Podcast
Operators
In the world of ecommerce, a legendary text group is rumored to hold the secrets to unimaginable success. The catch? You must have nine figures in revenue to gain entry. The world’s biggest brands have denied its existence for years, until now. Four titans known as the “Operators” are leaking the secret contents in an effort to share its wealth of knowledge with people like you. Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Jason Panzer (President, HexClad), Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) & Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case x Lomi).
- Entrepreneurship chart
- #146
- Episodes
- 230
- Releases
- Twice a week
- Typical length
- 1 hr 7 min
- On air since
- 2023
- Latest episode
- 1 day ago
Episodes
230 episodes, newest first
-
1 hr 8 min
6 CPG Funnels: How We Study Ads, Landers & Offers
Season 3, Episode 11
Show notes
“It’s very easy to scrape an ad library, pull out concepts and then literally just duplicate the ad. That’s just a race to the bottom.”
How do you learn from other brands without copying them?
Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case & Lomi) and Cody Plofker (Advisor & fmr. CEO, Jones Road Beauty) share their screens to walk through six consumables brands they’re learning from while building Winks. Each picked three, plus one bonus from outside DTC.
1. Nutrition Geeks: UK single-ingredient
2. Norse Organics: Natural acne care
3. Elavate: UK collagen for women
4. MarsMen: Testosterone support
5. Spoiled Child: Oddity’s brand
6. Boostcous: Gluten-free couscous
(Bonus) Wispr Flow: AI voice app
Matt and Cody trace each brand’s ads, landers and offers, including why long pages still convert. Some brands force subscriptions, others offer a choice, and a few lead with one-time bundles. Meanwhile, Winks is testing a no-subscription bundle of its own.
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Aftersell
https://9ops.co/aftersell-operators
TBAR Partners
Richpanel
Motion
https://9ops.co/motion-runneth
Skio
https://9ops.co/skio-9operators
Omnisend
Operators Portal
https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard
Operators Newsletter
-
1 hr 14 min
Amazon Playbook: 5 Things DTC Brands Must Get Right to Scale Profitably
Episode 188
Show notes
“If you don’t sell on Amazon, somebody else is gonna sell it.”
When should a DTC brand stop treating Amazon as an afterthought?
Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern), Jason Panzer (President, HexClad), Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case & Lomi), and Katy Mimari (CEO, Caden Lane) break down the five things DTC brands must get right to scale on Amazon.
1. Always stay in stock
2. Executive ownership
3. Tailor your catalog
4. Protect your reviews
5. Pricing and promotion
Amazon drives over half of Simple Modern’s contribution profit, yet Matt and Katy admit neglecting it. Mike’s fix covers five fronts: inventory, ownership, catalog, reviews, and pricing. Even HexClad is still learning, after underinvesting cost it millions this year.
Powered By
Aftersell
https://9ops.co/aftersell-operators
Fulfil
Richpanel
Northbeam
Saras Analytics
Postscript
Operators Portal
https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard
Operators Newsletter
-
1 hr 7 min
Inside a New DTC Brand’s Ad Engine, Run in 6 Steps: Operators Build (E10)
Season 3, Episode 10
Show notes
“Creative supply chain is the essential ingredient of demand.”
Get all the resources from this episode: https://9ops.co/abchwj
★ 6-step framework
★ Brief template
★ Hook training guide
Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case & Lomi) and Cody Plofker (Advisor & fmr. CEO, Jones Road) launched Winks with more ads than lessons. Now they walk through the six steps every ad faces, starting with the message.
1. Message
2. Source
3. Media Formats
4. Creative Approach
5. Funnel Role
6. Production Checks
More ads went live, but Cody still didn’t know what was working. The fix is research by hand, down to an Instagram feed trained to think like the buyer. With AI editing and uploading their ads, taste is the job left for people.
Powered By
Aftersell
Richpanel
Runneth
https://9ops.co/motion-runneth
Skio
https://9ops.co/skio-9operators
Omnisend
Iris
Operators Portal
https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard
Operators Newsletter
-
1 hr 24 min
How Hulken Hit $50M Without Raising: Founder Alex Schinasi
Season 2, Episode 26
Show notes
“We didn’t actually choose them. They chose us.”
