Podcast appearances and mentions of leesa sleep

In this podcast episode, Hamilton speaks with Ashleigh Dawson, founder and CEO of Recycle2Riches, a nonprofit organization in Los Angeles that aims to change the culture of consumption through communication, collaboration, and community education. Ashley discusses her organization's mission and the challenges of changing the culture of consumption. She emphasizes the importance of sustainability in every avenue of consumption and the need for consumers to be educated about responsible consumption. Ashleigh also talks about the responsibility of big and small brands in promoting sustainability and the importance of policy change. She recommends resources for education on sustainability topics and shares her experience with rejection and leadership. - In 2014, Hamilton Perkins founded Hamilton Perkins Collection, an independent brand that designs and produces unique and award-winning bags and accessories made from upcycled materials. Each bag is made from pineapple leaf fiber, billboard vinyl, fabric banners, apparel, and other advertising waste. Perkins was awarded an equity-free grant as the winner of the Virginia Velocity Tour hosted by Village Capital and the Governor of Virginia. The non-profit B Lab honored Hamilton Perkins Collection as a "Best for the World Overall" B Corporation in 2017. Perkins was voted to Inside Business' 40 under 40 and Old Dominion University Alumni Association's 40 under 40 lists. Perkins has been mentioned in Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, Money Magazine, and The Washington Post. Select past client work includes Affirm, National Geographic, Hewlett-Packard, Nordstrom, Target, S.C. Johnson and Son, Dow Chemical, Oracle, Salesforce, Barnes and Noble, West Elm, Holt Renfrew, C.F. Martin & Company, Imerys, Leesa Sleep, Zappos, Paramount Pictures, AMEX, Hanover Insurance, NYC Department of Sanitation and Ellen. The brand is currently offered in nearly 150 leading department stores and specialty stores in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Hamilton Perkins Collection has transformed 800,000 bottles into bags and over 40,000 pounds of old signs and into bags with the goal of 10 million bottles and over 500,000 pounds. Perkins has been a speaker for BNY Mellon, Faire, Mastercard and has provided research for Harvard Business School. Perkins serves on the executive advisory council board at Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business.

In 2014, Hamilton Perkins founded Hamilton Perkins Collection, an independent brand that designs and produces unique and award-winning bags and accessories made from upcycled materials. Each bag is made from pineapple leaf fiber, billboard vinyl, fabric banners, apparel, and other advertising waste.  Perkins was awarded an equity-free grant as the winner of the Virginia Velocity Tour hosted by Village Capital and the Governor of Virginia. The non-profit B Lab honored Hamilton Perkins Collection as a "Best for the World Overall" B Corporation in 2017. Perkins was voted to Inside Business' 40 under 40 and Old Dominion University Alumni Association's 40 under 40 lists.  Perkins has been mentioned in Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, Money Magazine, and The Washington Post. Select past client work includes Affirm, National Geographic, Hewlett-Packard, Nordstrom, Target, S.C. Johnson and Son, Dow Chemical, Oracle, Salesforce, Barnes and Noble, West Elm, Holt Renfrew, C.F. Martin & Company, Imerys, Leesa Sleep, Zappos, Paramount Pictures, AMEX, Hanover Insurance, NYC Department of Sanitation and Ellen.  The brand is currently offered in nearly 150 leading department stores and specialty stores in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Hamilton Perkins Collection has transformed 800,000 bottles into bags and over 40,000 pounds of old signs and into bags with the goal of 10 million bottles and over 500,000 pounds.  Perkins has been a speaker for BNY Mellon, Faire, Mastercard and has provided research for Harvard Business School. Perkins serves on the executive advisory council board at Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business. 

In this podcast episode, Hamilton and Keith Fraley discuss Keith's background in fashion, his transition from fashion design to the business side of fashion, and his upcoming role as a tenure track assistant professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. They also discuss sustainability in the fashion industry, fashion collaborations, and various resources for learning about the fashion industry. - In 2014, Hamilton Perkins founded Hamilton Perkins Collection, an independent brand that designs and produces unique and award-winning bags and accessories made from upcycled materials. Each bag is made from pineapple leaf fiber, billboard vinyl, fabric banners, apparel, and other advertising waste. Perkins was awarded an equity-free grant as the winner of the Virginia Velocity Tour hosted by Village Capital and the Governor of Virginia. The non-profit B Lab honored Hamilton Perkins Collection as a "Best for the World Overall" B Corporation in 2017. Perkins was voted to Inside Business' 40 under 40 and Old Dominion University Alumni Association's 40 under 40 lists. Perkins has been mentioned in Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, Money Magazine, and The Washington Post. Select past client work includes Hewlett-Packard, Nordstrom, Target, S.C. Johnson and Son, Dow Chemical, Oracle, Salesforce, Barnes and Noble, West Elm, Holt Renfrew, C.F. Martin & Company, Imerys, Leesa Sleep, Zappos, Paramount Pictures, AMEX, Hanover Insurance, NYC Department of Sanitation and Ellen. The brand is currently offered in nearly 150 leading department stores and specialty stores in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Hamilton Perkins Collection has transformed 800,000 bottles into bags and over 40,000 pounds of old signs and into bags with the goal of 10 million bottles and over 500,000 pounds. Perkins has been a speaker for BNY Mellon, Faire, Mastercard and has provided research for Harvard Business School. Perkins serves on the executive advisory council board at Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business.

Throughout her career, Chris has consistently created strong operating results for companies ranging from start-up to Fortune 50,including premier organizations such as: Cox Communications, Verizon Communications, Sprint Nextel, the National Basketball Association and Fan Controlled Sports and Entertainment. As a senior executive, she has held P&L responsibility, for up to 1000 employees and $1.5 billion in annual revenue. Chris currently serves as the Chief Commercial Officer and head of Strategy for interactive media company, Fan Controlled Sports and Entertainment; overseeing strategic partnerships, betting and league strategy. She also recently served as Chief Financial Officer of the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), OmniChannel Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: OCA). In February 2019, Chris was appointed to the Board of Directors for Ryman Hospitality (NYSE: RHP) and is also a member of the company's audit and nom/gov committees. Ryman is the proud owner and operator of the Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium, Ole Red (in partnership with Blake Shelton) and the Gaylord Resorts and Hotels.Previously, Chris launched and led the National Basketball Association's direct to consumer business globally. She also established and led the corporate development practice in media and entertainment, for global telecom leader Verizon; ultimately acquiring over $5B worth of assets over the span of 3 years. Chris serves on her business school's executive advisory board, at Old Dominion University since 2012. Chris grew up in Colorado, has moved around the US, both during her husband's service in the US Navy submarine force and for her own career. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Spanish and a Master's of Business Administration, from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. She and her husband have lived the past 10 years in Summit, NJ and have one son, who attends Cornell University's Dyson School and competes on the university's varsity track team. - In 2014, Hamilton Perkins founded Hamilton Perkins Collection, an independent brand that designs and produces unique and award-winning bags and accessories made from upcycled materials. Each bag is made from pineapple leaf fiber, billboard vinyl, fabric banners, apparel, and other advertising waste. Perkins was awarded an equity-free grant as the winner of the Virginia Velocity Tour hosted by Village Capital and the Governor of Virginia. The non-profit B Lab honored Hamilton Perkins Collection as a "Best for the World Overall" B Corporation in 2017. Perkins was voted to Inside Business' 40 under 40 and Old Dominion University Alumni Association's 40 under 40 lists. Perkins has been mentioned in Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, Money Magazine, and The Washington Post. Select past client work includes Hewlett-Packard, Nordstrom, Target, S.C. Johnson and Son, Dow Chemical, Oracle, Salesforce, Barnes and Noble, West Elm, Holt Renfrew, C.F. Martin & Company, Imerys, Leesa Sleep, Zappos, Paramount Pictures, AMEX, Hanover Insurance, NYC Department of Sanitation and Ellen. The brand is currently offered in nearly 150 leading department stores and specialty stores in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Hamilton Perkins Collection has transformed 800,000 bottles into bags and over 40,000 pounds of old signs and into bags with the goal of 10 million bottles and over 500,000 pounds. Perkins has been a speaker for BNY Mellon, Faire, Mastercard and has provided research for Harvard Business School. Perkins serves on the executive advisory council board at Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business.

In 2014, Hamilton Perkins founded Hamilton Perkins Collection, an independent brand that designs and produces unique and award-winning bags and accessories made from upcycled materials. Each bag is made from pineapple leaf fiber, billboard vinyl, fabric banners, apparel, and other advertising waste. Perkins was awarded an equity-free grant as the winner of the Virginia Velocity Tour hosted by Village Capital and the Governor of Virginia. The non-profit B Lab honored Hamilton Perkins Collection as a "Best for the World Overall" B Corporation in 2017. Perkins was voted to Inside Business' 40 under 40 and Old Dominion University Alumni Association's 40 under 40 lists. Perkins has been mentioned in Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, Money Magazine, and The Washington Post. Select past client work includes Hewlett-Packard, Nordstrom, Target, S.C. Johnson and Son, Dow Chemical, Oracle, Salesforce, Barnes and Noble, West Elm, Holt Renfrew, C.F. Martin & Company, Imerys, Leesa Sleep, Zappos, Paramount Pictures, AMEX, Hanover Insurance, NYC Department of Sanitation and Ellen. The brand is currently offered in nearly 150 leading department stores and specialty stores in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Hamilton Perkins Collection has transformed 800,000 bottles into bags and over 40,000 pounds of old signs and into bags with the goal of 10 million bottles and over 500,000 pounds. Perkins has been a speaker for BNY Mellon, Faire, Mastercard and has provided research for Harvard Business School. Perkins serves on the executive advisory council board at Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business.

