Brand Builders

Brand Builders

Scaling an eCommerce brand is hard. The intention for this podcast is simple; to have interesting, insightful & authentic conversations with successful brand builders. We want to provide real world stories and helpful, practical information about what’s currently working to help you build your own seven and eight figure brand. We release an episode every week on Sunday afternoon, so if you’re looking for actionable, no BS eCom insights, hit subscribe and stay tuned!

  1. ٣ نوفمبر

    Why I Moved to Dubai (and you should too) | Tuomas Kivioja

    Tuomas walked away from a high-paying job in London to build a 7-figure business in Dubai - not for the cars, not for the luxury, but for freedom. In this episode, I sat down with Tuomas Kivioja, content creator and business owner who's transformed his business by taking the bold decision to move to Dubai. Join us as we explore how he: ✅ Built multiple online income streams through YouTube and software ✅ Legally pays 0% tax living in Dubai ✅ Structures his business using a UAE company and US LLC ✅ Invests in Dubai real estate and secured a 4.49% mortgage ✅ Qualified for the Dubai Creator Golden Visa ✅ Built a global lifestyle with no 9–5, no boss, and complete flexibility If you’ve ever thought about: 🌍 Moving abroad for financial freedom 🏝 Becoming a digital nomad 💼 Setting up a company in Dubai 🏠 Buying property in the UAE 💰 Building passive income online This episode breaks down the real numbers, tax setup, and lifestyle behind making it happen. Chapters: 00:00 – Intro — From London Finance to Dubai Freedom 02:03 – How He Built His First YouTube Channel 04:20 – Moving to Dubai & Escaping 50% Taxes 07:42 – Why So Many Entrepreneurs Are Leaving the West 10:55 – Will Western Countries Try to Stop People Leaving? 13:20 – Choosing Where to Live vs. Where to Set Up Your Company 18:40 – Top 3 Places to Live & Best Jurisdictions for Business 20:50 – Nomad Lifestyle & Long-Term Base Strategy 22:10 – Is Dubai Only for Young Founders or Also for Families? 24:42 – Biggest Culture Shocks Moving to Dubai 27:45 – How to Structure a UAE Company vs. a US LLC 30:50 – Accessing US Banking from Dubai 32:50 – Ecom Brands, FBA & US Tax Implications 33:15 – Will Dubai Stay 0% Tax Forever? 38:30 – Best Brokerage & Investment Setup for UAE Residents 43:40 – Comparing US LLC vs. Hong Kong Company Structures 47:00 – Can You Sell a Company Set Up in the UAE? 48:20 – Offshore Havens Like Cayman Islands — Are They Worth It? 50:55 – At What Net Worth Should You Consider Trusts or Second Citizenship? 53:45 – Dubai Real Estate — First-Time Buyer Perks & Risks 58:00 – Will Dubai’s Property Market Keep Rising? 59:30 – Best Areas to Live & Invest in Dubai (2025 Guide) 01:03:45 – Getting a Mortgage in Dubai as an Expat 01:06:00 – Timeline & Interest Rates Explained 01:07:10 – Defaulting on a Mortgage — What Really Happens 01:08:00 – Dubai Lifestyle Memberships & Discounts 01:10:40 – Best Credit Cards for Expats in Dubai 01:15:10 – How to Get the Dubai Creator Golden Visa 01:19:00 – Other Residency Options in the UAE 01:20:10 – Do You Need a Content-Creation Permit in Dubai? 01:21:20 – Closing Thoughts & What’s Next

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  2. ١٧ أكتوبر

    How I’m Making 8 Figures Sending Emails│Matt McGarry

    In this episode, we sit down with Matt McGarry, founder of Growletter and one of the top minds in newsletter growth and monetization. Matt has helped brands like The Hustle, Milk Road, and Morning Brew scale to millions of subscribers and today he reveals exactly how to build, grow, and monetize a newsletter in 2025. If you’ve ever wanted to turn your content into a real business, this is your playbook. Subscribe to Matt's Newsletter -- https://www.newsletteroperator.com/subscribe You’ll learn: 📩 The evolution of newsletters — from media empires to creator businesses 🚀 How to grow your first 1K, 10K, and 100K subscribers 💰 The best monetization models (ads, digital products, and subscriptions) 🧠 How to choose a profitable niche that actually converts 📊 Paid ads, lead magnets, and conversion benchmarks that work right now ⚙️ Matt’s full welcome flow and onboarding sequence for new subscribers 🔥 The biggest newsletter mistakes to avoid when scaling 🚀 Want to grow your newsletter faster? Here’s what we cover in this episode 👇 00:00 — How Matt started in the newsletter space 06:00 — How big newsletter businesses really get 13:40 — What makes a great newsletter stand out 29:20 — How to go from 100 → 100K subscribers 43:27 — The best lead magnets for fast growth Full Chapter Breakdown: 00:00 — Intro: Who is Matt McGarry? 00:05 — How did you first get involved in the newsletter space? 01:34 — How has the newsletter industry changed since those early days? 03:25 — Which newsletters do you personally follow and study today? 05:04 — Where do you usually discover new newsletters to subscribe to? 06:00 — How big can newsletter businesses actually get? 07:47 — Would you classify Agora and similar publishers as newsletter companies? 09:24 — Should every modern media company have a newsletter component? 10:21 — Is that based on content type or audience demographics? 11:31 — What makes a great newsletter stand out from a poor one? 13:40 — How should beginners pick a niche when starting a newsletter? 17:28 — What are the most profitable newsletter niches right now? 18:41 — Do obscure or hyper-niche topics still make money? 20:41 — Is there space for non-profits or charities in newsletters? 21:42 — Do political campaigns use newsletters effectively? 22:27 — Are legacy media companies succeeding with newsletters? 25:06 — What should someone do first when starting a newsletter? 26:13 — How do you get your first subscribers and grow organically? 29:20 — What are the key growth stages: 100 → 10K → 100K subscribers? 33:15 — What are the most effective newsletter growth channels today? 37:34 — How do you track and compare subscriber quality across channels? 38:40 — Can you filter or vet subscribers on the front end? 39:15 — When should you start selling to new subscribers? 39:55 — What should the subscriber journey look like after signup? 42:15 — How many emails should be in your welcome flow? 43:27 — What are the best types of lead magnets for newsletters? 45:20 — Should you ever charge for lead magnets or access to your list? 46:33 — What conversion rates should you expect on signup pages? 47:46 — How should you run ads for your newsletter or lead magnets? 49:14 — What makes a newsletter ad campaign successful?

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  3. ١٣ أكتوبر

    How To Get Started in eCom with No Money│James Church

    Raising investment isn’t about chasing money... it’s about winning time from investors. In this episode of The Brand Builders Podcast, bestselling author and co-founder of Robot Mascot, James Church, breaks down the psychology behind successful fundraising, and how founders can turn their pitch decks into powerful sales assets that convert investors. Whether you’re a startup founder, eCommerce brand, or SaaS operator, you’ll learn how to: - Build a credible investment story that investors actually want to hear - Create pitch decks that hook attention and drive follow-up meetings - Understand what investors really care about — proof, traction, and risk - Avoid the #1 mistake that destroys founder credibility - Value your business and structure your deal without giving up too much equity - Turn fundraising into a repeatable B2B sales and marketing campaign - Choose the right investors and advisers to scale faster - Decide when to raise vs. bootstrap your business Stick around as James also shares frameworks from his book “Investable Entrepreneur”, revealing the six principles of the perfect pitch, and why storytelling psychology drives investor engagement. Chapters: 00:00 — The #1 Mistake Founders Make When Pitching Investors 00:52 — Meet James Church: The Man Behind 400+ Funded Startups 02:28 — Inside Robot Mascot: The Agency That Makes Startups “Investable” 03:00 — What Kind of Founders Do They Work With? (Hint: Not Just Tech) 04:10 — From Brand Agency to Investment Consultancy — The Unexpected Pivot 07:25 — The Moment James Knew He Had to Reinvent His Business 09:48 — Why Letting Go of Design Was the Best Move He Ever Made 12:38 — The Secret Process That Turns Ideas Into Investor Magnets 15:00 — The Psychology Behind Investor-Ready Pitch Decks 19:12 — How Raising Money Forces Founders to Fix Their Business 21:17 — The Team Structure Behind a Multi-Million-Dollar Pitch Machine 22:46 — What It’s Actually Like Working With Robot Mascot 24:20 — Why You Should Pitch for Time, Not Money 27:49 — Treating Fundraising Like a B2B Sales Funnel 30:07 — Turning Your Pitch Deck Into a Marketing Campaign 30:57 — Why James Wrote Investable Entrepreneur (and What It Teaches) 33:06 — The Harsh Truth: Most Founders Aren’t Ready to Raise 35:09 — Raise Capital or Bootstrap? Here’s How to Decide 37:54 — Lifestyle vs Performance Businesses — Which One Are You? 41:38 — Can a Lifestyle Business Ever Truly Scale? 44:52 — The Right Time to Start Raising Investment 47:58 — Equity, Dilution & Keeping Control — James’s Advice 53:22 — How to Value Your Startup Without Guessing 57:48 — Picking the Right Investors (and Avoiding the Wrong Ones) 01:03:13 — Angels, VCs, and Beyond — Understanding Investor Types 01:07:18 — How to Find and Leverage Great Advisers 01:10:22 — Paying Advisers: Cash or Equity? 01:12:54 — What Really Happens After You Raise Investment 01:15:11 — What Investors Look for Beyond the Money 01:18:20 — Why eCommerce Brands Are Suddenly Hot for Investors 01:21:18 — The State of Fundraising in Today’s Market 01:25:43 — Where to Find James + Get His Book “Investable Entrepreneur”

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  4. ٢٩ سبتمبر

    How I Grew My Business Fast on Facebook and TikTok│Olly Hudson

    Scale without the shiny-object spiral. Ollie Hudson has helped 100+ brands hit 7/8 figures by doing fewer things better: dominant channel focus (Meta), disciplined creative strategy, offer testing tied to unit economics, and smart expansion (TikTok Shop, new products, new markets) only when the data says so. What you’ll learn - The growth ladder at 6/7/8 figures: rapid growth → consolidate → repeat - Why most brands can reach eight figures on one channel (Meta) — and when to layer TikTok/TikTok Shop - Creative strategy that actually moves CAC: “silver bullet” frameworks, iteration vs big swings - Offer design with a P&L: AOV lifts (bundles, GWP) vs LTV trade-offs and when to prefer each - ICP and messaging: casting a smart wide net, then doubling down - Measurement that survives complexity: forecasting, contribution margin, blended targets - US vs UK eCom: execution standards, spend ceilings, and how to expand the right way - Agency ops playbook: pods, hiring, incentives, and keeping opex flexible Chapters: 00:00 – Intro: Meet Ollie Hudson & the growth journey 02:36 – How do you view growth strategies at 6, 7, and 8 figures? 05:04 – Is creative/positioning just at the start, or ongoing as you scale? 06:38 – Should new brands capture existing demand first, rather than create it? 08:17 – Is that just for early traction, and do you diversify later? 08:46 – At the six-figure stage, beyond creative testing, what else matters? 10:09 – Should brands target one ICP early on? 11:50 – After testing personas, when do you double down? 13:45 – How do you split testing variants vs. big creative swings? 17:51 – How should brands approach offer creation? 20:09 – Does offer testing depend on business goals (AOV vs. LTV)? 23:04 – What other bottlenecks block growth beyond creative and offers? 25:44 – Are finance/ops common gaps in scaling brands? 27:23 – How should brands decide on new channels vs. optimizing existing ones? 31:14 – What do brands miss by trying to do all marketing in-house? 33:38 – At what size does it make sense to bring functions in-house? 35:35 – Which functions should brands 100% keep internal? 37:48 – Why is SAW winning big UK brands compared to competitors? 40:34 – How do you stay on top of market needs and shift service accordingly? 43:49 – How do you find the courage to pivot or rebuild an agency service? 45:50 – What’s your process for hiring and vetting talent? 47:20 – In-person vs remote teams: what works best for agencies? 48:08 – At what headcount does in-person become necessary? 50:08 – How do you approach talent development and knowledge sharing? 52:25 – How do you personally stay focused across multiple projects? 52:31 – How do you identify your own “zone of genius”? 54:28 – Once gaps appear, how do you fill them and tie roles to P&L? 57:54 – How do you incentivize leaders and teams? 59:45 – How do you view agency growth—organic vs acquisition? 01:03:41 – Do you help brands expand internationally (US, Germany)? 01:04:31 – Closing thoughts & where to follow Ollie

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Scaling an eCommerce brand is hard. The intention for this podcast is simple; to have interesting, insightful & authentic conversations with successful brand builders. We want to provide real world stories and helpful, practical information about what’s currently working to help you build your own seven and eight figure brand. We release an episode every week on Sunday afternoon, so if you’re looking for actionable, no BS eCom insights, hit subscribe and stay tuned!