Add To Cart

In this episode of Add To Cart, we are joined by Amanda Healy from Kirrikin.  A proud Koori woman, Amanda has more than 30 years experience in mining, but when she noticed the lack of authentic Indigenous products, she took matters into her own hands and in 2014, she launched her own brand.  Kirrikin is a luxury fashion label that showcases Indigenous art and offers customers the opportunity to directly support the artist behind the design.  In 2021, Amanda’s brand even hit the runway at Australian Fashion Week and has started to expand overseas into the US and Europe. I really enjoyed hearing Amanda share some of the stories that are woven into Kirrikin’s fabrics and her experience of taking Australian culture overseas. We also chatted about her thoughts on the Voice, the impact it could have on the Indigenous community and the challenges she has faced as a First Nations entrepreneur. 

Links from the episode:

Kirrikin

Shopify Plus (sponsored)

Packleo (sponsored)

Questions answered:

• Coming from the mining industry, why did you start a fashion brand?
• How would you describe Kirrikin and your inspiration behind your designs?
• What tips do you have for businesses wanting to collaborate with Indigenous designers?

This episode was brought to you by…  

Shopify Plus

Packleo

About your host: Jo-Anne Hui-Miller from The General Store

Jo is content and insights director at multi-disciplinary creative agency, The General Store.  She was previously managing editor of premium content at Inside Retail Australia, Asia and New Zealand.

About your co-host: Amanda Healy from Kirrikin

Amanda is from the Wonnarua nation – traditional owners of the Hunter Valley in NSW.  As with many Indigenous people, she has broad connections across the country.   With more than 35 years’ experience in the mining industry, both in Australia, Africa and Canada, Amanda has founded her own engineering businesses in the Pilbara and Cape York supporting Aboriginal people in business.  She developed Kirrikin in late 2014, which is a social enterprise sharing profits with the artists – to address shortage of authentic Indigenous products.  Kirrikin digitally prints gorgeous Aboriginal artwork onto luxurious Cashmeres and silks, turning them into scarves and ties.  Rapidly developing an international reputation for its beautiful products, Kirrikin is popular in the USA and Europe as well as at home in Australia.

You can contact Amanda at LinkedIn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Add To Cart, we checkout Tim Warren, Co founder and CEO of Ambit, a company that started building a conversational artificial intelligence platform back in 2016!  Way ahead of the game, or as Tim describes it, just braver than others,  they went all in on Ambit GPT, a retail focused chatbot that provides deeply personalised, automated conversations that delight customers.  Kiwi born and bred, Ambit has clients such as The Warehouse group, Glassons and Dermalogica and raised a million New Zealand dollars last year to accelerate expansion here in Australia. 

Links from the episode:

Ambi

Tim Warren from Ambit: Artificial Intelligence Wizardry | #320

Questions answered in the podcast:

• What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever bought online? 
• Who is your favourite retailer? 
• Which retail fad do you wish was history?
• Can you recommend a book or podcast that our listeners should immediately get into? 
• Finish this sentence.  The future of retail is… 

This episode was brought to you by…

esuite

About your co-host: Tim Warren from Ambit

Tim Warren is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ambit, a GPT powered generative AI conversation platform which provides customer service at scale. A computer science and maths graduate, Tim is an active investor in and advisor to startups. He has also worked in senior roles at major brands like Goldman Sachs and JBWere.

You can contact Tim at LinkedIn

About your host: Nathan Bush from esuite

Nathan Bush is a digital strategist, Co-founder of eCommerce talent agency, esuite and host of the Add to Cart podcast. He has led eCommerce for businesses with revenue $100m+ and has been recognised as one of Australia’s Top 50 People in eCommerce four years in a row. You can contact Nathan on LinkedIn, Twitter or via email.

Please contact us if you: 

• Want to come on board as an Add To Cart sponsor 
• Are interested in joining Add To Cart as a co-host 
• Have any feedback or suggestions on how to make Add To Cart better

Email [email protected] We look forward to hearing from you!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Add To Cart, we are joined by Clothing The Gaps co-founders Laura Thompson and Sarah Sheridan. Started as a COVID hustle when Laura and Sarah were in health promotion, Clothing The Gaps is now Australia’s leading Indigenous fashion brand, and arguably, Australia’s foremost brand when it comes to leading real social change. From their Free The Flag campaign (which ended up freeing the flag) to this year’s Voice referendum, Clothing The Gaps are an inspirational team who won’t stop or apologise for standing up for issues that matter to Indigenous Australians.. From the amazing engagement metrics that they generate (we’re talking almost 50% customer return rate) to their battle with the American clothing giant Gap and to the complexities around the voice for their mob. We cover a lot of ground today. While we always aim for a diverse range of guests on Add To Cart, over the next four weeks we’ve put the spotlight on Indigenous leaders and change makers. We’ve got an important referendum coming up on the 14th October and we wanted to make sure that Indigenous voices within the ecommerce community are heard.

Links from the episode:

Clothing The Gaps

Shopify Plus (sponsored)

Packleo (sponsored)

This episode was brought to you by…  

Shopify Plus

Packleo

About your co-hosts: 

Laura Thompson from Clothing The Gaps

Laura is CEO & Co-Founder at Clothing The Gaps and an experienced Manager with a demonstrated history of working in Community health care and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Communication, Health Promotion and Teamwork.

You can contact Laura at LinkedIn

Sarah Sheridan from Clothing The Gaps

Sarah is Co-Founder of Clothing The Gaps.  She is passionate about energising spaces, from boardrooms to prisons, to create engaging and lasting impact for social change, especially within reconciliation and health and well-being. Using creativity to facilitate opportunities and spaces for people to come together to connect brings her joy. Working predominantly alongside the Aboriginal Community in Melbourne, Sarah is an experienced Health Promotion and Community Engagement Practitioner with a demonstrated history of solutions focused, strength based program development and communication. These skills have translated to a unique approach to operations and sustainable business development.

Always keen to hear from people in leadership, governance, health, social enterprise, community development and social change fields.

You can contact Sarah at LinkedIn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Add To Cart, we checkout Daniel Kitay, founder of FUNDAY Natural Sweets, a confectionary brand making lollies with no sugar or sugar alcohol added.  Daniel’s own weight loss journey left him missing out on the joy of one of his favourites treats and inspired him to create a replacement. FUNDAY’S unique formula maximises taste and eliminates the frequent trips to the loo that many ‘healthier’ lollies can bring.  They have a five-star health rating, contain around 100 calories per pack and can be found in Chemist Warehouse and Woolies. 

Links from the episode:

Daniel Kitay from FUNDAY Natural Sweets: Guilt-free Lolly Love | #317

Questions answered in the podcast:

• What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever bought online? 
• Who is your favourite retailer? 
• Which retail fad do you wish was history?
• Can you recommend a book or podcast that our listeners should immediately get into? 
• Finish this sentence.  The future of retail is… 

This episode was brought to you by…

esuite

About your co-host: Daniel Kitay from FUNDAY

Daniel studied a Bachelor of Commerce & Laws and was admitted as a practising lawyer in Victoria in 2015. Daniel has a passion and love for brands and business and after many years working in technology and retail (Luxury Escapes when it was first started, and working for the worlds #1 vitamin and supplement brand BY-HEALTH). Daniel founded FUNDAY Natural Sweets, Australia’s first health confectionery brand in 2020 and launched online and offline in 2021.

You can contact Daniel at LinkedIn

About your host: Nathan Bush from esuite

Nathan Bush is a digital strategist, Co-founder of eCommerce talent agency, esuite and host of the Add to Cart podcast. He has led eCommerce for businesses with revenue $100m+ and has been recognised as one of Australia’s Top 50 People in eCommerce four years in a row. You can contact Nathan on LinkedIn, Twitter or via email.

