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DTC POD
Liz Giorgi from Soona
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Blaine Bolus
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Liz Giorgi
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Ramon Berrios
01:35 CEO of Suna created video production company 05:54 Entrepreneurship gives purpose and meaning in life. 09:57 Keen question on making photos affordable.
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Highlights
“As a D to C brand, you need real-time financial visibility to save money and make better decisions.”
“There's not a single thing that we buy on the internet that doesn't have a photo. The photo is the most important part of the purchase making decision. It's the thing that makes you emotionally go, yes, I want that, or no, I don't want that.”
“So on the fact that you went to school for broadcasting, where did the entrepreneurial knack come from? Because you could have just gotten a job. You got your degree, but you went down the lane of starting an agency and a company as the first one. Where did that come from?”
“Starting a business and being part of a business, it gives a lot of purpose and meaning to life. It's like a reason for waking up in the morning.”
“All great businesses work backwards from that mission.”
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Full transcript
As a D to C brand, you need real time financial visibility to save money and make better decisions. Waiting for books from slow and expensive bookkeepers that don't get ecommerce is slowing you down. Trusted by hundreds of brands, final Loop is a real time accounting service built by D to C founders. For D to C. Founders try final loop. Completely free, no credit card required. Just visit Finalloop.com D to CPOD and get 14 days free and a two month PNL within 24 hours with all the Ecom data and breakdowns you need to crush it. What's up, DTC Pod? Today we're joined by Liz Georgie from Suna.
So, Liz, I'll let you kick us off. Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, and a little bit about Suna.
Absolutely. I'm happy to be here. So I'm the co founder and CEO of Suna, but I have always been a creative person at heart. So today, while I sit in sort of a business role, I actually have a background in being a creator. So I went to college to become Barbara Walters. That was my aspiration. I thought Barbara Walters was the most powerful woman on planet Earth because as a little kid, you get to see her on the news. She's interviewing the president, she's interviewing Prime Minister.
She seems very important, but very quickly realized that I didn't want to be on camera, that I far preferred the more technical and creative jobs. And so I had about a seven year career as a television editor that I'm really proud of and was really exciting. I worked on a lot of different programming, from Big Ten Network to CNN to BBC, and then eventually landed at PBS, doing a lot of different work for them. And in 2013, I became pretty obsessed with creating video for the Internet. And it's easy to look at that time now and not be very precious about it. But it's keep in mind, in 2013, the only two places you could upload a video natively to the Internet were really YouTube and Vimeo. And so I started a production company that focused on creating ad content, video ad content for YouTube and very quickly became an agency and production company that focused on everything that had video moving forward. Facebook, Instagram, every mobile app that you would open up would have video ads in them.
And so we were creating video ads for a lot of different platforms. And in 2019, I decided to sell the company ultimately because I wanted to go after this opportunity with Suna, and because my co founder and Suna, Haley, and I, we really honestly just felt that Ecommerce was going to be the next area of opportunity. So sold my first company in 2019 and then started chasing after Suna shortly after that. And the idea behind Suna is really quite simple. There's not a single thing that we buy on the internet that doesn't have a photo. The photo is the most important part of the purchase making decision. It's the thing that makes you emotionally go, yes, I want that, or no, I don't want that. And it also is frankly one of the hardest and most expensive parts for brands without platforms like Trend or Suna or others.
And so we wanted to solve that problem and we wanted to do it at scale. And so since then, Suna has shot 5 million Ecommerce assets in the last four years, which has been really kind of an incredible thing to think about now in retrospect. And we've just continued to be really proud of what we're doing as a business. We have 15,000 merchants on the Suna platform creating content for whatever they sell and wherever they want to promote and sell it.
Yeah, it's really incredible. Also thinking about your background and how time, like how everything changes so fast, like 2013 video ads, even you just saying Vimeo and YouTube and those being the only platforms for video ads. I remember that was around the time I was starting my first company. And at that time you needed a video ad to launch your product. But to get it something like that produced, I remember we were going to have to come up with ten k to get a video done just because there was no one doing that kind of stuff. So it's just so interesting to see the evolution in ten years. Now. Video is like pretty native sort of content all over.
For creatives, it's shorter form, there's all different sorts of asset types. So it's just anyway, you took me down memory lane with that one.
Well, you just think about how funny it is now. We take for granted how many things are video first, how much of our shopping decision making is video first. So I feel really lucky that I actually went to school for Broadcast because I think it ended up being fortuitous and continues to be an area that I always get excited about.
So on the fact that you went to school for broadcasting, where did the entrepreneurial knack come from? Because you could have just gotten a job. You got your degree, but you went down the lane of starting an agency and a company as the first one. Where did that come from?
It came from my grandfather. My grandfather was a businessman. He was an entrepreneur. When I was a little kid, I was what I called a shop kid. My grandfather had a canoe outfitter in northern Minnesota, where we took people on canoe outfitting expeditions in the Boundary Waters Canoe area, which is the largest set of chained lakes in North America. And they're untouched by man. So you can't live on these lakes. You can't use a motorized boat or ski do or something like that on these lakes.
So they're really majestic, very pure water. You can literally drink the water right out of the lake. And we had a tourism company. People would go on trips with our family. And as a little kid, I hung out in the shop. I spent every night after school, I spent every weekend there. I was very familiar with that, and I think the thing I observed, and honestly, the thing I was longing for after six years of sort of doing a normal job, if you will, is starting a business and being part of a business, it gives a lot of purpose and meaning to life. It's like a reason for waking up in the morning.
I didn't want to keep waking up and working on things I didn't care about. I didn't want to spend my days going like, oh, I just spent 40 hours on something and I'm not that proud of it. And I felt so called to entrepreneurship, I think, because my grandfather just showed me the value of hard work and also just the importance of having purpose and meaning in your life. It's going to be ten years this upcoming October that I've been an entrepreneur just kind of unbelievable. And I have to be honest, I have not longed for meaning in ten years. I haven't felt like I wake up in the morning hating what I do. I feel really lucky that entrepreneurship really gives you that sense of purpose.
Yeah. I think for the right people who gravitate towards it, it's like you have to be a little bit crazy, but it doesn't feel like work because you're just like solving problems and putting out fires all day, but your brain just can't stop. You just keep going. And like you were saying, it feels like there's purpose. It doesn't feel like you're just throwing your time away, which I think is the most important part.
And there's the legacy component. I feel like I've met so many people who've worked for my grandfather, who went on a trip with my grandfather's company, and they remember him, they remember everything that he did for them. There's so many people who will write to me and say, I got married to the person that I worked with at your grandfather's shop. And you just think, through how many kind of amazing things you also get to witness. And a company is really just a way that you build a community around something, whether that's the community of your customers or the community of your employees or in the case of a business like Trend or we're a pro services directory at Suna, a community of people who want to model and share themselves and share their experiences with the world. And so I also think we're very communal creatures. We humans. And entrepreneurs have a really unique ability to sort of foster community through business a lot of times when they're very successful.
I mean, I can relate. My biggest driver was seeing the payouts to creators, and same it is for you to say, 4 million photos provided to Ecommerce Brands. And so most important thing is that it all starts backwards from the mission. You don't just pick a business idea with the intent to make money. All great businesses work backwards from that mission. And it's clear that that's what happened to you because your previous business was an agency. But then this vision for Suna was a tech business, something you hadn't done before, and clearly that didn't stop you in the tracks from figuring it out. So what was that like, diving deep into starting a tech company?
It's such a keen question because I had no idea what I was doing, so I had no idea. I knew intrinsically that I wanted Haley. So Haley and I, when we started talking about this idea, the thing that we both knew we wanted to do is we wanted to make the photos really affordable. And one of the things that we talked about and the video clips, one of the things we talked about was that, like a stock photo on Istock, for example, the average price was about $40. And so we would say, okay, how do we make a great custom photo about the same or less than a crappy stock photo, so that it feels like you're just getting this fantastic deal? And we realized very quickly through talking about that that the only path to solving that was going to be technology, that we were going to have to use technology to cut out a lot of the waste. Cut out. A lot of the time that goes into planning photo shoots and to create sort of a consistent workflow that made it possible for us to do this at scale. And so knowing that as a North Star, I think it was just a process of gathering product requirements, right? But we didn't know that at the time.
We had no idea we were doing that. And so what I always recommend to people is try to find a thought partner who can sort of help you shape your idea into kind of the, what are the requirements? What does success look like? What is it going to be if you do it well, in your mind, and that helped us then reach out to different people in our network. And I remember reaching out to a person that I worked with who I knew was really good at live streaming and knew a lot about compression because it was like, okay, how are we going to make video instantly viewable, and lots of them, all the time. And I put this document in front of them and just asked a bunch of questions. And it's funny how I think one of the most important qualities to have an entrepreneur is just curiosity and not getting overly attached to how something happens, but being ruthlessly stubborn about what's going to happen at the end. Right. I will go on any journey, like, whatever journey you want me to go on, I'm down for the ride. But I am stubborn as hell about I want to deliver great value to the customer, and great value means $39 photos.
Right. And that, I think, balanced with a really good technical mindset. You will find a way to get there together.
So you mentioned a keyword, which is consistency, and always looking from the outside into soon. I thought that's one of the things you guys do best is that consistency and then the timeline and speed of delivery of the content while keeping that consistency. It's almost like the value proposition of Starbucks. People know because they know what they're going to people go because they know what they're going to get every single time. So when you were building it out, did you have, like, three major things that you were like, all right, we have to get these three things right, or five or whatever it is in order for this to work. If we get this right, we'll figure out the rest?
Yeah. It was quality, affordability, and it had to feel fun. So quality was we have this saying that's kind of a joke now, but it still feels true. A $39 photo is only exciting if you like the $39 photo. A $39 photo is not exciting if you think it's ugly. So the quality had to be first, the affordability, it had to feel like it was in your budget. And then the fun is, to me, kind of giving people that experience. We're in a B, two B space, and Haley and I have this joke amongst us that B two B secretly stands for boring.
To boring. Like, every single B, two B business is like, we have a perfectly stark blue, white and black website, and we build technology for other businesses to solve their dynamic problems. And it's like, no, that's so boring. I'm a person. You're a person. There's definitely a person at this company making the purchase decision. Let's talk to each other like human beings. Let's have some fun with it.
And we thought if we could bring those three things together, we would really have something special. And it's strange because I think a lot of people change those values over time or change those ideas over time, but they've stuck. Like, we still believe in quality, affordability, and fun, and that's kind of guided us well, I think, the entire way.
Yeah, I think that also, like, what you said before, that about having a destination that you want to get to and then figuring out how we're going to get there and pairing that with values, that just seems like the perfect recipe for being able to achieve progress. I see it all the time in our projects, too, whether it's a podcast, whether it's a startup, anything you're growing, you have an idea of where you want to go, and sometimes it's pretty unclear where the solutions and the unlocks are going to come. But if you know they're going to come and you're curious about where they may come from, they start to reveal themselves. And then you pair that with the values that are important to you as entrepreneurs and the value that you're trying to bring, that's kind of how you're able to unlock it. So, Liz, the next question that I have is building a business like Suna or Ramon the trend. Like, I know how Ramon built trends, so we don't have to go there. But these sort of marketplace businesses, they're not the easiest businesses to build. Right.
You are dealing with a supply of, in your case, creators. On one side, they're delivering a product, and you have customers on the other side. So the three of us here, we all know about building marketplaces, so why don't you walk us through the beginnings of Suna, right? Like, how did you start building out your network of creators, your first customers? Just take us back to the early days, and how did it start coming together?
We had a really long approach to the first customer, so we actually got into Tech SARS in January 2019, and at that time, we were still developing the product. We didn't even have an MVP or a beta. We were still in development. And honestly, the only thing I had to show techstars as part of our application process was this very novel technology that we had developed that essentially allowed us to take a photo anywhere in the world and then have it show up in this browser based experience. And one of the things that Haley and I both knew really intimately from having been on set, because Haley is a professional animator by trade, so that's another sort of, like, nuance to this is she's also a professional creator. And we've spent a lot of time together on Sat, and so we knew that one of the things that really gets customers excited in trusting you with their vision and their brand is actually being able to see what you're doing. The kind of black box nature of most marketplaces, I think, is oftentimes a detriment to the experience because brands get excited about creating content, then they order the content, but they aren't part of the process. They don't get to experience the process.
And so we just really believed in that as the primary kind of reason why we were innovating in the space and why Techstars should let us in. And it was funny because basically Haley and I were like, okay, we have no idea how we're going to get to a product by the end of this, but let's just start building an email list. So we had started a YouTube channel and we were just sharing every single week of Techstars, week by week. And we knew that there are a lot of people who are just interested in techstars. And so we were like, cool, maybe people will just subscribe and watch us go to Techstars every single week. And I also think people just really, I don't know what it is. People are just fascinated by founders. They're fascinated by how ridiculous we are.
And so we would do a Techstars video every single week. And then that led up to at the end of the 13 weeks, we could announce like, okay, we have a beta coming in September, so sign up to be part of our beta. And we got 2000 brands to sign up to be part of our beta, which we thought was really exciting. And then we said, okay, cool. September rolls around, we get the beta off the ground. And we said, we're going to accept 200 into the beta and we're just going to make content for them for $100. It was like, whatever, content just to ask them questions, get price points, whatever. And I remember the very first day that we opened up the beta, it took three orders for a customer to sign up to where I didn't know anybody associated with the product.
And I think that was when I knew, like, wow, we are really hitting a big problem when normally you'd expect your 1st 50 orders to be your friends, your family, like a bunch of people you already know, but three people, and I already don't know this person. And so those early days were really super unscalable stupid things. But honestly, they're things that I still do today. Like I have 2 hours of my calendar every single week that's just dedicated to content creation. And I see my job as the founder of this company to be like being out there in the world, talking about ecommerce, talking about the business. You all have this podcast. I literally have three LinkedIn posts, an email newsletter, several TikTok accounts that I'm responsible for a YouTube show. I have so much stuff that I'm making all the time.
