In this episode of The Licensing Exchange, hosts David Schnider and Greg Pan sit down with licensing and consumer-products veterans Derrick Baca and Liz DeSilva to unpack what separates forgettable “logo slap” merchandise from products fans genuinely collect.

Derrick shares his path from retail buying into leading licensing strategy, while Liz explains how deep fandom knowledge and creative risk-taking helped transform accessories into must-have collectibles during the growth of Loungefly.

Together, they explore:

• how fandom insight drives product demand
• why fringe and under-merchandised IP can outperform expected blockbusters
• how teams earn trust to go beyond studio style guides
• the creative and operational realities of working with mom-and-pop retailers
• why limited drops and community engagement matter more than logos
• what they’re building now at The Whatever Company, including the brand “Whatever Makes You Happy”

This episode is a practical and candid look at modern licensing strategy for anyone working in consumer products, retail, or brand partnerships.

In this episode of The Licensing Exchange, hosts David Schnider and Greg Pan speak with Stu Seltzer, President of Seltzer Licensing Group, NYU professor, co-author of Brand Licensing for Dummies, and 2024 Licensing Hall of Fame inductee.

Stu shares how he began his licensing career at Yves Saint Laurent, managing 15 global licensees across 60 territories, before moving to Warner Bros./DC Comics and overseeing hundreds of partnerships connected to Batman, Superman, Looney Tunes, and major film releases. He explains how launching Seltzer Licensing Group allowed him to help brands—from UPS to the American Red Cross to Scott’s Miracle-Gro—grow through strategic licensing programs.

The discussion covers:

• Why licensing can make a good product great
• Why licensing cannot make a bad product good
• Collaborations like C4 x Popsicle, Kate Spade x Klondike, Dove x Crumbl Cookies
• Corporate & nonprofit licensing opportunities
• Risk, compliance, monitoring and evaluation
• Stu’s NYU brand licensing course and hands-on learning approach
• Underrated trade shows like Expo West and the Hardware Show
• Strategic licensing plans: how brands identify market categories & revenue potential
• Why brand impressions now matter as much as royalty revenue
• How licensing creates sustainable competitive advantages

This is a masterclass in brand strategy, consumer products, and the evolving licensing landscape.

In this episode of The Licensing Exchange, hosts David Schnider and Greg Pan sit down with Steven Ekstract, a licensing industry visionary and founder of Global Licensing Advisors.

Steven helped shape modern brand licensing as the founding publisher of License Global Magazine, brand director of Informa Markets’ Global Licensing Group, and co-author of Brand Licensing For Dummies. Now leading Entertainment XTracks, a global thought-leadership series, he continues to identify where the next wave of IP is emerging — from anime to YouTube creators to digital-first franchises.

Together, they explore:

• How licensing evolved from film studios to global brand collaborations
• Why agility and “speed-to-market” define the next licensing era
• How AI, streaming, and creator culture are reshaping IP value
• The lessons learned from Barbie, Netflix, and the new frontier of fan-driven franchises

🎧 Listen now for insights from one of licensing’s most influential voices — and what it takes to keep the business of brands in motion.

In the premiere episode of The Licensing Exchange, hosts David Schnider and Greg Pan sit down with Cindy Levitt — former Senior Vice President of Licensing at Hot Topic and 2023 Licensing International Hall of Fame inductee — to talk about the evolution of licensing, creativity, and risk-taking in retail.

Cindy shares how she helped grow Hot Topic from a garage startup into a cultural phenomenon, revealing how a single licensing decision — bringing SpongeBob SquarePants to college campuses — reshaped the business and put pop culture in the mainstream.

💬 They discuss how licensing has evolved from gut instinct to analytics, what today’s licensors can learn from the past, and why relationships still matter more than spreadsheets.

In this episode:

• The inside story of Hot Topic’s rise
• How SpongeBob changed retail licensing
• The balance between creativity and finance
• What the future of licensing could look like

🎙️ Part of The LOOK.Legal Pods from Nolan Heimann LLP — lawyers for creative business makers.