Episodes
-
Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440
Casey loaded a real job posting into ChatGPT and told it to act like the CEO interviewing John, without revealing who they were. John had two goals: figure out who he's talking to, and get the job. The company turned out to be Beast Industries.
In this episode, John walks through the exact tactics he used: refusing to enter the interviewer's frame, mirroring from Never Split the Difference, asking more questions than he answered, and diagnosing the problem the founder has been wrestling with in the shower. The big risk: telling Jimmy that the biggest mistake he could make is becoming Jimmy the businessman instead of Jimmy the YouTuber. Most hires fail because the person hiring can't say what success looks like. Job interviews are sales calls. Treat them that way.
Topics discussed:
00:00 - The challenge: get a job from a mystery famous CEO
01:06 - Why your job in any interview is to be memorable
03:12 - Refusing vague questions and forcing clarity
05:44 - The mirroring technique from Never Split the Difference
20:36 - Spotting the clues that point to Mr. Beast
27:06 - Why asking more questions than you answer builds trust
36:09 - The risky bet: diagnose the founder's shower problem
40:33 - Why Jimmy the businessman is hurting Jimmy the YouTuber
44:55 - The real reason most new hires fail
48:46 - The final score and where John tanked
Learn more about our sponsors:
https://www.attentive.com/
https://fuego.io/
https://www.socialsnowball.io/
https://redo.com/
🔗 CONNECT WITH JOSH SUGGS:
https://www.streettalk.com/
https://x.com/joshsuggss
https://www.instagram.com/joshsuggss/
https://www.instagram.com/streettalk/
🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle
🔗 CONNECT WITH BART :
https://szaniewski.com/
https://www.instagram.com/theszef/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/
This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique -
Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440
Most AI projects in e-commerce are shiny object syndrome. The dream of the one-person, one-billion-dollar company is real, but it probably isn't your company. Meanwhile, 50% of Americans are now more concerned than excited about AI, and customers can spot AI content from a mile away.
In this solo episode, John walks through six reasons you probably shouldn't use AI in your business, then flips it and shows exactly how he uses it to make money without wrecking the brand. The framework: out-of-the-box tools first, then human in the loop, then human on the loop. Avoid the fully autonomous dream. The biggest unlock isn't replacing your team. It's making sure your day-to-day execution team isn't the one tasked with figuring AI out.
Topics discussed:
00:00 - The truth about implementing AI in your business
01:16 - Six reasons not to use AI (people genuinely don't like it)
07:18 - Why AI projects become the worst shiny object
09:39 - The one-person billion-dollar company isn't yours
13:04 - Why a human has to be accountable when things go wrong
20:26 - Human opinion is the scarce resource in the age of AI
30:29 - Why AI is still worth using anyway
44:00 - The Jones Road case study: 25% lift in profit per visitor
49:38 - Why your execution team shouldn't be your AI team
53:09 - Human in the loop vs on the loop vs out of the loop
Learn more about our sponsors:
https://www.attentive.com/
https://fuego.io/
https://www.socialsnowball.io/
https://redo.com/
🔗 CONNECT WITH RYAN DEISS:
https://scalable.co/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandeiss/
https://www.youtube.com/@RyanDeissOfficial
🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle
🔗 CONNECT WITH BART :
https://szaniewski.com/
https://www.instagram.com/theszef/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/
This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique -
Missing episodes?
-
Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440
Most founders dabble in all four marketing channels and wonder why they're stuck under $2M. There are only four channels that get an e-commerce brand from zero to $2M. Pick one and ride it all the way before you think about a second.
In this solo episode, John walks through the framework live with Casey, mapping every brand into one of four buckets based on what you have (time or money) and what your product is (differentiated or not). He covers real examples across SSDs, Jacklings chili, bandages, and Neurogum, then closes with the 100-day rule: commit hard, or move on.
