Jordan West

E-Com Investor & Podcast Host | Multiple Exits| Avid Golfer, Biker + Hiker | Dad Of 3 | CEO + CMO | Mastermind Host

My Journey 
When I was 23 I decided to buy a Taco Del Mar restaurant... I knew I had made a huge mistake at 2pm the first day when only 3 customers had walked in... (and two of them were my parents haha) 
For 5 years I worked hard to grow sales every way I could think of and in the end, tripled our revenue which still didn't seem to matter on the profit side. (I lost a lot of money 💰)

The one thing that I seemed to be the best at in the restaurant endeavor was marketing and getting people in the door. 

Fast forward to 2014 when my wonderful wife Carmen (definitely my better half) started a modest baby clothing line and was selling at craft markets. 

I asked if I could test running a few ads on Facebook... and the rest is history. I learned every up-and-coming strategy and tactic and helped grow the small start-up to a multi-million dollar company and still growing!

Since then we have acquired multiple DTC brands and have built an agency (upGrowth Commerce) to service our brands as well as others who are in a similar situation to us!

In 2019 we started the podcast "secrets to scaling your e-commerce brand" which is now in the top 50 business/marketing podcasts in multiple countries including Canada and the United States.

I love connecting with people, so please connect. (I do have a no a**holes policy though, so don't connect if that's you.) 

I talk all about scaling businesses using paid ads on “Secrets To Scaling Your E-Commerce Brand”.

Chief Executive Officer

If you’re on TikTok Shop and you don’t use Reacher you are playing on hard mode!! 

But first a story… 

Last month I was in Vegas for business

 Bora Mutluoğlu and Jerry Qian flew out separately from SD and SF just for the night. 

Took me out for dinner. 
Hung out all night. 
Just because. 

I am so proud to have been their advisor. 

They will surpass any business success I’ve ever had very shortly. 

This is what I live for. 

So back to Reacher 

They have built every single feature I have asked for to build creator communities on TikTok Shop and beyond for brands. 

They are the obvious outreach tool for every brand (and it’s not even close) 

If I were a competitor I would just quit tbh 😆🤷‍♂️

They are on another plane. 

This isn’t sponsored - except maybe a friendship sponsor lol! 

Anyway just wanted the world of LinkedIn to know how much I appreciate these guys! 

I will bet on whatever they do in the future.

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This is wild 👇🔥🔥
We have an internal channel at Social Commerce Club when new clients partner with us…

No word of a lie - that channel has been pinging at least 3-4x per week for the last couple of months.

Needless to say… we continue to hire 😆🤷‍♂️

This is super important for every single brand wanting to launch TikTok Shop  in 2026. 👇

If an agency tells you that you’ll be profitable in the first three months… 

RUN!!! 

Your goal in the first three months is…

1. Build the muscle 
2. Build a creator community 
3. Build momentum

That’s it! 

But… once you get momentum you’ll start seeing insane traction. 

And that’s when it gets fun! 

Thats what my team at Social Commerce Club loves for!!

2025 year in review (this will be juicy 😆🙌🏻) 
Highlights first (in order of importance) 👇

1. 4th baby arrived (me pictured trying to remember how to hold a new born ❤️) 

2. Acquired TUFF Media - unreal founder in Parker Kump and incredible team! Made Parker CEO (he’s a way better day to day operator than me)

3. Worked and scaled over 100 brands at Social Commerce Club - became one of the top 5 “gold status” TikTok Shop agencies in NA. 

We Should be the only platinum in Jan.

4. Founder/CEO Advising - worked one on one with 13 founders - mostly SAAS. 5 exits, 3 got into accelerators. (I’m waitlisting founders for this year btw - DM me if interested)

5. Acquired Roasberry to become Halo - the first omni channel decision engine for DTC brands (launching soon) 

6. Socials - over 10 million impressions between LinkedIn, X, YouTube etc 

7. Health (should have put this second but I’m typing and well…) 

Continued to not drink (highest leverage move and it’s not even close) 

Installed a “daily hike” into my work day - best new habit. 

Read/listened to over 50 books.

8. YouTube/podcasts - was only on 10 external podcasts (need to change that this year) 

Published 40 YouTube videos + 52 podcasts of Secrets To Scaling Your E-commerce Brand 

9. Friends (this should have been 3rd lol) 

Moved cuties 4 hours away and intentionally have made some amazing friendships even at 39! 

We’ve hosted at our house least 20 times since we’ve moved and made a lot of ribs and brisket!! 

Lowlights

1. Said yes too much that took away from my main goals.

2. Didn’t spend enough time one on one time with my kids. 

3. Worked too much on things that didn’t matter to ME. 

4. Made some poor cultural hiring decisions that I had to walk back (read fire) 🔥 

Ok that’s it! 

What was your 2025 highlight?

I’m going to be honest 😢
In Aug… we were churning a lot of clients and not hitting expectations…

September we made some Big personnel decisions and it changed everything!! (Not like things were terrible before) 

Seeing my Social Commerce Club team working at this level makes me realize that they ARE the number one world class team for TikTok shop IMO 

Oh also… Parker Kump taking over as CEO has helped too!! 😆🤷‍♂️

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“How should I think about sampling on TikTok Shop?” 👇 
We get this question from brands at Social Commerce Club constantly…

So... Here’s the framework we use. (probably save this one) 🔥 

Step 1: Stop treating sampling like a checklist
It’s not…

It’s an investment decision!! 👏 

Step 2: Use metrics as inputs

Not gates.

Yes, we look at…

→ Recent GMV
→ Post rate
→ Content quality
→ TikTok signals

Step 3: Zoom out and get the full context

Creator-side questions: (here's where the gold is people!!)

→ Is their content good enough to sell anything
→ Do they post like it’s a job… or like it’s a hobby
→ How long have they been on the platform
→ Do they engage in the community
→ Is there an obvious use case for the product
→ Does the page feel like someone who “gets it”

Brand-side questions

→ What’s the goal (GMV max vs brand control - this is something we contantly need to think about with the types ad size of brands we work with at Social Commerce Club)
→ What’s the sampling budget + volume we aligned on
→ Do unit economics work (COGS, shipping, margin)
→ Do we have inventory to support this
→ Does the category fit their audience
→ How aggressive does the brand want to be

Step 4: Make the bet

Every product we send is an investment!!!
We place it where it has the highest chance of creating real value…

Now (performance)
Or later (relationship)

And if you’re unsure…

That’s normal.

Pull someone in.

Pressure test it!

I hope that helps... questions?

Last month... I found an INSANE stat about TikTok Shop creators that EVERY brand needs to understand before going HARD on the platform. 👇 

1. there are OVER 3.5 million creators signed up on tiktok shop

2. Here's the part that will blow your mind... 

Of those 3.5 million creators... 

less than 50K of them produce more than 1k of GMV (sales) a month. (thanks to Bora Mutluoğlu and Reacher for the numbers btw)

First... I have been saying this for the last 2 years. 

There are so few AMAZING creators. 

Second - your job as a brand is to find these creators and keep them happy and working for your brand. 

We've known this as the case at Social Commerce Club for the past 2 years and built an INSANELY high performing network. (that we plug new brands into from day 1) 

The next thought I have is around strategy if you can't get those creators to pay attention. 

This isn't something that I talk about that often TBH. 

BUILD YOUR BRAND CONTENT on your TikTok page 

Seriously. 

Get someone fulltime to crank out at least 10 videos a day. (stay away from fully AI btw - TikTok is deprioritizing that right now) 

Look at your competitors top performing content creators on @FastMoss and use those videos as inspo for your brand. 

Am I saying don't work with affilaites?? 

No not at all! 

Affilaites are so important to your overall strategy. 

What I AM SAYING is... 

Control what you can at first. 

And you can control your own brand content and how much you put out daily. 

So do that. 

Know a brand thinking of launching on TikTok Shop in 2026? 

Send them this post - it may help them understand the platform that much better!

Off to Hawaii for the week. 
Any post you see from me this week was prescheduled. 😆🤷‍♂️🙌🏻

Will be turning off any work all week…

Why? 

Because time away breeds creativity and productivity.

I’ve said it before… if you can’t take a week away from your business… 

You don’t have a business.

You have an underpaid 24/7 job. 

Btw… my thoughts on this yesterday hit a nerve 😆🙌🏻- go back to my profile and read the comments 🤦‍♂️

THIS IS A JOB POST FOR Social Commerce Club 🔥 
The more TikTok Shop agencies appear on the scene... the more I realize that 99.9% of them just don't get it. (or the broader market)

This is a great opportunity for us at Social Commerce Club - but also really sucks for the broader DTC community trying to enter the channel! 

The ONLY THING I THINK ABOUT DAILY is on increasing capacity (because as you know... demand is not our problem! 

And to do that... we need people to join us that RAISE THE BAR (not just meet it which generally weeds out 99% of people) 

So... we are hiring for the role of "social commerce strategist" 

What is it? 

You work directly in between our brand partners and our creator community. 
You help BIG brands enter the social commerce world on Tiktok shop driving both massive AWARENESS but also massive amounts of net new customers and revenue. 

Who are you? 

your friends call you "tenancious" "can learn anything" "won't settle for good enough" "can take on any challenge" "methodical is getting results" 

What have you done in the past? 

Titles may have looked like "brand strategist" "growth strategists" "director of ecomm" etc. 

If that's you... I'm going to tag in Klaryssa Pangilinan, CPHR 

1. Connect with her. 
2. Tell her that Jordan West said you should message. 
3. Tell her why you would be a fit for Social Commerce Club
4. Let's goooooooo 

Also would love a share and tag anyone you know may be a fit (ps... the best usually already have a job)

What’s up with That smile? 
Well let me tell you… 👇

A few things 

1. Social Commerce Club is going to be the biggest TikTok Shop agency in NA this year 

2. I have an amazing leadership team and CEO at SCC 

3. I love doing what I do on a daily basis 

4. I get to work with some of the biggest brands in the world. 

5. I am launching the biggest disruptive tool for brands since iOS 14.5 

6. I love my life 

That’s why I’m smiling … but tbh I would be smiling if everything was in shambles too - it’s a skill 😆🤷‍♂️

I have a confession LinkedIn…
This time last year…

I hired…

A ghost writer! 😆😢🤞

And you know what? 

They wrote better than me. 

They got better engagement. 

They saved me time!! 

But you know what?? 

After 2 months… it felt kinda weird. 

It wasn’t me.

I missed the habit of writing every day. I felt less articulate. 

Same thing with experimenting with AI 🤖 content. 

Sure - it works ish - but it’s not me. 

And I LOVE articulating ideas. 

I had lost my voice. 

So I went back to writing daily and let me tell you… best decision ever!! 

It’s not for everyone - I get it. But it’s for me!! 

Anyone else gone through this??

TikTok shop growth is hard. I want to break down EXACTLY how to do it in 2026 for any brand.

Hot take for 2026 👇

AI is better than you at UGC 

But… I don’t think it matters. 

Why? 

It’s not real.

It may work for a short time… but in the end, humans want humans. 

We love watching each other struggle and overcome. 
 
The messiness - the pain. 

It’s built in. 

One of my biggest takes is that AI content will be completely deprioritized in 2026 - because people are spending less time online as a result. 

Thoughts?

🔥 2026 predictions (you may not want to read these if you don’t like change e-commerce brands)

1. AI UGC on social media will be almost completely deprioritized and companies that make AI UGC will struggle (plus there will be some big consumer lawsuits similar to to ADA level lawsuits IMO) 

Also as an aside AI written content here on LI will be deprioritized (we all hope lol) 😂 

2. 95% of enterprise brands (read household names… not DTC darlings though some may take it more seriously before it’s too late) will enter TikTok Shop in some form. 

This one is interesting because I obviously have a lot of insider knowledge at Social Commerce Club and it’s wild. 

3. The Ads that work on paid social will HAVE to be proven out on organic social first. Brands will return to organic first (again why I am obsessed with TTS) 

4. Organic Facebook reach is back baby!! Post at least 2 reels a day! 

5. MTA as a measurement system will die and more wholeistic measurements will take its place (read halo etc) 

6. Meta and TikTok will demand even more creative in their pursuit of personalized ads. (Hmmm where can a brand get thousands of videos to use across channels???) 

7. Agentic commerce will push 30% of referrals for big brands on DTC (get ready for the bots folks) 

8. Social Commerce Club will be the only platinum partner on TikTok Shop and triple in size this year and I AM here for it!! 

What did I miss??

BRANDS!!! DON'T GO ON TIKTOK SHOP! 
YES YOU HEARD ME RIGHT! 

Until you have this in place... (yes I hate the hook I just did too lol!) 

1. Your fulfillment needs to BE dialled. If you start out and don't have this (the most overlooked part of TT shop) dialed you will get penalized and in a HUGE WAY! 

Like one of my old mentors says "it's all in the set-up" 

Having your back-of-house operations right from day one...

shipping, returns, SLAs, and stock sync—is non-negotiable. 

TT Shop doesn’t care if you’re learning. 

Miss your fulfillment window? You’re getting flagged! 

2. Your listings need to sell WITHOUT a scroll.
 
Clear titles (keyword-optimized, benefit-led).
5+ high-res images.
500+ character descriptions that SELL.

This is your storefront. Optimize it like your life depends on it.

3. You need a bulletproof creator outreach + content system.
 
One-off creator outreach is NOT a strategy.
 
You need:

A CRM to manage collabs.

My number one recommendation (and it's not even close) is Reacher 
Automated follow-ups.
spark ads collection 
etc etc 

Ps - think minimum 200 samples a month for the first 3 months. 

Remember top TikTok Shop creators are the 80/20 of the 80/20!

3 things in life and business that matter WAY MORE than money 💰👇

1. Autonomy - I would take freedom over money basically any day - your time is so much more valuable than you treat it. 

2. Friendship - there’s a crazy stat about males in their 30s and the lack of friends most people have. 

I have felt this in the past but made a concerted effort to push against it! 

3. Who you work with (and why the pic of Parker Kump) 

At Social Commerce Club I have one person that reports to me - Parker. That’s it. 

And TBH he is above my level - pushes me daily and is just a blast to work with. 

I’ve had partners in the past that aren’t at the same level and it is painful. 

If that’s you and a partner - you need to have the hard conversation NOW - it doesn’t get better. ❤️‍🩹 

I will never again work with someone I don’t enjoy and isn’t at my level or above (that included advisory clients) 

Life is too short. 

Btw… do the above and you’ll probably have more than enough money 🤷‍♂️

Ok what’s your thing that’s more valuable than money?

Brands sleeping on TikTok Shop…
Here’s what you need to understand 👇 

1. This is a legitimate channel for legitimate brands. (we should know at Social Commerce Club)

2. 2 out of the top 3 products AOV is above $200 (so you can't see it's just for cheap junk) 

3. Social commerce is the future 

Live shopping 
Creator driven commerce 
Affiliate style commissions 

If you’re on the fence… 

This is your sign

A brand we work with had over 20k affiliate  videos in November alone 👇

There are levels to this stuff on TikTok Shop guys! 

My biggest concern is the lack of amazing agencies out there to fill the massive need. 

I am still wanting to launch a way to help agencies understand how to run this service - DM me if you’re interested or want to know more (also for all of you who have dmed me do it again to get to the top of my inbox lol)

Was off my phone for a week 
No LinkedIn 🔥🔥🔥
Had 37 DMs waiting for me…

3 were from people not pitching me and that I needed to respond to 

What has happened to LinkedIn??

Remember when Saratoga Spring Water Company went viral?? 

A creator posted a hilarious video about their morning routine and it ended with him dunking his face in this water 

They sold out everywhere. 

It’s just water. 

If they can do it… so can you 😆

Because most of you who follow me have great products that people love. 

But what’s the Easiest way to go viral Jordan?? 

Well TikTok Shop of course!! 

This is why I’m obsessed at Social Commerce Club and why the biggest brands in the world are entering the platform. 

Thoughts??

Helping brands that use Shopify+Klaviyo 2X their email and SMS revenue with 1:1 personalized graphics. Founder/CEO. Follow me to make money with email.

“Email marketing is dead.” That’s what they say. But if your emails aren’t making money, it’s not because email is dead... its because they’re boring.

I’m Lou Mintzer, CEO of Grid & Pixel. We help 7-9 figure Shopify brands scale with 1:1 creatives that autoplay in 99% of inboxes. We bring email and SMS campaigns to life with eye-catching, personalized graphics.

We’ve partnered with Shopify, Klaviyo, Omnisend, and Sendlane to keep things drop-dead simple, allowing you to spend less time tweaking templates and more time driving revenue. With 5 stars, 100+ reviews, and features by Shopify and Klaviyo, we’re proving that personalized content doesn’t just look better—it performs better.

Before Grid & Pixel, I spent 12 years as Chief Product Officer at Homesnap, leading the development of the award-winning real estate app before selling it to CoStar Group for $250M in 2020 and rebranding it to Homes.com.

I’m also an Advisor to the First Street Foundation and moonlight as a Venture Partner at NextGen Venture Partners, where I love working with entrepreneurs and helping to identify and support big ideas.

But enough about me—let’s talk about you.

If you’re a Shopify brand looking to drive reliable, repeatable revenue with flows that actually convert, get started today by installing the app for free:

https://apps.shopify.com/gridandpixel

Or, if you’re a marketing agency that wants to do more with less, take on more clients, or provide an increased level of service, check out our partner program:

https://gridandpixel.com/partners

Or just send me a DM - break your routine and harness serendipity!

Because the only thing that’s truly dead is boring content.

Lou Mintzer 🦅

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗜𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝗢𝘂𝘁

It’s not the discount.
It’s not the product.
It’s the way the offer is framed.

Most promos go straight into pitch mode.
Hard sell. All caps.
“BUY ONE GET ONE” energy.

And people feel that instantly.
We’re wired to resist anything that feels salesy, even when the deal is good.

I saw a promo recently that stopped me scrolling.
Same offer. Totally different framing.

Instead of shouting the deal, it positioned it as sharing.
Buy one for yourself.
Give one to someone you care about.

Same promo.
Completely different feeling.

It didn’t feel like a transaction.
It felt human.
Like a moment worth passing along.

That’s the real unlock.
The best promo emails don’t push harder.
They reframe the offer to match how people already think and behave.

Same deal.
Better psychology.

Follow me for more insights on 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵, 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀.

Boring emails are dead. I help Shopify+Klaviyo brands make more money with thumb-stopping content.

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿-𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁?

Between ops, inventory, ads, and email, content becomes the thing you “get to later.”
So posts get rushed.
Creatives get recycled.
And feeds start to feel… flat.

It’s not because you don’t care about marketing.
It’s because doing it consistently is exhausting.

That’s the gap Grid & Pixel fills.

Your products turned into clean, scroll-stopping vertical videos
ready for Reels, TikTok, Shorts, and ads
without starting from scratch every time.

The message still feels like you.
The format finally fits the platform.
And the system handles the repetition.

Less scrambling.
More showing up.
More momentum.

Built for founders who want marketing to feel lighter, not louder.

See the first comment to book a quick demo with us 👇

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗞𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗶𝘆𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀. Most e-commerce brands aren’t looking at the right signals.

Insight from our latest webinar: Unlocking Email & Lifecycle Growth with David Visser, CEO of Zyber - Shopify Premier Partner.

Quick gut check:
Do you actually know what % of your revenue email is driving?
Is your account leaning more campaigns than flows?
Do you know your popup submit rate off the top of your head?
When’s the last time you checked deliverability?

If any of those made you pause, this clip is for you.

In a few minutes, this breaks down the 3 metrics plus one honorable mention that quietly reveal whether a Klaviyo account is scaling or stalling.

No hacks.
No theory.
Just the signals that matter.

Watch till the end.
You might spot the exact thing holding your account back.

Simple signals.
Clear leverage.

#ControlTheControllables

𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗭𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘆.

The best decisions don’t come from the smartest person in the room.
They come from working with people you actually enjoy thinking with.

When the team feels good, learning stays alive.
Ideas get challenged without ego.
Decisions get sharper over time.

That’s the real startup edge.
Not talent alone.
But a group that gets better together, every day.

Build with people you learn from.
The rest compounds.

Ecommerce brands are hooked on discounts. And yeah, it’s quietly wrecking their margins. 

𝗔 20% 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀. 𝗜𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗲 40–60% 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁.

And it gets worse.

Customers who only buy at 40% off show way lower loyalty.
They’re not sticking around.
They’re waiting for the next deal.

So you’re not really building customers.
You’re building a list of people who leave the moment someone else offers 5% more.

Pause for a second.

If discounts disappeared tomorrow…
What would your emails actually say?
Why would anyone open them?
Why would someone choose you over a sea of lookalike brands?

Once the coupon code is gone, the real thinking starts.

About the product.
About the customer.
About why the brand exists at all.

That’s where strategy finally shows up.

The truth usually lives in the feedback.
The glowing reviews.
The brutal ones too.

That’s where you see the gap.

Brands communicate intention.
Customers experience reality.

And customers don’t care how hard something was to build.
They care if it delivered.
If it solved the thing.
If it was worth telling someone else about.

That gap is everything.

It’s where “maybe later” turns into “I need this now.”

And when that clicks, everything downstream improves.

Your welcome flow gains direction.
Your abandoned cart addresses real hesitation.
Your post-purchase emails reinforce the right reason to return.

Email stops being noise.
It becomes the throughline.

The thing that makes a stranger feel understood before they ever buy.

Enjoy the quiet moments this weekend.
That’s usually where the clearest thinking shows up.

Back to building tomorrow.

taplio

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Lou Mintzer 🦅

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The Battle

Jordan West

Lou Mintzer 🦅

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Engagements

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