But honestly, it's never been about quantity of viewers. I'm clearly not Mr. Beasts. That's obvious. But I think the quality of what people get from the content that we create is real and is very meaningful to me. And so that's been a strategy we deployed since day one. And then after our beta, we literally just asked every single one of these customers, okay, what do you want? What would make it better? What would make it awesome? What would make it more exciting for you? And we got some guidance on pricing. We got some guidance on how it should come together.
And then by December of 2019, we launched sort of what Suna is today, which is a virtual photo shoot platform where you can plan the photo shoot and have the photo shoot in one layer of software. And honestly, I think we just got really lucky after that. I mean, the Pandemic accelerated our business in a way that I could never have predicted in a million years. And the fact that people could participate in the photo shoot virtually when they were already participating in remote work gave us a competitive advantage during most of 2020 and 21. That was magic in a bottle. I hope we can capture it again. I'm sure we will. But it was a pretty special time in terms of building up to that.
One I remember hearing about soona. Well, we were introduced after the tech stars through Techstars in Adam Burrows range. But I remember first seeing Suna during the Pandemic with sort of I think it's a growth hack strategy that you guys did of the free headshots, right?
Yes, we did free headshots. Still to this day, that must have.
Been a boom, because what was the perfect sort of trifecta there was it Pandemic new company, starting them beefing up their LinkedIn. People are tweeting more, needing professional headshots. And so this was remote headshots, right?
Yeah, we did remote headshots for a while, but then as the world started opening back up, the other thing that was weird is people were just desperate to leave their house, and so they got a reason to do it. So the summer of 2020, I think we did like, 500 headshots that summer alone. And then now we've done probably about 5000 since then, and we just do them on Friday afternoons. But that was a growth hacking strategy because think about this, in B two B, everybody needs a headshot. There are so few delightful experiences that happen in your B two B life. So to have kind of this like, oh, I had this great experience. I got to pick a ridiculous color backdrop. I got to interact with the photographer, whatever people would post about it on LinkedIn a lot.
And so that was a huge growth hacking strategy. The Pandemic definitely gave us some wind at our backs. And then I think the other thing that really just worked for us was brands would share their virtual photo shoot on Instagram. So they would be like, oh, look at my virtual like, which images do you like here's? I'm on a live shoot right now. What do you want me to tell the photographer? And so people were saying like, oh, you should tell them to add flowers, or you should tell them to add a vase, and they would do it and someone would post it on Instagram. And so that was a really huge there was just something very fun for people about sharing their photo shoots. And it's interesting to think about that. If you were a creator, you shared your onset photos.
People are so excited to share their onset photos, and so that was kind of the equivalent of the onset photo dynamic. But the only thing we did there's some really boring practical stuff that I always recommend too. We've always been really diligent about email trends, really good at email, too, but making sure that you've got really strong email and you're really thinking about cultivating your list and respecting your list and not just making ass all the time, but actually being helpful in providing guidance. We also integrate it with Ecommerce. So we have a Shopify app and we have an Amazon app, and pretty soon here we're going to have a Canva app. We also have a big commerce app. So we made it really easy to discover Suna and some of the other places that people were looking. And then, I don't know, we just invested psychotic amounts of energy in that dang Instagram account.
I mean, it has over 130,000 followers, I think, today, and that just has paid dividends in a pretty big way.
It's fun to talk about all the things that worked, but I'm sure that between all those there was 20 things grubhacks you tried that didn't work. And it comes from leadership of optimism, because during COVID you guys have physical studios as well. So I'm sure it was a moment of turning a hardship into an opportunity.
There were so many of those. Speaking of things that let me tell you a couple of things that absolutely didn't work, but they might work for someone else, right? At one point, we had this idea of essentially creating kind of demo stores where people could test an entirely new idea in the photo shoot. Absolutely nobody wanted to do it. They were just like, Absolutely not. In my head, I was convinced that you would want to demo content with the photography and nobody was interested in it. I'm remembering also, we tried SMS marketing. Nobody wants a B, two B, business texting them. I don't think anybody really wants any business texting them.
So we tried SMS. It absolutely fell flat on its face. Nothing about that worked. And there's been so many times where I've seriously questioned, is it the right thing to have a network of dog models and cat model? Because it's like a lot of work. There's a ton of weird, bizarre risks associated with our pro services platform. I remember we had a dog on a set and I just happened to be in the studio that day. That was really aggressive and really mean, and we had to fire our first dog from the platform. Just the stuff that you kind of laugh about now, but in the moment just feels like the worst thing because you put so much time and effort into it.
And so I don't know, that's kind of why I say my philosophy has always been about this sort of like, be stubborn about the destination, but be flexible about how you get there because you don't know what's going to work always. You don't know when you're going to fail. You don't do something knowing you're going to fail. You do it going, okay, I'm going to try it, and hopefully I don't fail, but I probably will, and let's see what happens, right? And I also think it just helps you keep your mental health in a good position during the journey when you're not overly controlled or convinced of outcomes ahead of time, because otherwise you can start to really beat yourself up for mistakes. And I try not to think of things as mistakes. I try to think of them as tests that either went right or went wrong and lean into the ones that went right and let the ones that.
Went wrong go in the rear view mirror 100%. And I think so much of it kind of like you were saying, sometimes they go right, sometimes they go wrong. Sometimes if there are different conditions in a market, they would have gone really right or vice versa. So it's just about doing things, putting them out there, seeing what works and doubling down on what works, so long as they're carrying you in the right direction. One question that I'd have for you, Liz, is now it seems like we have a general kind of idea of how the business was built, how you guys approach everything. But talk to me a little bit from the perspective of a brand, right? Like, let's say I'm starting my own new brand, and now I'm looking to get some creative. How does my experience, how does that happen through Suna? What am I able to get? I know you talked about being able to kind of have some direction in the photo shoot. Tell me about what's happening on your end and how that whole process works for me as a brand who's looking to get some product photography or any sort of content done.
Yeah, absolutely. So let's just say you need some content to launch a new product. You probably need some product photos. You need some campaign photos. You're probably going to need some ad video, perhaps. You're going to want some unboxing video or some how to video. And so our platform allows you to plan a photo shoot for that product launch. And we really kind of design our photo shoot planning around either.
Do you want to build around the platform? Meaning, are you building a new Amazon listing page? Are you building a. New shopify page? Are you building an Instagram ad or allow you to build it kind of based on every single thing you think you need for a given product campaign? So brands are able to sort of plan those two ways and they're able to add every single thing that they need in order to fulfill that creative vision. So that's everything from what kind of background are you envisioning? Is it a lifestyle background or is it more of a polished studio background? Is it product on white because it's going on Amazon? The things that I would just consider to be sort of checking the boxes of making sure you're meeting all those requirements, then we're going to let you do things like add your personal style as a brand. So you can shop our directory of over 3000 props and pick what kind of plants do you want, what kind of pillows do you want, what kind of napkin do you want? And all those get bundled into your photo shoot. And then finally you can decide if there's going to be people or pets in your photo shoot or any providers who are going to make that look great. So we have a pro services directory, about 1700 members. And these are hand models, foot models, full body models, dog models, cat models, turtle models, rabbit models. But then also these trades people who are really professionals in really key areas of production.
So fashion stylists, food stylists, food styling is incredibly specific and challenging. So being able to style food appropriately so that it looks good on camera is a key skill. And then once the brand has sort of built that photo shoot and keep in mind that process. So before suna, if you want to plan a photo shoot like this, it would have been a ton of spreadsheets, a ton of pinterest boards. Probably looking for these studio locations across airbnbs and different websites and calling different places, touring different places. We've taken this process that was taking brands two to three weeks and lots of money and turned it into seven clicks. And I think that's what that time savings like. Five minutes to build a photo shoot of your dreams has been just a huge piece of this for brands.
And then once their photo shoot is built, they order it and we match it intelligently to one of our production facilities across the country. So we have facilities in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Denver and Austin, Texas. And those are kind of the hubs where we bring together sets, props, environments. That's where our providers come in and have their photo shoots for the day. And once that photo shoot happens, you get invited to join a virtual shoot. So not a little bit different than joining a video meeting, but instead of looking at each other, you're actually looking at a live view of what's coming out of the camera in real time. So you see every single photo and video clip as it's created in real time. You can give feedback, you can message with your creative.
You can actually rate the images, make your favorites, create folders. And then one of the things that I think is so special is those assets become shoppable. So we have an ecommerce platform ourselves. You pay $39 per photo, $93 per video clip. You only pay for the ones you truly want and love, and we deliver them the next day. So all in brands will spend about two weeks on average, from planning a photo shoot to having final assets, and they get them for an incredibly affordable price that I think is just really allowing them to professionalize their business no matter where they're trying to sell their product.
Yeah. And you guys are doing something that's really hard, like you said for brands before, in order to plan the logistics and execute. But the first thing that comes to mind when you're telling me about this is like, I get all these videos and reels on Instagram where it's like the hack to make your crazy product photography. And you see all these people, I don't know, dropping a ball into a bowl of powder and capturing them. And I'm like, oh, man, that's cool that you just showed me how you got that picture, but imagine having to set up that whole rig and do everything right. It's not easy work. So it seems like you guys have yeah, go for everyone.
Well, no, I think it's important that you mentioned that you asked about your scenario here was, what if I'm starting a brand? And now you're talking about me setting that myself up. But I think it's important to talk as well about what if I'm already a big brand and I go into Suna, right? Like, I'm looking to scale. I have hundreds of SKUs. What's that scenario like, what is the alternative for those companies? And what does that experience look like in Suna for, like, 5100 million dollar brands or so?
Sure. And we work with a lot of those big brands, right? Because scaling creativity is almost just as hard as doing initial creativity. And it's for a lot of the reasons you mentioned, right? You've got 50 SKUs. Each one of them need different images. And this is where our integration layer really comes into play, because being able to integrate our technology with your brand's infrastructure allows us to do really novel things. So one of the things in our product that we don't talk about that much publicly, but is an awesome feature for large brands is something called the product catalog. And what it does is it allows us to suck in all your inventory and see what do you need images for? And then you can order images according to every single item in your product inventory that's missing content or that you want to change content. So that's a perfect example of when you're scaling content, being able to become integrated then with the virtual Photoshoot experience allows to make ordering easier.
It allows teams to work together so as soon as a multi seat system where large teams of people can collaborate on photo shoots and also attend them together. And then the other thing that I think is just really novel about when you're scaling your content is scaling your professional services. You're going to need models that are coming in a staggered way and you don't want the same model for every single image. And so being able to add up to 20 models to a photo shoot and then know that it's going to be intelligently, organized. So that we're doing 2 hours with Melissa, then 2 hours with James, then 2 hours with Dominique, and it goes through the flow. Building software to make that possible, to schedule that seamlessly has been a huge part of the lift of this business, but it's what makes creativity both accessible at the low end and then scalable at the high end.
The next thing I want to talk to you guys about is now like Trend and Sooner. Right. Automatically I start to see the synergies because it seems like Sooner built a network that was really predicated on being more high touch. You've got the studio component, you've got all these processes built to generate that type of content. Whereas Trend and Ramon, I've worked with Trend to get content done myself. It seems like it's more distributed. So it seems like just talk me through the acquisition. How did you guys think about it? I'm initially already starting to see a whole bunch of synergies in blending.
Now what you have with Suna and the distributed nature of Trend. Yeah. So how did it all come together and how do you guys think about it from a business?
I don't know if Ramon has even heard me explain this thinking.
So it's week one.
Yeah. See what we think.
Yeah.
Let me start with this. So one of our core philosophies at Santa is that we are ecommerce platform agnostic, meaning we do not align ourselves with any one platform or any one tool. We don't say we're a shopify app or an Amazon seller central tool. We see ourselves as completely agnostic. So wherever a brand wants to sell and however they want to market their product, we want to be the right fit for producing content for them in those places. And one of the trends that we've been keeping our eye on is we really started to believe firmly that shopping is going to become a feature of everything we do on the Internet. I can even see shopping being a feature of this podcast where somebody just clicks add to cart about something we talked about. Right.
And when you think about shopping becoming a feature of the Internet, that actually means that the kinds of content that you're going to need in order to successfully execute on that is even broader. You're going to need not just the great product and white images and the great campaign images and the awesome Instagram ad video and the cool TikTok video. You're also going to need user reviews. You're also going to need user generated content that features environments. You're going to need the travel Vlog. You're going to need so many types of content to successfully respond to where Ecommerce is going. So we had been really bullish on adding UGC to our platform in 2023, and we were actually doing the work to build the product ourselves. And then I had gotten to know Ramon a little bit, but once we spent some serious time together, I spent time with Ramon and Zach and realized, why on earth would I try to build this? They've already done it.
They've already done an exceptional job. They've already thought through the problems. They've already seen the problems firsthand, and they've already seen what success looks like. And I can't say enough about, like, as a founder, I really want to be honest with myself about what I don't know. And what I don't know is how to build a UGC platform. And so we decided that once this opportunity came across our table, we would be silly not to look at it as a way for us to go faster, to partner with leaders in this space. And one of my personal philosophies as a human is it's just as important to me who I do things with as what I'm doing. And my relationship with my co founder has always been about, I love working with Haley.
I would literally work on a tube sock company with Haley if she wanted to. I don't care what we're doing. I just want to hang out with Haley. And I kind of felt like Zack and Ramon also had that relationship, and we could relate on that level. And if the success that Haley and I have experienced together, if we could replicate that with Ramon and Zach, the four of us working on this product, I just felt like there would be tremendous opportunity to just explode what they have been able to do so far. And so I really think that the time will tell, but I'm very optimistic.
