In this conversation, Colin opens the curtain on how Sheets & Giggles became a breakout DTC success by doing things differently: selling before building, leaning into humor, making bold brand decisions, and prioritizing community and impact over hype.

This episode is packed with practical lessons for founders navigating uncertainty, fundraising, pricing strategy, brand identity, and the deeper personal journey behind entrepreneurship.

About the Guest

Colin McIntosh is the founder of Sheets & Giggles, one of the most beloved modern consumer brands known for its sustainable eucalyptus bedding and its unmistakably humorous voice. Colin bootstrapped the company from a simple idea into a high-growth startup that hit one million dollars in monthly revenue within two years. His journey blends sharp execution, authentic branding, creative fundraising, and a grounded philosophy about building companies with purpose.

Colin has appeared on Good Morning America and multiple national outlets, has built a loyal customer community, and is now also a mentor at Techstars, where his 2019 pitch is used globally as an example for new founders.

Connect with Colin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colindmcintosh/

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In This Episode You’ll Learn

1. How Sheets & Giggles Started Without Inventory

Colin reveals why he chose to validate demand first through pre-orders, and how a successful Indiegogo campaign became early seed capital and proof of market need.

2. The Inflection Points That Unlocked Serious Scale

From a bold COVID donation that unexpectedly reached the governor’s office to a national Good Morning America feature and a high-impact podcast sponsorship, Colin breaks down the moments that changed the company’s trajectory.

3. Humor as a Business Strategy

Why Colin embraced the “jester” brand archetype and how authenticity, relatability, and personality helped Sheets & Giggles stand out in a boring category.

4. Pricing Psychology Explained Simply

Most founders underprice — Colin explains why, and how he tested price elasticity, optimized margins, and used real data to guide pricing decisions.

5. How to Talk to Investors the Right Way

Colin breaks down investor psychology, why FOMO matters, why you must know your numbers by heart, and how honesty builds long-term trust.

6. Bootstrapping vs. VC in Today’s Market

An honest look at why this era might be the best time to build slowly, stay disciplined, and focus on profitability instead of chasing rounds.

7. Purpose, Happiness, and the Reality of Being a Founder

Colin dives deep into fulfillment, ego, expectations, and why internal peace matters far more than revenue milestones.

8. Techstars and a Full Circle Moment

From joining Techstars Boulder as an early team member to returning years later as a founder, and later as a mentor and pitch coach — Colin shares what the program taught him and why founders should consider it.

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Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:00 Colin’s journey and background

03:00 Starting Sheets & Giggles through pre-orders

06:00 Early traction and unexpected breakthroughs

10:00 The donation that changed everything

12:00 Building a humorous and authentic brand identity

16:00 Pricing psychology and finding your true value

20:00 Fundraising and managing investor expectations

27:00 The truth about growth and scale

33:00 Bootstrapping vs raising capital

40:00 Purpose, fulfillment, and founder mindset

46:00 Techstars experience and mentorship

52:00 Final reflections

Why This Episode Matters

If you’re building a startup today, this conversation will give you both tactical clarity and emotional grounding. Colin brings a rare mix of sharp execution and thoughtful humility. From pre-selling products to scaling with humor, from raising millions to staying true to purpose, his journey offers a realistic playbook for building something meaningful.

Mark Donnigan has spent decades helping deep tech and video technology startups translate complex products into commercial traction. In this conversation, we cover why early stage companies must stay lean, how to diagnose GTM confusion, and what AI first marketing looks like in practice.

We also dig into the new buyer journey in B2B, why content is a serious competitive advantage, and why founder led marketing is becoming non negotiable for technical startups.

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👤 About Mark Donnigan

Mark Donnigan is a virtual CMO who specializes in helping early stage technology companies design and execute GTM systems for scale. He blends a technical background with marketing strategy, and has worked closely with deep tech, infrastructure, and video technology companies across the US and beyond. Mark also hosts his own podcast where he covers the intersection of engineering, GTM, and startup growth.