Ted Baroody is a graduate of North Carolina State University of Raleigh, North Carolina. After college he moved to Norfolk to start his own small sports marketing company, Victory Promotions. After a couple of years of power boat racing production under Victory Promotions, he served as Marketing Director for a group of local radio stations in Virginia Beach for 5 years. From 1996 to the present, he has worked for Norfolk Festevents, Ltd. which he now serves as CEO. Ted also works with many non-profit organizations as a volunteer, event coordinator and as a board member. - In 2014, Hamilton Perkins founded Hamilton Perkins Collection, an independent brand that designs and produces unique and award-winning bags and accessories made from upcycled materials. Each bag is made from pineapple leaf fiber, billboard vinyl, fabric banners, apparel, and other advertising waste. Perkins was awarded an equity-free grant as the winner of the Virginia Velocity Tour hosted by Village Capital and the Governor of Virginia. The non-profit B Lab honored Hamilton Perkins Collection as a "Best for the World Overall" B Corporation in 2017. Perkins was voted to Inside Business' 40 under 40 and Old Dominion University Alumni Association's 40 under 40 lists. Perkins has been mentioned in Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, Money Magazine, and The Washington Post. Select past client work includes Hewlett-Packard, Nordstrom, Target, S.C. Johnson and Son, Dow Chemical, Oracle, Salesforce, Barnes and Noble, West Elm, Holt Renfrew, C.F. Martin & Company, Imerys, Leesa Sleep, Zappos, Paramount Pictures, AMEX, Hanover Insurance, NYC Department of Sanitation and Ellen. The brand is currently offered in nearly 150 leading department stores and specialty stores in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Hamilton Perkins Collection has transformed 800,000 bottles into bags and over 40,000 pounds of old signs and into bags with the goal of 10 million bottles and over 500,000 pounds. Perkins has been a speaker for BNY Mellon, Faire, Mastercard and has provided research for Harvard Business School. Perkins serves on the executive advisory council board at Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business.

In this video, Michael Desplaines shares his experience running a non profit. He shares advice on how to get started, how to raise money, and how to run a successful non profit. If you're interested in starting a non profit, this video is for you! Michael shares his experience and advice on running a non profit, from fundraising to marketing to organizational skills. This video is a great resource for anyone who is interested in starting a non profit. - In 2014, Hamilton Perkins founded Hamilton Perkins Collection, an independent brand that designs and produces unique and award-winning bags and accessories made from upcycled materials. Each bag is made from pineapple leaf fiber, billboard vinyl, fabric banners, apparel, and other advertising waste. Perkins was awarded an equity-free grant as the winner of the Virginia Velocity Tour hosted by Village Capital and the Governor of Virginia. The non-profit B Lab honored Hamilton Perkins Collection as a "Best for the World Overall" B Corporation in 2017. Perkins was voted to Inside Business' 40 under 40 and Old Dominion University Alumni Association's 40 under 40 lists. Perkins has been mentioned in Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, Money Magazine, and The Washington Post. Select past client work includes Hewlett-Packard, Nordstrom, Target, S.C. Johnson and Son, Dow Chemical, Oracle, Salesforce, Barnes and Noble, West Elm, Holt Renfrew, C.F. Martin & Company, Imerys, Leesa Sleep, Zappos, Paramount Pictures, AMEX, Hanover Insurance, NYC Department of Sanitation and Ellen. The brand is currently offered in nearly 150 leading department stores and specialty stores in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Hamilton Perkins Collection has transformed 800,000 bottles into bags and over 40,000 pounds of old signs and into bags with the goal of 10 million bottles and over 500,000 pounds. Perkins has been a speaker for BNY Mellon, Faire, Mastercard and has provided research for Harvard Business School. Perkins serves on the executive advisory council board at Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business.

In 2014, Hamilton Perkins founded Hamilton Perkins Collection, an independent brand that designs and produces unique and award-winning bags and accessories made from upcycled materials. Each bag is made from pineapple leaf fiber, billboard vinyl, fabric banners, apparel, and other advertising waste. Perkins was awarded a $25,000 equity-free grant as the winner of the Virginia Velocity Tour hosted by Village Capital and the Governor of Virginia. The non-profit B Lab honored Hamilton Perkins Collection as a "Best for the World Overall" B Corporation in 2017. Perkins was voted to Inside Business' 40 under 40 and Old Dominion University Alumni Association's 40 under 40 lists. Perkins has been mentioned in Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, Money Magazine, and The Washington Post. Select past client work includes Hewlett-Packard, Nordstrom, Target, S.C. Johnson and Son, Dow Chemical, Oracle, Salesforce, Barnes and Noble, West Elm, Holt Renfrew, C.F. Martin & Company, Imerys, Leesa Sleep, Zappos, Paramount Pictures, AMEX, Hanover Insurance, NYC Department of Sanitation and Ellen. The brand is currently offered in nearly 150 leading department stores and specialty stores in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Hamilton Perkins Collection has transformed 800,000 bottles into bags and over 40,000 pounds of old signs and into bags with the goal of 10 million bottles and over 500,000 pounds. Perkins has been a speaker for BNY Mellon, Faire, MasterCard and has provided research for Harvard Business School. Perkins serves on the executive advisory council board at Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business.

In 2014, Hamilton Perkins founded Hamilton Perkins Collection, an independent brand that designs and produces unique and award-winning bags and accessories made from upcycled materials. Each bag is made from pineapple leaf fiber, billboard vinyl, fabric banners, apparel, and other advertising waste. Perkins was awarded a $25,000 equity-free grant as the winner of the Virginia Velocity Tour hosted by Village Capital and the Governor of Virginia. The non-profit B Lab honored Hamilton Perkins Collection as a "Best for the World Overall" B Corporation in 2017. Perkins was voted to Inside Business' 40 under 40 and Old Dominion University Alumni Association's 40 under 40 lists. Perkins has been mentioned in Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, Money Magazine, and The Washington Post. Select past client work includes Hewlett-Packard, Nordstrom, Target, S.C. Johnson and Son, Dow Chemical, Oracle, Salesforce, Barnes and Noble, West Elm, Holt Renfrew, C.F. Martin & Company, Imerys, Leesa Sleep, Zappos, Paramount Pictures, AMEX, Hanover Insurance, NYC Department of Sanitation and Ellen. The brand is currently offered in nearly 150 leading department stores and specialty stores in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Hamilton Perkins Collection has transformed 800,000 bottles into bags and over 40,000 pounds of old signs and into bags with the goal of 10 million bottles and over 500,000 pounds. Perkins has been a speaker for BNY Mellon, Faire, Mastercard and has provided research for Harvard Business School. Perkins serves on the executive advisory council board at Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business.

In 2014, Hamilton Perkins founded Hamilton Perkins Collection, an independent brand that designs and produces unique and award-winning bags and accessories made from upcycled materials. Each bag is made from pineapple leaf fiber, billboard vinyl, fabric banners, apparel, and other advertising waste. Perkins was awarded a $25,000 equity-free grant as the winner of the Virginia Velocity Tour hosted by Village Capital and the Governor of Virginia. The non-profit B Lab honored Hamilton Perkins Collection as a "Best for the World Overall" B Corporation in 2017. Perkins was voted to Inside Business' 40 under 40 and Old Dominion University Alumni Association's 40 under 40 lists. Perkins has been mentioned in Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, Money Magazine, and The Washington Post. Select past client work includes Hewlett-Packard, Nordstrom, Target, S.C. Johnson and Son, Dow Chemical, Oracle, Salesforce, Barnes and Noble, West Elm, Holt Renfrew, C.F. Martin & Company, Imerys, Leesa Sleep, Zappos, Paramount Pictures, AMEX, Hanover Insurance, NYC Department of Sanitation and Ellen. The brand is currently offered in nearly 150 leading department stores and specialty stores in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Hamilton Perkins Collection has transformed 800,000 bottles into bags and over 40,000 pounds of old signs and into bags with the goal of 10 million bottles and over 500,000 pounds. Perkins has been a speaker for BNY Mellon, Faire, Mastercard and has provided research for Harvard Business School. Perkins serves on the executive advisory council board at Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business.

