Post by William Harris

“Brands can go through 100 agencies and none of them will fix the problem if the foundation is broken.” — Michael Kleinmann Michael Kleinmann built one of the biggest online underwear retailers in America, created National Underwear Day, launched a successful underwear subscription company, and somehow turned men's underwear into an 8-figure business - and now he has a consulting company helping other DTC companies fix the operational cracks to unlock growth. In this episode of the Up Arrow Podcast by Elumynt, Michael and I dig into: ✅ Why many marketing issues are actually foundational business cracks that prevent growth ✅ Michael Kleinmann recalls the early “Wild West” days of e-commerce and building software from scratch at Freshpair ✅ How Michael increased average order value by 55% at Freshpair through free shipping, international shipping, and offer testing ✅ Why founders should focus less on competitors copying them and more on experience and innovation ✅ The origin of National Underwear Day and how Michael used PR, models, and media coverage to drive awareness ✅ Why Michael started Underwear Expert as a media company before pivoting into a curated underwear subscription business ✅ Common financial reporting mistakes in DTC businesses ✅ How walking through warehouses and working on physical projects can spark operational ideas Plus, as always, we get into a little of the personal stuff as we talk about how he wore 3-piece suits as a kid, The Godfather, and barbeque lobster. You can watch the video here: https://lnkd.in/gWkvZa8z