Customer Growth Sessions

What happens when a deeply personal family crisis meets a massive demographic shift? In this episode of Customer Growth Sessions, Pat Ahern sits down with Jimmy Zollo, Co-Founder and CEO of Joe & Bella, to discuss how he pivoted from a successful career at Grubhub to building a purpose-driven adaptive apparel brand that is changing how we care for our aging loved ones.
Jimmy shares key insights on navigating a unique B2C market where 70% of buyers are the daughters or wives of the end user, rather than the individuals wearing the clothes. He breaks down how to balance deep consumer research with actionable data, the nuances of "aspirational marketing," and how to properly segment e-commerce email campaigns to provide real utility to caregivers. They also discuss strategies for auditing your Shopify tech stack to eliminate bloat, protect site speed, and maintain a clear source of truth for data.
Want to know more about Joe & Bella? Visit the official website at Joe & Bella to browse the apparel line or sign up for their newsletter, check out their store on Amazon, and follow the company on social media via Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. You can also connect with Jimmy on LinkedIn.
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Interested in seeing how Intergrowth could help you grow your business? Head over to intergrowth.com/cgs to book a complimentary strategy session with our team.

In this episode of Customer Growth Sessions, Pat Ahern sits down with Brian Schmidt, co-founder of Hoop and former product leader at Trello and Atlassian. Brian shares his fascinating journey from working as a big law corporate litigator in New York City during the Madoff and housing crises to completely transitioning into the world of software development.
The core of the discussion centers on navigating startup pivots, understanding unit economics, and managing subscription-based customer retention. Brian breaks down the strategic indicators that signal when a business model must change, how to communicate those high-stakes shifts transparently to happy customers, and how Hoop ultimately evolved into an AI-driven agent designed to help e-commerce brands execute customer saving playbooks right inside their existing help desks.
 
Links & Resources Mentioned
Our Guest's Company: Visit the official Hoop website to see how their AI agents optimize customer retention.
Pivoting Framework Article: Read the deep dive on How to Know It's Time to Pivot Your Startup, written by Brian’s co-founder at Hoop, Stella Garber.
Brian's Book Recommendation: Learn more about the strategic frameworks discussed by reading Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away by Annie Duke.
Previous Episode Mentioned: Watch the recording of our 100th episode milestone on YouTube featuring Steffi Schmidt, founder of Fig for Kids, as she discusses thinking like a lawyer as an early-stage founder.
Connect with Brian Schmidt: Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.
Connect with Hoop: Follow the company's updates on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.
 
Enjoyed the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to be the first to hear about future episodes, and leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcast!
 
Interested in seeing how Intergrowth could help you grow your business? Head over to https://intergrowth.com/cgs to book a complimentary strategy session with our team.

In this episode of Customer Growth Sessions, Pat Ahern speaks with Tino Dietrich, founder and CEO of SNYDER Golf USA, about his entrepreneurial journey from organizing local golf tournaments in Germany to expanding an international brand.
Tino shares lessons learned from scaling a business across global markets, adapting operations for different customer needs, and navigating the logistics challenges that come with rapid growth. He also discusses the importance of building scalable systems, staying agile in changing markets, and creating operational structures that support long-term success.
Pat and Tino also discuss leadership, delegation, and the value of empowering teams to take ownership as companies grow. During the conversation, Pat recommends the book Turn the Ship Around! by L. David Marquet as a valuable resource for leaders looking to become more effective at delegating responsibility and building stronger teams.
Want to know more about SNYDER Golf USA? Visit the official website at SNYDER Golf USA and follow the company on Instagram
Interested in Pat’s leadership book recommendation? Learn more about Turn the Ship Around! here: Turn the Ship Around! by L. David Marquet.
Enjoyed the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to be the first to hear about future episodes, and leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcast!
Interested in seeing how Intergrowth could help you grow your business? Head over to intergrowth.com/cgs to book a complimentary strategy session with our team.

In this episode of Customer Growth Sessions, Pat Ahern speaks with Meng Wang, founder of Our Little Treasures, about her innovative approach to sustainable baby clothing and building a purpose-driven brand.
Meng shares how the brand’s Trade-Up program encourages sustainability by giving parents a way to exchange outgrown baby clothes while reducing waste. She also discusses the logistics behind running the program, the challenges of scaling customer-focused initiatives, and why investing in “non-scalable” activities can create long-term value for both brands and customers.
Want to know more about Our Little Treasures?
To learn more about Our Little Treasures and follow the brand’s latest updates, visit the official website, follow the brand on Instagram, and check out their TikTok.
Learn more about the Trade-Up program.
 
Enjoyed the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to be the first to hear about future episodes.
Interested in seeing how Intergrowth could help you grow your business? Head over to intergrowth.com/cgs to book a complimentary strategy session with our team.

In this episode of Customer Growth Sessions, Pat Ahern speaks with Stefanie “Steffi” Schmidt, founder of Fig for Kids, about her journey from corporate lawyer to e-commerce entrepreneur.
Steffi shares how her mother’s cancer diagnosis led her family to rethink everyday products and ultimately inspired her to launch Fig for Kids, a children’s clothing brand focused on safer, thoughtfully made apparel. She also offers practical legal advice for founders, including tips on trademarks, contracts, and protecting your brand in the early stages of building a business.
Want to know more about Fig for Kids?
To learn more about Fig for Kids and follow the brand’s latest updates, visit the official Fig for Kids website and follow the brand on Instagram.
Connect with Steffi on LinkedIn.
Resources Steffi recommends for additional legal guidance:
Search Y Combinator for a wide range of free templates.
Visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Learn more about TaxCloud.
 
Enjoyed the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to be the first to hear about future episodes.
Interested in seeing how Intergrowth could help you grow your business? Head over to intergrowth.com/cgs to book a complimentary strategy session with our team.

What if landing features in top-tier publications didn’t require a pricey PR agency? Pat Ahern reveals a smarter, more scalable approach to digital PR using expert commentary. Instead of chasing relationships, brands can earn consistent media coverage by identifying the citation sources that LLMs regularly pull from, such as industry publications and third-party review sites. By getting cited in these reputable outlets, you influence both LLM recommendations and traditional search engine rankings.
Pat also shares realistic expectations around using tools like SparkToro to identify where your target demographic is most active, allowing you to prioritize the right communities—like Reddit or LinkedIn—for maximum impact.
Resources Mentioned
Read the Original Article: AEO: Doing SEO Better
Deep Dive on Positioning: Positioning in the AI Era
Audience Research Tool: SparkToro
Connect with Pat Ahern
LinkedIn: pahern
Instagram: @pahern1
Enjoyed the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to be the first to hear about future episodes.
Interested in seeing how Intergrowth could help you grow your business? Head over to https://intergrowth.com/cgs to book a complimentary strategy session with our team.

In this episode of Customer Growth Sessions, Pat Ahern sits down with James Kirkby from Kirkby Consulting to discuss the shift from Google and Amazon searches to conversational queries in LLMs like ChatGPT and Gemini. James explains why establishing authority in these models now acts as a critical hedge against changing consumer behavior.
 
James breaks down the essential "levers" for LLM optimization, including the use of structured data (schema markup) to make sites machine-readable and the importance of third-party reviews for building AI trust. He also explains why long-form informational content is necessary to capture detailed follow-up questions from AI.
 
Want to dive deeper? Check out Kirkby Consulting to explore their work or run a complimentary AI visibility audit on your site. You can also connect with James Kirkby on LinkedIn for daily insights on the future of Shopify and AI search.
Use their recommended tool, validator.schema.org,
Enjoyed the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to be the first to hear about future episodes. Interested in seeing how Intergrowth could help you grow your business? Head over to https://intergrowth.com/cgs to book a complimentary strategy session with our team.

He built an $8.5M company in two years—then lost everything. Now he’s rebuilding from zero, on his own terms.
In this episode of Customer Growth Sessions, Pat Ahern sits down with Jeremy Petersen from Identity Pet Nutrition to discuss what it really takes to rebuild a company after failure—and why he’s choosing to do it without investors, big salaries, or shortcuts.
Jeremy shares the story behind his first company, Wild Calling, which scaled rapidly before financial struggles and internal decisions led to his departure and the company’s bankruptcy. He walks through the lessons learned from that experience and how they directly shaped the foundation of Identity Pet Nutrition.
Throughout the conversation, Jeremy breaks down his contrarian approach to building a modern CPG brand—from hiring for grit over experience, to using digital marketing instead of a traditional sales force, to maintaining strict cost control in an inventory-heavy business. He also offers a candid perspective on private equity, explaining why many founders regret selling and how independent operators can compete without giving up ownership.
 
Want to dive deeper? Check out Identity Pet Nutrition and explore their products and mission. You can also connect with Jeremy on LinkedIn or read more of his thoughts on Substack.
 
Enjoyed the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to be the first to hear about future episodes.
Interested in seeing how Intergrowth could help you grow your business? Head over to https://intergrowth.com/cgs to book a complimentary strategy session with our team.
 
 

We welcome back Mason Duling for his second appearance to discuss the continued journey of building Almost Manic, a mental health-focused apparel brand rooted in storytelling and purpose. Mason shares insights from producing the *Beyond the Blur* docu-series, highlighting the connection between endurance racing and mental resilience.
He also touches on the realities of content creation, the value of strong creative partnerships, and how strategic execution can turn a vision into meaningful brand impact.
Whether you're building a brand or creating content, this episode offers practical takeaways on using storytelling to connect and grow.
 
Resources & Links:
Almost Manic Website:https://almostmanic.com/
Beyond the Blur – Season One:https://almostmanic.com/pages/beyond-the-blur-season-one
Optimal Focus Productions:https://optimalfocusproductions.com/
Apollo.io:https://apollo.io
Fractured Atlas:https://www.fracturedatlas.org
Watch Mason’s First Interview:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H38F4qST2kU
Connect with Almost Manic:
Instagram TikTok Facebook
 
Enjoyed the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to be the first to hear about future episodes.
Interested in seeing how Intergrowth could help you grow your business? Head over to https://intergrowth.com/cgs to book a complimentary strategy session with our team.

What if landing features in top-tier publications didn’t require a pricey PR agency? 
Pat Ahern reveals a smarter, more scalable approach to digital PR using expert commentary. Instead of chasing relationships or relying on unpredictable traditional PR methods, brands can earn consistent media coverage by responding directly to journalists' requests. We explore how platforms like HARO, MentionMatch, and Qwoted unlock opportunities to get cited in major outlets like Forbes.
 
Pat also shares realistic expectations around success rates, time investment, and how even small wins can compound into powerful SEO growth over time.
https://intergrowth.com/expert-commentary-pr/
https://intergrowth.com/seo/haro/
 
Enjoyed the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to be the first to hear about future episodes.
Interested in seeing how Intergrowth could help you grow your business? Head over to https://intergrowth.com/cgs to book a complimentary strategy session with our team.