Well Made

In the last eight years, Grovemade carved out a place in the workplace and everyday essentials genre with their modern wood accessories. They started off making iPhone cases, but they’ve evolved several times since then. Their flexibility and ambition has made for a substantial, product line, complete with everything from pocket knives to wireless chargers. In this episode, Ken talks about risks he took to invest in products, three-minute meetings, on-site customer research, and knowing when to outsource manufacturing. Links and images from this post are on the Lumi blog.

Laura Behrens Wu is the CEO and co-founder of Shippo​, a platform that's powering ecommerce shipping by simplifying the world of parcel delivery. From getting labels to tracking info, Shippo is a platform that's offering competitive, carrier-agnostic, parcel shipping solutions at any scale. There is no one-size-fits-all way to ship, but customers' expectations have changed in the last few years, thanks to Amazon. Amazon has shifted the status quo, and now customers to expect free and fast delivery from businesses of all sizes, without compromising the product or process. Building for this speedy future of ecommerce is where Shippo shines, innovating to reduce friction from the time a customer checks out to the time they receive their package. In this episode, Laura breaks down why shipping dates are pivotal for customers, and how to use shipping to differentiate and grow your brand. Links and images from this post are on the Lumi blog.

Ten years ago, Baggu made eco-friendly shopping stylish. Their reusable nylon take on the disposable plastic grocery bag is strikingly simple, with new patterns every season. Founder Emily Sugihara says that working within the constraints of simplicity and affordability is where Baggu really flourishes. On this episode of the podcast, Emily talks about designing for herself, investing in great photography, understanding the manufacturing process, the influence of Japanese culture, and thinking beyond the zeitgeist. Links and images from this post are on the Lumi blog.

Not every startup can say that they bought back their brand after being acquired, but Richer Poorer did — just in the nick of time. The company is seven years old, but co-founder Iva Pawling admits that they're still scrappy, and they use that versatility as a tool on both their ecommerce and traditional retail platforms. In this episode, Richer Poorer founder, Iva Pawling talks about balancing distribution channels, learning from big mistakes, making decisions based on data, making a mobile ball pit, and staying inspired amidst the chronically glamorized entrepreneur hustle.

Web Smith's past experiences in retail, tech, and ecommerce have all lead to his current role as Director of Partnerships at Cotton Bureau. This new role fits him like a glove (or a very comfy tee.) Long before Andy Dunn coined the abbreviation DNVB (Digitally Native Vertical Brand), Web was creating thoughtful content and genuine connections to sell stuff online. From Pittsburgh, 3,000 miles from Silicon Valley, Web tracks every new brand and acquisition that pops up in ecommerce. He shares his ecommerce predictions and reflections in his newsletter, 2PM Links. It's a hyper curated digest of all the latest data and news in ecommerce. Web's experience is deep-seeded in the place where tech, retail, and ecommerce overlap. He's worked on every side of retail from his role as the CMO at Mizzen+Main to the Director of Ecommerce at Gear Patrol. With Amazon and Wal Mart swooping up new brands, it seems like the perfect time to talk to him. It's too early to know the long term effects these acquisitions will have on

Ban.do is a lifestyle brand geared toward fun. That takes shape in the form of cheeky graphic tees, colorful planners and flashy sunglasses, born from the creative mind of Jen Gotch, the Chief Creative Officer of Ban.do. Often, Jen's voice is synonymous with Ban.do's, but she's built an incredible list of her own 167k Instagram followers. On her feed and Instagram stories, she holds nothing back. She's extremely open about her obsessions, crushes, and deep dark late night thoughts. Even in the business of disco balls and glitter, being successful in business (and in life) requires some brutal real talk. On this episode, Jen talks about her fearless approach to social sharing, the relentless pursuit of an audience, the crazy growth of the Ban.do, and Jen's big ideas about the future of what the brand can be. To see photos and get links from this episode, go to the Lumi blog

YACHT is Jona Bechtolt and Claire Evans. They're most widely known as a band, but they make way more than music. Their latest projects have included an app for finding daily happenings in LA, a Trump urinal screen, a book about the impact of women in technology, and the preservation of musical sculpture in downtown LA. This artistic pair has made a diverse, meticulous cannon of work under the name YACHT, and on this episode Stephan talks to them about all of it. Claire and Jona also share where they discovered their love of science fiction, and how it's impacting their view of the real world. Get links to on the blog.

Sara Hicks believes that the future of e-commerce is personalization via data, and to offer that, flexibility is key. Reaction Commerce is a versatile, real-time, open source, solution. From managing inventory to product pages and purchases, the platform is ever-evolving and scales up with your business. On this episode of Well Made, Sara talks to Stephan about how she built Reaction Commerce, fostering communities, why the platform will always be open source, and the future of e-commerce.

In 2011, with the rise of direct-to-consumer brands like Everlane and Warby Parker, Jonathan Shokrian started MeUndies to make it easy and fun to buy underwear. Now, six years later, they're anticipated to sell 4-5 million pairs of underwear this year. As they scale, change and flexibility are pivotal to keeping the brand fresh and their customer base engaged. Their home page changes a few times each month and they design new packaging for each season. It's all an effort to build a community and they're pushing their mission even further with a brand new rebrand. On this episode, Jonathan talks about his early incubator days working alongside the founders of Dollar Shave Club and Dog Vacay, company culture, shifting to a more mission-based platform, and not taking things too seriously.

Galyn Bernard and Christina Carbonell met while working at a Quidsi company, Diapers.com. Four years after the 2010 Amazon acquisition, they left to start the kids clothing brand they'd always dreamed of, Primary.com — a source for affordable, foundational, quality kids basics in every size. On this episode of the podcast, Galyn and Christina share their brand principles, their newfound appreciation of a strategic supply chain, and the invaluable lessons they took away from their days at Quidsi.

Adam is the guy to make videos for Silicon Valley's star companies. In many cases, he's even the guy starring in them. His team at Sandwich Video takes on all kinds of apps, gadgets, and ecommerce products while trying to represent the people often ignored on screen. Most recently, they've even started using their talents to embark on a more social mission. He talks about all this and more on this episode of Well Made.

If being a female founder/CEO is rare, being a female founder in the sex industry would seem nearly impossible. As a severe side effect of a stage three cancer, Polly Rodriguez found herself going through menopause before she was old enough to go to a bar. To manage with the side effects, a friend advised her to buy a vibrator to deal with the drastic change in her body. She went to a Hustler Hollywood and discovered how mortifying the shopping experience was. 10 years later, she started Unbound Box — content and products to lead them to live a life that's sexually empowered. ​

On this episode of Well Made, Stephan talks to Gabby about the growth of human grade dog food brand Ollie since they launched in October, the research that went into their design, and what insight she brought from her days at Primary, a kids e-commerce brand.

Through good times and bad, Iris Alonzo was the Creative Director at American Apparel for 11 years, and now she’s on to her own venture with fellow American Apparel creative Carolina Crespo. The brand is called EVERYBODY and it’s founded on unwavering principles of manufacturing practices that are good for workers and the planet. On the podcast, Iris talks about what she learned from American Apparel, the unique design process behind the clothes at EVERYBODY, and the making of their Trash Tee — the first tee made from 100% recycled cotton.

Jess is the Creative Director and co-founder of Frank Body, the signature coffee scrub brand that really pioneered a genuine, signature voice on social media, that's now a pillar of memorable customer experience. In this episode, Jess talks to Stephan from her homebase in Melbourne, Australia about launching Frank Body, crafting the signature voice of Frank, facing the challenges of the retail space, and the business books she's been reading lately.

For two years, Craig Elbert was the Vice President of Marketing at Bonobos, and now he runs a vitamin company. So, what's the connection between great trousers and daily vitamins? Besides Craig, it's the category of Vertical Commerce Brand. Craig experienced first hand the overwhelming lack of clarity in vitamin and supplement stores. With his background at Bonobos, he saw this as an opportunity to use the direct-to-consumer, VCB model to build a brand that people loved. In this episode of Well Made, Stephan talks to Craig about and the first few months of launching of Care/Of and how he's brought his marketing experience to the world of vitamins.

Running a business for 13 years, Lumi founder Jesse Genet has learned a lot of the ins and outs of entrepreneurship. She's been an entrepreneur since she was 16, so on this episode, we fielded questions from listeners about everything from small space living (Jesse lives in an Airstream trailer) to finding the right systems for your business. In this episode, Stephan also talks to Jesse about her recent viral essay — Running a Business with Boobs: The Things I Never Say. In 13 years of entrepreneurship, Jesse has raised over a quarter million dollars on Kickstarter, pitched on Shark Tank, participated in the Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator, and built a company into seven figure sales without a venture investment, and she hasn’t even turned 30. In her essay, she talks from firsthand experience about the five things people should never say to a female CEO.

Parachute Home redefined how we think about sheets. Turns out, thread count doesn’t matter, patterns are overrated, and all we really wanted was a comfortable place to sleep. Ariel Kaye founded Parachute for that reason and now they’re expanding their brand to bring comfort to the entire home. On this episode, she gets into the nitty gritty of what it takes build brand loyalty and manufacture comfortable home goods.

Cotton Bureau created a community of design loving t-shirt wearers to support fellow designers and find ridiculously comfy tees. Now, they’re scaling up with the help of a new space and VC funding to launch they’re new project — Blank by Cotton Bureau. On this episode of Well Made, Cotton Bureau founders Nathan Peretic and Jay Fanelli drop the big news about why and how they're making they’re own tees from scratch, why they raised their seed round and how Pittsburgh has impacted their brand ethos. Visit the Lumi Blog for more more on Blank by Cotton Bureau, and photos of some awesome tees.

Miki Agrawal's career as a social entrepreneur covers the three Ps — periods, pee, and poop. As you might expect, tackling the three Ps has meant breaking taboos and facing stigmas, not only in the face of skeptical consumers, but also investors. On this episode of Well Made, Stephan talks to Miki about her fundraising challenges and how she's fueled by creating products in blue ocean markets that create a positive impact. Visit the Lumi Blog for links to Miki's brands and images of the artful branding.