Sorry for the bad audio, we considered not publishing, but ultimately decided the episode was value packed so we went ahead and published it. Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/ Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/ Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/pos... What would successful founders actually do if they lost everything tomorrow? In this episode, a room full of 7- and 8-figure business owners breaks down — honestly and tactically — how they would rebuild from zero if...
Feb 20, 2026•57 min
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/ Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/ Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/pos... You’re not out of ideas — you’re out of creative systems. In this episode, we break down one of the biggest bottlenecks holding brands back: scaling creative when the founder is doing everything themselves. From shooting ads, editing videos, and generating ideas to managing production — many founders become the constraint in their own growth. So how do you...
Feb 20, 2026•23 min
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/ Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/ Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/pos... What do you do when your brand is growing fast… and then suddenly hits a wall? In this episode, we break down a real-time business speed run where a fast-growing consumer brand faces stalled momentum caused by inventory constraints, pricing issues, and misaligned incentives. Instead of panic decisions—cutting spend, freezing growth, or randomly changing st...
Feb 05, 2026•25 min
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/ Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/ Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/pos... How to Scale to $100M+ Without Breaking Your Brand What actually changes when a brand moves from early traction to serious scale? In this episode, we break down the exact questions brands start asking on the road from $0 to $100M+—the questions that separate brands that plateau from brands that keep compounding. We cover: • The exact ad channel mix we’d ru...
Jan 29, 2026•46 min
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/ Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/ Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/pos... We put 20 minutes on the clock and build a $1M business from scratch for a stranger, live and on the spot. In this episode, the “stranger” is the host, and the product is an all-natural meal bar that combines: • 20g of protein • 100mg of caffeine • Sweetened with honey • Built for busy, high-performance people who want energy and fuel in one snack The prob...
Jan 22, 2026•23 min
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/ Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/ Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/pos... Meta ads are still working, but most brands are making them way harder than they need to be. In this episode of The Checkout Podcast, we go pure tactical on Meta Ads: what’s working right now, how to test creatives without blowing up your account, and why most people obsess over “structure” when the real game is decision-making and creative systems. We bre...
Jan 16, 2026•1 hr 21 min
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/ Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/ Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/pos... Why Most Founders Fail — And How to Avoid the Same Mistakes In this episode, we break down why the vast majority of founders and small businesses fail—and more importantly, how to avoid becoming another statistic. John Coyle (VP of Marketing at Royo Bread), Nick Shackelford (Partner at Brez) and Bart (Co-Founder of Dad Gang) answer real questions submitted...
Jan 08, 2026•1 hr 11 min
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/ Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/ Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/pos... Growing fast should feel like winning. So why do so many founders end up more stressed, less profitable, and questioning their own decisions as revenue climbs? In this episode, we break down one of the most uncomfortable but critical questions founders face as they scale: Are you actually building a better business — or just hiring your way into chaos? The...
Jan 02, 2026•1 hr 11 min
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/ Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/ Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/pos... What do you do when you’re doing well… but still feel stuck on the hamster wheel? In this episode of the podcast, we break down one of the most common (and least talked-about) problems among ambitious operators, founders, and marketers: being constantly busy, financially “okay,” yet unable to make the leap to the next phase of freedom. The conversation sta...
Dec 25, 2025•1 hr 24 min
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/ Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/ Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/pos... In this episode, we bring together four experienced operators, founders, and marketers to answer one deceptively simple question: What’s the most important marketing advice that actually works today? No fluff. No theory. Just tactical, real-world insights you can apply immediately—whether you’re launching your first product, scaling a DTC brand, or trying ...
Dec 18, 2025•1 hr 40 min
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/ Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/ Download Your Free Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/post-purchase-checklist Description: In this episode, John Coyle, Nick Shackelford, and Bart Sinofsky play a game: guessing whether an entrepreneur is running a $1 million or $100 million business based solely on the questions they ask. The trio dives deep into the specific challenges faced at different stages of growth. They discuss how to curate a "content diet...
Dec 11, 2025•1 hr 18 min
Try Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/ Try Fuego: https://fuego.io/ Download Your Free Post Purchase Checklist: https://www.thedivenewsletter.com/post-purchase-checklist If you’ve ever wondered how to sell to rich people, enterprise accounts, or fast-growing 8 and 9-figure brands, this episode is the most tactical deep dive you’ll find anywhere. Today, the guys break down — in brutal honesty — exactly how successful founders and marketing leaders WANT to be sold to… and how most people get it...
Dec 02, 2025•1 hr 22 min
Today we talk about ADHD in entrepreneurship and other neurospicyness. We also discuss everything we learned in season one of The Checkout. Zoe and John close out Season 1 with a chaotic, thoughtful, and very human conversation on where eCom is headed, what it takes to build a resonant brand today, and why everyone on the internet is a little bit NeuroSpicy. This Episode: In our final episode of the season, it’s just Zoe and John—and somehow they cover everything: What brands got right (and wron...
