The Patagonia Problem: Recent Episodes
Evelyn Hartz
Why aren’t there more Patagonias in the world? Why aren’t there more companies who are big household names BUT who also believe in inspiring their employees and consumers to do good? On this show, I'll talk with CEOs, founders, investors, academics, and a ton of other experts to figure out how to do "doing good" well (excuse the awkward grammar!) and make money doing it.
These days it’s certainly trendy to slap a label on your brand and call yourself “sustainable”.
But, as a brand, how do you know if that actually influences your customer’s purchasing decision? Meet Ashland Stansbury, founder of Because.
She’s on a mission to help ecommerce brands determine for themselves whether having a social or environmental purpose actually makes consumers click the buy button.
In this episode, we discuss:
How to weave your purpose into every aspect of your brand
Whether having a social or environmental purpose is at odds with growing a business 📈
Raising capital from investors as a purpose-driven founder
Ashland is an expert on millennial and Gen Z shopping behavior, and whether you’re a skeptic of brand activism or not, I promise you’ll learn a ton from her.
I certainly did!
You can listen to the episode via the link above☝️, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere you get your podcasts.
Subscribe at evelynhartz.substack.com
Today, it’s certainly trendy these days to slap a label on your brand and call yourself “sustainable”. But, as a brand, how do you know if that actually influences your customer’s purchasing decision? Meet Ashland Stansbury, Founder of Because.
The first lesson in any Economics 101 course is Adam Smith's invisible hand theory. In this episode, Daniel Acheampong explains why his new venture capital fund, Visible Hands, turns this fundamental theory on its head simply by investing in women and people of color building the next generation of billion dollar tech companies.
Hey there,
Meet Daniel.
Daniel Acheampong is one smart cookie. He has degrees from Harvard & Wharton; worked at Goldman Sachs; and now is setting out to build a pre-seed fund and accelerator program investing in women and people of color right here in Boston.
I learned a TON from Daniel in this episode including:
HOW his fund is setting out to manufacture privilege for women and people of color
WHAT types of companies and founders most investors miss and
WHY building a company with a social mission isn’t at odds with making a lot of money
I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did, and if you’re sticking around as I embark on this new journey with this podcast & newsletter, thank you!
Anchors away ⚓,Evelyn
P.S. Heads up! I’m thinking of changing the name of this podcast from Day One to The Patagonia Problem. Love the new name? Hate it? I’d love to hear from you. Simply hit “reply” :)
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Hi everyone!
This was a fun episode. I sat down with my college classmate and former co-worker at Salsify, Ben Sharaf, to ask his advice on the technology I absolutely need to launch my ecommerce brand.
Ben was most recently an Agency Partnerships Manager at Shogun, a company known for it’s powerful drag-and-drop store builder used by high-growth DTC brands like MVMT, Chubbies and Leesa.
Here’s one of my favorite snippets from the episode:
“I don’t see a ton of value in building a Lamborghini right out of the lot especially when a bike will get you there.”
In this episode, we cover:
How to build the bike 🚴🏻 (a.k.a. the tools you need to measure your brand from day one)
Whether to sell on Amazon or not…
Why many first-time founders overthink their first launch
Hope you enjoy!
- Evelyn
P.S. Drop a comment below with any thoughts you have on this topic. I’m looking to learn! 🤓
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Hi team 👋,
I’m so excited to share my conversation with Juliana Casale who was most recently the Head of Marketing Services at Clearbanc, a company that provides fast funding to Magic Spoon, UnTuckIt and a host of other DTC brands.
We covered everything from:
What it was like to film a commercial with Magic Spoon
Examples of DTC brands building great communities other than Glossier (especially during COVID)
DTC fundraising and how to stay true to your mission as an early stage consumer founder
And clearly had a terrible time doing it…
Enjoy the episode? I’d love to know! Reply to this email, or simply give it a share.
‘Til next time,
Evelyn
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This is my first episode. In the episode, I cover why I want to start a business, how my business relates to Nepal ⛰️, and the best state for anyone to launch a business in. (Hint: 🦞)
The podcast is ~10 minutes. Here’s a list of 10 things you can do in 10 minutes or less while listening to this episode:
Make a cup of tea, sit and actually enjoy it.
Or a cup of coffee.
Or pour a glass of wine…
Do some yoga. 🧘♀️
Look for a cloud animal.
Go for a walk around the block.
Choreograph your next TikTok dance.
Do this HIIT workout.
Do 10 jumping jacks, 10 situps, 10 pushups. Rinse, repeat.
Comment on this post with a question, thought or suggestion for a future guest 👇
(Thanks for listening!)
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