About this episode

Three nine-figure CEOs discuss their experiences and challenges in scaling ecommerce brands.

“I’ve always hated it. This year I made the decision to shut it down.” Can three nine-figure CEOs open up about their priorities, passions, and doubts? Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) sit down for an honest conversation about the pressure of scaling ecommerce brands. They cover decision making, staying passionate, and the whiplash of growing fast. Mike explains why organizations drift toward safe tasks instead of high impact work. Sean recalls shutting down a profitable business line while questioning his passion. Matt contrasts the rhythm of running a bigger company with the grind of building Winks from zero. Same stage of success, but three completely different struggles. Powered By Northbeam https://www.northbeam.io/ Saras Analytics https://bit.ly/4a3gzVv Postscript https://9ops.co/postscript Aftersell https://9ops.co/4i3bb5 Richpanel https://9ops.co/richpanel Fulfil ⁠https://9ops.co/fulfil⁠ Operators Portal https://portal.9operators.com/dashboard Operators Newsletter https://9operators.com/

People in this episode

Host: Sean Frank

Guests: Matt Bertulli, Mike Beckham

Topics covered

• ecommerce
• business scaling
• CEO experiences
• passion in business
• decision making

Keywords

• ecommerce
• CEOs
• business scaling
• passion
• decision making
• entrepreneurship

Sponsors

Northbeam, Saras Analytics, Postscript, Aftersell, Richpanel, Fulfil

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Ridge, Pela Case, Lomi, Simple Modern, Operators Portal, Operators Newsletter

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• 10 Best AI Use Cases for Ecommerce in 2026: Ranked by CEOs · August 26, 2026 · 1h 6m
• Every Step to Start an Ecommerce Business Revealed: Operators Build (E1) · August 24, 2026 · 1h 18m

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