Frank Growth

Jason Shafton

5.0 (5)
MARKETING
UPDATED MONTHLY

Frank Growth is a sharp, execution-first podcast about how companies actually grow. Hosted by Jason Shafton, it features candid conversations with founders, operators, and investors who are in the work right now. The focus is real decisions: distribution, demand, pricing, org design, incentives, and what breaks once the early playbooks stop working. No hype. No recycled advice. Just clear thinking from people accountable for outcomes.

6D AGO

The Neobank of Insurance Playbook with Jacob Batist

Episode #220: Jacob Batist — Launching the first new health insurance company in Canada in 70 yearsHow a European challenger broke into a market controlled by three incumbents — without a CEO on the ground, without brand awareness, and without growth-at-all-costs spend.For founders and growth leaders entering markets dominated by entrenched incumbents, where trust is the real constraint and speed alone won't win. Jacob Batist is Head of Growth at Alan in Canada — the first new health insurance company to launch in the country since 1957. Backed by a European parent valued at over 5 billion euros, Alan competes against three companies that hold roughly 80% of policies. Jacob breaks down why their initial blitz strategy failed, the warm-first pivot they made instead, why they target 20–100 employee companies, and how they say no to revenue they're not ready for. Concrete detail: Alan can process claims in as little as 15 minutes and onboard employees same-day. What you'll hear Why Alan positions itself as "the neo bank of insurance" and what that means operationally (sign-ups in minutes, claims in 15 minutes, one platform vs. multiple vendors) The warm-first pivot: what they tried first, why it failed, and the four credibility levers (events, organic media, partnerships, in-person moments) they replaced it with Why 20–100 employee companies are the sweet spot — and how Jacob says no to larger deals that would damage trust How to balance European credibility with the local Canadian story without leaning too hard on eitherChapters 00:00 — Cold open and host intro: Canada's silent oligopoly 04:28 — The "neo bank of insurance" positioning, in practice 09:42 — Why 20–100 employee companies are the sweet spot 11:56 — The warm-first pivot: why blitzing failed and what replaced it 18:59 — Saying no to revenue you're not ready for 21:27 — Lightning round and closing principleLinks & resourcesGuestJacob Batist — Head of Growth, Alan CanadaAlanJacob on LinkedIn About Frank GrowthFrank Growth is a podcast about how companies actually grow—real operators, real constraints, real decisions. Hosted by Jason Shafton. Promotional links Work with Winston Francois Subscribe / Follow Jason

26 min
MAY 12

Meet Your On-Demand Co-Founder with Wade Lowe

Episode #219: Wade Lowe — Why GTM in the AI era is a Rubik's CubeThe business takes on the personality of the founder. If there are problems, look at thyself.For founders running $5M–$50M companies trying to crack go-to-market when the playbook keeps changing. Wade Lowe is a 3x co-founder with two exits, focused on bootstrapping, AI, and mindset. He's led revenue at two Inc 500 companies (ranked 72nd and 23rd) and now embeds with founders as a co-founder on demand. Jason and Wade get into how to diagnose a stalled growth motion, why the operating model is the first thing to fix, and how to play where the smartest people aren't — equipment rental, construction, fuel. Wade is direct about the trade-offs he made to be present for his kids and the hard truth most founders resist hearing. What you'll hear Why acquisition has to come before retention and expansion when budgets are tight How Wade diagnoses the operating model first in every $5M–$50M company he embeds with The Google AdWords inbound engine behind two Inc 500 companies — and why being first to a keyword segment was the unlock How to evaluate talent quickly using soft-skill signals: response time, commitments kept, and whether someone proposes solutions or just critiquesChapters 00:00 — Cold open: the business goes as the founder goes 03:01 — GTM in the AI era: test, test, test 06:22 — Playing where the smartest people aren't 12:13 — What Wade diagnoses first in a $5M–$50M company 17:17 — The hard truth founders resist hearing 20:29 — One operating principle for cracking GTMLinks & resourcesGuestWade Lowe — 3x Co-Founder | 2x Exit | Bootstrapping | AI | MindsetLinkedIn About Frank GrowthFrank Growth is a podcast about how companies actually grow—real operators, real constraints, real decisions. Hosted by Jason Shafton. Promotional links Work with Winston Francois Subscribe / Follow Jason

23 min
MAY 5

The Sephora of Chocolate Strategy with Pashmina De Shon

Episode #218: Pashmina De Shon — Why Friction Is The Moat In Craft ChocolateHow a bootstrapped founder built a $3M+ craft chocolate marketplace by owning the operational pain everyone else outsources.For e-commerce operators, bootstrapped founders, and brands weighing the jump from DTC to physical retail. Pashmina De Shon is the founder of Bar and Cocoa, a curated marketplace for craft chocolate featuring 1,200 SKUs from 60 makers across 30 countries. After a decade running the business purely online, she recently opened a physical store in Greensboro, North Carolina. In this conversation, she breaks down why she runs her own warehouse instead of using a 3PL, how owning fulfillment keeps her waste rate at 2% versus industry norms of 10-12%, why the subscription model forced early clarity on curation, and what actually changes in the P&L when you move from DTC to brick and mortar. What you'll hear Why "even Amazon doesn't ship chocolate" became both the warning and the opportunity How owning fulfillment, FDA compliance, and temperature-sensitive shipping creates a moat competitors can't copy The plateau that hit at scale — and the boring, decisive fixes that got Bar and Cocoa past it How to think about retail economics as a marketing and retention channel, not just a sales channelChapters 00:00 — Cold open and Frank Growth intro 02:45 — The thesis: why the easy e-commerce business is the shortest-lived 07:12 — Owning fulfillment and a 2% waste rate vs. the 10-12% norm 11:53 — Moving from DTC to physical retail: what changes, what stays 14:10 — Educating the craft chocolate market while selling 17:04 — Lightning round and three takeawaysLinks & resourcesGuestPashmina De Shon — Founder, Bar and CocoaWebsiteInstagramLinkedIn About Frank GrowthFrank Growth is a podcast about how companies actually grow—real operators, real constraints, real decisions. Hosted by Jason Shafton. Promotional links Work with Winston Francois Subscribe / Follow Jason

21 min
APR 28

The Swiss Army Knife Operator with Jeff Bishop-Hill

Episode #217: Jeff Bishop Hill — How Swiss Army knife operators scale marketplacesWhat breaks first when a marketplace expands into new markets.This episode is for founders and operators balancing growth, ops, compliance, and enterprise sales at the same time. Jeff Bishop Hill breaks down what it takes to scale marketplaces when one operator is covering multiple functions at once. Drawing on his work across Soothe, Mercato, and Roo, he explains how to sequence market launches, what metrics actually matter, how to win enterprise accounts from the bottom up, and when to build compliance versus prioritize growth. He also shares where operators get expansion wrong, why supply is usually the first thing to break, and how Roo limited launches to about five markets per quarter to avoid doubling investment on failed rollouts. What you’ll hear Why supply-demand balance and customer satisfaction matter more than a stack of dashboards How Jeff sequenced new market launches using household income heat maps, logistics, and provider density Why picking markets for “sex appeal” and expanding too fast leads to expensive mistakes How to win larger enterprise accounts by starting with local users, proving value, and building up to procurementChapters00:00 — Why glamorous market selection fails01:49 — Scaling marketplaces across multiple markets and countries04:01 — The only metrics that really matter (supply, demand, CSAT)05:14 — Fixing expansion strategy and sequencing markets09:02 — Winning enterprise accounts from the bottom up15:05 — Growth vs compliance and scaling tradeoffs Links & resourcesGuestJeff Bishop Hill — Marketplace operator at RooLinkedIn About Frank GrowthFrank Growth is a podcast about how companies actually grow—real operators, real constraints, real decisions.Hosted by Jason Shafton. Promotional links Work with Winston Francois: https://wf.team/podcast Subscribe / Follow Jason: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonshafton/

21 min
APR 21

Why Your Lead Gen Keeps Failing with Matt Putra

Episode #216: Matt Putra — Cracking paid lead gen for a services businessHow to lower lead costs by teaching instead of pitching.For service founders stuck with expensive, inconsistent lead flow. Matt Putra of EightX explains how he finally cracked lead generation for his fractional CFO business after spending $150,000 over 18 months on cold email, outbound, hiring, and agency support that did not work. The breakthrough came when he stopped trying to force a funnel and started running simple paid ads built around genuinely useful tools for e-commerce operators. He shares how a CAC spreadsheet offer dropped his cost per lead from $11,000 to $20, what his five-minute ads actually look like, and how he thinks about payback periods, inventory risk, and marketing spend across the brands he advises. The conversation also covers the operating cadence he uses to align demand, supply, and finance and why inventory strategy is often the biggest growth leak in e-commerce. What you’ll hear Why lead gen for services often fails when the offer is not clear enough How Matt structures five-minute paid ads around spreadsheets, tools, and AI workflows Why cold email, outbound, and agency-led efforts underperformed for his business How to use CAC, LTV, payback periods, and inventory analysis to make better growth decisionsChapters 00:00 — The ad that dropped CPL from $11,000 to $20 02:41 — The failed experiments: cold email, outbound, hiring, and agencies 05:56 — What the ads look like and why they convert 08:50 — The biggest financial mistake e-commerce founders make 12:23 — Diagnosing growth problems and missed ROI 14:15 — When to spend more on marketing and when to pull backLinks & resourcesGuestMatt Putra — EightXWebsiteLinkedInCompany LinkedIn About Frank GrowthFrank Growth is a podcast about how companies actually grow—real operators, real constraints, real decisions.Hosted by Jason Shafton. Promotional links Work with Winston Francois Subscribe / Follow Jason

23 min
APR 14

Make Merch People Actually Wear with Jay Sapovits

Episode #215: Jay Sapovits — Turning branded merch into a strategic growth toolHow to stop wasting money on swag that gets ignored.For founders and operators buying merch without a plan for impact. Jay Sapovits of Ink’d Stores explains how branded merchandise becomes useful when it starts with audience, objective, and distribution instead of a last-minute product order. He shares lessons from a failed fitness brand, a pivot into on-demand apparel, and the operating choices that helped build a $5M+ branded merchandise business. The conversation covers trade show strategy, on-demand merch economics, and why a $3 difference in shirt quality can determine whether something gets worn or turned into a rag. Jay also breaks down why distribution is the step most teams forget, even when the product itself is right. What you’ll hear How to define strategic merch based on purpose, audience, and event How on-demand merch stores reduce inventory risk and preserve cash flow Why most swag fails: low-quality product choices, no planning, and weak distribution How to use merch to drive trade show engagement and other measurable outcomesChaptersTimestamps 00:00 — Why cheap swag gets wasted 02:27 — What strategic merch actually means 06:15 — The pivot from failed fitness brand to Inked Stores 09:02 — Why quality, fit, and content determine whether merch gets used 10:41 — How on-demand merch changes the unit economics 18:11 — Why budget and distribution matter as much as the productLinks & resourcesGuestJay Sapovits — Ink’d StoresEmail JayLinkedIn About Frank GrowthFrank Growth is a podcast about how companies actually grow—real operators, real constraints, real decisions.Hosted by Jason Shafton. Promotional links Work with Winston Francois Subscribe / Follow Jason

21 min
APR 7

Why Billionaires Pay Him a Retainer with Leigh Rowan

Episode #214: Leigh Rowan — Building a premium service business without adsHow to grow a premium service business through trust, referrals, and client retention.For founders and operators building high-touch services and trying to scale without paid acquisition. Leigh Rowan, founder and CEO of Savanti Travel, joins Jason Shafton to break down how he built a luxury travel management company serving ultra high net worth individuals, family offices, VC firms, and Hollywood entertainers without ever advertising. He explains how Savanti evolved from helping entrepreneurs unlock value from points and miles into a full-service travel business built around 24-7 support, personalization, and relationships. The conversation covers how his team uses CRM workflows, SOPs, and regular standups to deliver consistent service across five continents, how they ask for referrals after delivering concrete wins, and why they have fired clients worth as much as 25% of revenue to protect the team and the business. Leigh also shares that Savanti has saved clients more than $10 million by using points and miles more strategically. What you’ll hear Why Savanti chose word of mouth over paid advertising and how that shaped client selection How the team uses monday.com, SOPs, standups, and shared context to deliver high-touch service at scale Why most people leave points and miles value unused and how Savanti turns those assets into real savings and better experiences How Leigh thinks about referrals, client feedback, hiring for judgment, and protecting culture even when revenue is at stakeChaptersTimestamps from transcript 00:00 — What luxury travel management actually means 03:22 — From points and miles to full-service travel support 07:26 — The system behind saving clients money with loyalty assets 11:42 — Why Savanti never advertised and how word of mouth compounds 17:37 — Handling travel crises, hiring for judgment, and firing bad-fit clients 21:05 — Client feedback, luxury as personalization, and how to grow by word of mouthLinks & resourcesGuestLeigh Rowan — Founder & CEO, Savanti TravelWebsite About Frank GrowthFrank Growth is a podcast about how companies actually grow—real operators, real constraints, real decisions.Hosted by Jason Shafton. Promotional links Work with Winston Francois Subscribe / Follow Jason

26 min
MAR 31

Buy a SaaS, Skip the Startup with Doug Breaker

Episode #213: Doug Breaker — Buying a SaaS instead of building from zeroHow to acquire a profitable SaaS with minimal upfront capital.For operators considering ownership but hesitant to start from scratch. Doug Breaker, CEO of Shoeboxed and former CEO of MD Hearing Aid, explains why he chose to buy a 20-year-old SaaS company instead of building one. After running an eight-figure DTC business, he acquired Shoeboxed using an SBA loan with only 5% down. He breaks down how he sourced deals, structured financing, evaluated distribution over tech, and identified upside in an under-marketed business with a million-person email list. The conversation covers the actual mechanics of SBA loans, due diligence priorities, and what it takes to stabilize and grow an acquired SaaS in the first 90 days. What you’ll hear How SBA loans work for SaaS acquisitions and how he structured a 5% down deal Why distribution, customer base, and cash flow mattered more than the product itself Common mistakes operators make when evaluating build vs. buy decisions How to approach your first acquisition and test interest before committing full-timeChapters 00:00 — Why buying a SaaS beats building from scratch 02:01 — From CEO-for-hire to buying Shoeboxed 03:51 — How he sourced and evaluated acquisition opportunities 04:41 — How SBA loans and deal structure actually work 06:47 — First 90 days after acquiring a SaaS 10:25 — Growth lessons and how to approach your first acquisitionLinks & resourcesGuestDoug Breaker — CEO, ShoeboxedWebsiteLinkedIn About Frank GrowthFrank Growth is a podcast about how companies actually grow—real operators, real constraints, real decisions.Hosted by Jason Shafton. Promotional links Work with Winston Francois: https://wf.team/podcast Subscribe / Follow Jason: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonshafton/

22 min

5

out of 5

5 Ratings

Honest and Fresh

05/06/2024

Sutton216

Can’t wait for more episodes of this. Love the honest take and the spouse POV

Frank Growth is a sharp, execution-first podcast about how companies actually grow. Hosted by Jason Shafton, it features candid conversations with founders, operators, and investors who are in the work right now. The focus is real decisions: distribution, demand, pricing, org design, incentives, and what breaks once the early playbooks stop working. No hype. No recycled advice. Just clear thinking from people accountable for outcomes.

Creator

Jason Shafton
Years Active

2024 - 2026
Episodes

26
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Jason Shafton
Show Website

Frank Growth