D2C Diaries
D2C Diaries is a podcast hosted by Olly Hudson and Loukas Hambi that explores direct-to-consumer and e-commerce businesses. Drawing on their combined experience managing over £150 million in ad spend across Meta and TikTok and helping scale more than 200 brands, the hosts share practical lessons on performance marketing, operations, and creative strategy. The tone is relaxed and conversational, but each episode aims to deliver actionable insight for brand builders and marketers. Episodes blend real-world case studies with broader discussion of what it takes to grow a D2C brand today.
Episodes
What £32M in Ad Spend Taught Us About Black Friday | Offers, Creative & LPs BFCM 2026
We managed over £32M in ad spend in November last year. This episode breaks down everything we learned what you need to prep now to hit the ground running going into Q4. We cover how to phase Q4 so October builds the audience you'll sell to in November, how to build offers around your margins and show the value clearly, what last year's creative audit showed about statics, urgency and re
He Took ironSource to $11B. Here’s His $180M AI System for Scaling DTC| Omer Kaplan, Zyg
Before you spend more on ads, find out what's really capping your growth. Apply for a Growth Compass to unlock strategic clarity: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0yFr2w0 Omer Kaplan, co-founder of ironSource, joins Loukas to share how he's bringing the data and prediction playbook from mobile games into DTC, building agentic infrastructure to handle the work Shopify still leaves founders to do them
What Will It Take To Win Peak 2026 - Soar x Fospha
🚀 Claim 1 of 5 Spots: 6 Months Fospha + Free Audit: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0yvPGP0It's crunch time. With BFCM just weeks out, Olly from Soar joins Fospha to break down what "ready for peak" actually looks like: the creative volume and diversity brands need, why the top 25% of performers run more campaigns in BAU than at peak itself, and how automation like Advantage+ and Smart+ is shi
Creative Research 101 | The Hidden System Behind Ads That Scale
🚨🚀 Get your growth compass score: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0yhtSG0Loukas and Olly go back to basics on creative research: the five-factor scoring system that finds your real binding constraint before you open a single tab, and the audience, competitor and social research techniques that get you there. If you run creative strategy for a DTC brand or agency and want a sharper process for finding what to
From Complete Burnout To A £40M Category Leader! Mark Scott | The Leader Mindset
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://www.soarwithus.co/d2c-diaries-get-in-touch?utm_campaign=191661253-D2C%20Diaries&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=d2c_diaries&utm_content=ep_88Mark Scott built Bella & Duke into one of the UK's biggest raw pet food brands - £40M+ revenue, 140+ employ
Meta Creative Strategy | Building Banger Yapper Ads That ACTUALLY Convert
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://www.soarwithus.co/d2c-diaries-get-in-touch?utm_campaign=191661253-D2C%20Diaries&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=d2c_diaries&utm_content=ep_87Yapper ads have taken over Meta and TikTok this year, and the best ones are almost impossible for AI to write. We br
Meta AI Creative Strategy | What’s Working Now (Secrets From $100M+ Spend This Quarter)
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://www.soarwithus.co/d2c-diaries-get-in-touch?utm_campaign=191661253-D2C+Diaries&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=d2c_diaries&utm_content=ep_87Olly and Loukas are back with a full round-up of what's working in paid social right now. They cover the AI tools
Understanding Your True LTV and Company Value | Prof. Daniel McCarthy
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://www.soarwithus.co/d2c-diaries-get-in-touch?utm_campaign=191661253-D2C+Diaries&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=d2c_diaries&utm_content=ep_85Daniel McCarthy is the founder of Theta and an associate professor of marketing at the University of Maryland. Private
Carl Weische - CRO Mastermind Behind IM8's $50M/Month, Spills On Funnels, Offers & Post-Click
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://www.soarwithus.co/d2c-diaries-get-in-touch?utm_campaign=191661253-D2C%20Diaries&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=d2c_diaries&utm_content=ep_84Carl Weische, founder of Accelerated Agency, runs CRO for AG1, Huel, Vessi, The Oodie, Bioniq and IM8. He breaks dow
How Lapland Turned an In-Person Experience Into a Global $20M+ DTC Empire
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://www.soarwithus.co/d2c-diaries-get-in-touch?utm_campaign=191661253-D2C%20Diaries&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=d2c_diaries&utm_content=ep_83Matt, Director of Brand & Product at Lapland UK, took a 20-year live-only Christmas experience business and turn
£1B Ecom Operator Shares His Best Advice (What e-com founders get wrong)
Paul Gedman has been in DTC longer than almost anyone we've had on the podcast - from joining The Hut Group in 2009 with 40 employees, and over nine years scaling it to £1 billion in revenue via ten acquisitions (including Look Fantastic), to now running eComplete, where he's building a model that competes directly with private equity for e-commerce acquisitions.Paul breaks down why ever
We Audited 40+ 8-Figure DTC Ad Accounts in 2026. Here's What's Broken and How to Fix It
This podcast is proudly sponsored by Incard.If you're spending serious money on daily business expenses and getting nothing back on it right now, this dedicated offer gets you 2% Cashback for year 1 on Ads, SaaS, Travel and other everyday business expenses. Uncapped.Sign up for free and use the code SWU2K26 to unlock your cashback https://incard.co?fpr=soarwithus&fp_sid=podMeta performanc
What's Working in Meta Ads Right Now with Alex Cooper | AI Animation, Research & Winning Formats
This podcast is proudly sponsored by Incard.If you're spending serious money on daily business expenses and getting nothing back on it right now, this dedicated offer gets you 2% Cashback for year 1 on Ads, SaaS, Travel and other everyday business expenses. Uncapped.Sign up for free and use the code SWU2K26 to unlock your cashback https://incard.co?fpr=soarwithus&fp_sid=pod ---12 months a
The Organic Content Playbook Behind Tonic Health's 1.7M Followers: Sunna on Disrupting Supplements
D2C Diaries is proudly sponsored by Commercive.If you're a ecommerce business owner doing a minimum of 10+ orders per day and looking for a smarter and cost-effective way to source and fulfill from china, go to https://www.commercive.co for a free quote and fulfillment audit today.---Sunna van Kampen built 1.7M followers, generated half a billion views in 2025, and turned Tonic Health into on
Creative Strategy for Meta Ads | How a Top Creative Strategist Actually Works in 2026
This podcast is proudly sponsored by SARAL. Find influencers, reach out, manage every relationship, all in one place, without any chaos. 200+ brands including Grüns, Solawave, Spacegoods are running their influencer programs on SARAL.If that sounds like what you've been looking for, go to https://tinyurl.com/3t4d4myx and book a demo with their team. Tell them we sent you to claim your $500 di
Creative Forecasting Masterclass: How to Calculate Your Exact Creative Volume for Any Spend Target
D2C Diaries is proudly sponsored by Commercive.If you're a ecommerce business owner doing a minimum of 10+ orders per day and looking for a smarter and cost-effective way to source and fulfill from china, go to https://www.commercive.co for a free quote and fulfillment audit today.----Most brands have a creative volume problem and don't know it.In this masterclass, Olly breaks down the C
Claude Mastermind: Building a Creative Strategy System That Powers 6K Ads Per Month
This podcast is proudly sponsored by Incard.Most founders building high-growth digital companies are stuck doing the same thing: toggling between apps, wrestling with spreadsheets, and manually reconciling expenses - all while trying to actually grow their business.There's a better way.Incard is the financial platform built for the way modern digital businesses actually operate. Multi-currenc
The AI Stack Behind £100M Annual Ad Spend in 2026
This podcast is proudly sponsored by SARAL. Find influencers, reach out, manage every relationship, all in one place, without any chaos. 200+ brands including Grüns, Solawave, Spacegoods are running their influencer programs on SARAL.If that sounds like what you've been looking for, go to https://tinyurl.com/3t4d4myx and book a demo with their team. Tell them we sent you to claim your $500 di
The 4 Growth Levers Every DTC Brand Needs To Audit
This podcast is proudly sponsored by Incard.Most founders building high-growth digital companies are stuck doing the same thing: toggling between apps, wrestling with spreadsheets, and manually reconciling expenses - all while trying to actually grow their business.There's a better way.Incard is the financial platform built for the way modern digital businesses actually operate. Multi-currenc
