The Rectified Podcast

Hosted by Sandy Dedeian

Business Entrepreneurship

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Episodes

105

Latest episode

Aug 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!

Listen to episodes

60 recent

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

July 24, 2026Episode 10338 min

#103 Every Big Retailer Said No to Her Product. Now She's in 800 Stores.

Every big grocery chain told Emma Lukian no. Every co-packer in Quebec told her no. Even the Dragons on Dans l'œil du dragon told her she'd never find one. Six years later, Good Big Nice kimchi is in almost 800 stores across Quebec, including Metro, IGA and Super C. In this episode, Emma breaks down exactly what was blocking her from big retail for four years and how she finally cracked it. We talk about the real cost of getting on a big banner shelf (including the $7,000 per SKU listing fee nobody warns you about), why she had to stop looking for a co-packer and start looking for a partner, what happened when a four-month warehouse strike wiped out one of her biggest sales channels, and the moment she realized she'd been tracking revenue while having no idea how much money she was actually making per jar. If your product is selling but you can't seem to break into bigger retail, 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: Good Big Nice on the web: https://www.goodbignice.com/Good Big Nice on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodbignice/ 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 Welcome and Guest Intro 02:52 First Store Breakthrough 09:30 Funding the Scale Up 15:42 Kebwich Collab Challenge 20:06 Budgeting for Big Retail 23:17 Metro Strike Supply Shock 28:12 New Flavor Pikliz Launch 33:58 Marketing Needs a Strategy

July 17, 2026Episode 10242 min

#102 They Spent $1.4M on a Product That Isn't Even Out Yet

How do you spend $1.4 million on a product that isn't even on the market yet, and still have customers paying in full a year before it ships? In this episode, I sit down with George Korkejian, co-founder and COO of Rozvelt, the Montreal brand behind the Vektr, a premium breath-filtration wearable for hunting, wildlife photography, and soon defense. George spent a decade on the other side of the table, investing in startups through a VC fund and running an accelerator, before finally taking his own advice and building a company himself. We get into what $1.4M actually buys before a hardware product ever hits the market, how they validated a product nobody knew they needed, why they called every single pre-order customer to ask why they bought, and the full story behind their Dans l'oeil du dragon deal, including why they skipped the bunker and countered a dragon with a royalty deal on the spot. FREE LIVE WORKSHOP — August 20: I'm walking you through the 3R Strategy, the exact framework I use with my private clients to help product brands break through their growth plateau. 90 minutes, live on Zoom, kept small so you can ask your questions. Save your spot: [insert link] Rozvelt’s Website: https://www.rozvelt.com/ Rozvelt on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rozveltofficial/ Find me here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandydedeian/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandydedeian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandydedeian/ Chapters: 02:39 Scent Control Outdoors 07:37 Origin Story Hunting 14:53 Why Hardware Costs 21:28 Premium Pricing Logic 25:35 Dragon Show Journey 31:22 After Airing Growth 35:00 Grit And Burnout 39:09 Taking Chances Finale

July 10, 2026Episode 10141 min

#101 How to Launch a Brand in an Oversaturated Market

The energy drink aisle is one of the most saturated categories in retail — dominated by billion-dollar brands with decades of shelf space locked up. So how do you launch a new brand into that and actually win? In this episode, I sit down with Jean-Olivier Campion, co-founder of Mana, a yerba mate energy brand that broke into IGA, Sobeys, Metro, Avril, and Lufa Farms across Quebec, Ontario, and BC — built by a five-person, no-office team with zero background in the beverage industry. We get into how a bootstrapped team went from zero to 100+ retail accounts in eight weeks, what it actually takes to pitch a major grocery chain, why they walked away from paid ads after realizing they needed an 11x return just to break even, and how they navigate one of the toughest parts of retail: fighting for (and keeping) shelf space. ⚡️Struggling to figure out where your business is leaking growth? Take my free 3R Framework Diagnostic. In 10 minutes, you'll discover if you need to Revamp, Reshape, or Reach ➡️ https://learn.rectified.co/brand-diagnostic ⚡️Join the Scale Partner Community, a FREE space where founders connect, exchange ideas, and support each other ➡️ community.rectified.co/scalepartner Mana’s Website: https://en.manayerbamate.com/ Mana on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manayerbamate/ 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 Launching In Saturation 02:17 David Versus Goliath 09:14 Taste Test And Branding 17:53 Shelf Space Battles 22:03 Quebec Energy Drink Ban 24:31 Rapid Fire Questions 29:19 Signature Cocktail Recipe 35:19 Remote Work Loneliness 41:08 Final Wrap Up

July 3, 2026Episode 10017 min

#100 What Every Successful Brand Founder Has in Common (After 100 Episodes)

