Operators

“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. 
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“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. 
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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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“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. 
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What separates a real supplement company from just a good idea? 
Dr. Todd A. Born (Chief Science Officer, 4POTENTIA) pulls back the curtain on how to enter the supplement industry, showing the Winks team what product development, private label, contract manufacturers, and regulatory compliance (FDA) look like in practice. 
More than a deep dive into custom formulation, hosts Sean Frank, Matt Bertulli, Mike Beckham, and Curtis Christopherson show you how to apply good manufacturing practices to everything from marketing strategies in health and wellness to minimum order quantities (MOQs) to protect profit margin.
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