The woman behind $15B in DTC market share shares her playbook

From the woman who helped launch Harry's, Hims, Smile Direct Club, and 47 other brands that collectively built $15B in market share, here's the playbook she wishes she had when starting out.

Hey everyone, Austin Dandridge here!

Most people talk about DTC success. Suze Dowling has actually built it - 50+ times over.

She was a Partner at Gin Lane, the legendary agency that helped launch Harry's, Hims, Smile Direct Club, and dozens of other brands that collectively generated $15B in market share. Now she's applying those lessons as co-founder and operator of Pattern, currently running 7 brands serving millions of customers daily. When she shares her playbook, it's not theory - it's battle-tested strategy from someone who's mastered both sides of the equation.

You can catch the episode on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple.

"We always say instead of DTC, DWC: direct WITH consumer. And the ads that work best for us are actually what we call 'ugly ads' - they're not brand polished perfection because they bypass people's subconscious ad blockers."

This conversation gets into the real work behind iconic brand building. Suze opened up about how Pattern evaluates acquisitions, what it takes to truly operate (not just market), and why she believes the future belongs to brands that prioritize connection over scale-at-all-costs.

What we covered:

  • Her unconventional path from Sydney, Australia teacher to Gin Lane partner

  • The painful transition from agency life to operating businesses

  • Why "pixel perfect" marketing will kill your startup

  • Email as 20-30% of revenue: her exact framework and favorite tools

  • Her "Clarity Check-In" process for cutting through noise and staying focused

  • What she actually looks for when hiring (curiosity beats experience)

  • The three-bucket framework Pattern uses to evaluate acquisitions

  • Daily rituals that keep her grounded in high-stakes leadership

The bottom line: This isn't about growth hacks or magic formulas. It's about understanding your customer better than you understand yourself, building systems that scale, and having the courage to pivot when something isn't working.

Whether you're starting from scratch, scaling thoughtfully, or trying to breathe new life into an existing brand, this episode will give you frameworks you can actually use.

Talk soon,

Austin

P.S. Suze mentioned her favorite email popup tool is Alia - definitely worth checking out if you're looking to improve your email capture rates.

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