In 2014, Hamilton Perkins founded Hamilton Perkins Collection, an independent brand that designs and produces unique and award-winning bags and accessories made from recycled materials. Each bag is made from recycled plastic water bottles, billboard vinyl, pineapple leaf fiber, upcycled fabric banners, and other advertising waste. Perkins was awarded a $25,000 equity-free grant as the winner of the Virginia Velocity Tour hosted by Village Capital and the Governor of Virginia. The non-profit B Lab honored Hamilton Perkins Collection as a "Best for the World Overall" B Corporation in 2017. Perkins was voted to Inside Business' 40 under 40 and Old Dominion University Alumni Association's 40 under 40 lists. Perkins has been mentioned in Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, Money Magazine, and The Washington Post. Select past client work includes Hewlett-Packard, Nordstrom, Target, S.C. Johnson and Son, Dow Chemical, Oracle, Salesforce, Barnes and Noble, West Elm, Holt Renfrew, C.F. Martin & Company, Imerys, Leesa Sleep, Zappos, Paramount Pictures, AMEX, Footlocker, Hanover Insurance and Ellen. The brand is currently offered in nearly 150 leading department stores and specialty stores in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Hamilton Perkins Collection's ecommerce store is available at hamiltonperkins.com. Perkins serves on the executive advisory council board at Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business.

In 2014, Hamilton Perkins founded Hamilton Perkins Collection, an independent brand that designs and produces unique and award-winning bags and accessories made from recycled materials. Each bag is made from recycled plastic water bottles, billboard vinyl, pineapple leaf fiber, upcycled fabric banners, and other advertising waste. Perkins was the winner of the Virginia Velocity Tour hosted by the Governor of Virginia. The non-profit B Lab honored Hamilton Perkins Collection as a "Best for the World Overall" B Corporation in 2017. Perkins was voted to Inside Business' 40 under 40 and Old Dominion University Alumni Association's 40 under 40 lists. Perkins has been mentioned in Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, Money Magazine, and The Washington Post. Select past client work includes Hewlett-Packard, Nordstrom, Target, Dow Chemical, Oracle, Salesforce, Barnes and Noble, West Elm, Holt Renfrew, Salesforce, C.F. Martin & Company, Imerys, Leesa Sleep, Zappos, Paramount Pictures, and Ellen. The brand is currently offered in nearly 150 leading department stores and specialty stores in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Hamilton Perkins Collection's ecommerce store is available at hamiltonperkins.com. Perkins serves on the executive advisory council board at Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business.

In 2014, Hamilton Perkins founded Hamilton Perkins Collection, an independent brand that designs and produces unique and award-winning bags and accessories made from recycled materials. Each bag is made from recycled plastic water bottles, billboard vinyl, pineapple leaf fiber, upcycled fabric banners, and other advertising waste. Perkins was the winner of the Virginia Velocity Tour hosted by the Governor of Virginia. The non-profit B Lab honored Hamilton Perkins Collection as a "Best for the World Overall" B Corporation in 2017. Perkins was voted to Inside Business' 40 under 40 and Old Dominion University Alumni Association's 40 under 40 lists. Perkins has been mentioned in Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, Money Magazine, and The Washington Post. Select past client work includes Hewlett-Packard, Nordstrom, Target, Dow Chemical, Oracle, Salesforce, Barnes and Noble, West Elm, Holt Renfrew, Salesforce, C.F. Martin & Company, Imerys, Leesa Sleep, Zappos, Paramount Pictures, and Ellen. The brand is currently offered in nearly 150 leading department stores and specialty stores in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Hamilton Perkins Collection's e-commerce store is available at hamiltonperkins.com. Perkins serves on the executive advisory council board at Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business.

The Altruistic Capitalist looks to spark change in conversations in board rooms, offices, and schools to turn the focus from sales, profits, and returns to the impact good business can have on people and the planet. Through her interviews with prominent business leaders as well as her personal experiences in the business world, author Lynn Yap offers ways to rethink capitalism, create a positive impact, and do meaningful work. Yap looks to tackle questions like: Where do people and planet enter into the equation when businesses calculate returns? How can we turn a profit while also creating a sustainable business with positive impacts? How can companies scale impact to provide benefits to the environment and community? This book speaks to leaders, social entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs, and innovators who want to change the relationship between business, our people, and the planet. We can no longer rely on governments and non-profit organizations alone to solve our social and environmental problems. As we look urgently to the business world for solutions, this kinder, more mindful brand of capitalism just may provide a pathway out. https://amz.run/4te3 _ In 2014, Hamilton Perkins founded Hamilton Perkins Collection, an independent brand that designs and produces unique and award-winning bags and accessories made from recycled materials. Each bag is made from recycled plastic water bottles, billboard vinyl, pineapple leaf fiber, upcycled fabric banners, and other advertising waste. Perkins was the winner of the Virginia Velocity Tour hosted by the Governor of Virginia, and the recipient of a HUD Community Development Block Grant. The non-profit B Lab honored Hamilton Perkins Collection as a "Best for the World Overall" B Corporation in 2017. Perkins was voted to Inside Business' 40 under 40 and Old Dominion University Alumni Association's 40 under 40 lists. Perkins has been mentioned in Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, Money Magazine, and The Washington Post. Select past client work includes Hewlett-Packard, Nordstrom, Target, Dow Chemical, Oracle, Salesforce, Barnes and Noble, West Elm, Holt Renfrew, Salesforce, C.F. Martin & Company, Imerys, Leesa Sleep, Zappos, Paramount Pictures, and Ellen. The brand is currently offered in nearly 150 leading department stores and specialty stores in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Hamilton Perkins Collection's ecommerce store is available at hamiltonperkins.com. Perkins serves on the executive advisory council board at Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business.

In 2014, Hamilton Perkins founded Hamilton Perkins Collection, an independent brand that designs and produces unique and award-winning bags and accessories made from recycled materials. Each bag is made from recycled plastic water bottles, billboard vinyl, pineapple leaf fiber, upcycled fabric banners, and other advertising waste. Perkins was the winner of the Virginia Velocity Tour hosted by the Governor of Virginia, and the recipient of a HUD Community Development Block Grant. The non-profit B Lab honored Hamilton Perkins Collection as a "Best for the World Overall" B Corporation in 2017. Perkins was voted to Inside Business' 40 under 40 and Old Dominion University Alumni Association's 40 under 40 lists. Perkins has been mentioned in Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, Money Magazine, and The Washington Post. Select past client work includes Hewlett-Packard, Nordstrom, Target, Dow Chemical, Oracle, Salesforce, Barnes and Noble, West Elm, Holt Renfrew, Salesforce, C.F. Martin & Company, Imerys, Leesa Sleep, Zappos, Paramount Pictures, and Ellen. The brand is currently offered in nearly 150 leading department stores and specialty stores in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Hamilton Perkins Collection's ecommerce store is available at hamiltonperkins.com. Perkins serves on the executive advisory council board at Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business.

If it seems like a new DTC brand is launching every day, that’s because it’s true. In every industry, across every vertical, on every channel, the next “big thing” is competing for your attention, your clicks and your cash. As a consumer, sifting through all that noise and filtering out which companies are worth your time can be a daunting task. And as a brand, it begs the question: how do you set yourself apart from the ever-growing pack?One option is to find a trusted source to vouch for you. Matthew Hayes can be that source, and his new marketplace, The Fascination, is where he wants to lift up some of the most worthy DTC brands coming to market.The Fascination is a product recommendation and reviews publication focused on emerging and purpose-driven direct-to-consumer brands, large and small. Users of the platform have the ability to filter through vetted brands, digest the company’s story, and even transact all in one place.On this episode of Up Next in Commerce, Matthew dives into lessons he learned while building Leesa Sleep, why curation is so important in the rapidly expanding direct to consumer space, and gives his take on why the convergence of media and commerce will be the one thing that impacts ecommerce the most. Plus, I even pull out a few stories from his trip to Richard Branson’s Necker Island.Main Takeaways:Curation Station: The saturation of the market with a new DTC brand every day is creating issues for consumers and brands alike. With so much clutter, it’s hard to stand out. Through measurable metrics, in-depth reviews, and by holding brands up to certain benchmarks, The Fascination created a space that customers can trust, and brands want to be listed. Layers of Use: For a brand to stand out, The Fascination has found that being mission-driven, promoting social good, and leaning into and highlighting the unique aspects of your business will be the most effective strategy. Lessons Learned: While not everyone can pick the brains of the biggest entrepreneurs in the world, when you get the chance, it’s wise to listen. Matthew was able to visit Necker Island and spend time with Daymond John, Marie Forleo, Tim Ferris, Seth Godin, and Richard Branson. Tune in to hear what advice they gave that has been helping him to this day.For an in-depth look at this episode, check out the full transcript below. Quotes have been edited for clarity and length.---Up Next in Commerce is brought to you by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Respond quickly to changing customer needs with flexible Ecommerce connected to marketing, sales, and service. Deliver intelligent commerce experiences your customers can trust, across every channel. Together, we’re ready for what’s next in commerce. Learn more at salesforce.com/commerce---Transcript:Stephanie:Hey everyone. And welcome back to Up Next in Commerce. This is your host, Stephanie Postles, co-founder at mission.org. Today, I'm chatting with Matthew Hayes, the co-founder at The Fascination and previously on the founding team at Leesa Sleep. Matt, welcome to the show.Matthew:Thanks for having me.Stephanie:Yeah, I'm very glad to have you on. So I was hoping we could start with maybe Leesa Sleep. Because when I saw that I'm like, "Whoa, you were like an OG in the D-to-C space," and I thought they'd be a good jumping off point.Matthew:Yeah. So I was part of the founding team at Leesa. Yeah, we launched it back in 2014 before everything exploded. Right? So we were very early. We were one of the first BedInABox brands to get out there, Tuft & Needle came maybe, I don't know, six months to a year before us. Casper was literally right before us. And then we were out right around Thanksgiving of 2014 and that whole industry just exploded under our feet. We had the wind at our back for most of our tenure, especially our growth years. But things are a lot different now and t's a different ball game in terms of launch and growing a D-to-C brand in 2021.Stephanie:Good. Tell me a bit about the differences. I mean, obviously the world is very different and there's a lot of new trends coming out about what to expect over the next couple of years, but are there any lessons that you took away from Leesa that are still relevant or is the world just like in such a different place now?Matthew:No, I think it's still really relevant. I think a lot of the stuff that we were learning as we grew is incredibly relevant to the way that we launched The Fascination, the way that brand founders are thinking about things now. When we first launched in 2015, cost of acquisition were beautiful. Like all day we could scale the auctions across Facebook and Google, were very, maybe a fifth of what they are now just in terms of competitiveness. Just, I mean the mattress industry specifically there was 180 entrants after we launched, so a huge amount of volume coming into that space and just generally in D-to-C. So the cost of acquiring just pure play digital customers was going up and people were seeing the writing on the wall and starting to diversify into brick and mortar.Matthew:And so I think that was one of the things that we realized, is we've got to have a diverse channel mix. And so we struck the partnership with West Elm, we leaned more into Amazon. We looked more at international and we actually set up our own brick and mortar stores. So I think the combination of that brand awareness and exposure helped our brand tremendously. Whereas a lot of brands stuck it out, stayed pure plays and they learneD-to-Costly less and overspending on acquisition.Stephanie:Yeah, that's definitely the biggest thing that I see from the past couple of years or past decade is like before you could just focus on paid acquisition, like throw a bunch of money at it and one's really, they're going to come to you either way. And then now it seems like a lot of the, I guess the brands that are ahead are more media companies now, and there's a big spectrum between paying for people versus organic or versus starting a community and then launching a product to them. So it does feel like a definitely a different world than just like pay, and grow, and scale up as you go.Matthew:Yeah. I mean, we're seeing that a lot actually. And I think our notion of how to build a profitable business with The Fascination is quite a bit different. No, we're not a pure play own D-to-C brand selling our own products, we're essentially a marketplace, but what we've done is we've seen the success that media companies have had in building an audience that's super loyal whether that's The Hustle, or Morning Brew or The Scam, all of this audience aggregation and demand with these customer demos, there's so much that you can do with it. And so, we saw a bit of an opportunity and the fragmentation that was happening across D-to-C brand for popping up literally every day. And you start to become a little leery of, is this a good brand? Is this is a good product? Does this align with my values and tastes? And we saw this need for curation across all spectrums of D-to-C really. And we saw an opportunity to really create a media platform and a commercial platform around that.Stephanie:So let's dive into The Fascination a bit. So it's a marketplace. You guys are curating D-to-C brands. I saw you have filters focused on the product technical quality, also the soul of the company. Tell me a little bit more about The Fascination. How do you allow brands into the marketplace? Yeah. And any other details around the platform?Matthew:Yeah, so I mean, people are basically referring to it as a marketplace meets magazine, which I think is an accurate description. It's basically at its core, it's a product recommendation and reviews publication specifically focused on emerging and purpose-driven direct to consumer brands. So in much the same way that Wirecutter or the strategists reviews top products and writes those objective third-party reviews and recommendations, as a media publisher we're really doing that, but we're focusing in on a subset of these D-to-C brands that are new and emerging and have purpose driven values.Matthew:And the idea is to create a single platform where people can come and discover new brands, they can read reviews and research those brands and products, and they can shop deals all in one place. So it's a linear play from discovery all the way through to purchase.Stephanie:Yep. So who are some of your favorite brands on the platform right now?Matthew:There's so many good ones.Stephanie:[inaudible].Matthew:Yeah, I know I'm going to get in trouble for this. We've got badges across the site, which are really cool. The badges call out things like women and minority led businesses, or organic, or made in the USA. And so like Girlfriend Collective is one of our women and minority led brands. Haus is another-Stephanie:Even Haus on, yeah.Matthew:... Yeah, they deal the [inaudible] and great products, great brand story.Stephanie:Delicious.Matthew:Delicious. Yeah. I was just chatting with the founders of Huron, which is a men's skincare line. Awesome story. And then we've got the big names that you'd expect. Like we've got Allbirds on the platform. We've got Warby joining soon if they're not up already any day now. We've got UNTUCKit so, those it's a nice mix of the old school D-to-C incumbents with a lot of really cool emerging brands that honestly I'm intimately involved in direct consumer and a lot of these brands I hadn't heard of for the first time.Matthew:So if you think about like, as it broadens out the halo from the bulls-eye of our tightest demos, there's going to be so many people that are discovering these brands for the first time. And that's really what we want. We want some of these big names to attract people into the site, and then we want a lot of our awesome emerging brands and products to be discovered while you're there.Stephanie:Yeah. That's great. So how are you convincing these larger brands to join the platform? Because I'm thinking your space, I think also is very competitive. I mean, the world right now is headed to a place where everyone wants curated collections. I mean, they don't want to spend a bunch of time everywhere. They want it all in one place. We had the CEO of Fast on talking about, you need the one-click checkout and be able to allow people just to check out instantly and not have to bulk it into a cart. It seems like your space is very competitive too. How are you convincing the Warby Parkers? And the older brands who probably are approached by quite a few marketplace platforms to, "Oh, join us." Why are these brands going with you?Matthew:Well, I think we've really a ton on the story and the user experience and just the overall look and feel of our digital product and what we stand for. I think it's also in our favor that we have been D-to-C operators ourselves and we can really empathize to what these founders need. And we've been fortunate to be in the community for several years now. So we had a few close partners that our spring pad, if you will. Not to mention Nick Sharma as an advisor, who's great at pulling in brands.Stephanie:He was on our show too, man, I was just-Matthew:Yeah, I know.Stephanie:... fortunate.Matthew:And so yeah, between that, and we had some really amazing brands reach out the first day that just totally shocked us. We have a type form application that comes through and we had a couple of 100 brands, including some of the biggest names in the space on day one, which it was super exciting. And just a lot of founders getting really excited by seeing their brands mentioned in our round ups, or seeing products being shared. So I think that the validation that we're starting to provide, and really empathizing with what brand founders need is something that they're really clamoring for. And I think word it gets out fast.Stephanie:Yeah. That's great. So is there any trends you're seeing right now around what customers are most excited about? I mean, I'm guessing you have all this data now and you can see, okay, a bunch of people are coming on during quarantine and buying Haus. We need another type of Appertiff or something to offer that's similar because we see so much engagement there, any trends?Matthew:I think that one of the things that we've seen that's really interesting is our roundup pieces on brands that are making an impact and just the social impact stories are really, really resonating with consumers. And the brands are sharing the stories, which is just amplifying the message that much more. So the general consumer sentiment that we're getting from a qualitative perspective is that a platform like this is very much needed and like, thank you for building it. So I don't think it's even halfway to where we want it to be, or it could be in terms of the overall product development evolution, but we're going to get there quickly.Stephanie:Yep. So how, when you're... You just said that certain stories that you're telling around the brands and the social good aspect of it are really resonating. Is that your main play when it comes to acquiring new customers on your platform is by writing good pieces of content, having the brand share it to get in front of their audiences as well, or how do you think about acquiring new customers?Matthew:Yeah, I mean, customer acquisitions, it's always a challenge for a marketplace like this. And that's why from day one, we didn't approach it as a pure play commercial marketplace where you're just aggregating and selling products. From a consumer perspective, that's really not serving the overall need that we're trying to address, which is discovery, research, and shop and convert. And so the research aspect of that is really where we're going to focus a lot of time and attention and work. And what I mean by that is writing really in depth, thorough product reviews that are authentic, that are meaningful, that consumers value and ultimately Google values that content really highly as well. And so, what I'm getting at is the SEO and organic traction and such. It's going to be a big part of how we grow organically, keep our acquisition costs low.Matthew:There's a lot of performance marketing things that we can and will be doing. Brands have had tremendous interest in doing paid marketing partnerships, whether that's white listing on Facebook, or sponsoring newsletters, or any sponsorships. I think there's a tremendous amount of demand for that. And we really are just dipping our toes into the very first test there. And then I think PR and having, as I said, our brands amplify, our content is also, it's just going to be a latent, organic way to continue to build low cost audience. I mean, I think if you think about the way that Leesa scaled and a lot of those 2015 brand scaled, we know that we can't run the same playbook and build a sustainable business.Matthew:And so as we were launching in early days, it's like being a media company is really hard, right. Coming up with really engaging content every single day, pumping it out, like the Morning Brews and Web Smith's of the world, I take my hat off to those guys because it's not easy, but I think you can already start to see the rewards that we're going to reap from that.Stephanie:Yeah. So what channels are you... Well, maybe actually first, let me talk about the content piece, because that's top of mind for me is, a lot of people say you just need to create good content and that's the key to finding great people. How do you go about brainstorming something that will resonate? Are you actually going through maybe search trends and starting there to see what's going on in the industry, and then writing articles around that? Or is it purely, just like, I want to talk about Haus's story and we're going to talk about what they're doing behind the scenes? Like, how do you brainstorm content?Matthew:It's a mix of all of that actually. So we've got a number of things that we're covering at any one time. A lot of it is when we have new brands onboarded, we've got to write the brand story and we've got to review their products. That's phase one. And that's like an ongoing process as we get up and running. But yeah, we're also looking at industry trends, category wide trends, search trends around specific products or competitive products to see how we can write really compelling content that meets that need.Matthew:And then we're thinking about the cultural relevance, things that are happening topically in everyday life. And we've got a couple of different personas that we look at. And so what are our personas caring about, what's their headspace, and then what are the things that are happening in their specific lives at this very moment in mid January? So as we think through those things, you start to surface really relevant content ideas, and that's where our social content, a lot of our editorial content comes from. And that's generally how we do it.Stephanie:Cool. And what are some of the channels that you're most excited about right now, or you think that there's untapped potential? Are you sticking with the Facebook where of course stick the Facebook? How is sticking with-Matthew:Afterthought.Stephanie:I like that. Hey, they used to be though. Right?Matthew:Yeah. Drop that.Stephanie:Yeah. I mean, when? It's still pretty relevant, but yeah. Are you sticking with Facebook? A lot of other brands still say that's the best place to reach customers. Are you trying out a bunch of new channels and experimenting? How are you thinking about that?Matthew:So Facebook isn't a priority for us right now other than to the extent that we use it for paid social advertising. I would say it's there. Of course it's there. But when we're thinking about building audience, Twitter has been a nice surprise for me, I'm really bummed that I didn't get myself on Twitter several years ago, but Sharon, our audience development team's doing an awesome job of engaging that really passionate community.Matthew:I think LinkedIn has sneaky, organic reach and potential. And we found that a lot of our brand founders are sharing our content there and we're getting a lot of engagement.Stephanie:They're more organic then, right, because LinkedIn is super expensive when it comes to advertising.Matthew:Yeah. All organic. And then stuff like TikTok is interesting as we look at really organic product reviews doing things with founders, I think that's something that we're going to be looking at as well as Clubhouse.Stephanie:Yeah. Clubhouse. I think that's where it's at. I'm on there. I listen to people. I think you can connect with a lot of great people on there. I'm still not sure about the unstructured format sometimes where things can go on for hours and hours, but yeah, it seems like there's a lot of potential there to at least connect with new people. I don't know about selling.Matthew:A lot of untapped potential.Stephanie:Yeah. So I saw that you were also an investor in GRIN. Right. And that's the influencer platform, which is... That's the right brand. Right?Matthew:Yup. [inaudible].Stephanie:Okay. So our guest yesterday that we had on was, that's her favorite new tool that she's looking into and I had not heard of it before. And I'm interested to hear a little bit about how are you thinking about influencers? What attracted you to GRIN, where's that market headed over the next couple of years?Matthew:Yeah. I mean, we've been doing influencer marketing since 2012, honestly. And I think there's going