Honest Ecommerce

Gary founded Yardstick Marketing Partners an industry leading experiential marketing agency creating engagement and driving audience for Sony Pictures Television, Warner Bros, Fox, Major League Baseball, Namco/Bandai, New Era Cap Company and Microsoft.
Known for extensive and exciting mobile tours, Gary created and executed tours for Seinfeld, Snoop Dog, and more.
After working on a mobile gaming tour, Mr Kleinman saw that over 3 billion people were active gamers. This led to the creation of The WHAM Network, a digital network about the lifestyle and culture of gaming.
Seeing that gamers were experiencing cramping, fatigue and loss of attention due to long gaming sessions, Kleinman noticed that all existing supplements that could prove beneficial to gamers were all dependent on water or fluids. It was this problem that led to the creation of waterless nutrition.
In This Conversation We Discuss:
[00:00] Intro
[01:24] What is Electrolyte Boost?
[02:04] Energy, focus, and upcoming functional products
[03:22] Spotting a gap in the esports world
[04:25] From gamers to surgeons and truck drivers
[05:18] A year and a half to perfect the formula
[06:40] Dosing and bioavailability challenges
[07:40] Navigating sugar substitutes
[08:31] Klaviyo
[10:38] Would you take the leap again?
[11:50] Testing sweeteners and sweet proteins
[12:20] Dropping sucralose to win shelf space
[12:55] Why every entrepreneur asks "why am I doing this?"
[14:22] Intelligems
[15:35] Finding your first customers
[16:01] Why Amazon comes first
[16:55] Discovering unexpected customer use cases
[17:50] The hidden risks of retail placement
[18:55] Shifting from influencers to creators
[19:50] Two years in beta and three package changes
[20:24] Is Amazon a good place to beta test?
[21:02] Amazon discoverability and keywords
[22:40] Building a category that doesn't exist
[23:24] Why Amazon reviews matter
[24:45] Social proof from early adopters
[25:30] eFulfillment Service
[26:40] Whatever you think it costs, quadruple it
[27:50] Projecting inventory and lead times
[30:05] When passion turns into a financing game
[31:10] You don't have to do it alone
[32:00] No ego, a lot of pride
[32:56] Get comfortable with no net
[33:46] Testing and tweaking everything
[34:10] Finding the market in the gap
[36:15] Do we need another hydration drink?
[36:52] Where to buy Electrolyte Boost
[37:20] Final thoughts
Resources:
Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
Boost your power, focus, and performance electrolyteboost.com/ 
Follow Gary Kleinman linkedin.com/in/gary-kleinman-3503757/ 
Book a demo today at intelligems.io/audit 
Get your free demo klaviyo.com/honest
Lower scale costs today efulfillmentservice.com/honest
If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Aleksandra focuses on integrations with ecommerce platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce, and on building an experience that helps merchants increase their sales.
She has been in product for 8 years, and has been working at Text since 2021.
In This Conversation We Discuss:
[00:00] Intro
[01:07] Text, LiveChat, and the AI pivot
[01:59] 25 years of customer service data
[03:14] From biotech degree to ecommerce SaaS
[04:15] There's no right way into ecommerce
[04:37] Why you can't copy someone's success
[05:47] Using competitor analysis the right way
[06:22] Support chats are buying decisions
[07:12] Spotting high intent signals on your store
[08:35] Return questions are risk assessments
[09:00] Proactive outreach from humans or AI
[09:40] Beating fear, uncertainty, and doubt
[10:39] Why fast replies build trust
[11:05] How AI and humans work together in support
[13:10] The late-night mattress shopper story
[14:15] Measuring revenue lift from AI
[14:40] How Nuvoo grew sales over 400%
[16:12] 98% resolution vs. 70% of traffic
[17:33] Automating the "lazy customer" questions
[18:45] Proactive chat invites that drive sales
[19:53] Blending human support with AI agents
[20:50] Making AI sound like your brand
[21:33] Where to learn more about Text
[22:35] Free merch for customer support teams
[22:56] Final thoughts
Resources:
Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
AI customer service engine that drives revenue text.com/ 
On a customer support team? Grab Text's merch, including T-shirts and sweatshirts: store.text.com?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=Honest%20Ecommerce&utm_campaign=podcast&utm_content=_ 
Follow Aleksandra Kacperczyk linkedin.com/in/aleksandra-kacperczyk-200047180/
If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Aimee Dudum Colorado is the Co-Founder and Chief Merchandising & Marketing Officer of VICI, a women's apparel brand based in California. VICI's mission is to be the go-to destination for accessible, on-trend fashion—helping customers explore their personal style for every day and every occasion.
Founded in 2012, VICI has grown into one of the leading DTC brands to emerge from the Bay Area, with a retail presence in Nashville.
Aimee has been deeply hands-on since day one and remains both product and customer obsessed. She stays closely connected to the VICI community—regularly engaging on social and responding directly to customer feedback.
She leads fashion buying and brand direction with a strong point of view on emerging trends, grounded in a deep understanding of the customer. Passionate about styling and outfitting, Aimee is focused on inspiring confidence and helping women feel their best for every moment.
Aimee lives in Alamo, California with her husband and four sons.