Yeah. Blaine has heard my pitch and thesis, and it's along the same lines of in order for brands to win from 2023 onwards, they need to be omnichannel, and the channels that they need to be present on are only increasing. And so the output of content that brands need to produce is growing at such a pace that brands can just not keep up. And so all of these are different sort of systems for generating content. Like you said, the brand that needs the Ecom photography is the same brand that needs the TikTok video. Completely different system. And you also don't want all of your content to be the same across all channels because that's boring. And so for us, what Blaine mentioned earlier of, okay, I don't want to have to do that whole Rig set up Myself.
Well, okay, a Creator Can do it for you, but what about when you Want to Get serious about it as a brand? You also don't want to manage 300 Creators doing this. And if you do, it better be a really good system for how you're doing it. So you can scale that and it's Not A Time suck for Brands. And So we felt like we did that first Layer well. However, UGC in the creator content space needs a lot more professionalism and understanding of the creative industry. And that's something that Liz and the Suna team had. And so for that reason, it made a lot of sense for us. And I feel really excited about just seeing this be taken to a new level because I think that this continues to build the moats for the one company that is going to win the creative space, which is the one destination for any kind of creative and that is going to be very hard for any incumbent to try to start from scratch.
Yeah, I think they're really interesting here. And this is something that Liz, that Even Ramon Had pointed out to me, that a lot of people don't pick up on, is Just Like the Nuance within Creative. And clearly I can see that with Suna. So when you hear the term creative, you're like, oh, product photography. It's the same thing as influencer. It's the same thing as UGC. But what people Don't Understand is the systems to Make that stuff happen and the type of Creative that sits under the broader Umbrella of Creative, they're all different Processes and they're all Different Things, right? Like even Ramon, when you say UGC, UGC is different than an influencer platform. And Then all these people are just like, oh, isn't it the same thing as an influencer? It's like no, it's different.
Right. So I think if you guys have the thesis that brands need to be omnichannel, content is everywhere. Content is like The Lifeblood Of Brands and being able to meet their audience on the Internet, well, Then you need to have all those systems and processes and people know how to run those processes in Place or even Expose them to New audiences.
Well in what you can't not to sort of fast forward too far, but I think what we have seen. Let's take another creative company that is publicly traded and very successful. Adobe. What has Adobe done really well, Adobe has taken a professional category and created software and tools for anyone to be able to create content in the post production components of the content business. And Then you've got A company like Canva that enters the market and Says, Cool, we love all that, but we're going to make it browser Based and we're going to hit the easy button for you so you don't have to think so hard. I kind of think about the creative space of the actual content generation very similarly. There were a lot of companies out there, big agencies, big billion dollar agencies that were sort of letting you do this in a very custom way, very slow, but you can get it done, but you had to have sort of a professional environment. I think there needs to be a canva for the actual content generation and that is hitting the easy button on the content creation piece.
And I think we are really well positioned to do that now, especially with the opposition of trend. And I know there will be even more opportunities for us to expand that vision even further.
I love that. I love the whole easy button analogy because like you were saying, if you're doing things one off or you're working directly with a singular UGC creator or trying to direct your own photo shoot where you have to do all those different components, it's not easy. You can do it and you can get as granular as you want, but that's not an easy process to manage by any means. Right? So I think that's a really good analogy. What were you going to say, Roman?
No, I think what most people listening might be thinking is, well, isn't that what AI generated content is supposed to do? So listening back on this conversation, there's a lot of elements that hit the mark here that people overlook, that don't understand creative. Like Suna turns the brand owner or the person creating the content and puts them in the director's seat. Because brands ultimately want control, right? And so they are involved in the experience, they have a say, they have a voice and they have control. And so I think that's some of the key elements that AI might be missing. But I'm curious on your take on can I just generate a content? Isn't that the new easy button?
For sure. If you want like a really crappy picture that is going to compete with stock content, for sure. I don't think that AI in any way, shape or form isn't an easy button. It is, but I think I sort of approach it this way. Brands don't want to all look the same, brands don't all want to sound the same. And there's going to be a lot of places where AI is just going to create a lot of the same. One way to think about this is they are data sets. And data sets represent what the most common themes are and what the most common information is in a data set.
And it can be a whole new type of blending where we just see brands all doing AI generated stuff, AI generated copy, AI generated emails, AI generated images, AI videos. But we all remember, I think, as direct to consumer people a period between 2016 and 2020 where every brand kind of looked the same, everybody was copying sort of the same aesthetics. And then we had sort of a renaissance of everybody's going to kind of determine their own identity, their own vision, their own storytelling in the world. And I truly believe, actually, in that creative spirit, the diversification of what we're doing, the individual details that make a brand special. And I think that AI can actually be a companion to ensuring that creativity can scale even more. One of the things that I really think is in trouble is stock content. But I don't think highly specific, storytelling oriented, brand oriented, campaign oriented content is in trouble because I candidly think that human beings want to be part of that process. They want to make sure they're controlling the tiny details.
They want to be involved in being in the director's seat. As you mentioned, Anne doesn't put us in the director's seat. It just sort of says, well, here's what everybody mostly thinks this idea is. Is that what you think it is? And that's not fun, that's not interesting, and honestly, it's not that creative. And so I try to think about, where can we use AI in our business to make people feel more creative, to expand the potential of their creative and have it almost function as, like, another person on the crew that is supporting that creative direction, instead of thinking about it as a replacement of the entire process. And you know what? If I'm wrong, one of the things that I think you have to decide as a founder is, like, I'm okay with being wrong, and I don't want to run a company that looks differently. And I think we have to be brave as founders in acknowledging that and saying, like, listen, if all of society has decided that creativity is dead, and we all want to look at hyper imaginative images of the world generated by AI for the rest of time, then that's a world that other people can go participate in. I think I'll go, like, grow yams or something, because I don't want to do that.
That's just not what I want to do with my life. So I hope I'm right. I believe I am. But time will tell.
Yeah, I totally agree with that. And because I've actually sat in the director chair trying to get AI to do what I needed to do, obviously, technology improves quickly. But I think another thing for brands, kind of like you said, they want easy button and they want direction and they want quality. And with AI, especially now, it's like you really have to get in there and you really have to work it hard. And at the end of the day, you're still not getting quite what you want. And a lot of times, even at the agency level, the reason agencies tend to work so well for brands is because they don't want to do it they want to be able to have a little bit of direction, but kind of get it off their plate so you guys are able to handle it. And I think what Suna and Trend and you guys coming together, what you're able to deliver is exactly that, is being able to deliver the asset that they want, have the creative direction involved. And then, like you said, even in a worst case scenario, as AI gets commoditized in the space, you're already the company that people trust for generating creative.
You can work that into your workflows to help augment not only your creators, but the end output. And so I think that's what was that, Ramon?
We tested a little bit of AI stuff with brands, and it was because I was having conversations with brands, but I couldn't get the answer of, have you tried to do it? Have you tried to do it yourself? And so we kind of give them the power to try and doing it themselves because brands, they don't know before they start the journey of creating the content that they want to be in the director's seat, that they want that much control and they don't know. Ultimately, you generate content to generate sales, which content performs on context. And so there's not going to be any model LLM model that understands the Kayaking industry and can generate that authentic content that could expose you to a new audience or make that content that is going to resonate and perform. Today, I was listening to a podcast of my first million this morning with Rob Derdick, this supplement brand that they spent a few million dollars, like six years trying to make the business grow. And it only took off when Huberman promoted it on the podcast. And it went from nothing to like 20 million plus. And it's because the authenticity there. And so it's not always volume of output, it's how well it can resonate.
And so if you can unlock both of those, I think we're onto something big. And hopefully that's what we can do.
And ultimately, AI is artificial. It's artificial. And what I think Trend as a business model proved is people actually want authentic. It is not authentic intelligence. It is artificial intelligence. I also want to point out that at the end of the day, the three of us, when we unwind and we maybe hop on TikTok or hop on YouTube or go on Netflix, we feel there's something deeply human about the connection that we feel with content, with storytelling, with performance. And you can create a song that kind of sounds like Drake or you can create a movie that kind of looks like a Norafron movie, but it isn't their movie. And I think one of the things that a lot of people are really not taking into consideration is what goes into these models is really important contributions by human beings to our creative and human experience.
And I find it really disingenuous and honestly kind of sad that we are all so willing to just hand over the idea that human beings have anything to contribute to culture at all and just go, well, I guess the computers will create our culture now. I don't get that. I'm not interested in a universe that functions like that. I want to know about Ramon's life. I want to talk to the two of you. I don't want to talk to a computer. At least I don't right now. I want to really, as a person and as a leader, just constantly remind people that, yes, it's cool, yes, it's interesting, but when you really think about what matters to you as a person, I'm going to guess it's the human parts of your life, not necessarily the artificial parts of your life.
And your soul is aware. You know that deep down. So I couldn't imagine watching Netflix. That was all AI generated. Okay, so as we get towards the end here, what is the future of Soona? What does that look like?
We want to be the single place for creating content online, and we continue to look forward to providing that for brands in new and interesting ways. With this acquisition of Trend, I really think it's just that simple.
Amazing. And Liz, for our listeners that are maybe interested in checking out a little bit more about Suna connecting with you, where can we find you online? And then yourself? Are you on LinkedIn? Are you on Twitter? You're on everything. I know you said you're on YouTube and TikTok, literally on everything.
So, yeah, absolutely. Please just go to Suna co to learn more about Suna. If you want to learn about Suna and Trend working together, go to Suna co trend. And if you want to follow us, we are at Soona Studios on literally every single thing. And I am at Liz georgie G-I-O-R-G-I on all the things I hope you will come have conversations with me and maybe send me your offensive Vincent van Gogh's created by AI. At which point I will remind you that the AI only created that horrible image because Vincent Vancouver was alive and well and created amazing art at one point in time.
So.
How Matt? Leave what I have.
Love it.
Well, thanks for coming on the show, Liz. Thanks for having liz, thanks for tuning in and we hope you enjoyed this episode of DTC Pod. If you enjoyed the show, we'd love your support. A rating and review would go a long way as we continue to host the best builders in DTC and beyond. Follow and subscribe to the show and make sure to check out our show notes. Where you can find our socials and weekly newsletter, visit us on Dtcpod.com.
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1️⃣ One Sentence Summary
Suna CEO Liz Giorgi talks scaling creativity in e-commerce.
💬 Keywords
Santa, ecommerce platform, agnostic, brands, selling, marketing, shopping, Internet, podcasts, content, user-generated content, reviews, environment features, travel vlogs, UGC, partnership, leaders, Ramon, Zach, expansion, optimism, time, big brands, scaling creativity, integration layer, technology, product catalog, virtual photo shoots, professional services, AI, unique identity, stock content, human involvement, control, personal, authentic, co-founder, CEO, Suna, video ad content, creator, television editor, production company, YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Instagram, high-quality photos, Ecommerce, shooting, merchants, grandfather, business, canoe outfitter, northern Minnesota, Boundary Waters Canoe area, purpose, entrepreneurship, ideas, strategies, demo stores, SMS marketing, network, dog, cat models, aggressive dogs, stubborn, mental health, Techstars, browser-based experience, trust, email list, beta launch, orders, pandemic, remote participation, special period, headshots, growth hacking strategy, LinkedIn, Instagram, email marketing, Ecommerce platforms, Canva, investment, Instagram account, affordability, technology, waste, workflow, thought partner, success, live streaming, compression, curiosity, determination, value, platform, product launches, Amazon, Shopify, backgrounds, props, models, directory, professional models, stylists, planning, production facility, virtual shoot, shoppable assets, professionalize, affordable price, shorter timeframe.
🔑 7 Key Themes
Ecommerce content creation and distribution
Importance of partnerships and collaborations
Scaling creativity and professional services
The role of AI in creative content
Value of storytelling and unique brand identity
The journey of entrepreneurship and learning from mistakes
Growth strategies and customer engagement tactics
📚 Timestamped overview
01:35 CEO of Suna, former TV editor, created company for ecommerce photo solutions, 5 million assets shot.
05:54 Entrepreneurship brought purpose to the author's life, inspired by their grandfather's work in a tourism business in Minnesota.
09:57 The author and Haley wanted to create affordable custom photos. They realized they needed technology to make it possible and sought input from others to shape their idea. They were determined to provide great value to customers at a price of $39.
14:18 Having a destination and values are key to achieving progress, and building marketplace businesses like Suna is challenging. Start with building a network of creators and customers in the early days.
15:46 The author describes their journey from Techstars to launching a virtual photo shoot platform called Suna. They initially focused on building an email list and creating content to generate interest. They received positive feedback from customers and made improvements based on their suggestions. The pandemic unexpectedly accelerated their business, as the virtual nature of their platform appealed to remote workers.
21:30 Remote headshots grew during the pandemic, with 500 done in summer 2020. Growth hacking through LinkedIn and Instagram helped, along with email marketing and e-commerce integration. Instagram account has over 130,000 followers.
24:27 Many failed ideas including demo stores, SMS marketing, and dog models on a platform. Flexibility and not dwelling on mistakes is important.
27:40 A platform for planning and executing photo shoots with various customizable options. Provides access to props, models, and professional services. Simplifies the process and delivers final assets quickly and affordably.
32:42 The text discusses the challenges of scaling creativity for big brands and the features of an integration layer that allows for easier ordering and collaboration in photo shoots. It also mentions the ability to schedule and organize models for shoots.
35:18 Santa is an ecommerce platform agnostic company focused on producing a variety of content for brands. They believe shopping will become a feature of everything on the internet and plan to add user-generated content (UGC) to their platform. After meeting with Ramon and Zach, they decided to partner with them as leaders in the UGC space. The founder values relationships and is optimistic about the potential for success.
38:15 Brands need omnichannel presence and struggle to produce enough content. A system for generating diverse content is needed, preferably not managed by 300 creators. UGC and creator content require professionalism. Suna team enhances the system for a winning creative destination.
43:35 AI can complement creativity but should not replace it. Diversification and individuality in branding are important. Stock content is in trouble, but storytelling and brand-oriented content are not. AI can support creative direction, but should not dominate the entire process. If society decides creativity is dead, the author is willing to pursue other interests.
49:11 AI is artificial; people want authenticity. Human contributions to culture matter more than computer-generated content.
51:53 To learn about Suna, visit Suna co. For Suna and Trend, visit Suna co trend. Follow Soona Studios at Liz Georgie G-I-O-R-G-I.
📚 Timestamped overview
01:35 CEO of Suna created video production company
05:54 Entrepreneurship gives purpose and meaning in life.
09:57 Keen question on making photos affordable. Technology needed.
14:18 Having a destination, values, and curiosity unlocks progress and success in projects and businesses like Suna. It involves building a network of creators and customers.
15:46 Long approach to Tech SARS, developed novel technology, gained beta sign-ups, launched virtual photo shoot platform, pandemic accelerated business.
21:30 Remote headshots grew with pandemic, Instagram boosted.
24:27 Many failed attempts in business, remain adaptable.
27:40 Platform streamlines photo and video content creation.
32:42 Integrated technology scales creativity for big brands.
35:18 Santa is ecommerce platform agnostic, partnering with leaders in UGC.
38:15 Brands need omnichannel content for success.
43:35 AI can support creativity, not replace it.
49:11 AI is artificial, people want authentic. Connection with content, storytelling, performance is deeply human. Human contributions are important to culture. Don't want a universe run by computers.
51:53 Learn more about Suna and Trend at Suna co trend. Follow Soona Studios on all platforms.
❇️ Key topics and bullets
Introduction to Liz Giorgi and her company, Soona
Soona's approach as an ecommerce platform agnostic company
The belief that shopping will become a feature of everything on the Internet, including podcasts
Expanding types of content needed as shopping becomes a feature, including user-generated content, reviews, travel vlogs, etc.
Decision to partner with leaders in user-generated content space instead of adding it to Soona's platform
The importance of who Soona works with and the potential of partnering with Ramon and Zach
Challenges of scaling creativity and working with big brands
The integration layer of Soona's technology and unique features like the product catalog and virtual photo shoots
Scaling professional services and the importance of software for seamless scheduling
The role of AI in the creative process and the need for brands to maintain their unique identity
Concerns about the decline of stock content and the value of storytelling-oriented and brand-oriented content
The importance of human involvement and control in the creative process
Being brave in choices and preferring a personal and authentic approach to work
Liz Giorgi's background as a creator and starting Suna
Suna's focus on creating high-quality photos for ecommerce
Suna's achievements in shooting millions of ecommerce assets and working with thousands of merchants
The speaker's personal connection to business through their grandfather's canoe outfitter
The journey of entrepreneurship and the importance of purpose and meaning in work
The speaker's experiences with failed ideas and challenges, including demo stores, SMS marketing, and dog and cat models
The importance of being stubborn about the destination but flexible about the approach
Emphasis on maintaining good mental health and learning from mistakes
Joining Techstars and developing unique technology for browser-based photo experiences
Building an email list and sharing the Techstars experience on YouTube
Beta launch and gathering feedback to improve the product
The impact of the pandemic on remote participation in virtual photo shoots
Successful period for Suna and growth in headshot photography
Growth hacking strategy of providing a unique and delightful experience for clients
Focus on email marketing, cultivating the list, and providing helpful guidance
Integration with ecommerce platforms and investment in building a strong Instagram presence
Making photos affordable compared to stock photos and the role of technology in streamlining workflow
The importance of finding a thought partner and curiosity in delivering value
Soona's platform for planning and executing photo shoots for product launches
Customization options for backgrounds, props, and models
Simplifying the process of planning a photo shoot with just seven clicks
Virtual photo shoots with live views and feedback from brands
The final assets becoming shoppable on Soona's platform
Soona's ability to professionalize businesses at an affordable price and in a shorter timeframe.
✏️ Custom Newsletter
Subject: 🎧 New Episode Alert! Learn How to Scale Creativity and Simplify Ecommerce Photo Shoots 📸
Hey there, podcast fans!
We're back with another exciting episode of DTC POD, and this time, we have a guest who will blow your mind with their insights on scaling creativity and simplifying ecommerce photo shoots. In this episode, we had the pleasure of chatting with Liz Giorgi, the CEO of Soona, an incredible company that's revolutionizing the way brands create high-quality photos and videos for their online stores. Let's dive right in!
🎙️ Episode: Liz Giorgi from Soona
🔑 Key Takeaways:
1️⃣ Why it's crucial for brands to expand their content creation for wherever they sell and market their products.
2️⃣ The future of shopping becoming a feature of everything on the Internet, including podcasts.
3️⃣ The power and potential of user-generated content (UGC) in enhancing brand storytelling and engagement.
4️⃣ The integration layer of Soona's technology that simplifies ecommerce photo shoots and allows for seamless collaboration.
5️⃣ Balancing the role of AI in content creation while maintaining authenticity and uniqueness in brand identity.
🌟 Fun Fact from the Episode:
Did you know that Soona's CEO, Liz Giorgi, worked as a television editor for seven years before venturing into the entrepreneurial world? Talk about a background in storytelling and content creation!
🎧 Round up and Outro:
As we wrap up this episode, Liz Giorgi shares her journey as an entrepreneur, the challenges she faced along the way, and her unwavering determination to provide a delightful experience for her clients. There's so much to learn from her insights and experiences, making this episode a must-listen for anyone interested in ecommerce, content creation, and scaling creativity.
📢 Call to Action:
Ready to take your ecommerce content creation to new heights? Check out Soona's platform and discover how they can simplify your photo shoots, provide unmatched quality, and help you professionalize your business affordably and efficiently. Don't miss out on this opportunity to revolutionize the way you create content!
🎧 Listen to the episode now on your favorite podcast platform, or simply click here:
[INSERT EPISODE LINK]
And remember to subscribe to DTC POD for more captivating conversations with industry experts and innovative entrepreneurs who are shaping the direct-to-consumer landscape.
That's a wrap for this episode! Stay tuned for more exciting content coming your way soon.
Keep rocking,
Blaine and Ramon
Hosts of DTC POD
🐦 Business Lesson Tweet Thread
🔥THREAD: Essential Best Practices for DTC Brand Operators!🔥
1/ 💥Hook: Building a DTC brand? Here are some killer tips based on the insights shared by Liz Giorgi from Soona on our latest #DTCPod episode!💪💼
2/ 📢 Operate Agnostically: Don't tie yourself to a single ecommerce platform. Stay agile, adaptable, and ready to conquer any platform your customers love!💥
3/ 🌐 Expand Your Content Universe: Shopping will soon be EVERYWHERE online, even in podcasts! So, consider user-generated content, reviews, vlogs, and more to connect with your audience on different platforms. 🌟
4/ 💡 Collaborate to Scale Creativity: Don't underestimate the value of working with other talented entrepreneurs. Partnering up, like Soona did, expands your creative reach and amplifies your success! ✨
5/ 🔌 Embrace the Integration Layer: Make the most of technology! Build an ecosystem that integrates seamlessly with your brand's infrastructure to offer unique features and experiences. 💻
6/ 📚 Leverage the Power of Product Catalogs: Streamline the process of adding missing content to your inventory by ordering professional images for every item. Efficient AND visually delightful! 📸
7/ 🌟 Intelligent Scheduling is Key: Scalability means intelligently organizing schedules and efficiently managing different models for each image. Work smarter, not harder! ⏰
8/ 🚫 AI Can't Do it All: Embrace AI as an incredible tool to support and enhance creativity, but don't rely on it to generate your entire brand identity. Be unique, authentic, and maintain human control! 🤖❤️
9/ 🛍️ Storytelling Content Stands Out: While stock content declines, high-quality, brand-oriented content will captivate and engage audiences. Your story is what sets you apart! 📚🎥
10/ 💪 Empower Your Decision-Making: Founders, be brave! Reject a world where creativity is driven solely by AI. Trust your instincts, follow your vision, and create a personal and authentic brand experience! 🦾✨
11/ 🔑 Purpose Over Profits: Find a sense of meaning and purpose in your entrepreneurial journey. Like Liz Giorgi from Soona, stay focused, resilient, and passionate about the purpose behind your brand! 💼🌟
12/ 🏞️ Bonus Tip: Remember the importance of nature and family! Just like Liz's inspiration from her grandfather's canoe outfitter in Minnesota, stay humble, grounded, and fuel your entrepreneurial fire! 🌲⛺️✨
🙌 There you have it, rockstar DTC operators! Incorporate these best practices, keep hustling, and watch your brand thrive!💥💼 #EntrepreneurLife #DTCPodcast
Weekly Newsletter
Subject: New DTC POD Episode: Building the Next-Gen Creative Engine with Liz Giorgi from Suna
Hey DTC POD listeners,
We’re excited to announce the release of a must-listen episode featuring Liz Giorgi, co-founder and CEO of Suna, on the DTC POD! If you’re interested in the evolving world of ecommerce, content creation, and entrepreneurship, this episode offers an inside look at how Suna is changing the way brands approach creative content—from cost to quality, and everything in between.
What’s Inside This Episode
We brought on Liz to share not just the Suna story, but the actionable lessons and behind-the-scenes moments that come with growing a business at the intersection of creativity and technology. Whether you’re building your own direct-to-consumer brand, running creative campaigns at scale, or just curious about what it takes to operate in fast-evolving industries, there are insights here for you.
Here are 5 keys you’ll walk away with after listening:
The Power of Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurship
Liz takes us through her personal journey from a childhood in her grandfather’s tourism business, to her years as a television editor, and finally to launching Suna. She discusses how growing up surrounded by small business left her craving meaningful work—and why finding purpose is essential for lasting entrepreneurial stamina. You'll hear how Suna’s mission, rooted in actually caring about the work, has helped propel their rapid growth.Creative Backgrounds Lead to Innovative Business Models
Liz’s original dream was to become Barbara Walters, but her expertise lies on the creative and technical side of video and content production. Drawing on experience at networks like CNN, BBC, and PBS, Liz shows how a creative perspective can be crucial in developing solutions that disrupt the status quo. With the shift from YouTube and Vimeo being the only video platforms back in 2013, to today’s multimedia pipeline, you’ll learn how creative skills can be harnessed to solve tangible business problems.Building Scalable Solutions in a Fragmented Market
The episode unpacks how Suna built a platform capable of producing millions of assets quickly and affordably. Liz reveals that the key to Suna’s success was being “ruthlessly stubborn” about the destination (high-quality, affordable photos at scale) while remaining flexible about the path. You’ll get tactical advice for turning a vision into an actionable product—like starting with an email list, running focused beta programs for early feedback, and doubling down on what works.The Three Pillars: Quality, Affordability, and Fun
One standout moment is Liz explaining how Suna focused relentlessly on three priorities: delivering top-notch quality, maintaining affordability (custom photos cheaper than stock!), and ensuring the whole process is actually enjoyable. Liz shares how bringing a lively, human touch to a B2B platform distinguishes Suna in a space typically renowned for being dry and transactional.Why Consistency—and Community—Are Non-Negotiable
From the early days in Techstars to now serving 15,000 merchants and producing millions of assets, Liz details how Suna has created repeatable systems, invested in community, and used growth hacks like free headshot days to acquire customers. She and the hosts discuss how a company should serve as a community for creators, clients, and talent—building loyalty and long-term engagement.
A Fun Fact From the Episode
Did you know Suna has not just an extensive prop library but also a professional services directory of 1,700+ members—including hand models, food stylists, and even dog, cat, rabbit, and turtle models? At one point, Liz described what it’s like to “fire” an aggressive dog from a shoot—proving that behind the sleek production is a lot of real-life trial, error, and a bit of chaos!
Why You Need to Press Play
If you’ve ever found yourself stuck on how to manage photoshoots, juggle content needs for multiple SKUs, or wondered how AI and creativity will intersect in the future, Liz shares practical wisdom and hard-won lessons. From growth stories to honest failures (like how SMS B2B marketing totally flopped for Suna), you’ll hear the candid realities of building a modern creative engine.
Actionable Next Steps:
Tune in to this episode to learn why the easiest way to scale creative is to blend technology with a true creative heartbeat.
Reflect on your own workflows—are you maximizing the intersection between quality, affordability, and joy in your business?
Think about your brand’s unique needs. Are you still building photo shoots with spreadsheets and Pinterest boards, or is it time to streamline?
Connect & Learn More
Ready to see what Suna is about? Check out Suna at suna.co or follow Liz on LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, or YouTube, where she shares real advice for creative operators.
Don’t forget to subscribe to DTC POD on your favorite podcast platform for your weekly dose of founder stories and actionable insights.
To growth, creativity, and more fun in business,
The DTC POD Team
P.S. As Liz puts it—never underestimate the power of having fun with your customers and your team. It’s the hidden ingredient in every successful B2B experience. Listen now!
[Listen to the Full Episode] (insert link)
Interview Breakdown
On today’s episode of DTC POD, Liz Giorgi, co-founder and CEO of Suna, shares her journey from television editor to entrepreneur, and how she built a platform that’s shot over 5 million ecommerce assets for 15,000+ brands. Liz dives into the evolution of creative production for ecommerce, what inspired her to create Suna, and her philosophy behind building communities, scaling content, and the future of creativity in a world obsessed with AI.
Today, we’ll cover:
How Liz’s creative and entrepreneurial background led to the launch of Suna
The most important values behind Suna’s success: quality, affordability, and fun
Essential steps and lessons in launching and scaling a creative marketplace
Strategies that helped Suna grow (and a few that didn’t)
The future of ecommerce content: where authenticity stands out against AI-generated creative
DTC Pod Linkedin
@Liz Giorgi, co-founder & CEO of @Soona, joins @blaine and @ramon on this week’s episode of DTC POD!
Liz shares her journey from television editor to creative entrepreneur, building Suna into a platform that’s delivered over 5 million e-commerce assets and serves 15,000+ merchants — all by making professional photos and video accessible, fast, and fun.
We discuss how Liz’s background in broadcasting led to solving the toughest part of online selling (great product photography), the power of mission-driven business, and lessons from scaling a creative marketplace from zero to thousands of brands. Plus: Suna’s acquisition of @Trend and what the future of content creation looks like with AI and UGC.
