Office Hours by DTC School

Alex Song: Venture Investing, Building a DTC Platform, and Optionality| Office Hours Ep. 14

On this episode of "Office Hours", host Richie Mashiko talks with Alex Song, the founder & CEO of Innovation Department, a tech-enabled platform building an incredible portfolio of consumer brands. Prior to Innovation Department [https://www.innovationdept.com/], Alex spent some time in the finance and banking world at firms like Goldman Sachs and Pershing Square. Alex has also made venture investments in some of the world’s top consumer startups like Lyft, Pinterest, Dropbox, Classpass and Hims. On this episode, we talk about what attracted him to the holding company model vs. the venture fund model, his thoughts on venture capital and DTC brands, why optionality is important for brands both in terms of distribution and operations, and the strategy of brands that use his SaaS platform, DojoMojo [https://www.dojomojo.com/home]. This was one of our favorite episodes to record and there's a ton that you can learn from Alex. Hope you enjoy the show!

Patrick Johnson: How Brands can Build World Class Experiences by Leveraging the Right Technical Talent | Office Hours Ep. 13

On this episode of “Office Hours” host Richie Mashiko talks with Patrick Johnson, who is the founder of Progress Labs [http://progresslabs.co/], a studio that builds digital products for DTC brands and other companies. In addition to Progress Labs, Patrick has spent time at other agencies including Red Antler, and throughout his career has worked on brands like Haus, Clare paint, and Supergoop! On this episode, Patrick and Richie discuss his unique Twitter bio, why it’s important for brands to have unique digital experiences, how brands at different stages should think about hiring technical talent, whether it be in house or outsourced, and much more.

George Passantino and Ofek Arush: Building the World’s First Jitterless Coffee Brand | Office HoursEp. 12

On this episode of “Office Hours,” host Richie Mashiko talks with George Passantino and Ofek Arush, who are the founders of Quokka Brew [https://www.quokkabrew.com/], the world’s first jitterless coffee. George and Ofek are both recent UC Berkeley alumni. George and Ofek built Quokka Brew while at Cal and have achieved a lot in the short time since starting Quokka. On this episode, we talk about why they started a jitter-less coffee brand, how they developed their product with no food science background, their student ambassador army of 100+, retail and how they have been transitioning to DTC.

Kyle Cox and Rob Purvy: Product Development Lifecycle and Supply Chain | Office HoursEp. 11

On this episode of “Office Hours,” host Richie Mashiko talks with Kyle Cox & Rob Purvy, who are the co-founders of Thoroughly Crafted Goods, or TCG, [https://tcglosangeles.com/] a cashletic lifestyle brand that sells stylish shoes, clothes and accessories for men. Kyle has been an executive and entrepreneur for over 15 years, working in a wide range of spaces from nightclubs to media to brands. He’s worked with various professional athletes, the LA Clippers and Universal Music, among others. Rob has over 30 years of executive experience, working at brands like Adidas, And1, Vans and Reebok. He’s worked with high profile athletes like Shaw, Kobe Bryant, and Allen Iverson. On this episode, we talk about the product development lifecycle, key areas in the supply chain, and the differences between working at large brands vs. startups, form a product development and manufacturing perspective.

Mark Johnson: Engineering, Operating, and DTC | Office Hours Ep. 10

On this episode of “Office Hours,” host Richie Mashiko, your host of Office Hours, and on this episode I’m talking with Mark Johnson, co-founder of Knotty Tie, and currently an ecommerce manager at Hydrant [https://www.drinkhydrant.com/]. Mark is a true DTC brand operator and shares some of his insights on his “Quick Wins” Substack [https://quickwins.substack.com/]. In his spare time he is also a House DJ, and if you’re lucky you can catch him streaming some of his mixes on Twitter. On this episode, Mark and I talk about why technical and engineering talent is important for DTC brands, how people can get into engineering from a DTC perspective, and how thinking like an engineer helps in other areas of a brand.