The Rectified Podcast

Hosted by Sandy Dedeian

Business Entrepreneurship

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Episodes

112

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

The Rectified Podcast is the go-to resource for founders navigating the complexities of Direct-to-Consumer (D2C), e-commerce, and retail brands. We dive into real conversations with fellow founders and experts who share authentic insights to help you scale your business with clarity. Join us to gain actionable strategies on: ✅ Scaling E-commerce, D2C & Retail operations ✅ Modern Brand Building across online and physical channels ✅ Social media & content strategies that drive traffic and conversions Hit FOLLOW to get actionable insights every week & turn your vision into a profitable reality!

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60 recent

November 6, 2026Episode 11332 min

#113 From $50K to $3M. Here’s What Retail Really Costs.

Bigger retail orders should mean more money in the bank. For most growing brands, they mean the opposite. Emrick Giroux is the co-founder of Sana, the no-added-sugar chocolate brand he built with his mom Véro and her husband Danny after Véro's lupus diagnosis pushed her to cut sugar. They started in the family kitchen in 2019 and made about $50,000 in their first year. Today Sana manufactures every product itself, is sold across Canada in stores like Loblaws, Walmart and 7-Eleven, and is on track to reach $3 million this year without a single investor. In this episode, he explains: Building a business with your mom: what it's really like day to day, and the 48-hour shifts it took to deliver a single order. You get paid last: how big retail POs force you to carry cocoa butter, packaging and inventory for months, and why they've grown with BDC loans instead of giving up equity. Surviving the cocoa crisis: how a 400% jump in cocoa costs hit their margins, and why they swapped part of their cocoa butter for mango butter. Losing 20,000 followers overnight: how a banned Facebook ad account forced them to start from scratch, and the UGC and micro-influencer ads that work for them today. From sugar-free to functional: why they added protein and fiber to stay ahead in the better-for-you aisle, without ever compromising on taste. Follow Sana: Sana on the web: https://sanasweetlife.ca Sana on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sana_sweetlife/ Find me here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandydedeian/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandydedeian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandydedeian/ Sponsors: Omnisend- Email and SMS marketing built for ecommerce. Use code SANDY for 30% off your first three months: https://omnisend.com/sandy Metricool- Schedule all your content in one place. Use code RECTIFIED for a 30-day free trial of any tier: https://i.mtr.cool/RSBQOY Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:56 What it's like to work with your mom 03:43 The diagnosis that started the brand 05:15 From a home kitchen to a national distributor 08:55 Going national and growing to $3M 10:56 Retail margins and the cocoa crisis 12:18 Why they changed the brand name 13:23 Losing 20K followers and rebuilding with ads 17:33 From sugar-free to functional chocolate 23:22 Funding growth without investors 24:45 Changing ingredients without losing integrity 29:31 Lessons and advice for new founders

October 30, 2026Episode 11249 min

#112 Marketing Won’t Save a Mediocre Product. Clean Ingredients Built This 20-Year Brand

Most founders try to fix slow sales with more marketing. Marise May built Cha’s Organics the other way around, by refusing to cut corners on a single ingredient. Marise is the co-founder of Cha’s Organics, the Montreal food brand she started 20 years ago with her husband Chanaka, with no savings and no financial backing. Today, their organic spices, coconut milk, heirloom rice, and coconut rolls are sourced from long-term partner farms in Sri Lanka and sold in health food stores across Canada, and their coconut milk is carried nationally at Costco Canada. In this episode, she explains: Clean means clean: why they leave out gums, fillers, anti-caking agents and preservatives, even in a staple like coconut milk, where the recipe is just coconut and water. The product line that didn’t sell: why their first Ayurvedic tea line was too hard to market, and the lesson that it’s better to bring the best than the most unusual. Premium in a price-sensitive aisle: why they waited years to launch heirloom rice, and the supply-chain gap during COVID that made it the right moment. What it takes to get into Costco: the right product at the right price, a supply chain you can guarantee, and an audit she says is harder than the fair trade one. Product before marketing: why no amount of social media can fix a product that doesn’t work, and the resilience it took to keep going for 20 years. Follow Cha’s Organics: Cha’s Organics on the web: https://chasorganics.com Cha’s Organics on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chasorganics/ Sponsors: Omnisend- Email and SMS marketing built for ecommerce. Use code SANDY for 30% off your first three months: https://omnisend.com/sandy Metricool- Schedule all your content in one place. Use code RECTIFIED for a 30-day free trial of any tier: https://i.mtr.cool/RSBQOY Find me here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandydedeian/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandydedeian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandydedeian/ Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:56 Why the ingredients come first 04:55 The first product line that didn’t sell 09:55 The farming traditions behind every ingredient 18:03 The story behind their heirloom rice 21:42 Selling a premium version of a basic staple 26:13 Expensive mistakes and the coconut milk win 28:20 How Cha’s got into Costco 31:48 Costco’s audit is harder than fair trade 35:59 Zero savings and 10 years to build a team 42:56 Advice for anyone starting a brand 45:35 Why design keeps her going

October 23, 2026Episode 11133 min

#111 Everyone’s Running the Same Black Friday Sale. Here’s How to Stand Out.

Most small businesses spend Black Friday slashing prices and still get lost in the noise. The brands that actually win don’t just discount harder. They build a smarter offer, and they lock it in weeks before the sale. Nora Arzoumanian has spent over two decades scaling e-commerce for product brands and currently leads e-commerce at Mobilia. In part four of our holiday series, she breaks down how to design a Black Friday offer that actually converts in a crowded market, and the month-long game plan to pull it off. In this episode, she explains: Why a generic “X% off” gets ignored: the simple offer that wins when every brand is fighting for the same dollar. The offer that quietly kills conversions: make people do the math and they just leave. The VIP play that works every time: early access and the Sephora Rouge model for your most loyal customers. The November calendar: what to run all month, and why the discount has to get bigger on the day itself. One offer, every channel: keeping it consistent across your site, email, SMS, and ads without the chaos. Mentioned in this episode : Omnisend: Go to https://omnisend.com/sandy and use code SANDY for 30% off your first three months Metricool: Go to https://i.mtr.cool/RSBQOY and use code RECTIFIED for 30 days free on any premium plan Follow Nora: Nora on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noraarzoumanian/ Find me here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandydedeian/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandydedeian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandydedeian/ Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:53 Why your offer makes or breaks Black Friday 01:34 Why a generic “X% off” falls flat 04:07 Black Friday offer mistakes to avoid 07:13 VIP early access and the Sephora Rouge model 11:36 Converting the people who never bought 13:34 Bundles vs. a straight discount 14:57 Starting early and ramping the discount 17:57 Building your November calendar 20:52 Keeping the offer consistent across channels 26:11 When to change a promo mid-month 31:13 What to nail in November

October 16, 2026Episode 11035 min

#110 Started With $1,000. Now It’s a Multi-Million Dollar Brand in Nordstrom.

Most founders believe they need outside money before a major retailer will take them seriously. Sarah Takforyan started with $1,000, reinvested every dollar of profit, and never looked back. Sarah is the founder of La Boîte à Bonbons, the Montreal brand behind c’est BONBON, which she launched in 2016 and has grown into a multi-million dollar business sold across Canada and the US. This holiday season her candy lands in about 70 percent of Nordstrom’s flagship stores, and her advent calendar made Wirecutter’s top 25 for the second year in a row. In this episode, she explains: The channel she almost cut: in January 2020 she was about to shut down her online store, and in April it brought in more revenue than all of 2019. The most expensive project in the business: what the end of the de minimis exemption did to cross-border online sales, and how she now ships to American customers with duties included. How wholesale really scales: distributors in Quebec, Faire everywhere else, and the curated trade show that led to Nordstrom. Email without the spam: one email a week for most of the year, because roughly 80 percent of online sales happen between September and December. Reinvest everything: growing on very little debt, and borrowing only to automate in ways that make her team’s work better. Follow C’est Bonbon: La Boîte à Bonbons on the web: https://laboiteabonbons.ca/en La Boîte à Bonbons on Instagram: https://instagram.com/laboiteabonbons Find me here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandydedeian/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandydedeian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandydedeian/ Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:59 The online store she almost shut down 07:05 From Quebec shelves to Nordstrom 10:35 The tariff change that cost the most money 13:36 Why the original recipe failed here 18:01 Grow fast or grow steadily 19:06 Email marketing without the spam 23:52 Faire, distributors and the trade show behind Nordstrom 28:13 Selling sugar in an anti-sugar market 30:48 From $1,000 to multi-million

October 2, 2026Episode 10947 min

#109 Cut Costs or Keep Trust. Every Product Brand Faces This.

