Gary founded Yardstick Marketing Partners an industry leading experiential marketing agency creating engagement and driving audience for Sony Pictures Television, Warner Bros, Fox, Major League Baseball, Namco/Bandai, New Era Cap Company and Microsoft.

Known for extensive and exciting mobile tours, Gary created and executed tours for Seinfeld, Snoop Dog, and more.

After working on a mobile gaming tour, Mr Kleinman saw that over 3 billion people were active gamers. This led to the creation of The WHAM Network, a digital network about the lifestyle and culture of gaming.

Seeing that gamers were experiencing cramping, fatigue and loss of attention due to long gaming sessions, Kleinman noticed that all existing supplements that could prove beneficial to gamers were all dependent on water or fluids. It was this problem that led to the creation of waterless nutrition.

In This Conversation We Discuss:

• [00:00] Intro
• [01:24] What is Electrolyte Boost?
• [02:04] Energy, focus, and upcoming functional products
• [03:22] Spotting a gap in the esports world
• [04:25] From gamers to surgeons and truck drivers
• [05:18] A year and a half to perfect the formula
• [06:40] Dosing and bioavailability challenges
• [07:40] Navigating sugar substitutes
• [08:31] Klaviyo
• [10:38] Would you take the leap again?
• [11:50] Testing sweeteners and sweet proteins
• [12:20] Dropping sucralose to win shelf space
• [12:55] Why every entrepreneur asks "why am I doing this?"
• [14:22] Intelligems
• [15:35] Finding your first customers
• [16:01] Why Amazon comes first
• [16:55] Discovering unexpected customer use cases
• [17:50] The hidden risks of retail placement
• [18:55] Shifting from influencers to creators
• [19:50] Two years in beta and three package changes
• [20:24] Is Amazon a good place to beta test?
• [21:02] Amazon discoverability and keywords
• [22:40] Building a category that doesn't exist
• [23:24] Why Amazon reviews matter
• [24:45] Social proof from early adopters
• [25:30] eFulfillment Service
• [26:40] Whatever you think it costs, quadruple it
• [27:50] Projecting inventory and lead times
• [30:05] When passion turns into a financing game
• [31:10] You don't have to do it alone
• [32:00] No ego, a lot of pride
• [32:56] Get comfortable with no net
• [33:46] Testing and tweaking everything
• [34:10] Finding the market in the gap
• [36:15] Do we need another hydration drink?
• [36:52] Where to buy Electrolyte Boost
• [37:20] Final thoughts

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Boost your power, focus, and performance electrolyteboost.com/
• Follow Gary Kleinman linkedin.com/in/gary-kleinman-3503757/
• Book a demo today at intelligems.io/audit
• Get your free demo klaviyo.com/honest
• Lower scale costs today efulfillmentservice.com/honest

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Aleksandra focuses on integrations with ecommerce platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce, and on building an experience that helps merchants increase their sales.

She has been in product for 8 years, and has been working at Text since 2021.

In This Conversation We Discuss:

• [00:00] Intro
• [01:07] Text, LiveChat, and the AI pivot
• [01:59] 25 years of customer service data
• [03:14] From biotech degree to ecommerce SaaS
• [04:15] There's no right way into ecommerce
• [04:37] Why you can't copy someone's success
• [05:47] Using competitor analysis the right way
• [06:22] Support chats are buying decisions
• [07:12] Spotting high intent signals on your store
• [08:35] Return questions are risk assessments
• [09:00] Proactive outreach from humans or AI
• [09:40] Beating fear, uncertainty, and doubt
• [10:39] Why fast replies build trust
• [11:05] How AI and humans work together in support
• [13:10] The late-night mattress shopper story
• [14:15] Measuring revenue lift from AI
• [14:40] How Nuvoo grew sales over 400%
• [16:12] 98% resolution vs. 70% of traffic
• [17:33] Automating the "lazy customer" questions
• [18:45] Proactive chat invites that drive sales
• [19:53] Blending human support with AI agents
• [20:50] Making AI sound like your brand
• [21:33] Where to learn more about Text
• [22:35] Free merch for customer support teams
• [22:56] Final thoughts

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• AI customer service engine that drives revenue text.com/
• On a customer support team? Grab Text's merch, including T-shirts and sweatshirts: store.text.com?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=Honest%20Ecommerce&utm_campaign=podcast&utm_content=_
• Follow Aleksandra Kacperczyk linkedin.com/in/aleksandra-kacperczyk-200047180/

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Aimee Dudum Colorado is the Co-Founder and Chief Merchandising & Marketing Officer of VICI, a women's apparel brand based in California. VICI's mission is to be the go-to destination for accessible, on-trend fashion—helping customers explore their personal style for every day and every occasion.

Founded in 2012, VICI has grown into one of the leading DTC brands to emerge from the Bay Area, with a retail presence in Nashville.

Aimee has been deeply hands-on since day one and remains both product and customer obsessed. She stays closely connected to the VICI community—regularly engaging on social and responding directly to customer feedback.

She leads fashion buying and brand direction with a strong point of view on emerging trends, grounded in a deep understanding of the customer. Passionate about styling and outfitting, Aimee is focused on inspiring confidence and helping women feel their best for every moment.

Aimee lives in Alamo, California with her husband and four sons.

• [00:00] Intro
• [01:02] Head-to-toe outfitting under $150
• [02:10] Founding VICI with her stepmom
• [03:45] Building a digital and social-first brand
• [04:48] When organic social started driving sales
• [05:11] Moving from phone orders to Shopify
• [05:58] Klaviyo
• [08:11] Why in-person shopping matters again
• [08:58] What separates growing brands from the rest
• [09:47] Leaving room in your playbook for moonshots
• [10:45] How high brand standards stalled TikTok
• [11:39] Flowium
• [12:25] You're not Coca-Cola, so make some noise
• [13:04] Launching in 60 Dillard's stores
• [14:13] How the Dillard's partnership came about
• [15:16] Choosing like-minded retail partners
• [15:53] Intelligems
• [17:32] The future of fashion ecommerce
• [18:23] AI-generated looks and shoppable bundles
• [18:59] Why VICI is selective about new AI tools
• [19:41] AR and the at-home dressing room
• [20:41] Balancing data with founder gut
• [21:25] Why leaders should read every review
• [22:30] Customer language is a free ad campaign
• [23:39] Keeping customer care in-house
• [24:29] Bring customer service into strategy talks
• [25:21] Influencer-driven product development
• [26:23] Where to find VICI
• [27:04] Final thoughts

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Empower personal style for any occasion vicicollection.com/
• Follow Aimee Dudum linkedin.com/in/aimee-dudum-colorado-a0a4a3135/
• Book a demo today at intelligems.io/
• Get your free demo klaviyo.com/honest
• Book a free lifecycle diagnosis call flowium.com/

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!