Season 2 | Episode 11

Glade Optics

Transforming a seasonal product into year-round business.

Learn how this founder brought a seasonal product to market, and expanded to year-round success.

We're chatting with Curt to learn how he launched Glade and grew it from a seasonal business into a year-round leader in mountain gear, using targeted community outreach, deep customer insights, and targeted post-purchase upsells.

We'll also hear from the CEO of CartHook, Emily Foreman, on how brands can replicate these post-purchase offers to collect untapped revenue and drive higher AOV.

Subscribe for the Operators Pass, and unlock every episode. 🔓

Join us and learn from ecommerce leaders how to:

Vet factories and manufacturers before launch and negotiate your initial production run
Launch a seasonal product and when you should start generating demand

Prioritize your outsourcing approach, knowing which operations to hand off and when
Leverage post-purchase offers to drive additional untapped revenue

Hear From Our Attendees

Ari Roman

HEAD OF LOGISTICS OF Rico's Treatz

"I never miss an episode of Operators Series. They always have the best guests who share solutions to the struggles we are all facing."

BEN VAN SCHENDEL

FOUNDER OF Van Schendel Art Supplies

"I love the webinar platform they use. It's so easy to ask questions during the live broadcast. It feels like I'm really part of the conversation."

BRITTANY MITCHELL

FOUNDER of B Beats

"I'm so glad I'm here to learn from you! I just launched a new line of headphones and I'm kind of flying solo too (but not a marketing or ecomm expert!)"

ON OUR NEXT EPISODE

Glade Optics

In 2016, Curt Nichols started Glade Optics as a side project while working at a market research firm. As he helped consumer-facing companies navigate the shift from physical to digital stores, he saw brands unlock massive returns by applying DTC principles to highly commoditized product categories.

We'll also hear from the CEO of CartHook, Emily Foreman, on how brands can replicate these post-purchase offers to collect untapped revenue and drive higher AOV.

Vet factories and manufacturers before launch and negotiate your initial production run
Launch a seasonal product and when you should start generating demand
Replicate success of early paid social days with high CPMs
Acquire customers using sustainable and repeatable methods
Speak to your customers using community terminology (e.g., for Glade, “shred,” “POW,” and other ski/snowboard lingo)
Prioritize your outsourcing approach, knowing which operations to hand off and when
Leverage post-purchase offers to drive additional untapped revenue

Meet the Speakers

Curt Nichols

Founder, Glade Optics

Curt started Glade after consulting for various direct to consumer brands as a research consultant at Forrester Research. A lifelong skier, Curt was able to identify the market opportunity for Glade by marrying his research and consulting expertise in the consumer space with his knowledge and passion for skiing. As the sole employee, Curt built Glade from concept to seven figures in revenue and now manages a team of employees across the U.S. A student of the industry, Curt is deeply interested in the future of commerce.

Emily Foreman

CEO of CartHook

Emily Foreman is the CEO at CartHook. With over 15 years of experience in email marketing, telecom, and customer service, she moved into ecommerce by joining CartHook in 2018. At CartHook, she led the support and success teams and worked closely with leading Shopify brands to execute their post-purchase upsell strategies. Emily’s dedication to the merchant and customer experiences has skyrocketed numerous Shopify brands’ ROI and AOV with CartHook, the leading way to add real one-click post-purchase offers in the Shopify checkout. With CartHook, you can increase your revenue and make your customers love your brand.

About the Brand

Glade is an independent ski brand born in Vermont and built in Colorado. In everything we do, we aim to celebrate, support and add to skiing's distinct grassroots culture. We’ve combined the best elements of durability, comfort, and performance from across the industry to establish a new category and point of view on ski gear.

The industry has changed. Nine of the top ten goggle and helmet brands are now owned by a parent corporation. As the industry consolidated the spirit and soul of skiing was lost. We aim to change that.

YOUR HOST

Casey Armstrong

Chief Marketing Officer, ShipBob

Casey Armstrong is the CMO of ShipBob, the leading cloud-based logistics platform that supports over 5,000 ecommerce brands with 21 fulfillment centers across the United States, Canada, Europe, United Kingdom, and Australia. Prior to ShipBob, Casey was the VP of Marketing at BigCommerce and SVP at Watchmaster.

Glade Optics

Join us and learn from ecommerce leaders how to: