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.
Person | Type | Twitter Account | Position | City | 2PM Indexes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aaron Orendorff | Analyst | @AaronOrendorff | Editor-in-Chief | Portland | None Yet |
Aaron McClendon | Operator | @acmcclendon | Venture Capitalist | Detroit | None Yet |
Alex Taussig | Operator | @ataussig | Venture Capitalist | San Francisco | DTC Investor Index |
Ana Andjelic | Analyst | @andjelicaaa | Consultant | New York City | None Yet |
Andrew Johnson | Operator | @andrw_j | Founder | Oklahoma City | Agency Power List |
Andrew Dudum | Operator | @AndrewDudum | Founder | San Francisco | DNVB Power List |
Anna Hensel | Media | @AHHensel | Reporter - Modern Retail | New York City | Top Reporter Index |
Ann Marie Alcantra | Media | @itstheannmarie | Reporter - AdWeek | New York City | None Yet |
Ashley Mayer | Operator | @ashleymayer | Executive | New York City | DNVB Power List |
Austin Rief | Analyst | @austin_rief | Founder | New York City | Indie Digital Publishers |
Ben Witte | Operator | @BenWitte | Founder | New York City | DNVB Power List |
Brandon Hoffman | Operator | @BHoffmanRetail | Consultant | Los Angeles | None Yet |
Brianne Kimmel | Operator | @briannekimmel | Venture Capitalist | Palo Alto | None Yet |
Brian Sugar | Media | @briansugar | Executive | New York | None Yet |
Cale Weissman | Media | @caleweissman | Reporter - Modern Retail | New York City | Top Reporter Index |
Casey Armstrong | Operator | @CaseyA | CMO | Chicago | Fulfillment Index |
Chris Cantino | Operator | @ChrisCantino | Founder / Venture Capitalist | Portland | DNVB Power List |
Conor McDonald | Analyst | @couuor | Consultant | Los Angeles | None Yet |
Dan Frommer | Analyst | @fromedome | Reporter - New Consumer | Brooklyn | None Yet |
Daniel McCarthy | Academic | @d_mccar | Professor | Atlanta | None Yet |
David Herrmann | Operator | @HermannDigital | Executive | Los Angeles | None Yet |
David Perrell | Analyst | @david_perell | Founder | New York City | None Yet |
Donald Richard | Analyst | @DonaldRichard | Founder | New York City | None Yet |
Elizabeth Segran | Media | @LizSegran | Reporter - Fast Company | Cambridge | None Yet |
Elliot Conway | Operator | @ElliotConway | Venture Capitalist | London | DTC Investor Index |
Emmett Shine | Operator | @EmmettShine | Executive | New York City | DNVB Power List |
Emily Singer | Operator | @Emily_Singer | Employee | New York City | DNVB Power List |
Eric Toda | Operator | @toda | Executive | San Francisco | None Yet |
Henry Davis | Analyst | @henryshandle | Consultant | New York City | DTC Investor Index |
Henry McNamara | Operator | @henrylmcnamara | Venture Capitalist | New York City | None Yet |
Helena Price | Operator | @helena | Founder | San Francisco | DNVB Power List |
Hilary Milnes | Media | @hilarymilnes | Reporter - Vogue Business | New York City | Indie Digital Publishers |
Hugh Thomas | Operator | @uglyhugh | Founder | New York City | DNVB Power List |
Hunter Walk | Operator | @HunterWalk | Venture Capitalist | Los Angeles | DTC Investor Index |
Jake Mendel | Analyst | @ijakemendel | Consultant | New York City | None Yet |
Jason Del Rey | Media | @DelRey | Reporter - Recode | New York City | Top Reporter Index |
Jason Goldberg | Operator | @RetailGeek | Executive | Chicago | None Yet |
Jason Stein | Operator | @jasonwstein | Venture Capitalist | New York City | None Yet |
Jenny Gyllander | Publicatoin | @thingtesting_ | Owner | London | None Yet |
Jeremy S. Liew | Operator | @jeremysliew | Venture Capitalist | San Francisco | DTC Investor Index |
Jesse Genet | Operator | @jessegenet | Founder | Los Angeles | DNVB Power List |
Jonathan Mew | Analyst | @jonmew | Consultant | London | None Yet |
Jonathan Poma | Operator | @pomajp | Executive | Columbus | Agency Power List |
Kaleigh Moore | Media | @kaleighf | Freelance Writer | Chicago | None Yet |
Kelcey Lehrich | Operator | @KelceyLehrich | Executive | Cleveland | None Yet |
Kelly Vaughn | Operator | @Kvlly | Founder | Atlanta | None Yet |
Kirsten Green | Operator | @kirstenagreen | Venture Capitalist | San Francisco | DTC Investor Index |
Kristen LaFrance | Operator | @kdlafrance | Executive | Colorado Springs | None Yet |
Kurt Elser | Operator | @kurtinc | Media | Chicago | None Yet |
Kyle Tibbits | Operator | @kyletibbits | Executive | San Francisco | None Yet |
Lauren Thomas | Media | @laurenthomasx3 | Reporter - CNBC | New York City | Top Reporter Index |
Loren Padelford | Operator | @LorenPadelford | Executive | Waterloo | None Yet |
Magdalena Kala | Analyst | @magdalenakala | Venture Capitalist | Boston | None Yet |
Marco Marandiz | Operator | @AllThingsMarco | Executive | Austin | None Yet |
Mark William Lewis | Operator | @MrLoo | Founder | Miami | None Yet |
Michael Gagliano | Operator | @M_Gagliano | Executive | Toronto | None Yet |
Mike Duda | Operator | @MikeDuda | Founder | New York City | DTC Investor Index |
Mike Duboe | Operator | @MDuboe | Venture Capitalist | San Francisco | None Yet |
Moiz Ali | Operator | @MoizAli | Executive | San Francisco | DNVB Power List |
Nate Poulin | Analyst | @digitallynativ | Consultant | Austin | None Yet |
Natalie Dillon | Operator | @ntdillon | Venture Capitalist | Seattle | DTC Investor Index |
Nicole Quinn | Operator | @Nik_Quinn | Venture Capitalist | San Francisco | DTC Investor Index |
Nik Sharma | Operator | @mrsharma | Executive | New York City | None Yet |
Patrick Coddou | Operator | @soundslikecanoe | Executive | Fort Worth | DNVB Power List |
Paul Munford | Operator | @leanluxe | Founder | Washington D.C. | None Yet |
Peter Pham | Operator | @peterpham | Venture Capitalist | Los Angeles | DTC Investor Index |
Phillip Jackson | Operator | @philwinkle | Executive | West Palm Beach | None Yet |
Raj Nijjer | Operator | @RajNijjer | Executive | New York City | None Yet |
Reza Khadjavi | Operator | @RezaKhadjavi | Executive | Toronto | None Yet |
Robin Li | Operator | @robin_p_li | Executive | New York City | DTC Investor Index |
Ryan Caldbeck | Operator | @ryan_caldbeck | Venture Capitalist | San Francisco | DTC Investor Index |
Sam Sisca | Operator | @samsisca | Founder | Brooklyn | None Yet |
Sapna Shah | Operator | @RedGiraffe | Consultant | New York City | None Yet |
Steph Del Paggio | Operator | @StephyNikky | Employee | New York City | DNVB Power List |
Steven Dennis | Analyst | @StevenPDennis | Consultant | Dallas | Top Reporter Index |
Taylor Holiday | Operator | @taylorholiday | Founder | Newport | Agency Power List |
Tiffany Zhong | Operator | @tzhongg | Founder | San Francisco | None Yet |
Taylor Sicard | Operator | @taylorsicard | Founder | New York City | DNVB Power List |
Tracey Wallace | Operator | @TraceWall | Employee | Austin | DNVB Power List |
Tren Griffin | Analyst | @trengriffin | Consultant | Seattle | None Yet |
Wilson Hung | Operator | @WilsonGHung | Executive | Toronto | None Yet |
Web Smith | Operator | @Web | Founder | Columbus | DNVB Power List |
Zoe Leavitt | Operator | @zoe_leavitt | Venture Capitalist | New York City | None 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