a community and a sense of family that they feel like they’re a part of something and they’re helping you build something. For me, one of my very first hires, she was a burlesque dancer and she worked at a spa that was a few blocks away from Foxy Box that I asked her if she wanted to pick up some shifts at my store. And one of the things that was really kind of brought her down was that the owner of that spa that she worked with really hated that she was a burlesque dancer. She went like, “Don’t talk about it in the store. It doesn’t align with us as a spa.” She wasn’t supportive of that. I leaned into that, Stephen. Stephen Semple: Yeah, yeah, I can see that. Kyla Dufresne: I was like, “Ooh, I have a [inaudible 00:12:29] burlesque dancer. This is what I want you to do. I want you to get your group together. I want flash Mobs,” were I think back then, do you remember that? Stephen Semple: Yeah. Kyla Dufresne: People would put a song on and then there’d be a group of people break out into a dance. I went, “Listen, let’s do a flash mob with your burlesque dancers.” They all got together. They came up with a dance to the tune of Foxy Lady. “Ooh, Foxy Lady,” or you know that one? Stephen Semple: Yeah. Kyla Dufresne: And [inaudible 00:12:52] the nightclubs, because I had connections at all the nightclubs, I went, “Hey, listen, can I send this group in? Can the DJ play this song? And then I’ve got a team that’s going to clear the floor and do a dance.” And they went, “Absolutely.” So I would send her to the nightclubs, they’d go, DJ would play Foxy Lady. Her and her group would do this dance and then they would hand out Foxy Box coupons and merch. I’d have hats and coupons and things like that. And so that was like my grassroots marketing was getting out into the community with my team. Stephen Semple: Brilliant. Brilliant. Kyla Dufresne: One of the things that I did, I think naivety is bliss when you’re starting a business. The more you know, the more you can be hesitant or reserved to do initiatives. For me, I didn’t know that to go to universities, you’re supposed to buy a table there and I didn’t know that. And so I would literally, student week, September when all the students would come back, I would load up my car with all of my magicians. I would head to the university and we would give out pens and coupons, things that have our brand on it that they’re going to be using at their desk as well as your first free wax coupons. And we would just like every student that was there, we’d just, “Oh, here, come check us out. Here, come check us out.” Later, years later, I learned that you’re supposed to buy a table. [inaudible 00:14:03] $1,000 and you’re supposed to have a setup, but nobody caught us or a slap our hand, so that was great. But those were some of the early day marketing initiatives that we did. Dave Young: Stay tuned. We’re going to wrap up this story and tell you how to apply this lesson to your business right after this. [Using Stories To Sell] Dave Young: Let’s pick up our story where we left off and trust me you haven’t missed a thing. Stephen Semple: So I want to make a couple of comments about the early day marketing initiatives because I think this is really important. And it’s funny because right on my website, I say, “I don’t work with startups.” I won’t do marketing for startups. Now it’s not true. I have done marketing for a couple of startups, but the reason why I don’t is the biggest battle I have with startups is stop sitting at your desk behind your damn computer using ChatGPT to try to figure out what your market wants. And then you’re going to do some BS online thing and you never want to get out into the community and talk to people. Stop. Most business is one-on-one person to person. And even if you go out there and it fails, you’re going to learn what it is that they like and they don’t like. Do that initially. Do grassroots first. Start there. Because then the other thing is when you get that working and then you go to do more mass media approach, guess what you already know? You really and truly do know your customer. Kyla Dufresne: Yeah. I think I’ve heard this from so many big speakers is, people buy from people, period. Stephen Semple: They do. Kyla Dufresne: So absolutely. I coach franchisees on this as well is the importance of getting out into your community. My most successful, fastest profitability franchisees, two months before they opened, they were at every single networking event that they could be at with business cards and coupons before they even opened. Getting out into their community, getting into the hospital unions, the student unions, all of those places to get their name in front of people. Once you have that and you can get your face in front of your community, pair that with online ads and then when they need that service, they’re going to go, “Oh yeah, oh my God. Yeah, I’m going to support that business.” Stephen Semple: Yes. It’s now how you extend that. Kyla Dufresne: Yeah. Stephen Semple: It’s really interesting, I did a podcast on a company called HexClad. So they make cookware. The guy actually came from a cookware background. He worked for a different cookware company and basically he was like one of those carnival barkers who like when you’re going through Costco was selling stuff, right? And when he created his new product, the first thing he did is he said, “I’m going to go out and I’m going to sell this the way I used to sell stuff.” And the first thing he learned was his first pitch that he thought was going to work failed. And so they used that and then they finally found, “Oh, this is the way people connect with this product. This is actually the things they like about it. Okay, we can now market it.” Kyla Dufresne: Yeah, for sure. Stephen Semple: It’s that whole person to person thing that you really need to do in startup. But the other part that I really like that you did that I want to highlight here, use of entertainment. Entertainment is how we get the attention. It’s how we buy the time and the attention of a busy and distracted consumer. They don’t care about you. They don’t care about your