Honest Ecommerce

Andrea Faulkner Williams is the head mama and co-founder of Tubby Todd Bath Co., which she launched with her husband, Brian Todd, as a solution to her own family’s sensitive skin in 2014. For years her family struggled with dryness and eczema, and smooth skin always seemed impossibly out of reach. It was frustrating spending money on one product after another that wasn’t helpful, clean, or safe for their little ones. 

Out of those discouragements came a drive and passion to create clean bath and skincare staples and they spent years developing products and testing them in their own home. Since then, Tubby Todd has grown into an entire line of body care basics. She lives in San Diego with her husband and four little ones.

In This Conversation We Discuss:
00:00 Introduction
01:58 The entrepreneurial dream that started it all
04:06 Launching with zero money and no retail shelf
04:39 How her husband got the idea from his job
06:42 Skipping retail to build direct on Shopify
08:30 Sponsor: IntelliGems
10:22 What "community-based brands" really means
12:22 Why small goals matter more than big ones
12:53 Landing as the #1 baby skincare brand
14:49 Sponsor: Klaviyo
17:24 Balancing family while building a business
18:57 Biggest hiring mistakes and lessons learned
19:41 Why you should fire people faster
20:55 Sponsor: eFulfillment Service
21:45 The hardest part of entrepreneurship: building a team
23:26 Staying humble and not letting ego run the team
24:34 Callouts
24:44 Why employment tenure makes you a better founder
27:21 Not needing a radical idea, just a better one
28:05 Selling 70% of the company to private equity
30:01 Starting something new always feels uncomfortable
32:35 Breaking down the best-selling three-step bundle
33:17 How to connect and where to find Tubby Todd

Resources:
Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
Gentle Baby Skincare for Sensitive Skin tubbytodd.com/
Follow Andrea Faulkner linkedin.com/in/andreafaulknerwilliams  
Book a demo today at intelligems.io/
Get your free demo klaviyo.com/honest
Lower scale costs today eFulfillmentService.com/honest  

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M. Sal had his own Ecommerce store. He realized that no Canadian accountant understands US tax and virtually no one understands a Shopify business. That’s what led him to start SAL Accounting where their team now solve these problems for brands.

In This Conversation We Discuss: 
00:00 Introduction
01:13 Discussing the accounting brand
01:34 How the guest entered the ecommerce tax niche
03:09 The hidden Shopify fee for international sellers
04:13 Do you need a US LLC: Plus plan vs sales split
06:36 Revenue threshold for opening a US LLC
08:00 Step-by-step process to set up a US LLC
10:22 The costly mistake of naming yourself as owner
12:30 Do US brands need a Canadian setup too
13:56 The $25,000 penalty for missing Form 5472
15:38 Why proper bookkeeping matters for ecommerce brands
17:57 How monthly books help you save on taxes
19:33 The risk of hiring a cheap bookkeeper
22:00 Where to learn more and get help
23:43 Returning Questions to a Fellow Host

Resources:
Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
CPA Tax Accounting and Bookkeeping Firm salaccounting.ca/ 
Follow M. Salman salaccounting.ca/author/salmansalat00/ 

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!

Robert Patton is the Founder and CEO of SHEATH, a premium men's underwear brand he conceived while serving as a U.S. Army Sergeant in the scorching heat of the Iraqi desert. After two combat deployments, Robert left the military with a mission: to create performance-driven underwear built around a patented dual pouch system that delivers unmatched comfort and support for active men.

What started as a bootstrap idea fueled by a $5,000 insurance check and a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2013 has grown into a globally recognized brand selling to customers in over 120 countries. SHEATH is the first ever Official Underwear Partner of the UFC — a milestone Robert built without taking on outside investors.

A daily meditator, lifelong student of Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich, and relentless entrepreneur, Robert's story is a testament to grit, reinvention, and the power of solving a real problem the world didn't know it had.