Every product brand eventually faces the same decision: cut your ingredient costs and grow faster, or protect the formula and grow slower. Pierrich Picard has been refusing the first option for almost ten years. Pierrich is the founder of Gutsy, the Montreal fermented beverage brand he started in 2017 and has grown into more than 1,000 stores across Quebec and Ontario, with a ginger beer that was named best in the world last year. In this episode, he explains: The margin trap: an ingredient swap can cut your costs by 90 percent, which is why so many clean brands quietly reformulate once investors get involved. Why "natural" means almost nothing: natural flavour is unregulated to the point where he found solvents listed inside one. What refusing costs you: protecting real ingredients has limited his growth by a multiple, and he explains what he gets back for it. National TV is not a sales channel: his Dans l'oeil du dragon appearance grew in-store sales 82 percent in a week with no deal signed, and the relationships mattered more than the money. Clout is not revenue: the brands with the loudest communities are often the ones without the sales, and he has stopped competing for attention . Follow Gutsy: Gutsy on the web: https://gutsydrinks.com/ Gutsy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gutsydrinks/ Find me here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandydedeian/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandydedeian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandydedeian/ Sponsors: Metricool- Schedule all your content in one place. Use code RECTIFIED for a 30-day free trial of any tier: https://i.mtr.cool/RSBQOY Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:16 Did prebiotic sodas take the gut health market 02:25 Why clean brands quietly change their ingredients 04:34 Fermented versus added probiotics 06:36 The side product that became best in the world 09:39 Dans l'oeil du dragon: 82% in a week, no deal 11:12 The darker side nobody shows 14:36 How it started in Nicaragua 15:48 The investor who wanted cheaper ingredients 17:00 What saying no costs you in margin 23:55 What natural flavour is allowed to mean 26:58 Starting on tap instead of in cans 30:46 Small shops, big chains, shelf space politics 40:07 Ten years in: becoming more himself 44:02 Three things for founders in a hard season

September 25, 2026Episode 10846 min

#108 Why Your Holiday Ads Aren't Converting (Fix This First)

You pour money into ads during the holidays and watch it disappear. Your traffic goes up, your spend goes up, but the sales don't follow. If that's the frustration, this episode is the fix. In Part 3 of our monthly Holiday-Ready E-Commerce series, I sit down with e-commerce expert Nora Arzoumanian (20+ years scaling product brands) to break down paid ads and creative for Q4, how to stop wasting budget and actually get traffic that converts before the costs spike in November. Here's what you'll learn: – Why your holiday ad costs explode, and how to spend less by starting now – How to warm up your audiences and build your funnel before the rush – Where your budget should go in October vs November – Why turning ads on and off is quietly killing your results – What's working in creative right now: UGC, video, and static – Why the creative, not the targeting, now drives everything – ROAS, CPM, CPC, CPA explained simply 🎧 Catch up on the series: Part 1 – Website & Conversions: https://youtu.be/NukNBBi4BxI?si=rGp-jmpJVI2POImX Part 2 – Email & SMS: https://youtu.be/YqIGwUHZ3HY?si=XifCJ3lBKdfJPIJu Find me here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandydedeian/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandydedeian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandydedeian/ New episodes drop monthly through December. Subscribe so you don't miss Part 4. Chapters 0:00 – Why your holiday ads aren't converting 3:19 – Start now: test before costs spike 8:34 – Where your budget should go, month by month 12:56 – What creative actually works right now 31:47 – The ad metrics that matter (ROAS, CPM, CPC, CPA) 43:59 – The 3 things to do before the holidays

September 18, 2026Episode 10752 min

#107 You Didn't Start a Business to Be on Camera. Here's How to Do It Anyway.

Most product founders didn't get into business to be on camera. They wanted to make the thing and let it speak for itself, and then they found out it doesn't. Christopher Dedeyan is a professional speaker who trains entrepreneurs to communicate. In this conversation, he breaks down why the people who look effortless are the ones who practised the most, how to get clear on your message before you worry about making content, and why an introvert should aim to go up two points instead of trying to become another Tony Robbins.If you'd rather just make your product than talk about it, this one is for you.Christopher's last appearance on the show is still the most watched episode I've ever put out. If you haven't seen it, watch that one next: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bndPDdONBnEChristopher on the web: https://www.christopherdedeyan.com/Christopher on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christopherdedeyan/Play for Profit (English): https://link.amazon/B0hrHZaKUPlay for Profit (Armenian edition): https://newmag.am/en/book/play-for-profitFind me here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandydedeian/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandydedeian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandydedeian/pters02:01 Why Communication Matters06:06 Frameworks Without Robot Mode11:05 Clarity Before You Pitch16:13 Communicating On Screen22:32 Introverts And Energy Range27:32 Build Real Self-Esteem30:17 Social Media For Founders34:26 Sports Meets Business43:46 Faith And Morning Rituals46:02 Three Communication Tips

