Cofounder of Chubbies + Loop Returns | Now, Marathon: A managed technology platform + bespoke services offering helping you exit the short-term direct-response hamster wheel to find your balance of Brand and performance

Chubbies and Loop Returns co founder. Now, applying those lessons and mistakes to help consumer brands transition to a balance of Brand and performance with software that measures the future rev impact of brand, incrementality studies to validate; and the media management and creative production to actually execute on the vision. MarathonDataCo.com

Classic AI software + services combo. 

This is all informed by our firsthand experience and a desire to help brands go through the transition that transformed our business and helped us get acquired for a massive number and continue to grow super profitably today...but without all the pain and heartache we had to go through...

You see, Chubbies almost went out of business because of the exact problem we're trying to solve at Marathon.

In the early days at Chubbies we built Brand because we had to. We had no money. We were scrappy, creative, dynamic. 

And we built an awesome Brand.

Then we monetized that Brand with performance DR. 

We convinced ourselves that that was the source of our growth. 

We almost went out of business.

We righted the ship and built, brick by brick, to a >$100m exit, culminating in a >$1B IPO, and now, doing well over $100M / year at nearly a 30% EBITDA margin, but to do that we had to overcome the overwhelming pressure to take a short–termist approach.

As we've seen this direct–to–consumer brand market evolve over the years, we've seen the same cycle happen to nearly every other business out there: Starting hot, pushing performance marketing, then stalling out and never getting to long-term sustainable growth.

This was the problem we felt absolutely compelled to solve because we felt for these brand builders and entrepreneurs. We were in their shoes. And but for a whole lotta luck and a gritty–a** team, it would have sunk us.

Then we looked around and realized there just isn't anything on the market that helps companies do this — this most important thing imaginable.

So that's what we're working towards, would love your feedback.

Preston 🩳 Rutherford

Founder: Wholesale is dumb. DTC scales forever.

CMO: Bestie, you just fell into the TAM trap.

Founder: We can reach anyone online.

CMO: Only 16% shop online. Big 10 own 60% of that.

Founder: That's impossible.

CMO: Do the math. We're fighting for 6% of commerce.

Founder: But everyone's moving online.

CMO: Another trap. Shopping habits are sticky.

Founder: What do you mean?

CMO: Brick and mortar shoppers stay brick and mortar.

Founder: That's not what the VCs said.

CMO: VCs also said Facebook ads would stay cheap forever.

Founder: Attack my soul why don't you.

CMO: Speaking of attacks - our CAC is up 40% year over year.

Founder: But revenue's growing.

CMO: Yeah, at 2x the cost with 3x the discounts.

Founder: I feel seen and I don't like it.

CMO: Want to know what stage we're in?

Founder: There are stages?

CMO: The DTC growth lifecycle. We're in stage 3.

Founder: What's stage 3?

CMO: Over-rotating to short term tactics. Thinking discounts will save us.

Founder: Okay fine. What's the escape plan?

CMO: First, build brand strength.

Founder: Before channels?

CMO: Brand strength determines channel success.

Founder: How?

CMO: Strong brands drive organic growth everywhere.

Founder: But won't wholesale kill DTC?

CMO: That's channel conflict fear talking.

Founder: But our margins...

CMO: Actually improve at scale through wholesale.

Founder: That makes no sense.

CMO: Neither does spending 40% more for 20% growth.

Founder: When do we know we're ready?

CMO: When organic traffic grows faster than paid.

Founder: And how long does this take?

CMO: Depends on brand strength investment.

Founder: So my "DTC Till I Die" tattoo was a mistake?

CMO: Face tattoos generally aren't a good idea.

Founder: meh. how do we escape?

CMO: *Ariana Grande voice* 
This is the part when I say I don't want ya 
I'm stronger than I've been before 
This is the part when I break freeeeeeeeee 
Cause I can't resist it no more

Cofounder @Chubbies ($100M+ brand). Now, MarathonDataCo.com: The Modern Brand’s Full Funnel GrowthOS™

If you're looking to get more profitable, navigating the diminishing performance of your "performance" marketing, or if you know that investing in building brand is essential, but the "how" is less clear, this post is for you. Here are my mistakes and biggest learnings around finding a balance of Brand building and DR in hopes you can skip the pain and get to the balance that works for you. 