Can a bootstrapped brand enter Target and Costco while still growing DTC?
Alex Schinasi (Co-Founder & President, Hulken) joins Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case & Lomi) and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) to unpack how a two-time SaaS founder built a ~$50M rolling tote brand without raising money.
She had raised $3M for a new SaaS when Hulken hit $1M a month. A year later she exited the startup, and now nine people run the business with AI chiefs of staff. She wants a brand that lasts decades, yet she still moves at software speed.
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Walmart
https://marketplace.walmart.com/operators
Alia
AfterShip
Podqi
AppLovin
-
1 hr 14 min
5 Things Every CMO Wishes CEOs Knew But Will Never Say to Your Face
Episode 188
Show notes
“Some businesses aren’t ready for great CMOs.”
What do CMOs need from their CEOs but never say out loud?
MacCoy Merkley (CMO, Portland Leather Goods), Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case & Lomi), Jason Panzer (President, HexClad), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) unpack 5 truths CMOs won’t say to the boss’s face, and what CEOs lose by ignoring them.
MacCoy took a $13K-a-year job off Craigslist and now leads marketing at a nearly $250M brand. HexClad still has no CMO, so Jason and its co-founders carry the role themselves. Hand the keys to the wrong hire, and the blame lands long before the results do.
Powered By
Fulfil
Richpanel
Northbeam
Saras Analytics
Postscript
Aftersell
https://9ops.co/aftersell-operators
Operators Portal
https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard
Operators Newsletter
-
1 hr 35 min
10 Elements of a Winning Offer & How to Test Them: Operators Build (E9)
Season 3, Episode 9
Show notes
“A great offer makes the customer feel stupid for saying no.”
How do you know your offer is wrong before the market tells you?
Jordan Menard (Co-Founder, Instant Hydration) and Lina Fahizul (Chief Ovary Officer, Freelance) join this episode to put Winks’ pricing, promotion, and pitch on trial. The payoff is a 10-element offer playbook any DTC brand can steal.
1. Not just price or discounts
2. Fits how the product is used
3. One customer + one problem
4. Adds value before discounts
5. Tackles your top objections
6. Gives a reason to buy “now”
7. Priced right for your market
8. Your most-valuable customer
9. Built for orders 2, 3, 4, etc.
10. Profitable unit economics
It starts from a simple claim: Your discount gives away margin once. Jordan catches the founders without an answer for the CAC they can afford. Lina shows why making moms feel bad wins the click and loses the customer. Today's “winning” offer could lose money for months.
Powered By
Iris
https://www.irisfinance.co/operators
Omnisend
OuterSignal
Richpanel
Runneth
https://9ops.co/motion-runneth
Skio
https://9ops.co/skio-9operators
Operators Portal
https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard
Operators Newsletter
-
1 hr 6 min
How to Position Your Brand & Products: 5 Ways to Win Against “Better”
Episode 187
Show notes
“Better is probably the worst word you could use in marketing.”
How can a DTC brand stand out in a category full of identical promises?
Matt Orlić (Co-Founder, Qure Skincare) joins Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) and Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case & Lomi) to break down why brand positioning beats a better product. Each story shows how a brand can win a crowded category without inventing anything new.
Qure’s water filters beat Jolie’s on technology and patents, yet Orlić can’t out-position them. Mike explains how Yeti took Thermos’s 1800s vacuum insulation and sold it for cold drinks. Once a position works, competitors move in, and the founders debate how to hold it.
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Saras Analytics
Postscript
Aftersell
https://9ops.co/aftersell-operators
Richpanel
Fulfil
Northbeam
Operators Portal
https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard
Operators Newsletter
-
57 min
Our Ecommerce Marketing Strategy vs. Real Data: Operators Build (E8)
Show notes
“We know how to run ads. This is a playbook.”
How should you market a new DTC brand in its first six weeks?
Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case & Lomi), Cody Plofker (Advisor & fmr. CEO, Jones Road Beauty), and Curtis Christopherson (Chief Growth Officer, Ammortal) hold the Winks marketing plan up against the results since launch.
They built the brand for moms, yet men keep showing up to buy. Meta CPMs hit $800 until a free account fix and a smaller budget turned them around. Now creators and credible doctors have to bring CAC down to $100 before they scale.
Powered By
Aftersell
Skio
https://9ops.co/skio-9operators
Omnisend
OuterSignal
Richpanel
Runneth
https://9ops.co/motion-runneth
Operators Portal
https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard
Operators Newsletter
-
1 hr 29 min
Away’s CEO & New DTC Playbook: Amazon, TikTok Shop, and 300% Over Plan
Season 2, Episode 25
Show notes
“It’s about closing the imagination gap, not what it can do.”
Jessica Schinazi (CEO, Away) joins Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case & Lomi) and Curtis Matsko (CEO, Portland Leather Goods) to break down how she took the reins of a decade-old DTC pioneer and opened it to new channels in 18 months.
Away builds luggage to last 7 to 10 years, which Jessica calls a horrible business model. She chases new buyers: Up to 9% of her Amazon category and a $400 suitcase sold out on TikTok Shop. Now she has to bring each customer home before a day-one startup steals them.
Powered by
Podqi
AppLovin
https://www.9operators.com/paid-growth
http://applovin.com/9operators
Shoplift
Shiphero
-
1 hr
He Grew 4X as a Solo Founder. Now TJ Bongiorno (Outgoing Co) Has to Learn to Say No!
Episode 186
Show notes
“You can have anything you want, but you can’t have it all at once.”
Should you raise money when your only problem is working capital?
Help an Operator Out (HAOO) is a series where real business owners join the podcast with live questions. In this episode, TJ Bongiorno (Founder, The Outgoing Co) brings two questions: when to raise capital and how to price the round. As a solo founder, he 4X’d the business to nearly $4M in a year.
Nearly 90% of TJ’s revenue comes from powder, yet his cans perform 100X better on TikTok Shop. The hosts push him to choose which product leads his pitch. Matt makes the case for a price where investors win easily. Caught between seed funds and VCs, TJ needs a deal the right investors will take.
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Postscript
Aftersell
https://9ops.co/aftersell-operators
Richpanel
Fulfil
Northbeam
Saras Analytics
Operators Portal
https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard
Operators Newsletter
-
1 hr 1 min
Every AI Tool We’re Using & 4 Pillars to Guide You: Operators Build (E7)
Season 3, Episode 7
Show notes
“They’re the most capable ever, but not trained on your business.”
What pillars should every AI-first brand build, and which one comes first?
Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case & Lomi) and Cody Plofker (Advisor & fmr. CEO, Jones Road Beauty) open up the playbook behind Winks, a brand where AI does the grunt work and humans make the calls. Piece by piece, they break down the four components that make that split work.
1. Company brain: Context, memory, skills
2. Operating system (OS): Human interface
3. Software and tools: Existing tech, SaaS
4. Agents: Researcher, writer, analyst, etc.
The era of “prompt engineering” is over. Company context lets agents upload ads and match landing pages without being told twice. Yet AI tools still misread research, which leaves one question: How much can you trust them?
Powered By
Richpanel
Runneth
https://9ops.co/motion-runneth
Skio
https://9ops.co/skio-9operators
Omnisend
TBAR Partners
OuterSignal
Operators Portal
https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard
Operators Newsletter
-
54 min
How to Create Buying Moments: Give People a Reason to Buy All Year
Episode 185
Show notes
“You’re never gonna make a big impact on Black Friday.”
Should you worry if frequent promotions will hurt your brand equity?
Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case and Lomi), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) break down how Ridge manufactures demand instead of waiting for it. A slow summer becomes an 8-figure-plus sales season, anchored by a Lamborghini sweepstakes with Tony Hawk.
Sean walks through how the campaign evolved from a $100K MVP into a five year, celebrity backed giveaway with a grand prize built in. He explains why a 45-day window beats trying to own a single day like Black Friday. The hosts continue to cover why a wider product catalog creates more natural sales peaks throughout the year.