In This Conversation We Discuss:
00:00 Introduction
01:02 What an elite underwear makes
01:56 The Iraq deployment origin story
04:20 Building the first underwear prototype
07:32 Sponsor: Klaviyo
09:47 Early prototypes and finding a manufacturer
15:12 Launching the first Kickstarter campaign
17:06 Sponsor: Intelligems 
18:33 A botched production and near giving up
21:03 The second Kickstarter and revenue growth
22:58 Using AI to speed up product design
24:12 Sponsor: eFulfillment Service 
25:58 Finding customers beyond Kickstarter
26:57 The comedian throw stunt
28:18 Sponsoring comedians and podcast hosts
30:43 Famous names and loyal ad partners
35:04 Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
38:14 Where to buy underwear for legends

Resources:
Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
Men's pouch underwear sheathunderwear.com/ 
Follow Robert Patton linkedin.com/in/robert-patton-b675273b    
Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect 
Get your free demo klaviyo.com/honest 
Book a demo today at intelligems.io/ 
Lower scale costs today eFulfillmentService.com/honest
Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect     

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!

Lndn Gray Co-Founder Tyler Straub is a creative director, photographer, and entrepreneur with more than 13 years of experience building and scaling high-growth brands across the creative, technology, and consumer sectors.
Before launching Lndn Gray in 2023, Tyler held leadership roles at high-growth companies including Blade, Bird, and Gametime, where he became known for cross-functional operations paired with strong creative and brand vision. With a background spanning a breadth of industries and roles- including premium lifestyle brands, aviation, live events, celebrity/influencer partnerships, and more- Tyler gained an understanding of brand building, creative partnerships, and rapid scaling with early-stage consumer product ventures and founder-led businesses.
As Co-Founder of Lndn Gray, Tyler oversees business development, operations, partnerships, creative direction, and artist curation. Under his leadership, the platform has become known for championing independent and emerging artists worldwide, with a focus on originality, cultural relevance, and accessible contemporary art.
Tyler was based in Los Angeles for over a decade and will be spending the next year travelling and working across the globe.
In This Conversation We Discuss:
[00:00] Intro
[00:40] Sponsor: Electric Eye
[00:53] Finding niche business ideas in art markets
[05:40] Balancing life and business boundaries
[08:10] Building transparency with business partners 
[13:59] Sponsor: Klaviyo
[15:57] Dividing new business duties with founders
[18:44] Callouts
[18:54] Balancing art product quality and pricing
[22:45] Expanding markets with product tests
[27:27] Sponsor: Intelligems
[28:53] Owning up to your customer service gaps
[33:47] Sponsor: eFulfillment Service
[34:57] Reinvesting revenue back into creative ads
[38:18] Hiring expert leaders to scale your brand
[40:58] Leading and empowering team members
[00:00] Overcoming industry misconceptions
Resources:
Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
Art for the bold and fearless lndngray.com/
Follow Tyler Straub linkedin.com/in/tyler-straub
Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect
Migrate and grow more klaviyo.com/honest
Book a demo today at intelligems.io/
Lower scale cost 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!

Yash Chavan is the founder and CEO of SARAL and SATHI. SARAL has helped 200+ DTC brands including Grüns, Spacegoods, and Slumberkins generate over $59M in influencer-driven revenue. 

SATHI is his team's newest product: a Shopify-only affiliate platform built around two breakthroughs: cookieless tracking and multi-touch attribution. 

Yash is running every SATHI demo personally for a limited time exclusively for Honest Ecommerce listeners. Book your slot by visiting mysathi.io/demo and let them know we sent you.

In This Conversation We Discuss: 

[00:00] Intro

[02:31] Stumbling Into a New Ecommerce Venture

[05:34] Sunsetting a Brand to Focus on a New One

[07:05] Learning User Needs Through Manual Work

[08:54] Matching The Products to Customer Needs 

[10:30] Paying for Actual Sales Instead of Ad Clicks 

[13:03] Callouts

[13:10] Doing The Actual Work To See Business Results

[16:10] Prioritizing Active Partners Over Volume 

[19:30] Setting Margins for Marketing Expenses

[21:37] Targeting Smaller Partners For Better Deals

Resources:

Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube

Marketing Platform for Affiliate Brands mysathi.io

Influencer Marketing Platform getsaral.com/

Follow Yash Chavan linkedin.com/in/yctheman

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!