product. They don’t care about any of that. You start to wrap it a little bit of entertainment, you now have their attention and you leaned into that. Kyla Dufresne: And times have changed. And so we’ve kind of pivoted with that as well. That entertainment, we do see a lot online, which is be active on your social media. You have to be. If you’re not, you’re going nowhere these days, truly. So being on TikTok, that’s been huge for us. One of our franchisees found us just from TikTok. We’re funny. We put content in front of people constantly. So we’ve kind of pivoted from that entertainment piece, we want to entertain our customers, but you’re absolutely right. You’ve got to be active on social media. Another thing, especially in my early days too, Stephen, I speak on this a lot, which is ensuring that you’re taking care of your community. That’s a huge piece of grassroots marketing. Early on, we used to do this thing called Friday features, and I would tag other business owners and give them a shout-out like, “Hey, my friend at this clothing store, here’s a little bio about her. We see you.” And then we would tag her Instagram. So then she’s sharing that and that helps build your social media as well. And it’s giving shout out to other local entrepreneurs. So that was a big piece that we wove into our early days of marketing. The other thing is that I inherently would just give back to my community, and I didn’t realize that that was creating brand buy-in or marketing, truly. One of my customers had a giant vet bill that she was like, “I have no idea how the I’m going to pay for this vet bill.” And I went, “Let me do a wax fundraiser for you. I’ll give five bucks from every Brazilian that I do on Saturday and you can have that to your vet bill just because I was like, that’s the right thing to do. Take care of this customer support team.” I just always did that. And now on a bigger scale, what we did is I created an event called Foxy Fest. I was inspired by Lilith Fair, this little music festival put on by all female performers, Sarah McLachlan and Jewel and what have you. And they would do a big charitable fundraiser. And I thought, “How freaking cool would that be if I could do something like Lilith Fair and give back to local charities?” So I launched an initiative called Foxy Fest six years ago now, I want to say. I reached out to a whole lineup of female singers, dancers, spoken word poets and asked them to volunteer their time on International Women’s Day to hold an event that would give back to a local charity. They all volunteered their time. The venue donated the venue to us. It was a nightclub, but also I had great connections, but they’re always happy to do that. And all of the ticket proceeds from that event, and we did a raffle and a fifty fifty, went to a local charity. So that was the birth of Foxy Fest. And now to this day six years later, we hold that event on International Women’s Day in 24 locations. Stephen Semple: Nice. Kyla Dufresne: It’s a lot of work. It’s a heavy lift to put on a live event, even though they’re the coolest and the most palpable and a great way, especially for smaller communities, to build that brand in the community by bringing everybody together in one room, it’s a lot of heavy work to put on an event. So some of the stores, if they’re in their early days or they don’t have the capacity to do that at the moment, they’ll do an in store raffle basket that raises money for local charities. But the point is we’re giving back to the communities that serve us. Stephen Semple: Nice. And you’re doing it in this really interesting way. But a couple of things I want to go in The Wayback Machine on because the other part that’s about entertainment is even the name of your business, Foxy Box. How’d you come up with the name Foxy Box? Because that’s a bold name. Kyla Dufresne: Yeah, I don’t even remember truly. I think I had five names written down, one with a beaver, one with … And I asked everybody, “Which one resonates with you?” And obviously Foxy Box was the obvious choice. Stephen Semple: But what I like, and I’m often telling customers about this is, look, you leaned into it. You leaned into what it is you do. You didn’t try to go, “Well, let’s talk about it in this mysterious way,” in which case no one fricking understands. It’s a bold name, it’s an entertaining name, it’s awesome. And I commend you for doing that. And even on the entertainment side, I’m going to go so far as to say, and I know you’re advertising and social media and things, but even if you were … Take this thought away. In future, if you were even to look to go into other media, entertainment is still the key to all of it. Whether it’s radio ad, whether it’s television ad, whether it’s billboard, entertainment is always the key, but you understand that. So you’ve got your store opened. What happened in the first year? You’ve got now that store, a second level, there’s the Nintendo, all those other things there. How’d the first year work out for you? Kyla Dufresne: First year was great. I mean, it was a lot of hard work. I always think that if I started the business now, I don’t know if I’d have the energy for it. I was [inaudible 00:23:13] with Foxy Box and- Stephen Semple: What age were you? Kyla Dufresne: [inaudible 00:23:15] when I started Foxy. Stephen Semple: Twenty … Okay. Kyla Dufresne: And no banks would give me a loan. So I used my bartending tips to fund my business until it was self-sustainable. And then I used those profits to build and expand into my next space. Stephen Semple: How long did that take before you were into your next space? Kyla Dufresne: I was probably up there for, I want to say maybe two years. Stephen Semple: Two years. Okay. Kyla Dufresne: Well, it feels like it was so long ago. Oh my God, maybe … Victoria Gordon Street has been there for, I want to say eight years and I started … Oh my God, you’re making me do some math here. So maybe I was up there … I might have been up at the second level for about four years, which would make sense because I did pivot. I opened up a second location, tried to expand and do all full services, and I burned that one down after about a year, not literally, but figuratively. So yeah, they were moving and shaking. Stephen Semple: So you had the location, then you opened up a second location. So you had two locations and that second location didn’t work out really well. Why did that second location not work out for you? Kyla Dufresne: Okay, here’s my Harvard education. Stephen Semple: Yep. Kyla Dufresne: When I started Foxy Box, I always had this other idea in the back of my head, I just came out the womb an entrepreneur and I’m a classic founder who has 10 billion creative ideas, but I always wanted to open a store called the Diva Den, which you can see I love alliteration and branding, but I wanted to have a full service salon, nails, lashes, hair, waxing, have everything. And so once Foxy Box was going so well, I had two people come and knock on my door, friends of mine from the beauty industry. They went, “Ky, we’re not happy where we’re at. We want to do nails somewhere else. Would you ever consider opening a nail salon because we love your brand?” And then I had a hairstylist friend come and say the same thing to me. I went, “You know what? Sure. Why don’t I open a whole service salon?” I found a space in Oak Bay, which is a very affluent community, a little bit of an older demographic, but a very affluent community here in Victoria. I found a space and then I thought in my head, Foxy Box is going to be way too bold for this community, so I pivoted and I rebranded, but I wanted to keep it because Foxy Box was so successful, I kind of wanted to piggyback on the success of it. So I was like, “How do I intertwine these?” So I called it Foxy Lady. I changed the color from a bold red to a nice teal. I kept the logo, but changed the name. And so it was Foxy Lady Beauty Bar instead of Foxy Box Wax Bar. What that did is created a whole lot of confusion. I had my signs up outside on the building and I had people texting me like, “Ky, there’s someone in Oak Bay using your logo.” And, “Oh, that’s me. Come and check us out. It’s a new brand concept. We’re offering all of these services.” We opened our doors, within four months, all of my nail techs went, “We’re going to go open our own business.” They all left. They took all their customers with them, and then I was stuck with a nail salon that I had no clue how to do. I’m self-proclaimed the best waxer in the world. I filmed our curriculum. I know how to train that, I know waxing inside and out. Nails, I don’t know nails. I don’t know hair. I don’t know. So anyhow, shortly after that, my hairstylist went, “I’m going to go open my own hair salon.” Okay, cool, now I’m stuck with a salon that I know nothing about. And so I hired nail technicians. They were putting out a poor product. I had no idea how to correct it. Thankfully, I was able to get out of my lease after a year, lost a bunch of money on that. Not a bunch. I’d say maybe 30,000, which was a shit ton for me back then. Stephen Semple: Yeah, for sure. Kyla Dufresne: I lost 30 grand in that venture, but I was able to get out of my lease, walked away from that, burned that idea to the ground. I went, “We do one thing and that’s hair removal because that’s what I know, and we just stuck to our model.” Stephen Semple: Oh, no, no. Dave Young: What? Stephen Semple: I was enjoying this episode. Dave Young: Don’t worry. Part two’s coming next week. Stephen Semple: It better. Dave Young: Thanks for listening to the podcast. Please share us, subscribe on your favorite podcast app and leave us a big fat, juicy five star rating and review at Apple Podcasts. And if you’d like to schedule your own 90-minute empire building session, you can do it at empirebuildingprogram.com.
Are you exhausting your audience or just exhausting your strategy? Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge) and Connor Rolain (Head of Growth, HexClad) dig into the mechanics of reaching net-new audiences on Meta, breaking down which lever moves the needle most: creative diversity, signal engineering, or landing page strategy. They also revisit a Ridge case study showing how optimizing for the wrong purchase event quietly cannibalized an entire product category's growth. The conversation shifts to building a DTC marketing function from scratch, what the first senior hire should look like at a $30M consumable brand with deep retail roots, what to pay them, and how to think about the lifecycle marketing role that follows. They close on a standout YouTube incrementality test result where Amazon captured more than half the revenue lift, and what that pattern reveals about upper-funnel channels and where customers actually convert. Powered By Motion Creative Benchmarks 2026 https://motionapp.com/thumbstop-pulse/creative-benchmarks-2026?utm_campaign=marketing-operators&utm_medium=sponsor&utm_content=creative-benchmarks-2026&utm_source=marketing-operators-podcastAftersell https://9ops.co/4i3bb5Haus https://www.haus.io/operatorsPrescient AI https://www.prescientai.com/operatorsRichpanel https://9ops.co/richpanelOperators Newsletter https://9operators.com/
This episode is brought to you by AppLovin. Get access to the Operators channel expansion playbook, online masterclass, and up to $5k in ad credits here: https://www.9operators.com/paid-growth Or, skip the waitlist and launch your AppLovin ads today with our Operators-exclusive link: https://axon.ai/en/9operators “Growth can actually kill a business that's not prepared for it.” Bryan Cano (fmr. Head of Marketing, True Classic) joins Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge) and Connor Rolain (Head of Growth, HexClad) for a conversation that spans the full arc of his career. Bryan breaks down the stair-stepping method for scaling without blowing up operations, what it looks like to rebuild a marketing org ahead of Black Friday, and how True Classic became one of the earliest brands to scale AppLovin to $100K per day in spend. Still an advisor to True Classic, Bryan also shares what he's building next — an AI-first brand consolidator with a founding team he describes as an executive AI stack + a first product just weeks away.
