<<< Return to The Lead Summit
REGISTER NOW

Return to The Lead Summit

The Focus For 2026:

Engage in discussions on the future of the industry and how you can take advantage of it. Walk away with practical, real-time strategies and tactics to get better at your every day.

How can you utilize powerful storytelling to build your brand and cultivate community?

How can emerging platforms like TikTok Shop and ChatGPT help you win customers?

How can you optimize wholesale and retail to scale profitably?

Which AI-based solutions can help you operate like a big brand but on a limited budget?

How to strike the right balance between paid and organic marketing to drive real growth?

Sign Up for Updates

See last year’s agenda

The DTC Symposium is co-located at The Lead Summit, designed for DTC practitioners and welcomes scaled brands alike. Your ticket to The Lead Summit grants you access to The DTC Symposium.

SESSION 1

DTC Symposium Welcome Remarks

Sonal Gandhi, Chief Content Officer, The Lead

SESSION 2

Keynote: Building a High-Growth Brand in 2025

Maarten Bodewes, Co-Founder, Loop Earplugs

Gabrielle Fonrouge, Retail Reporter, CNBC

SESSION 3 A

Build a Brand & Community Through Power of Storytelling and Social Media

Jacob Zuppke, CEO, Whisker

Sabeen Mian, President, Lash Division, Performance Beauty Group

Jake Karls, Co- Founder, Mid-Day Squares

Colin Daniels, Marketing Strategist, It’s Colin Daniels (Moderator)

SESSION 3 A

Do More with Less and Creatively Compete with Big Brands with Big Budgets

Lexi Kaminer, Sr Director, Ecommerce and Growth, Outset

Ankur Goyal, SVP, Growth, Coterie

Minali Chatani, Executive Creative Director, FARRYNHEIGHT (Moderator)

SESSION 4 A

Deploy Out-of-The Box Thinking to Build Business Models and Achieve Growth in Today’s Evolving Landscape

Melanie Travis, Founder and CEO, Andie

Emily Hosie, Founder & CEO, REBEL

Richard Kestenbaum, Partner, Triangle Capital | Contributor, Forbes.com

SESSION 4 B

Maximise the Post-Purchase Revenue Opportunity (Case Study)

Cael Schwartz, Head of Growth, Mugsy

Ronak Patel, VP, Marketing, Moonbrew

Dhruv Patel, Founder & CEO, Aftersell by Rokt

Networking Break

CEO Mixer

SESSION 5 A

Update Your Go-to-Market Approach to Keep up with Changing Times

John Stellato, President and CEO, Hydrow

Gabrielle Fonrouge, Retail Reporter, CNBC

SESSION 5 B

Measure Cross-Channel Performance Accurately and Consistently (Case Study)

Scott Kramer, VP, Growth Marketing, AS Beauty

Anthony DelPizzo, Director, Product Marketing, Triple Whale (Interviewer)

SESSION 6 A

Build and Scale Your Brand on TikTok Shops

Stormi Steele, CEO, Canvas Beauty

Jonathan Cohen, CMO, Pure Daily Care & Aquasonic

Leslie Ann Hall, CEO and Founder, Iced Media (Moderator)

SESSION 6 B

Build Profitable Wholesale Strategies for Long-Term Growth

Vanessa Urenda, Co-Founder & Chief Omni-Channel Officer, ADA Collection

Robbie Salter. Founder & Co-CEO, Jupiter

Liza Amlani, Principal and Co-Founder, Retail Strategy Group (Moderator)

THE DTC PITCH COMPETITION

Eight emerging brands take the stage for a six-minute pitch which will include the business’s origin story, the market opportunity, and how the brand is poised to take advantage of it. A panel of experts will pose questions and the audience will get to vote for their favorite brand with the most compelling business proposition!

Featuring:

Angel Margarita

SMEARCASE

Outlines

The Next Great American

Lager

Spoonful

Safely

LINK x LOU

Sweetums

THE DTC SYMPOSIUM

Closing Cocktails