Operators

Aftersell

Richpanel

Northbeam

Saras Analytics

Postscript

Operators Newsletter

How Hudson Leogrande Is Building Comfrt Into a $1B Brand Mar 12, 2026

Show notes

What does it take to create a billion-dollar brand from scratch — homeless at 16, no investors, no safety net?

Hudson Leogrande, founder of Comfrt, joins Sean Frank (CEO of Ridge) and Matt Bertulli (CEO of Pela & Lomi), to trace the story behind one of the fastest-growing ecommerce brands ever built. Hudson started with $1,000 in his mom’s basement, spent five years grinding through an oral care brand, and bootstrapped Comfrt to what will soon be a billion dollars in annual revenue.

The conversation covers how Hudson cracked the creator economy, why Comfrt runs 500 commission-based content creators as mini-CMOs, and how the brand survived going broke seven times. Hudson also pulls back the curtain on dynamic pricing, the pre-order strategy that saved the business, and the product innovations that he believes will make everything the brand has done so far look small.

Operators Titans is brought to you by AppLovin.
Get access to the Operators channel expansion playbook, online masterclass, and up to $5k in ad credits here: https://www.9operators.com/paid-growth. Or launch your ads today with our exclusive link: https://applovin.com/9operators.

From Spreadsheets to AI Agents: The Ecommerce Data Playbook Mar 11, 2026

Show notes

Are you running your ecommerce brand on gut instinct while your competitors build AI-powered data machines?

Sean Frank (CEO of Ridge) and Jason Panzer (President of HexClad) sit down with Krishna Poda, the CEO of Saras Analytics, to unpack why a clean data foundation isn’t optional. And what you can build on top of it with AI right now.

They cover the rise of agentic workflows and what it means to replace repetitive human tasks with agents that work around the clock, why every stakeholder in a business should be able to query their own data without waiting on an analyst, how Saras IQ is built as a vertically specialized layer on top of Claude to deliver consistent and governed answers, and what the near future looks like when your brand’s central agent is negotiating with Meta’s agent, Northbeam’s agent, and every other platform fighting for your budget.

Fulfil

Saras Analytics

Aftersell

Postscript

Richpanel

Northbeam

Operators Newsletter

https://www.chatwalrus.com/

How to Make AI Work for Your Brand With Two (Enterprise) Insiders Mar 04, 2026

Show notes

“95% of AI pilots fail. I lived that, full stop.” Craig Foldes (Founder of ChatWalrus, fmr. Global Head of AI at Crocs) and Matt Kruer (CIO at Bissell) join host Sean Frank to explore the state of AI within enterprise versus DTC brands.

The conversation covers how to find + celebrate the 10% of employees who are AI power users, what it looks like when adoption works, and why this is “for the rebels.”

They debate whether AI is the great equalizer or a quiet advantage, unpack which parts of the AI hype cycle are overblown, and make the case that the people who learn to master these tools now are the ones who will win, in their careers and in their companies.

Craig Foldes

https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-foldes-1b949b96/

Matt Kruer

https://x.com/matthew_kruer

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-kruer-9a90b716/

Fulfil

Aftersell

Richpanel

Northbeam

Saras Analytics

Postscript

Operators Newsletter

8 Failed Businesses Before Kitsch’s Beauty Empire Mar 03, 2026

Show notes

How did a married couple with $30k in savings and no business plan build one of the biggest beauty and accessories brands in America?

Cassandra Thurswell (Founder & CEO of Kitsch) and Jeremy Thurswell (COO), join hosts Mike Beckham and Matt Bertulli for their first-ever joint podcast interview.

Together, they unpack the full story of building a bootstrapped empire from a living room apartment to over 30,000 retail doors and more than 10 million ecommerce orders.

Cassandra and Jeremy open up about eight failed businesses before Kitsch, catching their manufacturer stealing IP on their “honeymoon” in China, and navigating a terrifying pivot that led to 70 million face masks. They share how they’ve protected their marriage while running a company together, the reality of balancing motherhood with being a CEO, and why scarcity — not funding — created the focus that made Kitsch unstoppable.

Learn more about Latinas in Beauty, where Cassandra serves on the Advisory Board: https://latinasinbeauty.org

Kat Cole: From Hostess to AG1’s CEO With +$500M in Revenue Feb 26, 2026

Show notes

Matt Bertulli, CEO of Pela Case and Lomi, and Mike Beckham, CEO of Simple Modern, sit down with Kat Cole, CEO of AG1, to trace one of the most unconventional executive careers in consumer. From hostess at Hooters at 17 to vice president by 26, to leading a multi-billion dollar restaurant empire through the pandemic, Kat's path defies every traditional playbook.