to be a lot more regulation around it for one. So you've got to be buttoned up as you execute itMatthew:So I think that's just part of the industry growing up. A lot of these minors are now celebrities in their own right with huge followings and PR teams. And so the days of just engaging with an influencer that way are over. It's really about adopting a micro/nano strategy where you're activating pockets of a couple thousand followers up to 50 to 100,000 followers and doing it more strategically at scale. And that's where I see a lot of brands and agencies having success doing this stuff. So GRIN is just a really awesome tool for managing that entire workflow. Keeping you really on top of things, you can search for look alikes of an influencer. So if you have someone or something that you want to find influencers around, it's great for that.Stephanie:That's awesome. And how did you think about attribution and analytics around utilizing influencers and seeing if you're really getting the most bang for your buck?Matthew:Yeah. I mean, well, especially with iOS 14 and everything that's going on there, it's always been an imperfect science, we never assume that we would have even close to perfect attribution on influencer activations. So we always treated it very top of funnel and you do what you can in terms of attribution. So you give them trackable UTM parameters, you give them a bespoke promo codes with their name. You give them a landing page experience, everything that you can do to cookie the user on your website and get them into what feels like an authentic customized experience for that loyal following. That's going to increase conversion, I think as much as anything.Matthew:And the vast majority of influencer activity is probably happening on mobile anyway. So wherever you're sending them, it's got to be very mobile optimized because if they switch over, your attribution's lost at that point.Stephanie:Yeah. And I think that authentic piece you're saying, I mean, it has to fit your brand. The person has to not just be saying something just to say it. And I think taking that longer-term approach more of like a partnership and someone who is going to be a part of your brand, even if they start out smaller and grow with you, will be way better than just trying to target a big name, because I normally don't really put any weight in products that large celebrities are showcasing, just because I'm like, I just know how much money you're getting paid and I highly doubt you're using that teeth whitener.Matthew:Yeah, I mean to that point and a lot of grants are basically incentivizing on the CPA or per sale basis with, like you're saying a subset of really loyal influencers and affiliates that they can send that influencer their fall collection of bags and apparel or whatever, and they can get 10 or 15 posts out of it if the influencer continues to see performance. And so I think that's the new way of doing things nowadays.Stephanie:Okay. So yeah, viewing it from a content generation perspective of, they're not just posting once trying to get their product off, but they're also creating an article or blog posts that you can repurpose and pull quotes from or whatever it may be.Matthew:Yeah. And more frequency drives more conversion. So the more you get that brand in front of your audience, the more likely it is they'll finally take action.Stephanie:Yep. So I want to talk a bit about mentorship, which I always love asking questions around this. I saw that you went to Necker Island a few days ago... a few years ago [crosstalk], really? Few years ago. And of course Richard Branson's Island. So I want to hear, what did you learn there? What advice did you hear? I saw, I think Damon John was there, Tim Ferriss, Seth Godin, Marie Forleo, a bunch of great people to learn from. And I want to hear about the stories behind going there. What did you learn, all that?Matthew:Yeah, I mean, it was a life changing experience for sure. Damon is still pretty close to us in the business. He got involved with Leesa after we met, especially with their 110 program, and I really just learn from him the hustle, the grind. He told his story about how he came up with FUBU and really built that business from zero. And so, talking about fundraising with him is a different thing.Matthew:Tim was on the Island too. I was fanboying out when I met Tim actually, because I was obsessed with four hour workweek, four our body and here I'm chatting with him in person. We actually started talking about going up against Casper. At the time, we were pushing pretty heavily into podcasts and Casper was buying up literally every podcast that we could find, that we wanted to go after. And funnily enough, he would really push a micro strategy to us. He said, "You need to go after these very small podcasts that aren't affiliated yet, that have nascent, but growing followings." And we did, we found 10 of those, especially in comedy and gaming, and we stayed with them for years and they ended up crushing for us.Stephanie:Oh, that's great. And did you secure long-term partnerships with this company?Matthew:Yeah, I think we're still working with a few of them honestly.Stephanie:Oh, that's great.Matthew:We just completely sapped the audience, an everyone's got a Leesa now. Yeah. And then we talked with Seth. David and I chatted with Seth Godin, who's a marketing genius. He's like the professor of modern day marketing. And at the time, we had done around 30 million in our first year of sales, which was just crazy. And he was talking about making this leap called crossing the chasm. Basically when you're attacking the early adopter market and you're doing quite well, there's a point at which you have to "cross the chasm" and reach the broader demographic of people. And so I don't remember the tactics that he talked about, but he always impressed that idea of our okay, now we've got to broaden our sphere of influence. We still use that phrase today.Matthew:And then Marie Forleo was there and we had a lot of really good, we like chatted one-on-one several times, because I was incredibly anxious. I've always dealt with anxiety issues in my career, in my past. And so we had some frank chats about vulnerability and putting yourself out there. And once you do that, it just eases the tension, eases the anxiety. And I still use that to this day.Stephanie:Yeah. I was going to say, does it help now? Because I mean, I definitely feel that too. I remember when we first sold this podcast, then they're like, "Oh, Stephanie can new host it?" And just being like, oh, I usually always would have our other team members host the shows and yeah, I liked working behind the scenes and it definitely was hard being like, okay, you just have to do it. You have to get yourself out there. Did it help afterwards thinking through about her advice?Matthew:Yeah, it totally did. And I always think of this idea of demonstrated performance, where it's like, you're nervous about something, you're anxious, you step on stage or you sit in the seat, you put yourself out there and you have a really good performance. And then that just gives you one more step, one more piece of confidence and you keep going and building. And now stuff that I do every day without even looking at my calendar is stuff that I would have just freaked out about all day five years ago. So I think it's just about experience.Stephanie:Yeah. Now I agree. I remember even just thinking about doing video meetings, like when I first was starting out in the corporate world and being like, "Oh, my gosh, my first meeting." I was just so scared and sweaty and nervous and then now taking like 10 a day and being like, not even thinking twice. So yeah, I think just doing the work and pushing past and knowing you'll probably fail a couple of times and who cares?Matthew:Exactly.Stephanie:That's great. And did you meet Richard Branson when you were there?Matthew:Yeah. We met briefly. He gave us a talk which was awesome. He talked a lot about Virgin's impact program, and what he's doing there. And so that was really important to us at the time, because we were setting up our Leesa 110 program and that was cool to hear from him.Stephanie:That's great. So where do you see the next couple of years headed for The Fascination? What are you guys building for? What are you doing in stealth mode right now? What are you planning for the world to look like in a couple of years?Matthew:Yeah, I mean, right now we're really heavily focused on getting the digital product where it needs be to really deliver on a full transactional marketplace that's cutting edge for consumers. So in the next couple of years, we want to have a destination that is super engaging. We want to have brand founders engaging with consumers real time in the platform. We want to have people shopping and reading and researching brands and products all seamlessly, and to be able to buy those products in one click, right? Right on The Fascination.com. And so a lot of things have to happen in the background to obviously make that work.Matthew:And then we're always thinking about, how can we acquire the best customers, bring them in most cost-effectively? And it's always on my mind of like, delivering really solid, meaningful content to the audience, not just fluff stuff, but stuff that's really, really valuable. And so that's what I think we're trying to win.Stephanie:Well. Yeah. It also seems like there's such an opportunity to... I mean, when you have all these brands and they have access to a lot of insights on their customers or who's coming to their website to then build lookalike audiences off of those brands, and then all of a sudden you have access to customers and you're coming from a different angle where maybe if Leesa would have already gotten in front of a customer two times and they're like, "Nah," they then see The Fascination comes in and they're like, "Hey, check out this mattress. It's like a third touch point. That's very separated." But it seems like there's a lot of opportunity there to get insights at a much more accelerated rate than you would get just by yourself.Matthew:Yes. That is the goal. Yeah, there's a whole data infrastructure that we really need to put in place to get the most out of it. And honestly, coming from Leesa for so long, I'm still trying to wrap my head around what that all looks like in terms of affiliate click attribution and how we create audiences and how we do product recommendations. So we're only a month old, but we'll get there. And I can tell you that there is such tremendous demand for what you're talking about. Just leveraging lookalike audiences, leveraging audiences across categories that aren't competitive with one another. At the end of the day, everyone that comes to The Fascination as an interested consumer if we do it right, it's always going to have similar demographic profiles, right. Whether they're a man or a woman. So as you aggregate that at scale, there's a ton of value for brands to be able to tap into that.Stephanie:Yeah. It seems like eventually they'll have to be tools for the merchants as well, to be able to interact with all the platforms they're on. Or like, I mean a lot of sales are moving towards the edge. There's a lot of people say and how do you keep track of that? Like, how do these merchants they're selling on The Fascination, they're selling on Fancy, they're selling on not that Fancy is the same, but there are quite a few places popping up where these brands might be like, "Yeah, I want to sell on that platform or over here," but I don't know if enough tools exist right now to keep track of what you're doing and consolidating it all in one place.Matthew:Yeah. I mean, it's got to be a challenge for these fairly young brands. There's product feed software that'll handle some of that, but at the end of the day there's manual stuff that's always needed once you're drop shipping and wholesaling and you have retail partners. So yeah, we're going to be thinking about it from the other side, just the same, how do you manage 100, 200, 300 merchants and keep them happy?Stephanie:Yeah. Crazy. All right. Well, let's shift over to the lightning round. Lightning round is brought to you by Salesforce commerce cloud. This is where I'm going to ask you a question and you have a minute or less to answer. Are you ready, Matt?Matthew:Yes.Stephanie:One minute to answer. All right. Yeah. Prepare, drink your drink, whatever that may be. All right. First thing, what one thing will have the biggest impact on ecommerce in the next year?Matthew:I think the convergence of content and commerce is, is going to have one of the biggest impacts. You've got media companies that are converging in the commerce, they all want to be transactional. They all want a bigger slice of the pie. They all want more lifetime value extraction from their readership. And then I think on the commerce side you see brands and retailers who are obviously seeing the cost rising of customer acquisition in the traditional sense and creating really rich content. It's the only way to do that. So we're diving in right at the intersection with what we're doing at The Fascination and that's where we saw it going. And that's why I think we're bullish on where we're headed.Stephanie:Yeah. Well, it'll also be interesting to do a recap episode on what's happened since some of these brands got into mixing media with commerce. I mean, I'm thinking about NBC, I think did a whole shoppable TV thing. And I remember seeing them launch that maybe in February or April last year, but I don't know what actually happened. So it'd be fun to do a recap of like, here's who launched in 2020 when it came to mixing media and commerce and here is status update.Matthew:Hopefully we will be one of the givers.Stephanie:Yeah. Hopefully. What's one thing from 2020 that you hope sticks around in 2021?Matthew:I think that we've all had to embrace things like this, just getting on video conferences, not having to present ourselves through this façade, in the office I would have never thought about wearing my hat backwards and rolling around in athleisure. And now that's just the norm for everybody. And kids are on work calls and it's just, the whole thing feels a lot more familial. And even if we do go back to offices, I really have loved that work now feels a little bit closer to home because you're in your home, but also because just the interactions, you see more than you would if everyone was in an office environment.Stephanie:Yeah, I agree. And I think it definitely brings a more human perspective too. Like you're saying, working together, knowing someone's kids, seeing them in the background, and then you also have more, I guess, empathy when a mom or dad's like, "Hey, I got to go do this with my kids." It's like, "Oh yeah, I saw your kid connection." Of course you can, whereas I'd say prior to this. Yeah. Not as much of a leniency, I guess for that. Yeah. That's a good one.Stephanie:What is the funniest story or best story you can think of when it comes to either building up Leesa or building up The Fascination where you're like, "Oh, this is a good time or a good story that really sticks in my brain from those years."Matthew:We've done so many like gimmicky things at Leesa. We were growth hacking like crazy and we were throwing stuff against the wall and not all of it stuck. We did a ton of stuff with Barstool Sports. We maybe did a few influencer integrations that wouldn't go over so well today with certain influencers.Stephanie:And with Barstool, I feel like they're so edgy that they can get you in trouble all these days anyways.Matthew:They're very edgy and we purposely like with all of those podcasters and creators, we're like, go be very authentic. And so you can't tell Barstool like, tame it down and not be authentic. But they were a huge converter for Leesa for several years.Stephanie:That's fun.Matthew:So we did a lot of fun stuff. We sponsored Larry at the gambling goldfish, which was a gold fish swimming around in a tank on Barstool sets, they pulled a mattress behind a truck with a Santa Claus riding on it. But we've also done a lot more admirable things, like we did a sleep out for the homeless. We've done a lot of cool things at Leesa just in the experientials side of things that made it fun.Stephanie:Yeah. I mean I have a love for the gambling goldfish. I want to go check that out. That actually sounds pretty funny.Matthew:Yeah. One more thing that we did is I think it was the 2017 NFL Draft, it's shown on ESPN and all the players are interviewed in their homes. And so we sent the players that we knew would be interviewed on TV, on ESPN Leesa mattresses. And we had them put their Leesa mattress boxes behind them and their families. And we got millions of impressions that night because we had Leesa mattresses all over the air on ESPN Draft.Stephanie:Oh, that's fun. See, I love creative stuff like that, where I mean, as long as it actually converts too, I always have the question about TV, does it actually convert or what happened after everyone saw the mattress behind them? Did you guys see a big uptick in sales, or?Matthew:I don't remember if we did or not. I think we saw a bit of an uptick, but I mean, it was such a low cost stunt to do that. It wasn't a swing for the fences, but we also did a ton of TV in heyday at Leesa. And you can really see the brand awareness effects the TV has even though it's insanely hard to track.Stephanie:Yeah. I agree. What is next on your reading list?Matthew:I'm probably going to do Shoe Dog by Phil Knight.Stephanie:Such a good one. I love that book. Yeah. So inspirational. I highly recommend. If you were to have a podcast, what would it be about and who would your first guest be?Matthew:Well, that's an interesting question because we may very well have one soon.Stephanie:Oh, nice.Matthew:Yeah, I don't know in what format it will be. It may be a podcast. It may just be like Instagram TV stories, but we really want to interview, just do flash interviews with our brand founders, asking about their origin story, asking about what makes their products different, fun facts. And I think a groundswell of really interesting stories like that would be fun.Stephanie:Cool. That sounds good. And then the last one, what's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for you?Matthew:Oh, that's tough. I mean, I there's been so many instances of generosity. I think honestly, giving me a chance to make the career switch that I did, and this is a bit of a shout out to David my co-founder, but he really took a chance on me. He's been super supportive of me for years, and it's really gotten me to where I am today in terms of my career and the place that we're at collectively. So him and the people around me that pushed me to make that leap out of the traditional corporate world of consulting. I was really hesitant to do that coming right out of my MBA and looking at a nice salary, and he was one of those people that pushed me over the top to do that. And I'm thankful for it.Stephanie:That's really cool. Great story. All right, Matt. Well, thanks so much for coming on the show. Where can people find out more about you and The Fascination?Matthew:So about me, you can find me on Twitter at MattDHayes, all one word, and then The Fascination.com. Go check it out.Stephanie:Awesome. Thanks for joining us, Matt.Matthew:All right. Thank you.

"Brands In Action" asks brands the questions every brand should ask. And we're proud to kick things off with James Geikie, CMO of Leesa Sleep and partner at One Better Ventures, an investment and advisory firm that works with brands having a positive effect on the world.

Leesa Sleep | Jen-Ai Notman, Head of Mission Get up and out of bed for today's Authentic Avenue podcast episode...and don't return for at least one night. Today I'm featuring Leesa Sleep through their Head of Mission, Jen-Ai Notman. It's a first for the show -- I haven't interviewed a Head of Mission before -- and we chat about a number of topics, not the least of which is Leesa's upcoming #1BedlessNight campaign. Did you know 1 in 5 children in the US experience poverty? This is the highest risk factor to getting good sleep. Jen-Ai has seen this issue firsthand not just in the US but all over the world since childhood (more on that in the interview). Leesa is on a mission to end childhood bedlessness in the United States. Starting this coming Monday, November 23rd, and extending through November 30th, for every person who gives up their bed for one night and shares their experience on Instagram, Leesa will donate a mattress to a child in need. Read more about the campaign here: https://www.leesa.com/pages/1-bedless-night. FOLLOW AUTHENTIC AVENUE, AND ADAM, ON SOCIAL MEDIA: LinkedIn (Authentic Avenue): https://www.linkedin.com/company/68049428/ LinkedIn (Adam Conner): https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjconner/ Adam is also on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@authenticadam Email Adam: adam@authenticavenuemedia.com Learn more at https://authenticavenuemedia.com/. Theme Song: Extreme Energy (Music Today 80) Composed & Produced by Anwar Amr Video Link: https://youtu.be/8ZZbAkKNx7s

