
Ecommerce Founder’s Guide to Owning Your Manufacturing & Factory
From OPERATORS by OPERATORS
May 6, 2026 · 1h 17m · Episode 164
About this episode
Curtis Matsko discusses the importance of vertical integration in ecommerce and its impact on business success.
Could one bad supplier decision bring your entire ecommerce brand down? Curtis Matsko (CEO, Portland Leather Goods) joins hosts Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi) and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) to pull back the curtain on one of the most misunderstood decisions in consumer goods: vertical integration. Curtis built North America’s largest leather bag manufacturer in Mexico not by grand design, but out of pure necessity. The conversation covers why owning your factory can 10x your business or burn millions of dollars, and how China’s manufacturing dominance is being driven by robotics, not just cheap labor. They unpack how the coming wave of AI-powered robotics could reshape fulfillment and production faster than most operators expect, and close with the one move each host credits with 10xing their own business. Powered By Fulfil https://bit.ly/3pAp2vu Richpanel https://9ops.co/richpanel Northbeam https://www.northbeam.io/ Aftersell https://9ops.co/4i3bb5 Saras Analytics https://bit.ly/9OP-Ytdesc Postscript https://9ops.co/postscript Operators Newsletter https://9operators.com/
People in this episode
Hosts: Matt Bertulli, Mike Beckham
Guest: Curtis Matsko
Topics covered
- ecommerce
- manufacturing
- vertical integration
- AI robotics
- business growth
Keywords
- ecommerce
- manufacturing
- vertical integration
- AI robotics
- business growth
- supply chain
- consumer goods
Sponsors
Fulfil, Richpanel, Northbeam, Aftersell, Saras Analytics, Postscript, Operators Newsletter
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Portland Leather Goods, Pela Case, Lomi, Simple Modern, China
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