The conversation covers how crisis sharpens leadership into an arrow, why Kat’s “Hotshot Rule” has been a weekly practice for nearly two decades, and how AG1 quietly spent two years shoring up operations and clinical science before unleashing a wave of launches — new products, new flavors, a Costco debut, and Hugh Jackman — in a single six-month run. They also dig into the Athletic Greens to AG1 rebrand, what it really means to stay close to your customer when you're fully remote, and why Kat believes product quality is the most underrated growth strategy in the game.

Practical Tips on AI, Brand & Growth With Taylor Holiday Feb 25, 2026

Show notes

Is your brand built to survive the next five years or just the next quarter? Sean Frank, CEO of Ridge, and co-host Katy Mimari, Founder and CEO of Caden Lane, sit down with Taylor Holiday, CEO of Common Thread Collective, to reflect on the wild ride from 2020 to 2025 and what it means for the road ahead. Together, they unpack what worked, what failed, and what they'd do differently as operators who've built and scaled brands through one of the most volatile decades in e-commerce history. The conversation covers how AI is quietly reshaping creative production and how unchained AI outperforms humans in head-to-head studies. Taylor breaks down why TikTok Shop is essentially an affiliate Ponzi scheme but still an arbitrage opportunity. Sean reveals his new supplement brand and the logic behind launching new brands every year, while Katy shares how wholesale is really just training wheels for her ultimate goal of owned retail.

Finally, all three dig into the Four Peaks framework — a practical, steal-worthy strategy for engineering conversion spikes and clearing your funnel all year long.

Fulfil

Richpanel

Northbeam

Saras Analytics

Aftersell

Postscript

Operators Newsletter

Mastering Leadership Is Mostly Saying No (And Living With It) Feb 18, 2026

Show notes

Leadership isn’t about being liked. It’s about making hard decisions, living with the consequences, and still winning.

Mike Beckham, Matt Bertulli, and Jason Panzer sit down to talk honestly about what leadership really costs when the stakes are high. They dig into hiring and firing decisions, culture trade-offs, growth versus profitability, and the personal pressure that comes with running large, successful businesses. The conversation avoids motivational clichés and focuses on what actually works when real money and people are involved.

The episode moves beyond strong opinions into the results behind them, including margins, growth trade-offs, enterprise value, and scale. They explore why most people shouldn’t lead, how insecurity quietly damages businesses, and why saying no is often a leader’s most important job. Along the way, they challenge common leadership advice and ask uncomfortable questions about who leadership is really for.

Fulfil

Northbeam

Saras Analytics

Postscript

Aftersell

Richpanel

Operators Newsletter

The Next $100B “Switch”: Inside COMFRT’s Affiliate Playbook Feb 11, 2026

Show notes

How does a bootstrapped brand go from $0 to $600 million in three years — without raising a single dollar?

Sean Frank, CEO of Ridge, and Matt Bertulli, CEO of Pela Case, break down the explosive rise of COMFRT, the anti-anxiety travel brand founded by Hudson Leogrande that has shattered every assumption about what’s possible in ecommerce.

They unpack the tactics, the mindset, and the cashflow mechanics behind one of the fastest-scaling bootstrapped brands in history.

The conversation dives into COMFRT’s radical affiliate strategy — recruiting thousands of zero-follower creators and turning them into brand missionaries through Discord communities, weekly coaching calls, and a grueling “1,000 videos in a month” challenge.

Sean and Matt debate why TikTok Shop is a top-of-funnel awareness play that no one profits from as a standalone channel, how paying affiliates after the sale creates a massive cashflow advantage, and why having a selfish mission — one that directly helps the buyer — is the secret ingredient most brands are missing.

Fulfil

Aftersell

Richpanel

Northbeam

Saras Analytics

Postscript

Operators Newsletter

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

Thrasio Bought It, Ben Bought It Back: A Founder Who Lived It Tells All Feb 04, 2026

Show notes

More than the incredible (true) story of one founder’s journey to turn around the company he created, this is a public coaching session on what it takes to win as a 6–7 figure brand.

Sean Frank and Matt Bertulli sit down with Ben Leonard, founder of Beast Gear, a strength and conditioning brand he built from scratch in Scotland, sold to Thrasio in 2019, and bought back after watching it decline for years.

Together, they dig into what went wrong, what Ben is doing to resurrect it, and why he’s launching a new product at the same time. The conversation covers the rise and fall of the Amazon aggregator model and the brutal math of earn-outs when a buyer stops investing in your brand. Ben walks through how Beast Gear went from $6 million in revenue to barely $500k after Thrasio killed the website, email marketing, and social media.

The hosts also guide Ben through their turnaround playbook, from TikTok Shop and founder-led content to reclaiming damaged Amazon listings.

Connect with Ben Leonard

https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjleonard/

https://www.beastgear.co.uk/

Fulfil

Aftersell

Richpanel