Aaron is joined by Leesa Sleep co-founder and board chair David Wolfe to discuss the direct-to-consumer online mattress company’s purpose-driven approach and commitment to donating one mattress for every ten sold. David and Aaron discuss the inception of the certified B Corporation with co-founder Jamie Diamonstein, the importance of purpose initiatives being led by the C-suite, why being values-driven is just as important as being purpose-driven, and how the company baked purpose into its DNA from the start – before becoming profitable or successful. Tune in to learn how Leesa Sleep’s distinctive values-driven business model helped to inspire the creation of this podcast, and about other companies that David continues to draw inspiration from (spoiler alert: the list includes former guest ABLE). Don’t sleep on this episode, and learn more at leesa.com. Production Credits: Aaron Kwittken, Jeff Maldonado, Dara Cothran, Lindsay Hand, Katrina Waelchli, Meg Ruocco, Julia Brougher, Parker Jenkins, and Mathew Passy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Sian welcomes Richard Tucker to the podcast. Richard is Managing Director at Leesa, an innovative US company that is revolutionising sleep and social impact. The Leesa Mattress is available exclusively online and is delivered to your door, compressed in a box. With a 100 night risk free trial, Leesa is designed to eliminate the awkward, time consuming bed shopping experiences. As a company they are driven by a strong social mission to tackle homelessness. For every 10 mattresses sold 1 is donated to charity and they recently hit a major donation milestone. Leesa are a certified BCorp organisation committed to the triple bottom line of People, Planet and Profit. Richard joins us to discuss what BCorp status means and how businesses can build impact into their DNA from the beginning, as well as the struggles involved when balancing profit and purpose. To find out more about Leesa, visit their website. You can find out more about the BCorp movement here. If you're interested in starting or growing a business with purpose, you can access tailored training, advice and support inside the #EthicalHour community: https://ethicalhour.co.uk/our-community/

Leesa has donated more than 23,000 mattresses to non-profits organizations that serve homeless and at-risk men, women and children, and have set a goal with Arbor Day Foundation to plant one million trees by 2025. The post Episode 10: Jen-Ai Notman of Leesa Sleep appeared first on Taking Care in Business.

This week Tom and Riley talk actual on the field soccer (well at least they try to) as they cover what was an exciting week 29 in MLS. The guys do get a bit off track at times so try to enjoy. This episode of the MLS Aces Podcast is sponsored by X1 Fuel. X1 Fuel is the producer of the finest and all natural nutritional products. Their strawberry pre-workout and their chocolate post workout are phenomenal and better than anything else on the market. Also if you head over to x1fuel.com and use the promo code MLSAces you can get $10 off your product. We also want to thank Futchi for sponsoring this episode! Futchi is a premier soccer rebounder and training tool. If you know about soccer then you most likely know about Futchi and its fun product! Head over to playfutchi.com and use the code MLSACES17 for $15 off your own Futchi rebounder! Finally, a thank you has to go out to Leesa Sleep for once again sponsoring the MLS Aces Podcast. Leesa Sleep is a comfortable and affordable mattress than you can get all online. Head over to leesa.com/aces and use the promo code ace75 at checkout for a special offer!

THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN! Tom and Riley are finally back after a break and the guys talk a lot of soccer. The talks go anywhere from USMNT, Cyle Larin, FIFA 18, and even more. We hope you guys enjoy! This episode of the MLS Aces Podcast is sponsored by X1 Fuel. X1 Fuel is the producer of the finest and all natural nutritional products. Their strawberry pre-workout and their chocolate post workout are phenomenal and better than anything else on the market. For the 4th of July they are having a sale on so many products! Also if you head over to x1fuel.com and use the promo code MLSAces you can get $10 off your product. We also want to thank Futchi for sponsoring this episode! Futchi is a premier soccer rebounder and training tool. If you know about soccer then you most likely know about Futchi and its fun product! Head over to playfutchi.com and use the code MLSACES17 for $15 off your own Futchi rebounder! Finally, a thank you has to go out to Leesa Sleep for once again sponsoring the MLS Aces Podcast. Leesa Sleep is a comfortable and affordable mattress than you can get all online. Head over to leesa.com/aces and use the promo code ace75 at checkout for a special offer!

In der heutigen Podcast Episode freue ich mich, mit Isabel Nitsche, Marketing Deutschland bei Leesa Sleep, über das Unternehmen und das Vorhaben, Matratzen nun auch in Deutschland zu verkaufen, ausführlich sprechen zu können. Es ist sehr interessant und spannend zu erfahren, wie das amerikanische Unternehmen in den deutschen Markt eingestiegen ist und welche Pläne man vor hat. Weitere Infos unter www.ecommerce-vision.de/083

This week Tom and Riley finally get to sit down and talk actually soccer together! The guys cover week 25 in MLS, the current standings, award races and much more! The guys also touch on some USMNT talk for the upcoming game against Costa Rica. Finally, Riley interview Arielle Castillo of mlssoccer.com! This episode of the MLS Aces Podcast is sponsored by X1 Fuel. X1 Fuel is the producer of the finest and all natural nutritional products. Their strawberry pre-workout and their chocolate post workout are phenomenal and better than anything else on the market. For the 4th of July they are having a sale on so many products! Also if you head over to x1fuel.com and use the promo code MLSAces you can get $10 off your product. We also want to thank Futchi for sponsoring this episode! Futchi is a premier soccer rebounder and training tool. If you know about soccer then you most likely know about Futchi and its fun product! Head over to playfutchi.com and use the code MLSACES17 for $15 off your own Futchi rebounder! Finally, a thank you has to go out to Leesa Sleep for once again sponsoring the MLS Aces Podcast. Leesa Sleep is a comfortable and affordable mattress than you can get all online. Head over to leesa.com/aces and use the promo code ace75 at checkout for a special offer!

Today, we have one of those doctors that are fighting the good fight, my friends. Dr. Joel Kahn is no stranger to the plant-based world. As a vegan himself for close to forty years, Dr. Kahn is not only talking the talk, but also walking the walk….literally….he wrote an entire book walking on a treadmill. It was wonderful to talk to him because you can hear not only how passionate he is about this movement, but also how he diligently keeps up with the latest scientific and medical research showing that eating a whole food, plant-based diet is the way to go. You might recognize him from his appearance in "What The Health," which is a mega popular documentary on Netflix right now if you didn’t already know. He is the author of "The Whole Heart Solution" and many other books and refers to himself as a heart attack prevention specialist...ladies and gentlemen, my conversation with Dr. Joel Kahn.   PODCAST SPONSORS: Leesa Sleep This episode of Lean Green DAD Radio is brought to you by Leesa Sleep, helping the world sleep better one beautifully designed and crafted mattress at a time. Visit them online for you hassle-free mattress buying experience at leesa.com/leangreendad and use the code LEANGREENDAD at checkout for $100 off your order! Organifi This episode of Lean Green DAD is brought to you by Organifi, the makers of “Green Juice.” This gently dried superfood greens powder is the first I have ever tasted that didn’t make me feel like I was drinking swamp water. You know what I mean? It has a hint of mint and really tastes pretty neutral, which is awesome for what’s in it. For this and tons of other great organic vegan products, visit them online at organifi.com and use the code LEANGREENDAD at checkout for 20% off your order, which is actually cheaper than Amazon can get ya! Clean Green Protein Lean Green DAD® is proud to partner with Clean Machine® to sell Clean Green Protein™, the first product with the new plant Super Green – LENTEIN™. LENTEIN™ is an award-winning Non-GMO whole plant protein from the Lemna family that is one of the World’s Most Complete Foods – A Super Protein, Super Green and Super Omega, All in One Plant! Simply one of the most important advances in plant-based nutrition – EVER! Use code LEANGREEN20 for 20% off your order at checkout. 

