BART
SZANIEWSKI
14 Years · DTC Marketing · Co-Founder, Dad Gang Co.
I've spent 14 years building DTC brands — from the ground floor to eight figures. This blog is where I share everything I've learned.
I started as the very first employee at Strideline, a sock brand built from zero. Over six years, I grew from employee #1 into the VP of Marketing, helping take the company to $20 million in annual revenue. That job taught me everything — how to build a brand from nothing, how to scale paid media, how to create a community that actually cares.
From there I took my playbook into new categories — skincare with Haldi and wellness with Patch — learning how retention and trust work differently when the product is personal.
Then came Mint Agency, a growth agency in Los Angeles, where I served as Head of Growth. In two years I oversaw the scaling of over 30 brands simultaneously — multiple teams, multiple budgets, multiple strategies running at once. It was the most intense two years of my career, and the most educational.
Everything I learned went into what came next: co-founding Dad Gang Co. We started with 100 hats in a garage. Three years later, we've built it to over $30 million in revenue, a massive community, and a brand that people are genuinely proud to be part of.
This blog exists because I want to share all of it — the wins, the mistakes, the frameworks, and the honest takes that don't make it into most marketing content.
14+
Years in DTC
$30M+
Dad Gang Co. Revenue
30+
Brands Scaled at Mint Agency
#1
First Hire at Strideline
THE RESUME.
Strideline
Employee #1 → Director & VP of Marketing
Period
6 Years
Result
$20M Annual Revenue
I was the first employee ever hired at Strideline, a sock brand built from scratch. Over six years I grew into the Director and then VP of Marketing, helping take the brand from nothing to $20 million in annual revenue. It was a full education — brand building, paid media, community, wholesale, all of it.
Haldi & Patch
Marketing Lead
Period
—
Result
DTC Skincare & Wellness
After Strideline, I took my DTC playbook into skincare and wellness. Working with Haldi and the Patch brand sharpened my thinking on retention, subscription models, and how to build trust in categories where the customer relationship is everything.
Mint Agency
Head of Growth
Period
2 Years
Result
30+ Brands Scaled
Mint Agency is a growth agency in Los Angeles. As Head of Growth, I oversaw the scaling of over 30 different brands simultaneously — managing multiple teams, budgets, and strategies at once. Two intense years that compressed a decade of learning into one.
Dad Gang Co.
Co-Founder
Period
3 Years
Result
$30M+ Revenue
I co-founded Dad Gang Co. with two partners. We started with 100 hats in a tiny garage. Three years later, we've built it to over $30 million in revenue, a massive community, and a brand that people genuinely love. Everything I know about DTC went into building this.
14 years of lessons. No gatekeeping.
From being employee #1 at a startup to co-founding a brand that hit $30M in three years, I've lived through every stage of DTC growth. I've made expensive mistakes and had big wins — and I've learned something meaningful from both.
Most marketing content is filtered through an agenda. Someone's selling a course, pitching an agency, or building a personal brand. I'm not doing any of that here. I'm just writing down what I actually think — every day — because the act of writing forces clarity.
If you're building a brand, running a team, or just trying to get better at this craft, I hope something here is useful to you.
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