Merchantry PipeCandy - The future of eCommerce and D2C

In Part 2, Episode 9 of Merchantry with Ben Tregoe, CEO & Founder of Bainbridge Growth, learn about the impact of high-interest rates on founders, what the Cost of Capital means to a lender, the difference between bank loans and alternative funding sources, options available to brands looking to raise capital and more.

Cause & effect of high interest when companies borrow funds (0:00)

How does a brand evaluate the options when raising funds? (5:16)

What is the concept of matching? (9:04)

The world of fun - retail & eCommerce (12:02)

De-emphasis on Finance teams, why & how its a detriment (13:00)

Black Friday & Cyber Monday predictions recap (14:10)

Recommended resources & planning for a startup (17:49)

Why is cash flow as important as profit? What questions should brands ask themselves? Supplier terms, repeat business, customer acquisition, ad spend, payback period, calculating LTV - unpack them all in Part 1 of the 9th episode of Merchantry with Ben Tregoe, CEO & Founder of Bainbridge Growth.

In this part we discuss:

Brands are in a tricky cash flow business (4:28)

Why cash flow is as important as profit (7:41)

Why better cash flow management would result in more success for businesses (11:25)

What should a brand plan for in today's environment? (16:28)

Innovative brands & products in the current space & explaining LTV (23:46)

In part 2 of the 8th episode of Merchantry, we discuss:


Are data and attribution in eCommerce skewed? (2:05) 
Custom development of the data stack? (5:00) 
The perils of retail distribution (7:20) 
Business benefits when you have complete control, farm-to-fork. (8:10) 
The channel with kick-ass ROAS (10:05) 
On raising loans for Amazon ads (13:30) 
Why DTC brands would hesitate to grow their business on Amazon. (15:20)

Our guest for the episode, Russell Saks, is the President and CEO at Campus Protein (a one-stop shop for everything a college student needs in their fitness journey). He is also the Co-Founder of BEAM be amazing, a premium supplements brand.  In this 2 part series, he shares his DTC journey for Campus Protein and BEAM, what clicked and what didn't, and how the DTC space has evolved over the years.

In part 1 of the 8th episode of Merchantry, we discuss:


DTC secrets to survive and thrive (2:10)
What ROAS is right for your channel? (3:25) 
What $100k could do to your bootstrapped business? (7:10) 
Warehouses - Own? Lease? Outsource to 3PL, altogether? (12:05) 
A big shoutout to SFN. (16:10) 
Buy with Prime - would you buy that? (18:55) 
How about MCF & AWD? (22:50) 
Will Shopify build Subscriptions? (30:05) 

Our guest for the episode, Russell Saks, is the President and CEO at Campus Protein (a one-stop shop for everything a college student needs in their fitness journey). He is also the Co-Founder of BEAM be amazing, a premium supplements brand.

In this 2 part series, he shares his DTC journey for Campus Protein and BEAM, what clicked and what didn't and how the DTC space has evolved over the years. 

In part 2 of the 7th episode of Merchantry, we discuss:


Amazon's next move with 'Buy with Prime'
Amazon's future with store builders and would Subscriptions (Subscribe and Save) be a highlight feature of it
How on-demand subscriptions are creating a win-win scenario for customers and brands

Rodeo is a personalized subscription platform and playbook that helps CPG subscription brands grow.

They help brands create the best consumer experience on the market. They've been a part of the subscription space for over ten years and can see the writing on the wall - an evolution in the subscription space is imminent, and the only brands that will win in this new subscription economy are consumer-focused brands. Their platform uses on-demand subscriptions, personalized cadence, and smart messaging to bring consumers a bespoke subscription experience.

In part 1 of the 7th episode of Merchantry, we discuss about :



Ben's journey in CPG and eCommerce space through his various ventures like Rodeo, Carthook and 1-Click Pony
How 2020-2021 have been pivotal years for eCommerce and Subscription brands
Causes of growth rate drop for subscription-based companies post-pandemic
Effects of new customers vs. repeat customers on the overall growth rate and importance of repeat customers
Challenges brands face to keep up with the subscription model


Rodeo is a personalized subscription platform and playbook that helps CPG subscription brands grow.

They help brands create the best consumer experience on the market. They've been a part of the subscription space for over ten years and can see the writing on the wall - an evolution in the subscription space is imminent, and the only brands that will win in this new subscription economy are consumer-focused brands. Their platform uses on-demand subscriptions, personalized cadence, and smart messaging to bring consumers a bespoke subscription experience.