In this episode of The Growth Machine, host Phil Masiello interviews Dewar Gaines, Founder and CEO of Gaines Family Farmstead. Dewar shares the inspiring story behind building one of the fastest-growing premium pet treat brands, from hand-slicing sweet potatoes in a 700-square-foot garage to scaling into a nationally recognized omnichannel business.

The conversation explores how a relentless focus on product quality, strategic supply chain partnerships, and systems-driven operations enabled the company to grow while maintaining its commitment to all-natural, single-ingredient dog treats.

Phil and Dewar also dive into the future of ecommerce, discussing why founder-led live commerce is outperforming traditional digital advertising, how authenticity is becoming the most valuable marketing asset in the AI era, and why platforms like Whatnot and TikTok Shop are reshaping customer acquisition for consumer brands.

Gaines Family Farmstead website: https://gaines.pet

There are a lot of "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello

https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/

https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/

https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello

#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth

In this episode of Crunch Your Growth, host Phil Masiello interviews Tomo Delaney, founder and CEO of Noshi For Kids. Tomo shares the remarkable journey of transforming an innovative idea born from his own parenting challenges into a category-defining children’s food brand.

After years of developing edible “Food Paint” made from organic fruit purée, a Shark Tank deal with Mark Cuban inspired a bold pivot toward naturally colored, naturally flavored frosting designed to make mealtimes more fun while addressing growing consumer demand for healthier ingredients. The conversation explores the realities of product innovation in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, why sometimes the best entrepreneurial move is to pivot instead of persevering with the original concept, and how direct-to-consumer channels like Amazon and TikTok Shop are creating new opportunities for disruptive brands.

Tomo also discusses the challenge of reinventing a category that has seen little innovation for more than a century, the importance of natural food colors and flavors, lessons learned from selling into Walmart, and why creating products that children genuinely love can generate powerful organic marketing through user-generated content.

Noshi For Kids website: https://www.noshiforkids.com/

There are a lot of "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello

https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/

https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/

https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello

#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth

In this episode of Crunching Your Growth, host Phil Masiello interviews Rob te Braake, Founder and Fractional CFO of Insight Matters.

Rob breaks down how founders of online and e-commerce businesses can move beyond surface-level reporting and start using financial data as a real operational decision-making tool. He explains why most business owners underutilize their numbers, how breaking down revenue, margins, and cost structures reveals hidden performance drivers, and why monthly financial visibility is critical once a business reaches the seven-figure range.

The conversation also explores customer acquisition economics, the trade-offs between aggressive growth and profitability, and how businesses can avoid common scaling pitfalls such as cash flow strain and poor unit economics. Rob emphasizes the importance of building reliable financial systems that support smarter decisions, not just compliance, and how fractional CFO support can help founders gain clarity without the overhead of a full-time finance team.

Insight Matters website: https://www.financeinsightmatters.com

There are a lot of "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello

https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/

https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/

https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello

#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth

In this episode of The Growth Class, host Phil Masiello interviews Chimere Faulk, Founder and CEO of Dr Locs.

Chimere shares the entrepreneurial journey behind building a premium hair care brand dedicated to the loc community, explaining how years of hands-on experience as a loctician inspired her to create vegan, buildup-free products that solve real customer problems.

The conversation explores the importance of developing products from direct client feedback, building trust through education rather than relying solely on traditional advertising, and creating a purpose-driven brand with a loyal customer community.

Dr Locs website: https://drlocs.com

There are a lot of "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello

https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/

https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/

https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello

#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth

In this episode of The Growth Class, host Phil Masiello interviews Liza Roeser, Founder and CEO of FiftyFlowers. Liza shares how a Peace Corps assignment in Ecuador led her to discover the global flower export industry and eventually build one of the first direct-to-consumer online flower companies.

Starting with just $2,400 in savings, she transformed FiftyFlowers into a leading farm-direct ecommerce business serving weddings and events across the United States.

The conversation explores the complexities of managing a highly perishable international supply chain, scaling a niche ecommerce brand before modern platforms like Shopify existed, and building operational systems capable of delivering flowers at scale.

Phil and Liza also discuss lessons in brand positioning, customer trust, and staying focused on core business strengths, including how the company navigated the challenges of COVID-19 by adapting operations while remaining committed to its events-focused business model.

FiftyFlowers website: https://fiftyflowers.com

There are a lot of "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello

https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/

https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/

https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello

#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth

In this episode of The Growth Class, host Phil Masiello interviews Stephen Calsbeek, co-owner of Farm Hounds. They discuss how Farm Hounds grew from a small pet retail concept into an Inc. 5000 direct-to-consumer brand built around regenerative agriculture, transparent sourcing, and single-ingredient dog treats.

Stephen shares how a conversation with White Oak Pastures sparked the idea for transforming nutrient-rich farm byproducts into premium pet chews while supporting small family farms and reducing waste.

The conversation explores the challenges of scaling a niche e-commerce business in the highly competitive pet industry, the power of word-of-mouth marketing and customer trust, and why Farm Hounds intentionally prioritizes slow, sustainable growth over rapid expansion.

Phil and Stephen also discuss consumer behavior shifts toward clean-label pet products, the importance of operational control and inventory management, and how radical transparency has become a major competitive advantage in modern pet commerce.

Farm Hounds website: https://farmhounds.com

There are a lot of "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello

https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/

https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/

https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello

#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth

In this episode of Growth Class, host Phil Masiello interviews Carlos Carvalho, co-founder of One Movement Threads. Carlos shares his journey from working as a city laborer and union advocate to building a purpose-driven company that helps unions, nonprofits, and community organizations strengthen engagement through custom apparel, branding, websites, podcasting, and marketing services.

The conversation explores how authentic community building can create stronger organizations, why merchandise can be a powerful tool for movement growth, and the challenges and opportunities of supporting ethical, locally made manufacturing in North America.

Carlos also discusses the importance of understanding workers, serving mission-driven organizations, and creating brands that people are proud to represent beyond the workplace.

One Movement Threads website: https://onemvmt.com

There are a lot of "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello

https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/

https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/

https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello

#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth