The Pop-Up Biz Podcast

What The Pop-Up Biz Podcast does

PopUpSummer! is a privately held, founder-led alternative retailing firm that helps brands design and execute pop-up retail stores, strategic retail plans, and brand activations. Founded by Susan Sandler, the company serves fashion, art, lifestyle, digitally native, and traditional retail clients with three core service lines: strategic planning (market studies, competitive analysis, financial modeling, and partnership recommendations), high-end temporary retail environment implementation, and tailor-made brand activations with social media tie-ins. The company operates with 1-10 employees, has no institutional investors or disclosed funding, and generates revenue through bespoke, project-based professional services engagements.

A parallel content arm, The Pop-Up Biz Podcast, functions as both a thought leadership vehicle and an inbound marketing channel. Hosted by Susan Sandler, the podcast has produced two seasons featuring industry figures such as Fern Mallis (CFDA), Terrence Charles (Hearst), Katie Hunt (Showfields), and David Korins, and is distributed across Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and AdWeek360. The podcast does not appear to be a standalone revenue product but rather a top-of-funnel asset supporting consulting demand.

There is no proprietary technology platform underlying the business. The competitive offering rests on founder expertise, industry relationships, and the creative quality of bespoke activations rather than software or AI-driven tooling. The customer base consists of six publicly named enterprise brands concentrated in fashion and lifestyle verticals, and the partnership footprint is limited to a March 2022 Streamify alliance and AdWeek360 podcast distribution.

Name

The Pop-Up Biz Podcast

Legal name

PopUpSummer!

Website

https://popupsummernew.wpengine.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PopUpSummer! is a founder-led boutique retail consultancy that designs pop-up stores, brand activations, and retail strategy for fashion, art, and lifestyle brands. Founder Susan Sandler also hosts The Pop-Up Biz Podcast, which distributes industry interviews across major podcast platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Experiential Retail Consulting

NAICS

Advertising Material Distribution Services (541870)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Brand Activations & Pop-Ups (Retail/Street/Guerrilla) (BPAFAGAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Retail & Pop-up Experiences (In-store/Pop-ups) (MPAAAGAG), Alternative OOH & Ambient Media (Guerrilla, Pop-Up Installations) (BPAFALAI)

Keywords

• Experiential retail consulting
• Pop-up retail strategy
• Brand activation services
• Podcast content marketing
• Temporary retail environments

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Strategic Planning Services: PopUpSummer! designs pop-up and exhibition plans for brands including market studies, competitive analysis, financial modeling, and recommendations for locations, themes, and partnerships.
2. Pop Up Retail Store Implementation: High-end, temporary retail environment creation and full implementation services for clients, or assisting client teams with execution.
3. Brand Activations: Tailor-made brand activations from conception through execution, including product sampling, sales, social media tie-ins, and promotions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

PopUpSummer! designs and executes strategic pop-up retail experiences and tailor-made brand activations for fashion, art, and lifestyle brands, with The Pop-Up Biz Podcast serving as a content platform that interviews thought leaders across the experiential retail, marketing, and pop-up industry.

Product overview

The Pop-Up Biz Podcast is a media content product operated by PopUpSummer!, an alternative retailing company. The primary offering is a podcast series with two seasons of episodes featuring interviews with industry thought leaders in experiential retail, marketing, and pop-ups. The podcast is distributed across multiple platforms (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, AdWeek360) and covers topics including fashion, art, entertainment, fitness, real estate, and brand activations. The parent company also offers strategic planning, pop-up retail store deployment, and brand activation services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Pop-Up Biz Podcast Bi-weekly podcast series hosted by Susan Sandler featuring interviews with thought leaders, brand founders, and entrepreneurs in the experiential retail, marketing, and pop-up industry. Covers business models, creative strategies, and technology innovations. Distributed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and AdWeek360.
• Strategic Planning Services Custom pop-up and exhibition planning for brands, including market studies, competitive analysis, financial modeling, and recommendations for locations, themes, and partnerships.
• Pop-Up Retail Store Implementation High-end, temporary retail environments delivered for brands as unique shopping experiences, sales testing grounds, and branding/marketing exercises. Offered as full implementation or client-team assistance.
• Brand Activations Tailor-made brand activations from conception through execution, including product sampling, sales, social media tie-ins, and promotions.

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• StreamifyminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2022PopUpSummer! partnered with Streamify as US Liaison, expanding reach in the digital and streaming space for pop-up retail content and services.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Harbor Retail: Retail consultancy and pop-up operator serving brands with temporary retail strategies. Comparable to PopUpSummer!'s strategic planning and pop-up implementation offerings, and Harbor Retail's DeeAnn Campbell was featured on the podcast.
• The Lionesque Group: Boutique pop-up shop and experiential retail agency that designs, builds, and operates short-term retail experiences for fashion and lifestyle brands. Direct competitor to PopUpSummer! in the small-to-mid brand pop-up agency segment.
• Showfields: Experiential retail platform that builds themed, rotating pop-up stores for emerging and established brands. Directly comparable to PopUpSummer!'s pop-up retail and brand activation services, and Showfields' Katie Hunt was featured on The Pop-Up Biz Podcast.
• Appear Here: Global marketplace connecting brands with short-term retail spaces for pop-ups and brand activations. Directly comparable to PopUpSummer!'s pop-up planning and execution services, with a more tech-enabled marketplace model.
• Pop Up Grocer: Pop-up grocery and CPG brand activation platform that stages temporary retail experiences for emerging food and beverage brands. Comparable to PopUpSummer!'s brand activation model, though focused on CPG rather than fashion.
• Inspira Marketing: Experiential marketing agency specializing in brand activations, mobile tours, and pop-up campaigns. Comparable to PopUpSummer!'s brand activation services, and Jeff Snyder from Inspira was featured on The Pop-Up Biz Podcast.

Broad incumbents

• GMR Marketing: Large-scale experiential and sports marketing agency delivering brand activations and event experiences for global brands. Adjacent competitor with substantially more scale, geographic reach, and enterprise client relationships.
• MKG: Experiential marketing and creative agency serving consumer brands with activations, events, and brand experiences. Adjacent competitor to PopUpSummer!, focused on the upper-mid market with a more diversified services portfolio.
• Jack Morton Worldwide: Global brand experience agency part of the Interpublic Group, building experiential campaigns and pop-up environments for major brands. Competes with PopUpSummer! for the same client need at the enterprise tier with much larger resources.
• Sparks: Large-scale experiential and brand experience agency serving global enterprise clients. Overlaps with PopUpSummer!'s brand activation services but operates at substantially greater scale, with deeper enterprise relationships and broader geographic footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/PopUpSummer
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/popupbizpodcast

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Pop-Up Biz Podcast