The DTC Revenue Rocket

Ep. 8 - The AI Secret Nobody's Talking About: Using Your Own Customers to Sell for You

Kendal McMulen, Director of E-Commerce at Global Healing, joins co-hosts Zak and Sam Moorhead (Klaviyo's Director of Customer Growth) for one of the most tactical and honest episodes yet. Kendal built her entire marketing skillset from scratch on a $50/day budget — and now runs one of the most sophisticated AI-driven marketing engines in supplements. She breaks down exactly how her team uses AI across social, dev, and retention (including a tactic where they indexed 28 years of customer reviews to rewrite their product pages using the actual voice of their customers), how to get resistant leadership to buy into AI adoption, and the leadership philosophy — alignment vs. agreement, collaboration vs. communication — that keeps a small team punching well above its weight. Plus: why Zak thinks execution-only agencies have months, not years, before they need to reinvent themselves — and Kendal's take on why AI is there to make you more human, not replace you. Essential listening for DTC operators, retention marketers, and anyone building or leading a high-performance team.

Ep. 7 - The Email Truth No One Wants to Hear: Why Sending Less Makes You More Money

Aaron Schwartz — Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Orita, former President of Loop Returns, and co-founder of Passport Shipping — joins Zak to challenge everything you think you know about email marketing. Most brands are so focused on converting attention that they've completely forgotten how to capture it. The result is over-emailed lists, tanking deliverability, and customers who've quietly tuned you out. Aaron breaks down why rules-based segmentation is failing brands at scale, how Gmail's ML engineers are working against every sender by default, and why Orita's AI-driven approach to stack-ranking your list daily is the thing retention marketers didn't know they needed. They also get into the AI hype — what's real, what's dangerous, and why getting a great first draft fast might actually be limiting your best ideas. Plus: what the best DTC operators have in common, where direct mail and connected TV are headed, and what's next for Orita. A must-listen for e-commerce brands, retention marketers, and anyone building or working in the Klaviyo ecosystem.

Ep. 6: From Mascot to MarTech: Building a Modern DTC Retention Machine

This episode dives deep into retention marketing with Zach Scheimer, Head of MarTech at Criquet Shirts, and one of the sharpest operators in the Klaviyo ecosystem. From advanced segmentation and personalization to omnichannel lifecycle strategy, Zach shares how to drive more revenue while sending less. If you want to turn retention into a true growth engine, this is your playbook.

Ep. 5: AI, Retention & The Future of Ecommerce with Sam Moorhead from Klaviyo

Zak sits down with Sam Moorhead, Director of Customer Growth at Klaviyo, to break down how AI is rapidly transforming ecommerce marketing, retention, and customer experience. From AI-powered flows and customer agents to lifecycle strategy and micro influencers, this episode is packed with actionable insights brands can implement today. If you want to understand where ecommerce is heading — and how winning brands are staying ahead — this is a conversation you don’t want to miss.

Ep. 4 - Inside a CMO’s Playbook: Scaling DTC Brands from $5M to $50M+

This episode is a DTC growth masterclass with Louis Monoudis, CMO of Artware, breaking down the frameworks behind brands that actually scale. From the “3 C’s” (Cash, Customers, Creative) to emotional storytelling, AI, and team building, Louis shares what separates brands stuck at $10M from those that break through. If you’re a founder, operator, or agency, this is your playbook for smarter growth.