Actor Tony Robinette has graced your television screen as an actor in Fresh Off The Boat, How I Met Your Mother and many other national commercials. He has also appeared in the movies Spring Breakers, Robo Dog and Best Thanksgiving Ever. He has a new show on a major streaming network coming up that you are going to love. We catch up with Tony and learn all about his life as an actor in this episode of Lean Green DAD Radio.  PODCAST SPONSORS: Leesa Sleep This episode of Lean Green DAD Radio is brought to you by Leesa Sleep, helping the world sleep better one beautifully designed and crafted mattress at a time. Visit them online for you hassle-free mattress buying experience at leesa.com/leangreendad and use the code LEANGREENDAD at checkout for $100 off your order! Organifi This episode of Lean Green DAD is brought to you by Organifi, the makers of “Green Juice.” This gently dried superfood greens powder is the first I have ever tasted that didn’t make me feel like I was drinking swamp water. You know what I mean? It has a hint of mint and really tastes pretty neutral, which is awesome for what’s in it. For this and tons of other great organic vegan products, visit them online at organifi.com and use the code LEANGREENDAD at checkout for 20% off your order, which is actually cheaper than Amazon can get ya!  

This week Tom and Riley team up with the boys over at LA is Our House to talk NYCvLA, MLS, and anything else that may have come up. When MLS Aces and LAiOH team up you know the show is going to be hilarious. This episode of the MLS Aces Podcast is sponsored by X1 Fuel. X1 Fuel is the producer of the finest and all natural nutritional products. Their strawberry pre-workout and their chocolate post workout are phenomenal and better than anything else on the market. For the 4th of July they are having a sale on so many products! Also if you head over to x1fuel.com and use the promo code MLSAces you can get $10 off your product. We also want to thank Futchi for sponsoring this episode! Futchi is a premier soccer rebounder and training tool. If you know about soccer then you most likely know about Futchi and its fun product! Head over to playfutchi.com and use the code MLSACES17 for $15 off your own Futchi rebounder! Finally, a thank you has to go out to Leesa Sleep for once again sponsoring the MLS Aces Podcast. Leesa Sleep is a comfortable and affordable mattress than you can get all online. Head over to leesa.com/aces and use the promo code ace75 at checkout for a special offer! #MLSAiOHGuest

JP Sears is an author, coach, teacher, holistic coach and ultra spiritual person. He also has the Awaken With JP YouTube Channel with almost 500k subscribers. His new book “How To Be Ultra Spiritual” takes a light-hearted approach to helping you find your inner peace and spirit. In this episode, we learn more about JP Sears himself, his satirical persona and his outlook on life. He is a great person with a lot to offer and I know you will enjoy this episode. PODCAST SPONSORS: Leesa Sleep This episode of Lean Green DAD Radio is brought to you by Leesa Sleep, helping the world sleep better one beautifully designed and crafted mattress at a time. Visit them online for you hassle-free mattress buying experience at leesa.com/leangreendad and use the code LEANGREENDAD at checkout for $100 off your order! Organifi This episode of Lean Green DAD is brought to you by Organifi, the makers of “Green Juice.” This gently dried superfood greens powder is the first I have ever tasted that didn’t make me feel like I was drinking swamp water. You know what I mean? It has a hint of mint and really tastes pretty neutral, which is awesome for what’s in it. For this and tons of other great organic vegan products, visit them online at organifi.com and use the code LEANGREENDAD at checkout for 20% off your order, which is actually cheaper than Amazon can get ya!  

This week Tom and Riley discuss VAR (or VR?), The MLS All Star week action, a potential signing for the Columbus Crew, and Tom's experience at the Hudson Rivery Derby! With all of this new surrounding MLS the guys just really can't wait going back to talking about strictly soccer soon! Once the episode is over stay tuned for an interview between Riley and Jeff Rueter! Jeff is a reporter covering MLS and Minnesota United FC. Riley and Jeff cover everything surrounding Minnesota United in their first season. This episode of the MLS Aces Podcast is sponsored by X1 Fuel. X1 Fuel is the producer of the finest and all natural nutritional products. Their strawberry pre-workout and their chocolate post workout are phenomenal and better than anything else on the market. For the 4th of July they are having a sale on so many products! Also if you head over to x1fuel.com and use the promo code MLSAces you can get $10 off your product. We also want to thank Futchi for sponsoring this episode! Futchi is a premier soccer rebounder and training tool. If you know about soccer then you most likely know about Futchi and its fun product! Head over to playfutchi.com and use the code MLSACES17 for $15 off your own Futchi rebounder! Finally, a thank you has to go out to Leesa Sleep for once again sponsoring the MLS Aces Podcast. Leesa Sleep is a comfortable and affordable mattress than you can get all online. Head over to leesa.com/aces and use the promo code ace75 at checkout for a special offer!

Colleen Patrick Goudreau is the vegan pioneer behind multiple books and two extremely popular podcasts. "Food For Thought" has been running for over ten years and "Animalogy" is her latest podcast and is about the animal-related words and expressions we use every day and how they reflect and affect our relationship with animals.  SHOW SPONSOR:  This episode of Lean Green DAD Radio is brought to you by Leesa Sleep, helping the world sleep better one beautifully designed and crafted mattress at a time. Visit them online for you hassle-free mattress buying experience at leesa.com/leangreendad and use the code LEANGREENDAD at checkout for $100 off your order! That’s leesa.com/leangreendad and use the code LEANGREENDAD.

Tom and Riley are finally back together and the guys had a lot to talk about. The guys first start by talking about some recent MLS rumors around Joevin Jones, Dom Dwyer, Nigel De Jong, Lee Nguyen, and Alex. Riley talks about his experience in the press box at the Orlando City vs Atlanta game. Mike Petke also had a really fun rant last week that we had to talk about! TREY! The U.S. won a Gold Cup, the Galaxy fired Onalfo and hired Sigi, Bob Bradley is the LAFC head coach, the Galaxy signed JDS, and much more! This episode of the MLS Aces Podcast is sponsored by X1 Fuel. X1 Fuel is the producer of the finest and all natural nutritional products. Their strawberry pre-workout and their chocolate post workout are phenomenal and better than anything else on the market. For the 4th of July they are having a sale on so many products! Also if you head over to x1fuel.com and use the promo code MLSAces you can get $10 off your product. We also want to thank Futchi for sponsoring this episode! Futchi is a premier soccer rebounder and training tool. If you know about soccer then you most likely know about Futchi and its fun product! Head over to playfutchi.com and use the code MLSACES17 for $15 off your own Futchi rebounder! Finally, a thank you has to go out to Leesa Sleep for once again sponsoring the MLS Aces Podcast. Leesa Sleep is a comfortable and affordable mattress than you can get all online. Head over to leesa.com/aces and use the promo code ace75 at checkout for a special offer!

In this episode of the MLS Aces Podcast Tom is back after a two week break from recording. While Riley is on vacation Tom talks with Aiden Reagh and Steven Jotterand. Both interviews discuss MLS's decision to deny Ricardo Silva's $4B TV deal, with two different opinions. Then Tom and Steven discuss SKC's move of Dom Dwyer to OC for $1.6M in allocation money. Of course this is the week Riley decides to miss... This episode of the MLS Aces Podcast is sponsored by X1 Fuel. X1 Fuel is the producer of the finest and all natural nutritional products. Their strawberry pre-workout and their chocolate post workout are phenomenal and better than anything else on the market. For the 4th of July they are having a sale on so many products! Also if you head over to x1fuel.com and use the promo code MLSAces you can get $10 off your product. We also want to thank Futchi for sponsoring this episode! Futchi is a premier soccer rebounder and training tool. If you know about soccer then you most likely know about Futchi and its fun product! Head over to playfutchi.com and use the code MLSACES17 for $15 off your own Futchi rebounder! Finally, a thank you has to go out to Leesa Sleep for once again sponsoring the MLS Aces Podcast. Leesa Sleep is a comfortable and affordable mattress than you can get all online. Head over to leesa.com/aces and use the promo code ace75 at checkout for a special offer!

On episode 28 of the MLS Aces Podcast we have the return of Tom from his trip to LA and of course we once again have Riley joining us. With plenty of action from week 18 of MLS action, U.S. Open Cup thrillers, and USA vs Ghana, the guys try to touch on it all. From Miami FC to Cincinatti FC to the wonder free kick from Kellyn Acosta, it'll all be talked about right here and right now. This episode of the MLS Aces Podcast is sponsored by X1 Fuel. X1 Fuel is the producer of the finest and all natural nutritional products. Their strawberry pre-workout and their chocolate post workout are phenomenal and better than anything else on the market. For the 4th of July they are having a sale on so many products! Also if you head over to x1fuel.com and use the promo code MLSAces you can get $10 off your product. We also want to thank Futchi for sponsoring this episode! Futchi is a premier soccer rebounder and training tool. If you know about soccer then you most likely know about Futchi and its fun product! Head over to playfutchi.com and use the code MLSACES17 for $15 off your own Futchi rebounder! Finally, a thank you has to go out to Leesa Sleep for once again sponsoring the MLS Aces Podcast. Leesa Sleep is a comfortable and affordable mattress than you can get all online. Head over to leesa.com/aces and use the promo code ace75 at checkout for a special offer!