Honest Ecommerce

Hannah Ruhamah Crum is the Founder of Kombucha Kamp, the leading education platform and Ecommerce brand for homebrewed kombucha. She’s also the co-author of The Big Book of Kombucha and the cofounder and former president of Kombucha Brewers International, where she’s helped shape industry standards for fermentation and transparency. Before launching Kombucha Kamp, Hannah was a language teacher and aspiring actress who stumbled into kombucha at a raw food restaurant in San Francisco. A single sip turned into a full-blown obsession, leading her to teach local brewing classes out of her apartment, blog about the gut microbiome, and ship SCOBYs from her kitchen table before launching a full Ecommerce operation. Hannah shares how she followed inbound demand signals to grow from DIY educator to industry leader, why homemade kombucha is different from store-bought, and how she scaled without outside capital. She also unpacks how COVID reshaped her business overnight, why she walked away from a quarter-million-dollar facility, and what she's learned about managing people without formal training. Whether she’s explaining what it means to be a “bacteria farmer” or how her belief in gut health intersects with spiritual wellness, Hannah offers a candid look at what it takes to build a mission-driven CPG brand from scratch. In This Conversation We Discuss: * [00:40] Intro * [01:15] Selling starter kits not just products * [02:34] Discovering a product by total accident * [04:56] Blogging to fix misinformation online * [06:16] Podcasting early to build brand authority * [09:05] Reclaiming gut health through real food * [10:44] Episode Sponsors: Electric Eye, Heatmap, Zamp * [14:42] Protecting tradition through policy advocacy * [18:51] Rebuilding ops with a lighter footprint * [21:30] Outsourcing production for better margins * [23:02] Building loyalty with rewards that convert Resources: * Subscribe [https://www.youtube.com/c/HonestEcommerce?sub_confirmation=1] to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube * Providing free information and education about Kombucha kombuchakamp.com [https://www.kombuchakamp.com/?srsltid=AfmBOopbH5O8uZWtIxUkpD211oz4dIMKYnfQ2zmmmMlKcfVNdfJKr65W] * Follow Hannah Ruhamah Crum linkedin.com/in/hannahcrumla [https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahcrumla] * Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect [https://electriceye.io/connect] * Clear, real-time data built for ecommerce optimization heatmap.com/honest [https://www.heatmap.com/honest] * Fully managed sales tax solution for Ecommerce brands zamp.com/honest [https://zamp.com/honest] If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts [http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1447700156]. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Leah Garcia is the Founder & CEO of NULASTIN®, the first beauty brand to commercialize elastin-based haircare. With a background as a professional athlete and award-winning media personality, Leah brings a performance mindset to DTC brand building, combining storytelling, product innovation, and operational grit. Before launching NULASTIN, Leah built a successful career in broadcast journalism and sports media, covering professional bull riding for CBS and competing internationally in mountain biking. That same tenacity shows up in how she scaled NULASTIN to $17.5M in revenue before hiring her first employee, bootstrapping the brand through direct response marketing, Indiegogo campaigns, and scrappy user-generated content. Leah shares why she shifted from a crowded skincare category to focus on brows and lashes, how “less polished” creative outperformed high-production assets, and why authenticity still drives her best-performing ads. She also breaks down her product development process, the metrics she tracks most closely, and how she’s approaching influencer and affiliate marketing now that the brand has scaled. Whether she’s explaining why awkward websites sometimes convert better or why prestige branding can alienate loyal buyers, Leah offers a no-BS look at building a beauty brand that lasts without relying on glossy tactics or VC backing. In This Conversation We Discuss: * [00:43] Intro * [01:20] Launching niche beauty products with clear focus * [02:00] Identifying a personal need in the market * [03:20] Investing early in a science-backed idea * [04:30] Taking control after early business loss * [05:36] Accepting risk when investing your own money * [06:53] Bootstrapping with decks, debt, and side hustles * [09:22] Trusting instinct over validation frameworks * [10:38] Learning from regulatory arrogance * [12:55] Leveraging infomercial skills for DTC * [14:46] Episode Sponsors: Electric Eye, Heatmap & Zamp * [18:43] Focusing early on user generated content * [20:42] Understanding the tradeoffs of premium branding * [22:30] Selling before customers hit the website * [23:20] Learning from infomercial-driven growth * [27:29] Blending legacy service with modern tech Resources: * Subscribe [https://www.youtube.com/c/HonestEcommerce?sub_confirmation=1] to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube * Elastin-based hair and skincare nulastin.com/ [https://nulastin.com/?srsltid=AfmBOorDI9Zqi9oErDNWAi3aSvEKlpGsk8_SJ6_Y-s3wfFvAqm9M97-c] * Follow Leah Garcia linkedin.com/in/leah-garcia-592988 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-garcia-592988] * Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect [https://electriceye.io/connect] * Clear, real-time data built for ecommerce optimization heatmap.com/honest [https://www.heatmap.com/honest] * Fully managed sales tax solution for Ecommerce brands zamp.com/honest [https://zamp.com/honest] If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts [http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1447700156]. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Aaron Zagha is the Chief Marketing Officer at Newton Baby, the largest direct-to-consumer brand in the baby sleep category. With a background in investment banking at Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan, Aaron brings a financial operator’s lens to performance marketing, attribution modeling, and team leadership. Before joining Newton, Aaron led international Ecommerce for Teleflora, managing growth across global markets and navigating the complexity of seasonal retail cycles and cross-border logistics. Today, he applies that same analytical rigor to the world of baby and juvenile goods where trust, conversion, and retention all hinge on deeply personalized journeys. Aaron shares how finance-trained marketers bring discipline to growth forecasting, why he encourages his team to challenge attribution models, and how incrementality testing has become central to his media mix. He also unpacks the pitfalls of over-indexing on Meta, why Pinterest deserves more spend, and how to onboard new marketing hires with the right mental models from day one. Whether he's explaining why some site visitors can’t be influenced or why channel diversification is more urgent than ever, Aaron delivers a clear-eyed, tactical view into what’s working in DTC marketing today. In This Conversation We Discuss: * [00:40] Intro * [01:13] Finding opportunity through internal mobility * [02:34] Building with seasoned tech entrepreneurs * [03:09] Keeping connections that open future doors * [03:53] Auditing channel mix to unlock growth * [04:50] Applying stats to improve ad performance * [05:54] Selling off-site and skewing test results * [08:00] Optimizing upstream metrics with caution * [09:00] Driving sales with offer and positioning * [10:19] Episode Sponsors: Electric Eye & Zamp * [12:44] Relying on incrementality to guide spend * [14:20] Backing bold ideas with leadership support * [15:31] Humanizing luxury to boost relatability * [17:01] Turning off losers without ending the test * [20:14] Feeding AI tools to stay effective * [21:11] Measuring performance with GeoLift tests Resources: * Subscribe [https://www.youtube.com/c/HonestEcommerce?sub_confirmation=1] to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube * #1 rated baby crib mattress newtonbaby.com/ * Follow Aaron Zagha linkedin.com/in/aaronzagha [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronzagha] * Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect [https://electriceye.io/connect] * Fully managed sales tax solution for Ecommerce brands zamp.com/honest [https://zamp.com/honest] If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts [http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1447700156]. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Donata Stroink-Skillrud is an attorney licensed in Illinois, a Certified Information Privacy Professional, and President of Termageddon, a SaaS platform transforming how eCommerce businesses handle legal compliance. Built at the intersection of privacy law expertise and technology, Termageddon helps online businesses stay compliant with ever-changing privacy regulations, without needing a legal team. After years of working directly with contract law, consumer protection, and international privacy regulations, Donata saw firsthand how fragmented, outdated, and risky privacy compliance had become for Ecommerce websites. What started as manual legal work soon evolved into an automated solution that identifies which privacy laws apply to a business and generates up-to-date, accurate website policies in minutes—not weeks. Donata brings a legal insider’s perspective to the realities of online selling, breaking down complex regulations into practical steps for founders. From helping brands avoid FTC fines on subscription renewals, to clarifying why state privacy laws apply to your store, Donata explains the hidden legal pitfalls that quietly erode Ecommerce growth and how to protect against them. Whether sharing how generic privacy templates leave stores exposed, why recurring billing pages are the newest legal battleground, or how to future-proof your policies against incoming U.S. state laws, Donata delivers a tactical, no-nonsense playbook for reducing legal risk and building customer trust. In This Conversation We Discuss:  * [00:42] Intro * [01:04] Breaking down contract laws for entrepreneurs * [02:02] Explaining why Shopify won’t cover your compliance * [03:57] Breaking down real costs of ignoring privacy laws * [06:53] Clarifying why location won’t shield your store * [08:10] Highlighting false refund claims that trigger fines * [11:54] Identifying which privacy laws apply to you * [13:36] Turning repetitive legal work into automation * [14:55] Updating policies before laws take effect * [16:29] Receiving automatic updates without extra effort * [17:15] Saving weeks of legal work with automation * [18:12] Staying compliant as privacy laws keep changing Resources: * Subscribe [https://www.youtube.com/c/HonestEcommerce?sub_confirmation=1] to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube * Protects business from fines and lawsuits termageddon.com/ [https://termageddon.com/] * Follow Donata Stroink-Skillrud linkedin.com/in/donata-stroink-skillrud [https://www.linkedin.com/in/donata-stroink-skillrud] If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts [http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1447700156]. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Jess Berman is the Chief Brand Officer and co-owner of BodyBio, a family-owned supplement brand redefining cellular health through premium, science-backed formulations. Built at the intersection of clinical credibility and modern digital commerce, BodyBio is helping bridge the gap between practitioner-trusted products and direct-to-consumer wellness, making elite cellular health accessible to more people than ever before. After spending years deeply connected to BodyBio’s practitioner roots, Jess stepped into a leadership role during a pivotal shift: moving the business from B2B-only to a thriving DTC brand. What began as a family legacy focused on scientific excellence evolved into a broader mission of education, access, and brand storytelling, bringing cellular health out of the doctor’s office and into everyday routines. Though she didn’t come from a traditional DTC background, Jess brings strategic clarity to every stage of growth, navigating channel tradeoffs, building dual B2B and DTC ecosystems, and balancing hyper-targeted paid media with high-trust organic growth. Whether discussing how BodyBio fixed its reliance on branded traffic, why affiliate funnels outperformed typical influencer playbooks, or how brand guidelines helped unify internal teams and external agencies, Jess offers a transparent and tactical perspective on scaling a modern wellness brand without sacrificing trust. In This Conversation We Discuss: * [00:43] Intro * [01:52] Rebuilding websites to unlock conversions * [03:16] Growing brand awareness through omnichannel * [04:26] Bootstrapping marketing with a two-person team * [05:40] Managing fulfillment while scaling DTC * [07:18] Finding new customers through authority partners * [09:31] Testing creative angles to convert cold traffic * [11:34] Leading growth through transparency and story * [12:21] Episode Sponsors: Electric Eye, Reach & Zamp * [15:52] Defining brand guidelines before scaling online * [17:52] Testing incrementality before scaling Amazon * [18:48] Skipping short-term wins for long-term brand health * [20:48] Preparing for shoppable AI disrupting search Resources: * Subscribe [https://www.youtube.com/c/HonestEcommerce?sub_confirmation=1] to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube * Supplements Made From Science https://bodybio.com/ [https://bodybio.com/] * Follow Jess Berman https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesshkane [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesshkane] * Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect [https://electriceye.io/connect] * Level up your global sales withreach.com/honest [https://withreach.com/honest]   * Fully managed sales tax solution for Ecommerce brands zamp.com/honest [https://zamp.com/honest] If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts [http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1447700156]. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!