Strategies
The Hustle Trap: When the Grind Becomes a Liability It's 2:00 AM, and another Shopify founder is juggling order packing, Facebook ad troubleshooting, and a customer's late-night complaint—while emails pile up. Sound familiar? This relentless hustle, while initially fueling growth, often becomes a fast
Industry
Shopify has unveiled two game-changing updates that every DTC founder should prioritize: a monumental increase in product variant limits and a sophisticated, AI-enhanced POS system designed for seamless omnichannel retail. As we approach peak season, these enhancements are crafted to empower ambitious brands—allowing them to expand product lines and
Industry
Shopify is sprinting into the holiday season with unprecedented momentum, reporting its highest-ever quarterly revenue. Q3 2025 saw a staggering 32% year-over-year sales increase (Reuters; Digital Commerce 360). This holiday season, Shopify projects revenue growth in the “mid-to-high” 20% range, comfortably surpassing analyst expectations (Reuters). But as DTC founders know,
Analysis
In the dynamic world of Shopify DTC brands, the ongoing debate between email and SMS marketing is more pertinent than ever. Both channels are essential players in the e-commerce toolkit, each offering unique advantages for retention and revenue generation. Email has long been the reliable workhorse, while SMS is the
Analysis
If you’re running a DTC brand in 2025, BNPL isn’t just another button at checkout—it’s how millions of Americans expect to pay. U.S. shoppers financed $82.4 billion in online purchases using BNPL in 2024, up nearly 10% YoY (Reuters). By August 2025, we’d
Analysis
Remember when free returns were the DTC cheat code? They lowered buyer anxiety, fueled “bracketing” (buying multiple sizes, planning to return most), and helped brands win first-time shoppers. But what started as a trust-builder has become a margin-eater. 63% of consumers now buy with the intention to return extras, up
Industry
If you feel like pumpkin spice season starts before you’ve even put away the sunscreen, you’re not wrong. In 2025, Starbucks and Dunkin’ both dropped their fall menus in mid-August—what some call “Augtober”—well before the leaves start turning (Axios). The payoff? Massive. The pumpkin-flavored products market
Strategies
In today’s hyper-competitive Shopify DTC landscape, conversion rate is your true north. With digital ad costs climbing and traffic harder to acquire, squeezing more value from every site visit isn’t just smart—it’s survival (Thrive Themes). The upside? You don’t need a bigger ad budget to
Industry
Amazon turned Prime Day into a 96-hour event this year (July 8–11), and the rest of the internet had to play catch-up. With $23.8B in projected U.S. online spend across all retailers—a 28.4% jump YoY—it was less a shopping holiday and more a mid-summer
Strategies
In July 2025, Crocs and Touchland dropped a Jibbitz-compatible hand sanitizer. Tony’s Chocolonely and Hot Take Dough launched a limited-run frozen s’mores cookie dough for World Chocolate Day. Both sold out. Both blew up online. And both proved what savvy DTC founders already know: a good brand collab
Industry
In May, David Nutrition stunned the DTC world with a $75M Series A at a $725M valuation—just 12 months after launch. The bar brand, co-founded by RXBar’s Peter Rahal, landed in 3,000+ retail stores and is pacing toward $100M in year-one revenue (Finsmes, Athletech News). Investors like
Industry
Glossier, once the crown jewel of DTC beauty, just announced another pivot: CEO Kyle Leahy is stepping down, with founder Emily Weiss back in the mix to help find her replacement. The move comes days after Glossier expanded its fragrance line and declared it’s entering a “new phase of