John Surdakowski

Avex E-commerce

Leading eCommerce agency providing creative, development, email marketing & strategy for brands such as: Mondelez, Hugo Boss, KITH, O’Neil, HAUS, Undefeated, Marchesa, Balance Athletica, TomBoyX, Wolf & Shepherd, Badgley Mischka & Iconix Brand Group.

Founder & CEO

Agency-X Podcast

Agency X — Hosted by John Surdakowski, is a Podcast that takes a dive deep into the world of ecommerce, digital strategy, and the evolving landscape of marketing technology. From the challenges of building a brand to mastering the latest tools shaping the future of commerce, Agency X offers insights drawn from real experiences at Avex. Each week, we break down what works, what doesn’t, and the bold moves that drive growth for leading brands.

Host

Shogun

Shogun empowers brands and agencies to create unique ecommerce experiences by making it easy to build and optimize online stores. Shogun is seamlessly integrated with leading ecommerce platforms, and is trusted by over 12,000 eCommerce brands, including Leesa mattresses, MVMT watches, Gaiam yoga apparel, K-Swiss, and Chubbies shorts

Investor

GRIN

Grin is the #1 all-in-one influencer marketing platform designed to help brands own their influencer relationships. With our tools in your corner, you’ll build a pool of credible ambassadors and reap the financial and brand rewards that come with it. GRIN puts every aspect of your influencer marketing program at your fingertips, empowering you to own it every step of the way.

Inveterate, Inc

Govalo

Kinn

Consulting

Freelance creative direction, web design and development for various brands and agencies, including Google, Samsung, Havas, JWT, Campfire, USANetwork, Cinemax and Sony

Creative Contractor

Havas

Designed digital experiences such as: websites, mobile ads, video story boards and rich media campaigns.

Sr. Art Director Consultant

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.

Designed and developed digital campaigns for Estee Lauder’s online creative department.

Art Director Consultant

Founder & CEO at Avex, a New York City based creative, technology and e-commerce agency for fashion & lifestyle brands. 

With 20 years of experience creating for the web, I’ve seen the digital landscape evolve. From Web 1.0 and Flash animation, to the explosion of mobile and e-commerce. I utilize my vast experience in creative, technology and business to help DTC brands achieve rapid growth. 

Throughout the years I've consulted for JWT, Havas, Estee Lauder, BBDO, NBC, MRM Worldwide, Nickelodeon, MTV Networks and many other New York based companies.

In 2015 I started growing my freelance business into a boutique digital agency, with focus on fashion, lifestyle and premium products. 

Avex has partnered with major brands such as: Hugo Boss, KITH, O’Neill, Undefeated, Simmons Serta Bedding, Marchesa, Eugenia Kim, Badgley Mishka, Ports V, Reem Acra, Iconix Brand Group, Google, PONY, Starter, Rocawear, Shutterstock, 88Rising, USANetwork, HBO, UBISoft, Sony Music and many more. 

Today, I continue to act as CEO and Founder (among other titles) of Avex. I’ve applied my experience and ability to adapt to creating a business that I am immensely passionate about. I love working with other creatives, building my team and taking on new challenges.

In 2019 Avex was invited to become a Shopify Plus Partner. Our agency focuses on helping brands navigate eCommerce.

Big announcement from Shopify during NRF. UCP (Universal Commerce Protocol), co-developed with Google, will enable selling in AI Mode in Google Search and the Gemini app. 

Non-shopify brands can now use Shopify Catalog to deploy products discoverable by all AI platforms, without having a shopify storefront. 

💡This is big for brands who don’t want to be on Shopify or simply want to test the waters. 

I’d liken this to commerce components. Shopify gets the transaction fee and the brand gets catalog distribution. 

Will this discourage some brands from fully migrating?

I don’t think so, because most move to Shopify for TCO and efficiency reasons. The ones who don’t need to move, wouldn’t have anyway. However, this can get a foot in the door. 

UCP will provide brands who did not plan to move to Shopify a way to utilize cutting edge AI discovery. 

In fact, I’d imagine this would allow Shopify even bigger land and expand opportunities. 

For existing Shopify brands, they now have a new channel for discovery. Outside of optimizing for search, brands can/should be optimizing for LLMs. 

Will the big brands take advantage of this or will smaller players navigate the technology to take market share? 

Shopify is definitely changing the game and things are getting exciting. 

#shopify #ai #nrf

Founder at Avex. Partnering with industry-leading brands to design, build, and optimize unified commerce experiences. Podcast Host.

Rachel J.

#1 Trusted Advisor for Ecommerce Agencies | Simplifying the Process of Scaling Ecommerce Agencies | Founder of Ecommerce Partnerships & Ecommerce Agency Growth | Grade A Shenanigator ☘️

Leading trusted advisor for ecommerce agencies. Dedicated to enabling agency owners to get out of the day-to-day of running their agency so they can focus on taking it to the next level. As former COO of a leading ecommerce agency, I've support 100+ ecommerce agencies across the globe as fractional-COO, non-executive director, and board advisor.  

Number 1 authority in implementing best practice operations, systems, and processes to scale ecommerce agencies profitably and efficiently. From building scalable retainer models to coaching high-performing leadership teams, I work with ecommerce agencies to simplify the next steps in scaling their ecommerce agency.

