#325 - The Art of Modern Retail: Kellen Roland on Strategy, AI, and Mentorship

Kellen Roland served as first CEO of JOOPITER alongside Pharrel Williams and VP of Sales of Herschel Supply Co, and brings 18+ years of expertise in the luxury and consumer sectors.  He has a triple role as a founder, investor, and strategic advisor. He fosters business growth through insightful leadership and AI integration, invests in promising businesses like TRUFF, and offers strategic advice to brands such as Slowtide. 

With an acute sense of cultural trends and storytelling skills, he establishes authentic links between brands and audiences. Notably, he worked at Agenda Trade Show, Herschel Supply Co., and iamOTHER, founded The NTWRK Agency, and eventually built JOOPITER alongside Pharrell Williams. At present, he shares this extensive learning at his own consulting business, KRMC.

In this DTC Pod episode, Kellen Roland gives insights on building strong retailer relationships. He emphasizes the importance of delivering unique value to create lasting partnerships in retail. He also discusses negotiating techniques and the need to maintain a healthy balance of markups and margins, appealing to vendors while preserving brand profitability. Kellen encourages brands to be agile; taking customer feedback seriously and quickly adapting to changing preferences is key for success in the fast-changing DTC landscape. Through his strategic insights, Kellen cements the framework for a successful retail strategy that is as much about captivating storytelling as it is about shrewd business deliberations.

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On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:
1. Strategic DTC Brand Launch
2. Entrepreneurship and Relationship-Building
3. Agility and Adaptability in Retail
4. Ethics in CPG and Brand Responsibility
5. Traits of Highly Successful People
6. Practical Benefits of AI in Business
7. The Value of Mentorship

Timestamps
01:30 Kellen Roland’s background, early career and passion
06:48 Herschel’s success, the importance of clear vision and timing
11:45 Creating win-win situations for retailers as a brand
13:01 How to pitch new products to retailers
17:04 Traditional brand launch versus modern direct-to-consumer approach
21:14 The importance of demand planning and brand agility
25:23 Brands to watch out for: Graza, Nguyen Coffee, Rocky’s Matcha, Goodles
32:52 Working with Pharell Williams on JOOPITER
35:53 Traits for leveling up to Kobe-level success
40:41 Commitment, resilience, and persistence amidst challenges
44:17 Using AI to manage schedules, solve problems, and scale operations
49:08 Coaching and revenue growth, building a consulting business
52:08 Seeking mentors, not copy-pasting success formulas

Show notes powered by Castmagic

Past guests & brands on DTC Pod include Gilt, PopSugar, Glossier, MadeIN, Prose, Bala, P.volve, Ritual, Bite, Oura, Levels, General Mills, Mid Day Squares, Prose, Arrae, Olipop, Ghia, Rosaluna, Form, Uncle Studios & many more.  

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• #184 Jake Karls, Midday Squares - Turning Your Brand Into The Influencer With Content

• #205 Kasey Stewart: Suckerz- - Powering Your Launch With 300 Million Organic Views

• #219 JT Barnett: The TikTok Masterclass For Brands

• #223 Lauren Kleinman: The PR & Affiliate Marketing Playbook

• ​​​​#243 Kian Golzari - Source & Develop Products Like The World's Best Brands

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Projects the DTC Pod team is working on:
DTCetc - all our favorite brands on the internet
Olivea - the extra virgin olive oil & hydroxytyrosol supplement
Castmagic - AI Workspace for Content

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Kellen Roland - Founder of KRMC
Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Castmagic
Ramon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic