The Orita Podcast

Aaron Schwartz
  • 5.0 (1)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Each week, I'm sitting down with the most interesting people in eCommerce - founders, investors, marketers, and agency leaders who are actually doing the work. We're skipping past the highlight reels and getting into the real stories that shaped their success.

  1. 5D AGO

    From Sharp Edges to Soft Gels: Storytelling, Growth, and Longevity Marketing

    In this episode of The Orita Podcast, Aaron Schwartz sits down with Dennis Bernstein, VP of Marketing & Growth at Serafina Therapeutics (Fatty 15), and a veteran of Procter & Gamble and Dollar Shave Club, for a masterclass in brand building.Together, they unpack:• From P&G to DTC. What 25 years of brand building taught Dennis about storytelling, innovation, and constraint.• Scrappy wins. Why small budgets spark better creativity, and how “underdog brands” can out-execute giants.• The Fatty 15 formula. How a single-product, science-backed supplement became a profitability case study.• Test-and-learn discipline. Why learning velocity beats channel sprawl, and how to align your exec team around risk.• Personalization without creep. Using data, surveys, and AI to teach, not chase, your customer.• Amazon on your terms. When to expand, how to keep education alive, and why every box should still feel human.If you’re a marketer, operator, or founder trying to build something durable in a world that changes fast, this conversation is your new playbook.👥 Meet the guestDennis Bernstein, VP of Marketing & Growth at Serafina Therapeutics (Fatty 15)🎙️ Hosted byAaron Schwartz, Co-founder & Co-CEO at Orita.ai🌐 Check out Orita.ai for more episodes of The Orita Podcast—where we sit down with the most interesting operators, marketers, and founders in e-commerce to talk about what’s working right now. Hosted by the Orita team. Orita uses machine learning to help brands send smarter, more profitable marketing—by figuring out who actually wants to hear from you and when.🚀 Get your free email audit from Orita – turn segments into superpowers: https://orita.ai🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple 📩 Subscribe for more founder‑grade retention intel

    51 min

  2. 6D AGO

    Partners, Personalization & Performance: How Collaborations and Data Keep Brands Ahead of the Curve

    In this episode of The Orita Podcast, Aaron Schwartz sits down with Aoife (eefa) Teague, PR-turned-partnerships pro at Octane AI, for a no-BS look at quizzes, zero-party data, and how to make partnerships actually ship revenue (not decks).Together, they unpack:• Stop guessing. Start asking. Why zero-party data beats “vibes” and how most brands still aren’t using it• Quizzes in minutes. Octane’s AI can spin up on-brand product finders from a prompt• Use it or lose it. The simple workflows to turn quiz answers into segmentation, personalization, and actual dollars• Partnerships that perform. Agency + tech tactics Aoife uses (templates, co-marketing, upkeep) so integrations drive outcomes• Better-together stack. Where Shopify, Klaviyo, and tools like Gorgias + Skio fit when you want retention that compounds• BFCM anxiety antidote. Make buying stupid-easy: optimized quiz flows, clear delivery expectations, and clean discount logic• When data surprises you. What happens when your audience isn’t who you thought, and how to pivot fastIf you’re a DTC operator, lifecycle lead, agency owner, or anyone still treating quizzes as a “nice to have,” this convo will upgrade your roadmap—or set it on fire (in a good way).👥 Meet the guestAoife Teague, Partnerships at Octane AI🎙️ Hosted byAaron Schwartz, Co-founder & Co-CEO at Orita.ai🎧 Chapters00:00 From PR to Product: Aoife’s Origin Story04:58 Why Partnerships? The Octane AI Pivot08:16 Quizzes in Minutes: Inside Octane’s AI Builder12:24 Zero-Party Data, Real-World Revenue16:56 Agency Alliances That Actually Move the Needle18:45 Turning Partnerships into Pipeline (and Proof)23:18 Your Customers Aren’t Who You Think29:03 The Playbook for High-Trust, High-ROI Partners30:33 Make Buying Easy: UX Tactics That Print Money🌐 Check out Orita.ai for more episodes of The Orita Podcast, where we sit down with the most interesting operators, marketers, and founders in e-commerce to talk about what’s working right now. Hosted by the Orita team. Orita uses machine learning to help brands send smarter, more profitable marketing, by figuring out who actually wants to hear from you and when.🚀 Get your free email audit from Orita – turn segments into superpowers: https://orita.ai🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple 📩 Subscribe for more founder‑grade retention intel

    34 min

  3. SEP 25

    Cookware, Capital & Contrarian Bets: Caraway’s Rise, Sticker’s Playbook, and the New Rules of Growth

    In this episode of The Orita Podcast, Aaron Schwartz sits down with Jordan Nathan (Founder & CEO, Caraway) and Oren Charnoff (General Partner, Sticker Ventures; ex-founder of Fondue → acquired by Postscript) for a founder-meets-investor reality check on turning “cool brand” into a durable business: pricing, channels, AI, and the one metric VCs actually care about (hint: it’s not ROAS). Together, they unpack: • Caraway’s climb: From Teflon scare to non-toxic cookware brand — and why “newness” (drops, collabs, colors) fuels the whole funnel. • Omnichannel, done right: Sequencing DTC → retail → Amazon without whiplash, and choosing partners for lift, not ego. • Money moves: Price like you mean it, and why POAS + cash flow beat vibes and vanity. • Future playbook: AI that actually helps (CX bots, Slack data, “digital twins”) + retention tactics that go way beyond lazy segmentation. If you’re a DTC operator, brand founder, or investor who wants fewer “spray and pray” campaigns and more compounding advantage, this convo will either sharpen your roadmap—or torch the parts that need it. Either way, time to move. Meet the Guests Jordan Nathan, Founder & CEO at CarawayOren Charnoff, Co-Founder and General Partner at Sticker VenturesHosted by Aaron Schwartz, Co-CEO 🎧 Chapters 00:00 — Meet Jordan & Oren: From non-toxic cookware to no-nonsense investing 04:21 — Caraway’s breakout: pricing high, launching smart, owning the shelf 08:39 — Startup scars: what Jordan’s first venture got right (and wrong) 13:00 — Investor X-ray: POAS v ROAS and the “creative, convincing, relentless” founder 17:20 — Omnichannel, on purpose: DTC → retail → Amazon (without breaking the brand) 20:39 — ROI or bust: sequencing bets, measuring lift, killing distractions 21:23 — Channel moats: how timing + placement lock competitors out 22:49 — Focus v FOMO: why doing one thing cold-bloodedly well wins 24:05 — Timing the jump: launch now vs. five years from now (and why it matters) 25:47 — Newness that moves revenue: drops, collabs, and press-worthy moments 28:09 — AI at work: CX agents, self-serve data, and the “AI Jordan” twin 30:47 — 1:1 at scale: personalization without the ick (email, SMS, onsite) 33:08 — Play the long game: build for 10 years, not 10 weeks 🌐 Check out Orita.ai for more episodes of The Orita Podcast—where we sit down with the most interesting operators, marketers, and founders in e-commerce to talk about what’s working right now. Hosted by the Orita team. Orita uses machine learning to help brands send smarter, more profitable marketing—by figuring out who actually wants to hear from you and when. 🚀 Get your free email audit from Orita – turn segments into superpowers: https://orita.ai

