Built by a brand owner.
Dean Christener grew up on Maui, close to the beach. He was a semi-pro windsurfer studying sports medicine before he moved into online sales, and after relocating to California he found Amazon FBA. He launched his first brand in 2015 and went on to build brands in beverage and home goods.
Owning those brands meant wearing every hat, and it showed him that a brand cannot rely on one channel.
Makai Growth began when a client asked Dean to work between their brand and its full-service agency. When they let the agency go, they asked him to take over the work. He built the service with trusted partners, and in 2024 it became Makai Growth.
Makai is Hawaiian for toward the ocean, which is where he still feels rooted.