Growing ecommerce businesses through CRO, UX research, and data analytics.

We're a conversion rate optimization agency for eCommerce brands looking to grow to the next level, but know they need to a better job converting traffic. 

We talk to your potential customers, find out why they're not buying, and fix those issues through a/b testing, personalization, and data-informed UX/UI design.

We help you grow by leveraging: 
-> Full-website conversion optimization
-> Landing page optimization
-> Personalization and segmentation
-> Conversion-focused web design
-> User experience research
-> Website analytics and reporting

We’ve worked with brands you know, like JensonUSA, Osprey, PENN Fishing, and The Shade Store. We’re also fired up about helping growing brands reach the next level. Some brands we've helped make this jump include Hydro Flask, Made In, Mizzen and Main, and Peak Design.

Brian Schmitt

Founder & CEO @ Windmill Growth

My parents wanted me to become a lawyer, but I was drawn to entrepreneurship.

Two weeks before the course began, I withdrew my admission (losing thousands of dollars) and moved to a new city.

There, I spent my days learning how to code and worked as a bartender at night to support myself.

After that year, I launched a Fintech startup.

But it failed because:
1. I tried to build the product before knowing the market.
2. I miscommunicated with partners.
3. I lacked proper entrepreneurial knowledge.

I felt bad about myself!

But I didn’t stop there.

I worked on myself,
Met high-value people,
Understood how things work.

With all my learnings, I started a marketing-based startup.

I got clients in the very first month, and they're loving our services.

Throughout my journey, I've learned:
1. How to build a Lean Product.
2. How to network with people.
3. How to evaluate yourself.

— all in the hardest way!

Now I want to help others with what I know, sharing my journey and my mistakes.

So, follow me for insights into entrepreneurship, tech, and marketing.

Feeling stuck in your startup journey?
Book a call, and let's discuss the real problems. [It’s Free]

Ben Buaron

I fired my employee for sending this in our general Slack.

Unprofessional. Not acceptable. No place for this in a serious company.

That’s what I’d say if I was a boomer.

In reality, I laughed. Then I screenshotted it. Sent to my mom.

When your team feels comfortable enough to post something like this (Yes, that's me), it tells you they’re not overthinking how you’ll react. They know it’ll be taken the right way.

That’s what psychological safety actually looks like.

We’re having fun, people feel comfortable, and the work is getting done. That’s it.

Having a girlfriend > co-founder. 

Just kidding, you need both.

When I was single, I spent a lot of time dating and thinking about dating. It took up more of my attention than I realized.

Then I started seeing my girlfriend about 6 months ago. Since then, I’ve been more focused and more present day to day.

And the business has grown ~33%.

Not because of anything special. I just have fewer distractions and more clarity.

Most people think being single means more freedom, but my experience has been the opposite.

If that’s the case, next year I’m becoming a billionaire.

I started playing poker when I was 11. Not for real money, but I still learned the game.

Over time, I probably started loving poker too much. But it taught me a lot.

- Taking chances
- Understanding variance
- Luck versus expertise
- How people behave under pressure.

Besides winning founder poker every now and then, the game has helped me manage my business better.

I wouldn’t recommend people start playing poker. It’s addictive, and you can learn these things from other places. But if you already play, you know this.

Poker taught me how to think about outcomes.

And business works the same way.

When I first started going to the gym, people laughed at me.

They said I wasn’t ready and that I didn’t really know what I was doing.

So me being who I am, I kept showing up.

I learned how to bench, then squat, then deadlift.

Over time, I made friends there. Those friends introduced me to other people, and some of those relationships turned into real business opportunities.

After about a year and a half of going 2-5 times a week, I felt different.

I was more confident, more capable, and more comfortable scaling what I was building.

But this post isn’t about the gym. It’s about LinkedIn.

There are only three real reasons to post on Linkedin.

1) You’re trying to sell something
2) You want to drive brand awareness for future investors
3) You want to exit your business one day

The rest is just the downstream effect.

→ Old or churned clients remember you exist
→ New potential clients learn who you are
→ You build social proof without asking for it
→ You create distribution for anything you’ll build later
→ You get invited into conversations, podcasts, and events
→ Your circle expands beyond the same closed group

For me, every strong B2B connection can turn into more than a $50,000 opportunity over time.

That’s why I take LinkedIn seriously.

Hot take: you need to spend 10+ hours a week to win on LinkedIn.

If I wanted to grow on TikTok, I wouldn’t post twice a week and close the app. I’d be on the platform, watching what’s working, engaging with people, and making sure people see me.

LinkedIn is no different.

The people who see results stay present after they post. They check their replies, follow up, and stay involved in the conversation. 

They’re also active in conversations outside of their own.

Posting is just the starting point. What happens before and after that is what most people skip.

Then they wonder why nothing happens.

We spend $25K/month on software and engineering. AS AN “AGENCY”.

Most agencies spend almost everything on labor. We invest ~20% of our revenue into tech, systems, and internal tools that make our business better.

That’s the main reason we were able to support ~170 clients in our first year.

Instead of stacking more people or buying expensive tools that don’t fit our workflows, we’re building what we actually need internally. Our Head of Ops leads that and ships improvements constantly.

It’s less flashy than hiring fast. But it removes friction.

And it scales a whole lot better.

24 hours with clawdbot as my marketing manager.

Things I learned:

1. It's not replacing your best employee. It's replacing your busywork.

Content research. Comment scheduling. Finding engagement opportunities. The stuff that eats 2 hours before you do real work.

Gone.

2. It breaks. A lot.

Crashed twice. Forgot context mid-conversation. Burned $20 at 3am running "heartbeat checks" on nothing.

This is not plug and play.

3. The ROI is already obvious.

12 tweets posted. 30+ comments. Engagement I would've missed. Drafts that actually sound like me.

15 hours of work I didn't do.

4. The unlock isn't the tool. It's the system.

The agent is useless without clear workflows. Approval queues. Content briefs. Folder structures.

You're not hiring an employee. You're building a machine.

5. If you're waiting for it to be "ready" you're already behind.

The founders figuring this out now will have 6-12 months of compounding while everyone else is still asking "is AI actually useful?"

It is. It's just ugly right now.

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The holiday season usually makes me more anxious than relaxed.

I come from a place where I’m working 24/7. Even on vacation, I’m still working.

Then you get into periods where suddenly, nobody else is working.

In August, it feels like nobody’s working because everyone’s on vacation.

In December, nobody’s working because of the holidays.

You get to a point where it feels like your business isn’t progressing enough.

And this year I had a hard time with that.

I only realized it when the season already ended.

That anxiety wasn’t telling me to push harder.

It was a signal to rest.

taplio

The Battle

Brian Schmitt

Ben Buaron

Followers

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Performance ScoreBen Buaron's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Brian Schmitt

Ben Buaron

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Ben Buaron's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreBen Buaron's LinkedIn Performance