Bootstrapped Growth: Inside Tumble’s DTC Journey With Justin Soleimani and Zach Dannett
Release Date: 04/09/2025
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Minds of Ecommerce
Latif Hamilton is the Founder and CEO of SpiritHoods, a leading fashion brand known for its festival-inspired faux fur products. Under his leadership, SpiritHoods has generated over $50 million in revenue and achieved top-three search rankings across major product categories by strategically aligning product development with SEO. A creative entrepreneur at heart and fractional CMO, Latif specializes in bridging operations and design to drive exponential growth. He is also the Founder of The Growth Operative, a consultancy focused on brand growth and business development. In this episode…...
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Minds of Ecommerce
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Minds of Ecommerce
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How Fire Department Coffee Built a Mission-Driven Ecommerce Brand With Luke Schneider
Minds of Ecommerce
Luke Schneider is the Founder and CEO of Fire Department Coffee, a veteran-owned coffee company he launched in 2016 in Rockford, Illinois. A US Navy veteran and former firefighter-paramedic, Luke built the brand to combine his passion for high-quality coffee with a mission to support firefighters and first responders. Under his leadership, the company has grown from a small roasting operation into a nationally distributed brand. Luke also founded the Fire Department Coffee Charitable Foundation, which provides aid and resources to sick or injured firefighters and first responders. In this...
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Greg Rollett is the Head of Growth at Grommet, a product discovery platform that helps makers, inventors, and ecommerce brands showcase new and unique products to millions of shoppers. As an Emmy Award-winning producer, Greg has helped Grommet launch over 2,000 products in the past two years to a customer base of more than 2.5 million shoppers. Beyond his role in driving Grommet’s growth, he focuses on helping ecommerce brands with actionable strategies, particularly in partnership and affiliate marketing. In this episode… Affiliate marketing is often treated like a side project by...
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Jay Steinfeld is the Founder and former CEO of Blinds.com, the world’s largest online retailer of window coverings, which was acquired by The Home Depot in 2014. Under his leadership, Blinds.com grew from a bootstrapped startup in his home to a billion-dollar enterprise, earning a reputation for innovation in ecommerce and technology-driven growth. Jay is also a Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Lead from the Core: The 4 Principles for Profit and Prosperity and the Entrepreneur in Residence at Rice University’s Graduate School of Business, where he shares business insights. ...
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How To Scale DTC, Amazon, and Retail Simultaneously With Chad Massura
Minds of Ecommerce
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Minds of Ecommerce
Cherie Hoeger is the Co-Founder and CEO of Saalt, a woman-owned period care brand known for its sustainable, reusable cups, discs, and leakproof underwear. With expertise in leveraging education-driven customer engagement and innovative sales channels, Cherie has led the company to become the #1 period care brand on TikTok Shop. Before Saalt, she worked as a technical writer for over a decade and launched multiple ecommerce ventures. As a social entrepreneur, she has steered Saalt’s mission to donate tens of thousands of cups and underwear globally to fight period poverty. In this...
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Scaling Brand Loyalty Through Social Impact: Lessons From Barefoot Wine With Michael Houlihan
Minds of Ecommerce
Michael Houlihan was the Co‑founder, President, and CEO of Barefoot Wine, an iconic brand that he and his partner Bonnie Harvey launched in a laundry room in 1986 with no money and no knowledge of the wine industry, and built one of the top wine brands in the US and in 28 countries. It was eventually acquired by E. & J. Gallo. A renowned writer, speaker, and consultant, Michael co-authored the New York Times best-selling book The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. He currently divides his time between mentoring entrepreneurs and working on...
info_outlineJustin Soleimani is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Tumble, a Los Angeles-based company specializing in machine-washable, spillproof rugs designed for modern living. Before establishing Tumble in 2021, he worked as a consultant at Bain & Company, advising clients across various industries. Justin holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in Economics from Emory University, where he met his Co-founder, Zach Dannett. Under their leadership, Tumble has grown significantly, scaling to high eight-figures in revenue within four years.
Zach Dannett is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Tumble. Before Tumble, he served as the General Merchandise Manager and Buyer & Merchandiser for Outdoor Furniture at Noble House Home Furnishings, LLC and as an Investment Management Associate at BBR Partners. Zach earned his BBA in Finance from Emory University's Goizueta Business School in 2011, where he met his Co-founder, Justin Soleimani.
In this episode…
Breaking into the ecommerce ecosystem with a physical product — especially a large one like rugs — comes with unique logistical and financial hurdles. From expensive shipping costs to supply chain inefficiencies, many startups fail to develop a sustainable model. How did a product-focused, bootstrapped brand scale successfully without sacrificing profitability?
Justin Soleimani and Zach Dannett, experts in DTC product development and operations, tackled this challenge head-on by designing a modular, collapsible rug that’s easier and less expensive to ship. Justin and Zach spent over 15 months perfecting their design before launching, focusing on optimizing everything from the product’s dimensions to its warehousing footprint. They emphasize the value of focusing on profitability from day one by cutting out unnecessary SKUs, refining your supply chain, and tailoring offerings to fit consumer needs and carrier constraints.
In this episode of the Minds of Ecommerce podcast, Raphael Paulin-Daigle interviews Justin Soleimani and Zach Dannett, Co-founders and Co-CEOs of Tumble, about building a nearly nine-figure DTC brand. They share how product-first thinking drove early success using the value of modular design, shipping optimization, and bootstrapping strategies. Tune in for insights on crowdfunding, curated product assortments, and manufacturing challenges.