Bart Szaniewski is a brand builder and digital strategist with over a decade of experience driving growth for DTC and lifestyle brands. As Founder of DadGang.co, he blends creative storytelling with data-driven marketing to build authentic communities around parenthood and culture. Previously, as Account Director at Mint, a Social Chain agency, Bart served as Head of Growth for over 30 brands, leading their acquisition, retention, and creative strategies. The experience gave him a unique vantage point into the mechanics of scaling diverse ecommerce businesses and refining the systems that drive sustainable growth. Earlier, Bart led marketing at Strideline, rising to VP and Head of Brand, where he managed collaborations with athletes and icons like Rick Ross, Nipsey Hussle’s TMC, and the Seattle Seahawks. His leadership helped transform Strideline from a local startup into a nationally recognized lifestyle brand, combining cultural storytelling with measurable performance results. How Bart Can Help: 1. Build and scale lifestyle or DTC brands with strong identity and community 2. Develop and manage influencer and partnership campaigns that convert 3. Create paid media strategies across social and performance channels 4. Design growth systems balancing brand authenticity with profitability 5. Mentor founders on leadership, branding, and creative execution
DadGang.co, Apr 2022 – Present
Strideline, Oct 2017 – Jan 2020
Account Director – Mint Performance Marketing, Jan 2021 – Jun 2022 Director of Marketing – Strideline, Sep 2013 – Jan 2020
DadGang - A Brand built by dads, for dads! In this episode we catch up with Bart - Founder of Dadgang to see how exactly how he was able to scale such a large business and touch so many people with something as simple as a hat!
In this special edition of the DTC Podcast, we revisit Bart Szaniewski's powerful presentation from the C-Suite Mastermind in Victoria, BC. Bart, co-founder of DadGang.co, shares his incredible journey from selling his first 100 hats to surpassing 250,000 hats sold. What started as a simple idea between friends—celebrating fatherhood with style—has blossomed into a multimillion-dollar business. Bart emphasizes the power of keeping things simple while scaling, a principle that has helped DadGang build organic partnerships with top athletes and global organizations, all fueled by one unifying message: pure dad pride.
What do you get when you mix hats, social media channels, and a bunch of dads? Bart Szaniewski and his buddies created Dad Gang with the mission of bringing dads together with cool hats. At first, it was all about creativity. And then it blossomed into multiple channels and multiple dads sharing their stories. Copy and captions became even more important. Hats were being sold faster than they could make them. How can you develop FOMO in your audience? It’s as easy as creating a sense of urgency for your next drop. Plus, Bart reveals how using a private Facebook group may be the key to hearing more from your audience. And, Dad Gang recently launched an app and is using SMS. What are some pros and cons of implementing these ideas at your brand? If you’re a marketer who wants to learn more about scaling via social media or how SMS and apps can further your brand’s presence, this is the episode for you.
Bart Szaniewski is one of the founders and the current head of DadGang. HE shares the story of taking it from a side hustle fun idea to his current full-time gig.
In this episode of the podcast, Bart Szaniewski — co-founder of the brand Dad Gang — shares how his team grew their following to around 250 K in under three years. They walk through how they built a strong community, leveraged multiple channels (organic posts, SMS, app, email) and created urgency and exclusivity with product drops. Key take-aways include: prioritizing profile visits over immediate conversions, using private groups to deepen engagement, and designing launch strategies that span touch-points to build momentum.
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