Advice Line with Seth Berkowitz of Insomnia Cookies

How I Built This · 22 Oct 2026 · 39m

What this episode covers

Seth Berkowitz, founder and CEO of Insomnia Cookies, advises three callers on scaling physical product businesses. He discusses Insomnia's strategy of owning and operating stores to maintain quality and control innovation, aiming for 1,800 locations without franchising. He advises Kahindo's Kohindo Matene to focus on her best-selling special occasion wear and smaller boutiques rather than broad digital ads, and suggests Sauna Societé's Tara Gilman leverage in-person education and B2B spa partnerships to overcome the 'education gap' for sauna hats. Finally, he counsels Desden's Carol Deshaun to target the end-user student for cultural relevance while managing 90 university licenses.

Mentioned

Companies
Insomnia Cookies, Kahindo, Sauna Societé, Desden, Anthropologie, Rent the Runway, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's
Products
Cleopatra dress, Hadiza dress, Ada tunic, Egypt pants, Clear stadium bags

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