Please contact us if you: 

• Want to come on board as an Add To Cart sponsor 
• Are interested in joining Add To Cart as a co-host 
• Have any feedback or suggestions on how to make Add To Cart better

Email [email protected] We look forward to hearing from you!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we bring you a special bonus episode from a live event!   Add to Cart was in Sydney for Impact.com’s iPX partnerships experience for 2023 and we were lucky enough to be invited on to have an Add To Cart chat in person. And better still, we were able to record it and share it with you today. To say Sarah Hamilton has done a few things is a huge understatement -  she’s a founder - of success story Sand and Sky, bellabox and newly launched Straand (a scalp health brand).  She has a background in financial management and marketing, previously working in London at Dazed and Confused magazine and New York for Spin Magazine.  She’s currently an advisor for Mermade Hair and Hunter Labs and leads the Private Label team at Adore Beauty.  The theme for our conversation at iPX was how to create cult brands and hero products. And we discuss this at length. But we also dive into the influencer strategies she’s employed over the years, the role of Amazon in her growth and I also get seriously schooled in all things beauty…not a huge surprise there.

Links from the episode:

Impact

Sand and Sky

Questions answered:

• What are you most proud of?
• What’s the secret to creating a cult brand in 2023?
• What role have partnerships played in the brand journey?

About your co-hosts: Sarah Hamilton from Sand and Sky

Sarah is a founder, investor and advisor. She is a founder and director of STRAAND, a newly launched Scalp Health brand backed by Unilever Ventures. Sarah also holds various advisory roles for Mermade Hair and Hunter Labs while leading the Private Label team at Adore Beauty. 

Sarah’s business background led her to launch Bellabox the largest Australian beauty box in 2011, she then moved to Managing Director in Australia with Supernova, the parent co. for brands such as Coco & Eve and Sand & Sky which she co-founded with her sister. Her love of the startup space led her to Straand and there are a few more brands in the pipeline for launch in late 2023/ early 2024.

You can contact Sarah at LinkedIn

Ayaan Mohamud from Impact

Ayaan is the RVP of Marketing for impact.com across Asia-Pacific and leads all of the company’s marketing activities in the region including PR, comms, demand gen and events. She has more than 13 years’ experience working in the marketing, media and technology industry in both APAC and EMEA. She joined impact.com four years ago from Sizmek (now Amazon), where she held a number of regional leadership roles for over four years. Prior to this Ayaan held senior marketing positions at Dataxu (now Roku) and Comscore in London.

You can contact Ayaan at LinkedIn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Add To Cart, we are joined by seasoned renovator, Drew Mansur.  Drew is the Co founder of TileCloud, an online D2C store transforming the often confusing and overwhelming tile buying process.  With over 300,000 Instagram followers and partners such as Three Birds Renovations, TileCloud provides inspiration and the goods to elevate your reno with minimum fuss.  Drew struck me as down to earth and perceptive - the kind of guy you want on speed dial when dealing with a dodgy builder.  He shares his thoughts on custom websites, the practical filters he uses when producing strategic content and the surprising response he has for the numerous TileCloud copycats out there. 

Links from the episode:

TileCloud

Shopify Plus (sponsored)

Packleo (sponsored)

Questions answered:

• What techniques did you employ to give customers confidence to buy tiles online?
• What’s your secret to getting such an engaged following?
• How do you decide which partners are right for TileCloud?

This episode was brought to you by…  

Shopify Plus

Packleo

About your co-host: Drew Mansur from TileCloud

Drew Mansur is the co-founder and head of growth at TileCloud – Australia’s leading online tile store. He graduated from the university of UNSW with a degree in construction management and entered into the construction industry. From there, he co-founded a commercial tiling business which ultimately led to the start of TileCloud. 

Drew is a serial renovator and through some frustrating experiences of his own, he felt there had to be a better way for renovators to find the right tiles and get them on site. It was this practical understanding of the needs of the renovator coupled with his prior construction management background that led to the formation of an ecommerce based solution for buying tiles. (in spite of everyone’s insistence that ‘you have to touch and feel the tiles before you buy them’) When not helping to grow the business, Drew can be found trying to wrangle his three young daughters and working on his golf swing.

