Honest Ecommerce

Angelo Coletta is a Serial Entrepreneur and Former President of Innovup.Graduated cum laude in Economics and Commerce from the University of Bari, he completed his studies with a Master in Innovation Management at the "Iacocca Institute Lehigh University" in Pennsylvania (USA), entitled "Global Village for the Future Leaders".In the early years of his career, he worked in marketing consultancy and founded a consultancy firm, an advertising agency, and a system integrator, which he then sold to an Italian player, achieving his first exit. He later dedicated himself to the creation of product companies in the software field.In the last five years, he has realized two exits, the first being BookingShow S.p.A., one of the three main ticketing players in Italy, sold in 2017 to an international group, and the second with 18months Srl in 2020, a former startup now a leader in the Italian cinema ticketing market.He is the president and board member of various companies, especially in the IT field (Upsystems S.p.A., The Digital Box, Seares), as well as President from 2018 to 2021 of Innovup (formerly Italia Startup), an associative point of reference for startups, scaleups, incubators, accelerators, science parks, and large Italian corporations, and maintains various investments in Italian startups and scaleups.Today he is the founder and CEO of Zakeke, a cloud SaaS (software as a service) platform that enables the world's major e-commerce platforms to offer their consumers an innovative and enhanced shopping experience, thanks to the use of visual technologies such as 2D & 3D customization, 3D visualization, Augmented Reality, and Virtual Try-On.In This Conversation We Discuss:[00:00] Intro[00:56] What Zakeke solves for ecommerce brands[01:44] Shopify plug-and-play and MCP server[02:23] Seven years and 10,000 customers[03:14] Industries that see the most success[03:49] Apparel, furniture, and luxury brands[05:17] How Zakeke compares on product builders[06:06] Multi-layer customization at scale[08:29] Cutting internal implementation costs[08:56] Why off-the-shelf beats custom builds[10:06] Zero custom code, even for HP and Valentino[10:55] The real cost of ecommerce mistakes[13:14] API front end and monthly platform updates[13:54] Do you need a 3D model to start?[14:25] AI and the 3D artist network[15:13] The falling cost of 3D modeling[16:02] Using 3D files across AR and 360 views[16:41] AI try-on without 3D assets[18:52] What's next for Zakeke[19:13] Launching a conversational interface[21:54] AI agents as product setup coaches[22:30] AI is probabilistic, production is deterministic[24:49] Where to learn more about Zakeke[26:18] Final thoughtsResources:Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube3D Product Configurator and Customizer for eCommerce zakeke.com Follow Angelo Coletta linkedin.com/in/angelo-coletta 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!

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 thoughtsResources:Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on YoutubeBoost 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/honestLower scale costs today efulfillmentservice.com/honestIf 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.In This Conversation We Discuss:[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 thoughtsResources:Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on YoutubeEmpower 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!

Ben Lord, Founder and CEO of Softlimit, has been in and around the music industry for over 30 years and in ecommerce for the last sixteen. A touring drummer (Falling Forward / Elliott / Sharon Van Etten / Mascott / Bird of Youth / Phantom Family Halo / Kilowatthours), he's also released records through independent labels (Initial, Revelation, Temporary Residence Ltd., Jagjaguwar), and worked in Atlantic Records' New Media Division during the launch of the first digital music store.He later led campaigns at Bond Strategy and Influence across entertainment verticals before spending the last decade building Softlimit, a Shopify Premier Partner Agency helping brands like Sacred Bones, Temporary Residence Ltd., Polyvinyl, Moon Juice, Misen, and The Perfect Jean grow their ecommerce revenue.Music still sits at the center of his life, and he works closely with label heads, agents, and artists.In This Conversation We Discuss:This conversation draws on Softlimit's January 2026 whitepaper, "Built-In Demand, Broken Infrastructure: The Music Industry's Revenue Gap," co-authored by Ben Lord and Martina England, which explores how independent labels can close the gap between fan demand and captured revenue by adopting DTC ecommerce practices.[00:00] Introduction[01:17] Helping the music industry master D2C[01:54] From touring drummer to agency founder[02:53] Why agencies walk away from music clients[04:03] Why label stores are glorified merch shops[05:59] When clients show up with the prescription[06:56] Conversion and AOV wins for music clients[07:24] Fixing broken filters and legacy platforms[09:23] The cost of selling through third parties[10:33] Why music isn't like other big catalogs[11:51] How labels lift conversion rate and AOV[12:31] Cross-sells built on product relationships[13:55] Label-curated "you'll like this too" picks[14:55] The Shopify tech stack behind the wins[15:33] Cleaning up messy product data[15:50] Migrating legacy CMS data and using Rebuy[17:14] Why indie labels hesitate on email and SMS[18:51] Turning fan data into more tour sales[20:48] Fan clubs and new streaming rules[21:28] The indie music industry is growing up[22:32] First steps to think like a D2C brand[23:39] Capturing first-party data at live shows[24:21] Your fans are your customers[25:10] Final thoughtsResources:Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on YoutubeTake the stress out of commerce https://www.softlimit.com/ Follow Ben Lord https://www.linkedin.com/in/benlord/ 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!

As COO of The Snooki Shop, Gina Cecala oversees the moving parts that customers may never see but that ultimately determine whether a brand can successfully grow. Her responsibilities span staffing, inventory, fulfillment, customer experience, expansion strategy, and daily operations across The Snooki Shop's various locations.During her tenure, the company has increased overall sales by more than 50%, grown to approximately 27 employees, and expanded beyond its New Jersey roots into new markets. The business now serves between 35,000 and 60,000 customers each month, while 47% of customers participate in its loyalty program and 20% return to make another purchase.One of Gina's most consequential contributions was helping lead the company's transition to Shopify. The move created a unified inventory and fulfillment system across every location, giving the business the operational structure it needed to grow without losing control of the customer experience. Since that transition, ecommerce sales have increased by approximately 50%.Gina's work also challenges the assumption that a celebrity-backed company can survive on name recognition alone. Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi remains actively involved in merchandising and product selection, while Gina oversees the execution required to turn that creative vision into a sustainable business. It is a lean, hands-on leadership structure where growth depends on close collaboration and an understanding of what the customer actually wants.In This Conversation We Discuss:[00:00] Introduction[01:03] How Gina became COO of The Snooki Shop[02:51] Growing her role and building trust[05:02] Klaviyo[07:11] Consolidating e-commerce onto Shopify[08:41] Navigating unsolicited help and opportunists[09:47] Intelligems[11:43] Becoming a Shopify expert[12:40] Learning e-commerce without formal training[13:38] Delegating without losing quality control[15:37] eFulfillment Service[16:57] Expanding from one store to four[19:55] Would she make the same choices again[21:31] Why decisiveness beats analysis paralysis[22:44] Building a brand beyond Snooki's fame[25:52] Handling backlash and separating brand from celebrity[27:05] Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs[27:57] Final thoughtsResources:Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on YoutubeFrom trendy casual to chic thesnookishop.com/ Follow Gina Cecala linkedin.com/in/gina-cecala-2a6781186/ Book a demo today at intelligems.io/ Get your free demo klaviyo.com/honest Lower scale costs today efulfillmentservice.com/honestIf 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!