Q1 2026 D2C Debrief: AI Animation, Attribution Updates, and the Creative Gap Brands Are Missing
We're back. After a month off, a new office, two London events, and somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 ads launched... there's a lot to catch up on.In this episode, Olly and Loukas do a full Q1 2026 debrief across creative strategy, Meta attribution, offer positioning, and the frameworks they've been running across 250+ brands.---This episode is sponsored by Foreplay. Start your free
The Persona Mastermind: How Top 1% DTC Brands Drive Incremental Reach on Meta
🚨🚀 Your creative strategy was built for an algorithm that doesn't exist. In 4 weeks, we'll identify exactly where your creative is leaking money and hand you a roadmap on how to fix it using a persona-driven strategy that reduces CAC, beats creative fatigue, and scales spend profitably.4 week sprint. 3 hours of your time. No retainer commitment: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0sDQ-p0Most brands r
M&A Secrets for selling your DTC brand in 2026
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0slb_f0Most DTC founders have a number in their head. A valuation. An exit. A moment where the work pays off.What nobody tells you is that the decisions killing that outcome are being made right now, long before you ever sit across from an acquirer.In this episode, Olly and
How to Make AI UGC Ads in 2026: Sora 2, Claude and the Full Workflow
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0s7Jtp0AI UGC has come on leaps and bounds. In this episode Loukas breaks down the exact workflow he's using right now to generate hyper-realistic UGC style ads, without booking a creator, running a shoot, or spending a fortune on production.We cover the full tech stack
Meta Insider Reveals How £100M+ Disruptor Brands Scale With Andromeda
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0rNf_N0For this episode, we’re joined by a Meta Creative Strategist working directly with some of the most disruptive brands on the platform. This is someone inside the system, helping fast-scaling brands rethink how they approach creative, performance, and growth.We unpack
Meta Algorithm Update: How to Adjust Your Organic and Paid Media Strategy
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0rw0Jc0From the team behind Soar With Us and Hambi Media: http://www.soarwithus.co/In this episode, we break down Meta’s latest algorithm updates — including UTIs and the next phase of Andromeda and what they actually mean for reach, creative strategy, and performance.We exp
The 2026 Meta Playbook: Creative Formats, Personas & Scaleable Structures
In this episode, we break down what’s actually driving Meta performance right now and why the brands scaling in 2026 aren’t chasing more creative, but building smarter systems around personas and AI.We go deep into how top-performing accounts are reusing existing assets, structuring creative by persona, and using AI to unlock speed, diversity, and incremental reach... without burning teams out or
How to Hire (or Create) Elite Creative Strategists for DTC Brands | Meta Ads & Creative Strategy
How we’re solving the biggest hiring bottleneck in DTC (and why Meta’s backing it). There’s a shortage of world-class creative strategists and it’s slowing down growth for agencies and brands alike.You can apply for the incubator here: Apply here: https://apply.workable.com/soar-with-us/j/F587A37B6F/You can find more information on the opportunity here: https://www.notion.so/soarwithus/Are-you-rea
How IM8 Hit $120M in 11 Months | Danny Yeung on Scaling the World’s Fastest Growing Supplement Brand
IM8 went from $0 to a $120M run rate in just 11 months and they’re targeting $300M by the end of 2026.In this episode of D2C Diaries, Olly sits down with Danny Yeung, CEO and co-founder of IM8 Health, to unpack how he built one of the fastest-growing supplement brands in the world.From bringing on David Beckham as co-founder, to replacing 16 supplements with one clinically-backed daily drink, to a
Dan Murray on the £25M Brain Health Brand Celebrities Swear By
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0qMvq60What does it take to scale a wellness brand to £25M+ after your first startup crashes, your health collapses, and you’re told sleeping pills are the only way out?In this episode, Dan Murray-Serter, co-founder of Heights, breaks down the unfiltered journey of building
The Ecommerce Playbook for 2026: Strategy, Trends, and Lessons from 2025
If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0qBQFh0In this episode of D2C Diaries, Olly and Loukas break down the biggest lessons from 2025 and what they believe will be the single biggest changes shaping e-commerce in 2026.They recap a huge Black Friday (nearly $40M spent on Meta in November), explain why Q5 (Boxing Da
