UGLY TALK: WHAT BREAKS ON THE WAY TO BUILDING AN EIGHT-FIGURE BRAND

Seven figures feels like you've made it. Then everything that got you there starts breaking. The ad strategy that scaled you to $3M flatlines at $7M. The team that ran lean now can't keep up. The margins that looked healthy? Getting eaten alive. Ops complexity. Rising acquisition costs. A consumer who changed their mind 3 times since you started reading this. Most founders at this level aren't failing. They're stuck. Spinning their wheels on tactics that used to work. Meanwhile, AI is reshaping the playbook and the market isn't waiting. This is the conversation nobody posts about on LinkedIn. What it actually took to break through the ceiling. What went wrong on the way up. What to stop wasting time on. 🎯  Why You Should Attend Hear directly from DTC founders who broke through the eight-figure ceiling. Not consultants. Not agencies. The people who actually did it. Learn what decisions mattered at $7M+ and what turned out to be expensive distractions. Get honest answers on adapting to AI, shifting consumer behavior, and the pressure of scaling ops when everything breaks at once. Leave knowing what to focus on. What to stop doing. And what the climb to eight figures actually costs. 🙋 Who's Getting In This Room DTC brand founders doing six to seven figures who are ready to punch above their weight Operators running brands that are performing steady but hitting a clear bottleneck Ecommerce leaders who know the old playbook is expiring and need to see what's next Founders who are done with theory and want to hear from people who actually crossed the line 🎤 Who’s Taking the Stage Nicole Centeno - Founder and Co-CEO of Splendid Spoon Nicole Centeno founded Splendid Spoon in 2013 with a clear conviction: eating well shouldn’t require trading your time or sanity to do it. What started as a soup operation out of a Brooklyn pizza kitchen is now one of the leading plant-forward platforms in the U.S., delivering ready-to-eat, clean-ingredient smoothies, soups, grain bowls, and noodle bowls nationwide, through two brands SplendidSpoon.com and MosaicFoods.com. Nicole is a French Culinary Institute-trained chef, a former research biologist published in Nutrition and Metabolism, and the author of Soup Cleanse Cookbook (Rodale) — a combination that shapes how Splendid Spoon approaches product development and brand storytelling. She’s been named one of Observer’s 10 Wellness Entrepreneurs to Watch. Ryan Beltran - Co-Founder of Original Grain Ryan Beltran is the Co-Founder and CEO of Original Grain, a premium men's watch brand he's been building since 2013. What started as an early experiment in e-commerce (before DTC was even an acronym) has grown into a multiple 8-figure business with well over nine figures in lifetime revenue, and brand partnerships with Jack Daniel's and the New York Yankees. Ryan has navigated nearly every phase of the e-commerce journey. From scrappy early-day hustle to the operational complexity of scaling past eight figures. His experience sits at the intersection of brand building, product strategy, and the kind of unglamorous systems work that actually drives growth at scale. He'll share the hard-won lessons behind Original Grain's journey from 7 to 8 figures: what breaks, what scales, and what most founders get wrong on the way up. Michael Chernow - Founder of Kreatures of Habit “I FELL IN LOVE WITH FINDING OUT WHO I WAS AND WHO I COULD BE THROUGH POSITIVE HABITS.” Known for his reputation as both a fitness junkie and prolific foodie, personality-entrepreneur Michael Chernow devised a clever way to combine his passions into one fearlessly optimistic brand. Enter: Kreatures of Habit. Chernow’s foray into consumer products has been a pretty natural next-step in his culinary evolution. After co-founding beloved NYC hotspots like The Meatball Shop and Seamore’s, the serial creative looked to his personal life when developing his latest venture. Always into sports and fitness as a kid, a young Chernow fell out of sports-life in his early teens and landed in the fast-paced party scene of Manhattan. After a decade of excess and bad habits, Chernow was introduced to the art of Muay Thai kickboxing by friend and mentor Marcus TK. It was a moment that would radically transform his life—mind, body and soul. Chernow swiftly began to reap the benefits and positive effects of fitness, keeping to a militant diet regime and introducing meditation and wellness practices into his everyday routine. The reward? Deep self-discovery. Before long, the struggling go-getter was a rising restaurant magnate on an uphill trajectory held together by his healthy habits. Paying homage to that journey, Chernow’s Kreatures of Habit offers a positive platform of fitness, nutrition and wellness resources through Habitual Rituals, alongside MEAL ONE, the DAILY BAR, and KREATURE'S SLEEP. The KOH family of products is Chernow’s antidote to forging positive rituals into your everyday life. Moderator: Brandon Blum - Founder & Partner at New Edition Brandon is the Founder and Managing Partner at New Edition, a Brooklyn-based creative agency for emerging consumer brands. In 2021, he co-launched For Others, social impact apparel brand that sold over $500,000 in products, donated over 100,000 meals to food banks across the US, and supported over 100 elementary schools. When he's not servicing clients, he's likely growing and building Founders Basketball— the US's fastest-growing basketball community for founders and investors. 💬 What We Do Not Sugarcoat The Ceiling is RealWhat actually stops working between $5M and $10M? The founders on stage will name the exact moments their seven-figure playbook fell apart. The AI PressureEveryone says "use AI." Nobody talks about what happens when you bolt it onto a business that wasn't built for it. We will. Hiring, Ops, and the Stuff That Isn't SexyThe org chart that got you here won't get you there. What roles unlock eight figures, and which ones just burn cash? Consumer WhiplashPreferences are shifting faster than most brands can keep up. How do you stay relevant when your customer changes their mind every quarter? The Expensive MistakesThe bets that didn't pay off. The hires that set things back. The strategies that looked smart until they weren't. No sugarcoating. 🤝 Who's Backing This Shopify New York – Shopify NY, located in Manhattan's vibrant Soho neighborhood is a hub for local entrepreneurs to connect, learn, and grow. Our space hosts a range of on-site event programming, retail activations, and value-added services. By partnering with real, local merchants, we create events that generate word-of-mouth buzz and seamlessly integrate Shopify technology. Cin7 is an inventory management software and Lite ERP built for growing brands. With 700+ integrations including accounting and shipping platforms and top marketplaces and ecommerce platforms, like Shopify, you can manage your entire supply chain in one easy-to-use platform. Ugly Talk event attendees get 50% off 3 months of Cin7 Core. [Click here to learn more] Levanta is the affiliate and creator platform built for modern eCommerce brands to scale performance-driven partnerships across Amazon, Walmart, and Shopify in one unified system. Unlike legacy affiliate platforms, Levanta is purpose-built for creators and helps brands recruit, activate, and optimize partners across marketplaces and DTC. Naturally New York is a community organization that connects Greater New York founders with retailers, investors, and industry leaders in the natural products industry. As part of the national Naturally Network, our year-round programming delivers the insights, relationships, and access needed to scale at every stage of growth. GREY Journal – Media partner spotlighting modern entrepreneurs (Apple News + Google News) 🤝 Who's Hosting It New Edition – A creative agency for emerging consumer brands. ⭐ About Ugly Talk: Started in 2019, Ugly Talk has been transforming business setbacks into breakthrough “aha!” moments by hosting unfiltered, no-nonsense events where battle-tested entrepreneurs share their raw lessons and insights. With a growing presence in cities like New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Miami, we’ve built a vibrant community of thousands of founders and industry leaders making a profound impact on the entrepreneurial landscape. Official Website: UglyTalk.com 📢 Important Notice for Ugly Talk Attendees Admission & Confirmation Attendance is by approval only. Approved guests will receive a confirmation email along with a calendar invite. Invitations are non-transferable. Additional event details will be shared as the event approaches. Code of Conduct By attending, you agree to: Maintain respect and professionalism, adhering to all venue rules, policies, and applicable laws. Refrain from harassment, discrimination, unwelcome sexual advances (verbal or physical), intimidation, or inappropriate photography/recording. Report any violations to the event hosts immediately. Violations may result in immediate removal from the event and exclusion from future invitations. Liability & Risk Participation is voluntary and at your own risk. The event organizers, hosts, sponsors, and venue are not liable for personal injury, lost or stolen belongings, or any other damages incurred during the event. Media Consent By attending, you grant the event organizers and affiliated entities the right to capture, use, and distribute photos, videos, and audio recordings of you for promotional, marketing, and other lawful purposes, including digital and print media, advertising, and social media. You waive any right to inspect or approve the final materials and release all claims related to their use. Communications By registering, you agree to receive marketing and promotional communications from Ugly Talk and its co-hosts, partners, and sponsors. You may unsubscribe at any time. By registering, you agree to receive emails communications from Shopify Agreement If you do not agree to this Code of Conduct, please refrain from attending the event. Official Event Page: [Link]