The Brand Study

Commbi: How Sarah & Chris Rhoads Are Scaling a Footwear Brand from Scratch

We sat down with Sarah and Chris Rhoads, founders of Commbi, the footwear brand redefining the tradeoff between style and comfort with a patented interchangeable footbed system. Before entering footwear, Sarah and Chris Rhoads built their creative studio, We Are The Rhoads, leveraging their backgrounds in photography and videography to work with leading brands and develop a deep understanding of visual storytelling, product positioning, and what drives consumer attention. That experience became a direct advantage, shaping how they approached Commbi, from product design to brand execution, allowing them to move faster, iterate with intention, and build with a clear point of view from day one. We break down how they leveraged that existing skillset to their advantage, applying creative strategy, rapid iteration, and production expertise to build Commbi from first principles. From early prototyping to brand development, their creative foundation became a key driver of speed and differentiation. This episode covers footwear innovation, DTC growth strategy, and how leveraging your core skillset can unlock product development, brand clarity, and scalable growth.

Asset: How Chad O’Connell is Turning a Taboo Category Into a Scalable Wellness Brand

Asset is building in one of the most overlooked categories in wellness. In this episode, Chad O’Connell breaks down how he turned a personal health problem into a scalable consumer brand by focusing on product performance, sharp positioning, and disciplined execution. We get into what it actually takes to launch in a taboo space, from validating demand before manufacturing to navigating platform restrictions that limit how you can market. Chad shares how over eighty product iterations led to a formula that works, why customer acquisition economics determine whether a brand survives, and how constraints can lead to stronger creative. This is a conversation about doing the unglamorous work. Testing, refining, and executing until something clicks.

Indie Lee Skincare: How Indie Lee Expanded the Clean Beauty Movement

We sit down with Indie Lee, founder of Indie Lee Skincare, the clean beauty brand that helped define modern standards for ingredient transparency. Today, the brand is carried in over 2,000 retail doors, including Whole Foods, Credo, and Ulta Beauty. Indie shares how a life threatening brain tumor diagnosis and being told she had six months to live became the catalyst for building a mission driven skincare brand, how early products made in her kitchen evolved into a global retail presence, and why focusing on education, ingredient transparency, and product efficacy gave Indie Lee Skincare its early growth advantage. She opens up about bootstrapping the business, selling personal assets to fund production, losing her home during the early years, and the resilience required to keep building through uncertainty. We also dive into the evolution of clean beauty, from a niche category to a multi billion dollar industry, and how Indie positioned the brand to compete with legacy beauty companies like Procter and Gamble and Unilever. Indie breaks down how formulation, packaging, and brand positioning unlocked major retail partnerships, and why building trust with consumers became the foundation for long term growth. Indie explains why “that moment was what fueled everything,” and how turning personal adversity into purpose can create a brand that reshapes an entire category. This episode is about resilience, product integrity, and scaling a clean beauty brand into thousands of retail doors, and it’s a masterclass in building a mission driven company that changes how consumers think about what they put on their skin.

Curious Elixirs: JW Wiseman on Creating the Non Alcoholic Cocktail Movement

JW Wiseman, founder of Curious Elixirs, shares the story behind one of the earliest premium non alcoholic beverage brands. What began as a personal reflection on drinking habits evolved into a new category of sophisticated alcohol free cocktails made with herbs, roots, botanicals, and fruit. Curious Elixirs was built without outside investors, why the brand releases only one new drink per year, and how designing for the ritual of drinking helped the product fit naturally into social settings. The conversation explores the early insights behind the sober curious movement, the discipline required to bootstrap a beverage company, and why cultural shifts often reward founders who start building long before the market catches up.

Newton Baby: Aaron Zagha on Redefining Infant Sleep Safety

Today, we’re talking with Aaron Zagha, the CMO of Newton Baby, a brand that has redefined what safe sleep means for families. Newton has become one of the most trusted names in the industry by combining strict safety standards with thoughtful design, all with the goal of providing babies with the safest and best sleep possible. Their focus on innovation and transparency has not only built a loyal community but also elevated expectations across the entire category. Since launching, Newton has grown into a leader in the infant sleep space, expanding its presence online and in retail, and winning numerous awards along the way. In this episode, we’ll dive into how Newton has disrupted a category that hadn’t seen innovation for decades, how they earned trust in such a high-stakes market, and what’s next as they continue to scale their mission.