The Checkout

Modern Commerce Media
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If you could start a company with anybody in the world, you would want it to be with the co-hosts of The Checkout.

  1. 6d ago

    How to Build a Banger Ad for Your E-Commerce Brand (Live on Camera) — Kyle Reho

    Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440 You're one banger ad away from changing your business. Under $2M, it's almost always one creative that resets the trajectory of a brand. The problem is the system every DTC brand builds for paid social is built for more, not better. More UGC, more creators, more volume. That works until it doesn't. In this episode, John builds a real ad from scratch with comedian Kyle Reho for Dad Gang. Brand brief to customer avatars to concepts to a full mockumentary script. The process surfaces five or six low-lift ideas and one bigger swing worth shooting, all in about 40 minutes. The takeaway: you don't need the agency that made the Purple Mattress ads. You need one funny person, $100 to $200 an hour, and a brief that feeds them information in stages instead of all at once. Topics discussed: 00:00 - Why one banger ad is worth more than 100 UGC pieces 01:24 - Why more volume stops working 02:38 - Building an ad live for Dad Gang 03:00 - Starting with brand ethos, not the product 10:43 - How customer avatars actually unlock ideas 17:08 - The still-cool-dad angle and where it leads 20:11 - Reframing dad as a league you want to play in 23:13 - The jealous-wife skit concept 27:24 - Picking the right avatar with pain vs moment buying 34:29 - Choosing the format: skits, pod clips, green screen, reactions 37:31 - Building the mockumentary script beat by beat 50:08 - The hat as a uniform - landing the punchline 55:10 - How to actually run this with comedians for $100 to $200 an hour Learn more about our sponsors: https://www.attentive.com/ https://fuego.io/ https://www.socialsnowball.io/ https://redo.com/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH RYAN DEISS: https://scalable.co/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandeiss/ https://www.youtube.com/@RyanDeissOfficial 🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/ https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle 🔗 CONNECT WITH BART : https://szaniewski.com/ https://www.instagram.com/theszef/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/

    58 min

  2. May 21

    The NBA Banned Their Shoe — How APL Turned It Into an E-Commerce Brand — NJ Falk

    Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440 Most ecommerce founders try to build a brand by running better ads to a product page. They obsess over conversion metrics while ignoring the thing that actually makes a brand stick: a story consumers connect to and repeat back to each other. In this episode, NJ Falk, managing partner at Athletic Propulsion Labs (APL), breaks down the six or seven story threads APL uses across every product launch, campaign, and piece of content. From the NBA ban that became the foundation of the brand, to designing sensory language instead of spec sheets, NJ explains why most ecommerce brands hit a scale ceiling and what it actually takes to build a brand customers love saying out loud. Topics discussed: 00:00 - How APL turned an NBA ban into their brand foundation 01:00 - The origin of Athletic Propulsion Labs and the Concept One 03:00 - Never waste a crisis: turning a ban into performance credibility 06:00 - The six story threads APL uses for every product launch 09:00 - Why specs do not sell and sensory language does 11:00 - The Japan pancake trip that inspired a midsole 13:00 - Tongue-in-cheek tech stories like Run Naked 18:00 - How to keep your founder story fresh after telling it 100 times 22:00 - Gym to street to life and the versatility thread 26:00 - Social proof, awards, and editorial validation as a story bucket 30:00 - Should you build the story first or the product first 42:00 - Aspirational identity as the thread in everything you make 46:00 - A simple T-chart framework for brand storytelling 53:00 - How to expand into a new sport or category authentically 01:03:00 - Why brands hit a scale ceiling without a real brand Learn more about our sponsors: https://www.attentive.com/ https://fuego.io/ https://www.socialsnowball.io/ https://redo.com/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH RYAN DEISS: https://scalable.co/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandeiss/ https://www.youtube.com/@RyanDeissOfficial 🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/ https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle 🔗 CONNECT WITH BART : https://szaniewski.com/ https://www.instagram.com/theszef/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/

    1h 5m

  3. May 14

    Most E-Commerce Brands Use Email Wrong (It Should Lower Your Ad Costs) — Sammy Tran

    Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440 Most ecommerce brands treat email like its own revenue channel. They obsess over campaign metrics while missing the bigger opportunity — using retention to lower acquisition costs, improve customer experience, and increase lifetime value. In this episode, Sammy Tran breaks down what actually drives growth for ecommerce brands today. From subscriptions and retention marketing to AI-generated content and owned audiences, Sammy explains why brands focused only on short-term revenue are falling behind — and what smart operators are doing differently. Topics discussed: 00:00 - Why most ecommerce brands use email wrong 06:24 - Landing pages, pop-ups, and conversion strategy 07:00 - Why ecommerce testing gets complicated fast 14:43 - The reality of running a marketing agency1 5:07 - Agency incentives vs effective marketing 28:44 - Why retention revenue fuels growth 31:51 - Building better subscription experiences 32:05 - Loyalty systems and retention tools 39:51 - Why brands need audiences they own 40:05 - The rise of owned marketing channels 01:11:37 - Using customer feedback to improve products 01:11:50 - Finding patterns in customer responses 01:19:10 - AI-generated content becoming the norm 01:19:18 - Why human creativity will stand out more 01:21:36 - Final thoughts and closing remarks Learn more about our sponsors: https://www.attentive.com/https://fuego.io/https://www.socialsnowball.io/https://redo.com/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH RYAN DEISS: https://scalable.co/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandeiss/ https://www.youtube.com/@RyanDeissOfficial 🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/ https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle 🔗 CONNECT WITH BART: https://szaniewski.com/ https://www.instagram.com/theszef/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/

    1h 22m

  4. May 7

    He Built DigitalMarketer. Here's How He'd Scale Any E-Commerce Brand — Ryan Deiss

    Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440 Wondering why you're more buried in work than you were a year and a million dollars ago? You hired helpers. Not operators. Ryan Deiss founded DigitalMarketer.com, trained 120,000 marketers, and now runs 17 companies doing $250M+ a year. In this episode, he walks through how he'd actually scale any brand from $1M to $30M+ — from the hire that unlocks scale to the three engines that power e-commerce businesses. Topics discussed: 00:00 - Introduction 00:48 - Does EOS work in e-commerce? 08:13 - The worst stage of any business 09:09 - 3 engines every e-com brand runs on 21:42 - Mapping your business for scale 26:01 - Scaling without losing time with your family 36:00 - Why founders never feel like they’re making enough 40:50 - Identity shifts as you scale 48:17 - The first role to hand off (and one you shouldn’t) 57:23 - How to hire for an undefined role 01:01:54 - What to focus on at each stage of growth 01:10:37 - Should you scale, sell, or raise at $30M? 01:17:44 - Do lead magnets work in e-commerce? Learn more about our sponsors: https://www.attentive.com/ https://fuego.io/ https://www.socialsnowball.io/ https://redo.com/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH RYAN DEISS: Instagram @ryandeiss YouTube @ryandeissofficial X @ryandeiss Website : https://scalable.co/ LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandeiss/ Free Book Get Scalable: https://www.getscalable.com/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/ https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle 🔗 CONNECT WITH BART : https://szaniewski.com/ https://www.instagram.com/theszef/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/

    1h 30m

  5. Apr 30

    How E-Commerce Brands Can Crush UGC in 2026 — Josh Suggs

    Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440 Most of the e-commerce industry has written UGC off in 2026. Here’s why you shouldn’t. In this episode, StreetTalk founder Josh Suggs breaks down the one content format outperforming everything else in e-commerce ad accounts: street interviews. He shares where it fits in your media mix at every budget level, why the brands trying to do this in-house keep failing, and his formula that converts customers in just 40 seconds. If you're running paid ads in 2026 and haven't tested this yet, you're leaving revenue on the table. Topics discussed: 00:00 - Introduction 01:17 - StreetTalk’s origin story 07:53 - How they scaled so fast 17:41 - The early hustle 21:21 - Leveraging your way to success 27:09 - The business move that failed 33:02 - How Expo West changed the business 34:16 - The street interview formula 38:12 - Why street interviews convert so well 39:55 - Making money as a StreetTalker 42:18 - Why street interviews belong in your ad account 43:29 - How to allocate a $5–$10K content budget 47:42 - Why brands struggle to replicate this in-house 50:28 - Street interview concepts for real products 59:45 - Creating a show around your brand Learn more about our sponsors: https://www.attentive.com/ https://fuego.io/ https://www.socialsnowball.io/ https://redo.com/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH JOSH SUGGS: https://www.streettalk.com/ https://x.com/joshsuggss https://www.instagram.com/joshsuggss/ https://www.instagram.com/streettalk/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/ https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle 🔗 CONNECT WITH BART : https://szaniewski.com/ https://www.instagram.com/theszef/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/

    1h 9m

  6. Apr 23

    What $100M E-Commerce Brands Know That The Others Don’t — Nik Sharma

    Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440 Stuck between $2M and $30M and asking yourself, "What are the big brands doing that I'm not?" Nik Sharma worked with $100M brands like True Classic, Jolie and Eight Sleep, and he knows why most brands stall before they ever get close. In this episode, he breaks down exactly what the brands that speed-run to $100M do differently and the moves you can make to get unstuck. Topics discussed: 00:00 - Introduction 00:29 - What makes a brand reach $100M in e-commerce 04:15 - Eight Sleep case study: how they got so big 07:58 - Why second-time founders hit $100M faster 12:17 - Budgeting for marketing you can’t track 22:09 - Top vs. bottom of funnel marketing: what most brands get wrong 24:19 - Creating effective advertorials 29:04 - Why some successful brands stall before $100M 43:04 - Five marketing channels that work in e-commerce 46:15 - How to leverage AI without getting distracted 58:53 - Shiny object syndrome and your role as founder 01:01:19 - How to start a new brand with $50,000 01:09:24 - The one factor that differentiates $100M brands 01:13:31 - What most founders don’t know about scaling Learn more about our sponsors: https://www.attentive.com/ https://fuego.io/ https://www.socialsnowball.io/ https://redo.com/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH NIK SHARMA: https://www.nik.co/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrniksharma/ https://x.com/mrsharma 🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/ https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle 🔗 CONNECT WITH BART : https://szaniewski.com/ https://www.instagram.com/theszef/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/

    1h 28m

  7. Apr 16

    How to Build a Personal Brand That Actually Sells Product (For E-Commerce Founders) — Kev Michael

    Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440 You're not an influencer. You're not famous. You started a business to sell a product. So how does a personal brand actually help you? In this episode, podcast growth expert Kev Michael breaks down exactly how a personal brand drives sales without turning you into a full-time content creator. You'll learn the #1 mistake e-commerce founders make when building a personal brand, the content that outperforms almost all other ads, and the paid strategy most brands are still wasting money on. Stay for the live workshop of real e-commerce brands to see step-by-step how to build show concepts from scratch no matter what you sell. Topics discussed: 00:00 - Introduction 01:44 - What most founders get wrong about “personal brand” 07:22 - Can you build a YouTube channel or podcast with a small team? 08:13 - The paid ad strategy that actually works 13:20 - The ROI of podcasting and finding your show's premise 18:45 - How to build your from scratch (a real-time case study) 31:39 - How to stand apart from other channels33:30 - Why it's hard for some brands to find their audience 42:35 - Workshopping the DadGang podcast 51:51 - Do you need to publish weekly? 59:41 - The 3 waves of podcasting ROI 01:02:42 - When to give up or change your strategy Learn more about our sponsors: https://www.attentive.com/ https://fuego.io/ https://www.socialsnowball.io/ https://redo.com/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/ https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle 🔗 CONNECT WITH BART : https://szaniewski.com/ https://www.instagram.com/theszef/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/

    1h 10m

  8. Apr 9

    Is E-Commerce Actually the Worst Business to Start?

    Book a call with John: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/squeeze-page1712742970440 In e-commerce, you're poor until you're rich. This episode is about everything that happens in between. Hosts John and Bart answer the real questions you want answers to: Is e-commerce right if you have a family? Do you need to out-hustle everyone? And what's actually happening when you're burned out, doing $2M in revenue, and only paying yourself $50,000? Topics discussed: 00:00 - Introduction 00:57 - Is e-commerce worth it when you have a family? 11:38 - Why John has never launched his own e-commerce brand 15:12 - Easier ways to make money than e-commerce 20:19 - How much time and hustle is necessary in e-commerce? 27:49 - The upside of e-commerce (it’s not money) 33:21 - Burnout at $2M: why you’re not making a lot 37:19 - How to break past the $2M threshold 46:06 - Do you have to give up your dreams when you have kids? 54:33 - When e-commerce feels worth the sacrifice (& how to pay yourself) https://www.attentive.com/ https://fuego.io/ https://www.socialsnowball.io/ https://redo.com/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH JOHN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/ https://www.tiktok.com/@johnjhcoyle 🔗 CONNECT WITH BART : https://szaniewski.com/ https://www.instagram.com/theszef/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/

    1h 2m
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About

If you could start a company with anybody in the world, you would want it to be with the co-hosts of The Checkout.

Information

  • Creator
    Modern Commerce Media
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    32
  • Rating
    Explicit