What do the most successful product brand founders all have in common? After hosting 100 episodes of The Rectified Podcast, I started noticing the same patterns showing up over and over again, no matter the product, no matter the industry. In this special solo episode, I'm breaking down the 5 biggest lessons my guests taught me about building and scaling a product brand. From the moment that changes everything (your first real customer) to the hard truth about resilience that most founders don't want to hear. In this episode, you'll learn: Why your first customer who isn't family or a friend matters more than you think The one thing every founder who scaled had around them Why starting before you're ready is not reckless — it's the only way How your personal story becomes your biggest competitive advantage Why resilience without a plan will still kill your business ⚡️Struggling to figure out where your business is leaking growth? Take my free 3R Framework Diagnostic. In 10 minutes, you'll discover if you need to Revamp, Reshape, or Reach ➡️ https://learn.rectified.co/brand-diagnostic ⚡️Join the Rectified Founders Community, a FREE space where founders connect, exchange ideas, and support each other ➡️ community.rectified.co/scalepartner Find me here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandydedeian/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandydedeian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandydedeian/ Chapters: 0:00 — Intro: 100 Episodes Later 3:30 — Your First Real Customer Changes Everything 9:00 — You Can't Do This Alone 15:00 — Start Before You're Ready 21:00 — Your Personal Story IS Your Brand 27:00 — Resilience Without a Plan Will Still Kill Your Business 33:00 — Recap & What's Next

June 19, 2026Episode 9925 min

#99 He Turned Down Retail Offers to Build This Snack Brand the Right Way

Allan Glenfield spotted a gap that every Canadian meat lover knows: the best snack brands don't ship here. So he built one, starting with one SKU, no operations background, and a "worst case I eat a lot of meat sticks" attitude. In this episode, we get into how he validated the idea before spending a dollar on production, why he's actively turning down retail offers, the hidden cost that almost derailed the business, and how he's positioning Chuck as the family-friendly alternative in a category dominated by gas station brands. If you're building a physical product brand, this one's worth your time. Topics covered: How to validate a physical product before manufacturing D2C vs. retail — and why the wrong choice can kill your cash flow Amazon's dirty secret for new brands Family-friendly vs. fitness positioning: did it hurt or help? Working capital traps no one talks about ⚡️Struggling to figure out where your business is leaking growth? Take my free 3R Framework Diagnostic. In 10 minutes, you'll discover if you need to Revamp, Reshape, or Reach ➡️ https://learn.rectified.co/brand-diagnostic ⚡️Join the Scale Partner Community, a FREE space where founders connect, exchange ideas, and support each other ➡️ community.rectified.co/scalepartner Chuck’s Website: https://eatchuck.com/Chuck on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatchuck/ 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 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:22 Why Make Chuck 03:26 Validating Demand Fast 07:01 Launching D2C and Amazon 09:19 Retail Expansion Caution 10:22 Hidden Costs and Cash Flow 12:01 Marketing Shift and Positioning 17:25 Social Channels and Content 19:28 Email and Retention Plans 20:19 Rapid Fire Founder QandA

June 12, 202647 min

#98 He scaled a mattress brand to $15M and why he'd never do it again

He built one of Canada's fastest-growing mattress brands, scaled to $15M during the pandemic, and just went through an acquisition. In this episode, Jeremiah Curvers, founder of Polysleep, breaks down exactly how he did it, from guerrilla marketing tactics in Montreal to a full retail strategy, and what every product founder needs to understand about brand trust before spending a dollar on ads. This one is a masterclass. ⚡️Struggling to figure out where your business is leaking growth? Take my free 3R Framework Diagnostic. In 10 minutes, you'll discover if you need to Revamp, Reshape, or Reach ➡️ https://learn.rectified.co/brand-diagnostic ⚡️Join the Scale Partner Community, a FREE space where founders connect, exchange ideas, and support each other ➡️ community.rectified.co/scalepartner Polysleep’s Website: https://polysleep.ca/ Polysleep on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poly_sleep/ Jeremiah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremiahcurvers/ Find me here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandydedeian/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandydedeian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandydedeian/ Chapters: 01:28 Injury Sparks Idea 05:25 Branding and Virality 09:00 Pandemic to Exit 13:05 Exit Mindset Shift 17:43 Life After Acquisition 25:11 Marketing Today 31:45 Omnichannel Storytelling 35:01 Email Life Moments 38:13 Founder Trust Playbook 41:55 Rapid Fire Takeaways

May 22, 2026Episode 9746 min

#97 A Dragon Told Me Exactly What He Looks For | Georges Karam

What does it actually take to get a Dragon to invest in your product? Georges Karam has spent 7 seasons on Dans l'oeil du dragon (the Quebec version of Dragon's Den) and is one of the sharks on Shark Tank Lebanon's first season. He's seen hundreds of pitches — and turned most of them down. In this episode, Georges breaks down what makes him lean in or check out, the #1 mistake founders make in their pitch, why your first impression matters more than your financials, the difference between red ocean and blue ocean strategy for product brands, and why resilience without a financial plan will still kill your business. Georges also gets real about arrogance, staying grounded after success, and why there's no shortcut to building a solid foundation. Whether you're preparing to pitch investors or just trying to scale your product business past a plateau, this one's for you. ⚡️Struggling to figure out where your business is leaking growth? Take my free 3R Framework Diagnostic. In 10 minutes, you'll discover if you need to Revamp, Reshape, or Reach ➡️ https://learn.rectified.co/brand-diagnostic ⚡️Join the Scale Partner Community, a FREE space where founders connect, exchange ideas, and support each other ➡️ community.rectified.co/scalepartner Georges’ Website: https://georgeskaram.ca/ Georges on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georgeskaram.one/ Get Georges’ Book: https://amzn.to/4uWFKBc Find me here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandydedeian/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandydedeian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandydedeian/ Chapters: 0:00 — Intro 1:12 — From Lebanon to Montreal 10:42 — Success without arrogance 19:24 — Are entrepreneurs born or made? 27:00 — What a Dragon looks for in a pitch 34:30 — Advice for product founders