The DTC Insider · 2026-05-01 · 32 min
In this episode of The DTC Insider, Brian Roisentul sits down with Samuel Goodman, co-founder of Cheeky , to talk about what it really takes to build and scale a DTC brand from scratch. From starting with no background in dentistry to becoming the largest custom night guard company in the US, Samuel shares how they identified a real problem, validated it through hundreds of customer calls, and built their first product using 3D printing. They dive into the early days of the business, from testing demand with landing pages and ads to building a Shopify-first brand and scaling to thousands of customers through direct-to-consumer channels. Samuel also breaks down how they expanded beyond a single product into a full oral care ecosystem, and what drove those decisions based on customer demand. Plus, he shares the reality of breaking into retail, including years of outreach, getting their first meeting with Walmart, and what it actually takes to land on shelves and succeed once you’re there. - This episode is
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