The Future of DTC: Why Brands Must Become Media Companies

There is one thing that will make or break your company!!

How tightly are you holding onto the past version of yourself?

One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from a book I have never opened… just read the title: what got you here won’t get you there.

You cannot build an amazing company if you are stuck to the past version of it. And you definitely can’t scale if you refuse to evolve!

I know this because Portland Leather has reinvented itself more times than I can count and every change pushed us in the direction we needed to go in to get to 9-figures.

How much has Portland Leather changed? (And what got us to 9-figures)

Year 1: me, a garage, and leather journals sold at art fairs.

Year 2: moved to Etsy, paid a few people cash under the table (sorry US gov!)

Year 3: moved to Shopify… and realized leather journals were not scaling with the speed we were growing. Too slow to make. Switched to leather totes.

Year 4: bought a building, expanded operations, pretended we knew what we were doing.

Then COVID hit.

That jerk!!

Everything could have fallen apart.

Instead, Maverick looked at me and said,

“Books will be written about the people who didn’t give up.”

By Year 6: moved operations to Mexico.

Year 7: we became a $45M shoe company.

We changed EVERYTHING over and over again. If I had stayed attached to leather journals… we would’ve died as a cute little garage business.

If we had stayed in Portland… who knows if we would have survived the scale!!

To grow, you have to outgrow yourself.

Where DTC is headed now

The world is changing fast!! And DTC companies need to change with it.

Years ago, posting on social media used to be a nice bonus. Now it is the minimum requirement. So if you are a CEO or founder, ya better listen up!!

Your brand has to become a media company this year.

You have to be where your customers are… not where YOU wish they were or where the ad CPMs are easier!

People spend more time on Tik Tok and Instagram than they do in real life.

But that does not mean they will watch anything that pops up!!

Your brand is not competing with other brands. It is competing with:

- The funniest video someone has EVER seen!

- Their best friend’s wedding photos

- A viral dog that looks like it pays taxes

- Creators and famous people with an audience you can not buy your way into!

- And the stupid algorithm that decides that you do not exist today!

That is the game.

If your company does not evolve to capture attention, you will not have the demand needed to sell anything.

You must become a media-first company.

And that is how you will win.

Curtis Matsko - CEO & Founder of Portland Leather Goods