No. 305: The DTC List

The direct-to-consumer landscape has many faces, professions, and levels of experience. The collective also has many opinions on how the industry is going to develop. 2PM compiled a list of many top people who run, analyze, report, and invest in and around the industry.”DTC Twitter” is a loose moniker for this group of professionals, students, and leaders who are varied in their thinking, approach, and background. Their words and conversation aren’t exclusively commerce or retail-rooted. In fact, the value in following along will be considerably derived from the diversity of their thoughts, topics, and cited sources.

This cohort has influenced online retail. Some are teachers of the math of customer acquisition, some understand how sociology influences demand, and some have taken brands from zero to one. A few of this list’s members are employed by the platforms that these brands use to distribute their products and a few have become masters of investing in what will continue to shape our consumer economy.

The coffee house analogy

Though coffee was originally an Ethiopian staple of the 10th century, the institution of the coffee-house was a continuation of coffee’s influence in Yemen, then-Persia, and Turkey. The first European coffee-house opened to the public in the mid-17th century. And the idea of the coffee house has been credited with driving the movement towards reason, individualism, and deep thought. The coffee-house was a proponent of the Age of Enlightenment, a time known for the contributions of intellectuals like Locke, Francis Bacon, Voltaire, and Descartes.

In the Age of Enlightenment (1715-1789), a European could gain entry into a coffee-house by buying a drink. But the drink was just the price of admission, the conversation was the attraction. It wasn’t solely the conversations on matters of sociology, economics, and law that drove the age forward. Sometimes, patrons would overhear concepts that will fill gaps in their own thinking. Other conversations would solidify pivotal ideas, directly and indirectly.

The coffee houses of the Age of Enlightenment were exclusive to the male upper class and the distinguished intelligentsia. In that way, I’d argue that the great flaw of this age was its socio-economic exclusivity. Rather than relying upon the merits of the thoughts shared, there was a status required to join the conversation. Today, platforms like Twitter and Slack are the closest that we have to the coffee houses of old. On these platforms, a diverse group of people can have a remarkable influence on an idea or an outcome.

The DTC List

Rather than pursuing an exclusive solution, we chose the open source approach to amplifying these DTC conversations. It’s in the above context that we’ve provided a few tools to replicate the cross section of profession and personality in the DTC space. We’ve listed many top contributors below. The list is organized by first-name alphabetical and it includes their current title, professional class, and their profession.

