Well Made

No matter how you brew it, coffee is hot water dripped through ground beans. But somewhere down the line, good coffee started to feel out of reach, even for the everyday coffee drinker. Some coffee historians may disagree, but Tony Koecny (aka Tonx) believes that coffee's turn toward the bourgeois came with its third wave — a post-Starbucks generation of gadget obsessed brewers looking for the best quality beans. Tony's roots in the coffee world run deep. His initial company, Tonx was the first coffee subscription around. Now, a couple years after selling Tonx to Blue Bottle, Tony launched Yes Plz. In many ways Yes Plz feels like the culmination of everything he's learned, not only about the nuances of the supply chain or the flavor complexity of different beans, but how coffee culture went wrong. Yes Plz is on an earnest mission to make really great coffee easy to buy and brew at home. With their weekly deliveries and beautifully executed zine, Tony and his team are lowering the barrier to entry for exceptio

The way people entertain at home has completely shifted. As consumers look for opportunities to design their ideal morning coffee ritual or movie night in, they’re investing in more items that make a personal connection more attainable. Founder, Kathyrn Duryea is betting on it. She started tableware company, Year & Day, after 10 years working in ecommerce and brand marketing. Year & Day offers complete table sets of ceramic plates, bowls, and flatware. By focusing on functionality and a direct-to-consumer model, the startup encourages customers to focus on what and who is around the table. On this episode, Kathryn and Stephan chop it up over family heirlooms and a love of entertaining at home. They dive into the “playground of industrial design” — spoons, knives, and forks (3:16), the technical nuances of glazes (8:08), and the Gardiner Museum (9:29). Kathyrn designed all Year & Day plates, flatware, and glazes herself, and partnered with artisans in Portugal. She reveals the rich history of ceram

In 2016, Joanna Griffiths found herself at a crossroads. Knix, the size-inclusive functional intimates apparel brand she founded three years prior, was omnichannel. They were selling online and in hundreds of retail stores, but their customers were experiencing a disconnect. That’s when Joanna took her bras and leakproof underwear brand completely online, 100% direct-to-consumer. This fresh start was a chance for Knix to transform their marketing and share honest stories directly with customers. Knix photographs their products on everyday women and they tell raw, honest stories about the messiest, unsexiest, and most humbling challenges women face. Joanna's career has been an exercise in risk-taking. On this episode, she reveals how she's finding Knix's brand voice (13:54) and solving unsexy problems (17:10). Joanna talks about launching products on their timeline since going completely online (21:28). She explains the benefits of not raising funding (for now) (22:53) and the creative control in only answerin

For the last 15 years, Manish Chandra has motivated pivotal shifts in how and where we buy things. Manish is the CEO of Poshmark, a social marketplace for people to buy and sell secondhand fashion and home goods. Long before founding Poshmark, he was creating social shopping experiences online. An engineer and marketer by trade, he believes in connecting community and technology, with people at the platform’s core. Community guides all the decisions that he makes for his company. On this episode, Manish talks about the logistics of online consumer-to-consumer resale (7:39). He shares how Poshmark negotiated PoshPost, the first-ever USPS shipping label designed for the marketplace economy (9:19). Most ecommerce plays start on the web and then move to mobile — Poshmark bet on an iPhone app first. Hear how they design their app as the expectations for selling pre-owned items evolve (12:21). He talks about challenging linear growth (15:56) and the Marie Kondo effect (23:46). Manish wants consumers to rethink the

Jeffrey Hollender co-founded Seventh Generation on a mission to create home products that are better for the planet. He co-founded of Sustain Natural (with his daughter Meika) to make sex and wellness products that are healthier for women and the planet. But now, he says his product making days are over. Now, Jeffrey spends most of his time as a professor at NYU, the co-founder of the American Sustainable Business Council, and a writer. His career path has been one of a steady zooming out. He started by facing the sustainability challenges of specific industries and products, and now he's working to fix the fundamental systems that are holding companies and consumers back. Jeffrey believes that systems thinking is invaluable, transparency is key in creating trust, and sometimes doing things the old way is best. “Systems thinking is invaluable because it teaches us to anticipate the unintended consequences.” In this episode of Well Made, Jeffrey starts at the beginning, sharing a bit about the teachers that

Function of Beauty never makes the same products twice. Each bottle of shampoo, conditioner, or leave-in is individually mixed, colored, and filled into personalized bottles for your unique hair type and goals. Every step of the process is rooted in technology. Founder, Zahir Dossa believes that lack of personalization is the biggest problem in haircare, so he rounded up the best team to tackle the problem. On this episode, Zahir talks about creating the hair quiz behind Function of Beauty's 54 trillion product combinations (6:36). Function of Beauty is on their 100th bottling iteration. Zahir explains how they automated their hand-filled process and improved their manufacturing methods (12:27). He gives the fundamental questions that successful startups should think about (19:50) and talks about how he applies personalization to the rest of his life (23:32). He shares how individualized haircare can be limiting (28:27) and creative ways to reach new customers (29:59). He talks about his previous business, Ar

Most people don’t understand the muddy manufacturing process of olive oil. Aishwarya Iyer is changing that. She is the founder of Brightland, a new olive oil brand that’s grounded in honest, conscious production and local sourcing of olives. After working in public relations and marketing for startup and technology companies in New York, Aishwarya switched coasts and careers. Now, she makes fresh, traceable olive oils with farms she trusts in California. The hand-harvested oils are meant to make you feel alive, awake and nourished from deep within. On this episode of Well Made, Aishwarya talks about building a traceable olive oil supply chain (7:14). She reveals moments of self-doubt before taking the leap of faith into entrepreneurship (8:21). A particularly warm harvest led to a switch in olive varietals. Aishwarya talks about how sharing that openly with their customers led to one of their largest sale days (12:40). She unveils how she vets her partners (15:35) and the practicalities of launching a brand (

The throughline of Matt Alexander’s career is his ability to curate and create community. Three years ago, on episode four of the podcast, Matt talked about building a focused set of small retail brands. Today, he’s running Neighborhood Goods — a modern department store that’s the culmination of those early ideas. Neighborhood Goods is a unique retail experience that rotates featured brands, products, in-store activations, and ultimately, the stories they want to tell. On this episode, Matt talks about bringing together local, digitally native, household name brands together under one showroom (9:45). Rather than sales-oriented goals, he shares his hopes for helping online brands explore offline concepts (12:55). With so many featured brands, Matt created a unified point of sale through a consistent rule set, carving out in-store quadrants, and training staff to be brand experts (17:26). Matt speaks on discovery and utility with a rotating, pop-in business model (25:02), and reveals plans for opening a second

As online shopping grows, ecommerce companies are struggling to make returning products as easy as buying them. Enter Happy Returns. It’s simple: buy online, return in-store at any Return Bars. You get your refund and Happy Returns handles the rest. In 2015, after leading the in-store returns program for Hautelook and Nordstrom Rack, co-founders David Sobie and Mark Geller started Happy Returns. Their reverse logistics company addresses a unique set of consumer and retailer challenges: inconvenient mail-in returns, shrinking in-store traffic, and management of an often complicated and expensive process. By appealing to customers who want the flexibility of shopping online and returning in-person, Happy Returns is building a critical solution. On this episode, David talks about setting the standard for in-person returns. He talks about using technology to build out physical return locations (6:24) and tracking surveys and coupons to quantify the business they drive for local partners (10:00). David dives into

A mechanical engineer by trade, co-founder Adam Simone worked for medical technology companies before bootstrapping his sustainable razor brand, Leaf Shave. After the acquisition of his first company, and a year of product refinement, Adam took his experience creating medical-grade tools to develop the refillable, plastic-free Leaf razor. Leaf Shave’s hero product combines the form factor of a disposable cartridge shaver with the durability of a double-edge safety razor. Adam still works for a surgical tech company but hopes to take Leaf Shave full-time, for now, he’s focused on creating great facial instruments and growing the small consumer brand on its own strength. On this episode, Adam talks about making well-designed tools (3:21). Adam tried to shoehorn a consumable business model — it didn’t work. He shares how he and his co-founder Adam Hahn found value in a focused core product (10:30). Adam talks about building brand loyalty (12:32) and innovating distribution strategy with retailers, like Package F

Scaling a craft brand isn’t easy, not only on manufacturing, but company values and ethos. Alex Matisse's company East Fork is producing traditional pottery that’s distinctly modern while forging a big, ambitious path forward. East Fork makes sought-after stoneware using clays from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Their minimalist mug is so popular that it sells out in minutes. East Fork plates and bowls come in seasonal glazes that mirror the energy of a family kitchen and the blanket warmth of a cup of cocoa. Co-founders Alex Matisse, his wife Connie Matisse, and friend John Vigeland are craftspeople at their core, but now they’re bringing their art to the masses by turning their simple handmade forms into scalable production methods. On this episode, Alex shares how East Fork is growing big but staying small. Alex talks about the turning point when they bought a gas kiln from the Netherlands (7:30). He shares the insistent design process of The Mug (9:29). He gets real about the blunt impact he

Kerry Cooper has 20 years of executive retail expertise. She helped build cornerstone ecommerce platforms for Walmart and she’s lead marketing and operations for ModCloth and Levi’s. Now, as President of Rothy's, she’s stepping into a new challenge of expanding the sustainable shoe startup globally. Rothy’s makes stylish, close-knit flats from the fibers of recycled plastic bottles. The massive appeal of their shoes goes beyond functionality, their 3D knitting is less wasteful than the cut-and-sew approach. As consumer demand for eco-conscious footwear skyrocket, Rothy’s is strategically separating themselves from the sustainable shoe pack by expanding to China where their locally owned factory churns out their slip-on by the minute. On this episode, Kerry talks about how sustainability is sewn into Rothy’s (13:50). She shares her polarizing views on raising capital and learning from investment mishaps (15:10). She talks about building products and teams at companies of all sizes — from 60 employees to 1.5 mi

There are a kajillion microscopic cells in the human body, and at least half are bacteria. Seed is a life science and consumer health company exploring the vast connections between microbiomes and health. Their Daily Synbiotic is a supplement that promotes the community of microbes that dwell inside us. Ara Katz co-founded Seed when the birth of her son helped flourish her interest in the microbiome. The company is focused on educating people about the power of the microbiome. On this episode, Ara Katz talks about translating the science of 38 trillion microorganisms living in and on our bodies (7:54). Stephan and Ara ponder panspermia (26:25) and sending bacteria to space (27:35). Ara helped produce several films before founding consumer goods companies. She shares how she directs Seed’s marketing and user design through a three-act structure (29:01). Ara reflects on normalizing bacteria (32:01) and making microbiome patties for honey bees (33:45). Stephan and Ara talk about living in a “plastiferous” time (

Floyd is challenging the way people buy and keep with ready-to-assemble, flat-pack furniture. Designed in Detroit and founded in 2014, co-founders Kyle Hoff and Alex O’Dell built Floyd as a solution to disposable big-box furniture. They started by only selling a stand-alone, industrial table leg that was portable and could be clamped on any flat surface. They would slowly expand to beds, bookshelves, and tables. By building off the same sustainable and responsive design language as the Floyd leg, each new product is a considered addition for the home. On this episode, Kyle and Alex talk about scaling international growth when their Kickstarter raised 14 times more than their original goal (6:32). Alex talks about how Grand Rapids, Michigan is the secret land of furniture (9:32), how Cranbrook Academy is a wizarding world of historical art inspiration (11:29), and how iconic Herman Miller products influences their design thinking (13:48). They talk about finding inspiration from Ikea’s experiential model while

EILEEN FISHER is closing the loop on their apparel through Renew. The brand starts with high-quality fabrics and designs and takes back their used clothes in any condition. Since 2009, Renew has recovered over one million garments. The pieces go on to be cleaned, then they're resold, deconstructed and remade into new garments, or regenerated into other innovations. At their east coast recycling workshop, the Tiny Factory, Renew is developing ways to extend their products’ lifecycles while implementing ethical and sustainable systems. Cynthia Power is the Director of EILEEN FISHER Renew and she's at the frontline of Tiny Factory. By taking responsibility for what their brand puts out into the world and its end-of-life impact, Cynthia believes they can work toward a less taxing model through shared learnings. On this episode, Cynthia talks about welcoming change and letting your interests be a career guide (2:00). She talks about the importance of labor in the apparel industry and respecting the origins of clot

In 2012, Tuft & Needle co-founder JT Marino set out to fix the broken bed industry. The digitally native brand began by shipping mattresses in boxes with a focus on consumer experience. In their first six years, JT and his co-founder Daehee Park bootstrapped the company to $170M in sales, then in September 2018, they merged with the largest U.S. mattress manufacturer, Serta Simmons Bedding. Now, as Chief Strategy Officer at Serta, JT has the challenge of retrofitting and dismantling existing systems at the traditional retailer. JT is doubling down to accelerate Tuft & Needle’s offline growth and guide Serta’s operations into the future, creating the lasting change Tuft & Needle had originally set out to achieve. On this episode, JT talks about teaming up with their competitors to fundamentally transform the retail industry. Tuft & Needle didn’t take outside capital but pitched to VCs four times. Hear how pitching taught JT and Daehee how to build an operating plan, forecast and manage finances

Logistics is one of the most complex pieces of running an ecommerce company. Cost-effective shipping solutions that don’t compromise customer experience are not one-size-fits-all, and keeping up with the expectations set by Amazon Prime is a constant struggle. Most often, 3PLs (third-party logistics service), are responsible for storing and shipping products for ecommerce. Casey Armstrong is the Chief Marketing Officer of ShipBob, a 3PL that operates a growing network of distribution centers in major U.S. cities. They’re helping ecommerce businesses run a flexible and speedy supply chain. With tools getting more sophisticated, Casey says long term success comes back to actionable customer data. On this episode, Casey answers fundamental questions businesses should ask when outsourcing their fulfillment. He shares the cost structure of 3PLs and gives insight into best practices around geography and vendor management. Casey talks about deciding what’s important for your business when splitting inventory, kittin

We first spoke to Ollie in 2017, less than a year after they launched. Gabby Slome was on the podcast talking about building a brand on great ingredients and an innovative model for shipping ready-to-serve, refrigerated dog food. Now, two years later, Ollie is scaling to keep up with their growing customer base. When launched, Ollie was shipping their human-grade dog food in single-use plastic trays. As their customer and canine base grew, they got the customer feedback they needed to scale and adapt their initial packaging experience. Last week, they launched a totally revamped packaging suite that uses less plastic and takes up less space. Now, food is shipped in vacuum sealed film packs and customers can store the meals in the newly designed, reusable Pup-tainer for freshness. This fresh start for Ollie was over a year in the making. On this episode, we’re talking to Nancy Walton, Ollie’s Senior Operations Manager about the serious supply chain strategy behind this exciting milestone and their new packagin

Protecting your skin from the sun is important, yet sunscreen is a surprisingly sleepy category. Initially conceived as a product for schools in 2007, now you can shop for Supergoop! on their website and on shelves alongside beauty products at Sephora and Nordstrom. The brand is changing the reception around suncare with first in-their-class, feel-good SPF essentials like their Superscreen moisturizer and new Shimmershades. As President of Supergoop!, Amanda Baldwin is leading the mission-driven sunscreen brand and layering a digital footprint over top. Amanda brings a long history in operations and marketing cosmetics and luxury goods from LVMH, Estée Lauder, Dior, and L Catterton. As a former private equity investor, she brings a broad perspective to the table. Now she’s building scalable and sustainable business solutions for Supergoop! On this episode, Amanda talks about their omnichannel strategy to avoid counterfeits (9:43). Sunscreen is a challenging category because it’s regulated by the FDA. Amanda t

It was Jenny Gyllander's passion for branding and her studies and experiences in venture capital that led her to start Thingtesting — an Instagram account dedicated to DTC product reviews with a twist. On the Thingtesting Instagram, Jenny, a former CMO of Slush and investor at Backed VC, offers her perspective from the lens of an everyday user and venture capitalist. A year later, she’s amassed over 22K followers, an accompanying newsletter, and website. On this episode, Jenny illuminates on the backstory on how she found herself in marketing to venture capital to best VC on Instagram (1:56). Jenny’s tested everything from prescription face wash to probiotics, she shares the three factors she looks for as a venture capitalist (6:18). A year and a half ago, Jenny didn’t know the term DNVB was, she shares how she uses the platform as a tool for constant learning (11:55). Stephan and Jenny discuss the difference between the US and European retail market (17:23), and the problems with homogeneity in the DTC space