“If you become really good at harnessing that data, AI can let you not only predict the future, but create it.” Jenna Habayeb (President of Posh Peanut) sits down with Jason Panzer (President of HexClad) and honorary Operator's co-host Cherene Aubert. Together, they unpack what modern ecommerce leadership looks like at every stage. Jenna brings a rare arc — from Ogilvy to Chief Brand Officer at Ipsy, where she helped grow the business from $300M to $1B, through a CRO role at Ruggable, and now her first president role at Posh Peanut. Discover the “forgotten community flywheel” and how a 250,000-person Facebook group drives real revenue. The conversation moves on to why most companies are further behind on data infrastructure than they'd like to admit — and why AI, layered on top of a clean data warehouse, is changing what's possible. They also get into the evolution of the CMO role, managing teams up a mountain without losing your humanity, and the mental shift required when you go from marketer to president. Powered By Fulfilhttps://bit.ly/3pAp2vu Saras Analytics https://bit.ly/9OP-Ytdesc Postscripthttps://9ops.co/postscript Richpanelhttps://9ops.co/richpanel Northbeamhttps://www.northbeam.io/ Aftersellhttps://9ops.co/4i3bb5Operators Newsletterhttps://9operators.com/
It's a MOps Hotline special episode! Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge), Cody Plofker (CEO, Jones Road Beauty), and Connor Rolain (Head of Growth, HexClad) answer your most pressing questions. Especially how to get started. Connor MacDonald shares what he's learning in real time from launching a new supplement company from scratch — no Ridge halo, no shortcuts. The trio breaks down why organic distribution has become the non-negotiable foundation before touching paid, and how to think about scaling a Meta account from $500 a day to $1,000 and beyond. They also dig into the evolution from demand capture to demand creation, how to read the signals in your ad account, and why onsite CRO (conversion rate optimization) might be the most underrated lever in your whole growth stack. Powered By Motion Creative Benchmarks 2026 https://motionapp.com/thumbstop-pulse/creative-benchmarks-2026?utm_campaign=marketing-operators&utm_medium=sponsor&utm_content=creative-benchmarks-2026&utm_source=marketing-operators-podcastPrescient AI https://www.prescientai.com/operatorsRichpanel https://9ops.co/richpanelAftersell https://9ops.co/4i3bb5Rivo https://www.rivo.io/operatorsOperators Newsletter https://9operators.com/
What if the reason your channel expansion isn't working has nothing to do with the channel? Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge), Cody Plofker (CEO, Jones Road Beauty), and Connor Rolain (Head of Growth, HexClad) break down what drives channel expansion decisions. They use the David Protein bar lawsuit as a jumping-off point to discuss bold brand marketing and the frameworks behind how DTC brands scale beyond Meta. The hosts dig into why thinking about customers acquired — not revenue generated — changes how you sequence channel investment. They debate the biggest mistakes they've each made with channel timing and what they'd do differently if they were launching a brand today. The conversation gets specific about TikTok Shop affiliate structures, how organic content creation seeds better paid performance, and why baseball on linear TV is offering CPMs that rival platforms can't touch right now. Powered By Motion Creative Benchmarks 2026 https://motionapp.com/thumbstop-pulse/creative-benchmarks-2026?utm_campaign=marketing-operators&utm_medium=sponsor&utm_content=creative-benchmarks-2026&utm_source=marketing-operators-podcastRichpanel https://9ops.co/richpanelAftersell https://9ops.co/4i3bb5Haus https://www.haus.io/operatorsPrescient AI https://www.prescientai.com/operatorsOperators Newsletter https://9operators.com/
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Thanks for watching the Harland Highway. This episode is sponsored by: Ridge, Chubbies, HexClad, StitchFix-Chubbies is here to keep you comfy and looking good year-round. Get 20% off with code harlandhighway at chubbiesshorts.com/harlandhighway ! #chubbiespod-Get started today at Stitchfix.com/Harland to get $20 off your first order—and they'll waive your styling fee. That's Stitchfix.com/Harland- Take advantage of Ridge's once-a-year anniversary sale and get UP TO 40% Off by going to https://www.Ridge.com/HARLAND #ridgepod -Find your forever cookware @hexclad and get 10% off at hexclad.com/harland #hexcladpartner More Harland Williams: Harland Highway Podcast Video: https://www.youtube.com/c/HarlandHighwayPodcast Harland Highway Podcast Audio: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-harland-highway/id321980603 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harlandwilliams Harbling Shirts: https://www.harbling.com Official Website: https://www.harlandwilliams.com Twitter :https://twitter.com/harlandhighway?lang=en #podcast #harlandwilliams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on the powerful interview by retired Four Star General James Mattis who calls out and exposes Trump's disastrous war in Iran. Get up to 10% OFF @HEXCLAD when you visit https://Hexclad.com/MEIDAS Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum with Dr. Steve Hassan: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show The Ken Harbaugh Show: https://meidasnews.com/tag/the-ken-harbaugh-show Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Are you making decisions based on data that proves causality or just correlation? Connor Rolain (Head of Growth, HexClad), Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge), and Cody Plofker (CEO, Jones Road Beauty) dig into what it means to build a truly incrementality-first marketing organization. They break down how to string together consecutive channel tests — using each result to build the next hypothesis rather than testing in isolation. They share real examples from their own accounts, including how a 20% budget shift to brand video drove a 40% lift in incremental results, why TikTok Shop is proving to reach a new audience for HexClad, and how Jones Road diagnosed and rebuilt a struggling Meta account from first principles. The conversation also tackles the nuance of measuring upper-funnel channels like CTV and YouTube, when directional reads are enough, and how to build a culture where your team learns to think incrementally without being told to. Powered ByMotion Creative Benchmarks 2026 https://motionapp.com/thumbstop-pulse/creative-benchmarks-2026?utm_campaign=marketing-operators&utm_medium=sponsorHaushttps://www.haus.io/operatorsPrescient AI https://www.prescientai.com/operatorsRichpanel https://9ops.co/richpanelAftersell https://9ops.co/4i3bb5Operators Newsletter https://9operators.com/
Send a text Support the showChelsey Holm | the Wife Coach "I help Christian wives surrender fully, live Spirit-led, and be set apart according to God's design in marriage, motherhood, and life."Ready for a next step? If this episode stirred something deeper and you're ready to move from insight into surrender, I created a short guided experience called From Awareness to Surrender. This mini course includes three short teachings, a guided exercise, and a prayer recorded over you to help you stop cycling and start responding differently—rooted in surrender, not striving.
Are you running your ecommerce brand on gut instinct while your competitors build AI-powered data machines? Sean Frank (CEO of Ridge) and Jason Panzer (President of HexClad) sit down with Krishna Poda, the CEO of Saras Analytics, to unpack why a clean data foundation isn't optional. And what you can build on top of it with AI right now. They cover the rise of agentic workflows and what it means to replace repetitive human tasks with agents that work around the clock, why every stakeholder in a business should be able to query their own data without waiting on an analyst, how Saras IQ is built as a vertically specialized layer on top of Claude to deliver consistent and governed answers, and what the near future looks like when your brand's central agent is negotiating with Meta's agent, Northbeam's agent, and every other platform fighting for your budget. Powered By Fulfil https://bit.ly/3pAp2vuSaras Analytics https://bit.ly/9OP-YtdescAftersell https://9ops.co/4i3bb5Postscript https://9ops.co/postscriptRichpanel https://9ops.co/richpanelNorthbeam https://www.northbeam.io/Operators Newsletter https://9operators.com/
Molly Bloom is the real-life inspiration behind the Oscar-nominated film Molly's Game. She built and ran the most exclusive high-stakes underground poker game in the world, attended by celebrities, billionaires, and powerful figures. In this interview, we discuss power, overcoming fear, self-talk, mental toughness, and the darker sides of human nature—along with the rise, collapse, and hard lessons behind one of the most infamous underground poker stories in the world.Show Sponsors:Upgrade your wardrobe and save on True Classic at https://trueclassic.com/DALTONGo to https://hellofresh.com/DALTON10FM to Get 10 free meals + a free Zwilling Knife (a $144.99 value) on your third boxLive Better Longer with BUBS Naturals. For A limited time get 20% Off your entire order with code DALTON at https://www.bubsnaturals.comFind your forever cookware at Hexclad and get 10% off at https://hexclad.com/DALTONMolly's Links:IG: https://www.instagram.com/immollybloom/Molly's Game Book: https://www.amazon.com/Mollys-Game-26-Year-Old-High-Stakes-Underground/dp/0062213083/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0M481UOw9s0vjdCD-RbZ9hJLp90ip77lE8RyTmxjFpxXVk1XnIopnlweVeU5rQyNTHEiqYeK779zDQfSx8MK3aVmXz6n6hHd24QqK85RWpiPMXDfFQfrpSG1XNwTAJft_rOaVCGGEyOLkkieayxecpLC_XBa29IONges9SKlfUgQtStyVy4FbVbutpH7LSAFV3USXQbO_BTZVkRBH-ZYX7JW5AfFhIIFt-VIdDdT4Y4.lHV9JndWAO6iW81dVy-CRSaulbbUxwaQWOdoVkPyr2Y&qid=1772236027&sr=8-1Molly's Game Movie: https://www.netflix.com/title/8019995900:00 | Intro02:00 | Parenting06:18 | Victim Mentality09:41 | Kobe Bryant15:04 | Childhood23:52 | Constructive Suffering30:49 | Self Talk & The Voice In Our Heads50:10 | Molly's Game Scene Where Molly Confronts Her Dad01:01:59 | Moving to Los Angeles01:06:56 | First Poker Game at The Viper Room01:11:55 | How to Make Yourself Indispensable 01:17:34 | Poker Skills That Translate to Life Lessons01:41:01 | Human Psychology01:52:42 | Tobey Maguire02:11:27 | Running The Biggest Underground Game in New York City02:26:56 | Italian Organized Crime02:30:09 | FBI02:34:43 | Arrest02:43:27 | Molly's Game Book & Movie02:59:07 | How to Negotiate03:02:26 | Effective Presence03:13:45 | Trust in Yourself & Disregard The Opinions of Others03:20:24 | How to Get Comfortable With Failure03:25:08 | Outro
MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Melania Trump having the worst week of her life as her movie premiere was ruined because no one showed up and because of she got exposed by an email in the Epstein email dump on Friday. Get up to 10% off @HexClad when you visit https://www.hexclad.com/MEIDAS Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jill Wine-Banks hosts #SistersInLaw to discuss the SCOTUS ruling blocking Trump from deploying the National Guard to Chicago, the reasoning behind the dissents and concurring opinion, and what the ruling means for similar efforts by the administration in other states. Then, the #Sisters review the recent Epstein File disclosures, assess their political impact, determine whether the DOJ has complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and explain how best to support survivors. They also expose the DOJ's most recent attempt to limit voting rights by purging voter rolls. The holidays are here! Get the brand new ReSIStance T-Shirt, Mini Tote, and other #SistersInLaw gear at politicon.com/merch! Additional #SistersInLaw Projects Check out Jill's Politicon YouTube Show: Just The Facts Check out Kim's Newsletter: The Gavel Joyce's new book, Giving Up Is Unforgivable, is now available and for a limited time, you have the exclusive opportunity to order a signed copy here. Pre-order Barb's new book, The Fix. Her first book, Attack From Within, is now in paperback. Add the #Sisters & your other favorite Politicon podcast hosts on Bluesky Get your #SistersInLaw MERCH at politicon.com/merch WEBSITE & TRANSCRIPT Email: SISTERSINLAW@POLITICON.COM or Thread to @sistersInLaw.podcast Get text updates from #SistersInLaw and Politicon. From the #Sisters From Joyce's Substack - Which Side Is DOJ on: The Epstein Files Support This Week's Sponsors Jones Road Beauty: Use code SISTERS at jonesroadbeauty.com to get a Free Cool Gloss with your first purchase! These sell out fast, so get them while they last! #JonesRoadBeauty #ad HexClad: Take advantage of HexClad's Holiday Sale! Head to hexclad.com for Up To 50% Off! #hexcladpartner Calm: Perfect your meditation practice and get better sleep with 40% off a premium subscription when you go to calm.com/sisters Factor Meals: Eat smart at FactorMeals.com/sil50off and use code sil50off to get 50% off your first box, plus free breakfast for 1 Year. Wild Alaskan: Get $35 off your first box of wild-caught, sustainable seafood—delivered right to your door. Go to: https://www.wildalaskan.com/SISTERS Get More From The #SistersInLaw Joyce Vance: Bluesky | Twitter | University of Alabama Law | Civil Discourse Substack | MSNBC | Author of “Giving Up Is Unforgiveable” Jill Wine-Banks: Bluesky | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Author of The Watergate Girl: My Fight For Truth & Justice Against A Criminal President | Just The Facts YouTube Kimberly Atkins Stohr: Bluesky | Twitter | Boston Globe | WBUR | The Gavel Newsletter | Justice By Design Podcast Barb McQuade: barbaramcquade.com | Bluesky | Twitter | University of Michigan Law | Just Security | MSNBC | Attack From Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America
On today's MeidasTouch Podcast, the team breaks down a whirlwind day of Trump-era chaos and accountability, starting with a disastrous congressional hearing where Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was caught lying repeatedly before abruptly walking out. We dig into the stunning rebuke from the Indiana State Senate, which rejected Trump's hand-picked 9-0 gerrymandered map and kept the existing 7-2 district lines in place despite his threats. We also examine Karoline Leavitt's bizarre new excuse for Trump's visible health issues, an explanation that raises even more red flags. Plus, Epstein survivors are demanding an audit to ensure the Trump administration hasn't tampered with the files, and we unpack the real economic data from the Federal Reserve that Trump desperately wants to hide. All that, along with the latest developments you need to know, on a can't-miss episode from Ben, Brett, and Jordy. Deals from our sponsors! Naked Wines: To get 6 bottles of wine for $39.99, head to https://NakedWines.com/MEIDAS and use code MEIDAS for both the code AND PASSWORD. Hexclad: Take advantage of HexClad's Best Sale of the Year and GET UP TO 52% Off by going to https://hexclad.com/MEIDAS Delete Me: Get 20% OFF your DeleteMe plan! Go to https://JoinDeleteMe.com/MEIDAS and enter code: MEIDAS at checkout! Hims: Thanks to HIMS! Start your free online visit today at https://hims.com/meidas for your personalized ED treatment options. Shopify: Sign up for a one-dollar per month trial at https://shopify.com/meidas Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum with Dr. Steve Hassan: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week, Jon Lovett joins us at the table! He and Tom talk politics, superheroes, and how to become funny. Enjoy! Text PAPA to 64000 to get twenty percent off all IQBAR products, plus FREE shipping. Message and data rates may apply. Secure your online data TODAY by visiting ExpressVPN.com/TOMPAPA. Take advantage of Hexclad's Holiday Sale! Head to https://hexclad.com/PAPA for Up To 50% Off! #hexcladpartner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