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💡 Key Takeaways

• Small teams outperform large teams because they adapt faster and avoid siloed decision making

• Most early marketing hires fail because they come from companies with fully established ICPs and playbooks

• The new B2B buyer journey is committee based and nonlinear

• Founders must articulate pain, value, and narrative before marketing can be effective

• AI tools create leverage but still require human curation

• Content is not optional; it is a revenue accelerant

• The best marketing starts with mapping actual buying behavior, not assumptions

• Technical founders can outperform junior marketers with AI workflows

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🎓 What You Will Learn

• How to avoid the early stage marketing trap

• Why small GTM teams win in dynamic markets

• How to map buying journeys in modern B2B

• How to use AI to generate content, frameworks, and GTM assets

• The difference between buyers, influencers, and blockers

• How to build trust and shorten sales cycles through content

• Why founder storytelling is more important than ever

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⏱️ Episode Highlights and Timestamps

00:00 Welcome and intro

02:00 Mark’s background as both technologist and creative

06:00 Why great technology fails without great marketing

07:30 The trap of hiring big company marketers too early

10:45 Why small teams win in early GTM

14:00 The missing skill in most marketing hires

17:00 How to know if the market actually needs your product

20:00 Understanding the real buyer versus the visible buyer

23:00 Buying committees, decision blockers, and internal politics

27:00 Why founders misread senior titles in enterprise sales

30:00 Mapping the buyer journey with precision

32:00 The underrated power of content and use case clarity

36:00 Where founders should start if they have no content

38:00 The role of documentation in technical sales

40:00 What AI first marketing looks like in action

43:00 Founders using PRDs to generate full GTM assets

47:00 What should always stay human in AI powered marketing

51:00 Human tone, emotions, and authenticity versus perfect AI output

55:00 Why social algorithms reward provocation, not perfection

58:00 Features vs benefits in modern marketing

01:02:00 Final insights and where to follow Mark

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🔗 Resources Mentioned

• Mark Donnigan website: https://GrowthStage.Marketing

• Mark Donnigan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markdonnigan/

• Tools referenced: Gemini, ChatGPT 5.1, Claude, Perplexity Pro

In this conversation, Mehmet is joined by Gerald Beuchelt and Subu Rao, two cybersecurity leaders from Acronis, to unpack the evolving threat landscape, the rise of AI in both offense and defense, and why cyber resilience has become a board-level priority.

They break down what CISOs need to know, how MSPs can create new value, and what frameworks actually work in the real world. If you want a clear and practical blueprint for building resilience, this episode is for you.

👤 About the Guests

Gerald Beuchelt

Chief Information Security Officer at Acronis, with more than 14 years of experience securing global environments across multiple industries. Gerald leads cybersecurity, IT infrastructure, and corporate security strategy, with deep knowledge in AI-driven defense, risk management, and enterprise resilience.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/beuchelt/

Subu Rao

Senior Manager of Cybersecurity Solutions Strategy at Acronis, focused on cyber resilience for MSPs and mid-market organizations. Subu brings over 15 years of experience in identity security, cloud security, and resilience engineering across global security vendors.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/raos/

https://www.acronis.com/en/

💡 Key Takeaways

• Cyber resilience and cybersecurity are not the same. One focuses on protection, the other on recovery and adaptation.

• AI is already used by attackers and defenders. Ignoring it increases risk.

• MSPs have a major opportunity to monetize resilience, not just protection.

• Most breaches still start with basic failures like weak passwords and unpatched systems.

• Boards do not want CVE numbers. They want business risk in plain language.

• The right balance between risk appetite and risk tolerance shapes the entire security program.

• Backups alone are not enough. Tested, measurable recovery plans are essential.

• Availability is often the forgotten piece of the CIA triad.

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🎧 What Listeners Will Learn

• The current global threat landscape

• How AI is changing cyber offense and defense

• The difference between cybersecurity and cyber resilience

• What MSPs should do today to serve customers better

• How CISOs can communicate risk to non-technical boards

• Practical frameworks for resilience and business continuity

• Why regional exposure influences risk strategy

• The most common mistakes companies still make in 2025

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⏱️ Episode Highlights & Timestamps

00:00 Introduction and welcome

01:00 Meet Gerald and Subu

04:00 The real state of cyber threats today

05:30 Why basic hygiene failures still cause most breaches

08:30 How attackers are using AI

10:00 The future of automated SOCs

12:00 Are threat patterns different by geography

15:00 Why every company is a target

16:00 Cybersecurity vs cyber resilience explained in simple terms

18:00 How to build resilience without enterprise budgets

21:00 MSPs and the opportunity to lead resilience consulting

24:30 Understanding crown jewels and business impact

26:00 How Acronis-style failover models change the game

29:00 Where boards should start with security frameworks

32:00 Risk appetite vs risk tolerance

36:00 Why security cannot decide in isolation

40:00 Compliance, mandates, and real world frameworks

45:00 How MSPs can craft resilience offerings

48:00 Final advice for CISOs and MSPs

51:00 Closing thoughts and wrap up