Anita Emoff is the Chairman and Owner of Boost Engagement, and author of the new book, 7 Deadly Myths That Will Destroy Your Company Culture, Workforce Engagement, & Sales Growth.

Episode 195: 7 Deadly Myths That Will Destroy Your Company Culture | Anita Emoff, Boost Engagement

Clients are seeking higher quality merchandise experiences as evidenced by some of the most notable distributors seeking the Original Favorites brand, join us to hear why!

Episode 269: The Obsession with Original Favorites, a chat with Pete Drago and Evan Toporek

Jason Lucash and Mike Szymczak, the two founders behind one of the industry’s most ingenious company’s Origaudio, are back. Jason and Mike sold their very successful company, Origaudio, to HPG in 2018, and after a few years, both retired from the industry. The two entrepreneurs, known for their innovation in product, production, and distribution, have launched a new brand with a bold new mission. The company is called Rupt — and it sounds just as it was intended, an idea meant to disrupt the industry, particularly the status quo when it comes to transparency in sustainability.

Episode 303 - Rupt: A Chat with the Disruptors, Jason Lucash and Mike Szymczak

Today, we’re sharing an episode that we recorded live from skucon where Jeremy and Jonathan answer questions from Catherine Graham, commonsku’s CEO, on a broad range of topics including: US/China relations and its impact on the supply chain, deglobalization efforts, the impact of international trade, the labor market, and a financial outlook for 2024.

Episode 304: A Global Vision for 2024 with Jeremy Lott (SanMar) and Jonathan Isaacson (Gemline)

Linni Kral is a Brooklyn-based writer, editor, and educator. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, the BBC, Condé Nast Traveler and more.

Episode 306: “Merch Madness, How Did We Get Here?” by Linni Kral

Doug Jackson, President of Storm Creek and Teresa Fudenberg CEO of Storm Creek, both join us today to talk about their sustainability journey, their passion for impact, and since they’re the OG’s of eco, we talk about today’s buyer demands, how it’s changed, and their practical tips on how we as distributors can make eco a priority with our clients.

Episode 316: Storm Creek's Trailblazing Vision with Doug Jackson and Teresa Fudenberg

In our chat today, Dean will share some-real time tactics and ideas that will help you build a brand that people want to connect with (through every business touchpoint). From the way your team communicates to generous marketing, Dean combines his experience as both client and distributor to help you build a brand your customers will like, love, and trust!

Episode 318: Building an Outrageously Remarkable Brand with Dean Caravelis, Blezoo

Tim Andrews is a luminary in the promo industry, he’s the CEO of the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) whose 350 employees serve a network of 25,000 suppliers, distributors, and decorators in the industry.

Episode 320: Navigating a Global Transparent Supply Chain (Tim Andrews, CEO, ASI)

Ryan Paules pivoted to the promo industry after losing his job as a manager with a national chain on the same day of his wife's first ultrasound. With a new baby on the way and a mortgage to pay, he turned his IT hobby into a full-time venture, launching Radar Support, which he later closed despite its success.

Episode 321: Supercharge Your Growth with Team-Based Selling (Ryan Paules, Radar Promotions)

Today Rob Watson, CEO at Vantage Apparel joins us to talk about their look into the future and the aspirations and realities they are creating as a tech-enabled pioneer in apparel.

Episode 322: Vantage Apparel's CEO Rob Watson on Success and the Connected Advantage

When Sky High Marketing partnered with commonsku about four years ago they had 25 employees and in the short time since, have doubled their team to 50! Owners, Josh and Rachel Kozinski just opened a brand new 40,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility in the Milwaukee area complete with warehousing, in-house decoration, and embroidery. We were honored to join them for their open house, what an amazing team and experience.

Episode 324: Sky High Soars to New Heights: One of America's Top 100 Businesses

Hit Promo is now a connected+ supplier on commonsku, what does that mean? A lightening fast ordering process, securing inventory quicker, and the elimination of order entry errors by you and your team (and more!) 

Today, we’re talking with Amy Rabideau, Hit’s VP of Product and Jon Norris, Chief Strategy Officer at Hit.

Episode 328: Hit Promo's Amy Rabideau and Jon Norris Are Making Big Changes

Episode 329: Ethically Sourced Merch for Socially Responsible Clients (Daniel Cardozo, Ethix Merch)

When John Henry of JH started in 1998, little did he know that JH would soon expand into culture and recruitment services for businesses, consulting, digital services, and more. Many of us in the industry consider ourselves strategic advisors to our clients, but when our CCO, Bobby Lehew, got to participate in JH’s “Expand Your Brand” event (virtually) this year, we realized that if there’s one thing JH is exceptional at, above all, it’s expanding their own brand to serve their clients.

Episode 331: From Promo to Transforming Culture with John Henry at JH

Monty Mims is one of the many folks leading SanMar’s Decorator & Tech Solutions division, he’s brilliant at both helping distributors work better with their decorators, but also helping decorators navigate the landscape of trends, equipment, and supply chain.

Episode 332: Monty Mims: How SanMar’s Connected+ Partnership with commonsku Boosts Real-Time ePOs

Blackfish is an unapologetically boutique brand that focuses on a customer-obsessed experience as the bedrock for building growth.

Episode 333: The Real Sales Growth Unlock? Joy (A Chat with Matthew Dart, Blackfish)

Episode 336: The “Quiet Work” of a Power Brand: Inside MOTIF’s Unique Culture with Joel Antymniuk

Episode 338: A Branded Product Agency Philosophy with Francis Pierrel, LR Paris

Tom Havens, a creative powerhouse and the visionary founder of Havens Consulting, possesses a remarkable sales background and deep roots in creative and design for the promo industry. His leadership propelled Catalyst Marketing to $25 MM before its acquisition by HALO in 2017. Driven by his passion for innovation, Tom launched Havens Consulting in 2024, dedicated to empowering distributors and suppliers to achieve unprecedented sales growth.

Episode 339: How Design Thinking Drives Promo Sales with Tom Havens

Can you hit a 30% growth target YTD and still make a major contribution to your community? Apparently, you can. In this episode, we talk with Nevin Bansal. Nevin is the Founder and CEO of Outreach Promos, a Columbus-based company providing online brandstores, branded merch, and design solutions. Nevin is also the founder and Executive Director of Small Biz Cares, a nonprofit that engages small businesses for philanthropy and community impact. Tune in to learn how to impact your bottom line and your community!

Episode 341: Building a Brandstores Powerhouse (with Outreach Promo's Nevin Bansal)

What does the promo industry look like from the inside out? I mean, all the way to the source, from manufacturing in Asia to the delivered product to clients. Well, in today’s show, we’re getting a peek behind the scenes as we take a promo tour through Asia with Dave Shultz, commonsku’s VP of Supplier Partnerships, and Mark Graham, commonsku’s President and Chief Brand Officer! The two industry vets journeyed to Asia for a factory tour and a visit to the Hong Kong Gifts and Premium Fair, plus, they joined CJ Schmidt, the CEO of HIT Promo to help build a water tower outside of Hanoi with PromoCares through Planet Water Foundation’s “Water for Good” initiative. 

Episode 342: Exploring Asia with Dave and Mark (Factory Tours, Hong Kong Gift Fair, and PromoCares!)

What if the next $100 million distributor only needs 10 employees? Leo Friedman, CEO of iPromo, believes this bold prediction is already becoming reality. Since 1999, Leo has built iPromo from startup to industry powerhouse: 75 employees, 55,000+ customers, and 500+ on-demand products that solve the MOQ problem everyone else struggles with. But here's the kicker: AI is about to make everything we know about scaling obsolete. From 30-minute store builds to AI agents that nurture leads while you sleep, Leo reveals why physical products will dominate the digital noise and how smart distributors can ride this wave. 
Ready to future-proof your distributorship? Dive in!

Episode 343: The Next $100M Distributor Will Have 10 Employees (with iPromo's Leo Friedman)

Joel Freet's team ships orders in 6 minutes flat. The Cutter & Buck CEO reveals how robots, AI, and smart automation transformed their fulfillment operations.

Episode 344: Too Fast to Ship with Joel Freet (Cutter & Buck)

What if the secret to growth isn't sending more emails, but sending fewer? Dean Caravelis, founder of Blezoo and author of "The Experience in a Box Playbook," explains why precision beats volume in promotional products.

We dive into why campaign complexity kills memorability, the physical renaissance happening as digital fatigue sets in, and how commonsku amplifies personal relationships instead of replacing them.

Episode 345: Why Experiences Beat Deliveries Every Time with Dean Caravelis (Blezoo)

Storm Creek tracks carbon emissions down to zippers, earned B Corp status & went Connected+ on commonsku. Learn how sustainability data wins deals in 2025.

Episode 346: Storm Creek's Blueprint for Sustainability Success

PPAI's new CEO Drew Holmgreen reframes promo as a marketing channel, not tchotchkes. Learn his agency-driven vision, $1T+ economic impact study & how AI wins deals in 2025.

Episode 347: Reframing Promo as a Marketing Channel with Drew Holmgreen (PPAI)

Live at skucamp 2025: Catherine Graham leads a supplier CEO panel with S&S, HIT, and Koozie leaders on M&A, AI-powered ops, POD’s rise, and tariff turbulence.

Episode 348: Three CEOs, Billions in Revenue, One Stage (skucamp 2025)

skucamp 2025's most powerful moments in one episode. Industry CEOs share real numbers, real failures, and what's disrupting promotional products now.

Episode 349: The Scottsdale Experience (Inside skucamp 2025)

Charlie Moscoe reveals commonsku's platform evolution: AI-powered search, automatic bill matching, and finance tools that give distributors time back.

Episode 350: Inside commonsku's Platform Revolution with Charlie Moscoe

Today's #skucast features Ruth Verver and Beth Walker, Co-Founders and Partners of Paperclip Promotions, a distributor based in Austin, TX. In today's episode they discuss the critical missing piece in their values (missing on purpose!), an order for their biggest client that went south, and much more!

Episode 106: "Why Not?" How to Go for the Big Wins with Paperclip Promotions

Welcome to skucast, the #1 podcast for entrepreneurs in the print and promotional products industries. skucast shines a light on our industries' best work, features maverick personalities, and discusses what’s really involved in running a modern print or promotional products business. skucast is the official podcast of commonsku.

skucast - the official podcast of commonsku

Popular tracks