Balancing Growth, Profitability & Leadership in Ecommerce with Mike Lackman

“The harder you twist someone's arm to subscribe, the more you're going to see that fall out of the bottom of the bucket on the other side.”

In this episode of Growth Talks, Krystina Rubino sits down with Mike Lackman, former CEO of Trade Coffee and PetFlow and current board member, advisor, and investor at various ecommerce brands. Mike shares his journey through various C-suite roles, the importance of creating and maintaining a vision, and how to balance growth with profitability. He also provides insights into effective marketing strategies for the ever-evolving landscape of DTC and subscription models.

‍🗝️Key Takeaways:

• Moving between C-suite roles often involves filling voids within a company and leveraging one's unique skill set to address specific needs.
• Successful leadership involves setting a clear, long-term vision, and ensuring regular, clear communication to keep everyone aligned and connected to the company's goals.
• Effective CEOs must balance making informed decisions with the need to act quickly, often without having all the desired data.
• Growth should always contribute to making the company better. Marginal gains in customer acquisition and retention are essential for sustainable profitability.
• Leverage a framework like RED—Relevance, Ease, and Distinctiveness—to build a foundation for a strong product and achieve marketing success.
• Subscriptions can be effective when they align with consistent value creation for customers. Misalignment can lead to high churn rates and ultimately, failure.

⏰ Timestamps

[00:00] Introduce Mike and his career journey

[00:10] Transitioning between C-suite roles and filling voids

[01:16] The importance of setting and maintaining a vision

[05:01] Balancing growth and profitability

[09:45] The role of data in decision-making

[14:11] Communication strategies and employee engagement

[16:27] Handling pressure and making quick decisions

[20:01] Subscription models and customer value alignment

[24:26] Evolving marketing strategies in a competitive landscape

[30:02] Final thoughts and key takeaways

🔗 Mentioned in this episode:

PetFlow: https://www.petflow.com/

Phillips Pet Food & Supplies: https://www.phillipspet.com/ 

Trade Coffee: https://www.drinktrade.com/ 

Health-E Commerce: https://www.health-ecommerce.com/

Thriftly: https://www.inpersondonations.com/

Wayfair: https://www.wayfair.com/ 

Chewy: https://www.chewy.com/ 

ServiceNow: https://www.servicenow.com/ 

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