Customer Growth Sessions

S3 EP19: Trade Ins and Things That Don’t Scale with Meng Wang from Our Little Treasures

In this episode of Customer Growth Sessions, Pat Ahern speaks with Meng Wang, founder of Our Little Treasures [https://ourlittletreasures.com/], about her innovative approach to sustainable baby clothing and building a purpose-driven brand. Meng shares how the brand’s Trade-Up program encourages sustainability by giving parents a way to exchange outgrown baby clothes while reducing waste. She also discusses the logistics behind running the program, the challenges of scaling customer-focused initiatives, and why investing in “non-scalable” activities can create long-term value for both brands and customers. Want to know more about Our Little Treasures? To learn more about Our Little Treasures [https://ourlittletreasures.com/] and follow the brand’s latest updates, visit the official website, follow the brand on Instagram [https://instagram.com/ourlittletreasuresinc], and check out their TikTok [https://tiktok.com/@ourlittletreasuresinc]. Learn more about the Trade-Up program [https://ourlittletreasures.com/trade-up].   Enjoyed the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to be the first to hear about future episodes. Interested in seeing how Intergrowth could help you grow your business? Head over to intergrowth.com/cgs [https://intergrowth.com/cgs] to book a complimentary strategy session with our team.

Episode 100: Thinking Like a Lawyer for Ecommerce Success with Steffi Schmidt from Fig for Kids

In this episode of Customer Growth Sessions, Pat Ahern speaks with Stefanie “Steffi” Schmidt, founder of Fig for Kids, about her journey from corporate lawyer to e-commerce entrepreneur. Steffi shares how her mother’s cancer diagnosis led her family to rethink everyday products and ultimately inspired her to launch Fig for Kids, a children’s clothing brand focused on safer, thoughtfully made apparel. She also offers practical legal advice for founders, including tips on trademarks, contracts, and protecting your brand in the early stages of building a business. Want to know more about Fig for Kids? To learn more about Fig for Kids and follow the brand’s latest updates, visit the official Fig for Kids website [https://figforkids.com/] and follow the brand on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/figforkids/]. Connect with Steffi on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanieschmidt/]. Resources Steffi recommends for additional legal guidance: Search Y Combinator [https://www.ycombinator.com/] for a wide range of free templates. Visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) [https://www.uspto.gov/]. Learn more about TaxCloud [https://taxcloud.com/].   Enjoyed the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to be the first to hear about future episodes. Interested in seeing how Intergrowth could help you grow your business? Head over to intergrowth.com/cgs [https://intergrowth.com/cgs] to book a complimentary strategy session with our team.

S3 EP17: SEO Shorts - AEO Means Doing SEO Better

What if landing features in top-tier publications didn’t require a pricey PR agency? Pat Ahern reveals a smarter, more scalable approach to digital PR using expert commentary. Instead of chasing relationships, brands can earn consistent media coverage by identifying the citation sources that LLMs regularly pull from, such as industry publications and third-party review sites. By getting cited in these reputable outlets, you influence both LLM recommendations and traditional search engine rankings. Pat also shares realistic expectations around using tools like SparkToro to identify where your target demographic is most active, allowing you to prioritize the right communities—like Reddit or LinkedIn—for maximum impact. Resources Mentioned * Read the Original Article: AEO: Doing SEO Better [https://intergrowth.com/aeo-doing-seo-better/] * Deep Dive on Positioning: Positioning in the AI Era [https://intergrowth.com/positioning/] * Audience Research Tool: SparkToro [https://sparktoro.com/] Connect with Pat Ahern * LinkedIn: pahern [https://www.linkedin.com/in/pahern/] * Instagram: @pahern1 [https://www.instagram.com/pahern1/] Enjoyed the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to be the first to hear about future episodes. Interested in seeing how Intergrowth could help you grow your business? Head over to https://intergrowth.com/cgs [https://intergrowth.com/cgs] to book a complimentary strategy session with our team.

S3 EP16: Maximizing AI Search Visibility with James Kirkby from Kirkby Consulting

In this episode of Customer Growth Sessions, Pat Ahern sits down with James Kirkby from Kirkby Consulting to discuss the shift from Google and Amazon searches to conversational queries in LLMs like ChatGPT and Gemini. James explains why establishing authority in these models now acts as a critical hedge against changing consumer behavior.   James breaks down the essential "levers" for LLM optimization, including the use of structured data (schema markup) to make sites machine-readable and the importance of third-party reviews for building AI trust. He also explains why long-form informational content is necessary to capture detailed follow-up questions from AI.   Want to dive deeper? Check out Kirkby Consulting [https://kirkbyconsulting.com/] to explore their work or run a complimentary AI visibility audit [https://ai.kirkbyconsulting.com/]on your site. You can also connect with James Kirkby on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-kirkby/] for daily insights on the future of Shopify and AI search. Use their recommended tool, validator.schema.org [https://validator.schema.org/], Enjoyed the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to be the first to hear about future episodes. Interested in seeing how Intergrowth could help you grow your business? Head over to https://intergrowth.com/cgs [https://intergrowth.com/cgs] to book a complimentary strategy session with our team.

S3 EP15: Lessons from Building Multiple Million-Dollar Pet Food Brands with Jeremy Petersen from identity Pet Nutrition

He built an $8.5M company in two years—then lost everything. Now he’s rebuilding from zero, on his own terms. In this episode of Customer Growth Sessions, Pat Ahern sits down with Jeremy Petersen from Identity Pet Nutrition to discuss what it really takes to rebuild a company after failure—and why he’s choosing to do it without investors, big salaries, or shortcuts. Jeremy shares the story behind his first company, Wild Calling, which scaled rapidly before financial struggles and internal decisions led to his departure and the company’s bankruptcy. He walks through the lessons learned from that experience and how they directly shaped the foundation of Identity Pet Nutrition. Throughout the conversation, Jeremy breaks down his contrarian approach to building a modern CPG brand—from hiring for grit over experience, to using digital marketing instead of a traditional sales force, to maintaining strict cost control in an inventory-heavy business. He also offers a candid perspective on private equity, explaining why many founders regret selling and how independent operators can compete without giving up ownership.   Want to dive deeper? Check out Identity Pet Nutrition [https://www.identitypet.com/] and explore their products and mission. You can also connect with Jeremy on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerjpete/] or read more of his thoughts on Substack [https://substack.com/@jerjpeter].   Enjoyed the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to be the first to hear about future episodes. Interested in seeing how Intergrowth could help you grow your business? Head over to https://intergrowth.com/cgs [https://intergrowth.com/cgs] to book a complimentary strategy session with our team.