DTC POD: Changing the men’s clothing landscape and parent’s sleep game with Kevin Lavelle.

In this episode of the DTC Pod, our guest is Kevin Lavelle, Founder of Mizzen+Main and Co-founder of baby monitor brand Harbor.

The former is changing the game when it comes to performance-based dress-wear, while the latter is creating a product helping parents be happier and rest easier knowing their child is safe.

Join us as we discuss how to choose the perfect celebrity to endorse your brand, why your network is the most important thing when starting your brand, and why you shouldn’t ignore wholesalers as a valuable part of your growth strategy.

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3 Big Lessons from Kevin

Lesson #1: Your network is your superpower when starting a brand.

Something we rarely talk about are the hiccups that happen along the way of becoming a household name.

Today, Mizzen+Main is one of those brands, but Kevin recalls how in the early days of the company, getting from zero to 100 customers was very difficult.

And he tried many things before something clicked and worked. From standing in front of his local Gold’s Gym in Dallas, to going to every trade show he could, to even an ad in Esquire Magazine. Nothing proved to be super successful.

Eventually, his high school friend, Ian Desmond (yes, the baseball player), invited him to the locker room to showcase the brand. One thing led to another and over time he’d gone into 15 MLB locker rooms. Which proved to be a very successful source of income and, eventually, free advertising.

Lesson #2: How to find the right celebrity for your brand.

There are a lot of great brands saying “I don't want to partner with someone who's a C-tier athlete or creator. I need someone who's an A+.”

When the reality is, there are other aspects far more important to that than the person’s arbitrary status. Specifically, look into:

1. The celebrity’s audience engagement: Someone who rarely engages with their larger audience will give you a lower ROI than someone with higher output and engagement rates on a smaller audience.

2. Their alignment with your brand: It’s important to consider how they align with your brand. For example, a creator who doesn’t care about how they look 99% of the time will be less credible for your fashion brand than someone who actively cares about their style and how they look.

3. Their overall credibility: This is pretty self-explanatory, but sell-out advertising your product or service will generate a smaller conversion rate than someone who only partners with brands that they genuinely believe in.

Keep these things in mind when looking for someone to represent your brand. Because it would suck if they don’t meet the results you were expecting; especially when that A-tier creator is charging A-tier prices.

Lesson #3: Don’t ignore wholesalers.

In 2012, most online-only brands were entirely disregarding physical stores because “the internet is the future.” And while that is true, the benefits of working with wholesalers cannot be understated, depending on your type of business.

While Harbor will keep being DTC for the foreseeable future, Mizzen+Main benefited from having physical locations to try on the products.

At the time, the type of clothing the brand was making was unheard of before, so getting people into the shirt was more important than getting people to look at the shirt online. Lavelle mentions they had a conversion rate nearing or far surpassing 50% if they were able to put the shirt on.

So, for your product, keep in mind that “getting people into it” might be a better strategy than constantly bombarding them with ads.

DTC Job Positions!

Director of Merchandising at Mizzen + Main

Description: Develop and execute merchandising strategies to enhance brand identity and meet financial targets.
Responsibilities: Lead seasonal product line creation, analyze performance, partner across functions, and drive strategic product assortment.
Benefits: Unlimited PTO, 11 paid holidays, team-building outings, professional growth opportunities, balance between work and life.

Merchandise Allocator at Brand Mizzen+Main

Job Description: Allocate inventory across sales channels, analyze market trends, maximize sales, and improve sell-through.
Responsibilities: Analyze, update, and allocate inventory; develop allocation strategies; collaborate with Planning and Operations teams.
Benefits: Engaging work environment, unlimited PTO, 11 paid holidays, opportunities for personal and professional growth, and social events.

E-commerce Expert in Residence at soona

Job Description: Create and manage content for e-commerce brands, engage with the community, and drive growth on social channels.
Responsibilities: Develop content for TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube; manage social media presence; collaborate on marketing concepts.
Benefits: Fixed monthly rate starting at $3,000, profit sharing options, potential contract renewal based on performance, remote work flexibility.

That wraps up this week’s newsletter!

As always, reply any time with thoughts, questions, reactions, or ideas for future issues. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter to unlock new episodes of DTC Pod each week!