The Retail X Series Podcast

Sapna Shah
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The Retail X Series Podcast

Are you an early stage founder revolutionizing the future of retail? Then you’re in the right place. My name is Sapna Shah and I’m an angel investor investing at the preseed stage in retail tech, ecommerce, marketplaces and consumer. I’m also the founder of Retail X Series, an ecosystem to help early-stage founders in the retail sector. Retail X Series includes events, a YouTube channel, a Slack community, resources for founders, and this podcast. In this podcast, I interview founders, investors and experts in the retail space, and we dig deep into the tactics around key topics that early-stage founders want to hear about. Welcome to the Retail X podcast.

  1. How to Institute a 4-Day Workweek at a Startup, Featuring Matt Hornbuckle of Stantt

    JUN 25

    How to Institute a 4-Day Workweek at a Startup, Featuring Matt Hornbuckle of Stantt

    How can a startup with a small, lean team institute a 4-day workweek? Especially one that has customer service at its core? Matt Hornbuckle, co-founder of Stantt, talks about how Stantt implemented a 4-day work week and what needed to change at his company to make it successful. Topics:How Stantt started the 4-day workweek as a trialWhy getting the team involved from the beginning was crucialHow Stantt set expectations with the teamWhat else need to change to make the 4-day workweek a su...

    22 min
  2. How to Build a Marketplace with Innovation at the Core featuring Trisha Bantigue of Queenly

    JUN 4

    How to Build a Marketplace with Innovation at the Core featuring Trisha Bantigue of Queenly

    Everyone knows that markteplaces are hard to build. And apparel marketplaces are even harder. This episode features Trisha Bantigue, CEO of formalwear marketplace Queenly, who talks about how she built a fashion marketplace using tech innovation to create a better, stickier customer experience, in an apparel sector that has historically had low trust, low frequency and high return rates. Topics:How Trisha’s background made her uniquely qualified to start QueenlyWhy starting with power us...

    28 min
  3. Building the Customer Journey featuring Louisa Schneider of Rowan

    MAY 23

    Building the Customer Journey featuring Louisa Schneider of Rowan

    How do you craft a customer journey for brick and mortar retail? How do you get to know your customer deeply? How do you build a company with the customer at the center? This episode features Louisa Schneider, CEO and Founder of Rowan, who will talk about how Rowan built a focus on the customer, from the earliest days through their retail expansion to over 40 locations.Topics:How Louisa thinks about fundraising for a brick and mortar businessHow the Rowan model evolved based on the need for b...

    37 min
  4. Getting to a Successful Exit Featuring Ju Rhyu of Hero Cosmetics

    MAY 1

    Getting to a Successful Exit Featuring Ju Rhyu of Hero Cosmetics

    When you’re just starting up your company, it may feel too early to be thinking about a future potential exit. But how does that exit ultimately happen? This episode features Ju Rhyu, co-founder and CEO of Hero Cosmetics, who sold her company for $630 million dollars to a strategic acquiror. Ju will talk about the decisions she and her co-founders made along the way that ultimately led them to a great outcome.Topics:Why a focus on what your ultimate outcome is important for how you set up you...

    30 min
  5. How to Sell a Consumer Product into Costco, Featuring Michelle Razavi of Elavi

    APR 8

    How to Sell a Consumer Product into Costco, Featuring Michelle Razavi of Elavi

    How can a startup with only two full-time employees sell their food product into Costco? This episode features Michelle Razavi, Founder & CEO of Elavi, a startup that specializes in gut-friendly, low-sugar dessert spreads. Michelle will tell us all about her journey getting her product into Costco.Topics:When in Elavi’s growth did Costco appear on their radarWhy Costco was a fit for Elavi, and how they got in the front doorHow Elavi managed diligence and leaned on advisors for helpWhat st...

    36 min
  6. Building a Brand without VC Dollars Featuring Sarah Kauss of S’well and Amanda Herson of Founder Collective

    MAR 25

    Building a Brand without VC Dollars Featuring Sarah Kauss of S’well and Amanda Herson of Founder Collective

    How do you build a successful large consumer brand without raising any VC dollars? Is VC the best fit for consumer brands? This episode features Sarah Kauss of iconic water bottle brand S’well and Amanda Herson, General Partner at Founder Collective – a founder and investor both talking about when VC is right for consumer brands, and when it isn’t.Topics:How Sarah started her brand S’well and how Amanda become a VCWhy Sarah didn’t raise VC funding for her company – and how she thinks about th...

    34 min
  7. How to Sell into Nordstrom, Featuring Niki & Ritika Shamdasani, Co-founders of Sani

    MAR 4

    How to Sell into Nordstrom, Featuring Niki & Ritika Shamdasani, Co-founders of Sani

    Selling into wholesale accounts is a really different proposition than selling through your own DTC channel. This episode features Niki & Ritika Shamdasani of Sani, an apparel brand inspired by South Asian culture. They walk us through how they built their brand, pitched to Nordstrom, made their launch at Nordstrom successful and so much more. Topics:How two sisters started the Sani brandHow they turned a warm intro into a pitch meeting by utilizing their strengthsHow they prepared f...

    37 min
  8. How to Raise a Preseed Round, Featuring Ann Wehren Founder & CEO of In-seam

    FEB 22

    How to Raise a Preseed Round, Featuring Ann Wehren Founder & CEO of In-seam

    Fundraising at the early stages is hard, and it’s been especially difficult over the last year or so – and even more so for a solo founder. This episode features Ann Wehren of In-seam, a private marketplace and sourcing toolkit for connectors whose relationships power the luxury fashion industry. She walks us through her step-by-step guide to raising a pre-seed round from VCs, from how she found warm intros, dealt with all the no’s, confirmed a lead investor and filled out her round. No...

    33 min
See All (45)

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About

Are you an early stage founder revolutionizing the future of retail? Then you’re in the right place. My name is Sapna Shah and I’m an angel investor investing at the preseed stage in retail tech, ecommerce, marketplaces and consumer. I’m also the founder of Retail X Series, an ecosystem to help early-stage founders in the retail sector. Retail X Series includes events, a YouTube channel, a Slack community, resources for founders, and this podcast. In this podcast, I interview founders, investors and experts in the retail space, and we dig deep into the tactics around key topics that early-stage founders want to hear about. Welcome to the Retail X podcast.

Information

  • Creator
    Sapna Shah
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2024
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2024 The Retail X Series Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Retail X Series Podcast

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