Full episode here: [Spotify Link]
#dtcpod #ecommerce #entrepreneurship #contentcreation #ugc #brandphotography #marketplaces #founderstories
🎓 Lessons Learned
Sure! Here are 10 key lessons from the episode, each with a 5-word max title and a concise description:
Embrace Your Creative Background
Leaning into past creative experiences can help build innovative businesses and products in unexpected ways.
Purpose Fuels Entrepreneurial Drive
Searching for meaning and passion in work is a strong motivator for starting and sustaining a business.
Learn from Family Legacy
Early exposure to family entrepreneurship can shape your leadership style and sense of business community.
Be Stubborn about Impact
Stay flexible on the ‘how,’ but never compromise on the value you want to deliver customers.
Consistency Builds Customer Trust
Delivering quality, affordable, and enjoyable experiences ensures customers know what to expect every time.
Content Creation Must Be Scalable
Harness technology to streamline creation, making professional product photos and videos accessible for all brands.
Unscalable Work Grows Early Community
Founder-led outreach, weekly content, and hands-on beta testing are vital for gaining trust and early traction.
Feedback Drives Product Improvements
Ongoing dialogue with users reveals what features or pricing will actually delight and retain customers.
Good Ideas Require Experimentation
Not every new growth tactic or feature will work—learn quickly, move on, and keep iterating.
Human Creativity Beats AI Alone
Technology can support, but genuine, meaningful branding comes from humans engaging in creative direction.
💎 Maxims
Absolutely! Drawing from the insights and lived experience shared in this DTC POD episode with Liz Giorgi from Suna, here’s a list of practical maxims to live and work by:
Build on Your Roots: Recognize where your strengths and passions come from—family, mentors, or early experiences can deeply influence your purpose and drive.
Pursue Meaningful Work: Seek out endeavors that make you proud to wake up in the morning; don’t settle for spending your energy on things you don’t care about.
Let Curiosity Guide You: Embrace not knowing everything. Be endlessly curious and willing to ask questions, as curiosity is often the engine behind innovation.
Be Stubborn About the Destination, Flexible About the Path: Stay committed to your vision, but remain open to changing tactics and approaches along the way.
Start By Solving Real Problems: Identify a fundamental problem (like the need for affordable product photography) and build your business around bringing real value to people who face it.
Create With Quality, Affordability, and Fun: Set clear non-negotiables for your work or business, and let them guide your decisions. Don’t be afraid to add humanity and delight, even in “boring” industries.
Test and Learn Relentlessly: Try lots of things—even if they fail, treat them as valuable experiments rather than mistakes. Double down on what works, learn from what doesn’t, and move on quickly.
Value Community & Human Connection: Businesses, at their core, are ways to build community—among employees, customers, and even collaborators. Treasure and nurture those relationships.
Stay Close to Your Customers: Engage directly with the people you serve—ask for feedback, invite them into your process, and let them help shape the future of your product or business.
Invest in Effort, Not Just Scale: You can use technology to scale and streamline, but don’t lose sight of the human element. Sometimes, the “unscalable” things—like thoughtful communication—matter most.
Play the Long Game: Success takes time. Don’t get discouraged if things start slowly or if growth comes in waves.
Celebrate Authenticity Over Perfection: The market values authentic, human-driven content and connections. Avoid the trap of making everything generic or “AI-generated.”
Adapt, Don’t Panic: When crisis hits (like a global pandemic), look for the opportunities hidden in the challenge. Resilience and adaptability are key.
Make Things Easier for Others: People gravitate to solutions that remove friction and save them time. If you can create a true “easy button” for something hard, you’re on to something big.
Know What You Don’t Know: Be honest about your own limits and gaps—find smart partners, advisors, or acquisitions to fill them rather than trying to do it all yourself.
Cherish the Human Touch: Technology is powerful, but never underestimate the value of human creativity, input, and storytelling. The best results often come from a blend of tech and humanity.
Don’t Lose Your Sense of Fun: Even B2B can be joyful. Inject fun and personality where you can—it makes a difference in how people experience your brand and your leadership.
Understand the Nuance: Not all “creative” is the same—photography, video, UGC, and influencer content all have different systems and value. Don’t treat everything as interchangeable.
Share the Journey: As a founder or leader, be visible and vocal about your process and lessons. Storytelling is a powerful way to build trust and rally support.
Hold Space for Purpose and Legacy: Build something that outlives you, something people remember and find meaningful.
These maxims aren’t just business advice—they’re thoughtful principles for meaningful, creative, and resilient living.
🌟 3 Fun Facts
Here are 3 fun facts from this DTC POD episode with Liz Giorgi from Soona:
Liz Giorgi originally wanted to be Barbara Walters, but quickly realized she preferred working behind the camera in creative, technical roles.
The idea for Soona was inspired by wanting to make custom product photos as affordable as stock photos—striving for $39 per photo.
Soona once had to "fire" a dog model from their platform because it was too aggressive during a shoot!
📓 Blog Post
Title:
From Broadcast Editing to Ecom Photo Powerhouse: Lessons from Liz Giorgi, Cofounder and CEO of Suna
Subheader:
How a creative journey and a deep sense of purpose are reshaping the future of ecommerce content creation—plus, what brands can learn from Suna’s mission-driven approach.
The Creative Roots Behind Suna
In the latest episode of DTC POD, Liz Giorgi shares her path from aspiring broadcast journalist to becoming the CEO and cofounder of Suna, a leading ecommerce content creation platform. Though she planned to follow in the footsteps of icons like Barbara Walters, Liz discovered early that her passion lay behind the scenes, crafting stories through technical and creative production roles. Her seven-year career as a television editor—cutting for giants like Big Ten Network, CNN, BBC, and PBS—gave her firsthand insight into the mechanics of persuasive media.
Around 2013, as the web began to shift toward video, Liz noticed something pivotal. YouTube and Vimeo were, at the time, the dominant platforms for online video, and the demand for compelling video ads was exploding. However, creating those ads was an expensive, labor-intensive process. Recognizing this, Liz launched a production company that specialized in digital video content. This venture would eventually fuel her entrepreneurial journey and set the stage for Suna.
Purpose & Entrepreneurship: A Family Legacy
Where did Liz’s entrepreneurial drive come from? It turns out, her inspiration was rooted in family. Growing up, Liz was a “shop kid” in her grandfather’s canoe outfitter business in the pristine Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota. Witnessing firsthand the impact and sense of purpose that her grandfather’s business brought to both employees and customers instilled in her a hunger to craft something meaningful.
As Liz describes, a true business brings people together and builds community, whether it’s fellow employees, customers, or a broader ecosystem. Ten years into her entrepreneurial career, Liz says she’s never longed for purpose: “Entrepreneurship really gives you that sense of purpose.”
The Origin Story of Suna—and Its Competitive Edge
After selling her first agency in 2019, Liz launched Suna with her cofounder, Haley, determined to tackle an essential ecommerce problem: beautiful product photography and video, accessible at scale and an affordable price. Suna’s north star was crystal clear—quality, affordability, and fun.
Quality: A $39 photo isn’t valuable unless the quality actually delights clients.
Affordability: The price point had to empower brands, not break them.
Fun: Even in the often-stuffy world of B2B marketing, a delightful experience matters.
By automating and streamlining photo shoot prep and production—turning what once took weeks into “seven clicks”—Suna makes high-quality creative assets accessible not just for big brands, but for new entrepreneurs as well.
Building a Marketplace: Brand, Community, and Growth Hacks
Launching a creative services marketplace is notoriously tricky. Early on, Suna relied on content-driven marketing, documenting the team’s Techstars accelerator journey on YouTube week by week. This transparency and storytelling paid off: 2,000 brands signed up for Suna’s beta.
From there, Suna harnessed organic growth strategies—from offering free headshots to encouraging clients to share behind-the-scenes virtual photo shoots on social. These efforts fostered a robust, engaged community while also providing the feedback needed to rapidly iterate and improve the platform.
Serving Brands—From Startup to Scale
Whether you’re launching your first product or managing a catalog of thousands of SKUs, Suna’s process is tailored to meet your needs. The platform enables brands to plan, direct, and review shoots virtually, select unique props or professional models, collaborate with teams, and pay only for what they love. For larger brands, integration features make scaling creative up across product lines seamless.
Suna x Trend: The Future of Creative Content
Suna’s recent acquisition of Trend highlights the growing importance of user-generated content and creator-driven assets as ecommerce becomes more omnichannel. By blending Trend’s UGC expertise with Suna’s “studio-in-a-box” system, the unified company is positioned to help brands keep up with the ever-accelerating demand for fresh, authentic content across every platform.
Liz and her team are committed to staying creative-forward, human-centric, and mission-driven—even as AI and automation reshape the industry. As Liz says: “We want to be the single place for creating content online,” blending innovation with the irreplaceable art of human creativity.
Final Thoughts:
Liz’s journey offers an inspiring roadmap for building a purpose-driven, tech-enabled brand in the creator economy. For founders and marketers alike, the takeaways are clear: Stay true to your purpose, put quality and community first, and don’t be afraid to reinvent how your industry works from the ground up.
Follow Liz Giorgi and Suna at @soona studios across all platforms, and visit soona.co to learn more about their offerings for brands of all sizes.
🎤 Voiceover Script
Starting an ecommerce brand and overwhelmed by creative production? You’re not alone! Pricing, finding creators, and getting great product shots can be challenging and expensive—especially for small brands. That’s why we’re talking to Liz Giorgi, co-founder and CEO of Suna, all about making high-quality, affordable content accessible. In this episode, you’ll hear how Liz learned to combine creativity and tech, build a business with true purpose, and the three pillars every brand needs for content: quality, affordability, and fun. Plus, what most people get wrong about creative strategy—and how you can do it differently.
🔘 Best Practices Guide
Best Practices for Building a Creative, Scalable Marketplace (from DTC POD with Liz Giorgi of Suna):
Start with Mission-Led Values: Make quality, affordability, and fun core to your offering. Set clear values early and stick to them as your business scales.
Iterate with Curiosity: Approach problems with curiosity—ask questions, gather feedback, and treat experiments as tests rather than failures.
Leverage Technology for Scale: Use tech solutions to streamline processes (like planning photo shoots) and deliver consistency across creative output.
Foster Community: Build relationships with both creators and customers. Early outreach, engaging content, and a sense of community drive organic growth.
Customer Involvement: Put customers “in the director’s seat”—give them control and real-time feedback in the creative process.
Stay Adaptable: Be stubborn about your destination, but flexible on the journey. Double down on what works, and quickly let go of what doesn’t.
These principles helped Suna create 5 million ecommerce assets for 15,000 merchants.
🎆 Social Carousel: Do's/Don'ts
10 Maxims Every Retention Marketer Needs To Know
1. Don’t Chase Just Money
Instead, work backwards from your brand’s mission. Start with purpose—it drives loyalty, not just short-term profit.
2. Don’t Overcomplicate Creative
Instead, focus on delivering quality, affordable, and fun content. Keep your creative process streamlined for effectiveness.
3. Don’t Ignore Feedback
Instead, ask your customers what they want. Use their guidance to hone your product, pricing, and experience.
4. Don’t Force Boring B2B
Instead, show personality! B2B buyers are people—humanize your brand and create memorable, exciting experiences.
5. Don’t Micromanage The Process
Instead, trust your systems. Let scalable tech handle repetitive tasks so you can focus on strategy and growth.
6. Don’t Fear Failure
Instead, see everything as a test. Learn quickly, then double down on what actually works for your brand.
7. Don’t Settle For Stock Content
Instead, invest in content that’s unique to your brand. Authentic creative connects and converts much more than generic stock.
8. Don’t Neglect Community
Instead, use your brand to build genuine community. Create touchpoints where customers, employees, and partners feel connected.
9. Don’t Limit Channels
Instead, be omnichannel. Meet your customers where they are and tailor creative for each platform.
10. Don’t Ignore The ‘Easy Button’
Instead, look for ways to simplify. Use platforms and tools that let you scale high-quality creative without the headaches.
🎠 Social Carousel
10 Tips Every Ecommerce Founder Needs to Know
With Insights from Liz Giorgi, CEO of Suna (DTC POD)
1. Quality Comes First
A $39 photo only matters if it looks good. Set your bar high—always prioritize quality over price.
2. Affordable Creativity
Make cost-effective content without sacrificing style. Great creative assets shouldn’t break the bank for your business.
3. Make It Fun
B2B doesn’t have to mean boring. Fun experiences connect your customers and team to your brand.
4. Ruthless Curiosity
Stay stubborn about your destination, but curious about how you get there. Flexibility breeds breakthrough solutions.
5. Process Over Perfection
Treat everything as a test, not a mistake. Learn fast, iterate, and double down on what works.
6. Leverage Community
Your business is a way to unite people—customers, employees, or partners—around a shared passion.
7. Invest in Content
Consistent, high-quality content is the lifeblood of modern brands. Schedule time weekly to create and share.
8. Scale Smartly
Growth means more SKUs and more content. Use efficient systems and smart integrations to keep up.
9. Embrace Feedback
Ask customers what they want. Iterate products and services based on real input, not assumptions.
10. Be Omni-Channel Ready
Brands need photo, video, and UGC for every platform. Build processes that make it easy to meet audiences wherever they are.
Want more expert growth tips?
Follow us for actionable insights from top DTC founders & creative leaders! #DTCpod #EcommerceTips
One Off Tweets
If your business idea doesn’t give you a sense of purpose, you’re doing it wrong. The best ventures are built on meaning, not just money.
Every major purchase online starts with a photo. It’s the emotional “yes” or “no.” Ignore that detail, and your product is invisible.
B2B doesn’t have to stand for "boring to boring." Infuse your business with fun—people buy from people, not blue-and-grey templates.
Stubborn about the destination, flexible about the route. The outcome matters more than the method, especially when you’re building from scratch.
