D2C startups have come and revolutionized e-commerce and retail. From startups to larger companies, the D2C business model has become increasingly popular.

With the rise of social media, and online tools like Shopify and Stripe, entrepreneurs have never had an easier time creating an online shop and selling their product. These entrepreneurs get a direct relationship to their customer, and by cutting out the middleman, they increase their own margins while saving their consumers money.

But even still, D2C startups face many challenges that are exacerbated because of competition: differentiation, logistics, branding, and customer acquisition.

Join us on October 17th for a founder/CEO discussion on what it takes to build and grow a D2C startup! We’ll discuss

• Getting your brand off the ground
• Packaging for CPGs
• Managing logistics for your product
• Designing your product
• Analyzing metrics like CLV, LTV and retention
• Creating a stellar customer experience
• And much more!

About the panelists

• Joel Wishkovsky is the Founder and CEO of Simple Contacts, an online platform that lets you buy contacts and renew your lens prescription from the comfort of your own home. As an investor and advisor, Joel has been involved with dozens of leading healthcare companies such as Everlywell, Parsley Health and JOANY. Previously Joel was part of General Electric’s prestigious IT leadership program (IMLP) and its financial and operational auditing program (Corporate Audit Staff). During his time there he lead large scale IT implementations and performed operational and financial audits of GE businesses with a focus on acquisition integrations.
• Rachel Cohen is the co-founder and co-CEO of Snowe, the direct-to-consumer homewares company that’s won accolades from Architectural Digest, Fast Company, Forbes, and Vogue, among others. Rachel began SNOWE in 2015 with co-founder Andres Modak, while the two were outfitting their first home. Uninspired by mass-market budget buys, and unimpressed by pretentious luxury brands, the two Wharton grads set off to create their own company of well-designed, high-quality home essentials. Prior to founding SNOWE, Rachel worked in real estate investment banking at BGC Partners, advising hotel and lifestyle clients; previously she managed a boutique co-working space, a subsidiary of SL Green.
• Jay Reno is the Founder & CEO of Feather. Backed by Kleiner Perkins, Bain Capital, NEA, and Y Combinator (YC S17), Feather  a furniture subscription service for people who aspire to live lighter. It enables people to keep their furniture from 3-12 months, with the option to purchase at the end of your cycle. Previously, Jay was a Senior Strategist at Fueled, a company that helps startups (Warby Parker & Crunchbase) and large companies (Google, Apple) turn their ideas into functioning products.
• Mike Lackman took the helm as CEO of Trade Coffee Co in June 2018, bringing with him over a decade of experience in consumer internet businesses as he spearheads Trade’s mission of ‘Turning Coffee Drinkers Into Coffee Lovers’. Mike draws on his most recent experience at PetFlow, where he and his team built a rapidly growing and profitable retailer that successfully exited to the country’s largest pet food and supply distributor. He is a frequent speaker on the e-commerce & growth strategies including engagements at Shop.org, the National Retail Federation, the Wharton School, and as the keynote of Australia’s Online Retailer conference in 2014.

Schedule:

6:30 – 6:50: Drinks & Networking
6:50 – 7:50: Panel
7:50 – 8:15: Audience Q&A
8:15 – 9:00: More Drinks & Networking