A) Why I got overly-reliant on bottom-funnel, short-term revenue-maximizing strategies and tactics: 

The early days of Chubbies coincided with good ol' days of Facebook ads. They did work at driving revenue, which was my definition of success at that time.

The dopamine hit from putting a dollar in the Meta Machine and getting 6-10 out was ridiculously addictive

However, as with any addiction, the need for more dollars in to get the same dollars out kept gradually increasing

But it was hard to feel that pain since the change was so gradual, peppered with times where performance would improve, which roped me back in and kept me convinced that if I just wrote a better tagline or found the perfect static asset CTA position, we'd unlock the ROAS we saw in the early days. 


B) How I found out it was no longer working 

I started to learn about vanity metrics, metrics that matter, and to update the definition of success to go beyond maximizing ROAS and Revenue

One example was the composition of new customer revenue traffic sources. 

A larger and larger portion was connected to paid traffic sources.

Therefore, the proportion of new customer revenue from owned and organic channels was decreasing as a percentage of the total, making it more and more expensive to hit growth goals. 

Stepping back and looking at that data over a number of years made it clear that change was needed.


C) As the importance of growing a resilient base of owned and organic new customer acquisition became clearer, it also became clear that greater growth, and more profitable growth, could come from that balanced approach. 

To be clear, a balanced approach does not mean you have to immediately turn off all DR ads, discounts and promotions. 

They're essential *and* accretive when they're driving growth on top of a stronger and stronger foundation of that resilient base of owned and organic new customer revenue.


D) How to find that balance 

Being prescriptive here wouldn't be helpful since all brands are different. 

But if your answer to any of the following questions is no, it might make sense to start spending more time thinking about building that resilient base of new customer revenue coming from owned and organic traffic sources (AKA explore some shift from 100% DR to some version of a balanced approach): 

1. Are your contribution dollars AND contribution margin both increasing? 

2. Are you increasing the dollars and % of new customer revenue coming from owned and organic traffic sources? 

3. Is the % of your revenue on discount going down over time? 

hope this helps

VP Growth: more ad variants will fix our CAC problem.

CMO: bestie, that's the trap.

VP Growth: what trap?

CMO: CAC up 20% three years straight.

VP Growth: hence more variants.

CMO: our competitors tried that. know what happened?

VP Growth: enlighten me

CMO: everyone optimizing the same way. same audience. same tactics.

VP Growth: isn't that just marketing now?

CMO: branded search was 50% of revenue back then.

VP Growth: and now?

CMO: 20%. traded real fans for rented ones.

VP Growth: but revenue's up 20%

CMO: on 40% more spend.

VP Growth: still converting tho

CMO: at 20% contribution margin vs 50% from organic.

VP Growth: but brand doesn't show in attribution

CMO: neither does bankruptcy.

VP Growth: bruh

CMO: remember when we didn't need discounts to grow?

VP Growth: ancient history

CMO: our discount rate tripled in two years.

VP Growth: that's just market standard

CMO: everyone's in the same trap. mo' variants, mo' discounts, mo' CAC.

VP Growth: so what's the move?

CMO: 20% of budget to brand. content that makes people remember us.

VP Growth: like what?

CMO: stop looking like every other brand fighting for the same clicks.

VP Growth: CFO will delete me

CMO: you want quick clicks or a future?

VP Growth: but how do we know it works?

CMO: Warren Buffett knew

VP Growth: don't quote him...

CMO: "The single-most important decision in evaluating a business is pricing power."

VP Growth: meaning?

CMO: we 3x'd our discount rate in 2 years. that's the opposite of pricing power.

VP Growth: ok that hit different. but how do we fix it?

CMO: stop trying to convert everyone today. win their hearts before they shop.

VP Growth: sounds expensive

CMO: more expensive than our current CAC death spiral?

VP Growth: but ROAS...

CMO: short term ROAS obsession is why we're here.

VP Growth: what's step 1?

CMO: make content that would work even without a "shop now" button.

VP Growth: that's terrifying

CMO: so is our contribution margin trending to zero.

VP Growth: when you put it that way...

CMO: congrats. you just escaped the variants trap.

VP Growth: why do i feel like i just took the red pill?

CMO: once you see it, you can't unsee it.

#brand #marketing #redpillmoment

co-founder of mktg wmn | fractional marketing leader | mother

I'm originally from Portland, Maine, with a college degree from Boston University. Now I'm a B2B and B2C brand marketer with over 15 years of business experience from CPG and SaaS companies ranging from 5 employees to 5,000. 

My non-marketing experience includes years spent hosting, waiting tables, and bartending in restaurants from the high-end white linen destinations to the oceanside tourist traps. 

Want to connect but we're not already friends? Include a note!

Gabrielle Dalvet

STOP

LAYING

OFF

WOMEN

BEFORE

DURING

& AFTER

MATERNITY LEAVE

soooo uh Headway Inc who approved this? because, yikes.

also credit goes to the MKTG WMN who shared this today 🫶

If it isn't already clear from everything else I post: I vehemently oppose the actions of our federal government through the Department of Homeland Security and ICE.

And by "actions," I mean the killing of U.S. citizens like Renee Good — shot in the head while sitting in her car — and Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse executed while holding his phone. I mean the detention of asylum-seeking families including five year old Liam Conejo Ramos, who was used as bait to lure his mother out of their home. I mean the documented abuse in detention facilities like Fort Bliss, where 32 people died in ICE custody in 2025 alone, the deadliest year in nearly two decades.

"Keep politics off LinkedIn," people say.

Ok. Let's call this a workplace safety issue instead.

I can't do my job if federal agents are shooting people in the streets of American cities. I can't do my job if witnessing enforcement actions is a death sentence. I can't do my job if my neighbors — people with active asylum cases, people who work, pay taxes, and care for their communities — can be dragged from their homes without due process.

This isn't politics. This is state violence playing out in real time while people pretend it's business as usual.

Too many of us are sitting in Zoom meetings, optimizing our LinkedIn posts, and acting like we don't see what's happening outside our windows.

Anyone who knows me knows I won't stand for this. And I will take action wherever and however I can.

But here's what I need you to understand: silence is complicity now. Not later. Not when it's convenient. Right now. While there's still something left to save.

girl. you don't need a new job.

(well, maybe you do)

but first....you need a mentor!!!!

we at MKTG WMN are extending our mentor program sign up deadline to this FRIDAY JAN 9TH!

we know everyone checks out over the holidays (ourselves included) 😅 

so we thought — why not give everyone an extra biz week to get their butts in gear and fill out our damn form.

open to any woman or nonbinary marketer, member or not. (not a member? you soon will be)

the mentor program we run at mktg wmn is not some casual sign up and be matched with someone who is maybe a fit or maybe not a fit.

as much as we automate the initial process of matching people...there's ALWAYS a human in the loop.

not just any human.

it's me. 

and i know a lot of marketers. so when i'm faced with a person who wants a mentor but we don't have any left who have signed up who would be a good fit, i tap into my insane brain and network of unreal women and nonbinary marketing leaders to find you one.

so yeah, consider your mentor "handpicked"

farm to table mentors, baby. 

mentors are included in your mktg wmn membership. if you're not a member, you can pay for our mentor program + membership in one package. 

either way, my point is.... SIGN UP. i promise you this will change your life. and if it doesn't, you know where to find me.

link available on mktgwmn dot com 😜

marketing pet peeve? corporate swag.

a necessary evil, and one i secretly love, but also openly hate.

why do we keep spending money on stuff that people don't care about?

it's 2026. our democracy is in shambles, our earth is crumbling, and companies are over here screaming at a marketing coordinator because they don't have enough branded pens that will break apart in approximately 2.5 days.

the WHOLE point about marketing is to do something different and be remembered for it.

on that note, here are a few suggested swag items for 2026:

1. branded gas mask. 

conference attendees can now go home and immediately help their immigrant neighbors combat ICE.

2. branded abortion pills.

conference attendees can now return home and empower their communities to take charge of their reproductive rights.

3. branded US constitutions. (option to couple this with like a phonics book)

inspire your booth attendees to educate themselves on the core principles that this country was founded, seeing as they're currently in the trash

option to teach people how to read first in a country that has a deteriorating education system

4. branded fascism for dummies.

help your leads understand what fascism looks like so they can return home and understand that all of this is not normal.

5. branded thrifted t-shirts.

textile waste is a problem, give your conference attendees a branded t-shirt straight from the nearest goodwill, complete with musty old grandpa smell.

lmk what else you'd add!

wow Smartlead, 9 speakers and not 1 of them is a woman! that's super impressive

I've got capacity for additional clients this quarter — who wants in? 

(And no, not because anyone churned...in fact all of my clients are re-signing and expanding... 😅 )

Coterie Mktg is growing. 

I've brought on a few A+ players that I'd love to tackle new clients with.

This is ideal for:

— Early stage startups looking to build out marketing from the ground up
— Solopreneurs just starting out who need a growth plan
— Midsize companies who need help integrating AI
— Bigger orgs needing an external resource to experiment more creatively

Tag a friend who might be interested 😇

Working with startups isn’t easy, but furl has genuinely been a delight.

The team just raised a whopping $10M seed round led by Ten Eleven Ventures, and honestly, that momentum has been felt from day one.

At a high level, furl does something refreshingly rare in security: it doesn’t just surface vulnerabilities, it actually helps teams fix them.

If you’ve spent any time in Boston tech, you know Rapid7 looms large. When Rapid7 alums Derek Abdine and Austin DeAngelis reached out to me to help build furl's marketing foundation, I didn’t hesitate. 

Since then, it’s been pitch decks, messaging, award noms, press releases...the fun kind of early-stage chaos.

I give CEOs a hard time by default. But Derek has already earned the Gab stamp of approval: sharp, thoughtful, and genuinely funny. A rare combo.

Congrats to furl. 

Big thanks to the Ten Eleven Ventures marketing crew Megan Dubofsky, Monsy C., Hattie Egan-Young.

Grateful to Chris Metinko for the Axios exclusive.

This will be a fun one 🤠

every parent signing back on today after two entire weeks of christmas vacation

ok so that whole MKTG WMN mentor program thing is going to slowly be the death of me becuase holy hell these manual matches (and re-matches!).

i must really really really love women and nonbinary marketers. (duh)

but legit, i'm starting to run a little light on alternatives and back up options...84 matches later.

yes, i can go stalk the usual suspects of my 1st and 2nd degree connections, but i figured i can ask the linkedin sphere first ——

who are the absolute dynamite women and nonbinary marketing leaders who would make amazing mentors???

and would not mind terribly me asking them to be a mentor this spring?????

tag them below???? ...lylas!

😇

it's mentor matching day. 

i'm finalizing handpicked mentors for our mentees. 

i get so excited doing this work. it takes me a long time (too long) because i care too much but it's so rewarding to know that mentees are going to be in good hands. 

this year i've attempted to use 5+ tools to help me, but nothing quite compares to the human touch. 

so yes, i'll be over here manually writing in members and friends names for mentees, knowing i need to ask the mentors first if i can include them 😬

can we make this a two way street? 

i'd love proof of impact from fortune 500 ceos.

wanna get a mentor this spring? 

MKTG WMN mentor program signups close tomorrow — friday, jan 9th.

not sure about becoming a member? 

join us on a webinar this afternoon and i'll walk you through why this program is so special

see y'all then

there’s a point in a lot of marketing careers where the title looks right, but the job doesn’t feel right anymore.

we’re hosting a fireside chat today at 1pm EST with Lia Zneimer, and if you’ve spent any time thinking about what it actually means to build a long, ambitious career in marketing, this one’s for you.

lia has spent 15+ years building and scaling brands at every stage — from hypergrowth environments like WeWork, to leading community-driven, organic growth at Teal, where she helped take the business from early traction to real revenue.

but what makes lia’s story especially compelling isn’t just the titles or the wins.

it’s that she’s been willing to interrogate them.

after stepping away from her vp of marketing role, lia has been open about burnout, ambition, identity, and what happens when the career you worked so hard for stops working for you. today, she’s writing, ghostwriting, and building the recharge — a space for people navigating the in-between chapters of their careers.

this won’t be a “how to climb the ladder” conversation.

it’ll be a real one — about leadership, tradeoffs, knowing when to push through, and knowing when to walk away.

for MKTG WMN members.

underrated marketing skill:





common sense.

why? well, it's not that common, sadly.

what do i mean by this?

empathy, self-awareness, rational thought, practicality, 

understanding my audience and clearly articulating WIIFM (what's in it for me) 

i don't think i'm a rocket scientist (my niece is, though!!) 

but when i hop on pitch calls with potential clients, it *feels* like i am

humble brag, i know

sadly i think there are a lot of people out there who don't have the mental capacity to look inwards and understand what they need to improve

so they go around schlepping their wares to startups and companies and whoever, whether they're fractional or fulltime, and they promise the world but the reality is that will never be possible.

what i focus on is understanding the core problem a business is facing, which is usually more than marketing-related and gets into the general go-to-market motion.

how can marketing help improve the problem? find a solution? and produce great marketing while we're at it?

i'm lucky to find myself in this position — but also doesn't feel like this shouldn't be unattainable for a lot of marketers, whether in-house or contracted. 

what's our goal? 

what are our resources?

what's our timeline? 

what do we know?

what do we not know?

how do we get there? 

what does spearfishing look like, based on our best guesstimates at this point in time?

it probably also helps that i have done every single thing in marketing, at least once if not many times. 

generalists were once frowned upon, but guess what, we're back baby!

anyway. moral of the story:
→ be grounded in reality.
→ be confident in the best possible next step.
→ move deliberately.
→ test, learn, iterate.

and try your best to avoid the landmine ceos who roadblock themselves from success. because this is the only thing that will trip up a great marketer.

k bye!

most people don’t actually know what a mentor is.

they think a mentor is:
— someone senior
— who grabs coffee
— gives 30 minutes of advice
— and disappears

that’s not a mentor.
that’s a coffee chat.

a real mentor is a longer-term commitment.

it’s a professional relationship built around trust, consistency, and actual progress.

at MKTG WMN, we design our mentor program around one simple belief:

👉 meaningful career growth doesn’t happen in one conversation.

here’s what mentorship actually looks like:

— a 6-month commitment (minimum)
— one uninterrupted hour per month
— a clear goal you’re working toward
— tactical guidance from someone further along than you
— no payment to the mentor — ever

if you’re paying someone, that’s a coach. coaches are great — but they’re different. mentors are volunteering their time to pay it forward.

how our program works:

1️⃣ mentors + mentees fill out a detailed form (experience, industry, strengths, goals, skills, time zone, etc).

2️⃣ we use a mix of data and vibes to match people. ai helps suggest matches — but every single one is reviewed and hand-picked by a human (aka me and Emma Bulakites).

3️⃣ we’re intentional about fit: mentors have meaningfully more experience; alignment around what you want to learn; no random pairings, ever

and yes — we often have more mentees than mentors.
when that happens, i go find more. personally. from my network.

once matched, one thing matters most:

✴️ the mentee drives the relationship ✴️ 

you set the meetings.
you follow up.
you come prepared with an agenda and a goal.

some relationships extend past six months.
some turn into quarterly check-ins.
some wrap cleanly — all totally fine.

clear expectations + respect = great mentorship.

if you’ve been on the fence, this is your sign.
this program isn’t casual. it’s intentional. and it works.

signups close friday, january 9th. head to our website mktgwmn dot com and the link is in the top banner :)

you only have a few more hours to get yourself a mentor with MKTG WMN this spring.

how i define a mentor: 
a mentor is someone further along in a similar track who commits to helping you for a set period of time (we do 6 months).

because your manager?
they’re optimizing for team output.

your mentor?
they’re optimizing for your career.

what our mentor program is
— 1:1 mentorship for 6 months
— 1 hour/month (more if you both want — we just give you structure)
— you’re guaranteed a mentor if you sign up as a mentee
— matching is based on data (experience, industry, goals) + human judgment

yes, we use ai to help recommend
no, we don’t “set it and forget it”
we hand-vet every match

what a mentor is NOT
— a coffee chat
— a casual networking buddy
— a long-term sponsor you meet with forever
— a substitute for a career coach

if any of this is you, you’re the person i built this for
— you’re doing director-level work on a manager salary
— your promotion keeps getting pushed “to next quarter”
— you’ve been told you’re “not strategic enough” (while doing everyone’s work)
— you want to go fractional but don’t know where to start
— you’re just… lost

signups close today (fri jan 9, end of day).

options:
$150 = 6 months mentorship + 6 months mktg wmn membership
or $30/month membership and mentorship is included

mktgwmn[.]com

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Preston 🩳 Rutherford

Gabrielle Dalvet

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The Battle

Preston 🩳 Rutherford

Gabrielle Dalvet

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