Early stage tip: Not knowing your first customers is a good sign. If you get strangers buying before friends and family, you’re solving a real problem.
Building a creative marketplace isn’t about the tech—it’s the relentless pursuit of quality, affordability, and a damn good experience.
Failures aren’t really failures—they’re experiments. Move on quickly, double down on what works, and don’t let botched ideas drain your energy.
You can’t scale creativity if you manage everything in spreadsheets and emails. Find ways to make complex workflows simple. That’s where the magic happens.
The best growth hacks meet people where they need help—like free headshots for professionals stuck at home. Simple, creative offerings go viral for a reason.
AI can churn out infinite content, but it can’t replace the human urge for authenticity, direction, and creative control. Don’t trade personality for shortcuts.
Twitter Post 1
This 1 growth hack helped Suna reach thousands of potential customers—fast.
Weekly YouTube updates during Techstars
They built an email list of 2,000 brands before even launching their beta!
Mindsets
If you’re a founder or creative professional building a brand in today’s fast-paced Ecommerce environment, here are three mindset shifts inspired by Liz Giorgi’s journey on DTC POD that can help you break through barriers:
💭 Shift your focus from perfection to progress. Instead of getting hung up on having the perfect plan or knowing all the answers before you start, embrace curiosity and experimentation. As Liz points out, “One of the most important qualities to have as an entrepreneur is just curiosity and not getting overly attached to how something happens, but being ruthlessly stubborn about what’s going to happen at the end.” (You don’t have to do it perfectly—just get started and adjust as you learn.)
💭 See failure as a test, not a mistake. Trying new things in business means you’ll inevitably experience some failures, but Liz reframes this: “I try not to think of things as mistakes. I try to think of them as tests that either went right or went wrong and lean into the ones that went right and let the ones that… went wrong go in the rearview mirror.” This shift can free you up to take more risks and iterate faster.
💭 Treat community-building as core to your business, not just a bonus. Liz shares how entrepreneurship gave her a sense of legacy and connection, saying, “A company is really just a way that you build a community around something…whether that’s the community of your customers or the community of your employees.” When you approach your business as a means to create real relationships, you bring meaning and energy to your work—one of the most sustainable drivers there is.
Looking for more practical insights on building a brand, creative business, or marketplace? Listen to the full episode of DTC POD to hear how Liz approaches everything from tech to team-building—and discover even more shifts that can set you up for success.
Tactics
If you’re looking for ways to uplevel your business—especially in creative, content-driven, or marketplace spaces—here are five non-obvious, actionable strategies inspired by Liz Giorgi (Soona) on DTC Pod:
🛠️ Test More Than You Expect—And Expect Most Will Flop
Liz shares openly about trying growth hacks and product features (like demo stores and SMS marketing) that totally bombed. But she never viewed these as mistakes—just tests. Shift your mindset: treat every initiative as an experiment rather than a guaranteed win. The key isn’t protecting your ego or only doing what you know will work—it's about running enough experiments so the winners reveal themselves. If you're not regularly killing off ideas, you're not innovating enough.
🛠️ Ruthlessly Focus on the Customer’s End Value—Stay Flexible on the “How”
Liz and her co-founder were always stubborn about the destination ($39 photos at high quality), but completely open to how they’d get there, letting feedback and technical partners shape the path. Hold your core promise to customers as sacred, but treat your operational approach as changing clay. Build flexibility into your execution so you can take advantage of new tech, pivots, or partnerships as they arise.
🛠️ Make Consistency Your Competitive Weapon
One of Soona’s value props is simple: affordable, high-quality photos, delivered consistently and fast. But the parallel Liz draws? It’s Starbucks—not the “best” coffee, but the same reliable experience every time. Whatever your industry, design your offerings so customers know exactly* what to expect, every single interaction. This type of reliability builds loyalty and reduces buyer hesitation.
🛠️ Build Micro-Communities Inside Your Customer Base
Don’t just serve your customers—connect them. Whether it’s letting brands direct photo shoots virtually, building a directory of talent (including the infamous dog/cat/rabbit models!), or simply cultivating people who love what you do, treat your business as an ecosystem that can spawn real relationships that ripple outward. The more you empower customers to participate or share their journey, the more organic growth you get.
🛠️ Share the Building Process—Not Just the Finished Product
During early days, Liz and Haley started a weekly YouTube channel sharing their Techstars progress, even before having a product. People are fascinated by the founder journey and want to feel part of something in motion. Even if your audience is small, public “building in the open” generates inbound interest, signals progress, and attracts customers excited to root for your success.
Experiment with one or two of these and watch for shifts in connection, loyalty, and the value your business delivers. These aren’t just hacks—they’re frameworks for sustainable growth.
In Depth Thread
Overrated: Cold outreach & spray-and-pray content.
Most early-stage founders drop $$$ on ads or blast DMs, hoping to get those first 100 customers or creators.
Underrated: Building in public + killer beta launch.
Here’s the exact strategy Suna used to onboard their first 2,000+ beta sign-ups WITHOUT fat marketing spend:
Build In Public
Suna’s founders started a weekly YouTube channel, documenting every little win and fail during Techstars. Why did this work?
Founders are magnetic. People love the behind-the-scenes, messy, “this might fail” journey.
Created real audience intent (not just eyeballs).
Beta Waitlist FuelAnnounced the beta at the end of 13 weeks.
2,000 brands signed up for access — not randoms, but qualified prospects following the journey.
No Code Red “blast this to everyone I’ve ever met” energy.
Perfect-Your-Early-AskBeta opened with clear, scarce offer: “We’re doing $100 content shoots for 200 brands.”
Immediate proof: In the first three orders, founders didn’t know the buyers—organic demand hit.
Feedback FlywheelBeta group = your first customers + your R&D team.
Ask every customer: What do you want? What sucks? What’s missing?
Let THEM shape your pricing, feature set, and positioning.
Content, Always
Even after beta: weekly content creation (LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok). The channel matters less than consistency.
Share founder lessons. Share fails, not just wins. It compounds.
Fun+Quality+Affordability
Suna made B2B feel energized (not “boring-to-boring”).
Product photos had to LOOK GOOD ($39 only matters if you love the image).
Never compromise core values just to scale quickly.
Growth Hacks That WORK
Free headshots during the pandemic—everyone needed a LinkedIn refresh and you got B2B buzz.
Encourage brands to post their virtual photoshoots online (free, viral UGC).
Obsess over your email list—a loyal audience that actually opens.
Burnout-Proof Your Progess
Do “unscalable” things at the start—founder time, custom asks, silly experiments.
Test new ideas fast, but let go of duds without ego (“failed fast” on SMS, demo stores, and—yes—hostile dog models).
If you’re stuck on audience or early demand…
Don’t “growth hack” your way out—document, invite, and listen first.
It’s less expensive, more fun, and builds lifelong fans who’ll buy again and again.
Proof: Suna shot 5 million e-commerce assets in 4 years, built a 130k+ strong IG following, and grew from 0 to 15,000+ merchants.
Classic founder move? When in doubt, hit record and ship it.
If you want to see the playbook in action, search “Suna Studios” anywhere — or just DM Liz Giorgi your favorite AI-generated headshot (she’ll have thoughts).
New Idea
Idea #1: Building Community Through Business
Use your business as a platform to create and nurture genuine communities around your brand by:
Drawing from Personal Legacy: Liz Giorgi shares how her entrepreneurial inspiration came from her grandfather’s outfitting business, which was more than just a shop—it was a community hub that meaningfully impacted people's lives. She notes, “I have met so many people who’ve worked for my grandfather, who went on a trip with my grandfather’s company, and they remember him, they remember everything that he did for them” (transcript reference).
Fostering Connections Among Customers and Creators: Liz emphasizes that a company is “a way that you build a community around something, whether that’s the community of your customers or the community of your employees… or a community of people who want to model and share themselves and share their experiences with the world.” By intentionally creating a space for collaboration, her business brings together not just buyers and sellers, but also a diverse network of creative contributors.
Prioritizing Shared Purpose and Meaning: Liz constantly returns to the idea that “starting a business and being part of a business gives a lot of purpose and meaning to life.” This sense of shared purpose is at the heart of the community building process—when team members and users feel invested in the same mission, it solidifies the bond within the business's ecosystem.
By positioning community-building at the core, businesses can foster loyalty, shared purpose, and growth that extends beyond transactions.
Tweet thread on learnings
Tweet 1:
Just listened to Liz Giorgi, CEO of @soona, on DTC POD and OMG—her approach to making creative for ecommerce brands is next-level:
🖼 5 million ecommerce assets created
🤝 15,000 merchants served
🚀 Built Suna AND acquired Trend
Here’s my #1 takeaway: Why being ruthlessly stubborn about the end goal (but flexible on how you get there) wins in modern entrepreneurship 👇
Tweet 2:
Be Stubborn About the Outcome, Flexible on the Path
Liz’s journey started dead-set on delivering affordable, high-quality creative for brands. $39 pro photos? Sounded crazy until she made it real.
She didn’t care if the “how” was agency, tech, or acquisition. What never changed: her mission.
Tweet 3:
Curiosity Eats Expertise for Breakfast
Liz didn’t know tech. She didn’t know how to build a SaaS. She just asked a ton of questions, found smart partners, and obsessed over the customer result.
Lesson: Curiosity plus mission will outpace domain expertise every time.
Tweet 4:
Consistency Is the Brand Advantage
The Suna playbook: Quality, affordability, and fun. No compromise. Every brand, every shoot—doesn’t matter if it’s your first sku or your thousandth.
That’s how you become the Starbucks of creative. Customers show up because they know exactly what they’ll get.
Tweet 5:
Your First 100 Customers Won’t Be Scalable (And That’s Fine)
Liz built Suna’s early traction by hustling: Techstars videos, content grind, free headshots, beta launches. “Unscalable, stupid things”—her words.
But those “non-scalable” moves led to product insights and real brand love.
Tweet 6:
Creative at Scale Isn’t Just for Big Brands
Suna went from helping new brands get off the ground to integrating with Shopify, Amazon, Canva—serving the $50k startup and the $100M omnichannel monster.
One workflow, endless creative, any size business.
Tweet 7:
Great Founders Build Community, Not Just Companies
Legacy matters: Liz saw it firsthand from her grandfather’s Minnesota canoe outfitter days. The magic is in the relationships (employees, partners, customers, even dog and cat models).
It’s how you go from selling a service to building an ecosystem.
Tweet 8:
Why AI Won’t Replace Real Creative (Yet)
AI can generate content, sure. But brands want control, direction, and authenticity. They want to build real stories around real products.
AI’s coming, but human-led creative is still the only way to stand out.
Tweet 9:
If You’re Building Anything—Set Your North Star, Stay Curious, and Don’t Overthink the Route
The Suna and Trend story proves it: Know where you’re going, stay customer-obsessed, and let the “how” figure itself out as you grow.
That’s the secret formula—straight from one of the best builders in ecommerce creative.
LinkedIN - Start from Scratch
If I was building a modern creative brand from scratch in 2024, here’s the playbook I’d use (inspired by Liz Giorgi’s story on DTC POD):
To win in product-based ecommerce today, you need to crack three things:
• Stand out with premium content
• Scale your creative without bottlenecks
• Actually have fun with your brand
So…
How do you produce content that’s high quality, affordable, and drives growth—even if you’re small?
It comes down to the Creative Content Formula Liz used to scale Suna to 15,000+ merchants and 5 million ecommerce assets.
There are 3 pillars:
Quality: No one cares if your photo was cheap if it’s bad. (“A $39 photo is only exciting if you like the $39 photo.” – Liz)
Affordability: Brands need to create a LOT of assets, often with limited resources. Streamline price and process.
Fun/Experience: B2B ≠ Boring to Boring. Make it enjoyable for your customers (and your team).
Most founders mess up by over-engineering either quality or price, and ignore the process. Or they think they can do it all with AI or DIY—you can’t scale that way.
What works instead?
Step 1: Build systems that let you scale creative workflows.
Use tech to eliminate friction in planning, production, and delivery.
Give brands real control (let them “sit in the director’s chair” virtually).
Make the process as easy as clicking a button (Liz: “five minutes to build a shoot of your dreams”).
Step 2: Focus on community—not just customers.
Early on, create LOTS of content. (YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, newsletters—be everywhere).
Don’t obsess over vanity metrics. Focus on depth of value.
Involve your audience in the process (beta programs, feedback loops).
Step 3: Keep testing, but don’t get precious.
Almost every big win came from testing 20 ideas, not one.
Some bets flop (Liz: “nobody wanted B2B SMS or demo stores”), but others go viral (like Suna’s free headshot program).
TL;DR: Make content creation feel premium, easy, and actually enjoyable. Empower your customers and lean into authenticity over automation.
The real “easy button” for creative is a mix of smart tech, relentless community-building, and a refusal to settle for boring.
Your turn—what’s working for you when it comes to scaling content for your brand? Where are you getting stuck?
—
Full episode with Liz Giorgi goes deep on this: https://lnkd.in/efwD6J9y
Want more behind-the-scenes as Suna and Trend join forces? Follow along!
Future State, 6 reasons post
In 4 years, Suna helped 15,000 merchants create 5 million e-commerce assets—helping brands launch faster, look professional, and win on every omnichannel platform. But there’s a massive gap in how brands tackle creative at scale. If brands adopt a new approach to creative production, they can unlock bigger growth and higher performance—without the pain, cost, or wasted time of legacy systems.
BACKGROUND:
E-commerce runs on content. Every shopping journey starts with a photo, a video, or a scroll-stopping creative. But creating and scaling that content is still clunky, expensive, and slow for most brands.
