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On today’s DTC Podcast, Eric interviews Kris Dehnert, CEO of Dugout Mugs, the brand that turned baseball bat barrels into a $55M+ business.

Kris shares his journey from early Facebook fan pages and Teespring to building a durable, licensed, retail-distributed sports brand. The conversation covers brand authenticity, partnerships, deal-making, AI in ecommerce, and the pitfalls of chasing vanity metrics.

🔑 Key Insights from this Episode:

Why authenticity and transparency are the foundation of modern DTC brands
How Kris structured a win-win equity deal to launch Dugout Mugs
The difference between playing to win vs. playing not to lose
How to balance seasonality with corporate gifting, retail, and evergreen sales channels
Why AI in ecommerce (contracts, customer service, ads) saves time and reduces friction
The philosophy behind “Do you want to be right or do you want to be rich?” in partnerships

Whether you’re scaling a consumer brand or still testing product-market fit, Kris’ insights on deal-making, audience building, and building a brand that lasts are tactical, grounded, and immediately useful.

Timestamps:

00:00 — Building authentic brands and prioritizing profit over vanity metrics

04:00 — From Facebook fan pages to $20M in t-shirt sales

08:00 — The origin of Dugout Mugs and scaling to $55M+

14:00 — Turning content and personal branding into sales

18:00 — Partnership philosophy and making win-win deals

26:00 — How Kris structured an innovative equity deal to grow Dugout

30:00 — Handling seasonality, Q4 strategy, and corporate gifting

33:00 — Leveraging AI for content, customer service, and business growth

37:00 — Living life intentionally and protecting your time

Hashtags:

#DTCPodcast #EcommerceGrowth #DirectToConsumer #DugoutMugs #BrandBuilding #Entrepreneurship #DigitalMarketing #ContentStrategy #AIinEcommerce #Partnerships

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Ep 537: How Dugout Mugs Scaled to $55M with Authentic Branding and Smart Partnerships

DTC Podcast