PersonTypeTwitter AccountPositionCity2PM Indexes
Aaron OrendorffAnalyst@AaronOrendorffEditor-in-ChiefPortlandNone Yet
Aaron McClendonOperator@acmcclendonVenture CapitalistDetroitNone Yet
Alex TaussigOperator@ataussigVenture CapitalistSan FranciscoDTC Investor Index
Ana AndjelicAnalyst@andjelicaaaConsultantNew York CityNone Yet
Andrew JohnsonOperator@andrw_jFounderOklahoma CityAgency Power List
Andrew DudumOperator@AndrewDudumFounderSan FranciscoDNVB Power List
Anna HenselMedia@AHHenselReporter - Modern RetailNew York CityTop Reporter Index
Ann Marie AlcantraMedia@itstheannmarieReporter - AdWeekNew York CityNone Yet
Ashley MayerOperator@ashleymayerExecutiveNew York CityDNVB Power List
Austin RiefAnalyst@austin_riefFounderNew York CityIndie Digital Publishers
Ben WitteOperator@BenWitteFounderNew York CityDNVB Power List
Brandon HoffmanOperator@BHoffmanRetailConsultantLos AngelesNone Yet
Brianne KimmelOperator@briannekimmelVenture CapitalistPalo AltoNone Yet
Brian SugarMedia@briansugarExecutiveNew YorkNone Yet
Cale WeissmanMedia@caleweissmanReporter - Modern RetailNew York CityTop Reporter Index
Casey ArmstrongOperator@CaseyACMOChicagoFulfillment Index
Chris CantinoOperator@ChrisCantinoFounder / Venture CapitalistPortlandDNVB Power List
Conor McDonaldAnalyst@couuorConsultantLos AngelesNone Yet
Dan FrommerAnalyst@fromedomeReporter - New ConsumerBrooklynNone Yet
Daniel McCarthyAcademic@d_mccarProfessorAtlantaNone Yet
David HerrmannOperator@HermannDigitalExecutiveLos AngelesNone Yet
David PerrellAnalyst@david_perellFounderNew York CityNone Yet
Donald RichardAnalyst@DonaldRichardFounderNew York CityNone Yet
Elizabeth SegranMedia@LizSegranReporter - Fast CompanyCambridgeNone Yet
Elliot ConwayOperator@ElliotConwayVenture CapitalistLondonDTC Investor Index
Emmett ShineOperator@EmmettShineExecutiveNew York CityDNVB Power List
Emily SingerOperator@Emily_SingerEmployeeNew York CityDNVB Power List
Eric TodaOperator@todaExecutiveSan FranciscoNone Yet
Henry DavisAnalyst@henryshandleConsultantNew York CityDTC Investor Index
Henry McNamaraOperator@henrylmcnamaraVenture CapitalistNew York CityNone Yet
Helena PriceOperator@helenaFounderSan FranciscoDNVB Power List
Hilary MilnesMedia@hilarymilnesReporter - Vogue BusinessNew York CityIndie Digital Publishers
Hugh ThomasOperator@uglyhughFounderNew York CityDNVB Power List
Hunter WalkOperator@HunterWalkVenture CapitalistLos AngelesDTC Investor Index
Jake MendelAnalyst@ijakemendelConsultantNew York CityNone Yet
Jason Del ReyMedia@DelReyReporter - RecodeNew York CityTop Reporter Index
Jason GoldbergOperator@RetailGeekExecutiveChicagoNone Yet
Jason SteinOperator@jasonwsteinVenture CapitalistNew York CityNone Yet
Jenny GyllanderPublicatoin@thingtesting_OwnerLondonNone Yet
Jeremy S. LiewOperator@jeremysliewVenture CapitalistSan FranciscoDTC Investor Index
Jesse GenetOperator@jessegenetFounderLos AngelesDNVB Power List
Jonathan MewAnalyst@jonmewConsultantLondonNone Yet
Jonathan PomaOperator@pomajpExecutiveColumbusAgency Power List
Kaleigh MooreMedia@kaleighfFreelance WriterChicagoNone Yet
Kelcey LehrichOperator@KelceyLehrichExecutiveClevelandNone Yet
Kelly VaughnOperator@KvllyFounderAtlantaNone Yet
Kirsten GreenOperator@kirstenagreenVenture CapitalistSan FranciscoDTC Investor Index
Kristen LaFranceOperator@kdlafranceExecutiveColorado SpringsNone Yet
Kurt ElserOperator@kurtincMediaChicagoNone Yet
Kyle TibbitsOperator@kyletibbitsExecutiveSan FranciscoNone Yet
Lauren ThomasMedia@laurenthomasx3Reporter - CNBCNew York CityTop Reporter Index
Loren PadelfordOperator@LorenPadelfordExecutiveWaterlooNone Yet
Magdalena KalaAnalyst@magdalenakalaVenture CapitalistBostonNone Yet
Marco MarandizOperator@AllThingsMarcoExecutiveAustinNone Yet
Mark William LewisOperator@MrLooFounderMiamiNone Yet
Michael GaglianoOperator@M_GaglianoExecutiveTorontoNone Yet
Mike DudaOperator@MikeDudaFounderNew York CityDTC Investor Index
Mike DuboeOperator@MDuboeVenture CapitalistSan FranciscoNone Yet
Moiz AliOperator@MoizAliExecutiveSan FranciscoDNVB Power List
Nate PoulinAnalyst@digitallynativConsultantAustinNone Yet
Natalie DillonOperator@ntdillonVenture CapitalistSeattleDTC Investor Index
Nicole QuinnOperator@Nik_QuinnVenture CapitalistSan FranciscoDTC Investor Index
Nik SharmaOperator@mrsharmaExecutiveNew York CityNone Yet
Patrick CoddouOperator@soundslikecanoeExecutiveFort WorthDNVB Power List
Paul MunfordOperator@leanluxeFounderWashington D.C.None Yet
Peter PhamOperator@peterphamVenture CapitalistLos AngelesDTC Investor Index
Phillip JacksonOperator@philwinkleExecutiveWest Palm BeachNone Yet
Raj NijjerOperator@RajNijjerExecutiveNew York CityNone Yet
Reza KhadjaviOperator@RezaKhadjaviExecutiveTorontoNone Yet
Robin LiOperator@robin_p_liExecutiveNew York CityDTC Investor Index
Ryan CaldbeckOperator@ryan_caldbeckVenture CapitalistSan FranciscoDTC Investor Index
Sam SiscaOperator@samsiscaFounderBrooklynNone Yet
Sapna ShahOperator@RedGiraffeConsultantNew York CityNone Yet
Steph Del PaggioOperator@StephyNikkyEmployeeNew York CityDNVB Power List
Steven DennisAnalyst@StevenPDennisConsultantDallasTop Reporter Index
Taylor HolidayOperator@taylorholidayFounderNewportAgency Power List
Tiffany ZhongOperator@tzhonggFounderSan FranciscoNone Yet
Taylor SicardOperator@taylorsicardFounderNew York CityDNVB Power List
Tracey WallaceOperator@TraceWallEmployeeAustinDNVB Power List
Tren GriffinAnalyst@trengriffinConsultantSeattleNone Yet
Wilson HungOperator@WilsonGHungExecutiveTorontoNone Yet
Web SmithOperator@WebFounderColumbusDNVB Power List
Zoe LeavittOperator@zoe_leavittVenture CapitalistNew York CityNone Yet

Follow them, individually, or you can visit an actively updating list by visiting 2PM’s first and only Twitter list. Many of these participants are moving the direct to consumer economy forward. Each of these professionals challenge thoughts, authors unique positions, devise strategies, or actively invest in an evolving ecosystem of: products, services, agencies, and their technical platforms. Whichever direction the industry moves, you’ll find the signals – here – long before those developments materialize.

Read the No. 305 curation here.

Report by Web Smith | About 2PM

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