Welcome to this issue of The DTC Insider newsletter. π
We strive to deliver the latest growth marketing news and trends in the DTC space straight to your inbox every Wednesday.Β
Do you enjoy reading this newsletter? It'd mean the world to me if you could leave a review here.
Let's dive in!
Topics we'll cover today:
π How to Build a Roadmap When You Have No Idea Where to Start
π The Goldmine Most Brands Ignore
π How Lion Pose Got Into Sephora Before Having a Product
How to Build a Roadmap When You Have No Idea Where to Start
When Madhu Punjabi decided to launch Lion Pose, she was stepping into an industry she knew nothing about.Β
No background in chemistry.
No connections in beauty.
No clue how to even begin.Β
And yet, just a couple of months later, she and her co-founder landed a contract with Sephora.
How?
She leaned on a simple, yet very effective process she learned during her time at Meta.
Hereβs the breakdown:
1. Start by writing down every question.
When Madhu was tasked with launching a new product at Meta, her manager gave her advice she never forgot:
π βWrite down all the questions you have. Then go find the people with the answers.βΒ
It sounds simple, but most founders skip this step. Instead of sitting in overwhelm, dump every unknown onto paper.
Examples Madhu had when starting Lion Pose:
β How do skincare brands get into Sephora?
β What kinds of products do they look for?
β Who makes skincare formulas?
β Whatβs the process (and timeline) for creating one?
β How do we package it?Β
By seeing the unknowns laid out, the impossible suddenly looks like a series of solvable puzzles.
2. Talk to people who can answer them.
Madhu and her co-founder filled their calendars with conversations (cold emails, coffee chats, founder intros, and industry contacts). Each conversation answered one or two questions, which reduced the fog and added clarity to the roadmap.
Her tip here: donβt just ask for βadviceβ (too vague). Ask specific questions.
For example: βDo you know any packaging suppliers for skincare?β gets a better response than βCan I pick your brain?β (Guilty. π )
Β
3. Piece the answers together into a roadmap.
Every answer led to the next step. Within weeks, they had clarity on:Β
β Which product category made the most sense to launch with (their now hero SKU).
β How to create a prototype (they literally 3D-printed a fake version for their first pitch).
β What Sephora looked for in new brands.
By combining these insights, they could put together a credible presentation. And it worked! Sephora said yes before Lion Pose even had finished product on shelves. π€―
ο»Ώ
Why this matters for founders today:Β
Most of us wait until we feel βready.β We think we need expertise, connections, or a finished product before we can approach big opportunities.
But Madhuβs story proves the opposite:
β
You donβt need all the answers β you need the right questions.
β
You donβt need to know everything β you need to know who to ask.
β
You donβt need the full roadmap β you just need the next step.
When youβre facing a challenge in your business, whether itβs launching into a new channel, fixing retention, or figuring out attribution...try Madhuβs framework:Β
β Write down every single question.
β Find people who can answer them.
β Turn the answers into your roadmap.Β
Thatβs how two founders in a WeWork went from βno productβ to βon Sephora shelvesβ in 2.5 months.
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The Goldmine Most Brands Ignore
Everywhere I look, brands are obsessed with attribution.
Multi-touch. Last Click. MMM.
Some even run post-purchase surveys only to βprove Meta is working.β
But hereβs the thing...attribution wonβt tell you what your customers actually want.
Thatβs where zero-party data comes in.
π Reviews
π Pop-ups
π Post-purchase surveys
π Other surveys
π Customer calls
Thatβs the real goldmine!
Because unlike attribution, zero-party data gives you intentional answers straight from your customers.
And customer calls? Theyβre criminally underrated.
Split them into 3 groups and youβll get totally different insights:
Non-customer email subscribers:
β Why havenβt they bought yet? Whatβs holding them back?
One-time customers:
β Did the product meet expectations? Why didnβt they buy again?
VIP customers:
β What made them fall in love with your brand? What would make them buy even more?
Each group is sitting on insights you canβt get from an attribution report.
And thatβs where the C.A.T. (Collect β Analyze β Take action) framework comes in:
Most brands are already running ads and email/SMSβ¦
But theyβre not collecting this type of data.
Or, if they are, theyβre not analyzing it.
And almost nobody takes consistent action on it.
When you do, everything changes:
β Your offers get sharper.
β Your messaging resonates.
β Your ads and emails convert better.
β Even your product roadmap becomes clearer.
Thatβs exactly what we do inside our Revenue Gap Analysis.
We overlay your customer purchase behavior with all your marketing touchpoints (ads, email flows, offers, website) to uncover revenue youβre currently leaving on the table.
Itβs not guesswork. Itβs your customers literally telling you what they want.
Want us to run a complimentary analysis and show you 3 high-impact opportunities hiding in your data?
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How Lion Pose Got Into Sephora Before Having a Product
Every founder wants growth.
But few truly know their numbers.
On this weekβs The DTC Insider, we interviewed Madhu Punjabi, co-founder & CEO of Lion Pose.Β
If youβre building a brand right now, this episode is full of insights you can apply today.
Check it out π
We discussed:
π Madhuβs early career at Google, Pinterest, and Meta
π Lessons from launching products at big tech companies
π Why she left to become a founder before having an idea
π Building and selling her first company in infant formula
π Co-founding Lion Pose and targeting Sephora from day one
π The βquestions frameworkβ she learned at Meta and still uses
π The realities of being a founder vs. corporate life
π Defining passion in business and why it matters
π Challenges of todayβs DTC environment: rising costs, tougher acquisition, thinner margins
More episodes our listeners love:Β
πο»Ώ From Garage to $400 Million: The Portland Leather Goods Story with Curtis Matsko
πο»Ώ How Black Rifle Coffee Hit $400M with Donny Jensen
πο»Ώ How BRΔZ is Disrupting the Beverage Industryο»Ώ with Aaron Nosbisch
πο»Ώ Bootstrapping a $100M E-Commerce Empire with Bear Handlon
πο»Ώ The Secret Sauce Behind BattlBox's Success with John Roman
Also Happening in the DTC Space
π° Meta Shares Tips on How To Optimize Holiday Campaigns
π° Pinterest Shares Tips for Holiday Campaign Planning
π° Snap Leans Into Gen AI With Open-Prompt Image Lens
What did you think of today's newsletter?
If you found this interesting, please leave us a review. Itβd mean the world to me.
About The Writer

Brian Roisentul is the founder & CEO of BSR Digital, a growth marketing agency he started in 2013 to help e-commerce brands unlock hidden revenue by identifying misalignments between their marketing and customer behavior. He is also the host of The DTC Insider podcast, where he interviews thought leaders, founders, and directors in the e-commerce space.