SEO Playbook for Ranking in ChatGPT & AI Search in 2026 | Thomas Phillips
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth audit here: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0p-Mxb0SEO made £13.9M. ChatGPT made £175K. So why is everyone chasing AI?In this episode, Olly sits down with Thomas Phillips, founder of DTC SEO Agency and a veteran of 17 brand exits, to cut through the noise around AI SEO.Tom breaks down how one of their clients gener
The 2025 Growth Blueprint: How Soar With Us Rebuilt Culture, Operations & Forecasting to Scale
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your free audit here: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0pQjYt0In this episode of D2C Diaries, Olly and Loukas sit down with Matt Lewis, Managing Director of Soar Group and the very first hire in the business, to break down the real operating system behind Soar’s growth.The rebuilds, the mistakes, the hard lessons, and the frame
The Future of Creative Strategy: How AI Is Transforming Performance Marketing in 2026
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your free audit here: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0pzLCJ0Creative costs are climbing fast.Meta’s changed how ads learn.And AI is completely redefining what “creative strategy” means in 2026.In this episode, Olly and Loukas dive into how brands can adapt to Meta’s creative similarity update, scale creative diversity without
Meta’s Creative Diversity Mastermind: The 2026 Playbook for Ad Performance
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your free audit here: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0ppm8t0Meta’s Creative Similarity Penalty just changed the rules - here’s how to protect your performance in 2026In one of the biggest creative updates since Andromeda, Meta has changed the way your ads are evaluated and most brands are getting silently penalised.This episo
The D2C Reset: Creative Strategy, Incremental Reach, and What’s Working Now
The D2C landscape has been completely rewritten in the last six months.Meta’s changing what it rewards. AI is reshaping how we research, test, and create. And the creative tactics that worked just half a year ago are already burning out.In this episode of D2C Diaries, Olly and Loukas break down what’s actually driving performance right now and how smart brands are adapting to find incremental reac
How Jack Rubin Scaled Purdy & Figg to 1 in 20 Homes with One Product
Purdy & Figg has quietly become one of the most impressive DTC brands in the UK. 1 in 20 households now use the product. But what’s more impressive is how they've done it:One product. One market. One channel. For six years.In this episode, Jack breaks down how he's stayed this focused and why most brands burn growth by diversifying too early.We get into how Purdy & Figg became th
The New Meta Ad Playbook: Avoiding Creative Similarity on Meta
D2C Diaries is proudly sponsored by WayflyerRunning an ecom brand and struggling with cash flow? Whether you're scaling ad spend or restocking bestsellers ahead of peak season, Wayflyer provides fast, non-dilutive funding tailored to e-commerce businesses. No equity. No months of waiting. Just the capital and insights you need to grow, on your terms. Check them out: https://tinyurl.com/4jfc8y
How To Run Partnership Ads on Meta Like The Top 1%
How to Scale DTC Brands with Third-Party AdsStruggling to scale Meta ads without killing your CPA? In this episode of D2C Diaries, Olly breaks down the exact whitelisting and partnership ad strategies we’re using across 8 figure ad accounts to unlock First-Time Impression Ratio (FTI) and drive incremental reach.This internal training reveals why Meta’s Andromeda algorithm update makes creative and
The Product-Led Strategy That Rebuilt Hera: Holly Beadle
D2C Diaries is proudly sponsored by WayflyerRunning an ecom brand and struggling with cash flow? Whether you're scaling ad spend or restocking bestsellers ahead of peak season, Wayflyer provides fast, non-dilutive funding tailored to e-commerce businesses. No equity. No months of waiting. Just the capital and insights you need to grow, on your terms.Check them out: https://tinyurl.com/4jfc8ye
Scaling to £35M+ with Minimal Meta Spend: Pure Pet Food's Story
Before pet food was “DTC sexy,” Pure Pet Food was scaling with zero ad spend.In this episode, Matt and Joe unpack how they built early traction through scrappy tactics like event pitching, awards, and PR - not Meta. With just a £300 council grant and no industry experience, they grew the brand to £1M+ in revenue without touching paid media.They share how that foundation led to VC backing and how t
