High Stakes Growth

Daniel Brady: The Neuroscientist Building AI Segmentation for DTC Brands

Daniel Brady (DB) is the co-founder and co-CEO of Orita, an AI segmentation platform that helps DTC brands target their maximally addressable audience across email, SMS, and direct mail.  Expect to hear about:  – From Neuro to AI: Why DB left a career in neurobiology after graduating Harvard after realizing he enjoyed the faster pace of startup work.  – Consulting to Product: How DB ran Orita as an ecom consulting shop for years to find the AI-related services worth productizing.  – No Shortcut at Scale: Why brands with multi-million-profile CRM lists can't replace real human CRM expertise with plug-and-play LLMs.  – Evaluating AI Vendors: DB suggests don't focus on AI to start. Focus on the most painful problem you have to solve anyway, then ask if AI can help.  – Where AI Hits Hardest Next: Why DB sees inventory, demand planning, and fraud prevention as Ecom's biggest near-term AI opportunities.  Find DB on:  LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmbrady01/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmbrady01/]

Will Nitze: Building IQBAR to $125M+ in Sales With a 15-Person Team

Will Nitze is the founder and CEO of IQBAR, a functional health CPG brand built around protein bars, electrolyte mixes, mushroom coffee, and more. Expect to hear about: – Harvard Connections: Why Will scraped Harvard's red book to send thousands of alumni his first fundraising emails. – Value Over Premium: Why Will optimizes for units sold over revenue, and how value pricing unlocked Walmart, Costco, and Sam's Club. – The Hub and Spoke Model: How a flat 15-person team and agency partnerships scale revenue without scaling the team. – Marriage and Business: What it takes to run IQBAR alongside his wife Jessica, who serves as CMO. – Built to Sell: Why hitting profitability mattered more than any milestone, and how exiting brands now must have $100M+ in sales. Find Will on: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-nitze/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-nitze/]

Marnie Rabinovitch: Building Thigh Society from Side Hustle to 3M Pairs Sold

Marnie Rabinovitch is the founder and CEO of Thigh Society, a Toronto-based brand making slip shorts that prevent thigh chafing for women. Expect to hear about: – The Baby Powder Moment: How a hot Toronto day in 2008 convinced Marnie to invent her own slip short solution. – Quitting at 40: Why she applied for backup corporate jobs, set a $1M sales goal, and only went all-in with a real safety net. – One Hero Product: Why she resisted pressure to expand into camisoles and bralettes and stayed in the slip-short lane. – Lean and Remote: How she built a team of FTEs and freelancers and the agency lessons that shaped her hiring playbook. – Health Is Wealth: Marnie's guiding principle for 17 years: make the business work for you, not the other way around. Find Marnie on: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/marnieconsky/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marnieconsky/]

Shawn LaRowe: Modernizing Pelican While Protecting the Values That Built It

Shawn LaRowe is the Chief Product and Marketing Officer at Pelican, the 50-year-old brand known for its ultra-durable protective cases. Previously, he spent 17 years at Nike and has also held executive roles at Dakine, KUIU, and Filson.  Expect to hear about:  – 74 Product Launches in 2025: How Pelican is expanding past its protective case core into categories like travel while protecting the values that built the brand. – Broadening the Base: Why Pelican's professional-grade reputation signals quality but can feel intimidating, and how they're making the brand accessible to a wider audience. – Listening Becomes Product: How years of requests for in-case lighting turned into ModLight, a launch that's blowing up on social. – Modernizing the Stack: The Shopify and Klaviyo migration that unlocked a 360 consumer view and new retention possibilities. – Product Plus Marketing: What marketers can learn from product managers, and how living in both worlds gave Shawn an edge in his career. Find Shawn on: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnlarowe/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnlarowe/]

Melissa Mash: Building a Global Bag Brand and How They Achieved 50% Organic Site Traffic

Melissa Mash is the co-founder and CEO of Dagne Dover, a New York-based performance bag brand creating functional bags for work, travel, parenting, and everything in between. Expect to hear about: – A 14-Year Partnership: How three co-founders built a lasting business together by putting their egos to the side and showing up as their full selves. – Product Over Paid: Why Melissa bet on making higher quality bags instead of bigger ad budgets, driving 50% organic site traffic through word of mouth. – Tariffs as a Reset: How tariffs forced price increases, supply chain renegotiations, and a 50% cut in ad spend (without losing demand). – Women's Sports Bet: Why Dagne Dover secured sponsorships with LOVB Volleyball and the US women's national volleyball team. – Going Global: How Melissa's time at Coach taught her to never rush international expansion, and their plan to become a global brand. Find Melissa on: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissashinmash/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissashinmash/]