How We Built a $50M Consumer Brand with 7 People

Seven people. $50 million in annual revenue. One brand that somehow manages to feel like it's everywhere.

If you've ever wondered how Hulken actually works (the operating model, the org chart, the tools, the strategy), this is the episode.

This week on Unfinished Business, there's no guest. It's just Alex Schinasi and Lee Rotenberg, co-founders of Hulken and co-hosts of this show, getting into the questions they get asked most often: How do you run a brand this size with a team this small? How do you think about brand vs. growth? What does AI actually look like in your day-to-day? And what's actually coming next?

Alex and Lee built Hulken from scratch into one of the most recognizable product brands in the DTC space: a rolling bag that started as a practical solution and became a cult object. They did it with a lean team, a very deliberate agency model, and a relentless focus on what actually moves the needle.

In this episode:

→ The $50M with 7 people model: Why Hulken runs on a lean in-house team and a carefully chosen agency network

→ Alex's recent aha moment: growth and brand have completely different north stars, and treating them as the same function quietly dilutes both. Here's what changes when you split them.

→ Building AI systems at Hulken: The first AI agent they're building internally

→ The Claude Cowork morning routine: Alex's exact setup

→ Why the fact that Hulken isn't a Hermès bag is one of its biggest brand advantages

→ Hiring AI agents instead of humans: Why the question isn't just "should we hire?" but "should this role be a human?"

→ What's coming next: Collabs, new products, and a few things they can barely talk about yet

This is the most behind-the-scenes episode they've done. If you're a founder, a builder, or someone who's been following Hulken and wondered how the machine runs, this one is for you.

New episodes of Unfinished Business drop every week. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and follow along at @unfinishedbizpodcast.