In This Conversation We Discuss:[00:00] Intro
[01:02] Head-to-toe outfitting under $150
[02:10] Founding VICI with her stepmom
[03:45] Building a digital and social-first brand
[04:48] When organic social started driving sales
[05:11] Moving from phone orders to Shopify
[05:58] Klaviyo
[08:11] Why in-person shopping matters again
[08:58] What separates growing brands from the rest
[09:47] Leaving room in your playbook for moonshots
[10:45] How high brand standards stalled TikTok
[11:39] Flowium
[12:25] You're not Coca-Cola, so make some noise
[13:04] Launching in 60 Dillard's stores
[14:13] How the Dillard's partnership came about
[15:16] Choosing like-minded retail partners
[15:53] Intelligems
[17:32] The future of fashion ecommerce
[18:23] AI-generated looks and shoppable bundles
[18:59] Why VICI is selective about new AI tools
[19:41] AR and the at-home dressing room
[20:41] Balancing data with founder gut
[21:25] Why leaders should read every review
[22:30] Customer language is a free ad campaign
[23:39] Keeping customer care in-house
[24:29] Bring customer service into strategy talks
[25:21] Influencer-driven product development
[26:23] Where to find VICI
[27:04] Final thoughts
Resources:Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
Empower personal style for any occasion vicicollection.com/ 
Follow Aimee Dudum linkedin.com/in/aimee-dudum-colorado-a0a4a3135/ 
Book a demo today at intelligems.io/ 
Get your free demo klaviyo.com/honest 
Book a free lifecycle diagnosis call flowium.com/
If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Charles Brun is a French entrepreneur who co-founded the eyewear brand IZIPIZI in Paris in 2010 alongside his longtime friends Xavier Aguera and Quentin Couturier. The three founders saw that the standard reading glasses sold at drugstores lacked style, and they set out to prove that readers could be something people actually wanted to wear. That instinct paid off. Today, IZIPIZI is known for colorful, affordable, design-driven glasses made for everyday life.
In This Conversation We Discuss:
[00:00] Intro
[01:12] Glasses for every moment in life
[01:42] An idea born from their moms' ugly readers
[02:59] From incubator to the real launch in 2012
[04:05] Landing Colette as the first wholesale yes
[05:16] Klaviyo
[07:25] How the first yes opens every other door
[08:14] Building a partnership between three friends
[10:10] The Friday wheel that decides who speaks first
[11:06] Intelligems
[12:32] When ecommerce entered the picture
[13:45] Why wholesale alone wasn't enough
[14:19] Wholesale partner pushback on selling online
[15:15] COVID pushed online sales to 95%
[16:30] eFulfillment Service
[17:45] Expanding from Paris into the US
[18:28] Why the US is more different than it seems
[19:25] Buying back the US distributor
[20:05] Hiring an American team to win the US
[20:48] What Shoptalk Europe brands ask about the US
[21:55] Why IZIPIZI launched on Amazon in the US
[22:26] Amazon as a necessary evil for brands
[23:19] Making the .com work in the States
[23:41] Moving from Magento to Shopify
[24:05] Virtual try-on for the first pair
[24:50] Unifying customers across every channel
[25:24] A customer is a customer, wherever they buy
[26:05] Affordable glasses as an impulse buy
[26:46] Becoming B Corp certified
[27:50] Why the IZIPIZI name sticks
[28:43] Where to find IZIPIZI
[30:12] Final thoughts
Resources:
Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
Fashion and design glasses for adult and children izipizi.com 
Follow Charles Brun linkedin.com/in/cbrun/ 
Book a demo today at intelligems.io/ 
Get your free demo klaviyo.com/honest
Lower scale costs today efulfillmentservice.com/honest 
If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Ben Lord, Founder and CEO of Softlimit, has been in and around the music industry for over 30 years and in ecommerce for the last sixteen. A touring drummer (Falling Forward / Elliott / Sharon Van Etten / Mascott / Bird of Youth / Phantom Family Halo / Kilowatthours), he's also released records through independent labels (Initial, Revelation, Temporary Residence Ltd., Jagjaguwar), and worked in Atlantic Records' New Media Division during the launch of the first digital music store.
He later led campaigns at Bond Strategy and Influence across entertainment verticals before spending the last decade building Softlimit, a Shopify Premier Partner Agency helping brands like Sacred Bones, Temporary Residence Ltd., Polyvinyl, Moon Juice, Misen, and The Perfect Jean grow their ecommerce revenue.
Music still sits at the center of his life, and he works closely with label heads, agents, and artists.
In This Conversation We Discuss:This conversation draws on Softlimit's January 2026 whitepaper, "Built-In Demand, Broken Infrastructure: The Music Industry's Revenue Gap," co-authored by Ben Lord and Martina England, which explores how independent labels can close the gap between fan demand and captured revenue by adopting DTC ecommerce practices.
[00:00] Introduction
[01:17] Helping the music industry master D2C
[01:54] From touring drummer to agency founder
[02:53] Why agencies walk away from music clients
[04:03] Why label stores are glorified merch shops
[05:59] When clients show up with the prescription
[06:56] Conversion and AOV wins for music clients
[07:24] Fixing broken filters and legacy platforms
[09:23] The cost of selling through third parties
[10:33] Why music isn't like other big catalogs
[11:51] How labels lift conversion rate and AOV
[12:31] Cross-sells built on product relationships
[13:55] Label-curated "you'll like this too" picks
[14:55] The Shopify tech stack behind the wins
[15:33] Cleaning up messy product data
[15:50] Migrating legacy CMS data and using Rebuy
[17:14] Why indie labels hesitate on email and SMS
[18:51] Turning fan data into more tour sales
[20:48] Fan clubs and new streaming rules
[21:28] The indie music industry is growing up
[22:32] First steps to think like a D2C brand
[23:39] Capturing first-party data at live shows
[24:21] Your fans are your customers
[25:10] Final thoughts
Resources:Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
Take the stress out of commerce https://www.softlimit.com/ 
Follow Ben Lord https://www.linkedin.com/in/benlord/ 
If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!