Feel free to contact me directly: rachel@ecommercepartnerships.com

Fractional Chief Operations Officer

At Smart Solutions, our goal is to build great websites that increase overall revenue for your business and provide an easy way for customers to connect with you online. 

We are dependable, certified eCommerce experts who will help you strategize, execute, and grow. We are a privately held, boutique agency founded in 2004 and exclusively focused on eCommerce. We have an excellent team of employees and a great group of partners who take your business success personally. We do what is right for our customers, not what is easy.

Yesterday’s Financial Operations Workshop at #NRF2026 was exactly the kind of room we aim to create at Ecommerce Agency Growth.

A focused group of ecommerce agency owners and operators stepping away from tactics and noise to work on the fundamentals that shape everything else: margins, capacity, utilisation, pricing, and financial decision-making.

A huge thank you to Tiara Tragas from Tragas Consulting LLC for leading the workshop and taking full ownership of the day. She guided the room through the financial realities agencies face as they scale, grounding the conversation in frameworks around utilisation and decision-making clarity. 

The goal was simple and practical: understand your true capacity, set realistic targets by role, and price work based on delivery economics rather than assumptions.

We also heard from an incredible group of speakers who added depth and real-world perspective to the discussion:
- Scott Segel from Klaviyo on how retention connects back to operational decisions inside agencies.
- Gareth Roberts and Mathilde Vandenbosch from Shopify on how platform complexity changes the way agencies need to think about growth.
- Ben Riggle from Channable on operational efficiency at scale.
- Zac Cherin from Hiro Analytics on visibility, reporting, and financial insight,
 - Ashley Hildreth from Tapcart on aligning mobile strategy with broader agency growth.

And a special shoutout to EAG members Nihar Kulkarni, James Roberts and 🇺🇦 Andriy Boychuk who shared some of their experiences working alongside some of our amazing partners... 

As always, the most valuable part was the room itself, agencies openly comparing notes, and having the conversations that rarely happen when you’re stuck in day-to-day delivery. Grateful to everyone who contributed to the conversation and made the day what it was.

#ecommerceagency #agencygrowth #agencyoperations #financialoperations #agencyleadership #NRF2026

Rachel Jacobs

#1 Authority in Scaling Ecommerce Agencies

Today, the Financial Operations workshop is taking place at NRF in New York, led by leading authority when it comes to OKRs, KPIs and all things agency operations - Tiara Tragas.

Excited to host a room full of ecommerce agency operators who are intentional about stepping away from the noise to focus on the part of the business that shapes everything: financial clarity.

No cheap sales tactics. 
No flashy presentations.
No surface-level conversations.

Just operators working through margins, pricing, cash flow, and the decisions that determine how sustainable their agencies actually are.

We're not focused on hosting events with the most LinkedIn worthy photos, instead Ecommerce Agency Growth is obsessed with providing value to our wider agency network. 

The value isn’t in the slides; it’s in the depth of the discussion and the quality of the people in the room. And we've got a fantastic group of agencies attending! 

Delighted to see agencies investing time in the less visible work that creates stability, confidence, and better decisions long after the event ends.

And shoutout to the partners who made it possible: Shopify, Klaviyo, Channable, Tapcart and Hiro Analytics 

#ecommerceagency #agencygrowth #nrf2026 #agencyoperations

As the new year kicks off, I’m reminded of how much agency growth is shaped by the people you surround yourself with.

The most valuable conversations inside Ecommerce Agency Growth come from founders sharing what actually worked and what didn’t.

Community gives agency leaders perspective, clarity, and the confidence to make better decisions going into a new cycle.

To start the year with that same intention, Tiara Tragas is hosting a Financial Operations Workshop in New York during NRF. 

It’s a space for ecommerce agencies to work through the parts of the business that create stability and momentum for the year ahead.

If you’re attending NRF, we’d love to see you - January 12 in NYC

Save your seat: https://luma.com/vuxw98q9


#agencygrowth #ecommerceagency #nrf2026

Open article: NRF Agency Workshop - Financial Operations · Luma by luma.com

NRF Agency Workshop - Financial Operations · Luma

I was made aware that an agency who went bankrupt a few years ago is attempting to sell their agency brand/ Shopify Plus status for $150k 😱

I appreciate that Shopify status can play a factor in legitimate M&A deals, but a status thats not been active for several years surely isn't a valuable asset. 

And based on the changes to the Shopify status process, I'm fairly certain this wouldn't be a legitimate transaction...

Anyone else seen this happening?

#shopify #shopifypartners #agency

IS 2026 THE YEAR TO SELL YOUR AGENCY? I expect more agency owners will receive unsolicited offers, sometimes before they feel ready to make a decision. 

And the challenge isn’t the offer itself, it’s the lack of clarity around what they actually want. When an offer arrives out of the blue, it forces questions most founders haven’t paused long enough to answer:
• What do I really want next?
• Am I building toward an exit or away from burnout?
• Am I making a decision, or reacting to one?

The truth is, good decisions come from clarity, not urgency.

Now is a good moment to slow down, zoom out, and evaluate whether the path you’re on still aligns with the agency you want to build.

You don’t need to be preparing for M&A to benefit from that level of reflection; every founder should revisit their motivations, momentum, and desired outcomes as we step into a new year.

With a number of buyers (and sellers) in the Ecommerce Agency Growth community actively pursuing opportunities, I'm expecting to see a lot more smaller, rollup deals in the coming months...


#agencygrowth #ecommerceagency #agencyleadership #clarity

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