Kiri Masters’ Post

Amazon’s rumored China-direct channel is not so surprising, but it will further chill sentiment from US sellers. It also signals the reconsideration of long-held belief that SPEED is what consumers care about most. Immediately prior to Covid-19, Amazon was on a 1-day delivery warpath. That concept returned in recent years, albeit a little more cautiously. But the runaway success of Temu and SHEIN have called that into question. Delivery companies like DoorDash have recently reported a big drop in sales in cities like NYC and Seattle who have imposed increased delivery fees in order to protect gig workers. There is a price ceiling where consumers are simply refusing to pay more for convenience. Fast + cheap was a fever dream. You can pick one.

Thrilled to see an essay I wrote featured on Future Commerce this week for their MUSES journal (published last year) Link to the article in the comments 👇

I'm personally a fan of the healthy ramen brand immi. As a type 1 diabetic, it doesn't spike my blood sugar like regular ramen. I always take it camping, too. I'm not the only one who loves immi. This product is stocked in 3,000 retail doors, which is astounding for a brand that's only 3 years old! Having followed co-founder Kevin Lee on LinkedIn for a while, I knew he was hard working, humble, and super dedicated to immi's mission. (A topic for another time, his "build in public" strategy on LinkedIn and Twitter/X helped the company in many ways.) But in every success story, there are also tailwinds -- cultural, economic, and in this case, public health -- trends that propel brands forward. In this case, these three tailwinds initially appear completely unrelated. But Lee and his cofounder Kevin Chanthasiriphan were early to recognize and harness them. Enjoy my piece about immi on Forbes! https://lnkd.in/eNZ-MA2W

TAILWINDS 3 seemingly unrelated tailwinds propelled this 3-year-old CPG brand into 3,000 retail doors and raise $10M in Series A funding last year. Who can guess the brand? I am writing a profile for Forbes on this company and will reveal the answer tomorrow...

The Desire Company's $96M valuation suggests consumers are burned out on showy influencers. Here's why retailers are turning to content from experts instead. New from me today on Forbes 👀 Congrats on the Series B Judith Levey Sheinkop and Eric Sheinkop And thanks for the comments Ash McMullen

Came across this article from the now-defunct publication Racked. (RIP) Threadless was so iconic in my early 20s. But for a variety of reasons, became a ghost of itself over time. What other brands & retailers used to be a big deal, but you don't hear much about anymore?

Just got my 10th review! For the past few weeks I have been mentoring startup founders on GrowthMentor on the topic of personal branding & thought leadership. I have to admit -- I absolutely love it! I am considering doing a free masterclass here on LinkedIn about what I have been sharing with these mentees. Things like, defining your personal brand, which channel to choose, what topics to cover, getting over "imposter syndrome" etc. But I'll only do it if I know people are gonna turn up! 🤓 If you're interested, please comment "interested" below. I'll also send you a link to the event when I create it, so you don't miss it. I believe that building personal authority in your industry is the best way to drive long-term, sustainable growth for your business. The credibility that you gain from sharing your expertise publicly creates trust with prospects and opens up many more opportunities in terms of publicity for your company. Yeah, the best time to start building your personal brand was a year ago.... but the next best time is today!

If, like me, you have a lot of travel coming up this summer, that means it's peak podcast-listening weather! Don't let a stale podcast rotation get you down. Here are some of my personal favorites right now. Highlighting a few below: ⏰ Best of both worlds | Co-hosted by the author of one of my fave books "off the clock" Laura Vanderkam, the hosts are busy moms balancing busy careers and sharing great hacks to make time for what really matters. ❓ Deep Questions | I have been bingeing all things Cal Newport lately, especially his book from a few years ago, "So good they can't ignore you" -- enough episodes of this podcast will give you the gist of his decade-long body of work. 💪 Mel Robbins Podcast | She's like your successful, tell-it-straight auntie dishing up advice and encouragement. Always puts me in a better mood. 👿 Profiteers vs the People | This one's under-the-radar still. It's a cynical look at companies and icons and the various ways they may have been unscrupulous in their journey to success. 🧠 Obsession | OK OK I'm cheating a little, this is MY podcast :) But if you like the other busines/founder origin story type podcasts in this category, I'm sure you'll also like this one too 🤑 My First Million | I love this podcast so much I even started hosting meetups in Atlanta about it. Its like a modern day bookclub. LMK if you're in Atlanta and want to join :) 🇦🇺 How I Made It | Like an Aussie version of Guy Raz's "How I Built It" 📈 The Journal | Hilariously, this is my 7-year old's favorite podcast and a roadtrip go-to. The topics are surprisingly accessible and engaging for kids. We liked learning about lead poisoning in applesauce and cybercrime. 🌍 How to Take Over the World | Another family-friendly option, host Benjamin Wilson retells in-depth stories of the most influential people in history. Personal faves have been Walt Disney, Thomas Edison, The Rothschilds, and Vladimir Putin. -- Enjoy! And tell me your faves that I should check out...

"The harder you work, the luckier you become" This is my favorite quote from 🙆♀️Shannon Klingman, M.D. the founder of Lume Deodorant. I dove into the origin story of Lume and Dr Klingman's incredible tenacity in my latest episode of Obsession (my new podcast) Lots of great takeaways here, and the theme for me is all about courage and persistence: - Pivoting into a completely different career (Doctor to manufacturer) - Starting out as an entrepreneur at any age (she founded Lume at 47) - Persistence when potential partners all say 'no' (no CPG brand wanted to take this risk) - Betting the farm on an ad campaign (she mortgaged her home and cashed out her 401K with the hopes of going viral) This is a short and inspiring story to take you into the long weekend! You can find the podcast on your favorite podcast player or Youtube - links in the comments below!