280: From Online Poker Affiliate to Referral Marketing Mogul: Ambassador’s Jeff Epstein Shares His Journey

We last chatted with Richard Li, the founder of the luggage brand July, right before the pandemic changed travel forever. In Li’s return to the podcast, we’ll hear how he survived the past three years and created a luxury brand coveted by travelers. He’ll also break down how to implement AI tools in your ecommerce business and why brand is your strongest competitive advantage.  Listen to Nathan and Li discuss:  Losing 100% of their revenue in 2020 Why retail is cheaper than digital ads  Nailing product color and style  Why July isn’t on Amazon  How branding can reduce acquisition costs  Using AI to build forecast models  Maintaining the personal touch of customer satisfaction  How do you make a great offer if you don’t discount? Why brand is the strongest competitive edge  And much more DTC branding advice… *This interview was part of the Foundr Ecomm-AI Summit that took place October 23 - 25, 2023.  Who do you want to see next on the podcast? Comment and let us know! And don't forget to leave us a 5-star review if you loved this episode. Wait, there's more… If you enjoy the Foundr podcast, check out our free trainings. Get exclusive, actionable advice from some of the world's best entrepreneurs.  Speak with our friendly course experts to get clarity on the next steps for your idea, business or career. You will get tailored insights from results achieved by our proven practitioners as well as thousands of students. Book a call now...  For more Foundr content, follow us on your favorite platform:  Foundr.com Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Magazine

5 Jan 202430min

Listener favorite Nick Shackelford returns to the podcast to share the current state of paid ads and how to incorporate AI in building them. Shackelford is the co-founder and managing partner at Structured Social, co-founder of Brez, and co-founder of Constant Creative. He’s spent the last ten years immersed in the performance marketing world. After working with legacy brands Pepsico and Apple, he quickly found his groove, going direct consumer with viral products like Fidget Spinners and Magnetic Eyelashes. Listen to Nick and Nathan discuss:  Nick’s origin story as a professional goalkeeper  Why Nick’s How to Run Facebook Ads course stands the test of time How Nick is walking the walk with his CDB beverage company, Brez The state of paid advertising  How Nick uses AI for his clients and business The four core areas of AI implementation  Using Canva and ChatGPT’s integration  What’s looming in 2024 for advertising  The challenges of transitioning from click to brick  How AI can help with customer service  And more AI tools for ad creation… *This interview was part of the Foundr Ecomm-AI Summit that took place October 23 - 25, 2023. Who do you want to see next on the podcast? Comment and let us know! And don't forget to leave us a 5-star review if you loved this episode. Wait, there's more… If you enjoy the Foundr podcast, check out our free trainings. Get exclusive, actionable advice from some of the world's best entrepreneurs.  Speak with our friendly course experts to get clarity on the next steps for your idea, business or career. You will get tailored insights from results achieved by our proven practitioners as well as thousands of students. Book a call now...  For more Foundr content, follow us on your favorite platform:  Foundr.com Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Magazine

22 Des 202344min

Trinny Woodall returns to the podcast for a deep dive into AI and how she’s evolving Trinny London in a changing DTC landscape. Woodall is confident, direct, ambitious, and fabulous before fabulous was cool. She knows what she’s doing because she knows her customers. After a 20-year career in television and styling, she established Trinny London as a brand that gives everyone the tools they need to feel their best. Since launching in 2017, Trinny London has had 120% year-over-year growth, sells in 180 countries, and has a team of 200 employees. Woodall’s long-term goal is to eventually exit as one of the largest beauty brands in the world.  Listen to Nathan and Trinny discuss Why she built a brand targeting women over 35 The origin of Trinny Tribes and encouraging an organic community Why customer retention is such an essential building block The changing landscape of retail and D2C brands  Tapping into TikTok to reach future customers  The pros and cons of being a celebrity founder  Why she still personally responds to DMs and comments Using AI to help customers make choices  How to start a beauty brand today And much more on DTC…  *This interview was part of the Foundr Ecomm-AI Summit that took place October 23 - 25, 2023.  Who do you want to see next on the podcast? Comment and let us know! And don't forget to leave us a 5-star review if you loved this episode. Wait, there's more… If you enjoy the Foundr podcast, check out our free trainings. Get exclusive, actionable advice from some of the world's best entrepreneurs.  Speak with our friendly course experts to get clarity on the next steps for your idea, business or career. You will get tailored insights from results achieved by our proven practitioners as well as thousands of students. Book a call now...  For more Foundr content, follow us on your favorite platform:  Foundr.com Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Magazine

15 Des 202356min

Nat Choprasert, founder of Brand Nat and Future AI Lab, is an AI and automation specialist for businesses on a mission to demystify AI. After starting and exiting her successful ecommerce tea business, she's now helping companies implement "Humanized Automation" to save time and grow revenue. Nat has 400,000 followers across her platforms.  Listen to Nathan and Nat discuss:  Starting her tea business and the loneliness of solopreneurship  Gaining organic momentum by sharing business advice on TikTok  How one of her videos on ChatGPT gained a million views Growing to 400,000 followers across social platforms  Using a 60/40 percentage mindset with using AI  How to add the human touch to AI work Implementing AI and automation for beginners   How to use ChatGPT as a business coach  Using Claude for marketing hooks and ad creative  The common challenges of using AI for business And more AI tool recs for ecommerce… *This interview was part of the Foundr Ecomm-AI Summit that took place October 23 - 25, 2023.  Who do you want to see next on the podcast? Comment and let us know! And don't forget to leave us a 5-star review if you loved this episode. Wait, there's more… If you enjoy the Foundr podcast, check out our free trainings. Get exclusive, actionable advice from some of the world's best entrepreneurs.  Speak with our friendly course experts to get clarity on the next steps for your idea, business or career. You will get tailored insights from results achieved by our proven practitioners as well as thousands of students. Book a call now...  For more Foundr content, follow us on your favorite platform:  Foundr.com Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Magazine

8 Des 202352min

Talia Datt returns to the podcast to share how her agency uses AI to produce viral content on TikTok. Talia Datt is the CEO and founder of The Social CliQ, a full-service digital marketing agency with a social media-first approach to online platforms. They leverage their group of 3,000 TikTok creators worldwide via their sister agency, The Content CliQ, to help plan, create, and execute so founders can easily harness the fastest-growing social media platform in the world. She’s also the instructor of a new Foundr course on creating a content marketing engine.    Listen to Nathan and Talia discuss: The TikTok algorithm’s AI foundation  Starting your strategy by consuming Proactive vs reactive content  The importance of using the native editor  Quality over quantity for content  Using AI for hooks and captions  Feeding ChatGPT for better outputs What tools her agency uses  Principles of a viral product video on TikTok ChatGPT email hacks  And more TikTok and AI strategies… *This interview was part of the Foundr Ecomm-AI Summit that took place October 23 - 25, 2023.  Who do you want to see next on the podcast? Comment and let us know! And don't forget to leave us a 5-star review if you loved this episode. Wait, there's more… If you enjoy the Foundr podcast, check out our free trainings. Get exclusive, actionable advice from some of the world's best entrepreneurs.  Speak with our friendly course experts to get clarity on the next steps for your idea, business or career. You will get tailored insights from results achieved by our proven practitioners as well as thousands of students. Book a call now...  For more Foundr content, follow us on your favorite platform:  Foundr.com Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Magazine

1 Des 202339min

Brittany Stewart returns to the podcast to share how she’s building one of the fastest-growing ecommerce businesses in the United States using a stalwart ambassador program. Stewart co-founded BURST Oral Care, which sells double-digit millions on Amazon, has 30,000 ambassadors, and 800,000 members to their subscription program. Burst is currently stocked in 2,000 Walmarts and is launching in CVS this year. Listen to Nathan and Brittany discuss: How Brittany teamed up with her co-founder Hamish  Why their ambassador program is an R&D and acquisition channel  Launching their business at a dental convention  The ins and outs of building an authentic ambassador program How do you define the success of an ambassador  The difference between brand and financial results  Low-cost tools to get an ambassador program up and running Why AI is turning A players into A+ players What AI tools BURST is using And much more ambassador advice…  *This interview was part of the Foundr Ecomm-AI Summit that took place October 23 - 25, 2023. Who do you want to see next on the podcast? Comment and let us know! And don't forget to leave us a 5-star review if you loved this episode. Wait, there's more… If you enjoy the Foundr podcast, check out our free trainings. Get exclusive, actionable advice from some of the world's best entrepreneurs.  Speak with our friendly course experts to get clarity on the next steps for your idea, business or career. You will get tailored insights from results achieved by our proven practitioners as well as thousands of students. Book a call now...  For more Foundr content, follow us on your favorite platform:  Foundr.com Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Magazine

24 Nov 202337min

Michael Fenech is ready to give back. After decades of building ecommerce businesses and getting mentorship from top executives, he’s passing on his wisdom to people like you. Fenech is an Australian entrepreneur, writer, startup advisor, and ecommerce expert. Fenech is the co-founder of SKUdrop, and VoiceByte, and an official member of the Fast Company executive board and Entrepreneur.com, where he writes about ecommerce and tech startups and shares his insights and experience for entrepreneurial success. Listen to Nathan and Michael discuss:  How SKUdrop helps founders save on supply chain costs  Improving bullet points and product descriptions with AI Using ChatGPT to turn negative reviews into positive reviews  Using the Merlin extension to create formulas for efficient spreadsheets Generative AI tools to edit, improve, and describe product images  Why you need to be inquisitive as an entrepreneur Using AI to start an ecomm business from scratch What AI will not replace in business The danger of launching a product based on taste  Why ecomm is like going through the gates of hell  And much more ecomm advice… *This interview was part of the Foundr Ecomm-AI Summit that took place October 23 - 25, 2023. Who do you want to see next on the podcast? Comment and let us know! And don't forget to leave us a 5-star review if you loved this episode. Wait, there's more… If you enjoy the Foundr podcast, check out our free trainings. Get exclusive, actionable advice from some of the world's best entrepreneurs.  Speak with our friendly course experts to get clarity on the next steps for your idea, business or career. You will get tailored insights from results achieved by our proven practitioners as well as thousands of students. Book a call now...  For more Foundr content, follow us on your favorite platform:  Foundr.com Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Magazine

17 Nov 202334min

Sourcing specialist Kian Golzari returns to the podcast to share how to use AI tools when sourcing and developing products. Golzari has sourced over 3,000 products, and his global clients include the NBA, Olympics, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Tesco, Argos, and Aldi. He’s also an instructor on our foundr+ platform, teaching courses on product sourcing and product development.  Listen to Nathan and Kian discuss: The difference between innovating and imitating products  Sourcing products for the NBA, Steph Curry, and Neymar Jr.  How to use AI to scrape and summarize product reviews and pain points The necessary human element of product sourcing How to verify the top factories on Alibaba How not to get overwhelmed with the amount of AI tools Why relationships will always matter When to use and not use chatbots Why the Canton Fair is Disneyland for Kian And much more product sourcing advice... *This interview was part of the Foundr Ecomm-AI Summit that took place October 23 - 25, 2023.  Who do you want to see next on the podcast? Comment and let us know! And don't forget to leave us a 5-star review if you loved this episode. Wait, there's more… If you enjoy the Foundr podcast, check out our free trainings. Get exclusive, actionable advice from some of the world's best entrepreneurs.  Speak with our friendly course experts to get clarity on the next steps for your idea, business or career. You will get tailored insights from results achieved by our proven practitioners as well as thousands of students. Book a call now...  For more Foundr content, follow us on your favorite platform:  Foundr.com Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Magazine

10 Nov 202338min