How Martyn Cook Scaled a Brand That Fortified 250M Meals
D2C Diaries is proudly sponsored by WayflyerRunning an ecom brand and struggling with cash flow? Whether you're scaling ad spend or restocking bestsellers ahead of peak season, Wayflyer provides fast, non-dilutive funding tailored to e-commerce businesses. No equity. No months of waiting. Just the capital and insights you need to grow, on your terms.Check them out: https://tinyurl.com/4jfc8ye
A Proven Meta Blueprint for Reaching New Customers at Scale
D2C Diaries is proudly sponsored by WayflyerRunning an ecom brand and struggling with cash flow? Whether you're scaling ad spend or restocking bestsellers ahead of peak season, Wayflyer provides fast, non-dilutive funding tailored to e-commerce businesses. No equity. No months of waiting. Just the capital and insights you need to grow, on your terms.Check them out: https://tinyurl.com/4jfc8ye
We Blew £30K on AI Workflows Trying to Scale Creative Ops
D2C Diaries is proudly sponsored by WayflyerRunning an ecom brand and struggling with cash flow? Whether you're scaling ad spend or restocking bestsellers ahead of peak season, Wayflyer provides fast, non-dilutive funding tailored to e-commerce businesses. No equity. No months of waiting. Just the capital and insights you need to grow, on your terms.Check them out: partners.wayflyer.com/soarI
Black Friday 2025: The Exact Strategy Behind £45M in Revenue
Black Friday isn’t just another sales weekend, for some DTC brands, it makes up 90% of yearly revenue.In this episode of D2C Diaries, Olly and Loukas break down the exact playbook that drove £45M in sales from £11.5M in Meta ad spend during Black Friday 2024 and reveal how they’ve evolved the strategy for 2025.You’ll learn:- The proven goal-setting framework to anchor your BFCM strategy- Offer st
£10M+ E-commerce CRO Tactics with Dylan Ander
CRO is the growth lever 99% of DTC brands are ignoring.In this episode, Olly is joined by Dylan Ander, ex-agency owner, 2x eCom founder, and now the creator of Heatmap.com, the CRO tool quietly powering some of the highest-performing brands online.They break down the post-click strategies the top 1% are using to scale profitably and why your landing page might matter more than your creative.You’ll
Scriptwriting Mastermind: How We Use Storytelling to Outperform 80% of Meta Ads
Most brands creatives live at the bottom of the funnel, battling over the same small pool of ready-to-buy customers.But 80% of our best-performing ads? They start much higher up.In this episode of D2C Diaries, Loukas shares the exact internal training we run with our creative strategists on the hardest skill in paid social: storytelling.You’ll see how we script for unaware and problem aware audien
Reinventing Creative Strategy with AI: Alex Cooper
Creative strategy is evolving, fast. And Alex Cooper is one of the sharpest minds pushing the industry forward.In this episode, we dig into the intersection of AI and creativity: how brands can scale content that actually converts, why performance-first storytelling matters now more than ever, and what the strategist’s role really looks like in 2025.Alex shares:- How AI is changing the business mo
Scaling DTC Ad Creative with JSON Prompts and Veo 3
What happens when you give Loukas two weeks, a cleared calendar, and unrestricted access to Google’s new Veo 3?You get a repeatable system for generating scroll-stopping ad hooks, without touching a camera.In this episode of D2C Diaries, Loukas breaks down the exact prompt structure we now use within the agency group to turn ChatGPT JSON prompts into Veo 3-generated ads. Whether you’re scaling a b
Matt Kelly Returns to Break Down the Path from £10M to £50M
Matt Kelly is back on the podcast, 9 months after his first episode, and a lot has changed.In this brutally honest conversation, Matt opens up about what it really feels like to scale a wellness brand beyond 8 figures.We talk:– Space Goods has gone from £3.5M to a projected £18M.– Growing from 1 to 15 employees in 9 months– Losing his sense of purpose as the business outgrows him– Why the rebrand
The Creative Angles Powering 9-Figure Brands
Back by popular demand, this solo episode is loaded with behind-the-scenes insights on what’s working right now in the DTC performance space.Olly and Loukas get brutally honest about what it actually takes to scale creative, fix performance plateaus, and build a winning system inside a high-growth agency. From a UGC format that’s driving £1M+ in spend, to the playbooks reshaping TikTok Shop and Me
