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

More from Operators

1. 

   E20 · 30 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 22 min

   Inside the Affiliate Marketing Strategy Behind BK Beauty’s Growth

   “We ended up selling twenty-two thousand units that day.” How did two founders build a multi-million-dollar brush brand without outside investors? Lisa Jauregui and Paul Jauregui, Co-Founders of BK Beauty, join Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case and Lomi) and Katy Mimiari (CEO, Caden Lane) to break down the affiliate marketing strategy that took a makeup brush brand from a living room operation to millions in sales. No outside funding. No paid influencer deals. Lisa built a beauty audience on YouTube for five years before BK Beauty launched. A brand focused entirely on brushes for years before…

2. 

   E176 · 29 Jul 2026 · 48 min

   How to Build a $100M Brand: 8 Rules from Leaders Who Did

   “The scale is not going to fix your problems.” What separates a hundred million dollar ecommerce brand from the rest? Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi), Jason Panzer (President, HexClad), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) break down the eight rules to build a hundred million dollar ecommerce brand in 2026. These are not theories: each host has built a brand at this exact scale. Mike breaks down why Trevi chased profitable unit economics for a year before scaling. Sean calls reorder revenue the ultimate cheat code, and explains why he built Ridge around…

3. 

   E175 · 22 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 11 min

   Why Founders Have to Become Their Own Best Marketer

   Help an Operator Out (HAOO) is a series where real business owners join the podcast with live questions. In this episode, Elaine Tran (Founder & CEO, Dippin’ Daisy’s) brings the hardest problem in owning a factory: keeping the lines running without drowning in inventory. The conversation covers owning a factory versus buying from suppliers, managing excess off-season capacity, and launching a new category without it flopping. Sean makes the case that contract manufacturing for other brands can keep the lines running without adding to her own glut. And everyone lands on the same fix nobody’s…

4. 

   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…

5. 

   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,…

6. 

   E18 · 2 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 37 min

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

   “You are not trying if you’re not getting sued.” How did IQBAR go from a $90k Kickstarter to a nine-figure retail, DTC, and Amazon giant? Will Nitze (Founder & CEO) and Jessica Greenwood (CMO) join Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi) and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern). This is the product launch strategy and CPG marketing playbook they wish existed when they started. Will and Jessica detail their early tactics and walk through every funding round: from $625K at a $4M valuation to $5.5M at $50M. They doubled revenue every year for eight years, kept the team at 15 people, and never…

7. 

   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…

8. 

   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…

9. 

   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…

10. 

    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…

Every episode of Operators →