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Operators: Daily Summaries Delivered
by OPERATORS
In the world of ecommerce, a legendary text group is rumored to hold the secrets to unimaginable success. The catch? You must have nine figures in revenue to gain entry. The world’s biggest brands have denied its existence for years, until now. Four titans known as the “Operators” are leaking the secret contents in an effort to share its wealth of knowledge with people like you. Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Jason Panzer (President, HexClad), Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) & Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case x Lomi).
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- 4 days ago1h 3m
Learning From Failure: 3 $100M+ Operators & Their Darkest Moments
“We were not going to make payroll next week.” How did three ecommerce CEOs turn rock bottom into their biggest lesson? Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi), Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern), and Curtis Matsko (CEO, Portland Leather Goods) each share the darkest moment of their ecommerce careers. What came after built the self-awareness that changed how they lead. Curtis walks through the week Wells Fargo pulled a $20M line of credit after Silicon Valley Bank collapsed. Matt breaks down the hubris that nearly cost him payroll one Christmas. Mike shares the night a two-year venture fell apart. Their comebacks outweighed the crises, driven by a growth mindset none of them had before. Powered By Saras Analytics https://bit.ly/4a3gzVv Postscript https://9ops.co/postscript Aftersell https://9ops.co/4i3bb5 Richpanel https://9ops.co/richpanel Fulfil https://9ops.co/fulfil Northbeam https://www.northbeam.io/ Black Friday Resources https://www.9operators.com/black-friday Operators Portal https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard Operators Newsletter https://9operators.com/
- 6 days ago1h 29m
How to Design Packaging for Ecommerce Brands: Operators Build (E4)
“They have just shown how packaging can be so much of a differentiator.” What does a professional DTC packaging design process look like in practice? Chris Ganz (Senior Creative Director, Trevi) sits down with the Winks team to tackle one of packaging’s hardest problems: standing out on a crowded shelf. The group debates naming, mascots, and color palettes before testing real designs on real families. Chris opens with a full competitor audit, sizing up Ollie, Vicks, and Beam. Three distinct concepts turn into five packaging directions, each with its own typography and color story. The team weighs a winking semicolon against a plush sleep monster, and one child’s smile carries real weight. Powered By Iris https://www.irisfinance.co/operators Skio https://9ops.co/skio-9operators Omnisend https://www.omnisend.com/9operators Richpanel https://9ops.co/richpanel Runneth https://9ops.co/motion-runneth Aftersell https://9ops.co/4i3bb5 Operators Portal https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard Operators Newsletter https://9operators.com/
- 1 weeks ago1h 28m
Honeylove’s Betsie Larkin & Igor Lebovic: Building a $200M Company Together
What does it take for a married couple to build a $200 million brand together? Betsie Larkin (Founder & CEO, Honeylove) and Igor Lebovic (Co-CEO, Honeylove) sit down with Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi) and Jason Panzer (President, HexClad). The conversation traces an accidental idea, the crowdfunding math, and the founder instincts that shaped every expansion. Kickstarter only entered the DTC playbook after Betsie proved product market fit on tour. The brand’s sculpting body shapers and tummy control styles kept expanding the line. Betsie explains why a Kardashian-backed competitor helped the category instead of hurting it. Matt and Jason press on the mechanics of running a business with your spouse. Powered By Shoplift https://shoplift.ai/operators Shiphero https://9ops.co/shiphero-titans SARAL https://www.getsaral.com/special-guided-walkthrough-for-operators AppLovin https://applovin.com/9operators https://www.9operators.com/paid-growth
- 1 weeks ago55 min
Ecommerce Therapy: 3 Nine-Figure Operators on Focus & Passion
“I’ve always hated it. This year I made the decision to shut it down.”Can three nine-figure CEOs open up about their priorities, passions, and doubts?Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) sit down for an honest conversation about the pressure of scaling ecommerce brands. They cover decision making, staying passionate, and the whiplash of growing fast. Mike explains why organizations drift toward safe tasks instead of high impact work. Sean recalls shutting down a profitable business line while questioning his passion. Matt contrasts the rhythm of running a bigger company with the grind of building Winks from zero. Same stage of success, but three completely different struggles. Powered By Northbeam https://www.northbeam.io/Saras Analytics https://bit.ly/4a3gzVv Postscript https://9ops.co/postscript Aftersell https://9ops.co/4i3bb5 Richpanel https://9ops.co/richpanel Fulfil https://9ops.co/fulfil Operators Portal https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard Operators Newsletter https://9operators.com/
- 1 weeks ago57 min
Starting & Formulating a Supplement Company: Operators Build (E3)
What separates a real supplement company from just a good idea? Dr. Todd A. Born (Chief Science Officer, 4POTENTIA) pulls back the curtain on how to enter the supplement industry, showing the Winks team what product development, private label, contract manufacturers, and regulatory compliance (FDA) look like in practice. More than a deep dive into custom formulation, hosts Sean Frank, Matt Bertulli, Mike Beckham, and Curtis Christopherson show you how to apply good manufacturing practices to everything from marketing strategies in health and wellness to minimum order quantities (MOQs) to protect profit margin. Powered By Aftersell https://9ops.co/4i3bb5 Iris https://www.irisfinance.co/operators Skio https://9ops.co/skio-9operators Omnisend https://www.omnisend.com/9operators Richpanel https://www.richpanel.com/demo?utm_source=operators&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=rp2-2026q3 Motion https://9ops.co/motion-runneth Operators Portal https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard Operators Newsletter https://9operators.com/
- 2 weeks ago1h 0m
12 Lessons These Ecommerce Founders Wish They’d Learned Sooner
What are the secrets to winning in ecommerce that nobody talks about? Matthew Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi), Jason Panzer (President, HexClad), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) reveal 12 lessons for anyone building a brand from the ground up. This is what they’d tell their younger selves if they ever got one more shot. Secrets like why it takes a decade for your brand to earn its name and how walking away from weak products makes grit pay off. After that, cash gets a hard look because even strong margins can still starve your reserves. Also included are quick hits like customer obsession, copying your first product, hiring slow, and firing fast. Powered By Fulfil https://9ops.co/fulfil Aftersell https://9ops.co/4i3bb5 Richpanel https://9ops.co/richpanel Northbeam https://www.northbeam.io/ Saras Analytics https://bit.ly/4a3gzVv Postscript https://9ops.co/postscript Operators Portal https://portal.9operators.com Operators Newsletter https://9operators.com
- 2 weeks ago46 min
How to Create a Product From Prototype to Launch: Operators Build (E2)
What does a real product development process look like when 9-figure operators are betting their own money? Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern), Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), and Curtis Christopherson (Chief Growth Officer, Ammortal) sit down mid-build on Winks, a family sleep supplement, to make product decisions. Go behind the scenes on flavor count, purchase order size, pricing, sourcing, and the supply chain mistake from Trevi that cost hundreds of thousands to fix. This is an actual founder meeting. Recorded, unedited, and real money at stake. Mike breaks down the MOQ math behind every multi-SKU decision. Sean argues for the smallest possible capital bet. Curtis brings the manufacturer’s-eye view. It ends with one flavor, $75K inventory budget, and a purchase order due in two weeks. If you’re figuring out how to launch a new product from scratch, this episode was made for you. Powered By SARAL https://www.getsaral.com/special-guided-walkthrough-for-operators Shoplift https://shoplift.ai/operators Omnisend https://www.omnisend.com/9operators Richpanel https://9ops.co/richpanel Motion https://9ops.co/motion-runneth Skio https://9ops.co/skio-9operators Operators Portal https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard Operators Newsletter https://9operators.com/
- 3 weeks ago1h 36m
eBay Resellers to 14M Pairs of Underwear: Shinesty’s Co-Founders
How did two guys flipping “junk” build a brand that’s sold 14M pairs of underwear? Jens Nicolaysen and Chris White (Co-Founders, Shinesty) join Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela & Lomi) and Katy Mimiari (CEO, Caden Lane) to unpack how their eBay account grew into Shinesty. The secret isn’t strategy. It’s personality. They trace the jump from estate sales to beloved online retailer. One midnight email changed everything overnight. Fart blocking underwear and deviled egg prints became fan favorites. It’s proof that irreverent marketing keeps ecommerce customers opening every message. Shiphero https://9ops.co/shiphero-titans Shoplift https://shoplift.ai/operators SARAL https://www.getsaral.com/special-guided-walkthrough-for-operators Richpanel https://9ops.co/richpanel AppLovin https://www.9operators.com/paid-growth https://applovin.com/9operators
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About Operators
In the world of ecommerce, a legendary text group is rumored to hold the secrets to unimaginable success. The catch? You must have nine figures in revenue to gain entry. The world’s biggest brands have denied its existence for years, until now. Four titans known as the “Operators” are leaking the secret contents in an effort to share its wealth of knowledge with people like you. Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Jason Panzer (President, HexClad), Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) & Matt Bertulli (Founder, Pela Case x Lomi).
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