Operators

Sean Frank, Mike Beckham, Matt Bertulli, and Jason Panzer
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In the world of ecommerce, a legendary text group is rumored to hold the secrets to unimaginable success. The catch? You must have nine figures in revenue to gain entry. The world’s biggest brands have denied its existence for years, until now. Four titans known as the “Operators” are leaking the secret contents in an effort to share its wealth of knowledge with people like you. Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Jason Panzer (President, HexClad), Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) & Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case x Lomi).

  1. 14 hr ago

    How to Create Buying Moments: Give People a Reason to Buy All Year

    “You’re never gonna make a big impact on Black Friday.” Should you worry if frequent promotions will hurt your brand equity? Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case and Lomi), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) break down how Ridge manufactures demand instead of waiting for it. A slow summer becomes an 8-figure-plus sales season, anchored by a Lamborghini sweepstakes with Tony Hawk.  Sean walks through how the campaign evolved from a $100K MVP into a five year, celebrity backed giveaway with a grand prize built in. He explains why a 45-day window beats trying to own a single day like Black Friday. The hosts continue to cover why a wider product catalog creates more natural sales peaks throughout the year.  Powered By  Aftersell  https://9ops.co/aftersell-operators Richpanel  https://9ops.co/richpanel  Fulfil  https://9ops.co/fulfil  Northbeam  https://www.northbeam.io/  Saras Analytics https://9ops.co/saras Postscript  https://9ops.co/postscript  Operators Portal  https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard Operators Newsletter  https://9operators.com/

  2. 2 days ago

    Ecommerce Subscription Playbook & Benchmarks: Operators Build (E6)

    “You almost feel stupid buying the product as a one-time customer.” Why do some subscription brands retain customers and stack LTV while others lose them? Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela & Lomi) and Cody Plofker (Advisor & fmr. CEO, Jones Road) sit down with Aidan Thibodeaux (CEO, Skio) and Bernard Meyer (AI Operations Manager, Omnisend) to ask the questions every subscription brand needs answered. Aidan argues that the offer matters more than anything else. He pushes quarterly plans and free gifts over discounts. Discounts train customers to wait for deals. He sets targets of 65% or higher for subscription take rate, 80–90% retention into the second order, and 35% at six months. Bernard lays out the post-purchase basics, including a welcome email that sets expectations and check-ins after delivery. The group also debates when to ask for reviews, roasts Winks’ current buy box, then closes with quick skip buttons, subject line tests, and win back emails built on cancel flow data. The question every subscription company needs to answer: What exactly are you promising a subscriber with recurring orders? Powered By  OuterSignal https://9ops.co/outersignal Richpanel  https://9ops.co/richpanel Runneth  https://9ops.co/motion-runneth  Skio  https://9ops.co/skio-9operators  Omnisend  https://9ops.co/omnisend TBAR Partners https://9ops.co/tbarpartners Operators Portal  https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard  Operators Newsletter  https://9operators.com/

  3. 6 days ago

    How First Day’s Founder Alice Li Built a 9-Figure Kids Vitamins Brand From One SKU

    How did First Day raise $1M and then build a 9-figure brand? Alice Li (Founder & CEO, First Day) joins Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi) and Jason Panzer (President, HexClad) to unpack how she has sold over half a billion gummies and built a family wellness empire around kids’ vitamins. After years of turning down retailers, First Day launched nationwide and became the number one kids vitamin in the country. Powered By  Podqi  https://9ops.co/podqi  AppLovin https://www.9operators.com/paid-growth  https://applovin.com/9operators  Shoplift  https://shoplift.ai/operators  Shiphero  https://9ops.co/shiphero-titans  SARAL  ⁠https://www.getsaral.com/special-guided-walkthrough-for-operators⁠

  4. 23 Sept

    30+ Black Friday Tips to Win the Holidays Like a 9-Figure Ecommerce Brand

    “The best Black Friday offers don’t just increase orders, they increase AOV.” Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case x Lomi), Jason Panzer (President, HexClad), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) share the Black Friday & Cyber Monday tips they rely on every year. Every tactic comes from hard-won experience over decades of combined holiday wins and losses. They break down why every Black Friday deal needs a backup, sometimes even a worse one, ready to launch. Mike explains why spotlight bias makes old creative beat anything new. Matt shares the upsell that added a million dollars. Small moves like these are what separate a good quarter from a record one.  Powered By  Postscript  https://9ops.co/postscript  Aftersell https://9ops.co/aftersell-operators Richpanel  https://9ops.co/richpanel  Fulfil  https://9ops.co/fulfil  Northbeam  https://www.northbeam.io/  Saras Analytics  https://bit.ly/4a3gzVv  Operators Portal  https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard  Operators Newsletter  https://9operators.com/

  5. 21 Sept

    Why the Hardest Part Starts After Launch: Operators Build (E5)

    “The amount of effort that we put in to start does not have any meaningful correlation with the success at the end.”  When you get delayed and deprioritized by your co-manufacturer, your timeline slips by almost a year, and you still have zero sales, what do you have to show for 18 months of work?  Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela & Lomi), Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern), Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Curtis Christopherson (Chief Growth Officer, Ammortal), and Cody Plofker (Advisor & fmr. CEO, Jones Road) reunite one month from launch to close the loop on everything that went wrong.  Physical product is in hand. Five thousand units for their very first purchase order. Now, the hard part.  Sean raises the question nobody wants to answer: is powder still the right format in 2026? Mike does the math on what 14,000 families means for a nine-figure exit. Cody challenges the team to hit $200 CAC in month one. Then drop it to $100.  Powered by  TBAR Partners  ⁠https://9ops.co/tbarpartners⁠  Aftersell  https://9ops.co/aftersell-build Skio  ⁠https://9ops.co/skio-9operators⁠  Runneth  ⁠https://9ops.co/motion-runneth⁠  Omnisend  ⁠https://9ops.co/omnisend⁠  Richpanel  ⁠https://9ops.co/richpanel⁠  Operators Portal  ⁠https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard⁠  Operators Newsletter  ⁠https://9operators.com/⁠

  6. 16 Sept

    Learning From Failure: 3 $100M+ Operators & Their Darkest Moments

    “We were not going to make payroll next week.”  How did three ecommerce CEOs turn rock bottom into their biggest lesson?  Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi), Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern), and Curtis Matsko (CEO, Portland Leather Goods) each share the darkest moment of their ecommerce careers. What came after built the self-awareness that changed how they lead.  Curtis walks through the week Wells Fargo pulled a $20M line of credit after Silicon Valley Bank collapsed. Matt breaks down the hubris that nearly cost him payroll one Christmas. Mike shares the night a two-year venture fell apart. Their comebacks outweighed the crises, driven by a growth mindset none of them had before.  Powered By  Saras Analytics  ⁠https://bit.ly/4a3gzVv⁠  Postscript  ⁠https://9ops.co/postscript⁠  Aftersell https://9ops.co/aftersell-operators⁠ Richpanel  https://9ops.co/richpanel  Fulfil  ⁠https://9ops.co/fulfil⁠  Northbeam  https://www.northbeam.io/  Black Friday Resources https://www.9operators.com/black-friday Operators Portal  https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard  Operators Newsletter  https://9operators.com/

  7. 14 Sept

    How to Design Packaging for Ecommerce Brands: Operators Build (E4)

    “They have just shown how packaging can be so much of a differentiator.”  What does a professional DTC packaging design process look like in practice?  Chris Ganz (Senior Creative Director, Trevi) sits down with the Winks team to tackle one of packaging’s hardest problems: standing out on a crowded shelf. The group debates naming, mascots, and color palettes before testing real designs on real families.  Chris opens with a full competitor audit, sizing up Ollie, Vicks, and Beam. Three distinct concepts turn into five packaging directions, each with its own typography and color story. The team weighs a winking semicolon against a plush sleep monster, and one child’s smile carries real weight.  Powered By  Iris  https://www.irisfinance.co/operators  Skio  https://9ops.co/skio-9operators  Omnisend  https://www.omnisend.com/9operators  Richpanel  https://9ops.co/richpanel  Runneth  https://9ops.co/motion-runneth  Aftersell  https://9ops.co/aftersell-build Operators Portal  https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard  Operators Newsletter  https://9operators.com/

  8. 10 Sept

    Honeylove’s Betsie Larkin & Igor Lebovic: Building a $200M Company Together

    What does it take for a married couple to build a $200 million brand together?  Betsie Larkin (Founder & CEO, Honeylove) and Igor Lebovic (Co-CEO, Honeylove) sit down with Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi) and Jason Panzer (President, HexClad). The conversation traces an accidental idea, the crowdfunding math, and the founder instincts that shaped every expansion.  Kickstarter only entered the DTC playbook after Betsie proved product market fit on tour. The brand’s sculpting body shapers and tummy control styles kept expanding the line. Betsie explains why a Kardashian-backed competitor helped the category instead of hurting it. Matt and Jason press on the mechanics of running a business with your spouse.  Powered By  Shoplift  https://shoplift.ai/operators  Shiphero  https://9ops.co/shiphero-titans  SARAL  ⁠https://www.getsaral.com/special-guided-walkthrough-for-operators⁠ AppLovin https://applovin.com/9operators⁠  https://www.9operators.com/paid-growth

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In the world of ecommerce, a legendary text group is rumored to hold the secrets to unimaginable success. The catch? You must have nine figures in revenue to gain entry. The world’s biggest brands have denied its existence for years, until now. Four titans known as the “Operators” are leaking the secret contents in an effort to share its wealth of knowledge with people like you. Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Jason Panzer (President, HexClad), Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) & Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case x Lomi).

Information

  • Creator
    Sean Frank, Mike Beckham, Matt Bertulli, and Jason Panzer
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    219
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Sean Frank, Mike Beckham, Matt Bertulli, and Jason Panzer
  • Show Website
    Operators

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