Old way of doing creative:
Siloed processes and scattered spreadsheets
Weeks of back-and-forth with agencies for a handful of assets
One-size-fits-all imagery that looks like everyone else’s stock content
Lack of creative control for the brand
Painful logistics managing models, props, and locations for every shoot
No workflow to capture data or feedback in real time
The future of creative:
Centralized content production: one platform for all product photos, campaign images, UGC, and video needs
Real-time collaboration: brands in the director’s seat, giving live feedback during virtual shoots
Affordable custom content at the speed of your ideas, not agency timelines
Direct integrations with e-commerce platforms (Shopify, Amazon, Canva, BigCommerce)
Professionalized workflows—discovery, booking, and managing models/creators in a few clicks
Data-driven feedback loops to make every shoot easier and more effective
At Suna, we’ve seen first-hand how collapsing dozens of manual steps into a structured, tech-powered process doesn’t just un-bottleneck creative—it levels up campaigns, conversion, and results.
HOWEVER…
Brands are still grinding through the old pain for most creative production. If you want to scale content for hundreds of SKUs or try new channels like TikTok, you hit the same walls—messy logistics, lack of control, unpredictable cost, and slow turnaround.
Here are my 6 recommendations to break through and build a future-proof creative operation:
Centralize Creative Planning: Use a single platform for campaign planning, asset requirements, and shoot logistics—ditch the spreadsheets and manual wrangling.
Integrate Directly with Your E-commerce Stack: Plug into Shopify, Amazon, BigCommerce, and Canva so you can push, pull, and manage assets in every channel—no messy downloads or manual uploads.
Put Your Team in the “Director’s Seat”: Leverage tech to offer real-time collaboration—join shoots virtually, pick and favorite assets, and give feedback instantly.
Automate Professional Talent Booking: Use directories to quickly find and book models, stylists, or even pet talent, so you’re never stuck trying to coordinate talent across emails and DMs.
Prioritize Consistency & Fun in Brand Experience: Don’t settle for boring B2B. Demand a process that delivers high-quality content, matches your vision, and actually delights your team and customers.
Ruthlessly Test, Learn, and Iterate: Every growth hack or creative tactic is a test. Double down on what works, but move on quickly from duds—and make space to keep your strategy fresh and adaptive.
If e-commerce content is only growing more important, isn’t it time our creative workflows actually caught up?
What’s the one thing you wish creative production platforms could do for your brand—or the single biggest pain point you’re still struggling with in getting campaign-ready assets out the door? Drop your thoughts below!
About the Episode
Liz Giorgi is the co-founder and CEO of Suna, an innovative platform streamlining product photography and video production for e-commerce brands. With a creative background in television editing and a deep-rooted entrepreneurial spirit inspired by her grandfather, Liz has built Suna into a powerhouse serving over 15,000 merchants and producing more than five million assets in just four years.
In this episode of DTC POD, Liz shares a transparent look at the strategies that powered Suna’s rapid growth. One of her foundational approaches was prioritizing quality, affordability, and fun in every aspect of the customer experience—balancing these values while staying ruthlessly focused on delivering great value at a breakthrough price point. Liz talks about starting with deep curiosity, keeping customers engaged in the creative process, and relentlessly gathering feedback to improve the platform. Early growth came from resourceful tactics like building an email list via a YouTube channel documenting their Techstars journey and executing a viral “free headshots” campaign that delighted users and sparked organic sharing.
Liz also breaks down Suna’s method for scaling both content production and its creator network, highlighting the importance of integrating technical solutions into logistics-heavy workflows and meeting brands wherever they sell online. She advocates for being “stubborn about the destination, but flexible about the journey,” trying new initiatives, quickly learning from experiments that don’t work, and shifting focus to what generates real value for customers. The episode wraps with a discussion of Suna’s acquisition of Trend, the evolving omnichannel content landscape, and the future role of AI in creative work.
Episode Summary
Liz Giorgi is the co-founder and CEO of Suna, a platform making high-quality, affordable product photography and creative content accessible to e-commerce brands at scale. With a background in broadcast and TV editing, Liz’s entrepreneurial drive was inspired by her family’s business roots and fueled by her passion for creativity and storytelling.
In this episode of DTC Pod, Liz shares the story behind Suna’s growth, from the early days of production agency work to building a tech-enabled marketplace for brand content. She discusses strategies for launching and scaling a creative marketplace, the importance of quality, affordability, and fun in B2B services, and how Suna helps brands get professional photos and videos quickly and efficiently. Liz also touches on the evolution of content needs for e-commerce, lessons learned from experimentation, and her perspective on AI in the creative process.
Success Strategies
Ruthlessly prioritize quality, affordability, and fun in your creative output
Liz Giorgi’s core framework for Soona’s success boils down to three pillars: quality, affordability, and a sense of fun. A $39 photo only matters if it looks incredible—a cheap but mediocre asset moves the needle for no one. Make sure your content is both delightful and consistently high standard, without breaking your customer's bank. Injecting a sense of fun or personality into what is often a dry, transactional B2B process (think: creative direction, playful props, memorable customer experiences) further differentiates your brand and keeps people coming back—even in crowded categories.
Give customers a front-row seat in their content’s creation
A key insight from Soona’s growth is letting brand owners step into the director’s chair. By developing real-time, virtual photo shoot experiences, Soona empowers clients to give live feedback and see images as they’re shot—something that’s typically locked behind agency or freelancer workflow. For DTC brands, find ways to bring customers into the creative journey, whether it’s real-time collaboration, interactive previews, or feedback loops. The result? More control for the customer, higher satisfaction, and assets that truly fit their needs.
Treat content creation as a scalable system, not a one-off project
Whether you’re a startup or a $100M brand, your future depends on an always-on engine for creative. Giorgi’s approach at Soona was shaped by her observation that every item bought online demands top-notch visuals—and there is simply no way to keep up with demand via manual, one-off shoots or piecemeal creator outreach. Build processes, tech integrations, and marketplaces that can handle content needs at scale. Think integrations (with platforms like Shopify or Amazon), large pro networks (models, stylists, creators), and workflow automation. It’s about building an infrastructure that turns product photography and video from time-sucking chaos into an efficient, repeatable business asset.
Success Strategies v2
Make Creativity Consistent, Affordable, and Fun
Struggling to create standout content without breaking the bank? Liz Giorgi swears by a simple but powerful formula: focus on quality, affordability, and fun.
Here’s how Liz’s approach plays out:
Consistent quality: Even at scale and lower prices, every single asset needs to meet a high bar—because a cheap photo isn’t exciting if it’s not actually good.
Affordability: Set a price point that feels like a no-brainer compared to what’s out there. Suna’s north star was delivering a custom photo for less than a standard stock image.
Fun: Even if you’re selling in the “boring” B2B world, inject some personality and delight into the experience. People want to enjoy the process, not just the result.
For DTC brands, this means creating an asset production workflow that’s reliable, budget-friendly, and actually enjoyable for your team and your customers. Take a hard look at your current creative process: Is it consistent? Does it make people smile? If not, brainstorm ways to inject a little more fun and personality while keeping standards high.
As you build out your content engine, remember: Sustained success happens when quality, value, and delight all show up together.
Get Ruthlessly Curious—and Ruthlessly Stubborn—About the Customer Outcome
DTC isn’t a straight line. New challenges pop up constantly (tech headaches, workflow bottlenecks, shifting consumer expectations). Liz’s strategy? Obsess over your desired customer outcome, but stay flexible about how you get there.
Her recommendation:
Be endlessly curious. Ask questions, dig into pain points, and don’t get hung up on your first idea of how things "should" work.
Partner with thought leaders and technical experts who can help shape and stress test your vision.
Stay stubborn about your end goal (for Suna, that meant $39 photos that brands actually want), but open to any journey it takes to get there.
For your team, this means always listening to customers, running small tests, and iterating quickly. Don’t lock in on tactics—lock in on results. If a process, channel, or growth hack isn’t working, ditch it. Double down on what delivers real value for your customers.
Let Customer Feedback and Early Community Drive Your Roadmap
When Liz and her co-founder were building Suna, they didn’t start with a perfect tech platform or massive network—instead, they built an early community, shared their journey on YouTube, and invited feedback at every step.
How to apply this strategy to your DTC brand:
Start building an audience before your full product launch with behind-the-scenes content, weekly updates, and sneak peeks.
Don’t be precious about who your “beta customers” are—invite lots of feedback, and let your first real orders come from outside your personal network.
After every customer interaction or campaign, ask detailed questions: What did you like? What would make it better? What would get you to share this with a friend?
Use genuine feedback to refine pricing, features, and experience—not just to validate what you already think.
By staying close to your early customers and involving them in your process, you’ll create a brand that people actually want to champion. It’s the fastest way to spot product-market fit, build loyalty, and spark the kind of word-of-mouth growth you just can’t buy.
Remember: In DTC, your community isn’t just your audience—it’s your research lab, creativity engine, and early sales team all rolled into one.
Castmagic LinkedIn Post
The fastest way to kill a brand's growth? Weak creative.
On this episode of DTC POD, Liz Giorgi — co-founder & CEO of Suna (5M+ ecom assets created, 15k+ merchants served) — joins Blaine Bolus and Ramon Berrios.
We dig into how Liz’s creative + founder journey led her from TV editing to building one of the top platforms for scalable ecommerce content. You’ll learn why photography is the #1 conversion lever for online brands, how Suna scaled a two-week photoshoot process to just seven clicks, what brands get wrong about UGC and content consistency, and how the Suna + Trend acquisition is building the “easy button” for brands that need to scale creative across every channel.
Listen to the full episode here: [link]
#shopify #dtc #ecommerce
IG Reel Vids
Liz Giorgi went from editing TV at networks like CNN and PBS to co-founding Suna—a platform that’s already produced over 5 million ecommerce assets for 15,000 brands. After selling her first company in 2019, Liz teamed up with Haley Anderson to make high-quality, affordable product photos as easy to get as stock images. The trick? Bringing creativity, technology, and a little bit of fun to a space most brands found expensive and painful. Suna nailed the process so well that even during the pandemic, brands flocked for their virtual photo shoots and innovative growth hacks like free headshots. And now, with the recent acquisition of UGC platform Trend, Liz is going all-in to make Suna the one-stop shop for every kind of creative a brand needs to scale online. From scrappy TV editor to building the “Canva for content creation,” Liz Giorgi and Suna are setting a new standard for ecommerce brands everywhere.
IG Video
You’ve probably seen countless product photos online, but did you know there’s a company behind over 5 million e-commerce images—one you’ve likely never heard of? It’s called Suna, co-founded by Liz Giorgi, who started her journey as a television editor and content creator. Liz saw how crucial great visuals were for online shopping, but also how expensive and slow content creation could be. With her partner Haley, she set out to make professional photos and videos as affordable as $39—yes, less than a stock photo.
But here’s the game-changer: Suna puts brands in the director’s seat, letting them join virtual shoots, pick props, even choose their own models—without the headache of spreadsheets and endless planning. Today, over 15,000 brands trust Suna to power their visuals, from scrappy startups to major e-commerce names. Suna proves the fastest way to stand out online is to make the content process fun, affordable, and focused on real customer needs.
📢 Short VO
What’s the secret to making ecommerce content at scale—without sacrificing quality, speed, or personality? That’s exactly what we get into on this episode with Liz Giorgi, co-founder and CEO of Suna. Liz started her career aiming to be the next Barbara Walters, then pivoted behind the scenes as a broadcast editor, clocking time at places like CNN, BBC, and PBS before jumping headfirst into entrepreneurship. After selling her first video production company in 2019, she launched Suna with the radical idea that product photos should be just as affordable and easy as stock images—but way better.
In this episode, Liz breaks down the evolution of ecommerce content: from the days when a YouTube ad was a $10,000 production to today’s demand for endless, thumb-stopping visuals across every possible channel. She shares how she built Suna’s marketplace from the ground up, why purpose (and a little obsession) fuels her as a founder, and the mindset shifts it takes to turn creative chaos into a streamlined tech company. We also get into the behind-the-scenes tactics—including the headshot hack that went viral—and talk through what works, what completely flopped, and how to keep it fun even when you’re scaling up to serve 15,000 brands and counting. If you geek out over creative systems, startup origin stories, or the future of brand content on the Internet, this is the episode for you. Check it out and let me know what stands out.
Hormozi Prompt
When I started my first business, we didn’t have a massive following.
We didn’t have a big email list.
We didn’t have a fancy product demo.
We didn’t have connections to famous investors.
We didn’t have a deck that would get us millions in funding overnight.
We didn’t have all the right answers.
So, what did we do?
We made a YouTube channel.
We filmed a video every single week, sharing exactly what we were building.
We showed the messy, behind-the-scenes stuff—our progress, our missteps, and our vision.
We built an email list from scratch, one subscriber at a time.
We invited people to be part of our beta.
We listened to every single customer who gave us feedback.
We kept showing up, even when nobody was watching.
This got us to 2,000 brands interested in our beta.
This got us our first customers—real people we’d never met before.
This helped us launch Suna as it is today.
There’s always some “playbook” advice floating around:
“Just launch your product.”
“Go viral.”
“Content is king.”
But here’s what worked for us: extreme focus.
Build something simple.
Tell your story.
Do things that don’t scale.
Actually talk to your customers.
Iterate fast.
It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t overnight. But it worked.
You don’t need everything figured out on day one. Just start. Be relentless. Listen closely.
Figure out what’s right for you—and go win.
Timestamps Trial
00:00 Liz Giorgi’s creative background and entry into entrepreneurship
03:25 Early days of online video, launching a production company
05:18 Inspiration from family and the entrepreneurial drive
07:46 Purpose, meaning, and community in entrepreneurship
09:11 Working backwards from mission; selling agency, founding Suna
09:57 Transitioning from agency to tech—building a scalable company
12:20 Product requirements and the role of curiosity in building Suna
12:55 Suna’s three pillars: quality, affordability, and making it fun
14:18 Defining values and sticking to the company vision
15:46 Marketplace startups: balancing creator supply and customer demand
17:40 Building Suna’s creator network, product development, and Techstars
20:45 Growth hacking during the pandemic: remote headshots and sharing shoots
24:06 Growth strategies that didn’t work, learning from experiments
26:43 Importance of perspective and learning from failed growth tactics
27:40 Customer journey: How brands use Suna to get product creative
32:09 Scaling content for large brands: product catalogs, integration, model directory
34:24 Suna’s acquisition of Trend: rationale and blending high-touch and distributed creative
35:17 Why Trend acquisition made sense for Suna’s omnichannel vision
38:15 Ramon’s perspective: building a destination for all types of brand creative
39:59 Different creative systems: the nuance of influencer, UGC, and product photography
41:04 The “easy button” for creative: vision for a Canva-like solution
42:48 AI and creative direction: what brands truly need
43:35 Why AI is not the whole answer for brand content
46:40 The human touch in creativity and content creation
49:11 The importance of authenticity vs. artificial intelligence
51:01 The future for Suna and Trend together
51:53 Where to find Liz, Suna, and learn more online
Custom LinkedIN Post Format
If I had to quickly scale creative assets for a new e-commerce brand (without breaking the bank), here’s the exact strategy I’d use:
(This is the system Liz Giorgi, CEO of Suna, uncovered after producing 5 MILLION+ e-comm assets and partnering with 15k+ merchants to make photo and video content accessible, fast, and high quality—no matter your size or budget.)
There are 3 things you must nail to get content that actually drives purchase decisions:
• Quality (people only care about visuals they WANT to use)
• Affordability (a great shot shouldn’t cost more than a “crappy stock photo”)
• EXPERIENTIAL process (brands don’t just want assets, they want to be part of the story)
Here’s how I’d go about it…
Take the pain out of content planning
Traditional shoots = weeks of spreadsheets, calls, and stress.
Instead, use a platform (like Suna) where shoot planning is a matter of a few clicks—pick your backgrounds, props, models, even pets, all in one flow.
What used to take 2-3 weeks? Down to minutes.
Create REAL creative, not generic assets
It’s about quality first, always. A cheap photo’s only valuable if you LOVE it.
Make sure every image or video clip is something you’re proud to put on your product page, social, or ad.
Brands now expect direct input—see assets in real-time during virtual shoots, give feedback, and keep what you love.
This isn’t stock or AI-generated sameness. It’s your brand, your way.
Make content creation FUN (yes, even for B2B brands)
Let’s be honest: most B2B tech and platforms are boring to the point of painful.
So Suna built fun right into the process. Play with backdrops. Collaborate live. Make it an experience for YOU, not just your product.
Turns out, when you treat customers like real humans, they share the results everywhere (LinkedIn, Instagram), fueling organic growth.
A few extra pro tips:
• Focus on speed—turnaround in days, not months
• Make feedback & iteration seamless (brands want control, not just a black box)
• Build a creative system that scales with you: starter brand to enterprise, one SKU or 500+
• Don’t copy others—chase what’s distinct to your brand, not what an algorithm says is “normal”
The best brands invest in creative that feels personal, custom, and authentic (stock/A.I. assets = last-resort, not best-in-class).
Creative is the KEY lever for e-commerce differentiation and conversion—treat it like your secret weapon, not just an expense.
If you want to dive deeper, check out the latest DTC POD episode with Liz Giorgi (Suna CEO) for real-world examples, playbooks, and growth stories:
https://www.dtcpod.com/
#dtcpod #ecommerce #creative #contentstrategy #ugc #branding
WEEKLY LINKEDIN SAMPLE POST
If I had to launch a DTC brand and needed affordable, high-quality content FAST, here’s the exact blueprint I’d use (straight from Liz Giorgi, Suna’s CEO, who’s powered 5 million Ecommerce assets for 15,000+ brands):
To make your brand look pro online, dial in 3 things:
• Focus on stunning visuals (it’s the #1 purchase driver)
• Make creative production easy and scalable
• Prioritize quality AND fun in your process
Here’s how:
Make creating photos/videos “one-click” simple.
Don’t get stuck in spreadsheets and endless calls.
Use a platform (like Suna) where you plan, direct, and get your assets—all in one place.
Upload your shots list, pick props and models from a directory, and select backdrops and styles… all online. It should take minutes, not weeks.
Emphasize affordability—but never sacrifice quality.
Liz’s rule: “A $39 photo is only exciting if you like the $39 photo.”
High quality at a fair price is the sweet spot for early-stage AND scaling brands.
Pro tip: Only pay for the content you want to keep. This keeps things affordable but still gets you the best shots for your storefront and ads.
Don’t make content production boring.
B2B doesn’t have to mean “boring to boring.”
Inject your brand’s personality into the process—choose fun, vibrant backdrops, show up live virtually to direct shoots, collaborate like you’re on set (even if you’re remote).
Great brands build an emotional connection. Let your story and style come through in your visuals.
Bonus moves:
• Leverage growth hacks (like free headshots or live sharing your shoots on IG Stories) to get organic buzz and visibility.
• Integrate with your Ecommerce stack (Shopify, Amazon, Canva) for seamless content delivery where you need it most.
• Consistently solicit customer feedback after shoots to keep improving your process and results.
Remember: Social is rented land, but your photos and videos are assets you control—use them everywhere from PDP to ads to email.
And if you want a taste of what a “done-for-you” scalable creative pipeline feels like, Suna has cracked the code (Liz’s playbook is straight from the best in the business).
Catch the full episode with Liz Giorgi (Suna) on DTC POD for even more behind-the-scenes stories and tactics:
https://www.dtcpod.com/
#dtcpod #ecommerce #contentcreation #brandstrategy #founderplaybook
dtcpod newsletter NEW (test)
Liz Giorgi is the co-founder and CEO of Suna, a fast-scaling platform for ecommerce content creation. With roots in broadcast journalism and a distinguished career as a TV editor (PBS, CNN, BBC), Liz transitioned into entrepreneurship in 2013 when she started a production company focused on video ads for YouTube—the era when “uploading video” meant YouTube or Vimeo, and a single video could cost upwards of $10K. After scaling and exiting her agency, she launched Suna in 2019, capitalizing on the clear need: nearly everything bought online depends on compelling photography, yet quality content is often inaccessible for emerging brands.
What you’ll learn:
Why the emotional connection triggered by product photography is the decisive buying factor online.
How Liz’s experience as a “shop kid” in her grandfather’s canoe outfitter fueled her relentless pursuit of entrepreneurship and purpose-driven work.
The three pillars that make Suna stand out: quality, affordability, and a commitment to making the creative process genuinely fun—even in the “boring to boring” world of B2B tools.
The exact playbook Liz and her co-founder used: from early Techstars acceptance, building a beta waitlist of 2,000 brands, to converting those to customers through community-building content and hands-on feedback loops.
How Suna streamlined a traditionally chaotic, weeks-long photoshoot planning process into a seven-click, five-minute workflow, making high-quality content accessible to brands of all sizes.
Counterintuitive bets that worked (and failed)—from free headshot campaigns to abandoned SMS marketing efforts, including the surprising challenges of running a “dog model” directory.
The unique marketplace dynamics behind Suna and why their real-time, virtual shoot experience unlocks creative direction and brand buy-in—especially relevant as ecommerce content needs continue to explode across new channels.
How the Trend acquisition fits into a thesis that shopping is becoming a “feature of everything on the internet”—making authentic, context-specific, multi-format content more essential than ever before.
Why Liz is “stubborn about the destination, flexible about the path,” and how founder-level content creation remains at the heart of Suna’s growth strategy.
Insights on the limitations of AI-generated content and the enduring power of authenticity, creativity, and human connection in building brand value online.
Some takeaways:
Suna took off by delivering on a simple but powerful proposition: $39 photos and $93 video clips, professionally shot, delivered fast, with clients able to direct their shoot in real time—all born from Liz’s obsession with eliminating the pain points of legacy ad agencies and one-off freelancers.
Early growth hacks like free professional headshot events helped Suna win word-of-mouth in B2B circles, turning otherwise mundane corporate tasks into shareable, delightful brand experiences.
Even as brands move omnichannel, Suna’s integrations with Shopify, Amazon, BigCommerce, and soon Canva make scaling creative assets for hundreds of SKUs as easy as launching a single product—with catalog-level automation and multi-seat team collaboration.
Not every experiment lands: initiatives like SMS marketing, demo stores, or managing animal talent can fall flat—but rapid testing and a willingness to “let the ones that went wrong go in the rearview mirror” keep progress moving.
The acquisition of Trend builds on Suna’s mission to become the universal content engine for ecommerce—offering professional-grade UGC and influencer content seamlessly alongside premium photography and video.
AI tools may generate content, but Suna’s belief is that brand owners want to be “in the director’s seat,” controlling vision, quality, and authenticity—elements where AI still falls short.
Liz credits her entrepreneurial drive to her grandfather’s legacy, seeking not just commercial success but lasting impact and community—evident in the enduring stories and connections forged through family business.
Where to find Liz Giorgi and Suna:
• Suna: https://suna.co
• Suna + Trend: https://suna.co/trend
• Liz Giorgi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizgiorgi/
• Suna Studios on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube: @sunastudios
• Liz Giorgi on X and all platforms: @lizgiorgi
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Liz’s path from broadcast journalism to agency founder to Suna CEO
(04:30) Lessons from building early video ad production in the YouTube era
(07:46) Entrepreneurship as a source of meaning—and the “shop kid” upbringing
(12:20) How Suna’s technology-driven approach cracked the quality/price/speed triangle
(15:46) Beta launch tactics: Techstars, content-driven waitlist building, and the first non-friend customer
(20:45) Growth hacking with free headshots and viral photo shoot experiences
(24:27) Hard-won lessons from failed bets and risky experiments
(27:40) The Suna content creation workflow—planners’ POV and seamless team execution
(32:09) Scaling enterprise: why large brands turn to Suna for hundreds of SKUs
(34:24) The strategic rationale for acquiring Trend and building a content “easy button”
(41:04) Differentiating real creative work from AI-generated commoditization
(51:17) Suna’s vision: becoming the single destination for content creation online
(51:53) Where to learn more, connect, and get involved
Referenced:
• Techstars: https://www.techstars.com/
• Trend: https://trend.io/
• Amazon App for Suna: https://apps.shopify.com/suna-studios
• BigCommerce and Canva integrations (coming soon)
• Related creative tools: Istock, Adobe, Canva
Key quotes:
“The photo is the most important part of the purchase making decision. It’s the thing that makes you emotionally go, yes, I want that, or no, I don’t want that.”
—Liz Giorgi
“My philosophy has always been: be stubborn about the destination, but be flexible about how you get there. You don’t always know what’s going to work, but you keep moving ahead.”
—Liz Giorgi
“There needs to be a Canva for the actual content generation. That [means] hitting the easy button on content creation. And I think we are really well positioned to do that now.”
—Liz Giorgi
“If all of society has decided creativity is dead ... and we all want to look at hyper-imaginative images of the world generated by AI for the rest of time, then that’s a world other people can go participate in. For me, I’ll go grow yams or something, because that’s not what I want to do with my life.”
—Liz Giorgi
[New] Show Notes
Episode Summary
Liz Giorgi is the co-founder & CEO of Suna, a creative platform powering content creation for ecommerce brands. In this episode, Liz reveals her founder journey from broadcast journalism to building Suna, which has created over 5 million ecommerce assets for 15,000 merchants. She explains how Suna leverages technology to deliver high-quality, affordable, and fun product photography and video at scale. Liz also dives deep on building marketplace networks, growth strategies, the realities of entrepreneurship, and why authentic human creativity will never be fully replaced by AI.
Episode Notes
Liz Giorgi is a lifelong creator who initially trained for broadcast journalism before pivoting behind-the-scenes, editing for major networks like CNN, BBC, and PBS. Her fascination with online video in 2013 led to a first agency exit, then co-founding Suna in 2019 with her partner Haley. Suna’s mission: make great, custom ecommerce photos and videos as affordable as stock content—delivered quickly and with an enjoyable experience.
On this episode of DTC POD, Liz shares the inspiration from her entrepreneurial grandfather, the lessons from her agency days, and how she and her team have tackled the pain points of marketplace startups, navigating B2B “boring” culture, setting values that stick, and using creativity and technology to scale. Liz also discusses Suna’s recent acquisition of UGC platform Trend, balancing AI with authenticity, and her vision for the future of scalable brand content creation.
On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:
Liz’s creative roots and journey to entrepreneurship
Early agency experience and spotting video trends
Building Suna from agency exit to Techstars
Challenges and strategies for scaling marketplace businesses
Growth hacks: Free headshots, leveraging LinkedIn and Instagram
Suna’s “north star” values—quality, affordability, and fun
The virtual photo shoot experience for brands
Scaling content for both startups and large brands
Suna’s acquisition of Trend and synergy in creative systems
The limitations of AI in creative production
Authenticity in brand content and the irreplaceable human touch
Liz’s philosophy on learning, failing, and testing
The vision for making scalable, brand-first creative accessible to all
Timestamps
00:01:35 Liz’s background: From aspiring broadcaster to TV editor
00:03:50 Launching an agency focused on online video content
00:05:54 Inspiration from her entrepreneurial family legacy
00:09:57 Entering Techstars and going from idea to product
00:12:55 Suna’s core values: Quality, affordability, and fun
00:15:46 Marketplace dynamics: Building a creator network & customer base
00:20:45 Early growth: Free headshots and viral photo shoot experiences
00:24:27 Growth experiments that failed (and what was learned)
00:27:40 The virtual photo shoot: How Suna works for brand clients
00:32:42 Scaling content for enterprise brands through integrations
00:35:09 Suna x Trend: The decision and vision behind the acquisition
00:38:15 Why brands need omnichannel creativity and platform-agnostic content
00:43:35 AI as tool vs. authentic human creative: What sets real content apart
00:51:17 Liz’s vision: Suna as the home for online creative production
00:51:53 Where to find Liz and Suna online
For more on Suna, visit suna.co. Connect with Liz Giorgi on all platforms @lizgiorgi and follow Suna Studios everywhere online.
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