May 28, 2025•1 hr 18 min
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May 14, 2025•1 hr 16 min
A 145% tariff isn’t just a price hike—it’s a slow-motion business killer. In this episode, the crew sits down with Cuts founder Steven Borrelli to talk about his viral open letter to Trump, the fallout from the latest tariffs, and how eCom brands can survive a 145% hit to their margins. We cover survival tactics, pricing strategies, manufacturer loopholes, and why most people on Twitter are getting it wrong. In This Episode: Why Steven’s tweet made it to Trump’s inner circle The difference betwe...
May 07, 2025•1 hr 20 min
This Hidden E-commerce Giant Makes BILLIONS In Plain Sight How a six-person team with a terrible website quietly built one of the biggest eCom businesses on the internet—and what the rest of us can learn from it. In This Episode: There’s a whole sector of eCommerce you’ve probably never thought about—brands that sell needs, not wants. This week, John, Bart, and guest host Nate Lagos break down the wild success of RockAuto.com and how it exposes a blind spot in the DTC playbook. They also debate ...
May 02, 2025•1 hr 23 min
John recently got fired from his job. We reflect on whose fault it was, plus tell stories about losing jobs. Today we're chatting layoffs, copywriting breakthroughs, and why the top 10% of spenders might be your only real customers. We kick things off with a brutally honest conversation about getting fired—how it feels, what it means, and why it might actually be your fault. Then Bart drops a VC-backed horror story, and Nate Lagos (VP Marketing @ Original Grain) helps us reframe the whole conver...
Apr 23, 2025•1 hr 22 min
Today on the checkout we're talking about Post Malone reaching out to work with one of co-hosts brands and the secret "guy behind the guy" who has build Post Malone's empire into an Empire. We also talk about: How to do -celebrity and influencer collabs How to build product and personal brand identity. The offers by Amazon and OF to buy TikTok Getting professionally catfished AI ad hype die down --- Chat GPT Prompt for Your Personal Action Figure: Step 1. Enter a Text Prompt for Your AI Action F...
Apr 17, 2025•1 hr 11 min
Kim Kardashian is teaming up with Nike with her brand, Skims. We give our takes on this, plus Poppy’s influencer vending machine backlash. From marketing moves to funding philosophies, we’re breaking down what works, what’s overhyped, and what smaller brands can learn from the biggest names in the game. - Kim Kardashian partners with Nike — genius move or gimmick? - Why Nike needed this… and why Skims might not have - What made Poppy’s influencer stunt controversial? - Was Olipop’s response pett...
Apr 09, 2025•1 hr 21 min
If you're not selling something to people while they’re out living life… what are you even doing? In this episode of The Checkout , John, Zoe, and Bart dive into how brands can break out of the DTC echo chamber and actually stand out—through physical experiences, creative retail, and lo-fi entertainment. From coffee shops with sandboxes to vending machines in front yards, we explore all the ways brands can drive sales outside of Meta ads. We talk: Coffee shops with RC cars (yes, really) Building...
Apr 02, 2025•1 hr 11 min
If you're not #1 in your category… your only hope might be to get really, really weird. In this episode of The Checkout, John, Zoe, and Bart (with Shack out this week) dive deep into what it takes to stand out in a saturated market. From Charleston Chew to Dr. Pepper, sliding mitts to Dad Gang hats, we break down the strategies behind products that win by being different—not bigger. We talk: - Why weird wins when you're not the category leader - How packaging and product design can disrupt legac...
Mar 27, 2025•1 hr 24 min
Today we're talking about how some businesses can make you a lot of money while others can make you rich, but almost none of them will get you both. ⚡ Subscribe for more eCommerce insights, brand breakdowns, and unfiltered takes! 📢 Follow us on social media: Nick Shackelford Twitter/X: https://x.com/iamshackelford LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickshackelford/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamnickshackelford/ Zoe Kahn Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_zoekahn_/ LinkedIn: http...
Mar 19, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 3
In this episode of The Checkout, we dive into a wild challenge—getting LeBron James to wear a DadGang hat! 🧢💥 Host [Your Name] is joined by DadGang co-founder Bart to brainstorm how to pull off this viral stunt. From designing the perfect hat to leveraging social media for maximum hype, we break down what makes challenge content work and why it could be a game-changer for brands. We also discuss: How challenge-based content can drive organic and paid marketing success The balance between hype ...
Mar 12, 2025•1 hr 12 min
Why do so many famous men have alcohol brands? Welcome back to The Checkout Podcast, where we break down the latest in eCommerce, brand building, and digital culture—with a little chaos along the way. In this episode, we get into: 💥 Why every famous guy has an alcohol brand (The Rock, Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Hart—what’s the deal?) 💥 The rise of cannabis beverages and new mind-altering brands 💥 AI in eCommerce—will it replace human jobs or just make brands more efficient? 💥 The fraud problem nob...
Mar 05, 2025•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 1