Powered By
Aftersell
https://9ops.co/aftersell-operators
Richpanel
Fulfil
Northbeam
Saras Analytics https://9ops.co/saras
Postscript
Operators Portal
https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard
Operators Newsletter
-
1 hr 23 min
Ecommerce Subscription Playbook & Benchmarks: Operators Build (E6)
Show notes
“You almost feel stupid buying the product as a one-time customer.”
Why do some subscription brands retain customers and stack LTV while others lose them?
Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela & Lomi) and Cody Plofker (Advisor & fmr. CEO, Jones Road) sit down with Aidan Thibodeaux (CEO, Skio) and Bernard Meyer (AI Operations Manager, Omnisend) to ask the questions every subscription brand needs answered.
Aidan argues that the offer matters more than anything else. He pushes quarterly plans and free gifts over discounts. Discounts train customers to wait for deals. He sets targets of 65% or higher for subscription take rate, 80–90% retention into the second order, and 35% at six months.
Bernard lays out the post-purchase basics, including a welcome email that sets expectations and check-ins after delivery. The group also debates when to ask for reviews, roasts Winks’ current buy box, then closes with quick skip buttons, subject line tests, and win back emails built on cancel flow data.
The question every subscription company needs to answer: What exactly are you promising a subscriber with recurring orders?
Powered By
OuterSignal
Richpanel
Runneth
https://9ops.co/motion-runneth
Skio
https://9ops.co/skio-9operators
Omnisend
TBAR Partners
Operators Portal
https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard
Operators Newsletter
-
1 hr 23 min
How First Day’s Founder Alice Li Built a 9-Figure Kids Vitamins Brand From One SKU
Show notes
How did First Day raise $1M and then build a 9-figure brand?
Alice Li (Founder & CEO, First Day) joins Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi) and Jason Panzer (President, HexClad) to unpack how she has sold over half a billion gummies and built a family wellness empire around kids’ vitamins.
After years of turning down retailers, First Day launched nationwide and became the number one kids vitamin in the country.
Powered By
Podqi
AppLovin
https://www.9operators.com/paid-growth
http://applovin.com/9operators
Shoplift
Shiphero
https://9ops.co/shiphero-titans
SARAL
https://www.getsaral.com/special-guided-walkthrough-for-operators
-
53 min
30+ Black Friday Tips to Win the Holidays Like a 9-Figure Ecommerce Brand
Episode 184
Show notes
“The best Black Friday offers don’t just increase orders, they increase AOV.”
Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case x Lomi), Jason Panzer (President, HexClad), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) share the Black Friday & Cyber Monday tips they rely on every year. Every tactic comes from hard-won experience over decades of combined holiday wins and losses.
They break down why every Black Friday deal needs a backup, sometimes even a worse one, ready to launch. Mike explains why spotlight bias makes old creative beat anything new. Matt shares the upsell that added a million dollars. Small moves like these are what separate a good quarter from a record one.
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Postscript
Aftersell https://9ops.co/aftersell-operators
Richpanel
Fulfil
Northbeam
Saras Analytics
Operators Portal
https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard
Operators Newsletter
-
1 hr 25 min
Why the Hardest Part Starts After Launch: Operators Build (E5)
Show notes
“The amount of effort that we put in to start does not have any meaningful correlation with the success at the end.”
When you get delayed and deprioritized by your co-manufacturer, your timeline slips by almost a year, and you still have zero sales, what do you have to show for 18 months of work?
Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela & Lomi), Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern), Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Curtis Christopherson (Chief Growth Officer, Ammortal), and Cody Plofker (Advisor & fmr. CEO, Jones Road) reunite one month from launch to close the loop on everything that went wrong.
Physical product is in hand. Five thousand units for their very first purchase order. Now, the hard part.
Sean raises the question nobody wants to answer: is powder still the right format in 2026? Mike does the math on what 14,000 families means for a nine-figure exit. Cody challenges the team to hit $200 CAC in month one. Then drop it to $100.
Powered by
TBAR Partners
https://9ops.co/tbarpartners
Aftersell
https://9ops.co/aftersell-build
Skio
https://9ops.co/skio-9operators
Runneth
https://9ops.co/motion-runneth
Omnisend
Richpanel
Operators Portal
https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard
Operators Newsletter
-
1 hr 4 min
Learning From Failure: 3 $100M+ Operators & Their Darkest Moments
Episode 183
Show notes
“We were not going to make payroll next week.”
How did three ecommerce CEOs turn rock bottom into their biggest lesson?
Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi), Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern), and Curtis Matsko (CEO, Portland Leather Goods) each share the darkest moment of their ecommerce careers. What came after built the self-awareness that changed how they lead.
Curtis walks through the week Wells Fargo pulled a $20M line of credit after Silicon Valley Bank collapsed. Matt breaks down the hubris that nearly cost him payroll one Christmas. Mike shares the night a two-year venture fell apart. Their comebacks outweighed the crises, driven by a growth mindset none of them had before.
Powered By
Saras Analytics
Postscript
Aftersell https://9ops.co/aftersell-operators
Richpanel
Fulfil
Northbeam
Black Friday Resources
https://www.9operators.com/black-friday
Operators Portal
https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard
Operators Newsletter
-
1 hr 29 min
How to Design Packaging for Ecommerce Brands: Operators Build (E4)
Show notes
“They have just shown how packaging can be so much of a differentiator.”
What does a professional DTC packaging design process look like in practice?
Chris Ganz (Senior Creative Director, Trevi) sits down with the Winks team to tackle one of packaging’s hardest problems: standing out on a crowded shelf. The group debates naming, mascots, and color palettes before testing real designs on real families.
Chris opens with a full competitor audit, sizing up Ollie, Vicks, and Beam. Three distinct concepts turn into five packaging directions, each with its own typography and color story. The team weighs a winking semicolon against a plush sleep monster, and one child’s smile carries real weight.
Powered By
Iris
https://www.irisfinance.co/operators
Skio
https://9ops.co/skio-9operators
Omnisend
https://www.omnisend.com/9operators
Richpanel
Runneth
https://9ops.co/motion-runneth
Aftersell
https://9ops.co/aftersell-build
Operators Portal
https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard
Operators Newsletter
-
1 hr 28 min
Honeylove’s Betsie Larkin & Igor Lebovic: Building a $200M Company Together
Episode 23
Show notes
What does it take for a married couple to build a $200 million brand together?
Betsie Larkin (Founder & CEO, Honeylove) and Igor Lebovic (Co-CEO, Honeylove) sit down with Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi) and Jason Panzer (President, HexClad). The conversation traces an accidental idea, the crowdfunding math, and the founder instincts that shaped every expansion.
Kickstarter only entered the DTC playbook after Betsie proved product market fit on tour. The brand’s sculpting body shapers and tummy control styles kept expanding the line. Betsie explains why a Kardashian-backed competitor helped the category instead of hurting it. Matt and Jason press on the mechanics of running a business with your spouse.
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Shoplift
Shiphero
https://9ops.co/shiphero-titans
SARAL
https://www.getsaral.com/special-guided-walkthrough-for-operators
AppLovin
-
56 min
Ecommerce Therapy: 3 Nine-Figure Operators on Focus & Passion
Episode 182
Show notes
“I’ve always hated it. This year I made the decision to shut it down.”
Can three nine-figure CEOs open up about their priorities, passions, and doubts?
Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) sit down for an honest conversation about the pressure of scaling ecommerce brands. They cover decision making, staying passionate, and the whiplash of growing fast.
Mike explains why organizations drift toward safe tasks instead of high impact work. Sean recalls shutting down a profitable business line while questioning his passion. Matt contrasts the rhythm of running a bigger company with the grind of building Winks from zero. Same stage of success, but three completely different struggles.
Powered By
Northbeam
Saras Analytics
Postscript
Aftersell https://9ops.co/aftersell-operators
Richpanel
Fulfil
Operators Portal
https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard
Operators Newsletter
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