John Hall and Zach Rishel from The Red Clay Strays come by my Nashville kitchen the day before the CMA awards and we talk about the first thing we bought when we earned some money, if all sins hold the same weight, and who's a bigger fan–Matt Rife or me. I throw together a shepherd's pie, a side salad and we play a few word game. Follow John: https://www.instagram.com/johndubya93 Zach: https://www.instagram.com/zachtenderfoot Recipes: https://www.somethingsburning.show/recipes-season-5 Sponsors: Hexclad - Take advantage of Hexclad's Holiday Sale! Head to https://www.hexclad.com/burning for Up To 50% Off! #hexcladpartner Magic Spoon - Get 5 dollars off your next order at https://MagicSpoon.com/BURNING Manscaped - Get 15% OFF your entire order with code BURNING at https://Manscaped.com. SUBSCRIBE so you never miss a video https://bit.ly/3DC1ICg For all TOUR DATES: http://www.bertbertbert.com For Fully Loaded: https://fullyloadedfestival.com For Merch: https://store.bertbertbert.com YouTube▶ http://www.YouTube.com/user/Akreischer X▶ http://www.Twitter.com/bertkreischer Facebook▶ http://www.Facebook.com/BertKreischer Instagram▶ http://www.Instagram.com/bertkreischer TikTok▶ http://www.TikTok.com/@bertkreischer Text Me▶ https://my.community.com/bertkreischer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jason Kander and Ravi Gupta break down Trump's latest spiral after posting 160 times on Truth Social and then appearing to fall asleep in a cabinet meeting. They examine the escalating “Double Tap” scandal, from Pete Hegseth's shifting explanations to sharp criticism from Megyn Kelly, Brit Hume, Marco Rubio, and Rand Paul as Republicans contradict themselves in real time. The hosts also dig into Trump's shocking pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández and his commutation of private-equity CEO David Gentile, highlighting the uproar over freeing major drug traffickers and white-collar criminals. Kander and Gupta then turn to the National Guard shooting involving an Afghan asylee, breaking down the rigorous vetting process, the mental-health failures that followed, and why this was a support-system breakdown rather than an immigration failure. All that plus a quick look at the Tennessee special results on the podcast that helps you, the majority of Americans who believe in progress, convince your conservative friends and family to join us—this is Majority 54! Nutrafol: Get results you can run your fingers through! For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners ten dollars off your first month's subscription and free shipping when you go to https://Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code MAJORITY. Dupe: For a limited time, the first 10,000 people who go to https://Dupe.com/majority will instantly get 500 Dupe Points IndaCloud: If you're 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code MAJORITY at https://inda.shop/MAJORITY! #indacloudpod Hexclad: Get 10% off at https://HexClad.com/MAJORITY Subscribe to Ravi's Substack: https://realravigupta.substack.com/ For more information visit: https://www.ravimgupta.com/analog Shout out to https://immigrantslist.org where people can donate to help get real immigration facts out! Majority 54 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/majority54 Jason on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasonKander Jason on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonkander/ Ravi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RaviMGupta Ravi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ravimgupta Ravi on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LostDebate Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On this episode of the MeidasTouch Podcast, we break down another chaotic day in Trump's America: the sitting president threatens to hang Democratic lawmakers simply for telling the military not to follow unlawful orders, while his White House defends him calling a female reporter “piggy” by claiming that's “why Americans voted for him.” We cover the U.S. military's new directive removing swastikas, nooses, and Confederate emblems from its list of banned symbols, worsening economic news as unemployment jumps to 4.4%, and the collapse of Trump's Ukraine diplomacy as his envoy Keith Kellogg is effectively sidelined amid talk of forced surrender. Plus, Trump tanks in the latest Fox News poll, and much more, from Ben, Brett, and Jordy. Subscribe to Meidas+ at https://meidasplus.com Get Meidas Merch: https://store.meidastouch.com Deals from our sponsors! HexClad: Take advantage of HexClad's Best Sale of the Year and GET UP TO 52% Off by going to https://hexclad.com/MEIDAS #hexcladpartner Shopify: Sign up for a one-dollar per month trial at Shopify: Sign up for a one-dollar per month trial at https://shopify.com/meidas Hiya Health: Go to https://hiyahealth.com/MEIDAS to receive 50% off your first order! and get your kids the full-body nourishment they need to grow into healthy adults. Mosh: Try Mosh today and use MEIDAS to save 20% plus free shipping at https://moshlife.com/MEIDAS Qualia: Go to https://qualialife.com/MEIDAS for up to 50% off your purchase and use code MEIDAS for an additional 15%. Miracle Made: Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to https://TryMiracle.com/MEIDAS and use the code MEIDAS to claim your FREE 3 piece towel set and save over 40% OFF! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum with Dr. Steve Hassan: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On this episode of the MeidasTouch Podcast, Ben, Brett, and Jordy break down Donald Trump's new war threats against Nigeria and how Donald Trump and Republicans are doubling down on their lies about the economy after getting demolished in Tuesday's elections—even as new data shows the economy collapsing under their failed policies, with mass layoffs sweeping across the country. The team dives into Marjorie Taylor Greene's escalating feud with GOP leadership, the Trump Justice Department's politically motivated prosecutions unraveling in real time, and several major breaking legal stories—from the Supreme Court showdown over Trump's tariffs, to a federal court ruling on the use of force by agents in Chicago, to a verdict in D.C.'s infamous “sandwich guy” case. All that and much more in today's episode. Subscribe to Meidas+ at https://meidasplus.com Get Meidas Merch: https://store.meidastouch.com Deals from our sponsors! Hexclad: Find your forever cookware @HEXCLAD and get 10% OFF at https://hexclad.com/meidas #hexcladpartner Fatty15: Get an additional 15% off their 90-day subscription Starter Kit by going to https://fatty15.com/MEIDAS and using code MEIDAS at checkout. Article: Go to https://article.com/MEIDAS for $50 OFF your first purchase of $100 or more! Miracle Made: Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to https://TryMiracle.com/MEIDAS and use the code MEIDAS to claim your FREE 3 piece towel set and save over 40% OFF! Quo: Quo is offering my listeners 20% off your first 6 months at https://Quo.com/MEIDAS. Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum with Dr. Steve Hassan: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jason Kander and Ravi Gupta break down the Democrats' dominating victories in Virginia and New Jersey, where early returns and strong turnout have analysts like Harry Enten and Dave Wasserman predicting Democrats could be favored to retake the House in 2026. They unpack how the results exposed cracks in the GOP coalition, with MAGA influencers blaming “weak” Republican candidates and moderates pointing to Trump's shutdown chaos and record-low approval rating of -18%. Kander and Gupta also examine how Democratic leaders from Gavin Newsom to Bill Ferguson framed the victories as proof that competence and optimism still win, even as Republicans melted down online over their losses. Plus, they analyze the high-stakes Supreme Court case that could unravel Trump's global tariffs, what it means for the U.S. economy, and how it fits into a broader crisis of Trump's leadership. This and more on the podcast that helps you, the majority of Americans who believe in progress, convince your conservative friends and family to join us—this is Majority 54! Hims: Thanks to HIMS! Start your free online visit today at https://hims.com/majority for your personalized ED treatment options Hexclad: Get 10% off at https://HexClad.com/MAJORITY Support Diana and Jason Kander's November Challenge: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/veterans-community-project/diana-and-jason-kander-november-challenge-30k-in-30-days Majority 54 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/majority54 Jason on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasonKander Jason on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonkander/ Ravi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RaviMGupta Ravi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ravimgupta Ravi on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LostDebate Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jason Kander and Ravi Gupta break down Donald Trump's collapsing approval numbers, as new polling from The Economist shows his net rating falling to -18, the lowest it has ever been—even lower than any point in his first term. They discuss what's driving the drop, from voter fatigue to economic fallout, and what it means for Trump's reelection odds. Kander and Gupta also dive into a new Reuters report revealing the Trump family raked in over $800 million from crypto ventures in just the first half of 2025, even as Trump pardoned Binance CEO CZ Zhao in a move critics call blatant corruption, analyzing how the pardon fits into Trump's broader pattern of rewarding allies and dismantling financial oversight. Then, they turn to Washington's ongoing chaos as the government shutdown drags on, with Marjorie Taylor Greene turning on Speaker Mike Johnson and demanding Republicans unveil a real health care plan, and examine Democrats' surprising restraint in Illinois and Maryland redistricting fights, and how internal debates over power and principle are shaping both parties' futures. Plus, they break down the Senate's rare bipartisan rebuke of Trump's Brazil tariffs, a sign that even some Republicans are losing patience with his economic nationalism. This and more on the podcast that helps you, the majority of Americans who believe in progress, convince your conservative friends and family to join us—this is Majority 54! Hims: Thanks to HIMS! Start your free online visit today at https://hims.com/majority for your personalized ED treatment options Hexclad: Get 10% off at https://HexClad.com/MAJORITY Done With Debt: Go to https://DONEWITHDEBT.com and talk with one of their specialists, FOR FREE Majority 54 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/majority54 Jason on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasonKander Jason on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonkander/ Ravi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RaviMGupta Ravi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ravimgupta Ravi on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LostDebate Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices