100% Growth for 8 Years: IQBAR’s Will Nitze & Jess Greenwood

More from Operators

1. 

   E19 · 16 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 11 min

   $450M, 6 Brands & 4 Countries: Why Sunil Agrawal Refuses to Stop

   “I feel this is bigger than dot com.” How does a $450 million publicly traded jewelry brand build a live shopping empire that predates TikTok by nearly two decades? Sunil Agrawal (Founder, ShopLC & VGL Group) sits down with Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case and Lomi) and Katy Mimari (CEO, Caden Lane) to pull back the curtain on 46 years of building one of the most vertically integrated businesses in the world. He started as a gemstone lapidary and grew six retail brands without ever once considering an exit. Sunil runs a live shopping operation most DTC operators have never seen. He launches 100…

2. 

   E174 · 15 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 17 min

   Roman Khan: The Ecommerce Logistics Play Worth $10 Billion

   “If someone can do the same revenue in 12 hours, basically out of nowhere, it does lower the value of brands.” What does the collapse of traditional brand equity mean for founders still building toward an exit? Roman Khan (Co-Founder & President, Peak21) joins Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge) and Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case and Lomi) to make one uncomfortable argument: the playbook for building and buying ecommerce brands is broken, and most founders haven’t figured that out yet. After three years acquiring DTC businesses, Roman stopped. The reason cuts to the heart of where dropshipping, ecommerce…

3. 

   E173 · 8 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 14 min

   Help an Operator Out: 8-Figure Dog Brand That Needs a New Growth

   "You will not be happier at nine figures. I’ll just tell you that right now." What does an operator do after building an 8-figure brand entirely on one dog breed? Help an Operator Out (HAOO) is a new series where real business owners join the podcast with live questions. In this episode, Garrett Yamasaki (Founder & CEO, We Love Doodles) brings his crossroads: a bootstrapped, Amazon-heavy pet brand that crossed eight figures and needs to decide whether to go deeper in its niche or wider into new dog breeds. The answer is less obvious than it sounds. The conversation covers capital allocation,…

4. 

   E172 · 1 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 16 min

   Opening Retail Stores vs. Going Wholesale: What the Numbers Say

   Should you open your own stores, or let the big retailers do the heavy lifting? Curtis Matsko (CEO, Portland Leather Goods), Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) go head to head on one of the biggest channel decisions a consumer brand will face. Curtis went from a spite-signed lease to 16 owned stores, while Mike turned a $9 million Sam’s Club bet into 10,000 wholesale doors. This episode breaks down these two different paths and what each model actually costs you in competency, capital, and control, why the wrong channel for your product category is…

5. 

   S2 · E25 · 8 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 29 minNew

   Away’s CEO & New DTC Playbook: Amazon, TikTok Shop, and 300% Over Plan

   “It’s about closing the imagination gap, not what it can do.” Jessica Schinazi (CEO, Away) joins Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case & Lomi) and Curtis Matsko (CEO, Portland Leather Goods) to break down how she took the reins of a decade-old DTC pioneer and opened it to new channels in 18 months. Away builds luggage to last 7 to 10 years, which Jessica calls a horrible business model. She chases new buyers: Up to 9% of her Amazon category and a $400 suitcase sold out on TikTok Shop. Now she has to bring each customer home before a day-one startup steals them. Powered by Podqi…

6. 

   E186 · 7 Oct 2026 · 1 hr

   He Grew 4X as a Solo Founder. Now TJ Bongiorno (Outgoing Co) Has to Learn to Say No!

   “You can have anything you want, but you can’t have it all at once.” Should you raise money when your only problem is working capital? Help an Operator Out (HAOO) is a series where real business owners join the podcast with live questions. In this episode, TJ Bongiorno (Founder, The Outgoing Co) brings two questions: when to raise capital and how to price the round. As a solo founder, he 4X’d the business to nearly $4M in a year. Nearly 90% of TJ’s revenue comes from powder, yet his cans perform 100X better on TikTok Shop. The hosts push him to choose which product leads his pitch. Matt…

7. 

   S3 · E7 · 5 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 1 min

   Every AI Tool We’re Using & 4 Pillars to Guide You: Operators Build (E7)

   “They’re the most capable ever, but not trained on your business.” What pillars should every AI-first brand build, and which one comes first? Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case & Lomi) and Cody Plofker (Advisor & fmr. CEO, Jones Road Beauty) open up the playbook behind Winks, a brand where AI does the grunt work and humans make the calls. Piece by piece, they break down the four components that make that split work. 1. Company brain: Context, memory, skills 2. Operating system (OS): Human interface 3. Software and tools: Existing tech, SaaS 4. Agents: Researcher, writer, analyst, etc. The era…

8. 

   E185 · 30 Sep 2026 · 54 min

   How to Create Buying Moments: Give People a Reason to Buy All Year

   “You’re never gonna make a big impact on Black Friday.” Should you worry if frequent promotions will hurt your brand equity? Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case and Lomi), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) break down how Ridge manufactures demand instead of waiting for it. A slow summer becomes an 8-figure-plus sales season, anchored by a Lamborghini sweepstakes with Tony Hawk. Sean walks through how the campaign evolved from a $100K MVP into a five year, celebrity backed giveaway with a grand prize built in. He explains why a 45-day window beats trying to own a single…

9. 

   28 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 23 min

   Ecommerce Subscription Playbook & Benchmarks: Operators Build (E6)

   “You almost feel stupid buying the product as a one-time customer.” Why do some subscription brands retain customers and stack LTV while others lose them? Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela & Lomi) and Cody Plofker (Advisor & fmr. CEO, Jones Road) sit down with Aidan Thibodeaux (CEO, Skio) and Bernard Meyer (AI Operations Manager, Omnisend) to ask the questions every subscription brand needs answered. Aidan argues that the offer matters more than anything else. He pushes quarterly plans and free gifts over discounts. Discounts train customers to wait for deals. He sets targets of 65% or higher for…

10. 

    24 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 23 min

    How First Day’s Founder Alice Li Built a 9-Figure Kids Vitamins Brand From One SKU

    How did First Day raise $1M and then build a 9-figure brand? Alice Li (Founder & CEO, First Day) joins Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi) and Jason Panzer (President, HexClad) to unpack how she has sold over half a billion gummies and built a family wellness empire around kids’ vitamins. After years of turning down retailers, First Day launched nationwide and became the number one kids vitamin in the country. Powered By Podqi https://9ops.co/podqi AppLovin https://www.9operators.com/paid-growth https://applovin.com/9operators Shoplift https://shoplift.ai/operators Shiphero…

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