    42 min

  4. SEP 25

    Domaine Knowledge: Helping DTC’s Biggest Brands Future-proof with Shopify

    In this episode of The Orita Podcast, Aaron Schwartz sits down with Domaine’s dynamic duo—Stacy Strom (Director of CRM & Lifecycle Marketing) and Kim Samuelsen (Director of Delivery & Head of Domaine Studio), to unpack how the world’s largest independent Shopify design and development team helps brands win right now. From enterprise re-platforms to founder-led up-and-comers, they break down AI-enabled personalization, cross-channel retention, and BFCM playbooks that don’t torch your list. They discuss: • Studio vs. Enterprise → how Domaine balances scrappy founder energy with enterprise-grade execution. • AI that actually helps → curated tools (XGen, Zowie, Tolstoy) that drive conversion and efficiency instead of chaos. • BFCM without burnout → early planning, site speed, code freezes, and contingency playbooks to stay sane. • Retention beyond the weekend → segmenting send tolerance, nurturing new BFCM cohorts, and turning returns/support into loyalty. 👥 Meet the guests Stacy Strom: Director of CRM & Lifecycle Marketing, Domaine Kim Samuelsen: Director of Delivery & Head of Studio, Domaine Host: Aaron Schwartz: Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Orita.ai 🎧 Chapters02:50 — Domaine’s Glow-Up & Coopetition05:33 — Studio Mode: Scaling Scrappy Brands08:36 — The Stack That Actually Ships11:19 — AI: From Hype to How14:13 — BFCM Prep: Plan in June16:46 — Weekend Winners: Tactics That Work19:46 — Personalization Without the Creep22:37 — One Customer, Many Channels25:22 — What’s Next: 2026 Preview28:23 — Rapid-Fire Takeaways 🌐 Check out Orita.ai for more episodes of The Orita Podcast—where we sit down with the most interesting operators, marketers, and founders in e-commerce to talk about what’s working right now. Hosted by the Orita team. Orita uses machine learning to help brands send smarter, more profitable marketing—by figuring out who actually wants to hear from you and when. 🚀 Get your free email audit from Orita – turn segments into superpowers: https://orita.ai 🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple 📩 Subscribe for more founder‑grade retention intel

    49 min

  5. SEP 24

    Hot Takes & Hard Truths in E-Comm

    In this episode of The Orita Podcast, Megan Blissick (Director of Marketing & Partnerships at Orita) sits down with three powerhouse operators shaping retention and growth in e-commerce: Hannah Spicer (Founder, H. Spicer Consulting), Whitney Caldwell (Co-Founder, Code & Cart), and Kerri McDonald (Co-Founder, Greenhouse Agency). From launching careers on the brand side to building agencies that guide today’s fastest-growing Shopify brands, they share candid lessons on email, UX, and the future of retention. They tackle:• 📧 Email truths — why automations and smart segmentation drive more than batch-and-blast.• 🛍 BFCM in 2025 — how to prep without burning out your team or your list.• 🤖 AI, the good and the bad — efficiency boosters vs. chatbot horror stories.• 🧭 Retention redefined — why customer service, trust, and product quality matter more than clever hacks.• 🔑 Back to basics — what your site really needs to tell shoppers in 10 seconds. Stick around for hot takes on sustainability messaging, sweep-up campaigns, and the one piece of advice each guest thinks every founder should hear. 👥 Meet the guests Hannah Spicer — Founder, H. Spicer Consulting Whitney Caldwell — Co-Founder, Code & Cart Kerri McDonald — Co-Founder, Greenhouse Agency 🎙 Hosted by Megan Blissick, Director of Marketing & Partnerships at Orita.ai 🎧 Chapters 00:00 — Meet the Operators: From Brand-Side Grit to Agency Brains 02:36 — Left Turns & Leap Years: How We Landed in E-Comm 05:28 — Remote, But Real: Culture, Burnout & Boundaries 08:14 — Email Isn’t Dead: Why Flows Still Print Money 10:44 — The 80/20 of Flows: Welcome, Browse, Abandon, Repeat 13:47 — Retention = Everything: CX, Shipping, Loyalty (and sanity) 16:22 — AI in DTC: Hype vs. Help 19:14 — 10x Yourself: Using AI to Kill Busywork 25:27 — The Practical AI Playbook: What to Use, What to Skip 31:39 — BFCM Without the Burnout: Offers, Ops & List Health 45:48 — Do Good or Do Deals? When Sustainability Meets Sales 🌐 Check out Orita.ai for more episodes of The Orita Podcast—where we sit down with the most interesting operators, marketers, and founders in e-commerce to talk about what’s working right now. Hosted by the Orita team. Orita uses machine learning to help brands send smarter, more profitable marketing—by figuring out who actually wants to hear from you and when. 🚀 Get your free email audit from Orita – turn segments into superpowers: https://orita.ai 🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple 📩 Subscribe for more founder‑grade retention intel

    53 min

  6. SEP 9

    Fighting Fraud and Fueling Loyalty: Lessons in Trust, Community Building, and Durable Growth

    In this episode of The Orita Podcast, Jordan Shamir (Co-Founder & CEO of Yofi) and Malc Miller (Co-Founder & CEO of Wage) join Aaron Schwartz for a conversation that zig-zags from Ohio State vs. Michigan trash talk to the hardest truths about building DTC startups.Jordan breaks down how Yofi grew from sneaker resale frustrations into an AI-powered fraud and abuse prevention platform trusted by major brands. Malc shares lessons from neuroscience and his time at Lululemon, now channelled into Wage—a gamified finance app that rethinks how communities learn, play, and invest.They tackle:• 🛑 Fraud isn’t just lost revenue — it wrecks CX, trust, and downstream data.• 🎮 Gamification, neuroscience, and why sparring with peers beats theory every time.• 🛠 The founder toolkit: slowing down to speed up, modular product design, and why being wrong (a lot) is part of the job.Stick around for why losing a Lululemon contract turned into the best thing that ever happened to Yofi.👥 Meet the guestsJordan Shamir, Co-Founder & CEO, YofiMalc Miller, Co-Founder & CEO, WageHosted by Aaron Schwartz, Co-Founder & Co-CEO at Orita.ai🎧 Chapters[00:00] Buckeyes vs. Wolverines - setting the tone [01:46] Malc’s path - neuroscience, soccer, systems thinking [05:00] Jordan’s origin story - schemer to startup operator [06:48] Yofi’s pivot - from sneaker chaos to CX-first fraud defense [08:52] Enterprise reality check - when no one owns fraud [12:07] The Lulu loss that leveled up Yofi [17:02] Inside future experiences at Lululemon - spotting patterns early [18:54] Wage 101 - pickup-game finance and learning by doing [21:33] Gamification that matters - win, lose, learn [23:56] Data you can trust - stop learning from dirty signals [31:55] Founder truths - assume you’re wrong, move anyway [34:34] Slow down to speed up - modular product over platform pitch [36:35] Team cadence - three outcomes per meeting, always [39:54] Hiring for ownership - problem finders vs. problem solvers [42:47] Build it, don’t debate it - design first, align fast [48:31] Where to find Malc and Jordan (and Wage’s waitlist) [49:45] Parting shots - momentum is manufactured [50:45] Sign-off - don’t do startups alone 🌐 Check out Orita.ai for more episodes of The Orita Podcast—where we sit down with the most interesting operators, marketers, and founders in e-commerce to talk about what’s working right now. Hosted by the Orita team. Orita uses machine learning to help brands send smarter, more profitable marketing—by figuring out who actually wants to hear from you and when.🚀 Get your free email audit from Orita – turn segments into superpowers: https://orita.ai🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple 📩 Subscribe for more founder‑grade retention intel

    49 min

  7. SEP 9

    The New Standard in Retention: How a Next-Gen Agency is Rewriting the Rules of Loyalty

    In this episode of The Orita Podcast, Aaron Schwartz chats with two retention heavyweights from New Standard Co., Marina Carroll and co-founder Eric Rausch, to find out how top brands prepare for BFCM and scale smarter with email, SMS, and push. From testing frameworks to “send less, earn more,” they share what works across fast-moving DTC and subscription brands alike. They discuss: • BFCM prep that pays – testing hero vs. long emails, pop-ups, welcome series, and frequency • List strategy, not list “cleaning” – optimizing engagement tiers without torching revenue • Flows that convert – cross-channel trigger logic for email, SMS, and push (and what to skip) • Personalization, debunked – why “best product + best landing page” beats rabbit-hole segments • Content calendars that move inventory – using click maps and product sell-through to plan • KPI “love languages” – aligning goals (LTV, repurchase rate, churn) so teams row the same way • Escaping the AM/PM treadmill – frequency tests that trade short-term blasts for durable growth • Agency vs. in-house – when speed and bandwidth matter more than another standing meeting Plus: Marina explains the “test fast, then go wide” BFCM play, Eric confesses his hatred of over-personalized welcome flows, and Aaron lobbies for inbox placement over deliverability vanity metrics. 📨 👥 Meet the guestsMarina Carroll, Retention & Lifecycle Lead at New StandardEric Rausch, Co-founder at New StandardHost: Aaron Schwartz — Co-founder & Co-CEO, Orita.ai 🎧 Chapters[00:00] Meet New Standard: Who We Are & Why We Win[02:57] Retention, Reloaded: What’s Changed (and What Still Works)[05:49] Weird Roads to DTC Glory: How We All Got Here[08:27] The Gap We Saw—and Built New Standard To Fill[11:15] First 30 Minutes: Read the Room, Then Move[14:20] Hiring Killers: How We Build a Team That Ships[17:09] BFCM Warm-Up: What to Start Testing Now[20:12] Test Smarter: Subject Lines, Timing, and “Shorter Wins”[22:53] Send Wide, Not Wild: Engagement Tiers for BFCM[26:15] List “Cleaning”? Nah. List Optimization That Prints Money[30:37] The BFCM Playbook: Who Gets What, When[36:00] Flow State: Email + SMS (+ Push) That Actually Sync[40:10] KPIs as Love Languages: Align, Then Scale[47:04] Agency or In-House? Choose Speed, Not Ego 🌐 Check out Orita.ai for more episodes of The Orita Podcast—where we sit down with the most interesting operators, marketers, and founders in e-commerce to talk about what’s working right now. Hosted by the Orita team. Orita uses machine learning to help brands send smarter, more profitable marketing—by figuring out who actually wants to hear from you and when. 🚀 Get your free email audit from Orita – turn segments into superpowers: https://orita.ai 🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple 📩 Subscribe for more founder‑grade retention intel

    53 min

  8. SEP 9

    Borrowed Brains, Big Wins: Why Fractional Talent is the New DTC Growth Hack

    In this episode of The Orita Podcast, Aaron Schwartz sits down with two operators who’ve seen inside dozens of Shopify brands: Dov Quint (OpenStore, ran storefronts for ~50 brands) and Caleb Madsen (Fractional CMO). Together they cut through AI hype, agency roulette, and bloated tech stacks to show what really moves the needle.They discuss:• Founder obsession is better than shiny tools — why focus beats feature creep every time• Fractional done right — when to bring in help, when you just need a great media buyer• “Chaperoning” your stack — how to vet vendors, negotiate, and stop paying for apps you don’t use• Managed service vs. self-serve — why software still needs humans to unlock value• Practical AI wins — using fewer tools to 1.3x output without 10 new platformsPlus: Dov explains why you shouldn’t try to learn every AI tool at once, and Caleb makes the surprisingly profitable case for being “boringly excellent” at the basics.👥 Meet the guests• Dov Quint — E-commerce operator; Storefronts at OpenStore• Caleb Madsen — Fractional CMO, Madhouse Consulting• Host: Aaron Schwartz — Co-founder & CEO, Orita.ai🎧 Chapters[00:00] Meet the Operators: From Polaroid to 50 Shopify Brands[06:15] From Support Tickets to Ad Spend: Caleb’s Leap to Marketing[09:57] Founder Obsession: The One Moat You Can’t Outsource[15:45] Fractional CMO, Real Talk: When You Need One (and When You Don’t)[21:13] E-commerce Reality Check: What Actually Moves the Needle[26:44] Relationships are greater than Tactics: How “Chaperones” Save Your P&L[27:53] Tech Stack Triage: Cut the Bloat, Keep the Winners[29:22] Tool Picking 101: Vendor Vetting Without the Hype[31:47] Stack Optimization: Turn Subscriptions Into ROI[33:32] Stop the Agency Roulette: Finding Fits That Actually Perform[36:17] AI Without the Buzzwords: One Tool, 30% More Output[44:28] Dear Founders: Simple, Profitable, Boring (Why That Wins)[49:15] The Wrap: Where to Find Dov & Caleb🌐 Check out Orita.ai for more episodes of The Orita Podcast—where we sit down with the most interesting operators, marketers, and founders in e-commerce to talk about what’s working right now. Hosted by the Orita team. Orita uses machine learning to help brands send smarter, more profitable marketing—by figuring out who actually wants to hear from you and when.🚀 Get your free email audit from Orita – turn segments into superpowers: https://orita.ai🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple 📩 Subscribe for more founder‑grade retention intel

    51 min
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About

Each week, I'm sitting down with the most interesting people in eCommerce - founders, investors, marketers, and agency leaders who are actually doing the work. We're skipping past the highlight reels and getting into the real stories that shaped their success.

Information

  • Creator
    Aaron Schwartz
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    31
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Aaron Schwartz
  • Show Website
    The Orita Podcast

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