August 28, 2026Episode 10649 min

#106 The Email & SMS Plan to Win Black Friday

Last holiday season, shoppers spent over $1 trillion, and the brands that cashed in weren't the ones with the biggest ad budgets. They were the ones who owned their audience. Your social followers can disappear with an algorithm change, but your email and SMS list is yours, and it's the most profitable channel most product brands ignore. In Part 2 of our monthly Holiday-Ready E-Commerce series, I sit down with e-commerce expert Nora Arzoumanian (20+ years in e-commerce) to build your email and SMS plan for Black Friday, from the automations that make money on autopilot to the exact campaign calendar that wins Q4. Here's what you'll learn: – Why email is a goldmine and social traffic is just borrowed – When SMS is worth it (and how to use it without burning your list) – Abandoned cart done right: the 3 to 4 email sequence that recovers the sale – How to build your list now with pop-ups and lead gen, before the rush – How to plan your Black Friday email calendar and how often to send 🛠️ Tools mentioned: Shopify (affiliate): Start free, build for $1/month, earn up to $13,000 in credits as you sell: https://shopify.pxf.io/rectified Metricool: Schedule all your content in one place. Use code RECTIFIED for a 30-day free trial of any tier: https://i.mtr.cool/RSBQOY Find me here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandydedeian/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandydedeian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandydedeian/ 🎧 New to Nora? Watch her first episode here: https://youtu.be/ZgzgOkBwfjY?si=AsHFHkAJ48sZosAT New episodes in this series drop monthly through December. Subscribe so you don't miss one. Chapters 00:00 Email Matters More 03:14 Abandoned Cart Basics 10:12 Build Your List Now 12:57 Clean Up Unengaged 15:02 Subscriber Value Math 17:35 Core Email Automations 24:33 Holiday Campaign Planning 30:53 Email Frequency Strategy 34:28 SMS During Black Friday 44:23 Deliverability And List Health 48:21 Convert Followers To Email

August 14, 2026Episode 10538 min

#105 The 2026 Brand Playbook: How Small Brands Beat Big Budgets

Reese De Luca ran ads for three months. They brought in one order. He hasn't spent money on ads since, and today about 75% of his sales come from standing behind a table and talking to people. In this episode, Reese breaks down how he built Skincare for Weirdos from a single pimple patch into a full four-step routine without investors, loans, or an ad budget. We talk about why he almost named the brand Patchy and what changed his mind, how being called a weirdo growing up became the most valuable asset he owns, why his pimple patches aren't even in his top five sellers anymore and why that was the plan, the discipline of making every product earn its place on the table, how he built a booth people stop at instead of scroll past, and the 25 years of fashion and design experience that let him skip the $20,000 branding agency invoice. If your product is good but your brand could belong to anyone, this one is for you. 🎯 FREE LIVE WORKSHOP – August 20: I'm walking you through the 3R Strategy, the exact framework I use with private clients to break through growth plateaus. Live on Zoom, kept small, completely free. Save your spot: https://learn.rectified.co/break-through-your-growth-plateau Skincare for Weirdos on the web: https://skincareforweirdos.com/ Skincare for Weirdos on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skincareforweirdos Skincare for Weirdos on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@skincareforweirdos Find me here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandydedeian/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandydedeian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandydedeian/ Chapters: 02:46 Origin of the Weirdoverse 08:32 Product Development Process 15:30 Pop-Ups as Growth Engine 18:40 Shopify POS and Email Flows 23:38 Social Content Mix 29:39 Wholesale Growth Plan 33:38 Advice for Founders 36:08 Funding Without Debt

July 31, 202649 min

#104 Most Websites Aren't Ready for Black Friday 2026

Last holiday season, shoppers spent over $1 trillion, and most small businesses lost their share before the season even started. In Part 1 of our monthly Holiday-Ready E-Commerce series, I sit down with e-commerce expert Nora Arzoumanian (20+ years scaling product brands) to break down exactly how to turn your website into a machine that converts before the Q4 rush hits. If you're a product business, this is the foundation everything else is built on; fix this first, before you spend a dollar on ads. 🛠️ Tools mentioned: Shopify (affiliate): Start free, build for $1/month, earn up to $13,000 in credits as you sell: https://shopify.pxf.io/rectified Metricool: Schedule all your content in one place. Use code RECTIFIED for a 30-day free trial of any tier: https://i.mtr.cool/RSBQOY Find me here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandydedeian/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandydedeian L inkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandydedeian/ 🎧 New to Nora? Watch her first episode here: https://youtu.be/ZgzgOkBwfjY?si=AsHFHkAJ48sZosAT New episodes in this series drop monthly through December. Subscribe so you don't miss one. Chapters 01:24 Series Kickoff With Nora 04:32 Conversion Rate Benchmarks 07:50 Analytics And Funnel Drops 14:00 Product Page Trust Builders 19:07 Checkout Friction Fixes 25:25 Homepage Placement Strategy 28:41 Holiday Conversion Mindset 36:24 SEO GEO Priorities 41:45 Map Customer Journey 44:09 Post Purchase Delight 46:12 Three Holiday Priorities