You can contact Drew at LinkedIn

Please contact us if you: 

• Want to come on board as an Add To Cart sponsor 
• Are interested in joining Add To Cart as a co-host 
• Have any feedback or suggestions on how to make Add To Cart better

Email [email protected] We look forward to hearing from you!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Add To Cart, we checkout Jonathan Day, founder, managing director and ecommerce strategist of Aligent, an Adelaide based ecommerce agency specialising in ecommerce development, design and strategy. Established in 2009, they now have over 100 team members and develop ecommerce solutions for brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Kathmandu, Coopers Brewery and Mitsubishi Motors. 

Links from the episode:

Jonathan Day from Aligent: The Secrets to Optimizing Site Performance | #315

Questions answered in the podcast:

• What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever bought online? 
• Who is your favourite retailer? 
• Which retail fad do you wish was history?
• Can you recommend a book or podcast that our listeners should immediately get into? 
• Finish this sentence.  The future of retail is… 

This episode was brought to you by…

esuite

About your host: Nathan Bush from esuite

Nathan Bush is a digital strategist, Co-founder of eCommerce talent agency, esuite and host of the Add to Cart podcast. He has led eCommerce for businesses with revenue $100m+ and has been recognised as one of Australia’s Top 50 People in eCommerce four years in a row. You can contact Nathan on LinkedIn, Twitter or via email.

About your co-host: Jonathan Day from Aligent

Jonathan is an experienced leader in eCommerce, respected in Australia and overseas. Since entering the emerging web industry in the late 90s, Jonathan has delivered ground-breaking projects, spanning from North American clients such as nintendo.com and Zumiez,  through to numerous “world-firsts” in the Magento community under the Aligent banner. Aligent has pioneered initiatives that deliver outstanding customer experiences in domains such as Headless, Subscriptions, B2B and omnichannel. Established by Jonathan in 2009. Aligent has grown to more than 100 staff, delivering eCommerce solutions with brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Kathmandu, Coopers Brewery and Mitsubishi Motors. Aligent's success is founded on passion for quality, long-term relationships and community.

You can contact Jonathan at LinkedIn

Please contact us if you: 

• Want to come on board as an Add To Cart sponsor 
• Are interested in joining Add To Cart as a co-host 
• Have any feedback or suggestions on how to make Add To Cart better

Email [email protected] We look forward to hearing from you!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Add To Cart, we are joined by the CEO of an Australian skincare brand, with a heritage dating back to the birth of the modern beauty industry in the 1930s.  Pippa Hallas is the great niece of the original founder of Ella Bache and has been at the helm since 2010.  With counters in David Jones and franchises in over 150 salons across Australia, Ella Bache has an emphasis on individual skincare solutions and education.  In this chat, Pippa shares the secrets to maintaining a legacy brand, how she executed the ultimate digital transformation and why she chooses snow covered Boston for business inspiration every year.

Links from the episode:

Ella Bache

Shopify Plus (sponsored)

Packleo (sponsored)

Questions answered:

• Who was Ella Bache, the woman?
• How has the skincare landscape evolved since COVID?
• What has helped Ella Bache survive tough periods? 

This episode was brought to you by…  

Shopify Plus

Packleo

About your host: Jo-Anne Hui-Miller from The General Store

Jo is content and insights director at multidisciplinary creative agency, The General Store.  She was previously managing editor of premium content at Inside Retail Australia, Asia and New Zealand.

About your co-host: Pippa Hallas from Ella Bache

Ella Baché is 65 years young and has celebrated many milestones;  Pippa has had the privilege of taking this company on a journey through the changes of the empowered consumer, an increasingly rapid growth of ‘fast food’ beauty, whilst challenging the pivotal changes in buying behaviours and brand loyalty of new generations.

Throughout her time as CEO, she has seen Ella Baché expand to over 150 franchise locations across the country, a long way from its 1930’s beginnings.  But one thing will always remain the same, Pippa’s continual focus on the empowerment of women, whether it be through education or the franchise network or speaking with individuals on the importance of skincare; Pippa encourages these women to become leaders in their own right – it is the core of the brand and the core of her values too.

You can contact Pippa at LinkedIn

Please contact us if you: 

• Want to come on board as an Add To Cart sponsor 
• Are interested in joining Add To Cart as a co-host 
• Have any feedback or suggestions on how to make Add To Cart better

Email [email protected] We look forward to hearing from you!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Add To Cart, we checkout Hannah Udina, Head of Partnerships for Shopify in ANZ. Hannah works with agencies to develop and grow their footprint within the Shopify ecosystem. 

Links from the episode:

Simon Beard From Culture Kings: Thrifty Customers, Tight Retailers and Artificial Intelligence? | #318  

Questions answered in the podcast: 

• What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever bought online? 
• Who is your favourite retailer? 
• Which retail fad do you wish was history?
• Can you recommend a book or podcast that our listeners should immediately get into? 
• Finish this sentence.  The future of retail is… 

Hannah Udina from Shopify

Having spent 10 years in the eCommerce and IT industry, Hannah is passionate about the online and offline merchant experience. With specific expertise in Payments and Platforms, Hannah understands the complexities of doing business online and is passionate about building ecosystems. Previously holding global roles and working across Asia, Hannah has had the opportunity of helping businesses expand and do business in Asia. Currently, at Shopify, Hannah works with Agencies to develop and grow their footprint within the Shopify ecosystem. On a personal note, Hannah has a zealous interest in enabling women in technology. 

You can contact Hannah on LinkedIn

About your host: Nathan Bush from esuite

Nathan Bush is a digital strategist, Co-founder of eCommerce talent agency, esuite and host of the Add to Cart podcast. He has led eCommerce for businesses with revenue $100m+ and has been recognised as one of Australia’s Top 50 People in eCommerce four years in a row. You can contact Nathan on LinkedIn, Twitter or via email.

Please contact us if you: 

• Want to come on board as an Add To Cart sponsor 
• Are interested in joining Add To Cart as a co-host 
• Have any feedback or suggestions on how to make Add To Cart better

Email [email protected] We look forward to hearing from you!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Add To Cart, we are joined by Nick Morgan, Founder and CEO of Vudoo, a platform that connects content to commerce and brings the checkout to the customer…we’re talking turbo-charged shoppable video and engagement to match. Vudoo started in 2016 and clients include Nike, Westpac and Vogue. In this conversation, Nick shares how his tech enables choose your own adventure style customer journeys, he unpacks the growing relationship between advertising and ecommerce, and tells us why he sees the death of cookies as cause for celebration….so let’s pop the champers and get into it.

Links from the episode:

Vudoo

Shopify Plus (sponsored)

Packleo (sponsored)

Questions answered:

• What are the interesting ways that publishers are incorporating ecommerce into their video content?
• If transactions happen in video on publishers websites, how does this flow back to the warehouse, inventory and customer service systems the retailer has? 
• What’s the campaign you’d love to do to really show off the platform’s capabilities? 

This episode was brought to you by…  

Shopify Plus

Packleo

About your host: Nathan Bush from esuite

Nathan Bush is a digital strategist, Co-founder of eCommerce talent agency, esuite and host of the Add to Cart podcast. He has led eCommerce for businesses with revenue $100m+ and has been recognised as one of Australia’s Top 50 People in eCommerce four years in a row. You can contact Nathan on LinkedIn, Twitter or via email.

About your co-host: Nick Morgan from Vudoo

Nick Morgan, CEO & Founder, Vudoo, is a seasoned entrepreneur and technology leader with over 20 years of experience in digital marketing services. He was a pioneer of the Australian eCommerce sector, played a crucial role in advancing the industry and continues to champion the role of technology to transform businesses and elevate people’s lives. Nick has a proven track record of delivering digital transformation solutions for the public and private sectors, including Adairs, ANZ, Lumo Energy, Tefal, Invictus Games and Leica.

You can contact Nick at LinkedIn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.