Topics discussed:
00:00 - Why dabbling in four channels keeps you stuck
01:43 - The only four channels that get you to $2M
02:00 - The matrix: time vs money, differentiated vs not
03:39 - Time and a non-differentiated product: TikTok Shop influencers
12:18 - Money and a differentiated product: Meta ads
16:24 - Money and a non-differentiated product: Google ads
20:15 - Time and a differentiated product: organic content on TikTok
22:55 - Why now is the golden window for organic
30:30 - The fashion exception: when clothing is differentiated and when it isn't
36:38 - The 100-day rule: commit hard or move on
Learn more about our sponsors:
https://www.attentive.com/
https://fuego.io/
https://www.socialsnowball.io/
https://redo.com/
🔗 CONNECT WITH RYAN DEISS:
https://scalable.co/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandeiss/
https://www.youtube.com/@RyanDeissOfficial
🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle
🔗 CONNECT WITH BART :
https://szaniewski.com/
https://www.instagram.com/theszef/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/ -
Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440
Most of what you see people doing with AI online doesn't make them money. It just looks cool. In this episode, John and Bart show the AI workflows they actually use across Dad Gang and Solus Bands - the ones that ship emails, build product pages, find collabs, and surface breakthrough ad ideas.
Bart designs full Dad Gang launch emails in Manus in about 22 minutes of real time with two minutes of focused attention, then builds the matching PDP and homepage banner from the same project. John walks through his Banger Builder skill that feeds creative humans information in stages so the breakthrough idea actually shows up, and a 10-minute Claude app called Creator Scout that filters for comedians and collab partners by niche, follower count, and follower overlap. The take: don't use AI to generate the work. Use it to prompt the humans who can.
Topics discussed:
00:00 - Why most AI demos don't make you any money
02:25 - Dad Gang's lean team and what AI actually unlocks
03:06 - Designing a launch email in Manus in 22 minutes
08:00 - Why multitasking finally works now
16:29 - Building project instructions over time instead of upfront
19:29 - The Banger Builder: using AI to prompt creative humans
22:12 - Why AI won't generate your banger but can set it up
26:28 - Avatars, pain vs moment buying, and format mapping
46:29 - Building a full PDP in Manus, pasting it into Gem Pages
51:34 - Spinning a homepage banner from the same project
55:36 - Why Claude wins for interactive MVPs
56:36 - Creator Scout: a 10-minute app to find collab partners
58:36 - The Dad Gang collab play using follower overlap
65:39 - Automating influencer seeding with computer use
Learn more about our sponsors:
https://www.attentive.com/
https://fuego.io/
https://www.socialsnowball.io/
https://redo.com/
🔗 CONNECT WITH RYAN DEISS:
https://scalable.co/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandeiss/
https://www.youtube.com/@RyanDeissOfficial
🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle
🔗 CONNECT WITH BART :
https://szaniewski.com/
https://www.instagram.com/theszef/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/ -
Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440
You're one banger ad away from changing your business. Under $2M, it's almost always one creative that resets the trajectory of a brand. The problem is the system every DTC brand builds for paid social is built for more, not better. More UGC, more creators, more volume. That works until it doesn't.
In this episode, John builds a real ad from scratch with comedian Kyle Reho for Dad Gang. Brand brief to customer avatars to concepts to a full mockumentary script. The process surfaces five or six low-lift ideas and one bigger swing worth shooting, all in about 40 minutes. The takeaway: you don't need the agency that made the Purple Mattress ads. You need one funny person, $100 to $200 an hour, and a brief that feeds them information in stages instead of all at once.
Topics discussed:
00:00 - Why one banger ad is worth more than 100 UGC pieces
01:24 - Why more volume stops working
02:38 - Building an ad live for Dad Gang
03:00 - Starting with brand ethos, not the product
10:43 - How customer avatars actually unlock ideas
17:08 - The still-cool-dad angle and where it leads
20:11 - Reframing dad as a league you want to play in
23:13 - The jealous-wife skit concept
27:24 - Picking the right avatar with pain vs moment buying
34:29 - Choosing the format: skits, pod clips, green screen, reactions
37:31 - Building the mockumentary script beat by beat
50:08 - The hat as a uniform - landing the punchline
55:10 - How to actually run this with comedians for $100 to $200 an hour
Learn more about our sponsors:
https://www.attentive.com/
https://fuego.io/
https://www.socialsnowball.io/
https://redo.com/
🔗 CONNECT WITH RYAN DEISS:
https://scalable.co/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandeiss/
https://www.youtube.com/@RyanDeissOfficial
🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle
🔗 CONNECT WITH BART :
https://szaniewski.com/
https://www.instagram.com/theszef/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/ -
Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440
Most ecommerce founders try to build a brand by running better ads to a product page. They obsess over conversion metrics while ignoring the thing that actually makes a brand stick: a story consumers connect to and repeat back to each other.
In this episode, NJ Falk, managing partner at Athletic Propulsion Labs (APL), breaks down the six or seven story threads APL uses across every product launch, campaign, and piece of content. From the NBA ban that became the foundation of the brand, to designing sensory language instead of spec sheets, NJ explains why most ecommerce brands hit a scale ceiling and what it actually takes to build a brand customers love saying out loud.
Topics discussed:
00:00 - How APL turned an NBA ban into their brand foundation
01:00 - The origin of Athletic Propulsion Labs and the Concept One
03:00 - Never waste a crisis: turning a ban into performance credibility
06:00 - The six story threads APL uses for every product launch
09:00 - Why specs do not sell and sensory language does
11:00 - The Japan pancake trip that inspired a midsole
13:00 - Tongue-in-cheek tech stories like Run Naked
18:00 - How to keep your founder story fresh after telling it 100 times
22:00 - Gym to street to life and the versatility thread
26:00 - Social proof, awards, and editorial validation as a story bucket
30:00 - Should you build the story first or the product first
42:00 - Aspirational identity as the thread in everything you make
46:00 - A simple T-chart framework for brand storytelling
53:00 - How to expand into a new sport or category authentically
01:03:00 - Why brands hit a scale ceiling without a real brand
Learn more about our sponsors:
https://www.attentive.com/
https://fuego.io/
https://www.socialsnowball.io/
https://redo.com/
🔗 CONNECT WITH RYAN DEISS:
https://scalable.co/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandeiss/
https://www.youtube.com/@RyanDeissOfficial
🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle
🔗 CONNECT WITH BART :
https://szaniewski.com/
https://www.instagram.com/theszef/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/ -
Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440
Most ecommerce brands treat email like its own revenue channel. They obsess over campaign metrics while missing the bigger opportunity — using retention to lower acquisition costs, improve customer experience, and increase lifetime value.
In this episode, Sammy Tran breaks down what actually drives growth for ecommerce brands today. From subscriptions and retention marketing to AI-generated content and owned audiences, Sammy explains why brands focused only on short-term revenue are falling behind — and what smart operators are doing differently.
Topics discussed:
00:00 - Why most ecommerce brands use email wrong
06:24 - Landing pages, pop-ups, and conversion strategy
07:00 - Why ecommerce testing gets complicated fast
14:43 - The reality of running a marketing agency1
5:07 - Agency incentives vs effective marketing
28:44 - Why retention revenue fuels growth
31:51 - Building better subscription experiences
32:05 - Loyalty systems and retention tools
39:51 - Why brands need audiences they own
40:05 - The rise of owned marketing channels
01:11:37 - Using customer feedback to improve products
01:11:50 - Finding patterns in customer responses
01:19:10 - AI-generated content becoming the norm
01:19:18 - Why human creativity will stand out more
01:21:36 - Final thoughts and closing remarks
Learn more about our sponsors:
https://www.attentive.com/https://fuego.io/https://www.socialsnowball.io/https://redo.com/
🔗 CONNECT WITH RYAN DEISS:
https://scalable.co/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandeiss/
https://www.youtube.com/@RyanDeissOfficial
🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle
🔗 CONNECT WITH BART:
https://szaniewski.com/
https://www.instagram.com/theszef/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/ -
Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440
Wondering why you're more buried in work than you were a year and a million dollars ago?
You hired helpers. Not operators.
Ryan Deiss founded DigitalMarketer.com, trained 120,000 marketers, and now runs 17 companies doing $250M+ a year. In this episode, he walks through how he'd actually scale any brand from $1M to $30M+ — from the hire that unlocks scale to the three engines that power e-commerce businesses.
Topics discussed:
00:00 - Introduction
00:48 - Does EOS work in e-commerce?
08:13 - The worst stage of any business
09:09 - 3 engines every e-com brand runs on
21:42 - Mapping your business for scale
26:01 - Scaling without losing time with your family
36:00 - Why founders never feel like they’re making enough
40:50 - Identity shifts as you scale
48:17 - The first role to hand off (and one you shouldn’t)
57:23 - How to hire for an undefined role
01:01:54 - What to focus on at each stage of growth
01:10:37 - Should you scale, sell, or raise at $30M?
01:17:44 - Do lead magnets work in e-commerce?
Learn more about our sponsors:
https://www.attentive.com/
https://fuego.io/
https://www.socialsnowball.io/
https://redo.com/
🔗 CONNECT WITH RYAN DEISS:
Instagram @ryandeiss
YouTube @ryandeissofficial
X @ryandeiss
Website : https://scalable.co/
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandeiss/
Free Book Get Scalable: https://www.getscalable.com/
🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle
🔗 CONNECT WITH BART :
https://szaniewski.com/
https://www.instagram.com/theszef/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/ -
Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440
Most of the e-commerce industry has written UGC off in 2026. Here’s why you shouldn’t.
In this episode, StreetTalk founder Josh Suggs breaks down the one content format outperforming everything else in e-commerce ad accounts: street interviews. He shares where it fits in your media mix at every budget level, why the brands trying to do this in-house keep failing, and his formula that converts customers in just 40 seconds.
If you're running paid ads in 2026 and haven't tested this yet, you're leaving revenue on the table.
Topics discussed:
00:00 - Introduction
01:17 - StreetTalk’s origin story
07:53 - How they scaled so fast
17:41 - The early hustle
21:21 - Leveraging your way to success
27:09 - The business move that failed
33:02 - How Expo West changed the business
34:16 - The street interview formula
38:12 - Why street interviews convert so well
39:55 - Making money as a StreetTalker
42:18 - Why street interviews belong in your ad account
43:29 - How to allocate a $5–$10K content budget
47:42 - Why brands struggle to replicate this in-house
50:28 - Street interview concepts for real products
59:45 - Creating a show around your brand
Learn more about our sponsors:
https://www.attentive.com/
https://fuego.io/
https://www.socialsnowball.io/
https://redo.com/
🔗 CONNECT WITH JOSH SUGGS:
https://www.streettalk.com/
https://x.com/joshsuggss
https://www.instagram.com/joshsuggss/
https://www.instagram.com/streettalk/
🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle
🔗 CONNECT WITH BART :
https://szaniewski.com/
https://www.instagram.com/theszef/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/ -
Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440
Stuck between $2M and $30M and asking yourself, "What are the big brands doing that I'm not?"
Nik Sharma worked with $100M brands like True Classic, Jolie and Eight Sleep, and he knows why most brands stall before they ever get close. In this episode, he breaks down exactly what the brands that speed-run to $100M do differently and the moves you can make to get unstuck.
Topics discussed:
00:00 - Introduction
00:29 - What makes a brand reach $100M in e-commerce
04:15 - Eight Sleep case study: how they got so big
07:58 - Why second-time founders hit $100M faster
12:17 - Budgeting for marketing you can’t track
22:09 - Top vs. bottom of funnel marketing: what most brands get wrong
24:19 - Creating effective advertorials
29:04 - Why some successful brands stall before $100M
43:04 - Five marketing channels that work in e-commerce
46:15 - How to leverage AI without getting distracted
58:53 - Shiny object syndrome and your role as founder
01:01:19 - How to start a new brand with $50,000
01:09:24 - The one factor that differentiates $100M brands
01:13:31 - What most founders don’t know about scaling
Learn more about our sponsors:
https://www.attentive.com/
https://fuego.io/
https://www.socialsnowball.io/
https://redo.com/
🔗 CONNECT WITH NIK SHARMA:
https://www.nik.co/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrniksharma/
https://x.com/mrsharma
🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle
🔗 CONNECT WITH BART :
https://szaniewski.com/
https://www.instagram.com/theszef/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/ -
Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440
You're not an influencer. You're not famous. You started a business to sell a product. So how does a personal brand actually help you?
In this episode, podcast growth expert Kev Michael breaks down exactly how a personal brand drives sales without turning you into a full-time content creator. You'll learn the #1 mistake e-commerce founders make when building a personal brand, the content that outperforms almost all other ads, and the paid strategy most brands are still wasting money on.
Stay for the live workshop of real e-commerce brands to see step-by-step how to build show concepts from scratch no matter what you sell.
Topics discussed:
00:00 - Introduction
01:44 - What most founders get wrong about “personal brand”
07:22 - Can you build a YouTube channel or podcast with a small team?
08:13 - The paid ad strategy that actually works
13:20 - The ROI of podcasting and finding your show's premise
18:45 - How to build your from scratch (a real-time case study)
31:39 - How to stand apart from other channels33:30 - Why it's hard for some brands to find their audience
42:35 - Workshopping the DadGang podcast
51:51 - Do you need to publish weekly?
59:41 - The 3 waves of podcasting ROI
01:02:42 - When to give up or change your strategy
Learn more about our sponsors:
https://www.attentive.com/
https://fuego.io/
https://www.socialsnowball.io/
https://redo.com/
🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle
🔗 CONNECT WITH BART :
https://szaniewski.com/
https://www.instagram.com/theszef/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/ -
Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440
In e-commerce, you're poor until you're rich. This episode is about everything that happens in between.
Hosts John and Bart answer the real questions you want answers to: Is e-commerce right if you have a family? Do you need to out-hustle everyone? And what's actually happening when you're burned out, doing $2M in revenue, and only paying yourself $50,000?
Topics discussed:
00:00 - Introduction
00:57 - Is e-commerce worth it when you have a family?
11:38 - Why John has never launched his own e-commerce brand
15:12 - Easier ways to make money than e-commerce
20:19 - How much time and hustle is necessary in e-commerce?
27:49 - The upside of e-commerce (it’s not money)
33:21 - Burnout at $2M: why you’re not making a lot
37:19 - How to break past the $2M threshold
46:06 - Do you have to give up your dreams when you have kids?
54:33 - When e-commerce feels worth the sacrifice (& how to pay yourself)
https://www.attentive.com/
https://fuego.io/
https://www.socialsnowball.io/
https://redo.com/
🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle
🔗 CONNECT WITH BART :
https://szaniewski.com/
https://www.instagram.com/theszef/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/ -
Sorry for the bad audio, we considered not publishing, but ultimately decided the episode was value packed so we went ahead and published it.
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/
Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/
Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/pos...
What would successful founders actually do if they lost everything tomorrow?
In this episode, a room full of 7- and 8-figure business owners breaks down — honestly and tactically — how they would rebuild from zero if their money, skills, network, and businesses disappeared overnight. This isn’t theory. It’s real-world thinking from operators who’ve already built and scaled multiple companies.
The conversation covers the exact skills worth learning today, how to accelerate success early in your career, and why network, reps, and timing matter more than most people realize.
You’ll hear practical frameworks for rebuilding wealth, choosing the right opportunities, and positioning yourself to win — even starting with nothing.
⸻
🔥 What You’ll Learn In This Episode
✅ The fastest path back to success if you had to start over
✅ Why skill acquisition beats chasing business ideas early on
✅ The role mentorship, jobs, and environment play in accelerating growth
✅ How networking creates opportunities when everything else fails
✅ The smartest next move after selling a business (but not retiring)
✅ Why consulting can be the ideal transition after an exit
✅ How AI and emerging technologies create new leverage today
✅ Modern Meta ads strategy if organic growth didn’t exist
✅ Dropshipping, lead generation, and validation-first business models
✅ The mindset shift required to rebuild momentum from zero
⸻
💡 Key Takeaways
• Early careers should focus on skills and reps, not status.
• Keeping overhead low gives entrepreneurs more “shots on goal.”
• Strong relationships often matter more than tactics when rebuilding.
• Consulting and community-driven businesses can create clarity after exits.
• Cultural shifts — especially AI — create massive opportunity for those willing to immerse early.
The episode also dives into real tactical discussions around SMS marketing changes from Apple’s new messaging filters and how brands can adapt to maintain deliverability and engagement. 
⸻
If you’re an entrepreneur, operator, creator, or aspiring founder trying to figure out your next move — this episode is packed with high-signal advice from people who’ve already done it.
👉 Watch until the end for rapid-fire answers on business models, marketing strategies, and unconventional opportunities founders are quietly exploring today. -
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/
Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/
Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/pos...
You’re not out of ideas — you’re out of creative systems.
In this episode, we break down one of the biggest bottlenecks holding brands back: scaling creative when the founder is doing everything themselves.
From shooting ads, editing videos, and generating ideas to managing production — many founders become the constraint in their own growth. So how do you scale creative output without hiring a massive team or increasing overhead?
We sit down to solve this problem in real time and walk through practical strategies to help founders produce more ads, unlock new angles, and build repeatable creative systems.
You’ll learn how to turn your community into a content engine, build scalable social content formats, use AI to multiply assets, and increase output without long-term hiring commitments.
If you run a brand, manage paid ads, or create content at scale — this episode shows how to increase creative volume without burning out.
⸻
What You’ll Learn
✅ How founders accidentally become the bottleneck in creative production
✅ How to scale ad output without hiring full-time employees
✅ Why community-driven content is an unfair advantage
✅ How to crowdsource ideas and content from customers
✅ The best formats for repeatable social content
✅ Ways to generate 50–60 creative assets per month
✅ How to use AI workflows to multiply static ads into dozens of variations
✅ When to use freelancers vs. full-time hires
✅ How to build ongoing “social show” formats that drive growth
✅ Systems for increasing creative volume before major scaling periods (like Q4)
⸻
Key Topics Covered
• Scaling creative with low overhead
• Founder-led marketing vs. team-based production
• Community-led brand building
• Creative ideation frameworks
• Format-based content strategy
• AI tools and automation workflows
• Static ad amplification strategies
• Creative testing and volume strategy
• Building repeatable content engines
⸻
Who This Episode Is For
• DTC founders and operators
• Performance marketers and media buyers
• Creative strategists and editors
• Agencies scaling ad production
• Brands preparing to scale paid spend
• Anyone producing ads or content at scale
⸻
About the Show
This podcast breaks down real growth challenges from operators, founders, and marketers — and solves them live. Each episode focuses on practical strategies for scaling brands, improving marketing systems, and increasing performance through better creative and execution.
Subscribe for more conversations on creative strategy, DTC growth, performance marketing, and brand building. -
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/
Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/
Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/pos...
What do you do when your brand is growing fast… and then suddenly hits a wall?
In this episode, we break down a real-time business speed run where a fast-growing consumer brand faces stalled momentum caused by inventory constraints, pricing issues, and misaligned incentives.
Instead of panic decisions—cutting spend, freezing growth, or randomly changing strategies—we walk through exactly how to reset momentum intelligently.
You’ll learn:
• Why most brands panic during slowdowns (and why that usually makes things worse)
• How to think about growth when you’re supply constrained
• The right way to pre-sell offers without blowing up trust or margins
• How to raise prices without killing demand
• Why “cracked offers” can secretly destroy profitability
• How to realign teams when growth pauses
• The difference between optimizing vs accelerating
• How to bottle demand so you can release it later at scale
• What to focus on when paid ads aren’t an option
• How to create a momentum shift in as little as 20 minutes
This conversation is especially valuable for:
• E-commerce founders
• Brand operators
• Growth marketers
• Performance marketing teams
• Anyone scaling subscription or DTC businesses
If you’ve ever felt stuck between wanting to grow and being unable to push harder—this episode gives you a clear mental model for what to do next.
Watch until the end for the full breakdown of how to fix a stalled brand without panic. -
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/
Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/
Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/pos...
How to Scale to $100M+ Without Breaking Your Brand
What actually changes when a brand moves from early traction to serious scale?
In this episode, we break down the exact questions brands start asking on the road from $0 to $100M+—the questions that separate brands that plateau from brands that keep compounding.
We cover:
• The exact ad channel mix we’d run when scaling toward $100M+
• When (and how) to introduce brand spend without killing performance
• How to scale without losing your core customers
• Why most brands hit a ceiling even when revenue is growing
• The real tradeoffs between performance vs brand marketing
• How fast-growing companies think about team structure, media, and messaging
This isn’t theory or generic marketing advice. These are real conversations happening inside 8- and 9-figure brands as they scale.
If you’re a founder, operator, or marketer trying to grow past your current ceiling—this episode will change how you think about growth.
🎯 Perfect for:
• Founders scaling past 7 figures
• Performance marketers managing large budgets
• Operators navigating brand vs performance decisions
• Anyone building a long-term, defensible brand
Chapters:
00:00 – Why scaling breaks most brands
02:41 – The difference between growing revenue vs growing a brand
06:05 – The exact questions brands start asking past 7 figures
10:12 – The $100M mindset shift most founders miss
14:28 – Performance marketing vs brand marketing (what actually changes)
18:47 – The exact ad channel mix for scaling toward $100M+
23:36 – When to start spending on brand (and how much is too early)
28:14 – How brands lose their core customers while scaling
32:09 – Scaling without killing trust, loyalty, or positioning
36:18 – Team structure, decision-making, and growth bottlenecks
40:41 – Final advice for founders scaling past their current ceiling
44:12 – Subscribe :) -
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/
Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/
Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/pos...
We put 20 minutes on the clock and build a $1M business from scratch for a stranger, live and on the spot.
In this episode, the “stranger” is the host, and the product is an all-natural meal bar that combines:
• 20g of protein
• 100mg of caffeine
• Sweetened with honey
• Built for busy, high-performance people who want energy and fuel in one snack
The problem?
The founder tried running Meta ads, but after COGS, they were losing money.
So in this episode, we break down exactly how we’d take this product from “friends and family sales” to a scalable brand, using a real plan focused on:
• Organic-first growth
• Boosting content strategically (not just “running ads”)
• Subscription framing without killing conversions
• Founder-led content and real-world taste test content
• Fixing the offer so the unit economics can actually work
If you’re building a consumer brand (especially food or supplements) and wondering how to get out of the “I’m spending money but not scaling” trap, this episode is the blueprint.
Subscribe if you’re enjoying these breakdowns, because we’re going to keep bringing more real strategies you can apply immediately. -
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/
Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/
Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/pos...
Meta ads are still working, but most brands are making them way harder than they need to be.
In this episode of The Checkout Podcast, we go pure tactical on Meta Ads: what’s working right now, how to test creatives without blowing up your account, and why most people obsess over “structure” when the real game is decision-making and creative systems.
We break down the real fork in the road that every brand and media buyer has to choose:
Do you dedicate spend to every creative test?
OR
Do you drop new creatives into proven campaigns and let Meta pick winners?
Whether you’re running Advantage+, scaling a brand past 7-figures, or stuck in the cycle of constantly tweaking things out of paranoia, this episode will give you a clearer framework to make decisions with confidence.
⸻
What You’ll Learn In This Episode
• Meta ads in 2026: what’s actually changing and what’s not
• The two testing philosophies that control everything in your ad account
• When testing everything will tank performance (and when it helps you scale)
• Why most brands are overcomplicating campaign structure
• How to know if your tactics are outdated without ruining what already works
• How to find winning ad angles faster than ever (even if you feel stuck)
• The 50/30/20 creative framework (internally proven → outside inspired → outside-the-box)
• How top brands stay consistent while still finding new winners -
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/
Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/
Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/pos...
Why Most Founders Fail — And How to Avoid the Same Mistakes
In this episode, we break down why the vast majority of founders and small businesses fail—and more importantly, how to avoid becoming another statistic.
John Coyle (VP of Marketing at Royo Bread), Nick Shackelford (Partner at Brez) and Bart (Co-Founder of Dad Gang) answer real questions submitted by listeners and share hard-earned lessons from building, scaling, and surviving multiple businesses across e-commerce, agencies, SaaS, and brand building .
This is not surface-level motivation. It’s a deep, honest conversation about choosing the right business, building leverage, avoiding burnout, selecting co-founders, and understanding what actually fuels long-term success.
⸻
Topics Covered in This Episode
How do you choose the right business to start?
We break down why most people fail before they even begin—often by choosing ideas without skills, leverage, or real-world exposure. The group explains why working for the right company or starting a “boring” business can be the smartest move early on.
Why most founders burn out (even after they “win”)
Burnout doesn’t always come from losing—it often comes after success. The hosts share personal burnout stories, including moments where they physically couldn’t bring themselves to work, even after major financial wins.
The real role of passion vs. skill
Passion alone isn’t enough. This episode explains how to pair what you care about with what you’re actually good at—and how ignoring that balance leads to frustration and failure.
Solo founder vs. co-founder: what actually works
We dive deep into:
• When you should start solo
• When a co-founder becomes necessary
• Why complementary skills matter more than equal skills
• How poor alignment destroys otherwise great businesses
How to find the right co-founder
From moral alignment and trust to lane separation and incentives, this episode outlines what healthy partnerships actually look like—and why most people rush into the wrong ones.
Why you shouldn’t try to learn everything at once
Trying to master fulfillment and sales and marketing at the same time is one of the fastest paths to failure. The conversation breaks down how to simplify early and build leverage instead.
Founder motivation & infinite fuel sources
One of the most powerful parts of the episode: the idea that burnout happens when you’re running on the wrong fuel. Learn how to identify what truly motivates you—and how to design your work around it.
Female founders in male-dominated industries
We tackle a tough but important question: are female founders losing deals because of gender bias? And if so, how can that be turned into a strategic advantage rather than a disadvantage?
⸻
Who This Episode Is For
• First-time founders trying to choose the right business
• Agency owners stuck at six figures and feeling maxed out
• Solo founders debating whether to bring on a partner
• Entrepreneurs dealing with burnout, loss of motivation, or stagnation
• Anyone trying to build a business that supports life—not consumes it
⸻
🎧 Why You Should Watch the Full Episode
This conversation is raw, unscripted, and grounded in real operator experience—not theory. If you’re serious about building something that lasts, this episode will help you:
• Avoid common early-stage traps
• Make better long-term decisions
• Understand yourself as a founder
• Build businesses that align with your values and energy -
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/
Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/
Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/pos...
Growing fast should feel like winning.
So why do so many founders end up more stressed, less profitable, and questioning their own decisions as revenue climbs?
In this episode, we break down one of the most uncomfortable but critical questions founders face as they scale:
Are you actually building a better business — or just hiring your way into chaos?
The conversation starts with a real founder scenario:
• Revenue is up 200% year over year
• The company used to be profitable
• Now it’s losing money
• The team’s solution? Hire more people
From there, we unpack what’s really happening beneath the surface.
This episode covers:
• The hidden danger of overhiring during growth
• Why “we need more people” is often a symptom, not a solution
• How to tell if a role is actually contributing to revenue or profit
• The difference between scaling output vs scaling overhead
• When losing money can make sense — and when it absolutely doesn’t
• Why chasing top-line growth can quietly destroy founder clarity and decision-making
• The mental and financial cost of “speedrunning” to $100M
• How experienced operators think about stress, risk, and sustainability
• Practical frameworks for hiring lean without stalling growth
You’ll also hear candid takes on:
• The myth that bigger teams automatically mean better execution
• Why many brands hit a wall around certain revenue milestones
• How to think about hiring when you’re not a multi-time operator
• The difference between scaling with confidence vs scaling in survival mode
This is not a hype episode.
It’s a reality check for founders who are growing fast and wondering if the pressure they feel is normal—or a warning sign.
If you’re a founder, operator, or growth lead asking yourself:
• “Should I slow down?”
• “Did I overhire?”
• “Am I building something sustainable—or just expensive?”
This episode will help you think more clearly about what comes next. - Show more