Obvi’s $50M Meta Ad Blueprint: What Still Works in 2025
In this episode of D2C Diaries, Loukas is joined by Ash Melwani, CMO and co-founder of Obvi, one of the most transparent and battle-tested operators in DTC. Ash breaks down the exact Meta strategy that took Obvi to $1M/month in revenue, and the moment it all fell apart.You’ll learn:- The Meta playbook Obvi used to scale with static ads- Why Meta performance collapsed overnight (and what they misse
How Batch LDN Turned a Shop Break-In into a Viral Billboard Campaign
In this episode, we sit down with Sam Matanle, co-founder of Batch LDN, the made-to-order menswear brand disrupting fashion’s broken model. Sam breaks down how Batch scaled 2.2x YoY, with 75% of revenue from one physical store and zero reliance on paid media or held stock.We cover:1. Why fast fashion is financially broken and what works instead2. The decision to bet big on retail instead of perfor
How Ellie Carlile Turned 30M TikTok Views into a 7-Figure Beauty Brand
How do you handle it when your kitchen-table beauty brand suddenly pulls in £60K before lunch — and you’re still counting stock by hand?In this episode of D2C Diaries, we sit down with Ellie Carlile, the unstoppable founder behind By Ellie, the brand born from a personal skin struggle, a £2,000 investment, and a makeshift label operation in her mum’s garage. Ellie shares the raw, real journey of b
How Slo Engineered the Future of Fashion With 900K SKU's and a Custom SaaS Stack
Kristian Hansen (AKA, The Jeans Guy) didn’t plan to build a fashion brand. But after accidentally buying a pair of women’s jeans, he posted a TikTok asking, “Is this really what women deal with every day?” and woke up to 3 million views. Welcome to the story behind slø, a custom denim brand that’s rewriting every rule in DTC fashion.In this episode of DTC Diaries, Kristian takes us behind the scen
How Sarah Levinger Uses Psychology To Scale Meta Ads in 2025
In this episode, we sit down with Sarah Levinger, one of the most sought-after minds in consumer insights and behavioural strategy, to unpack the mental models behind performance creative. From understanding generational buying behaviour to why storytelling is outperforming old frameworks, Sarah shares a fresh perspective on what today’s top-performing DTC brands are doing differently.We cover:- W
Frankie Thorogood on Turning £100 on Alibaba into an 8 - Figure brand
What do snoods, Amazon, and Sunday League football have in common?They were the unlikely start of Frankie Thorogood’s DTC journey, one that turned a £100 Alibaba order into a 7-figure exit.In this episode, Frankie breaks down how he built not one, but THREE brands from the ground up, including Pott’d, now an 8-figure business. We dive into what most founders get wrong about scaling, the power of A
How Glow For It Engineered a 6-Figure TikTok Live
D2C Diaries is proudly sponsored by Triple Whale.Triple Whale is our north star when it comes to data-driven decisions. Whether you're just starting out or running a 9-figure brand, this is the tool that will help you and your team see around corners and move faster.Visit www.triplewhale.com/d2cdiaries to learn more.What does it really take to build a 6-figure TikTok Live? In this episode, we
From Dragon’s Den Rejection to £4.5M: The Hair Syrup Growth Story
D2C Diaries is proudly sponsored by Triple Whale.Triple Whale is our north star when it comes to data-driven decisions. Whether you're just starting out or running a 9-figure brand, this is the tool that will help you and your team see around corners and move faster.Visit www.triplewhale.com/d2cdiaries to learn more.Rejected by all 6 Dragons, then hit £4.5M in sales.Lucie Macleod walked into
The AI Stack Powering Our 8 Figure DTC Agency Group in 2025
D2C Diaries is proudly sponsored by Triple Whale.Triple Whale is our north star when it comes to data-driven decisions. Whether you're just starting out or running a 9-figure brand, this is the tool that will help you and your team see around corners and move faster.Visit www.triplewhale.com/d2cdiaries to learn more.In this episode, Olly and Loukas break down the exact AI systems they’re usin
The Funnel Strategy Behind IM8’s Brand Launch
In this solo deep-dive, Olly and Loukas unpack the full launch strategy behind IM8, David Beckham’s new wellness brand, and break down why it’s one of the most intentional DTC rollouts they’ve seen in a while.From aggressive “us vs them” positioning to a hyper-consistent funnel experience, IM8 is throwing punches directly at AG1 and doing a lot right in the process. But not everything’s perfect.Th
How Mark Rushmore Scaled SURI to £24M in Just 2.5 Years
Mark Rushmore didn’t just co-found one of the most disruptive brands in oral care, he’s engineered a masterclass in sustainable DTC growth.In this episode, we unpack the wild journey from managing Pringles at P&G to building SURI, the electric toothbrush brand doing £24M+ in just over two years. Mark shares how a list of life goals, a chance meeting on a speedboat, and a bet on sustainability
TikTok Shop Masterclass: Lessons from £20M of Spend
TikTok Shop is the most powerful growth levers in DTC right now.In this episode, Olly and Loukas sit down with Liam Dean, Co-Founder of For You Advertising (the UK’s top TikTok agency who spent £20M on ads in 2024 alone), to unpack the full strategy behind what’s actually working on TikTok Shop right now.They break down how UK brands are driving millions in GMV through affiliate creators, storytel
How US DTC Brands Are Using AI and Data Strategy to Scale Faster Than Brands in the UK
D2C Diaries is proudly sponsored by Foreplay.Foreplay is the must-have tool for monitoring competitors, curating endless ad inspiration, and finding that one winning ad that can scale your business.Get 20% off FOR LIFE with code “D2CDIARIES” at Foreplay here https://shorturl.at/LEzzZ--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ultimate AI Creative Workflow: AI Prompts to Build 6-Figure Creatives in Days
On 25th March 2025, a new era of DTC marketing began...In this game-changing episode of D2C Diaries, we dive into how AI and organic-first creative strategies are unlocking ridiculous growth for brands—like helping one client hit a record-breaking £200K day from a single batch of ads.Want the exact AI prompts used to build those creatives?👉 Comment PROMPT on the YouTube episode, subscribe, and we&
How Zach Murray Scaled Foreplay to 10,000+ Users
🚀 YOUTUBE GIVEAWAY ALERT 🚀Head to Youtube and subscribe to our channel. Comment “swipe file” on the video to get exclusive access to:✅ Zach’s Ultimate Foreplay Board: A curated collection of ad creatives that inspire him.✅ Soar & Hambi’s Best Performers: Our top-winning ads from the past few months.Don’t miss out, drop “swipe file” in the comments and we’ll send it your way!-------------------
Meta ads not landing? Steal our viral TikTok ad strategy that’s SCALING creatives on Meta
When marketing doesn’t let you have a day off…Even on holiday, we’re back with a new episode, this time, with a spatula as a mic.In this episode, we dive into how TikTok-style creatives are driving serious results on Meta and how brands can repurpose them for better performance.We cover:1️⃣ Why TikTok Shop-style ads are dominating and how to leverage them2️⃣ How to fuse high-production (HP) conten
How to Build a Brand Through Storytelling on Social Media - Our Proven Strategies
D2C Diaries is proudly sponsored by Motion.If you’re ready to learn how the best DTC and ecommerce brands use Motion to ship winning Meta, TikTok, and YouTube ads, book a demo today, or create a free account here - http://bit.ly/3Q7Kkdt Get 50% off your first month when you mention “The D2C Diaries” podcast to Motion’s sales team. The best-performing ads don’t feel like ads, they feel like stories
The Blueprint for Launching a Creator-Led Brand in 2025: Here's how I built mine.
D2C Diaries is proudly sponsored by Motion.If you’re ready to learn how the best DTC and ecommerce brands use Motion to ship winning Meta, TikTok, and YouTube ads, book a demo today, or create a free account here - http://bit.ly/3Q7Kkdt Get 50% off your first month when you mention “The D2C Diaries” podcast to Motion’s sales team. Most DTC brands launch with a product and hope people care. Club Ne
The Founder’s Guide to PR with Elissa Corrigan: How to Get Your Brand in the Media
D2C Diaries is proudly sponsored by Motion.If you’re ready to learn how the best DTC and ecommerce brands use Motion to ship winning Meta, TikTok, and YouTube ads, book a demo today, or create a free account here - http://bit.ly/3Q7Kkdt Get 50% off your first month when you mention “The D2C Diaries” podcast to Motion’s sales team. Most DTC founders obsess over paid ads, but what if PR is the missi
The 2025 Ecom Playbook: Trends, Tactics & What’s Next
D2C Diaries is proudly sponsored by Motion.If you’re ready to learn how the best DTC and ecommerce brands use Motion to ship winning Meta, TikTok, and YouTube ads, book a demo today, or create a free account at http://bit.ly/3Q7KkdtGet 50% off your first month when you mention “The D2C Diaries” podcast to Motion’s sales team. What will winning ecom brands look like in 2025?In this episode, we brea
How Matt Holland's Legacy Retailer Became a 8-Figure DTC Success
In this episode of the D2C Diaries, Matt Holland, Managing Director of Holland’s Country Clothing, shares the story of how the 50-year-old family-run retailer successfully adapted to the world of DTC and e-commerce. With over four decades of experience, Matt provides insights into navigating the shifting retail landscape, the importance of technology adoption, and how a family legacy can thrive in
Scaling D.Louise to 8 figures: The Blueprint for a Founder-Led Jewellery Empire
In this episode of The D2C Diaries, we sit down with Jack, co-founder of D.Louise, a UK founder led jewellery brand. Jack shares the inspiring journey behind D.Louise, from its humble beginnings to becoming an 8-figure powerhouse driven by a relentless focus on founder-led content and storytelling.We dive into:1. The role of founder-led content in driving organic and paid growth and the early impa
How We Use Reddit to Build Authentic Ads That Convert
In this episode, we dive into how we're leveraging Reddit to create authentic, high-performing ads that truly resonate with audiences. From mining Reddit threads for real customer insights to crafting ad scripts that speak directly to consumer pain points, we're breaking down the exact strategies we use to turn raw, unfiltered data into creative gold.We explore:1️⃣ Why Reddit is an untap
Mastering TikTok Shop in 2025 with the CEO of the #1 UGC Platform, Insense
In this episode of The D2C Diaries, we’re joined by Danil Saliukov, CEO and co-founder of Incense, the leading UGC creator platform. Danil takes us behind the scenes of the UGC revolution, sharing insider insights on TikTok Shop, the future of AI in content creation, and what it takes to craft winning creator strategies.We dive into:1️⃣ Why the term "UGC" is overused and how it’s evolvin
Puresport’s 7-Figure Blueprint for Community-Led DTC Growth
In this episode of The D2C Diaries, we’re joined by Dan Temm, COO of Puresport, to uncover how they’ve built one of the most authentic and powerful fitness communities in the UK - and turned it into a growth engine for their DTC brand.What started as a simple lunchtime run with 4 friends has evolved into flagship run clubs in London, Manchester, and Glasgow, with 100+ community leaders and thousan
Building Free Soul: How Arjun Sofat Bet Big on TikTok and Pioneered Social Commerce
What does it really take to leave a corporate career behind and build a thriving DTC brand with no experience? In this episode, we sit down with Arjun Sofat, founder of Free Soul, to dive into his incredible journey.From learning e-commerce on YouTube to managing his own ad accounts and taking bold bets on TikTok Shop, Arjun shares the highs, lows, and lessons of building a brand that’s reshaping
We Drove 400% Growth for a Brand Using this Creative Strategy Process
In this episode, we break down our step-by-step process for crafting high-performing ad creatives that drove a brand to 400% growth! From identifying where your creative sits in the funnel to leveraging proven frameworks and ideating game-changing concepts, we’re sharing the blueprint for ad success.Here’s what we cover:1. Funnel Stages: Tailoring creative to each stage.2. Persona & Angles: Ta
Our Exact Research Blueprint for Crafting Winning Ads
In this episode of D2C Diaries, Loukas and Olly dive deep into the exact research blueprint that drives our high-performing ad campaigns. If you want to unlock better creative performance and make the most of your existing assets, this is a must-watch.Episode Focus: Our Exact Research Blueprint for Crafting Winning AdsHere’s what we cover:1. Turning Reddit threads and social listening into actiona
Matt Kelly’s Vision for Scaling Spacegoods: The £10M to £100M Journey
Matt Kelly, founder of Spacegoods, joins Loukas and Olly for an unfiltered conversation about the “Valley of Death” journey from £10M to £100M. From retail strategies to the challenges of working with VCs, this episode is packed with actionable insights for scaling brands with intention.Episode Focus: The £10M to £100M Journey: Scaling D2C BrandsWe cover: Retail Strategies: Insights into leveragin
Develop an 8-Figure Founders Content Strategy in 50 minutes
Loukas sits down with Fred, Creative Director at Hambi Media, to reveal how founder-led content can skyrocket brand authority, trust, and engagement. Whether it’s organic strategies or high-impact ads, they break down the playbook for scaling brands with authentic stories in just 50 minutes.Episode Focus: Using founder story content to drive brand growthThey cover:➡️ Importance of founders as the
