D2C Diaries

Join Olly Hudson and Loukas Hambi in a laid-back yet insightful podcast, where we dive into the heart of D2C and e-commerce. With a combined experience of managing over £150 million in ad spend across Meta and TikTok and helping scale over 200 brands, we bring you a digestible blend of performance, operational, and creative wisdom.

D2C Diaries is a business podcast hosted by Loukas Hambi and Olly Hudson, with 86 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Loukas Hambi and Olly Hudson hosts D2C Diaries, a business show with 86 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  D2C Diaries

  He Took ironSource to $11B. Here’s His $180M AI System for Scaling DTC| Omer Kaplan, Zyg

  Sep 28, 202657 min

  Before you spend more on ads, find out what's really capping your growth. Apply for a Growth Compass to unlock strategic clarity: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0yFr2w0 Omer Kaplan, co-founder of ironSource, joins Loukas to share how he's bringing the data and prediction playbook from mobile games into DTC, building agentic infrastructure to handle the work Shopify still leaves founders to do themselves. We cover predicting LTV, the margins you need before scaling, defensibility, inventory, fundraising, when to go all in, and why the best founders stay hands-on, so if you're building a consumer brand for an agentic world, this one's for you. Check out Zyg: https://www.zyg.com Timestamps: Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson Follow Joe: https://linktr.ee/joe_marston Follow Loukas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loukas-hambi-388067152/ Follow Liam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-dean-a11a43152/

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  D2C Diaries

  What Will It Take To Win Peak 2026 - Soar x Fospha

  Sep 22, 202646 min

  Claim 1 of 5 Spots: 6 Months Fospha + Free Audit: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0yvPGP0 It's crunch time. With BFCM just weeks out, Olly from Soar joins Fospha to break down what "ready for peak" actually looks like: the creative volume and diversity brands need, why the top 25% of performers run more campaigns in BAU than at peak itself, and how automation like Advantage+ and Smart+ is shifting the game back onto creative and offer quality. They cover forecasting creative output before Q4, scaling volume without losing intention, why upper-funnel spend keeps brands out of a reach hole, and the TikTok Shop halo effect most are underestimating. If you run paid media or creative strategy for a DTC brand, this is worth the watch. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:19 Introducing Phosphor and Soar 03:48 What "ready for peak" actually means 06:22 Forecasting creative volume for Q4 09:29 Building intentional creative diversity 12:58 Catching up when you're behind on volume 16:52 Peak Playbook data: preparation beats aggression 20:17 Full-funnel investment and the reach problem 23:33 Automation and the new creative requirements 28:06 Peak mistakes, and when to scale or pull back 30:41 Proving upper-funnel spend, and the TikTok Shop halo 36:08 Q&A: fatigue, measurement blind spots and iteration loops Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson Follow Joe: https://linktr.ee/joe_marston Follow Loukas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loukas-hambi-388067152/ Follow Liam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-dean-a11a43152/

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  D2C Diaries

  Creative Research 101 | The Hidden System Behind Ads That Scale

  Sep 14, 20261h 5m

  Get your growth compass score: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0yhtSG0 Loukas and Olly go back to basics on creative research: the five-factor scoring system that finds your real binding constraint before you open a single tab, and the audience, competitor and social research techniques that get you there. If you run creative strategy for a DTC brand or agency and want a sharper process for finding what to test next, this is your refresher on the fundamentals. AI Prompt: https://soarwithus.notion.site/Indirect-Competitor-Discovery-Prompt-3d711884e3c9802d843ff7eb108045c6 Growth Compass "cheat sheet": https://www.notion.so/soarwithus/How-8-and-9-figure-D2C-brands-scale-spend-profitably-A-Complete-Framework-35711884e3c98073b830d1cbe90c2224?source=copy_link Timestamps: This podcast is proudly sponsored by Incard. If you're spending serious money on daily business expenses and getting nothing back on it right now, this dedicated offer gets you 2% Cashback for year 1 on Ads, SaaS, Travel and other everyday business expenses. Uncapped. Sign up for free and use the code SWU2K26 to unlock your cashback: https://www.incard.com/?fpr=soarwithus&fp_sid=pod Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson Follow Joe: https://linktr.ee/joe_marston Follow Loukas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loukas-hambi-388067152/ Follow Liam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-dean-a11a43152/

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  D2C Diaries

  Meta Creative Strategy | Building Banger Yapper Ads That ACTUALLY Convert

  Sep 1, 202656 min

  If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://www.soarwithus.co/d2c-diaries-get-in-touch?utm_campaign=191661253-D2C%20Diaries&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=d2c_diaries&utm_content=ep_87 Yapper ads have taken over Meta and TikTok this year, and the best ones are almost impossible for AI to write. We break down what actually makes the format work: the "Oracle" who introduces the product, mining Reddit for real stories instead of AI slop, building curiosity loops that pay off, and turning a winning script into native ad copy, all for anyone writing or briefing DTC creative right now. Creative Intelligence Report: We've helped 250+ DTC brands generate £600M+ by fixing the thing most teams get wrong: creative. In 4 weeks, our Creative Intelligence Report audits your ad accoun to find exactly where your creative is leaking money, and hands you a 180-day roadmap to fix it. No guesswork, just real customer research and a plan you can action. Apply for your Creative Intelligence Report here: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0xZP9d0 Resources : "Yapper" Ads Database: https://www.soarwithus.co/newsletter/yapper-ads-database Watch Harry Delme on Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zCLVmZCoQQ&t=2s Follow Harry: https://x.com/harrydelmege_ Timestamps: Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson Follow Joe: https://linktr.ee/joe_marston Follow Loukas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loukas-hambi-388067152/ Follow Liam: https:https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-dean-a11a43152/

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  D2C Diaries

  Understanding Your True LTV and Company Value | Prof. Daniel McCarthy

  Aug 18, 20261h 4m

  If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://www.soarwithus.co/d2c-diaries-get-in-touch?utm_campaign=191661253-D2C+Diaries&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=d2c_diaries&utm_content=ep_85 Daniel McCarthy is the founder of Theta and an associate professor of marketing at the University of Maryland. Private equity firms bring him in to dig through the transaction data before they buy a DTC brand, and he's done it on over 450 companies, from McDonald's to some of the biggest names in ecommerce. He breaks down the "growth report card" that shows whether a brand's growth is real or just manufactured by spend, why discounting a customer's first order drags down what they're worth long after, and why most brands have no idea where they stand when someone asks ChatGPT which brand to buy. Harvard Business Review article: How to Value a Company by Analyzing Its Customers: https://hbr.org/2020/01/how-to-value-a-company-by-analyzing-its-customers This podcast is proudly sponsored by Incard. If you're spending serious money on daily business expenses and getting nothing back on it right now, this dedicated offer gets you 2% Cashback for year 1 on Ads, SaaS, Travel and other everyday business expenses. Uncapped. Sign up for free and use the code SWU2K26 to unlock your cashback: https://www.incard.com/?fpr=soarwithus Follow Daniel McCarthy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmcc/ Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson Follow Joe: https://linktr.ee/joe_marston Follow Loukas: https://shorturl.at/TRI8B / https://x.com/LoukasHambi Follow Liam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-dean-a11a43152/ Follow D2C Diaries: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diaries / https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/

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