In this episode of The Growth Class, host Phil Masiello interviews Gabrielle Melchionda, founder of Mad Gab’s, a pioneering natural and organic beauty brand.

Gabrielle shares how she built a business from a homemade lip balm recipe in her mother’s kitchen into a nationally recognized brand featured on QVC and in publications like Vogue, eventually securing retail partnerships with major retailers. She explains the realities of bootstrapped entrepreneurship, the importance of building relationships with retailers and industry mentors, and how persistence helped her navigate business setbacks, market changes, and the challenges of balancing entrepreneurship with family life.

Gabrielle also shares valuable insights into retail expansion, including how to evaluate trade show investments, choose the right sales brokers, understand retailer requirements, and differentiate products in a competitive market dominated by established brands.

As Mad Gab’s continues to grow after more than 35 years in business, she discusses the importance of authentic founder-led marketing, building brand awareness through social media, and maintaining a sustainable business model without outside investment.

Mad Gab’s website: https://www.madgabs.com

Support the show

There are a lot of "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

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#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth

In this episode of The Growth Class, host Phil Masiello interviews Anish Patel, Founder and President of Ashtel Studios.

Anish shares how he built a consumer products business from a dorm-room web design venture into a multi-category manufacturer serving major retailers across the United States. He explains how product innovation, persistence, and a problem-solving mindset helped him overcome repeated retail rejections, launch the successful Brush Buddies brand, and secure major retail partnerships. Anish also discusses the challenges of scaling physical products, including inventory risk, cash flow management, supply chain efficiency, and the financial consequences of unpredictable celebrity partnerships. He reveals how diversifying through branded products, private-label manufacturing, and licensed partnerships helped reshape Ashtel Studios’ business model and create more sustainable growth.

The conversation also explores how TikTok is helping smaller consumer brands compete with established CPG companies by driving traffic to retail stores, increasing product sales, and creating opportunities for expanded shelf space.

For entrepreneurs looking to build consumer brands, break into retail distribution, and scale a product-based business, Anish offers valuable lessons on resilience, strategic diversification, and turning product innovation into long-term growth.

Ashtel Studios website: https://www.ashtelstudios.com

Support the show

There are a lot of "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello

https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/

https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/

https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello

#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth

In this episode of The Growth Class, host Phil Masiello interviews Jake Cohn, President of Out&Back Outdoor, Inc.

Jake shares the unconventional journey from professional freer skier and entrepreneur to building and scaling an outdoor gear marketplace that ultimately led to the acquisition of The Locals Sale by Out&Back Outdoor.

He discusses how a simple idea to sell excess ski gear evolved into a community-driven business, the importance of staying adaptable when business plans inevitably change, and the lessons he learned from growing through lean teams, limited resources, and plenty of unexpected challenges.

Jake also shares how his experience as a professional athlete shaped his entrepreneurial mindset, why persistence and the ability to keep moving forward matter when things go wrong, and how Out&Back is working to make outdoor gear more accessible through new and used products and a more sustainable circular model.

The conversation also explores leadership and delegation, building teams around individual strengths, the realities of running a growing business, and Jake’s approach to balancing entrepreneurship, adventure, family, and his continued involvement in the outdoor industry.

Out&Back Outdoor, Inc. website: https://outandbackoutdoor.com/

Support the show

There are a lot of "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book.

That’s not me.
I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all.

And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.
We don’t just advise — we execute.
We write the playbook.

So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place.

This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk.

https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello

https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/

https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/

https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello

#StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips

#ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth